Questions and interviews
Here you can read the answers to some of the questions people have asked Rhiannon, arranged by theme. For more questions asked by fans online or if you'd like to ask a question yourself you can visit the fan forums. (You need to register to post a question.)
About writing
What's your favourite book that you've written?
For a long time I would have said Waking Dream, because I felt that in that novel I managed to convey my vision of that world effectively and I learned so much while writing it. Now (in 2007) I might have to change my answer to Bad Blood because I feel my writing has greatly improved in this novel and because I found the characters and the story so compelling - even as I was writing it.
Why did you decide to write a horror novel?
I didn't exactly set out to. But after several novels that have had science fiction or fantastical settings I wanted to write something that would take place in the real world. While I was staying in the Lake District I found the scenery very evocative and the house where I was staying made me think about hidden rooms and old secrets. The story that grew out of that became very sinister and I realised that I wanted to write something frightening. Bad Blood turned out to be psychological horror about sinister secrets hidden in a make believe game.
Do you read horror novels and watch horror films?
When I was ten I fell in love with the incredibly sinister Marianne Dreams and recently I was very impressed by Chris Wooding's The Haunting of Alaizabel Grey. I've read some Stephen King and like his Bachman Books most of his writing. In adult fiction I read Barbara Vine and Minette Waters. I'm not overly attracted to blood and gore - although a lot of characters do meet violent deaths in my Hex trilogy, so I tend to prefer psychological horror to gorefests. I recommend the anime film Perfect Blue but generally I don't watch horror films. Marianne Dreams was made into a film called Paperhouse and I found it so frightening i couldn't finish watching it.
I get very involved with stories and with horror fiction you are not in control. Even as a reader or watcher, it's nerve-racking wondering what will happen when someone opens a door or turns out a light or goes for a walk in the wood... I find it easier to write horror - where I am in control - than to watch or read it.