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This episode features Nicole Wolverton, a horror writer and academic with a fascinating career journey. Nicole discusses her unique master's degree in storytelling and horror from the University of Pennsylvania. She reveals the lengthy publishing process, often taking 3-4 years from writing to publication. Nicole shares insights from her academic research on how consuming horror builds resilience and coping skills, drawing from studies at Denmark's Recreational Fear Lab. The conversation explores the business side of horror publishing, rejection rates, advance ranges from $1,000 to seven figures, and why horror writers are surprisingly some of the nicest people you'll meet. Nicole offers practical advice for aspiring writers and explains why she believes horror is a much broader genre than most people think.

Books By Nicole: A Misfortune of Lake Monsters (2024) Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Misfortune-Lake-Monsters-Nicole-Wolverton/dp/0744309581 Bodies Full of Burning: An Anthology of Menopause-Themed Horror (2021) - Edited by Nicole Amazon Kindle link: https://www.amazon.com/Bodies-Full-Burning-Anthology-Menopause-Themed-ebook/dp/B099417CLV The Trajectory of Dreams (2013) Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Trajectory-Dreams-Nicole-Wolverton/dp/1938463447 Pretend You Don't See Her (Kandisha Press, out September 27, 2025)-- her short story in this one is "In The Blood We Live" Additional Resources: Horror Writers Association: https://horror.org/ Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFFWA): https://www.sfwa.org/ Recreational Fear Lab (Denmark): https://recreationalfearlab.com/ Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators: https://www.scbwi.org/ CamCat Publishing: https://www.camcatbooks.com/