Her website biography says:

As a little girl, Rhiannon Frater was always afraid of the things that may lurk in the dark.  It was not until her mother gave her an electric typewriter at the age of twelve, that she decided it was better to write about the monsters than be afraid of them.  She wrote compulsively from then on and did a good job wrecking her wrist from her endlessly scribbling in class when she should have been paying attention.
As an adult,  she was a columinist for The Edge Magazine covering the Goth/Industrial scene in Central Texas.  She also interviewed the legendary Petery Murphy of Bauhaus fame for the cover of Reloaded Monthly.
Then, on a whim, she wrote a zombie short story and posted it to two online forums.  The response was overwhelmingly positive.  She kept adding to the story for the next two years as she drove the backroads of Texas for her day job as a governmental consultant to rural communities.  She discovered old towns full of rich histories and offbeat characters.  Her travels fueled her story and reminded her of all the reasons she loves being a Texan.

Now, let’s see how Rhiannon answered the questions I sent her.

How did someone such as yourself—a new author who had hardly any exposure just a few months prior—become so popular?

I’m not sure.  I suspect that a three year online presence on several forums publishing free fiction has something to do with it.  As The World Dies was originally posted online in a series of small mini-chapters. Up until publication of the first novel, I was receiving emails on an almost daily basis asking when As The World Dies was going to be published.  The original fans of the story were surprised it wasn’t snapped up immediately by a New York publishing house.  Which, of course, is very flattering.

Did you always plan on going the independent route, or did something come up halfway through that made you decide, ‘This is it; I’m going independent’?

At the time I was writing As The World Dies online for fun, my vampire novel had found a potential home with a small press.  In fact, I was busy rewriting the novel with the advice of the editor.  I did not consider myself to be a zombie genre writer at that time. Frankly, I was shocked as the story originally conceived as a short story became longer and longer.  Then, sadly, the small press closed, I shelved my gothic vampire tale at that time (but it will be released sometime this year) and I finished writing As The World Dies.  As soon as it was done, the fans started clamoring for it to be published.  So I pulled it down off the web and started working hard on finding an agent.  Agents are the new gatekeepers in the publishing world and I thought my best shot was to sign with one.  But I absolutely suck at writing query letters and met rejection after rejection.  Finally, I gave up on the concept of an agent and I tried to submit to Permuted Press, but submissions were closed.  I sat at my desk and cried.

My husband was already angry that I was being rejected over query letters, which he felt were a joke.  He hated that my real writing wasn’t even being looked at.  He was the one who looked into publishing the trilogy on our own.  At first I resisted.  I was fully committed to the traditional dream of being discovered by a big New York publishing house.  But, then, I really listened to him, did my own research, and realized it was a viable option.

It took a few months of research before we figured out the way to go, but we’re now very pleased with our choice.  I’m glad I’m an Indie Author and feel I am part of something new. I did it for the fans. I think I made the right decision.

Your recent releases have been met with quite the amount of success. Did you have a fanbase prior to publication, or did you do something that just went BAM! and made everyone find your book?

I had a waiting fan base for the trilogy.  But, also, Dr. Pus of Library of the Living Dead started doing a dramatization of my novel on his podcast and word begin to spread through the ranks of the zombie fans.

You’ve mentioned that your zombie trilogy As the World Dies was never intended to be about zombies. How did that happen? And can you tell us a little more about the novel and eventual trilogy itself?

It was supposed to be a short story.  But it kept going.  It wasn’t that As The World Dies wasn’t supposed to be about zombies…it was that I didn’t think I would want to WRITE about zombies.  LOL.  I was wrong.

As for the novels, I definitely feel that though they are filled with zombies, gore, and action, they are about the heart of the human survivor.  I have been told over and over again that my characters are “real” to the readers.  I’m glad to hear that, because I love writing about them and try to portray them as realistically as possible.  I am writing about the survivors of the initial zombie apocalypse, so they have a lot to deal with more than surviving the first days.

The first book is all about survival and coping, the second book is about fighting to survive and acceptance, and the third book is about choice.

On top of zombies, you write vampires. What is Pretty When She Dies about?

Pretty When She Dies: A Vampire Novel is a throwback to the old vampires.  I have to admit I’m annoyed by all the vampires in paranormal romance novels that are redeemed by the love of a good human woman (or shapeshifter or whatever).   Vampires stopped being scary at some point and that has bothered me.

