When I first turned my attention and efforts to writing genre fiction prose, I learned early on that I could not simply rely on reading the old classics (not that there’s anything wrong with those, as this column will attest). To better understand the contemporary landscape, I needed to read contemporary authors. Seems simple enough, right? So, I dove in feet first (or, errr, eyeballs first), and sought out recommendations. There was one name I kept seeing in various short-story recommendations lists. An author who was doing very interesting things with pop culture winks, stylistic flourishes, and character work that drilled down to core emotions no matter how ridiculous or fantastical the surrounding premise might be. That author was A.C. Wise.

A.C. Wise is the author of the novels Wendy, Darling, Hooked, and Ballad of the Bone Road, along with various novellas, collections, and short stories. Her work has won the Sunburst Award, and been a finalist for the Nebula, Stoker, World Fantasy, Locus, and Shirley Jackson Awards, among others. In addition to her fiction, she contributes regular review columns to Locus and Apex Magazine. Indeed, as she shares authors’ eligible works posts on an annual basis, Wise is truly a champion of her fellow authors, someone who goes above and beyond to support others.

Of course, how appropriate that she selected another boundlessly creative contemporary author—one working in, around, and in-between the genres—as her selection for this column

Who is your favorite author and why?

Picking a favorite is nearly impossible for me, but I’m going with an author who is a “must buy” for me anytime she has a new book out, which is quite frequently—Silvia Moreno-Garcia. One of the things I love about her work is the way she genre-hops, following her interests and telling the stories she wants to tell regardless of where her books might sit on the shelf. One work might be a mash-up of historical fiction, crime, and noir, and the next might be Gothic cosmic horror, or witches, or magical vinyl records!!

Right around the time when I was getting into contemporary genre fiction—really studying who were the up-and-coming authors in the space, I think I became aware of your work and the work of Moreno-Garcia around the same time. And your work certainly follows a similar genre-hopping pattern (anti-pattern?). What do you think accounts for this lack of rigidity in the lines between one genre and another? Is there anything particular to this moment that allows for that freedom?

That’s a really good question! I’m wondering if online retail, self-publishing through platforms like Kindle Direct, and even the rise of online publications are all contributing factors? Works are no longer exclusively sitting on physical shelves with labels like Sci-Fi, Horror, and Romance the way they were in the era dominated by physical stores.. While there may be tags or other identifiers for online retailers, they often allow multiple labels attached to a single work, so maybe it’s easier for works to slide more comfortably between genres these days.

When were you first made aware of this author and when were you first drawn to their work?

I first encountered her work in short fiction and became a fan, particularly of some of her cosmic horror pieces like “Flash Frame”. Her debut novel, Signal to Noise, in which a group of friends figures out how to use music and vinyl records to cast spells, cemented my fandom.

Is there one particular piece of work from this author that you are especially fond of or that’s had a significant creative impact on you? What is that piece and what makes it so appealing or affecting for you?

Again, picking just one work is a challenge, so I’ll talk about three! Signal to Noise is definitely one that’s stuck with me, along with Mexican Gothic, and Silver Nitrate, all of which pull off things that I aspire to as an author. Signal to Noise does a wonderful job with an unapologetically prickly main character, who is nonetheless grounded and well-motivated, so that you always understand where she’s coming and want to root for her, even when she’s pushing away those around her. Mexican Gothic is deeply atmospheric, slowly builds tension, and effortlessly weaves genres together. Silver Nitrate is one of Moreno-Garcia’s many works dealing in the world of film, in this case, a forgotten horror classic with ties to the occult. The novel does a fantastic job of making a fictional film feel real, as well as having a setting and characters that feel like they extend beyond the page.

Could you elaborate a little bit on that last point? What do you look for in settings and characters (in Moreno-Garcia’s work, your own, and elsewhere), that speaks to an existence beyond the page?

It’s one of those things that’s slightly hard to define (or maybe something I’m not good at articulating), but I can certainly point to some authors and specific works that I feel do it well. Works like Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay and October Film Haunt by Michael Wehunt capture the feel that Silvia Moreno-Garcia does in Silver Nitrate, where they’re centered on fictional films that seem like they should be real. I think it comes down to specificity and detail, where all three authors weave their fictional actors and fiction films deeply into the fabric of their novels, creating fictional film reviews, blogs, and fandoms, and sometimes dropping in a few real-world names to lend further veracity. In terms of atmosphere and setting, Ally Wilkes’ Where the Dead Wait and All the White Spaces do this very well with evocative and immersive descriptions of polar settings. Both, I believe, draw inspiration from and/or are informed by actual historical accounts written by Arctic and Antarctic explorers, which helps build the feeling of a real and lived-in setting that extends beyond the page.

How often do you revisit that particular piece or the author’s work in general? What lessons have you learned at various times from the work?

I haven’t actually re-read any of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novels, though I have re-read some of her short stories, and I do catch myself continuing to reflect on and thinking about many of her works long after I’ve finished reading them. While it’s not related to a specific work, but more her overall body of work, a lesson I’m trying to take away is to not worry too much about genre or having a particular “brand” as an author, but to write whatever interests me in the moment.

