Interview about the antho Welcome to Your Body

Today we speak with Ryan Marie Ketterer, editor of the very creepy short story anthology Welcome to Your Body: Lessons in Evisceration, along with story contributors David Worn and Kai Delmas. I’ve always really enjoyed Ryan’s short fiction, which is outrageous, funny, and merciless in all the best ways, and I was curious to see the kind of anthology she’d put together. I found this collection to be very entertaining, sometimes tragic, and always surprising. Oh, and at times quite disgusting!

I also love the idea of collective publishing where there’s mutual support without gatekeeping, and that’s exactly how this antho came together.

Here’s the list of contributors to this project: Alex Wolfgang, Ai Jiang, Mary Rajotte, Julie Sevens, Christopher O'Halloran, Sasha Brown, Bridget D. Brave, Taylor Ketterer, Demi-Louise Blackburn, Lindsey Ragsdale, Emma E. Murray, Johnathon Heart, P.L. McMillan, Rachel Searcey, Bryan Young, Kai Delmas, and David Worn.

Now onto the questions —

Would you call this anthology body horror, or would you call it horror about the body? 

Ryan Marie Ketterer: I am SO GLAD you asked this question! From the very beginning, when this anthology was only an idea, it was very much intended to be a collection of stories from all horror subgenres, each of which focused on a part of the human body. Naturally, many of the stories did end up focusing on or at least involving a good amount of body horror, but many still don’t. Initially, I did push back against using the term “body horror” to describe the book overall or in any marketing I did, but I have come around to accepting that IS also that. So, I think it’s safe to say you can call it either, and you can also call it both!

How did you get the idea for this anthology, and what was it like working with a community of writing friends to put it together?

David Worn: Writing is often very solitary, so when there's a chance to make art with a group of unpretentious fellow horror lovers, it's impossible not to jump at the chance. I'm definitely going to miss the random chit chats and updates and hope someone gets to work organizing this wild rabble for volume 2!

Kai Delmas: It was a lot of fun to share and see everyone's reactions to the gross stuff we all came up with.

RMK: I thought it’d be fun to gather stories in a way I don’t think anyone else has done before. I wanted something that could be accompanied by amazing visual art, but also provide something new for readers. What resulted was this body-related gruesome idea, and I couldn’t be more happy with what the authors produced. I am obviously biased, but truly, some of my all-time favorite short fiction is in this anthology. 

Working with this crew was amazing, and is truly the definition of a community. Through all the delays and ups and downs that come when outside-of-publishing life gets in the way, they hung on and stayed excited about the project. It has truly turned into so much more than I could’ve expected!

What is some body-related horror y'all used for inspiration? 

David Worn: Usually I can point to a movie or a book and say "That + Spooky Things = My Story" but this one was more like a fever dream. That said, the art installations in my story are a direct nod to the robotic performances of Survival Research Laboratories. The character Vincent's title for his art piece in the story (i.e., "The body is an illusion to be deconstructed into fantastically engineered artifacts") is an homage to SRL performances from the 90s.

Kai Delmas: The inspiration for my story began with a sunburn and peeling skin. Another thing is the memory of waking up with one of my baby teeth missing. I couldn't find it in my bed so my natural conclusion was that I must have swallowed it.

So...are you a hypochondriac? 

RMK: Oh yeah, I absolutely can be. I’m the person that feels the smallest pain or something and is on WebMD convinced I have some incredibly rare disease. My head always goes to the worst possibility. I do my best to turn those dark thoughts into a dark story or idea though, rather than let them actually affect me on a real personal level.

What's a story in the collection that really grossed you out? 

RMK: This is a really hard question - hopefully you’ll be okay if I give you two! And these are not even the only two! But my answer will be the stories that made me physically gag while reading (and still do, each time I read them): “Early Adopter” by Julie Sevens and “In Your Image” by Kai Delmas. 

“Early Adopter” is about the throat, and that should be enough to understand why I’d be gagging throughout. But there’s a specific scene in there involving a description of Christmas tinsel and… yeah. You’ll have to read it to experience it yourself!

And then “In Your Image”. We’ve all had peeling skin from a sunburn, right? Right. Yeah. Where Kai goes with that one is absolutely nasty. I’m gagging just thinking about it.

What's a story in the collection that made you especially sad?

RMK: Caring for a family member, be it a parent or a child, is a very hard task, but not one I have had to personally experience. Nevertheless, when I read stories involving family members, it’s hard not to choke up. “The Rotten Cradle” by Demi-Louise Blackburn and “Whole Again” by Emma E. Murray play on familial relationships to an absolutely heart-breaking degree. Powerful writing and some incredible horror are great and all, but these two stories will stab you in the heart and twist the knife.

What advice do you have for people who want to put together their own community anthology? Which parts were the hardest? 

RMK: My advice: just do it! That of course comes with a lot of caveats, but I truly think that anyone can do this. First, of course, you need a great community. You need to be surrounded by writers that you know and trust, writers whose work you love, and writers who trust you. I was lucky to find myself in this position.

The next thing is an idea, and a whole lot of drive. I really don’t want to underestimate the drive part. Collecting stories for an anthology, editing them, planning the release cycle, finding cover and/or interior art, formatting, and marketing (especially marketing, gosh), takes a LOT of work. You have to want to do it. Much love to all the publishers out there doing this work every day, it is not easy and I truly appreciate you!

If you have that drive, and you have that community, whatever idea you come up with will succeed. The goal is always uplifting your community. I step outside of my comfort zone on social media every day so that I can market this book as best as I know how. All I want is for as many people as possible to read the incredible stories these authors have written!

What's a question you'd like to be asked, and what's your answer?

How can I preorder? Is there any special swag?

There is a limited edition paperback preorder form up right now at our Linktree (https://linktr.ee/welcometoyourbody) as well as a digital preorder. Preordering is the best way to support the authors!

The limited edition preorder comes with some amazing swag—a custom embossed notebook, a pen, a bookmark, and 3 incredible stickers made by the wonderful P.L. McMillan!

Thanks Ryan, David, and Kai!