Uncanny Women

Award-winning dark fiction author Rachel Horak Dempsey sits down with host KJ Brantley to talk about her debut novella, PNOKO, a terrifying techno-horror retelling of Pinocchio in which the puppet is a machine-human hybrid and some strings were never meant to be cut. Rachel discusses transforming the familiar fairy tale into a story about artificial intelligence, toxic masculinity, intergenerational trauma, empathy, and the complicated legacies passed from creators to their creations.Rachel and KJ explore how motherhood, a later-in-life neurodivergence diagnosis, and Rachel’s experience recovering from a stroke shaped the characters and emotional core of PNOKO. They discuss feeling othered, learning to stop apologizing for being “too much,” and why empathy must be modeled and taught, whether the child in question is made of flesh or circuitry. They also consider the human consequences of rapidly developing technology, the exploitation of artists, and the danger of building artificial intelligence from the biases and toxicity already present in society.The conversation turns to women’s contributions to horror, including the power of community over hierarchy, protection over domination, and stories that challenge the idea that “might makes right.” Rachel shares how early criticism of her “nasty” female characters and psychologically dark writing ultimately pushed her to embrace horror more fully. She also offers an unforgettable message for women and marginalized writers who fear being judged, misunderstood, or kept outside the gates: take off the mask, write the story, and “be the biggest, baddest horror bitch that you can be.”Rachel Horak Dempsey’s Uncanny Women Podcast Book Picks:It Came from Neverland by Cynthia PelayoHeadlights by CJ LeedeThe Night Parade by Stephanie FeldmanSaturnalia by Stephanie FeldmanJackal by Erin E. AdamsOne of Us by Erin E. AdamsBooks Written by Rachel Horak Dempsey Mentioned in This Episode:PNOKOOther Authors Mentioned in This Episode:R.L. StineCaroline B. CooneyConnect with Rachel Horak Dempsey:Instagram: @rachelsdempseyFacebook: Rachel Horak DempseyWebsite: rachelhorakdempsey.comRocky Mountain Fiction Writers Blog: rmfw.org/blogAbout the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an Indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association and co-owner of Broom Book & Candle Horror and Dark Literature Bookstore, Cafe, and Bar in Denver. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Follow KJ on IG and Threads at @uncannywomenpodcast and @authorkjbrantleyLearn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.com and BroomBookCandle.com.

Award-winning author, artist, and editor G.G. Silverman sits down with host KJ Brantley to talk about her feminist horror collection, The Blood Year Daughter, out now from Creature Publishing. Rooted in dark fairy tales and folklore, the collection explores female autonomy, desire, survival, motherhood, sacrifice, and the ways women are expected to give pieces of themselves to the people around them. She discusses how "Fold" within her collection is one impactful example of this.They dig into how G.G.’s experience as the daughter of an immigrant mother—and later becoming a caregiver herself—shaped her writing about motherhood and sacrifice. They also talk about female rage, the real-life experiences behind one of the stories in her collection, "All Hail the Boy King," and what it means to be told “boys will be boys” when women are left to protect themselves. G.G. and KJ also discuss the growing visibility of women in horror, why women’s voices have historically been downplayed, and how horror can bring experiences that have long been ignored into the open.G.G. shares the long road to finding the right publishing home for The Blood Year Daughter, the vulnerability of finally putting deeply personal writing into the world, and what she’s working on next, including another collection that brings together speculative futures, folklore, fairy tales, and “what happens when the old gods meet sci-fi.”G.G. Silverman’s Uncanny Women Podcast Book Picks:The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own by Gwendolyn KisteCyanide Constellations: And Other Stories by Sara TantlingerBooks Written by G.G. Silverman Mentioned in This Episode:The Blood Year DaughterOther Authors Mentioned in This Episode:Joyce Carol OatesConnect with G.G. Silverman:Instagram: @gg_silvermanWebsite: ggsilverman.comAbout the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an Indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association and is co-owner of Broom Book & Candle Horror and Dark Literature Bookstore, Cafe, and Bar in Denver. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Learn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.com and BroomBookCandle.com

