Fiery Pen

Here comes spooky season! 👻 And it may be the only life raft I have from debilitating depression right now.

Summer sprinted to an end, landing us in September. For me, spooky season starts with Colorado Festival of Horror (CoFoH). Horror may be year-round for me, but the CoFoH weekend of horror movies, celebrities, and art sets the tone for the impending October and Halloween surge.

This year’s festival was BUSY for me. My schedule was stacked. I volunteered all three days, was on four panels, and had a signing block in the dealer’s room. But I still managed to find time for the costume contest, karaoke, a screening, and a couple of other panels.

This year’s theme was monsters, and the big draw was the colonial marines from Aliens. When I was volunteering, I worked at Michael Beihn’s table. Though, honestly, my husband did all the work, and I made appearances briefly to snap pictures for the fans.

Running around to panels kept me pretty engaged.

Enter the HeTerrorTopia (part I and II): What is a heterotopia? you ask. I asked the same thing preparing for these panels! In part one, we explained the concept of a heterotopia (in very short: a world within a world) and provided examples in the horror genre. I chose Stephen King because he may very well be the king of heterotopias. Then, in part two, we used the concept to create our own heterotopia as an interactive group. We ended up selecting a quarantine wing of a hospital during pandemic. The session ended up drifting into group therapy and trauma dumping about COVID, but clearly, we all needed it. I was thrilled that people got the concept (faster than I did) and to see so much participation in the workshop.

Feminism in Horror: From femme fatales to final girls, this panel covered the good, the bad, and the future of feminism in horror. We discussed how feminism means more than female representation and concentrated on creating authentic, nuanced characters of every representation. As an author constantly labeled as “pink horror” or “girl horror”, it’s nice to talk about what that really means.

Monster Mash: This panel started by defining what a monster is in horror then examining what makes a compelling monster. However, after 10pm on day two of the con, things rapidly descended in the best way. We ended up playing rounds of Monster Smash or Pass to uproarious laughter. This was probably the most fun I’ve had on any panel. Obviously, we need a full, focused Monster Smash or Pass panel next year.

The largest development for me, as an author, was having a signing at The Slab table in the Death Dealer’s Room. After Stephen Graham Jones, no less. It was thrilling to see my name all over the program and promo material.

While I brought multiple books, my focus was obviously on the latest: Red Walls. And Red Walls SOLD. This weekend was probably the most successful I’ve seen for book sales. Between my signing table and the Horror Writers Association booth, I sold half my last order of copies!

Everyone says it’s the cover, and I can’t argue with them. I’m trying to figure out how to turn it into my next tattoo.

So, the weekend was very successful for me as an author and very fun and fulfilling as a horror fan. It has me excited for Telluride Horror Show next month and Creepaway Camp next summer. I will take all the distraction I can get!

Christina Bergling

https://linktr.ee/chrstnabergling

Like my writing? Check out my books!

• Red Walls – When Talia’s parents go after the monsters who hurt her, they never expected real monsters.
• Followers – You never know who is on the other side of the screen. Followers is a mystery and thriller that blends women’s fiction with horror.
• The Rest Will Come – Online dating would drive anyone to murder, especially Emma.
• Savages – Two survivors search the ruins for the last strain of humanity. Until the discovery of a baby changes everything.
• The Waning – Locked in a cage, Beatrix must survive to escape or be broken completely.
• Screechers – Mutant monsters and humans collide in the apocalyptic fallout of a burned world. Co-authored with Kevin J. Kennedy.
• Horror Anthologies