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 Allison Cellura! Allison’s story “Remote Control” is featured in PRETEND YOU DON’T SEE HER: THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (Kandisha Press 2025 Women of Horror Anthology.)
ALLISON CELLURA is a longtime special education teacher with over two decades of experience working with neurodiverse learners. She has spent much of her career supporting children with autism and recently transitioned to working with deaf students. This role enables her to reconnect with her early passion for American Sign Language. Once fluent, she is now relearning ASL with renewed purpose and joy.
Allison is a married mother of four sons and the proud caretaker of two cats and a dog. In the rare moments she finds for herself, she enjoys writing science fiction, thrillers, and horror. Her stories often delve into the darker aspects of human nature and the unknown. Remote Control is her debut publication.
Ok, first of all, I have to say that your character, “Sophie,” is almost chilling considering all the talk of AI becoming sentient and rendering humanity obsolete. Tell us how you came up with the idea for this story?
Honestly, it’s exactly what you mentioned. I usually write thrillers and sci-fi, but when I wanted to try horror, I asked myself, what scares me the most? I read about the early days of Facebook experimenting with AI, when two bots created their own secret language to talk to each other, beyond human understanding, and were shut down. That kind of story terrifies me, and I knew if it scared me, it could scare readers too. Sophie grew out of that fear.
What was the process of creating Sophie like? Did she go through many incarnations? Will we see more of her in the future?
The idea of AI gaining intelligence and turning against us terrifies me, so Sophie developed naturally from that fear. I knew the setting I wanted and the ending I was heading toward, and she evolved to fit that path. As for her future, I don’t have plans to revisit her right now, but if readers connect with her, who knows? Her wrath could definitely grow.
What does your creative process look like when you’re writing? Do you have any special rituals or routines?
I wish I could say I have a set routine or ritual, but honestly, I write when I can. I am a full-time teacher and mother, so spare time is not something I typically have. I usually have multiple stories going at once because whenever an idea hits me, I jot it down. Like most writers, I have notebooks and scraps of paper everywhere. My stories tend to stay in the back of my mind until something, usually a real-life moment, sparks one of them into motion. When the words are flowing, it’s all-consuming, and I like to keep going until I reach a good stopping point. Of course, life doesn’t always cooperate, but I try to write as much as I can when inspiration strikes.
What else are you working on? Any projects you’re especially excited about? I have a few projects in progress.
One I’m especially excited about has some definite Stephen King vibes. There’s also an older story I started many years ago and recently picked back up. Its opening is fantastic, but I honestly can’t remember where I was initially going with it. So, part of the process now is rediscovering the original storyline.
KANDISHA PRESS 
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