R.E. Dyer

The question didn’t catch me like a deer in headlights because someone else had recently remarked that I write excellent “evil fairy” stories. That one caught me off guard. It made me question the kind of stories I write. What is my “brand?”

The more I thought about it, I had to acknowledge that I’ve published a few stories with evil fairies, going back to “Caverns of Error.” Of course, I’ve also done cosmic horror (“The Heart of the Universe Is a Hole”) and a couple of old-fashioned ghost stories, too.

I don’t regret covering all those bases. It happened while I was looking the other way. My first love is for the people about to experience the terrible events in my stories. I care about them, even the absolute scumbags, because they’re people, and my hope is that their humanity (or lack of it) comes through by the final draft.

So, I’ve become a crime writer, and an evil-fairy writer. And I always dreamed of writing ghost stories and cosmic horror. More than anything, I hope you find something relatable in the poor souls experiencing the crime and the fairies and the ghosts and all that existential dread. Of course, you’ll have to be the judge.

Subgenre aside, these last few years have led to something that I absolutely cannot believe is true. The Horror Writer’s Association accepted my application. I am a member of the professional organization built for people who write stories of all these types. Saying it never gets old. If I had a bucket list, this would have been in bold, in all-caps, in a contrasting color so it couldn’t ever be overlooked. And, now, it would be crossed off.

Thank you for showing up. For reading. And for all your support.

Thank you.

Here’s to whatever weird subgenre my characters find themselves in next.