Katherine Sanger Interview - April, 2007

Katherine Sanger is the owner/editor of From the Asylum.

Carl Hose: First, tell us a little bit about From the Asylum . . . its beginning.

Katherine Sanger: From the Asylum began back in 1994 in New Jersey. At the time, it was just a small zine, published using my computer and some colored paper. It lasted for a few years, getting a fair number of submissions and selling in a few different comic shops, and then I moved to Texas. Once I got down here, it languished for a while, and then I decided to re-invent it as an e-zine. At first, I couldn't afford to pay, and so we got a very small number of submissions, but once I began paying, and then raised our rates, we've been inundated with submissions. I would guess that we get anywhere from 75 to 100 – sometimes more – submissions in a month. Considering we only publish 48 pieces a year, that's a lot.

Carl: Tell us about yourself. Are you a writer or do you simply enjoy reading and working in the publishing field?

Katherine: All of the above. I've always read, and I've been writing for almost as long as I could read. I got into zines in the 90's because they were the "new" thing at my comic shop, and after seeing them, and after getting published in one, I couldn't help but think it would be fun to make my own. And it definitely has been, even after all this time and after all these changes.

Carl: It’s obvious you enjoy horror. Are there other genres that interest you?

Katherine: I read a bit of everything. Anything that can be classified as speculative (horror, science fiction, fantasy, etc.), some "normal" fiction, poetry, and a lot of the classics. I have a MA in Liberal Arts and am working on one in Literature, so I've read from Ovid on.

Carl: Who are some of your favorite writers in the horror genre?

Katherine: Hard one! I have to admit that I loved early Stephen King and even some Dean Koontz (for a very short while). Lately my tastes have been changing, and I like to read more humorous horror. Does it sound bad to say that my favorite writers are the ones on FTA? I think we have some of the best new horror writers ever.

Carl: Talk about the new anthology, Loving the Undead, and how the project came about?

Katherine: It actually started as a joke – I think it was my husband's idea. But it grew from there, and when I decided to go ahead and run it as an anthology, I was overwhelmed with the response. I had interest from all over.

Carl: The selection of stories in Loving the Undead is top of the line. What is the process you go through as an editor to assure such high quality, not only from the standpoint of content, but also in presentation of the final product?

Katherine: It's fairly time consuming. The first thing was just to do a quick check of everything that came in – opening the envelopes and checking the first page. If I couldn’t make it past that, for whatever reason, then it went into the reject pile. If it made it through, I would sit down and read the whole thing. Not too many made it into the read pile. From there, it was just a matter of figuring out which fit the theme – some of the stories were great but just didn't fit into what I had been thinking of – and which were a good fit with each other. I tried to run the gamut, but I think a lot of the ones that got in are there because they made me laugh. The process itself is fairly long – I had to get e-copies from authors I selected, edit them together, get a proof, edit that, get my artist and graphic artist together, and finally get the order in. The actual printing takes the least amount of time.

Carl: What are some things a writer can do to immediately turn you off with a submission? What does a story need to have to keep you interested?

Katherine: Immediately turn me off? Write vampire "dark lord" poetry or write in second person. Those will make me cut and paste that reject form letter. Necrophilia is another thing. I really don't want to read about anyone having sex with a dead body. And bestiality is bad, too. I never thought I'd have to specify those things, but I've learned…

One thing I want to see is something that gets my attention. It can be something gross, it can be something funny, it can be something riveting. I'm not picky about that – just make me keep reading. A hook is a necessity. I really do only read the first few lines to the first page most of the time. If I like your voice and there's a hook, I'll read more.

Carl: Any particular advice you’d give writers who are just starting out?

Katherine: Don't stop just because you get some rejection letters. I've had to reject stories for so many reasons that have nothing to do with the writing – I may not have space for it, I may have another one just like it, or I may like the voice but not get into the plot.

The only other vitally important advice I have is to join a critique group. Your work won't improve if you write in a vacuum. Having other people to help point you in the right direction is unbelievably necessary for development as a writer.

Carl: Thanks for taking some time to talk to me. Is there anything coming up from you or at From the Asylum you’d like to talk about? Any special projects in the works?

Katherine: Since you asked…yes. We're currently running a poetry contest – "My Sweetie Wears…" which is up on our website, and we're thinking of our next anthology topic. So if anyone has any ideas, we'd love to hear them.