We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cat Voleur. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cat below.

Alright, Cat thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I think the most meaningful project that I’ve worked on, so far, has been my debut book, Revenge Arc.

I had been querying a different novella for several months when I started the rough draft, and was feeling discouraged. I wanted to write something different, but the modern epistolary style that I wanted to tackle felt like it might be too ambitious. I was afraid no one would be interested, and that I would be unable to do the concept justice on my own.

It was not only a validating experience when the manuscript was accepted, but very hopeful. I ended up publishing through Archive of the Odd, who specializes in true-to-source, found file fiction. The team got behind my ideas and elevated the book to something I didn’t even know was possible.

Although I had been afraid of collaborating on such a personal, out of the box story, I found it to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Everyone put so much of their time and talent into the story, and that just transformed it into something so unique that I’m really proud of.

Cat, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Cat Voleur. I am, as of a few months ago, a horror author.

I started freelancing as a ghost writer a little over ten years ago, and eventually started writing under my own name. I stuck mostly to the field of horror journalism, which I still consider to be my day job. This includes co-hosting the Slasher Radio podcast and working as a co-founder of The Sinister Scoop, a website geared toward supporting other creators in the horror space. I have recently been promoted to Format and Design Editor of PsychoToxin Press as well.

While all of my freelancing is still important to me, my focus over the last year has been writing and selling horror fiction. I debuted my first book, Revenge Arc, this August. My first short story collection, Kill Your Darlings, is coming out at the end of this month. I have a full release schedule already planned for 2024 including four titles across three presses.

As a person I like taking on new professional challenges. As a writer, I like conquering increasingly ambitious projects.

Have you ever had to pivot?

A couple years ago I was working as a professional Dungeon Master, running online games of 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons for a small gaming company. I didn’t know when I started that such a cool job existed, and I felt so lucky that I got to pursue that passion professionally. It quickly went from part time to full time, and I adored the work so much that I let it become my main priority for over a year.

Even though it was still a freelance position, it the first time in my adult life that I’d ever taken a break from having writing as my main focus, and I was surprised at how much I loved it. The money was pretty good, and I was having the time of my life running games. The transition into it had felt so natural, and I could really see myself doing it forever.

Unfortunately, I got really sick. I stuck it out as long as I could, but I had an upper respiratory infection, terrible coughs, fatigue, and my voice just wasn’t holding out for multiple three-hour gaming sessions every day. I took some off to recover, and while it was always my intention to return, I think it ended up being for the best that I didn’t. I lost contact with the company after getting locked out of my account and while it was crushing to be forced out of a job that I had loved so much, the downtime gave me the push I needed to start pursuing fiction writing as opposed to solely nonfiction.

That was such a scary transition to make. Writing is a competitive field, and fiction writing even more so. Even though my dream had always been publishing a horror book under my own name, I’m not sure I ever would have done it under those conditions. I was enjoying myself so much at a day job that, while incredibly fulfilling, took most of my creative energy. While I was looking for full-time freelance work, I started editing and querying my first novella, and submitting short stories for publication. Finding a little bit of success in that field (and I do mean a little bit) finally gave me the courage to commit to prioritizing my fiction.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

A lot of the resources that I wish I’d had are friends and colleagues.

That sounds super corny, but it really helps to have a community of people who have been through what I’m going through, and are willing to help guide me when it comes to the specifics.

This is one reason why my good friend, Tasha Reynolds, wanted to set up a website. We worked on The Sinister Scoop together to be that resource for burgeoning creatives, especially in the indie horror space. We’re still in the early days of building that community, but we’re working on establishing that team of creatives. We have editors, cover designers, writers, and interior formatters coming together to pool our knowledge and make the space a little less intimidating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://catvoleur.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catvoleur/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cat_Voleur

Image Credits
Revenge Arc Cover — Grim Poppy Designs Kill Your Darlings Cover — Grim Poppy Designs Puppet Shark: The Novelization Cover — Ruth Anna Evans The Bad Thing Has Already Happened Cover — Angel Krause