TopShelf April 2023

Q: HOW DID YOU GET INTO CREATING A COMIC BOOK SERIES?

I wanted to create comics that I wanted to read. My husband and I co-owned a comic book store called Black Cat Comics in Northern California for nearly two decades and we’ve been reading and enjoying comics for much longer than that. For a while, there felt like a lapse in good, quality horror comics. I missed the days of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman , Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing , Garth Ennis’ Preacher and so many more. When I first got into comics, in the early nineties, it felt like a golden age for non-traditional comics. With imprints like DC Vertigo and publishers like Dark Horse, there were a myriad of amazing comics in the horror/scifi/fantasy genres.

In the 2010s, I had a hard time finding comics that I was excited to read. There were some phenomenal superhero comics, but I had to dig deep to find horror, fantasy and sci-fi. And though there were some great gems during this period, it left me wanting more. So, after being fans and retailers for twenty plus years, we decided to try our hand at creating and publishing our own comics.

Q: TELL US, READERS, ABOUT YOUR BLACK CAT CHRONICLES COMIC BOOK SERIES.

Our Black Cat Chronicles comic book series is a mix between Tales from the Crypt and Ripley’s Believe It or Not . Each issue tells a true horror story narrated by a mysterious and ethereal black cat. The realistic and moody art by Nate Olson, creates the scenes for these strange, supernatural and haunting tales. Each issue is a standalone and focuses on a particular geographical location then dives into the main horror tale. The first issue takes place in Scotland in a haunted location known as Greyfriars Cemetery , where there are reported hauntings, poltergeist activity, a history of torture and exorcisms (yes – plural!). The second issue, Alaska’s Port Chatham , focuses on a small fishing town in the early 1900s that just up and vanishes without a trace. The third issue, Invasion Antarctica , documents the countless secret military missions during and after WWII in Antarctica. The

next issue, Portland Underground , will focus on the kidnapping of young men as they were put on shipping vessels as forced laborers. Each tale is painstakingly researched so that the reader can become fully immersed in the story, and adds to our tagline: Truth is Scarier than Fiction.

Q: WHAT THEMES DO YOU LOVE TO EXPLORE INSIDE OF YOUR COMIC SERIES?

Looking back, we’ve tackled themes like human hubris, man vs. nature, revenge, the nature of evil and more. What really drives each issue is the depth and layers the story has to offer. It’s not just a haunted cemetery, it’s how it became haunted with the historical references, people involved and the past and present impact. We love finding stories that are obscure, with multiple facets and twists and turns, which make them seem unbelievable.

Q: IS CREATING YOUR COMIC BOOK SERIES EASIER OR HARDER THAN WRITING SHORT STORIES?

Great question. I wouldn’t say it’s easier or harder, just different. It’s like writing a screenplay vs. writing a novel. When writing a comic, I write visually. Meaning –I need to imagine each scene in detail and then translate that into something akin to stage directions for the artist. Then I will write the dialogue or narration. Given the fixed and limited amount of space in comics, only the most important words make it onto the page. There’s no room for extraneous detail. The art on the page creates the mood, the setting, the emotion, allowing the words to focus mainly on dialogue, story and plot.

In writing short stories, especially for open call submissions, there is a set word count. For example: write a story about a werewolf in the year 2255 but it has to be between 500 – 1500 words. So similar to comics, there is a fixed amount of space with which to tell your story. But the difference here is that you also have to include all the visual clues, you have to write about the scene, create the mood while developing a character and plot.

Q: HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE YOUR THEY HIDE:

SHORT STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK BOOK?

Some of the stories in They Hide were written over twenty years ago. When I dusted them off, edited them and wrote the new stories, it took about four months to complete. During the pandemic, I was able to carve out between two and four hours of writing each day, which helped me stay on my target deadline and word count goal.

Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING STYLE?

Wow, that’s tough. I don’t know that I necessarily have a writing style. With each story in They Hide , I tried, stylistically, to do something different. This would hopefully distinguish each story and help them to stand on their own. I experimented with different POVs, tenses, flows and word choices. So I guess, I would call my style experimental.

What I can say about my writing that is universal, is that I try to write from a place of authenticity. Sure, I’m writing about fantastical, fictional monsters and impossible situations, but the nature of fear and powerlessness are real human emotions, ones that I try to tap into with each horror tale I craft.

Q: WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO WRITING STORIES IN THE DARK HORROR GENRE?

Writing horror has always been a way for me to process my fears. I grew up in a haunted house where fear was a constant. I never felt safe. Lights and electronics, including TVs would turn on and off on their own, doors would open and close, phantom footsteps haunted our empty attic, strange noises came from deep inside our bedroom closets. There was a constant presence that followed you wherever you were in the house, whether inside or out. It was terrifying. I never truly felt safe or alone until my family moved out of that house when I was 14.

That sense of helplessness and unmitigated fear left its imprint on me.

Writing horror helps me to process those fears and create characters and situations that help me repurpose those terrors into something where I get to control the ending, I get to say what happens, I get to slay the demons. Writing horror for me has been incredibly cathartic.

Q: CAN YOU TELL US, READERS, WHAT YOUR LATEST RELEASE THEY HIDE: SHORT STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK IS ABOUT?

Sure, I’d be happy to. They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark is a collection of 13 tales all connected by the theme of monsters. It’s my love letter to horror tropes: witches, vampires, werewolves, demons, mummies, aliens, etc. The collection explores the nature of fear, powerlessness, and control.

Here are a few descriptions to whet the appetite: a series of murders in a New England colony, an untamed beast in prerevolutionary France, a mysterious stranger who invades 18th-century Ireland, a traveling circus that takes more than the price of admission, a gathering of the Dark, telling tales on the longest night of the year, and more.

Q: WHICH OF YOUR CHARACTERS HAVE YOU ENJOYED CREATING THE MOST?

Oh, hands down it has to be Satan. I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series and the offshoot Lucifer by Mike Carey, so the idea of a suave, charismatic Morningstar is not a new concept to me. I loved getting inside his head and seeing the world from his perspective. I think if I tried my hand at a novel, it would be with the Fallen One.

Q: WHAT THEMES WILL READERS FIND IN YOUR DARK HORROR STORIES BOOK?

As mentioned before, the major themes throughout the collection focus on powerlessness, fear and control. I was writing during the height of the pandemic where these three emotions consumed my every waking moment. I channeled those feelings into each story.

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Q: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING WRITERS IN YOUR GENRE?

Keep writing, find and join your local Horror Writers Association chapter – if there isn’t one, start one, check out open submission calls on Submission Grinder and Horror Tree, take writing classes specific to your genre, write like no one’s reading and always keep pushing the envelope.

Q: WHAT OTHER PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

I have about a dozen short stories that I’m editing. I’m in the process of finding the right homes for each one. I am also researching the next issue of Black Cat Chronicles: Portland’s Underground which we hope to launch on Kickstarter later in the fall of 2023. Thanks for having me!

ABOUT FRANCESCA MARIA

Francesca Maria writes dark fiction surrounded by cats near the Pacific Ocean. She is the creator of the Black Cat Chronicles, a true horror comic book series narrated by a mystical black cat. And her short story collection; They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark will be out in April 2023 from Brigid’s Gate Press. Her short stories and essays can be found in Crystal Lake Publishing›s Shallow Waters series and anthologies and Death’s Garden Revisited. You can find her at francescamaria.com and on Twitter @Writer_of_Weird.