AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: TRISH WILSON

GREETINGS, BOOKWORMS! I’m Aisha Kandisha, Head Librarian at Kandisha Press. Join me in the dusty stacks of the library I will never leave again as I chat with some of my favorite Women in Horror. Today we feature author Trish Wilson! Trish’s story “A Twist Of Fate” is featured in PRETEND YOU DON’T SEE HER: THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (Kandisha Press 2025 Women of Horror Anthology.)

TRISH WILSON writes horror, dark fiction, erotica, romance, and mysteries. She has written using her real name and the pen names Elizabeth Black (for erotica and romance) and E. A. Black (for horror and dark fiction). She grew up in Baltimore, the home of Edgar Allan Poe who inspired her to write. Her short stories have appeared in Zippered Flesh 2, Zippered Flesh 3, Teeming Terrors, Midnight Movie Creature Feature 2, The Horror Zine’s Book of Ghost Stories, Wicked Women, Wicked Tales, Fark in the Time of Covid, and more. She won a Best Short Story mention on The Solstice List@ 2017: The Best of Horror for Invisible, which appears in Zippered Flesh 3. As Media Director for The Horror Zine, she has interviewed well-known horror writers including Ramsey Campbell, Kathe Koja, Josh Malerman, Elizabeth Massie, Paul Tremblay, and John Skipp.

Web Site: https://trishwilsonauthor.blogspot.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethablack

A Twist of Fate is such a wonderful roller coaster ride of a ghost story where you don’t know what to expect from minute to minute. How did you come up with the idea?

Thank you! I’ve always loved ghost stories. When I read “invisible woman”, I immediately thought of a haunting. The funny thing was that I had written myself into a corner. Once I got Amy into her room at the inn, I didn’t know what to do with her so I left her high and dry for a few days and she was pissed! LOL After a few days the continuation came to me out of nowhere. I wondered what would happen if a ghost and a living woman had more in common than either of them had suspected? What if the inn itself was sick; haunted by the pasts of those who had once stayed there? Why was the ghost haunting the inn in the first place and what did that have to do with Amy? It seemed fate had brought them together. The ghost was as trapped in her situation as was Amy in hers. So many questions and possibilities. I ran with it.

How can the ordinary, everyday “invisible woman” relate to Amy and what she has gone through?

As becomes clear in the first paragraph, Amy’s husband beats the snot out of her every chance he gets. I used to work as an advocate for abused women. Men like that tend to isolate their wives/girlfriends from friends and family – rendering them invisible, especially when those closest to her are too afraid or disinterested to get involved. It’s telling Amy gets help and support from another invisible woman.

What does your creative process look like when you’re writing? Do you have any special rituals or routines?

I write mostly in the afternoon. I also research writers for my interviews at that time. I’ve interviewed Ramsey Campbell, Elizabeth Massie, Paul Tremblay, Kathe Koja, Josh Malerman, and more. My interview for The Horror Zine’s September 2025 issue is none other than – Bruce Campbell. Groovy! The only routine I have is a celebratory glass or two of champagne with my husband when I get an acceptance and/or when I finish a short story ready for submission. Suffice to say we drink a lot of bubbly. LOL We drink it out of either a 1930s amber coupe champagne glass, an amberina wine glass, or my new Celtic cat goblet.

What else are you working on? Any projects you’re especially excited about?

My interview with Bruce Campbell – yes, THAT Bruce Campbell – is in the September issue of The Horror Zine. We talked about his horror past, what lies in the future, and his new comedy, Ernie & Emma. Gimme some sugar, baby! Here’s the link.

My story The House Next Door appears in The Lizzie Borden House Anthology. This book is chock full of horror stories inspired by the infamous Lizzie Borden ax murders case in Fall River, Massachusetts in the late 1800s. I looked into the history of the case and what went on around the Bordens before and after they lived in the house. I even found blueprints of the house including one which had shown who stayed in each room. Few are aware of the murders/suicide that took place next door years before the Bordens moved in. The book shall be released September 30. There will be a party and reading at the Lizzie Borden B&B in November, ending with a seánce at midnight! This promises to be an amazing event! I’ve been to the house twice for the tour, but my husband hasn’t been there at all. That’s gonna change!

Finally, my story Fog Over Mons appears in Dead Man’s Land: Trench Rot, an anthology of war stories. Fog Over Mons is a cosmic horror tale inspired by the WWI Angels of Mons legend. Links below:

Paperback: https://shorturl.at/zfrfJ

ePub: https://shorturl.at/wZpWr