Author Jara Nassar takes us on a mind-blowing adventure with her story, Broken Plates, which features one of the hardest battles we all must endure from time to time, the fear of ourselves and what others truly think. I loved this story! The demon is well done and I was holding my breath on every page.
Was it possible that a burglar was looking for something worth stealing and had been caught off guard by her coming back? The tight knot in her stomach however told her that what she had sensed was no burglar, but something more sinister.
Her eyes watered from staring. In one quick movement, she kicked up her foot. It swished through the air unopposed. She stood still once more, fists curled, thoughts racing. If it was a burglar, they wouldn’t have been able to retreat this quickly without her hearing it. And yet…better double-check. She reached out her arm and swiped it in front of her, a movement carrying more confidence than her heart felt, as if to convince herself that she really was alone.
Her hand connected with something soft, dry, and completely unrecognizable.
Broken Plates by Jara Nassar, featured in Tangle & Fen: A Dark Fiction Anthology (p. 212). Crone Girls Press.
Q (Crone Girls Press): What inspired your story in this anthology? Tell us the “story behind the story.”
A (Jara Nassar): You got me – this story’s origins are a bit cliché. I woke up one night with sleep paralysis, utterly convinced there was something hovering just an inch from my face. This horror naturally begged to be transformed into a story. The home as a setting for horror carries many fascinating aspects. Does the place where we feel most safe hold the greatest danger? What does it mean that our biggest fears live where we cannot escape them – within our own minds?
Q: Why do you write horror? What about the genre appeals to you as an author?
A: Horror as a genre is about raw emotion. There’s something irresistible about the intensity and deep humanity of it.
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 Broken Plates a piece of slipstream and psychological horror, but readers can decipher whatever elements are most compelling to them. It’s not only my story anymore.
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: As a person marginalized in multiple ways, turbulent times aren’t anything new to me. I’ve found myself turning to horror more in recent years, searching for comfort and confrontation in art. As a writer, I made my first steps into horror during the beginning of the pandemic – Broken Plates is actually my first horror story.
Q: What’s next in your writing journey?
A: I’m currently working on a Afrofuturist/Arabfuturist short story collection together with writer Jamie McGhee. It’s an interesting challenge, because both horror and Arabfuturism ultimately are tied to hope and the overcoming of difficulties. Different monsters, though.
About The Author
Jara Nassar is a German-Lebanese-US-American writer, performer and anthropologist interested in boundaries and blurring them. She writes poetry, plays, and prose in German and English, interwoven with Levantine Arabic. Her works have been published in NEVER WAKE Anthology, Wizards in Space, and Glitter. You can follow her work on Instagram under the handle @jaramachtsachen and on her blog dasreisekind.wordpress.com.
Be sure to check out their story in Tangle & Fen: A Dark Fiction Anthology
Crone Girls Press 