A well known Crone Girls Author now, let me once again sing the praises of Mike Robinson! His story, The Olympics of Corporeality Along Route 206, is a favorite of mine because it blends traditional haunting elements with lore, modern mythology, and urban legends.
Carter hurried to meet his ride, glancing only once at Kirkwald, whose eyes were narrow, his expression stony. “Where you going?” the driver asked with a wide grin. “Away from here,” Carter said. Hopefully. “Sounds like a plan. I’m your ticket. I’m Adam, by the way.”
Story by Mike Robinson, featured in Tangle & Fen: A Dark Fiction Anthology (p. 174). Crone Girls Press.
Q (Crone Girls Press): What inspired your story in this anthology? Tell us the “story behind the story.”
A (Author): After personal experience with the paranormal, and some research, I began sensing what an intriguing, metaphysical onion of a universe we live in. Keeping in mind some of the theories I’d learned about subtler energies and forces, I thought it’d be fun to combine them with the classic campfire-yarn setup of the ghostly hitchhiker.
Q: Why do you write horror? What about the genre appeals to you as an author?
A: When done right, it’s one of the few genres that celebrates the Unknown, and the Big Questions. It has this in common with science fiction and fantasy, of course. As many MFA or academy-sprung writers gaze down the abyss of their navels, the best horror fiction seeks to expand our perspective about what’s possible in this strange cosmos we inhabit, and just how intimately we might be connected to that strangeness. What’s a bad marriage in the Hamptons, when the fundamental laws of reality are being warped in front of you?
Q: There are a number of different flavors of horror. Where does your story fit, and what drew you to this particular category?
A: Even as I just broadsided literary realism in my last answer, there are many aspects of it I appreciate, particularly its emphasis on language. I strive to write literary horror, or slipstream horror: stories that explore the supernatural or fantastical in artful and philosophical ways. In that sense, I guess you can label my stuff “modern weird fiction”. I see the stranger metaphysical world as inseparable from the one covered in realist writing.
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: There’s a term I encountered once that I’ve never forgotten: “negative catharsis”. Some people dismiss genres like horror because the world itself is already dark, and full of unhappy endings (not that horror can’t have a happy ending). But, to me, that’s why such stories are important: they remind you you’re not alone in your suffering, or your darker observations, and they can strengthen your philosophical endurance and empathy. They’re an outlet for our weirder inclinations.
Q: What’s next in your writing journey?
A: Currently, my latest horror novel “Backwaters Dark” is out on submission, via my agent Jennifer Azantian. I’m also preparing a new collection of short stories, “Highway’s End: Tales of the Abnormal & Apocalyptic.”
About The Author
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mike Robinson is the award-winning author of ten books and dozens of short stories. His work has received honors from Writers of the Future, the Maxy Awards, Publishers Weekly’s BookLife Contest, and more. He is also an editor, screenwriter, hiker, cartoonist and dog parent. See more of his work at www.mike-robinsonauthor.com.
Be sure to check out their story in Tangle & Fen: A Dark Fiction Anthology
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