Allow me the pleasure of introducing Douglas Smith! His story, By Her Hand She Draws You Down left a chill in my core that hasn’t gone away yet, and I don’t suspect it will for a very long time
By her hand, she draws you down.
With her mouth, she breathes you in.
Hope and dreams and soul devoured.
Lost to you, what might have been.By Her Hand She Draws You Down by Douglas Smith, featured in Tangle & Fen: A Dark Fiction Anthology (p. 328). Crone Girls Press.
Q (Crone Girls Press): What inspired your story in this anthology? Tell us the “story behind the story.”
A (Author): I was commuting home on a train, staring out the window, when the first line of the poem that opens the story (and the title of the tale) popped into my head. “By her hand, she draws you down.” The other lines followed, and I knew I had to write a story around that short poem.
Q: Why do you write horror? What about the genre appeals to you as an author?
A: I actually don’t typically write horror. Or at least, I’ve written fewer horror stories than other genres. All of my novels to date have been urban fantasy, and most of my short stories are either fantasy or SF, although everything I write usually has dark or horror elements. “By Her Hand…” was the first time I sat down to write a story that was clearly a horror tale.
Q: There are a number of different flavors of horror. Where does your story fit, and what drew you to this particular category?
A: I’d call this one supernatural suspense. It also falls in the “body possession” sub-genre. but I remember being surprised by an early review that called it “a haunting variant on the vampire legend,” a view that many of the reviews agreed with. So, I guess I unwittingly wrote a vampire story–but definitely not your typical one, I hope.
Q: The world has been through some turbulent times in the past few years. How have current events changed (or not!) your approach to the genre as a writer?
A: Writing more, reading more, and consuming more movies and TV. Less (as in no) travel and more cycling.
Q: What’s next in your writing journey?
A: I recently finished a young adult urban fantasy trilogy. The series is called THE DREAM RIDER SAGA, and the books are, in order, THE HOLLOW BOYS, THE CRYSTAL KEY, and THE LOST EXPEDITION.
About The Author
Douglas Smith is a four-time winner of Canada’s Aurora Award, most recently in 2023 for The Hollow Boys, and have been a finalist for the Astounding Award, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Bookies Award, the juried Alberta Magazine Award for Fiction, Canada’s juried Sunburst Award, and France’s juried Prix Masterton and Prix Bob Morane.
You can buy his books at all major retailers. For free ebooks, discounts, special offers, early news of new releases, and more, join their monthly mailing list.
Be sure to check out their story in Tangle & Fen: A Dark Fiction Anthology
Crone Girls Press 