Rie Sheridan Rose multitasks. Her short stories appear in numerous anthologies, including On Fire, Hides the Dark Tower, and Killing It Softly volumes 1 and 2. She has authored ten novels, six poetry chapbooks, and lyrics for dozens of songs. More info on www.riewriter.com. She tweets as @RieSheridanRose.
Here’s the summary of her newest book, Skellyman:
Brenda Barnett is trying to cope with raising her four-year-old daughter all alone after an accident tore her family in half. As she and Daisy go for a much-needed treat, the little girl spots a Skellyman on the corner. This pivotal encounter leads to a wave of mounting terror as Brenda’s life begins to come undone around her. Who is the Skellyman? Why does he keep appearing? Can the sympathetic policeman Brenda turns to stop the madness before it is too late?
And why does Daisy insist that her dead brother is trying to tell them something important?
Rie is another of my Ladies of Horror connections. I just love her book cover, don’t you?
Did something in the real world inspire Skellyman?
I hope not! It’s the story of a really nasty serial killer terrorizing a widow and her child. All kidding aside, no. I just wanted to reach outside my comfort zone and try something new. Even so, Daisy is a composite of all the little girls I’ve known in my family, in her speech and mannerisms.
What is your favorite scene in the book?
Several scenes I really like—most of them dealing with the five-year-old. It was fun to write a precocious child. Daisy has most of the best lines in the book. My very favorite scene is probably when she and her ghostly brother are making pancakes for her mother.
What was your writing process like as you wrote Skellyman?
The original draft was started for NaNoWriMo one year, but it petered out before it was finished. I workshopped the first few chapters, then it got put on the shelf for other projects. So I used it as another year’s NaNoWriMo book and finished it. I guess you can say it was a stop and start process as far as the actual writing went. Then came the edits. I believed in this project, so I kept at it until it was polished and sent to its publisher.
What was the best thing that happened during your promotion of the book?
To be honest, the book came out at the end of last year and I haven’t been able to travel to conventions this year, so there hasn’t been a lot of opportunity for promotion. I do love the review that my father left for the book. To me, that’s the best thing that’s happened altogether.
What do you have planned next?
Hoping to feature the book at the only convention I get to go to this year: ArmadilloCon 40 here in Austin. I’ve been collecting skeletons for years to decorate my table. 🙂
You can pick up a copy of the book at https://amzn.to/2zTwDdU and follow Rie’s work at https://amzn.to/2mv6p7U.