The first four chapters were a really vivid dream I had that haunted me for quite awhile.  The concept of a young woman waking up buried under the forest floor, struggling to remember who she was and figure out what was happening, while fighting a great need she didn’t understand, just ate at me.  Finally, I wrote the novel.

I had a lot of fun with the book because it is modern, it is in Texas, and the vampires are not romantic heroes.  They are dangerous and cruel.  The one vampire trying to be human is forced to realize he can never be human again.

I think its a good solid horror novel in its own right, but also fun to read.

Other than your novel-length works, have you released anything else? Are you published in any magazines, podcasts or anthologies?

As The world Dies: The FIrst Days is being dramatized in the Library of the Living Dead podcast with the wonderful Dr. Pus.

My short story Stop Requested will be in Zombology released by the Library of the Living Dead Press.

Frankly, its been hard doing any writing other than the rewrites on the As The World Dies trilogy the last few months.  I don’t see this letting up until Siege is on its way to publication.

Besides, I’m not very good at short stories.  They’re not my “thing,” per se.

To add on to the As the World Dies note, your novel has gone podcast, complete with individual voice actors, sound affects and music to boot! How did this come about?

Dr. Pus read the novel, loved it, asked me if I would allow him to dramatize it, I said yes, and now I get to do the voice of Katie!

You’ve also been nominated for a ‘best of’ zombie novel over at Mail Order Zombie for As the World Dies: The First Days, which includes authors such as Travis Adkins, Z.A Recht, and even Brian Keene. How does that make you feel, so early into your career?

I’m not sure.  I don’t think it has sunk in yet.  Of course, its a huge honor, but I hadn’t thought about it in the context of my writing career or anything like that.

What do you recommend to get new writers noticed? Since you were, obviously, a lesser-known writer a few months prior, you’ve been in the situation of having no one know who you are. What did you personally do to make your name more recognizable?

Free fiction on the web. I can’t think of anything else that could have resulted in the large readership I have now.

Have there been any shining moments in your time as a writer, something that’s made you burst with pride or giddy with glee?

My first fan email.  It let me know that people were enjoying what I wrote.  I still LOVE my fan mail and try to answer right away.

You’ve partnered with a few different stores and organizations (including Secret Oktober and the Independent Authors Guild.) Has this helped with promotion in any way?

With the Independent Authors Guild, I’m not really sure.  Frankly, I’m always terrified to even post on there.  It feels like I know so little and they know so much, but I’m the one selling all the books.  I posted about reaching the 400 books sold mark and someone wrote back saying that it took them over a YEAR to reach that point.  I think it took less than 4 months for As The World Dies: The First Days to hit that mark.  We are quickly closing in on 1000 books sold at this time.  I feel like I’m doing everything assbackwards, but somehow I’m doing well.   I do enjoy reading the posts and I think everyone in that guild is really awesome.

As for Secret Oktober, yes, definitely, everything I do with them seems to result in more sales and more fans.  They are an amazing promotion machine of anything Indie and local to Austin.  The support of Cassandra and Mary has been amazing.  Plus, Austinites love Indie artists and that is a label that will SELL books in this town.

What do you have planned for the future? Any particularly-exciting events coming up, or any new books planned?

I’m currently working on the final book of the As The World Dies trilogy. It is called Siege.  It’s actually two books in one.  It’s HUGE.

I have spoken quite a lot with the Library of the Living Dead Press about writing a book just for their imprint.  I already shared the story idea with Dr. Pus and he loved it.

I am helping my good friend Morris Crisp with the rewrite of his online zombie novel Zombie Farm and I’m hoping that he will be able to publish that novel in the near future.  It has a really good solid story.

I have a supernatural post apocalyptic novel I started work on, but put aside for Siege.  I would like to finish it up and submit it to Permuted Press.  If they don’t feel it suits their press, I’ll release it myself either online or in paperback.

As for events, we’re doing a book signing for Pretty When She Dies at Secret Oktober in Austin, Texas on February 28 from 4pm to 8pm.  I will be attending Texas Frightmare in May as a vendor.  And I was just invited to be a panelist at the Horror Realm Convention (formerly Zombiefest) in Pittsburgh.  Dr. Pus will have me at his tables and it should be amazing fun.

And, finally, is there anything else you’d like us to know about?

I’ll always do the best I can to provide a kickass story for my readers.

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And, once again, a big thank you goes out to Rhiannon for taking the time to answer my questions.

You can find Rhiannon’s blog here.

And you can visit her online here.

