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 Brooklyn Ann Butler! Brooklyn’s story “The Waitress” is featured in PRETEND YOU DON’T SEE HER: THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (Kandisha Press 2025 Women of Horror Anthology.)
BROOKLYN ANN BUTLER – Formerly an auto-mechanic, Brooklyn Ann Butler writes supernatural horror and contributes to the HWA’s mental health initiative. She is also the author of the B Mine series, horror romances that follow 80s horror movie plots, but with a Final Couple instead of a Final Girl, as well as urban fantasy and paranormal series under the pen name Brooklyn Ann.
She lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with her family, a few project cars, an extensive book collection, and miscellaneous horror memorabilia. She can be found online at https://brooklynannauthor.com as well as on most social sites.
Tell us about your story, “The Waitress.” How did you come up with the idea for the “monster” in the story?
There was a call for submissions by a now defunct publisher for an anthology for stories inspired by the music of Tori Amos. I’m not a prolific short story writer, but that prompt put my imagination into overdrive. Because there’s a song called “The Waitress” about a waitress who wants to kill a coworker. No motive is given in the song. The main point is that the narrator of the song is shocked at the violence in her mind. This was the PERFECT canvas for me to craft a horror story. I threw so many other references to other Tori Amos songs in there too. If you’re a Tori fan, see if you can spot them all!
As for my monster, I love supernatural horror and creature features, so naturally I wanted to make the waitress who the narrator wants to kill into a monster. The one song line, “Boys all think she’s living kindness” made me think of the dangers of internalized misogyny (women’s version of toxic masculinity for those unfamiliar with the term). So, I made this monster a physical manifestation of internalized misogyny. She survives by feeding off the energy and life-force of other women and charms men to evade suspicion, stay under the radar, and gain positions where she has access to more victims.
Shortly after I learned that the publisher I’d originally written this story for went under, I found the call for submissions for Kandisha for this anthology and was overjoyed to see that my monster fit the description for the types of women featured in Pretend You Don’t See Her.
The main character, Geraldine Jenkins, is a harsh, life-worn woman who tells her story almost in the vein of Dolores Claiborne, but done in your own unique style. How much did you enjoy writing in her voice? It’s fantastic!
Even before naming Geraldine after the Tori Amos album, Unrepentant Geraldines, I already had the image of those tough-yet-sweet, older and worn-out waitresses in my head when I came up with the idea for the story. Not only because they’re a staple character across many genres of fiction, but also because they’re REAL waitresses nearly all of us have met at least once in a diner. Though she was a cleaning lady instead of a waitress, Dolores Claiborne is also one of those women, and aside from being one of my all-time favorite Stephen King characters, so, writing in a voice like hers was perfect for this story and SO MUCH FUN to write. In my head, she looks and sounds like the waitress in the opening act of David Lynch’s Fire Walk With Me. I don’t think I’ve ever written a character who felt so familiar and already developed before I even opened a blank Word document.
What does your creative process look like when you’re writing? Do you have any special rituals or routines?
I usually have a pot of tea, a quart jar of water, and lately, a candle burning when I write. I run a small productivity group online and we meet in a chat room where I stream a timer and we do 25-minute productivity sprints and check in with each other. I also listen to music or ambient audio like thunderstorms. With this story, I naturally listened to Tori Amos almost non-stop. And it turns out that Tori is great for writing horror! I also recommend Angelo Badalamenti’s scores from Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, and the band, Dirtwire.
What else are you working on? Any projects you’re especially excited about?
I just got the rights back to my first two 80s horror romances. The first, His Final Girl, a summer camp slasher, was re-released on August 29th with a new foreword, an amazing cover by Justin T. Coons, and more gore. The second, Her Haunted Heart, will release in May 2026.
In October I’ll be releasing my haunted daycare short story, “The Boy from Limbo” that was originally published in the anthology, Hospital of Haunts.
My coming-of-age horror novel, for now titled, The Graveyard Girls, is with my agent and I hope she’ll find it a good home.
As for writing, on the horror side, I’m currently working on a historical horror novel about two women lighthouse keepers vs. a sea monster. On the romance side, I’m writing a sword and sorcery romance that comes out in November.
KANDISHA PRESS 
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