It feels so odd to call a horror story hopeful, but I feel it fits Victoria Nations story well, especially as it starts out with so many important statements. It speaks loud about acceptance and community, about loving people for who they are — in full — and about how words have power. It speaks of a romance between a daughter whose mother chose anger over love, and the daughter’s androgynous partner who chose love over anger. Especially in today’s world, it’s a message we need and a message I loved to see. “The whole world was in disarray, but their family was still together.” Is a line I’ve read over and over, especially when my thoughts turn bleak.
But this is, of course, still a horror story, and the stalk forming a tether between the couple make that abruptly clear. Flesh connectors are one of the cataclysms mentioned in this story, and they lead me to wondering just how much truth there is to saying my partner and I are “connected at the hip” and how I’d respond if that were literally true… Thankfully, we get to hear directly from the author.
Offshoots of flesh reached out towards one another, grasping, until the two connected. Families were broken in a moment, and people worried the world would rip apart with them.
Fruiting Bodies by Victoria Nations, featured in Dark Spores by Crone Girls Press.
Q (Crone Girls Press): What inspired your story in this anthology? Tell us the “story behind the story.”
A (Victoria Nations): I wanted to write a story with hope at the center, despite the horrors surrounding the characters. I’m a biologist, and I had a blast exploring how cataclysmic growths might affect societies, for good or ill. I also wanted to show queer joy and how it connects folks, much as the mysterious stalks do. Jae and Suze, and their cats, have a striking number of similarities with my wife and me.
Q: Why do you write horror? What about the genre appeals to you as an author?
A: I have always loved horror. Spooky forests covered in fungal growths, moldy ruins, and terrifying creatures are the best! Deeper than that, though, horror taps into the most visceral of our emotions. We feel dread in the pit of our stomach. We feel the clench of terror in our chest. The best horror is felt in our bodies and makes them swim with emotions.
Q: There are a number of different flavors of horror. Where does your story fit, and what drew you to this particular category?
A: There are elements of creature horror (what is growing inside there?!) and climate/scifi horror (something beyond our current knowledge is happening!), but it’s hope punk at its core.
Q: What do you love about mushrooms? What drew you to this anthology?
A: Fungi are just so gorgeous, and they are familiar and alien at the same time. Touch them, and you can feel they are closer kin to us than plants. Their bodies are even plump and dewy when they’re hydrated, like us. But, their chitin is the same as found in insect exoskeletons, and they spring up overnight, rings of them connected to each other, and the Earth, so much more than humans are.
Q: When you’re not writing, what might we find you doing? (Free time or for a day job?)
A: I’m a biologist in my day job, and I work in science labs at a small state college. I’m happiest hiking through swamps, exploring the beach, or cozied up with my wife.
Q: What’s next in your writing journey?
A: I’ve been focusing on longer works recently, but short stories and horror poetry always have places in my heart.
About The Author
Victoria Nations writes Gothic and weird horror about creatures with emotional baggage. Her work is often set in Florida, as well as other wild, liminal places.
Victoria’s fiction appears in a number of venues, including Dark Matter Magazine, “Nightmarish,” “Fish Gather to Listen” Her poetry has been nominated for an SFPA Dwarf Stars Award and appears in Magpie Messenger, two HWA Poetry Showcases, and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated “Mother: Tales of Love and Terror.”
Victoria lives in Florida, USA with her wife and son, who indulge her love of monsters.
You can find her on her website, as well as her social media:
Be sure to check out their story in Dark Spores
Crone Girls Press 