Dark bleatings everyone! I’m back with another author spotlight revolving around those involved in new anthology, The Perfectly Fine Neighborhood. Today, we’re quizzing Annie Knox! Her story is one of my favourites in the whole book, and (no spoilers) the ending FLOORED me.
Annie Knox is an award-winning writer and actress from London (my side of the pond, yay!). A lover of horror, the darker side of fiction, and psychological thrillers, she is both an author and a scriptwriter with a lot of work under her belt.
Kayleigh: Annie, so good to have you here, welcome! Can you tell us a little about your story in The Perfectly Fine Neighborhood, and what (if anything outside of the theme) inspired it?
Annie: At the time I was working in a coffee shop that although wasn’t the worst job in the world, was incredibly exhausting and understaffed. So a lot of the main character’s grumpiness and general fatigue was just me releasing a bit of job-rage. The relationship between him and his ghost kind of fell out as I was writing. I knew from the start I was keen to play with the idea noted in the submission guidelines of not being able to see ghosts being considered a disability.
Kayleigh: I love that you used that element of the universe, I think it’s one of the really interesting details about the world that Kozeniewski and Young originally created. Your characters and their relationships feel so authentic, which I assume has come with practice. What first inspired you to write? And how long have you been writing?
Annie: Since I was very little! I can’t really remember to be honest, I’ve always loved writing. I was a huge reader as a kind, books were my main kind of escapism when I was young, I had shelves and shelves of books and I always wanted more for birthdays and Christmas.
Kayleigh: I’m in my late 30s and my Christmas list (yes, I still make one!) has nothing but books on it. Horror books. What was your own personal gateway into horror?
Annie: The first proper horror I remember reading was The Shining by Stephen King, when I was maybe twelve, but I enjoyed spooky stories and scary films before that…my first serious horror films were What Lies Beneath, and Halloween – after Halloween I couldn’t sleep and cried thinking that Michael was coming to get me. Now I watch it as an adult and appreciate the filmmaking but don’t find it scary in the slightest! Me and my mum had a tradition for a while of watching scary films together every Halloween, so that’s probably where it all came from.
Kayleigh: My mum and I watch Halloween every… er… Halloween! Why aren’t the 4 of us best friends?! And I feel like there should be a club for those of us ushered into the horror world by Stephen King! Do you currently have a favourite author or book?
Annie: I have a go-to of The Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey. I doubt I’ll ever read anything quite like that again! I find it hard to reread it now, I’ve read the series twice, but I can’t imagine another set of books managing to get to me in the same way. Something in the relationships, the psychological dives into the characters. It’s an exceptional series, if you can get on with the writing style.
Kayleigh: I’ll have to add that to my list, I’m unfamiliar. Can you name a book that you wish more people talked about?
Annie: John Dies at the End.
Kayleigh: I love the audiobook version of that one! Okay, time for the most serious question of all: what is your zombie apocalypse plan?
Annie: I’m screwed the minute my contact lenses break or dry out. If I don’t get laser eye surgery before the apocalypse I doubt I’ll make it far!
Kayleigh: Oh. Oh dear. You know, I’ll still consider adding you to my survival gang if you promise to keep us entertained with theatre! Let’s move back on to your work – do you have a favourite of your own stories/scripts?
Annie: I’d say my recent short stories I love, although funnily enough I love the rejected pieces the most – sometimes the ones I think are crap are accepted, and the ones I think are amazing I just can’t find a home for!
Kayleigh: I can relate to that – it’s a subjective minefield! Are you working on something new right now?
Annie: I’ve just subbed my second novella to a few publishers, and I’m working on a couple of short stories for various publications.
Kayleigh: Ooh, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! Okay, last one: can you tell us something interesting about yourself that people may not know?
Annie: I wish – I’m not really that interesting! I’ve done some acting before for short film and theatre around London. One sci-fi I did recently (Futurity Infinite by Danny Cotton) picked up some festival wins, so that’s good.
Kayleigh: I can’t disagree more about you not being interesting! Okay, I’ll let you get back to your day, thank you, Annie!
Annie’s story in the anthology is an absolute belter and I can’t wait for you guys to read it. If you’d like to learn more about Annie Knox, buy a copy of The Perfectly Fine Neighborhood, or check out Annie’s work, there are some links for you below (pics are embedded with links):
Happy Goat Horror 
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