My Kind of Horror - Guest Post From Author Loretta Giacolleto

My Kind of Horror

As an associate editor for the tri-quarterly e-zine Allegory I’ve had the privilege of reading hundreds of short fiction submissions, many of which focus on horror that add to my overall reading enjoyment. But whatever the genre, I look for an intriguing opening, a plot that holds my interest throughout, and an ending that makes sense even if it doesn’t spell happily ever after. Twisted endings, yes, the more twisted the better. Think Jeffery Deaver, master of those a-ha moments. And when some of my picks for Allegory make the final cut for publication, I quietly bask in what I imagine those proud authors must be experiencing.

My own horror fiction leans toward the subtle, in other words: no slicing, dicing, or bloody gore. Think Alfred Hitchcock Presents or The Twilight Zone. Although there are a few exceptions, most of my characters enter the story as already flawed. From there they create more problems for themselves and then must suffer the consequences of their actions, often in quite horrific
ways.

 In my Collection of Givers and Takers one story focuses on a sleazy paparazzo hiding out at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks where he find a top celeb camping out with her latest squeeze. The paparazzo’s perfect photo op turns out to be his worst nightmare. In that same collection a retired baker and his wife clash over an early retirement that only one of them is destined to enjoy. In another story a disgruntled husband plots the perfect escape from his needy wife who turns out not so needy after all.

 And in Youthanasia Lidia Drago convinces her compromised husband to recapture their prime as a legacy to their unborn grandchild but neither of them is prepared for the bizarre consequences.

So what about you, readers? What type of horror speaks to you?

To learn more about Loretta Giacoletto, please check out her website and blog Loretta on Life.

All of her novels and short fiction can be found on Amazon.com.