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 Anne Wilkins! Anne’s story “The Scream” is featured in PRETEND YOU DON’T SEE HER: THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (Kandisha Press 2025 Women of Horror Anthology.)
ANNE WILKINS is a sleep-deprived primary school teacher in New Zealand. She writes in her spare time (which she has very little of). Her love of writing is fuelled by copious amounts of coffee, reading and hope. Her work can be found in Apex Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Elegant Literature, All Worlds Wayfarer, Sci-Fi Shorts and elsewhere. Anne is the winner of the June 2024 “Bad Blood” Elegant Literature Prize, the 2023 “Halloween Frights” Autumn Writers Battle, and the 2023 Cambridge Autumn Festival Short Story Competition. For more information visit www.annewilkinsauthor.com or facebook.com/annewilkinsauthor
The Shrieken is such a fantastic creature. How did you come up with the idea for it?
My imagination is pretty nasty and can take me to some very weird places. All I really have to do is think “Hmm, what if…?” and then go down the dark alleys of my mind. For this particular story, there’s a golf course nearby with a driving range, and I imagined all the energy of those balls hitting the ground and wondered “What if…?” And that’s how the concept was born.
The Shrieken name itself was suggested by a wonderful beta reader, Susan O’Neal. At the time the creature didn’t have a name, Susan suggested we name it something like “The Shrieken” and I thought, “Yes!”
Your main character is a very invisible young woman who suffers at home. How can young women and girls going through the same situation in life relate to her kinship with the Shrieken?
I think being a teenager is hard. You’re trying to fit in, trying to navigate being a quasi-adult, and you have some huge emotions. The main character in my story is not only going through all that, but she also does not have the best home life. Many of us keep those feelings of anger or sadness bottled up inside until it gets to be too much. For my main character, her pain is so extreme, so contained that she has to let it out by screaming in a place where she feels safe.
For any reader who might be going through a similar situation, I think it’s important to not let those feelings build up to the point where it feels like you might explode. Talk to someone like a trusted adult or friend, know that it is okay to cry and vent, and also know that everyone needs help sometimes.
What does your creative process look like when you’re writing? Do you have any special rituals or routines?
First, I sacrifice a goat. No, just kidding. I’m a Capricorn, I wouldn’t do that to goats.
My creative process starts with the idea. It has to be a good one, and it has to be something I would be interested in reading myself. I like thinking of original ideas or taking stories in different, or surprising, directions. I try to make the first page solid, engaging, something that people want to continue to read because I know that whoever is reading my work will have read countless other stories before mine. I don’t want to bore them, and I don’t want to bore myself. So, I might start a few different ways until I’ve got something that I’m happy with. If I’m happy with the beginning then the story flows.
After that, I really see the story like a movie unfolding in my head. I picture the characters, their voices and mannerisms.
Sometimes I’ll sit down and write a whole short story in one session. Other times it might be over a week. For very long stories it might be two weeks. I find I work best if I can do large chunks of the story in one long uninterrupted session while everything is still fresh.
Once I’m done writing, I go through and edit it ruthlessly. With a short story, I haven’t got time or the word count to faff around so every word needs to count. Next, my husband and two daughters are forced into reading my work. They’ll give feedback and I’ll polish it up. That editing and refining is really important to make sure my story is delivering what I intend it to do.
Being a full time primary school teacher means time is the one thing I’m short on; I’m forced to squeeze most story writing into weekends or the school holidays.
I wish I could say I have a cosy writing nook with a plant and post it notes where I do all my writing, but the truth is most of my writing is done on the couch, or in my bed, normally with a cat nearby and a cup of coffee.
What else are you working on? Any projects you’re especially excited about?
I’m excited about all my stories. They are all my little babies and I want to see them all thrive in the world. That being said, I do have two unpublished middle grade novels that I should be doing something about. I’d really like them to see the light of day instead of hiding in my laptop.
And when I have more time I want to write some young adult books. I’ve started one, but haven’t finished it yet. I’m also excited about sleep. It’s something I really like and don’t seem to get much of.
KANDISHA PRESS 
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