Conversations with Catlyn Ladd

Today we’d like to introduce you to Catlyn Ladd

Hi Catlyn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It took a long time for me to embrace being a horror writer. I got it into my head that writing genre fiction wasn’t as good, or as important, as writing literary fiction. Even though I consumed horror as a reader, and wrote pretty intense and gruesome things, I resisted the horror label. But I kept not being successful: rejection after rejection, mostly form letters with the occasional polite “this isn’t for us.” And a few “what the hell are you thinking?” responses to really punch holes in my self-esteem.

Finally, I scrutinized my perceptions and leaned into being a horror writer. As soon as I started submitting to horror anthologies and magazines, I started seeing a lot of success. I placed three pieces my first year, and have since published almost twenty short pieces. My first horror book, As Those Above Fall, dropped in September, 2024. I just had to get over my snobbery around genre writing!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As I mentioned previously, I struggled with branding myself a horror writer. I also knew intellectually that any creative pursuit involves a lot of rejection but every time I got a letter turning down a submission, it felt like getting hit in the chest with a baseball. It helped to learn that only about 10% of writing submissions get accepted, and that it is often not about the writing at all: editors have to accept pieces that fit with certain magazines and anthologies. Publishers market very specific types of work. You can be a really good writer and still get lots of rejections.

It also takes time: time to build an audience of dedicated readers. I publish a lot but I still have only a small group of readers. Unless you land a deal with a publisher who can put fifty grand toward publicity, it’s a slow matter of connecting with one reader at a time. When successful people say it’s all about “persistence” they’re not lying! Plenty of talented people get discouraged and give up.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a horror writer, focusing on themes including the ethics of power, moral ambiguity, the monstrous feminine, grief, loss, and passion. My work is lyrical, literary, and devastating. I write candidly about sex and my spicy scenes are hot as hell.

I am also a college professor and a lot of my academic study of culture, religion, and myth makes its way into my work. I love to build worlds that look a bit like our own but are skewed slightly, familiar but seen through a glass darkly. My female characters are strong, flawed, powerful, and ruthless. My books are like a shot of bourbon laced with blood.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I have a lot of things that make me happy; reading and writing are but two. I also love to cook and eat, mostly vegan. I ride a motorcycle and love going on long rides with my partner, often working through difficult plot points as I bask in the wind and sun. I adore travel and have visited more than twenty countries so far. I love teaching and also sharing best teaching practices aligned with the latest science of learning. I am happiest when my mind is engaged, learning and expressing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.catlynladd.com
• Instagram: EclecticAcademic
• Facebook: @catlynladd
• Youtube: @@eclecticacademic7890
• TikTok: @eclecticacademic

Image Credits
Robert Linder
Blake Welch
Rjenne Pavon