Welcome, Christine!

Christine Morgan writes across a variety of genres, from the historical to the hellacious and beyond. Her novel Lakehouse Infernal (set in Edward Lee’s universe) won the Splatterpunk Award in 2020, and its sequel, Warlock Infernal, came out in 2022. She’s also known for her Viking-themed horror and dark fantasy, loves mythology and folklore and twisted fairy-tales, and was a longtime contributor to The Horror Fiction Review. 

Learn more at her author’s website: https://christinemariemorgan.wordpress.com/

About The Night Silver Run Red and White Death

The Night Silver River Run Red: Carnies, cultists, townsfolk, and outlaws are all in for one wild ride when trouble breaks out in this extreme horror crazy comedy action-packed Splatter Western from Death’s Head Press.

White Death: Inspired by actual events; after a deceptive warm spell in early 1888, a terrible blizzard sweeps the plains … but, in the pioneer settlement of Far Enough, it brings dangers besides those of the freezing wind and snow. 

Interview with Christine Morgan

Tell us about yourself – what is something readers would be surprised to find out? 

Many readers are often surprised to meet me and discover a squeamish fifty-something frump of a cat lady is the one who writes this kind of stuff … while many people who meet me are likewise shocked to discover the kind of stuff I write! In real life, I’m the biggest wimp; I have all kinds of phobias, I freak out whenever I have to get my hands gooshy or messy, I only like to read and write about sex and am probably the most vanilla person on the planet, and it’s probably a woeful disappointment to those abovementioned readers who have a much different image in mind. 

What is it about the Weird West genre that draws you to it? What are your favorite aspects or examples of this Under-appreciated genre? 

For me, it’s the language, the immersion, the unique setting and style and FEEL that makes the West its own distinct thing; it has built-in world-building and rules everyone already understands, the familiar and expected tropes … which only makes it all the more fun to play with those tropes, turn them on their heads, and bring in extra elements of the weird, supernatural, alien, and uncanny. But yeah, for me, the language is what’s most important and most fun. Having characters talk, sound, think, and again FEEL, like they’re in a Western, that’s the best part. I also like how vague but wide-open it is. Most of the time, I don’t even specify a year or location (though part of that’s because then it makes the fact-checking less of a hassle). 

If you were living in the Weird West, what kind of character would you be?

I’d like to see myself as the brassy bordello madame, with a bustle and a corset and a feather boa and too much jewelry, tough and independent, a hard-drinking ol’ babe able to stand up for herself and her girls, who’d take no crap from anybody and put up with no roughhousing at her place … who’d also have no problems disposing of unruly customers, especially if she could feed them to the sinister hellhound she keeps down cellar. Maybe with a turbulent on-again/off-again relationship with some deadly gunslinger, while also having a smoldering sexual tension with the local sheriff. 

Are there any other writing projects you’re working on?

Oh, always, always, and usually several at a time. I’m currently collaborating on a sharkporn extreme horror sick smut novel with the wonderfully insane Susan Snyder, which is being a total blast. I’m about 1/4 of the way into my take on a not-exactly-haunted house maybe-novella I’m calling Homebody, and tinkering with a quieter and more subtle psychic/paranormal project. Plus, I’ve got a few short stories in the works for anthology calls — I can never resist a cool themed anthology call!. And I owe my sister the long-overdue sequel to Murder Girls before she (the nice, normal one of the family, as she tells everybody) does something awful to me. 

What are you reading right now? 

A lot of unpublished stuff at the moment, since I’m editing a couple of anthologies and also take on edit-gigs for other authors and do slush-reading for a small press. All that tends to keep me pretty busy. 

Even though The Horror Fiction Review is out of print, I still try to post book reviews in regular monthly batches of five or so on my site; next up on my review TBR is Fugue Devil Resurgence by Stephen Mark Rainey. 

And my current keep-it-in-the-car book for when waiting at appointments and such is a re-read of Edward Lee’s The Chosen; I just finished a re-read of his The Black Train (which could also count as a western!).

Favorite Weird West Book, Movie and/or Comic–and why?

I have an absurd affection for the steampunkish silliness of the Wild Wild West movie, partly because my dad is one of the Civil War extras in the scene where the aquatic tank-thing rumbles ashore and shoots everybody.

Speaking of steampunkish silliness, huge fan of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., one of Bruce Campbell’s finest roles IMO. I also enjoyed The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, when directed to it by several friends. 

One of my favorite weird western books is Human-Shaped Fiends by Chandler Morrison, because he is a freakin’ brilliant author, and the way he takes it so meta is just outstanding; I could see a lot of readers just being all WTF? about it (as with most of his work), but, I love it. 

If you enjoyed this profile, sign up for Arcane Saloon, the Weird West Fiction newsletter, to receive future author spotlights and other related news!

Check out this #WeirdWest author profile at @WeirdWestFic!

Tweet