For Women in Horror month, Stephanie Ellis has been in the research trenches talking to women over the age of 50 who write the scary stuff. She wondered if there is indeed life after 50 for the ladies of the dark, and found plenty of evidence pointing to a resounding YES. She shares her findings with both the British Fantasy Society and Horror Tree in three parts this week; this is part one.
I recently wrote a blog post of this title (which can be read here) because I wanted to find other older female writers in the genre and see if any of their experiences mirrored mine. I wanted to see if I was making assumptions and if my perceptions were misconceived, or if my experiences were shared by others. I asked a number of questions and several writers volunteered their answers and I’d like to give the following a huge thank you for giving their time to respond. These include: Alma Katsu, Alyson Faye, Beverley Lee, Catherine McCarthy, CC Winchester/Carla Conorino, Erin Al-Mehairi, Ruthann Jagge, and Valerie B. Williams. In addition, a handful of writers also offered one or two comments online.
A specific point of interest in terms of writing is the age at which the authors began to write seriously, and most actually began in their fifties or later. A couple started a bit earlier and then stopped because of caring duties and then picked up again. Even those who started earlier without these breaks were in their mid-forties. One of the things I comment on in interviews is that I came to writing late and I worry because other interviewees often declare they’ve been writing since childhood and that aspect made me feel a bit of a fraud. But choosing to write later in life seems to be a common thing.
And if you are lucky enough to get into the trad route, here’s trailblazer Alma Katsu: “My situation is probably pretty different from most folks. I’m not an indie writer. My first book, published about fourteen years ago, was a “big book” for one of the big five in the US and I’ve been with a big five ever since. I’ve written in a variety of genres but the last three of my books have been considered horror, and the next one (coming out in September) is solidly horror. I have been lucky to have been embraced by the horror community. But I’m also an older woman, sixty-five. I sold my first novel at fifty. My career has had ups and more than enough downs.”
With regard to feeling invisible, I sought out perspectives from both established and newer writers as to whether they were seeing fewer opportunities and, if so, was this felt to be due to age or other factors
Most of the writers are aware that opportunities are fewer in general due to the economic climate which has seen presses close, and subsequently ensures that submission numbers to remaining presses increase significantly—something which affects all writers. But there is still a strong feeling amongst some that age does play a part. Beverley Lee, says “yes, and not only in publishing.” She is also aware of our ticking clock and “does not pursue the agent route because of the time it takes and we don’t have as much of that left!”
Erin Al-Mehairi references social media (which we touch on later) and its current turbulence requiring us to learn new platforms as one thing making many people feel invisible, predominantly women. “We have so much to juggle it’s hard to have time to cut through the static. Some platforms do skew toward younger women as well.”
Catherine McCarthy sees the trad route as more inherently geared “towards the younger writer, which is a shame, because as we know not all readers are young. I truly believe older readers like to read about older characters and connect with an older writer’s voice.”
Alma Katsu’s path may be on the trad route but she still feels “it’s harder to be an older woman in this field—yes, because it’s harder to be an older woman in the world. We come into an age when we finally can enjoy ourselves because, if we’re lucky, we know ourselves better, only to find the world doesn’t value our experience or our wisdom.”
She continues: “One of my favourite little games to prove this out is, when I’m flying and it comes time to disembark, to see if the stewards say ‘thanks for flying with us’ or whatever when they see me, or if they look away and use this precious moment to relax or turn to the purser behind them to chat. Because I am an old woman and therefore invisible. Granted, I usually wear no makeup and dress very casually when I travel, but 8 out 10 times I am not afforded even this little token of courtesy. I don’t mind; it’s just an experiment (and if you know me, I was a research analyst in my former life and devise these little tests all the time).”
Yet, “not at all,” declares Ruthann Jagge—and she is backed to a certain extent by Valerie B. Williams, who reminds us that the horror community is small, allowing most to be ‘seen’. Her frustrations lie with anthologies ‘of predominantly male writers (with some younger female writers)’ and finds this ‘disheartening.’ Emerian Rich (HorrorAddicts.net) indicated a tendency for men to talk over her or discount what she has said at conventions, whilst another feels ignored when people flock to the side of an attending famous author—this is something that happens to many regardless of age, though.
Newer writer C.C Winchester feels that whilst her age and gender might be a cause of invisibility, it is also “because I’m just starting out. I can feel my age being a factor though when interacting with younger horror lovers. I feel that my love of the genre is not taken seriously.”
There are fewer older female protagonists, unless they fall into the “wise old crone” category, with magical abilities obscuring any physical challenges they may be experiencing. And of course, young female protagonists are popular in YA stories. What is missing is the middle, the fifties to the seventies.
Do you think women are invisible as older writers because they are also invisible within the pages? We see few older female protagonists, including those showing menopausal/post-menopausal symptoms. Our biology impacts our lives in all sorts of messy ways but it’s never shown on page or screen, barring the occasional exception.
All respondents indicated a lack of visibility of older women in book pages, although there has been some improvement in recent times. Alyson Faye sees older women portrayed primarily as crime queens or cougars—something also noted by Erin Al-Mehairi, who recognises more feisty older female detectives coming to the fore. Our biology in later years being messy is not seen as “a big seller or sexy” (Alyson Faye), it “makes people feel uncomfortable” (Beverley Lee). Valerie B. Williams points out; “No one likes to think about it, much less read about it. There are fewer older female protagonists, unless they fall into the “wise old crone” category, with magical abilities obscuring any physical challenges they may be experiencing. And of course, young female protagonists are popular in YA stories. What is missing is the middle, the fifties to the seventies.”
Catherine McCarthy has deliberately taken steps to include the older woman in her recent novella The House at the End of Lacelean Street. She says: “I wanted to offer a menopausal woman’s point of view alongside a young female’s (Stacey) and also an old man’s (Howard). Personally, I very much enjoy books that feature women (and men) around my age, and I know others do, too, but sadly I believe the majority of modern fiction (and films) spotlight too many young characters, and when older characters do appear they’re not always shown in the best or most positive light. I mean, how many heroic characters are 50+?”
My own novel, The Barricade, was also deliberately written with an older, menopausal woman as the main protagonist.
So it looks as though we are all searching to see these nuanced versions of the older woman on the pages, shrugging off the stereotypes so often thrown out as a token gesture to our presence. However, Ruthann Jagge offers a timely warning against “defining by such physical symptoms or descriptions.” She says: “It does a disservice to everything else they have to offer. Or they are used to design “crazy” or “unstable” characters, therefore excuses for partners to leave or situations to become unstable. I’d never use such features myself. Instead, I’d focus on, as you say, other ways and traits they are unique.”
Continued in ‘Is it Downhill After 50(+) for Women in Horror – Part Two, tomorrow!
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