Show Notes
Ashley Winstead joins Rachel Redd on Talking Horror to explore how thriller and horror serve as a powerful mirror for the human condition, from the suffocating weight of hyper-competitiveness to the complex dynamics of control and submission.
In this episode, Ashley and Rachel dive into: The Power of Words: How being a shy "Navy brat" moving every two years led Ashley to find companionship and an innate love for language within books. Poetry as a First Love: Why Ashley’s process remains rooted in "painterly" self-expression and the precision of prose, inspired by poets like Richard Siken and Mary Oliver.
The 10-Year Hiatus: The "lore" of how a traumatic car accident and 12 MFA rejections led Ashley to quit writing for a decade while she worked in the music and TV industries.
Academic Thick Skin: How the "grind" of earning a PhD in literature finally gave Ashley the resilience to face the criticism inherent in the publishing world.
The "Revenge" Thriller: How being told her fantasy novel lacked plot motivated Ashley to "revenge write" her debut thriller, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, in a fugue state.
Cults and Control: A deep dive into The Last Housewife and how it explores patriarchal submission and the real-life Sarah Lawrence sex cult.
Faith vs. Fear: Exploring the existential and religious trauma themes in Midnight is the Darkest Hour, where faith often acts as a "bandage" for the wound of uncertainty.
Grief as a Detective: How the loss of her father fueled This Book Will Bury Me and its exploration of how grief makes us susceptible to obsession and true crime sleuthing.
Whether you are a "prose snob," a fan of "unreliable narrators," or an eldest daughter fueled by spite, this conversation offers a fascinating look at the grit behind the glamour of storytelling.
Timestamps: 00:00 — The car accident and 12 rejections. 02:15 — Intro: Welcome Ashley Winstead to Talking Horror. 03:09 — Growing up shy: Books as an escape for a Navy kid. 05:14 — First Love: Why poetry and Richard Siken are Ashley’s "Bibles". 13:54 — The 10-year break: Music industry, Hollywood, and the PhD grind. 22:17 — Genre Hopping: From YA Fantasy to "Revenge Writing" a thriller. 32:26 — In My Dreams I Hold a Knife: Toxic ambition and 10-year reunions. 42:16 — The Last Housewife: Exploring "tradwives," submission, and cults. 55:43 — Midnight is the Darkest Hour: Religious trauma and faith as a mask for fear. 1:03:54 — This Book Will Bury Me: Processing grief through true crime obsession. 1:14:23 — Coming Soon: A sneak peek at Hot Girl Murder Club.
Follow Ashley Winstead: Website: ashleywinstead.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleywinsteadbooks/ Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd
More from Talking Horror
Taylor Grothe, who also writes as T.G. Laine, is the author of the YA folk horror debut Hollow, the upcoming Monstrous Beautiful Things, and the new sapphic dark academia horror romance Lethal Kiss.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode covers some sensitive topics such as Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence.
Neil McRobert is the host of the Talking Scared podcast, a PhD in Gothic literature, and the author of the Stephen King blurbed novella Good Boy, with the chapbook House of Butterflies coming in December. Neil shares how a Vulture reading list for True Detective: Night Country led to Good Boy, a Northern Weird folk horror novella about a man, his dog, and a child-eating monster in a small English town. He explains why Good Boy is his answer to Stephen King's It, and what it really says about bigotry and getting stuck in your hometown. He gets honest about imposter syndrome at StokerCon, perfectionism, and why every podcast host should read the damn book. Plus, first details on House of Butterflies, set in a 1964 leaded gasoline refinery, and Bad Home, a violent home invasion novel about economic inequality.
Isabel Cañas is the USA Today bestselling, Bram Stoker Award nominated author of The Hacienda, Vampires of El Norte, and her YA gothic debut, The House of Gardenias. Isabel shares how an "air quotes too Mexican" rejection on her honeymoon in Mexico City led to The Hacienda, and how she defended her PhD in medieval Islamic history the day before it came out. She reveals the 1850s quote from Rio Grande bandit Juan Cortina about "flocks of vampires" that turned Vampires of El Norte into a story about settler colonialism. She connects The Possession of Alba Díaz to pregnancy, bodily autonomy, and the fall of Roe v. Wade. And she opens up about the real family story, her grandfather's abusive stepmother counting tortillas, that opens The House of Gardenias.
Noelle Ihli is the international bestselling, Bram Stoker Award longlisted author of Ask for Andrea, Grey After Dark, and her latest thriller, The Last to Drown.