And, as noted above, I think that is a lesson you have applied to your career quite well. Is the notion of an author “brand” still something that comes up for you, though, perhaps not so much on the writing and inspiration side of things, but regarding career planning, mapping out next steps on the professional trajectory side?

I’m actually rather lucky in that my agent, and the editors I’ve worked with at Titan thus far on three novels and a novella, have all been pretty willing to give me free reign to write whatever I feel like without any pressure to write in a specific genre. My agent, at least,  knew what he was getting into, as he was familiar with my work before I approached him regarding representation. Hopefully if anyone does want me to find a brand in the future they’ll be willing to accept chaotic genre-hopping as a brand in and of itself!

Are there any pieces in the author’s oeuvre that have not worked as well for you? If yes, which ones and why do you think that connection was not as strong?

I didn’t click as strongly with Velvet Was the Night. I still enjoyed it, and there was certainly nothing wrong with it; it just didn’t grab me in the same way as some of her other works. Part of it may have been my mood or frame of mind at the time I was reading it. It’s one of those things where I can’t point to anything specific that didn’t work for me; it just didn’t land for me the way most of her other works have!

What writing lessons have you taken, purposefully or accidentally, from your favorite author?

Hmm. I’m not sure. I feel like I’m still striving toward writing characters that feel as grounded and fully formed as Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s characters, so maybe call it a lesson in progress!

Are there any works in your bibliography that you feel are closest to the work of your favorite—whether in terms of style, subject matter, length, etc.? Talk a little about those similarities.

At very least, I’d say we’re drawn to some of the same subject matter and similar sources of inspiration from time to time. I’ve certainly written stories set in the Lovecraftian/cosmic horror playground and I’ve also written a handful of stories dealing in lost/cursed films. With stories like “Final Girl Theory” and “Excerpts From a Film”, I’m always hoping to capture the feeling of familiarity that Silver Nitrate and other of Moreno-Garcia’s works dealing in film feel like they capture effortlessly. That element of doubt that hopefully makes readers pause for a moment to wonder, wait is this a real movie? Was there ever really an actor by that name?

Where does your writing diverge from your favorite author’s? Are there any elements from your favorite author’s work that you would like to incorporate in your own? If yes, what are these?

One obvious and major point of divergence is the way many of Moreno-Garcia’s works draw on her Mexican heritage, including drawing specifically on the history of film and media produced in Mexico. While she and I are both Canadian, I don’t have any ties to Mexico or that same level of familiarity with, say, Mexican horror cinema, so it’s not something I would necessarily seek to write about!

At the same time, while you may not have those same cultural and social touchpoints, I think you do a great job of incorporating pop culture, zeitgeist-y elements with which you do have familiarity (Pokemon, Scooby Doo, Peter Pan, etc.) into your fiction. Are there any cultural touchpoints (pop or general culture) that have impacted you that you’d like to incorporate into your fiction but perhaps haven’t yet?

I feel like the answer is yes, and at the moment, my mind is drawing a complete blank on any specifics. That said, I can’t seem to quite stay away from super heroes and final girls as subject matter, so I’m sure those will both turn up in my work again in the future. As for other cultural touchpoints, I guess I’ll just have to see what inspiration strikes!

If a reader wanted to start reading your favorite author, what piece would you recommend they start with?

That’s a tough question since so many of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s works play with different genres. I’m very partial to Mexican Gothic, but if you’re not a fan of Gothic literature or cosmic horror that one might not land for you. Similarly, Certain Dark Things is a wonderful take on vampires and The Beautiful Ones is a wonderful take on a romance of manners, but again, if those genres aren’t your thing, you might bounce off those works. But that’s also the wonderful thing about Silvia Moreno-Garcia—she does write in so many genres that there’s bound to be something for everyone. So, for someone who hasn’t read any of her works before, I’d say start with either the genre you prefer to read or the genre that most suits your current reading mood, and go with that one. Her novels are all stand-alone works, so you can pick up whichever appeals to you, and maybe it will lead you to other works from there. Or, to get a good sampling of some of the types of things she writes, you could always pick up her short story collection, This Strange Way of Dying.

If you could ask your favorite author one question about their work, what would it be?

I’d probably ask whether there’s a genre she hasn’t tackled yet that she’s itching to try, or if there’s a genre that’s just not for her that she could never foresee herself writing.

What do you have coming out next on the writing and publishing front? What are you working on now?

I have a handful of short stories that should be coming out later this year, but I’m not sure exactly when, so I’ll point toward two things that have come out fairly recently instead. My latest novel, Ballad of the Bone Road, came out at the end of January, and I just had a new short story, “The Final Girl Trap”, come out in the April issue of Nightmare Magazine. I’m currently working on putting together a new short story collection in the hopes that someone might be inclined to publish it, and working on the most drafty of drafts of a new novel.

Well, the notion of a new A.C. Wise short-story collection is certainly cause for celebration for me. The Ghost Sequences was and remains something really special.

Thank you! I’m keeping all my fingers crossed!

Thank you for taking the time to chat with me about your favorite author.

Thank you for inviting me! I’m always delighted for the opportunity to talk about the books and stories I love!

Where can readers find you online?

I have a sporadically updated website at www.acwise.net and I’m also on BlueSky and Instagram under the name A.C. Wise, so I should be fairly easy to find!