An Unusual and Gifted Horror Writer
When I say Horror Writer you think ___________. Did you fill that blank in with an African American woman in her early thirties who graduated from Reed College, a notoriously liberal school? No?
Meet Jemiah Jefferson. "I have always been interested in a sympathetic way in monsters," says the Portland, Oregon author. "I´ve long been a proponent of He´s not evil, he´s just misunderstood!" Since she was a child, Jefferson has had a soft spot for vampires -especially the George Hamilton and Frank Langella Draculas. {quotes}"Mostly I just love vampire anything, and any other ‘monster´ genre where the monster has a personality, intelligence, and emotions."{/quotes}
Her books, Fiend (Leisure, 2005) and Wounds (Leisure, 2002), do not fall strictly within what is typically thought of as the horror genre because she mixes in erotica and other elements. "I just write what the characters are, and what they do," Jefferson says. "My editor at Leisure Books encourages me to be conscious of what the mass-market horror genre is, and to try to fit within that framework, but I try not to think about that too much—I just write the story, and it is what it is." Though mixed genre books are gaining in popularity, it is not without its detractors. "I have taken a lot of criticism because my novels aren´t 'horror’ enough, but I just tell the story in a way that flows for me, otherwise I can´t do it." Jefferson definitely has a strong enough character to hold up under this kind of criticism.
Though Jefferson adds many humanistic qualities to her "monster" figures, she does not shy away from the good time side of things. "I am always interested in the visceral and the grotesque and I try to explore that in ways that don't violate the story's overall tone of erotic melancholy." Jefferson also has direct hit sense of humor in her writing. Witness this one two punch as she boils down the essence of her style of horror. "Mostly my novels are about relationships between people, and some of them happen to be blood-drinking superhumans. But they put on their pants one leg at a time, just the same."
To get her first book published, Jefferson won a contest in 1997 where she won $150.00 and a literary agent. Her new agent was a friend with an editor at Leisure who loved Jefferson´s novel. "The editor sent me a contract within two weeks," says Jefferson. "Two and a half years later, the first novel was released. Around that same time, my agent vanished and hasn´t been heard from since." Maybe he was a vampire?
According to Jefferson there aren´t any peculiar expectations placed upon her as an African-American female writer in this genre. "I wish there were more of us," she says. She believes that younger writers are a lot less restricted in what genre they write in or about. "Horror is something that has become more acceptable and commonplace in the cultural landscape in the last thirty years," Jefferson says, adding hope for the future of a more racially mixed author base.
Horror enjoys a reputation for rabid fans that are loyal to their favorite writers. "Once you´ve enjoyed a particular writer's voice and style, you want more of it," says Jefferson. "Just ask Stephen King fanatics!" Because of Jefferson´s unique take on the genre, she´s attracted her own loyal legion of fans. "They tend to be quite young—late teens, early twenties—brainy, politically aware—especially when it comes to gender roles and identities—and very passionate about things they like." That said, Jefferson offers that older people like her work quite a bit as well. "I find that it has mostly to do with a passionate love of erotica and character-driven stories with the occasional shock of violence."
Jefferson has a web site, but believes that her books mostly sell through word-of-mouth. Her publisher has limited funds for advertising and promotion. Jefferson estimates all three novels together have sold a total of about 25,000 copies. Doing some quick math with Jefferson´s estimations of time spent on her third novel divided by the advance it works out to be less than $4.00/hr. Though Jefferson would like to see larger gains for her work in the future she recognizes that, "some authors don´t see a thin dime."
If you are lucky enough to get to the point of dealing with editors at a publishing house Jefferson has some golden rule-esque advice to impart. "Show respect—which means meet your deadlines; this is a job and they have deadlines, too. Keep in touch. Be friendly. Be grateful." There must be boatloads of sloppy authors out there because almost every writer and editor makes the neat-n-clean plea. "Make sure your manuscripts are as tight and clean as possible so that the editorial staff doesn´t have to waste a lot of time making sense of what you´ve written." Got that—no cat hair, no perfume, no pink pages, and no 10-point curly-q fonts—you do want your manuscript to be read, don´t you?
For Jefferson loyalists she is working on a fourth novel in her current series through Leisure titled, A Drop of Scarlet. Jefferson muses that she has more stories in her for another book but it would take "a lot more money before I will do it."
Perhaps the reason why Jefferson´s mixing of genres is so successful is due to her myriad creative charges. "I´d love to write a noir that I´ve been mentally kicking around for more than ten years; I´d like to write young adult novels, and grown-up novels with animal characters; I´d like to write a cyberpunk novel; I´d like to write some plays," she says. Jefferson´s own passion for writing is clearly evident here—she is a bona fide font of story energy. Once the vampire series comes to an end, she can begin exploring a couple of these ideas she´s been kicking around. "I´m looking forward to having the time to try these things, and then to start the long process of looking for a publisher all over again from scratch."
She stops to consider all that work. "Wait: I´m not looking forward to that part at all."
Jemiah Jefferson
 Jemiah Jefferson is the author of the short-story collection ST*RF*CK*NG,
and the novels Voice of the Blood, Wounds, Fiend and the upcoming A Drop
of Scarlet, published by Leisure Books. She has also published short
fiction, and music, film, and literature reviews for local newspapers and
national magazines. A voracious reader, she began writing stories as a
child to create more reading material so that she would never run out. To
this day, her intense love of language, music, and cinema, as well as the
unpredictability of the human race, influence and inspire her writing. She
is a proud employee of Dark Horse Comics, and completely lacks restraint
in record stores. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
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