Sara Zeller is an author, editor, and active member & chair of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. She was a finalist in the 2020 PNWA Unpublished Literary Short Story Contest. She lives in the Greater Seattle area with her husband, two children, and a tiny black cat.
IN SOMNIO editor Alex Woodroe recently spoke with Sara
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AW: Does your story touch on anything personal to you?
SEZ: The setting of “Wild Thing” is personal. Most days I would prefer to live a little wild, a little more outdoors than is generally accepted. It’s where I’m happiest, and where I think most people are legitimately at their best. I’d say that’s the biggest similarity I have to my main character, Lilibeth, in this story. At least, the biggest similarity I would admit.
AW: Is the Seattle area writer-friendly? Do your road-trips ever help you write? Does hiking?
SEZ: The Seattle area is really writer-friendly. Can you think of anywhere else with quite so many coffee shops per capita? There is a large writing community here, and a ton of writing supports in place.
Road trips and hiking help me immensely with the writing process. Being away from the hustle of the city allows ideas percolating in my brain to bubble to the surface in a more meaningful way.
AW: Do you have any specific formative memories that roped you into Gothic fiction?
SEZ: I grew up in a house built in the 1890s. There were elements of Gothic setting everywhere, from the remnants of a long-ago fire found beneath layers of faded wallpaper to floorboards that creaked without anyone walking across them. So that “haunted house” vibe is strongly in the background of much of my work.
I remember the first day we walked around the property, being enthralled with the true root cellar attached to the house at the time. There were ancient shutter doors attached to the house, angling down into the ground, much like you might find in tornado country, but instead here in Washington. At the time it wasn’t even wired for electrical lights and was creepy as all get-out. I’d never seen anything like it.
AW: Did you ever embrace the Goth culture? Carry a parasol? Do you still? If not, what was your teen ‘scene’?
SEZ: I was an athlete when I was a teenager, and almost single-minded in its pursuit. I did write, but everything took a back-burner to sports then.
There was a time in college when I was stylistically trending in a Gothic direction. But it never was a whole-hog situation. Internally I embrace Goth culture. When I first read Mary Shelley, I was quite taken, and have kept a copy of both Frankenstein and The Last Man handy since.
AW: Why Horror? Are you and Horror exclusive, and if not, what else do you flirt with?
SEZ: Horror and I are definitely seeing other people. I write Horror, Thriller/Mystery, Sci-Fi, and Literary fiction. All my work incorporates a certain darkness. I love Horror and dark literature because it speaks to realities of life and death that we’re not always willing to contend with. As it is said, “without darkness there is no light”. We can’t expect to be good people without confronting the darkness within, and without. I try to let that shine through my work.
AW: Where can people see more of your past/upcoming work?
SEZ: I have a couple stories being held for consideration that I can’t talk about yet (fingers crossed), and I’m working on a thriller, ‘Twice Shy,’ which I hope to bring to publication in the next couple years. Keep up to date with my writing and publishing news, or just come chat with me on Twitter and Instagram.
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IN HER OWN WORDS:
S.E.Zeller reads a selection from her story, “Wild Thing”; watch below, then click here to support the IN SOMNIO campaign on Kickstarter!