Belfast born, Wayne Simmons, has been loitering with intent around the horror underground for some years. Having scribbled reviews and interviews for the likes of Pretty Scary, ZOMBIE-A-GOGO and REVENANT MAGAZINE , Wayne is now delighted to release his debut (zombie-ish) horror novel, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, through PERMUTED PRESS…

In what little spare time Wayne has left, he enjoys walks by the shore, getting tattooed and listening to all manner of unseemly screeches on his BOOM-BOOM Box…

This should be an interesting interview…

You seem like an interesting person (considering you have used ’Drop Dead Hoo-Ha’ and titling your website ’DropDeadDolls.com.) Where’d the flavor come from?

Geez, I’m not actually sure… am I interesting?!

Your debut novel, Drop Dead Gorgeous, has been praised by some pretty big small press names, including Andre Duzza and David Moody. Did you expect this kind of feedback from the bigger small press names?

To have such praise and encouragement from the likes of Dave Moody and Andre Duza means a LOT to me. They’re the two horror writers, of the moment, that really stand out for me.
 
With Dave, I’ve been impressed with how he can make his characters seem so real – so everyday. For me, that adds to the horror of the stories he tells; as a reader you feel worringly close to the action – the characters remind you of your own friends, family, workmates etc.
 
With Andre, it’s his sheer audacity to unleash the imagination and cross every line that is drawn in front of him. I love his chaotic, sharp-witted style of storytelling; the socio-political commentaries, the grindhouse feel of his writing and artwork he soaks it all up with.
 
I guess, with DDG, I’ve been influenced by both these guys. I’ve tried to tell a very hardcore and outrageous tale, with a cast of characters that readers of every age and backgound should be able to relate to. If I’ve done half as good a job as those guys, I’ll be a happy dude…

What was it like, asking ’other’ places to read DDG. There’s been reviews coming in from tattoo artists, GLBT TV reviewers and even a group of artists called the Bloody Messy Girls. What made you want to pursue blurbs outside of notable authors?

DDG has a very punk/ alternative feel to it. I’ve tried to write in a non-pretentious, urban tongue. An unapologetially colloquial Belfast brogue that gives the story the gritty feel that its disenfranchised characters need. That’s why I’ve tried to pimp this bad girl to the alternative press because I think it’s something they will enjoy, even if horror isn’t their bag. At the end of the day, I’ve written a story – a story that I hope appeals across the genres, not just to die-hard horror fans. I want to get the word about DDG out to as many different people as possible.
 
As readers, we like to read about people who we can relate to – and even though the book’s got a quirky alternative feel to it, there’s someone for everyone in DDG. From emo kid, Tim and punk tattoo artist, Star, to affable DJ, Sean and the old doting professor, Herbert Matthews. From the quietly spoken counselor, Gibson, to the double-trouble pairing of RIR soldier, Roy and IRA operative, Mairead. Every box is ticked to create a ragtag cast of characters that, simply, can’t get along with each other. And that part of the apocalyptic story – the part where people implode and make things even worse for themselves – is the essence of every good apocalyptic tale. It’s also something pretty much everyone can relate to. Just look at any of the Romero flicks, for example.

What is Drop Dead Gorgeous about?

It’s an honest-to-hell tale of an apocalypse in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and how the few left behind cope.
 
It’s an outrageously bizarro creature feature that gives the living dead genre something of a kick in the balls.
 
It’s a story about people and how stupid and clever and loving and hateful they (we) can be.

Was the tattoo aspect of the novel something you had always planned on using, or did it just come to you?

I guess, as a writer, you’re going to write about things that interest you – and tattoos interest me. I’m covered in them, and I’ve plans to continue getting inked as long as I’ve got blank skin! I’ve had work done by Chris Jones, Jo Harrison, Chris Crooks, Snoopy and Eve. I want to add to that list. 
 
I’ve had a lot of help with the tattoo aspect of the novel from people like Chris Jones (Physical Graffitti), Dan Henk (Lone Wolf) and Jan Moat (Identity Tattoo). What I hope to have done is represent the tattoo industry in as realistic and accurate way as possible. It’s been great to get encoragement about the book from magazines like SKIN DEEP and TOTAL TATTOO.

Was Drop Dead Gorgeous your first attempt at a novel, or the first novel you’ve sold?