Emerging Colorado Horror Author, Marissa Yarrow, sits down with host, KJ Brantley for a casual conversation in the ballroom at location for 2027's SoCo Women in Horror Fest, The Mining Exchange Hotel. The discuss Marissa's upcoming traditionally published horror debut where influencers receive an exclusive invite to an island festival that quickly goes from once-in-lifetime experience to a fight for survival, Island X, through Mad Axe Media (Out Now). They dig into the state of horror for women now and why someone would read Carrie as written by Stephen King and why some of the same readers may not have read it if it were written by a woman back then. They also talk about what's next for Marissa, including dabbling in cult horror and why one of her favorite books by a woman in horror is Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper.Marissa Yarrow's Uncanny Women Podcast Book Picks:Queen of Teeth by Haley PiperSorrowland by Rivers SolomanBooks Written by Marissa Yarrow Mentioned in This Episode:Island XThere It Is AgainOther Books and Authors Mentioned in This Episode:Lojman by Ebru OjenConnect with Marissa Yarrow:Instagram: @marissayarrowauthorWebsite: https://marissayarrow.wordpress.com/About the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an Indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association and is co-owner of Broom Book & Candle Horror and Dark Literature Bookstore, Cafe, and Bar in Denver. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Learn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.com and BroomBookCandle.Com

In this episode of Uncanny Women Podcast, KJ Brantley sits down with Angela Sylvaine, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Frost Bite, Cold Snap, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, and Chopping Spree—and a self-proclaimed “cheerful goth.”Angela shares how she found her way to horror after beginning her writing career in her thirties and gradually learned to trust the voice and instincts that made her work distinctly her own. She and KJ talk about the pressure writers often feel to prove their work is sufficiently serious or literary, and the freedom that comes with recognizing that horror can be funny & quirky, emotionally honest, and deeply meaningful all at once.Their conversation shifts to the ’90s-inspired worlds of Frost Bite and Cold Snap, where humor and familiar pop culture references help tell stories about real fears, loss, and uncertainty...and of course, cults. Angela talks about how her childhood shaped both her upbeat personality and the darker themes in her writing, and why strength, especially the strength of women and girls, keeps showing up in her work.KJ and Angela also discuss the more unsettling emotional territory of The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, the catharsis of female rage, and the assumptions people sometimes make about women who write violent or macabre fiction. Angela considers why her future work may be angrier, how horror allows writers and readers to face injustice without looking away, and why the horror community itself is often far more well-adjusted than you might expect.Angela Sylvaine’s Woman in Horror Book Pick:With Friends Like These by V.S. LawrenceAngela Sylvaine’s Books Mentioned in This Episode:Frost BiteCold SnapThe Dead Spot: Stories of Lost GirlsChopping SpreeOther Books and Authors Mentioned in This Episode:With Friends Like These by V.S. LawrenceMy Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady HendrixThe Troop by Nick CutterHell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman Haunted by RJ JosephGwendolyn KisteRJ JosephConnect with Angela Sylvaine:Instagram: @angela_sylvaineWebsite: angelasylvaine.comAbout the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an Indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Learn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.com.

In this episode of Uncanny Women Podcast, KJ Brantley sits down with Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, Teenage Girls Can Be Demons, No Gods for Drowning, This Movie Doesn’t End the Way We Want, and She Isn’t Herself Tonight, among many more.Hailey discusses her two upcoming releases, including the cursed-film horror of This Movie Doesn’t End the Way We Want and the emotional, strange, alien-abduction spiral of She Isn’t Herself Tonight. Together, they explore horror as a genre of emotion, the integrity of art, grief, cosmic horror, queer women in horror, and the ways fear can help us sit with discomfort instead of looking away.The conversation also dives into No Gods for Drowning, motherhood, worldbuilding, complicated characters, writing cityscapes and large-scale settings on the page, letting emotion guide narrative logic, the expectations placed on women writers, and why reading horror by women and marginalized authors expands what the genre can be. Hailey also shares her recent favorite written by a woman in horror.Hailey Piper's Woman in Horror Book Picks:Sleep Alone by J.A.W. McCarthy: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9798897320103Hailey Piper's Books Mentioned in this Episode:Queen of Teeth: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781946335418Game in Yellow: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781668077085No Gods for Drowning: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781967846160She Isn't Herself Tonight: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781668077122This Movie Doesn't End the Way We Want: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781835411483Other Authors Mentioned in this Episode:RJ JosephConnect with Hailey Piper:Instagram / Bluesky: @haileypiperfightsWebsite: haileypiper.comAbout the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of The Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Learn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.Com