I was recently interviewed by C. P. Dunphey of Gehenna and Hinnom Books on my poem which is featured in issue 006 as well as other aspects of my writing and such things. You can find it on their website as well as right here.
Greetings from the Ether,
With the upcoming release of Hinnom Magazine Issue 006, we wanted to take a moment to spotlight some of the authors involved in the project. Ashley Dioses‘ poem “O Won’t You?” is a disturbing Bathory piece that succeeds in matching its morbidity with elegant prose. Join us as we dive into the crafting of the poem, and what the future has in store for the author.
CP: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? How you came to write dark poetry?
AD: I have an AS in Health Information Technology, I have a first-degree black belt in Soo Bahk Do, I work at a college bookstore, I enjoy studying the occult, and am a Pagan. My dad is a poet and an avid horror and fantasy reader. I came to the realization, after reading Poe for the first time at a young age, that one could blend the two together.
CP: “O Won’t You?” is a grotesque Bathory-themed poem. The prose is equal parts graceful and disturbing. Can you tell us how it came to fruition? What inspired the piece?
AD: I am a fan of the mysteries revolving around the Countess. I already wrote 3 Bathory poems and thought I was done when I realized that a Bathory poem was needed for my Gothic-centric poetry collection, Diary of a Vampyress. It wasn’t hard to write one when I settled down to put the piece together.
CP: We just started publishing poetry, your piece being the second to ever appear in Hinnom Magazine. Your work is prolific, and you’re one of the best horror poets working today. Where exactly, from here, do you hope your writing takes you? What goals do you hope to achieve?
AD: I hope to extend my writing from poetry to short fiction and eventually become a novelist. I have already written two fantasy novels that are meant to be in a series. I hope to edit them, get them published, and hopefully continue writing more for that series.
CP: Do you have any other projects you’re working on? What does the future hold for Ashley Dioses?
AD: I am currently working on a poetry collection containing a few choice pieces of juvenilia entitled, The Withering. It has about 50 poems in it. It focuses more on supernatural and psychological horror themes. I am also putting together the next ‘diary’, Diary of a Vampyress, which will be a more Gothic poetry collection.
CP: What has been your favorite moment thus far, as a writer?
AD: Oh man, there are so many. When an editor wanted a full-length poetry collection from me by only reading five poems, when someone wanted my autograph for the first time when I was invited to be on a panel for a con as a guest. Those were all incredible experiences for me.
CP: What writer do you find the most inspiring, living or dead? Why?
AD: I know this is cliché but everything goes back to Poe. He showed me that I can take the rhyming, children’s poetry my dad used to read to me and make it horrifying and fantastical. He opened the doors for me.
CP: Can you tell us about your recent collection, Diary of a Sorceress?
AD: Diary of a Sorceress is a collection of light and dark fantasy, dark romance and erotica, and horror formal poetry. It is loosely centered around the Sorceress and each section is labeled as an entry in her diary. Each entry gets darker as you read through it and it represents the Sorceress’s changes and developments throughout her life. You will find subjects such as dragons, sirens, fae, daemons, vampires, Bathory, maenads, Valkryies, Gorgons, and more.
CP: We always like to end our interviews with a little tidbit of advice for the many readers who are writers themselves. What’s the best advice you could give to a new author?
AD: Read everything inside the genre you’re writing in and write every day.
Ashley Dioses is a writer of dark fiction and poetry from southern California. Her debut collection of dark traditional poetry, Diary of a Sorceress, was released in 2017 from Hippocampus Press. Her poetry has appeared in Weird Fiction Review, Skelos, Weirdbook, Black Wings VI: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror, and others. She is an Active member in the HWA and a member of the SFPA. She blogs at fiendlover.blogspot.com.
Thank you so much for stopping by. Make sure to pre-order Hinnom Magazine Issue 006 and read Dioses’ gruesome poem, “O Won’t You?” Check out our Patreon as well for some awesome rewards.
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