What was it that attracted you to the Slice Girls anthology?
The amazing editor, the publisher, and the badass title. I’m excited to be here!
How did you feel writing a story about a violent woman?
Most of my stories are about violence regardless of gender, and honestly as a woman, violent women ring true for me.
Please give the readers a brief summary of the story you wrote for the collection?
A female serial killer stalks her prey. She revels in chaos and watching the suffering of men she finds alluring.
How do you feel about the way women are usually portrayed in horror?
Honestly, it’s vastly improved. Lt. Ripley (the Alien franchise) was my favorite female role model growing up. Today, we have so many badass women to love, from Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role in the recent Halloween sequel to Lupita Nyong’o in Us and Florence Pugh in Midsommar demonstrating the range of female strength and complexity.
Do you think the way female characters are portrayed in horror reflects the way society views women?
It does, and there’s tension between the old guard and modern realities. Women aren’t going anywhere, and we’re strong enough to carry films and experience a range of horror beyond the damsel in distress or the Madonna/whore dichotomy.
Would you call yourself a feminist, if not how do you view the status of women?
I advocate for women’s equality and right to agency. This includes all women from all races, experiences, and backgrounds. Women advocating for other women is the essence of feminism.
Slice Girls includes the subheading Feminazi Splattergoth. What are your thoughts about the term Feminazi?
I first heard the term on a friend’s radio from Rush Limbaugh and was immediately disgusted. Even as a kid, I knew he was arguing nonsense and hate. Now it’s even clearer. I love that feminists are reclaiming the term and weaponizing it against the patriarchy’s oppression.
Have any of your other stories been published? If so tell us about them and where readers can find them.
My work has been published in Flesh & Bone: Rise of the Necromancers and Nocturnal Embers, but more recently I’ve been focused on writing horror film reviews for Dead, Buried, and Back while managing my art career.
Dead, Buried, and Back Film Reviews: http://www.deadburiedandback.com/category/movies-reviews/
Nocturnal Embers: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16135707-nocturnal-embers
Flesh and Bone: Rise of the Necromancers: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9394860-flesh-and-bone
Bio: Kelley M. Frank is a horror artist and author. She also writes film reviews for Dead, Buried, and Back.
Kelley’s artwork, found online under her company name Morbid Smile Art, combines traditional and digital media for a beautifully unsettling experience. She specializes in creepy and pop art, as well as abstract work expressing her emotional states.
Growing up in rural Georgia and watching the city grow up around her, Kelley witnessed plenty of creepy moments. She channels that sense of displacement, born of poverty and the relentless school bullying through grade school, in her work. She holds a Master’s in Composition and Rhetoric/Creative Writing and held a professorship for years before resigning to pursue her art and writing full time. She’s a associate member of the Atlanta Chapter of the Horror Writer’s Association and a regular attendee and panelist at conventions like Dragon*Con and MomoCon. Her pet interests – death and burial, the occult, fan culture, and gender – translate to all areas of her work.
She’s also an asexual witch and an outspoken advocate for the strange and unusual.
Website: www.MorbidSmile.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/morbid_smile
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MorbidSmileArt
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SmileMorbid
Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/MorbidSmile
Society6: https://society6.com/morbidsmile
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MorbidSmile