Women in Horror Month Spotlight: Cat Voleur
Cat Voleur
Writer
Social Media
Twitter: @Cat_Voleur
IG: catvoleur
Facebook: Cat Voleur
Bio
Cat Voleur is the author of Revenge Arc, and lover of all things horror. She is also the proud mother to a small army of rescued felines. When she’s not creating or consuming morbid content you can mostly likely find her pursuing her passion for fictional languages.
What drew you to horror?
I’ve always been just a little drawn to horror. It’s easy to point to a list of the early horror content I consumed, black and white monster movies, spooky books for children, etc. But I think there’s just something ingrained in horror fans that sees something scary and wants to chase that feeling.
Who/What are you biggest inspirations?
I grew up like most future horror authors reading a lot of King and Barker, who both served as early inspirations to me. With every passing year I try to read more indie horror and more diverse horror. While my inspirations change every day, a couple of the people I look up to the most right now in the field are probably Samantha Kolesnik, Tananarive Due, and Gwendolyn Kiste.
Do you have any advice for folks just getting into the genre?
Consume diversely. Everyone will tell you to read and write every day which is a great way to live if you can manage it. I have found that it’s more about what you’re reading than how often you do it. I grew up thinking I was the most well-read horror fan I knew, but what I was reading was a lot of the same stuff over and over. The best thing I’ve ever done for my own creative process was getting involved in the indie community and finding new, niche little pockets of horror.
In terms of creation, the best advice I can offer is to create things for yourself. Even if that means creating a lot of the same kind of thing at first.
One of my biggest regrets has been abandoning projects I was excited about because I felt they were too similar to either things that I had seen, or other things I was working on. Those ideas can always be recycled or evolved, but it’s important to take every concept as far as you can when you feel excited about it, even if it’s not something you finish straight away.
Following your passions is the best way to do any creative work, but especially in horror. Being scared is such a personal experience, and it should be unique to every reader and writer.
Do you work in other genres, too?
I work almost exclusively in horror and horror journalism, but I have some dark fantasy projects on the horizon. I’m looking forward to expanding.
Is there anyone you want to shout out to who has helped along your own journey?
There are so, so many people who have helped in my journey and it would be impossible to fit everyone into a neat list. But I’ve been very grateful to the entire team at Archive of the Odd for working with my on my novella.
Ruth Anna Evans and Tasha Reynolds have helped me so much with my writing, and just figuring out everything. Just knowing amazing people like Candace Nola, Caitlin Marceau, and Ai Jiang also helps every day that I work in a creative field.
I also have to shout out the amazing cover artists that I’ve worked with, @grimpoppydesign, @waynefenlon, @uglybyproxy, @Readernw, and @Jen_Bernardini.