It’s the first novel I’ve actually finished! A couple of others were started but never really grabbed me. I guess, as a writer, I wanted to write a book that I would enjoy reading – and this one held my interest until the end (laughs)

Did you have any particular struggles with Drop Dead Gorgeous? Did anything annoying pop out at you during the proofreading stage, or was there something in the book that was hard to fix (inconsistensies, wrong place at the wrong time, etc.)?

I had a wonderful editor in Travis Adkins. We worked together in polishing this bitch until it really shone. I guess, with Trav being so damn good at his job (and such a GRADE-A writer himself) it was refreshingly easy to make DDG palatable for the masses. I have no complaints – I loved every minute of it.

What would you say is the hardest part of writing (in general)?

Finding the time for it!

You have some interesting promotion going on with Drop Dead Gorgeous. A shirt, hair candy and a necklace. How did you get involved with the websites that  put out these products?

I guess I just put myself out there!
 
I had interviewed Gracie from TORTURE COUTURE a couple of years back and we’ve kept in touch since then. Elaine (BITEMARK CLOTHING) was featured in REVENANT MAGAZINE and her horror-themed clothing impressed me.
 
The book features very strong female characters (not least the living dead) so I thought it might be a good idea to acknowledge that with the marketing.

What all have you done to promote the book (outside of the blurbs and connections)?
 
I’ve talked about it! Online, with people I meet, people I work with – everyone!
 
I’ve thrown a lot of fliers around and, basically, whored myself and my book in any and every way possible.
 
Loads of people have helped – not least the good Dr Pus from LIBRARY OF THE LIVING DEAD, whose wonderful DDG bumper has been played in podcasts horror and non-horror alike. And then there’s PERMUTED PRESS – a publisher who are on the rise. Jacob Kier (The Boss) has pulled out all the stops to make sure the horror world at large know about DDG. I’m very grateful to everyone who’s helped out – including you, Kody, for doing this interview.

You’re also a reviewer. What’s that like?

Wonderful! I’ve worked for PRETTY SCARY, REVENANT, ZOMBIE A-GOGO amongst others. I’ve interviewed a lot of the people whose work I love and been sent free copies of some wonderful books. What could be better?

Anything in particular you want to accomplish with your writing/reviewing?

I want to tell good stories and be loved for it! Don’t all writers? (laughs)

And last but not least, is there anything you’d like us to know about?
 
I wear pyjamas to bed.

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Thanks to Wayne for taking the time to do this. Visit him online at DropDeadDolls.com!

Her website biography says…

Louise Bohmer is the editor-in-chief of Lachesis Publishing, based in Nova Scotia, and she is a senior editor for Lachesis’ two imprints, LBF Books and Sinful Moments Press, along with freelancing for some other small press publishers. Her writing leans mainly toward the dark fantastical and horror, but she has also dabbled in poetry and erotic fiction. “The Black Act,” her debut novel, will be published in April 2009.

Without further ado, let the first Black Quill interview begin!

When did you first start writing?

When I was a little girl, around 4 or 5, my mother showed me my grandfather’s old typewriter, which he’d brought with him from England (Nottingham).

I fell in love with it. So, she allowed me to type on it, while under her supervision. I wrote my first fantasy story on it, though I’m sure I misspelled at least 85% of that first manuscript. I also illustrated it. I was very proud, of course. Thus, the love affair was first born.

Why dark fiction? What draws you to write it?

I’ve always liked horror, dark fantasy, and the love for the darker themes grew as I matured. I suppose it helped I had a cousin who also loved horror, vampires, the occult, who enjoyed influencing me. Or, should I say warping?

My parents were very liberal, and, within reason, allowed me to explore fiction and non-fiction that looked at the esoteric, the more arcane, subjects in our world. My focus has broadened as I’ve gotten older, too. I’m not as narrowed minded and obsessive as I was at 16, or 17. But, that love of occult topics, an interest in the unknown and mysterious aspects of life, has always stayed with me, to some extent. I guess this is why I write dark fiction, and why I am drawn to write it. Blame my cousin!

Where all have you been published?

I’m going to cheat on this one, and give you the URL to my bibliography.

http://www.louisebohmer.com/site/?page_id=20  

Is there a particular story that you’ve written that’s your favorite?

I’m going to go with The Black Act, since it is my first novel. I put close to 2 years writing time into it, so, I also feel I’ve grown as a writer, from the experience.

Have you had any particular setbacks with the publishing industry? (Ex: a bad publisher,  being tricked into having your work published, then having it stolen, etc.) What do you recommend authors watch out for when looking to try and get their work published?

