Brain Matter

Maria Alexander is an award-winning author who can wield a pen and a sword with equal ease. And if you've read any of her fiction (or non-fiction!) you know that she cuts as smoothly and precisely with her words as could (if she chose to) with her steel. Her debut novel, Mr. Wicker , hits hard and fast, plays brutally with readers' emotions, and has as many twists as a rollercoaster ride. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and several stories have earned Honorable Mention in various Year's Best Horror anthologies. ---------------------------------------------- Women in Everything: Why the Badass Chick Schtick is Just Bad By Maria Alexander I'm a real-life sword slinger. I own a katana and I know how to use it. Not long ago, I wrote a blog post that went viral about how the media depicts women as warriors .  Thereafter, I wrote an article for Nightmare Magazine about what really makes some of the most popula...

Women in Horror Spotlight Blog: Chantal Noordeloos Chantal Noordeloos hails from the Netherlands, where she crafts novels, novellas, and short stories that range from dark and nasty horror to supernatural thrillers to weird steampunk westerns and everything in-between. According to her official bio, she “spends her time with her wacky, supportive husband, and outrageously cunning daughter, who is growing up to be a supervillain. When she is not busy exploring interesting new realities, or arguing with characters (aka writing), she likes to dabble in drawing.” (To give her credit, she does more than dabble. She’s a pretty decent artist with pencil and inks.) As to her inspiration for writing horror, she’s fond of saying that “It helps being scared of everything.” I’ve been a fan of Chantal’s since reading her collection of short stories, Deeply Twisted , which lives up to its title. From quiet, suspenseful chills to bold-and-bloody horror—and some dark science ficti...