We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Florence. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.
Alright, Kelly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Even before I could fully write, I wanted to tell stories. Whether it was through a puppet show (a la Mr. Rogers Neighborhood) or performing a monologue about the latest idea that popped in to my brain, I was creative. Through dance classes, reading books, and being exposed to theatre and film at an early age I knew this was the world I wanted to be a part of. Although the path changed courses from ballerina to special effects make-up artist, to writer, director, and author, the path was always the same: be creative and follow my passions.
Kelly, 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?
As the co-author of six books in The Science of Horror book series and the upcoming Goth Girls Guide to Travel, I’m fascinated by all things horror. When Meg Hafdahl (my co-author and best friend) met, we realized we had so much in common. We both loved reading, doing research, writing, watching horror movies and television shows, and traveling. We started our podcast Horror Rewind to revisit the horror movies of our childhoods to see if they lived up to our memories of them. We discovered through our weekly conversations that we naturally gravitated towards the history, culture, lore, science, and psychology behind the films we were rewatching. This led us to write our first book together, The Science of Monsters.
We expanded our scope to our most passionate purpose in The Science of Women in Horror, in which we focus on the female tropes in horror media while highlighting the women who have contributed and invented the horror genre for generations. We are so proud of that book and we even got nominated for a Bram Stoker Award and a Rondo Hatton award in the same year for it. We followed with writing about one of our heroes, Stephen King, in The Science of Stephen King, which was part biography and part exploring the real stories that inspired the books he wrote. True crime was a natural next step when we wrote The Science of Serial Killers then focused on more history in The Science of Witchcraft. Our latest book, coming out September 6, is The Science of Agatha Christie in which we again explore the life and inspirations for the Queen of Mystery’s tales.
Oftentimes, readers will say they don’t want us to “ruin” their favorite horror film or book with the science behind it. What we’ve discovered, though, is that truth is often scarier than fiction and our books enhance the viewer and reader experience! We’ve also been told that our books provide a gateway in to the genre for those who are fearful of horror.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
First and foremost, we are passionate about female-driven, diverse content in all media but especially in the horror genre. We believe in highlighting the stories and voices of those who are underrepresented and seek to make connections with others. While our experience may be unique, Meg and I had never met another female identifying person who loved horror as much as we do. That bond, and our goal of bringing more diverse voices to media, has led us to write fiction and non-fiction that focuses on topics that may be overlooked.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Any time we connect with a reader, in-person or online, it’s rewarding to know we made an impact on someone. As a writer, sometimes it can feel very solitary. Even though Meg and I are co-authors, we wonder when we’re deep in research or an edit if anyone will “get” what we’re trying to do. Thankfully, we’ve been blessed with an amazing response from our readers and podcast listeners who appreciate our mission and interact with us to let us know!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kellyflorence.com
- Instagram: @kellyflorence19
- Facebook: Kelly Florence
- Linkedin: Kelly Florence
- Twitter: @kellyflorence
- Youtube: Horror Rewind
- Other: www.horrorrewind.com
Image Credits
Headshots: Katrina Hanneman, Studio Laguna