Nothing too terrible, really. I’ve been very careful about who I send my work to, for the most part. I like to research a market thoroughly, before I send them a story.

What to watch out for: Never pay to have your work published. Watch out for publishers who try to tell you that you don’t need a contract. Watch out for publishers that ask for lifetime rights. Or, if they don’t list their payment terms, or don’t like to discuss them, when you enquire about monies.

You have a novel called The Black Act coming out early next year. Can you tell us what that is about?

It’s basically a reinterpretation of faerie–legendary beings, found in most culture’s myths, that are not gods, but aren’t humans, either.

When Victorians, and Disney, contemporized faeries, they, well, watered them down quite a bit. Most became these diaphanous, winged, dainty beings who fluttered around flowers, in the proper ladies’ gardens.

That’s not how the ancient peoples, as far as we can discern from what’s left of their myths, saw them as. They weren’t Tinkerbell. They were the wild Green Woman and the Horned God.

So, you’ll meet creatures like this–the Green Woman, the Oak King, the Queen of Samhain–in The Black Act. Along with a simplistic yet advanced peoples, and a Guardian Guild of innately mystical witch women.

There’s a concept in The Black Act that I find interesting, and that is the fact that the planet TBA takes place in is a living being. How did you come up with that idea?

For a proper, closer to truly scientific definition, I refer you to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

Or, plug ‘The Gaia Hypothesis’, or James Lovelock, into Amazon.

The concept in my novel is loosely based on ‘The Gaia Hypothesis,’ which posits the Earth could be a single organism. In short, a kind of living entity.

It has its naysayers, and it is still up to debate, but it is an interesting theory, in my opinion. In my world, I take it to the level that nature and the planet are, indeed, a living entity. A sentinent being who communicates with the creatures that live on it by projecting a life force. That life force is known as Fae.

Fae, or Wood People, as they are also known, guard the planets sentience, which is centered beneath the crust of the planet, within its core.

The Black Act is your first novel. Did you have any difficulties in writing it? How long did it take to write the story from start to finish, not including the next several drafts and edits?

The Black Act took approx. 2 years to write. The main difficulty was accurately building a realistic world, and peoples, that had never existed. It also took a fair amount of research, to learn new facts, myths, legends, and to refresh my memory on old ones.

Where did the editing come from? Have you always had a passion to edit other’s work, or did it just come up along with working in the small press?

Editing and writing have been quiet dreams since I was a teenager. My cousin, the one I mentioned earlier, encouraged me to pursue writing and editing. She bought me research book after book on writing and editing, throughout my teens. And, the rest of my family, and friends, always encouraged me in it. But, for various reasons, I avoided it, until in my mid to late 20s.

You’ve edited quite a lot of books (almost forty!) and for so many different presses. How do you work editing into your busy writing and personal schedule?

Well, I only work for Lachesis, their two imprints, and Magus Press, right now. So, it’s not too hard to keep it all regulated. As for writing, I just stay up extra late on those nights I want to get the words in.

Personal schedule — I force myself to take at least a day and a half to two days off a week. Get away from the keyboard, and spend some time with Steve.

What would you recommend to people who want to pick up editing as a possible career, or work on the side? Was there anything specific you had to do to get as many positions as you have?

If you want to do it as a career, I really urge anyone interested to pursue a degree of some kind, either in English or creative writing, or, obviously, something to do with writing.

I was working on my B.A. in English when I met contacts who helped me get side work in editing, which turned into full time work now, more or less. But, before you can get the work, you must knows the rules of writing, have strong basic grammar, and some knowledge on the history of the various literary arts (poetry, various eras, history that influence the literature then produced), also helps. The more experience and knowledge you have, and can show on your Editing CV, the more likely you are to land a position with a reputable small press, or higher. But, I do strongly stress the word reputable.

What did I have to do to get as many position as I have? Work hard, and learn a great deal quickly.

Your website is titled ‘Esoteric Writings.’ Where did you come up with that?

The title comes from that long lasting love for all things unknown I talked about earlier. I like to yoke the fantastical with the ordinary. So, I thought ‘Esoteric Writings’ was an apt title to give folks an idea of what kind of dark fantasy, and horror, I write.

Is there anything else you’d like us to know about?

Speaking of the website, it has a new look. You can hop over and check it out at:

www.louisebohmer.com

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A big thanks goes out to Louise for taking the time to fill out these questions. To visit Louise online, go to LouiseBohmer.com. Her debut novel, The Black Act, comes out in late April, 2009.