Four Questions with Zachary Rosenberg
I’m excited that author Zachary Rosenberg stopped by Tamika Talks Terror today. I met Zachary at StokerCon 2023 in Pittsburgh, where he and I participated in the same author reading. His story that day blew me away, and he delivered it as if he were a performer on a stage. He has two books on the horizon, one out this summer from Brigids Gate Press.
Tamika Thompson: What is horror?
Zachary Rosenberg: What is horror? That's a tough question indeed. I would say works intended to invoke fear, anxiety, and/or dread. Something written primarily to unsettle, to cause discomfort.
Thompson: What is the spookiest experience you’ve ever had?
Rosenberg: Spookiest experience I've ever had? Hmm, I've never had any paranormal experiences here. Probably the creepiest thing was walking back to a hotel from a venue at about 1 in the morning with dark woods on every side and just nothing but the sound of the wind and some animals.
Thompson: What is the scariest book you’ve read and what about it frightened you?
Rosenberg: Right now, probably Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. The very premise and the frank depiction of a world where humans are meat? Terrifying.
Thompson: Your debut novella, Hungers As Old As This Land, is set in a post-Civil War settlement. What drew you to this time period?
Rosenberg: The post-Civil War period is a huge turning point in American history: the death of the confederacy and slavery, the exploration of the west increasing. There's the sense of a changing nation. But one caught between the old ways and modernization. One still subjected to tyranny, discrimination, and brutality. Personally, I feel that's a setting ripe for more exploration!
Zachary Rosenberg is a horror writer living in Florida. He crafts horrifying tales by night, and, by day, he practices law, which is even more frightening. His forthcoming debut novella Hungers as Old As This Land will be published by Brigids Gate Press and his first novel The Devils and the Deep Blue Sea will be published by Darklit Press. You may find his works released or forthcoming at Air and Nothingness Press, Dead Sea Press and Nosetouch Press. Follow him on Twitter at @ZachRoseWriter.
