Writing / Nonfiction
Guest Posts
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It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Meghan’s Harvest House of Books -
Why Body Horror, or,
Why Do We Entertain Ourselves with Grotesque Mutations, Demonic Gestation, Parasitic Infections, and Ghastly Mutilations?
Ladies of Horror Fiction -
Summer Reading (and watching) for Nerds: Elvelon Press / Outpost 28
Narzau -
10 Ways Being a #WIH is Like Being the Final Girl in a Horror Film
Erik Hofstatter’s Blog -
Book Review: Night of 1,000 Beasts by John Palisano
Ginger Nuts of Horror -
Top 5 Books to Read this Halloween, & the Candy to Devour While Doing So
Red Lace Reviews -
Halloween Hijinks
Cedar Hollow Horror Reviews -
The Scariest Part
Nicholas Kaufmann’s blog -
Top Five Modern Gothic Horror Novels
HorrorDNA -
Ten Short Stories by #WIH You Need to Read
Kendall Reviews -
Evolution of a Horror Fan
Ink Heist -
Top Ten Badass Horror Heroines in Film and Television
Cedar Hollow Horror Reviews -
"The Tiger in the Lifeboat"
Wicked Run Press -
"Women in Horror Month"
New England Horror Writers -
"Choosing Settings for Your Writing"
Black Fox Literary Magazine
Essays
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The H-Word: "Post-Human Horror"
Nightmare Magazine Issue 107, August 2021
Reviews
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A Mighty Word, Joshua Rex
Meghan’s House of Books
Goodreads Blogs
- Halloween in Haddonfield, Forty Years Later
- "How to Like It, the Stephen Dobyns Way"
- "Ten Reasons to Take Advantage of the Crystal Lake Mentorship Program"
- “Terror at Towson University Marriott: 2018 Borderlands Writers Boot Camp”
- “Latest and Greatest”
- “From Brain Waves to Paper Reams”
In Conversation
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Creature-Feature Conversations
Jonathan Raab discusses The Descent with guest reviewers Christa Carmen and Gwendolyn Kiste.
Criticism
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“Trendy Bars, Breathtaking Beaches, and a Rising Body Count:
How Westerly is Failing its Opioid-Addicted Residents”
Originally covered by The Westerly Sun via an interview with Christa Carmen -
“Get Serious About Heroin Addiction Treatment”
The New London Day -
“Guest commentary: Leaving addicts to fend for themselves”
Originally ublished by The Westerly Sun
Book Showcase

"Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked"
A young woman's fears regarding the gruesome photos appearing on her cell phone prove justified in a ghastly and unexpected way. A chainsaw-wielding Evil Dead fan defends herself against a trio of undead intruders. A bride-to-be comes to wish that the door between the physical and spiritual worlds had stayed shut on All Hallows' Eve. A lone passenger on a midnight train finds that the engineer has rerouted them toward a past she'd prefer to forget. A mother abandons a life she no longer recognizes as her own to walk up a mysterious staircase in the woods.
In her debut collection, Christa Carmen combines horror, charm, humor, and social critique to shape thirteen haunting, harrowing narratives of women struggling with both otherworldly and real-world problems. From grief, substance abuse, and mental health disorders, to a post-apocalyptic exodus, a seemingly sinister babysitter with unusual motivations, and a group of pesky ex-boyfriends who won’t stay dead, Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked is a compelling exploration of horrors both supernatural and psychological, and an undeniable affirmation of Carmen’s flair for short fiction.
Available now from Unnerving, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
A young woman's fears regarding the gruesome photos appearing on her cell phone prove justified in a ghastly and unexpected way. A chainsaw-wielding Evil Dead fan defends herself against a trio of undead intruders. A bride-to-be comes to wish that the door between the physical and spiritual worlds had stayed shut on All Hallows' Eve. A lone passenger on a midnight train finds that the engineer has rerouted them toward a past she'd prefer to forget. A mother abandons a life she no longer recognizes as her own to walk up a mysterious staircase in the woods.
In her debut collection, Christa Carmen combines horror, charm, humor, and social critique to shape thirteen haunting, harrowing narratives of women struggling with both otherworldly and real-world problems. From grief, substance abuse, and mental health disorders, to a post-apocalyptic exodus, a seemingly sinister babysitter with unusual motivations, and a group of pesky ex-boyfriends who won’t stay dead, Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked is a compelling exploration of horrors both supernatural and psychological, and an undeniable affirmation of Carmen’s flair for short fiction.
Available now from Unnerving, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
Anthology Showcase
ORPHANS OF BLISS
An anthology edited by Mark Matthews, published by Wicked Run Press.
Why do we crave that which is killing us?
Addiction is the perpetual epidemic, where swarms of human moths flutter to the flames of hell. Because that warm blanket of a heroin high, that joyful intoxication of a pint of vodka, that electric energy from a line of cocaine, over time leaves you with a cold loneliness and a bitter heart. Relationships destroyed, bodies deteriorate, loved ones lost, yet the craving continues for that which is killing us-living, as the title suggests, like an Orphan of Bliss. Welcome to the third and final fix of addiction horror and the follow up to the Shirley Jackson Award Finalist, Lullabies For Suffering. A diverse table of contents brought together for an explosive grand finale-an unflinching look at the insidious nature of addiction, told with searing honesty but compassion for those who suffer.
» Read more
An anthology edited by Mark Matthews, published by Wicked Run Press.
Why do we crave that which is killing us?
Addiction is the perpetual epidemic, where swarms of human moths flutter to the flames of hell. Because that warm blanket of a heroin high, that joyful intoxication of a pint of vodka, that electric energy from a line of cocaine, over time leaves you with a cold loneliness and a bitter heart. Relationships destroyed, bodies deteriorate, loved ones lost, yet the craving continues for that which is killing us-living, as the title suggests, like an Orphan of Bliss. Welcome to the third and final fix of addiction horror and the follow up to the Shirley Jackson Award Finalist, Lullabies For Suffering. A diverse table of contents brought together for an explosive grand finale-an unflinching look at the insidious nature of addiction, told with searing honesty but compassion for those who suffer.
» Read more