IN THE LI-BURY WITH PAULA R.C. READMAN

Welcome everyone, I’m The Li-Bury-An, and today we have a spotlight on Paula R.C. Readman

Paula R.C. Readman is a force to be reckoned with. Her first-full length crime novel, Stone Angels, became an instant Amazon best seller and has been widely acclaimed by readers and critics alike. What makes her a true marvel is that her writing is entirely self-taught! Paula now appears in all three volumes of our Women of Horror anthologies. Her first story, “Cold Calling” was about a woman with a disfigured face who is made the guest of honor at a ball in a Gothic manor, only to find the invitation was a cruel joke. In our second anthology, she gave us another Gothic masterpiece, this one about a murdered wife whose ghost visits her husband’s new bride. Gothic horror is definitely Paula’s specialty, so I was surprised when she told me she was interested in trying a Science Fiction story. Her story in Volume 3, “The Last Thread,” is the story she spoke of. I was delighted to read her tale of a rogue space pilot who, while being chased by intergalactic pirates, answers a distress signal from a remote planet. He finds that the lone woman inhabiting the planet is not at all what she seems to be. It is a thrilling tale that reminds me of some of the scarier episodes of both Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, and one I am extremely proud to have in our book!

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“The corridor opened out onto an enclosed bridge. On one side, a vast wasteland stretched on forever. Dust swirling around skeletons of ships, their doors gaping like open mouths in silent screams. On the other side, under a glass dome with an artificial sun, a surreal lush green landscape seemed endless.”

From “The Last Thread” by Paula R.C. Readman

Today, Paula talks about how she came up with her story “The Last Thread” for THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY : Women of Horror Anthology Volume 3. Out now from Kandisha Press!

“I thought I would explain how I came to write my story for this particular collection. The Last Thread was inspired by a dream I had. Yes, I do have really weird dreams. My husband is very understanding about them, which is good otherwise I might have found myself wearing a nice white jacket with the fastenings at the back.

When I discovered what the theme was for this collection I decided I would write a sci-fi story. I enjoy thinking outside the box. I think horror can be so much more than graveyards on a moonlit night with howling winds and pounding rain. We are brought up believing that horror stories should have certain elements.i.e. Ruined church, dilapidated house, a deep dark wood, a car that breaks down on a deserted road deep within a forest, and maybe a strange hotel where there’s one light on in a top floor window. The list is endless.

What about the real every day horror we face in our lives? You know the trips to the dentist, or the doctor’s appointment. Are our fears less scary than pure supernatural horror?

Our early ancestors had real horrors of the natural cycle of life. From birth to death the darkness of not understanding what was happening to their bodies, minds or souls created the right atmosphere in which supernatural tales and magic was created.

Science has sterilised our world and has taken away many of our fears to the point where we see less horror in our day to day life. Having the ability to turn on the lights to keep the darkness at bay allows us to see there are no ghosts.

Though I do think they would return quite quickly if and when society breaks down such as during wartime or with this pandemic. We are after all just animals that cannot see in the dark.

The Thread has two plot lines and a twist. Society is no more for the human race we are just travelers in space. My main character is Fulton he is alone in a rust bucket of a spacecraft, making a living however he can. He’s upset a few people he shouldn’t have done, and is on the run, but as the story unfolds we realise things are not always what they seem.”

PAULA R.C. READMAN is married, has a son, and lives in Essex, England, with two cats. After leaving school with no qualifications, she spent her working life mainly in low-paying jobs. In 1998, with no understanding of English grammar, she decided to beat her dyslexia, by setting herself a challenge to become a published author.

She taught herself ‘How to Write’ from books her husband purchased from eBay. After making the 250th purchase, Russell told her ‘just to get on with the writing’. Since 2010 she has mainly been published in anthologies in Britain, Australia, and America and won several writing competitions. In 2020 she had her first crime novella The Funeral Birds published by Demain Publishing, a single collection of short stories Days Pass Like A Shadow published by Bridge House Publishing. Her first crime novel Stone Angels was published by Darkstroke.

Blog: https://paularcreadmanauthor.blog