Splatter, Shadows, and Storytelling – A Deep Dive with Horror Author Robert Essig

In this chilling and candid episode of Ink Blots: The Author Podcast, host Rob Southgate is joined by horror master Robert Essig, whose prolific career spans over 30 books and 120+ short stories.

From his unsettling novel Disco Rice to the haunted corridors of This Damned House, Essig shares what it takes to terrify readers with nuance, depth, and disturbing imagination. The two discuss the evolution of splatterpunk, the literary value of horror, and how parenting and real life intersect with monsters on the page.

If you’re a horror writer, reader, or just fascinated by the art of fear, this episode is for you.

🧠 Find Robert's books on Amazon:
👉 Robert's Author Page

🪓 Find Robert's books on Bookshop.org:
👉 Robert's Books can be purchased at Bookshop.org

• Why splatterpunk is more than gore—it’s emotional and political

• What inspired the bizarre brilliance of Baby Fights

• The horror writer’s responsibility to the genre and audience

• How horror functions as both catharsis and commentary

• Behind-the-scenes of writing, editing anthologies, and surviving the publishing world

“I don’t write to shock—I write to reveal something awful that’s already lurking underneath.”
“Sometimes the most terrifying thing is what people do to each other without a single monster in sight.”

• Author of 30+ books, including Disco Rice, This Damned House, Baby Fights

• Published in 120+ short stories

• 2-time Splatterpunk Award nominee

• Editor of 3 anthologies

• Based in East Tennessee

• Known for visceral, boundary-pushing horror with depth and voice

📚 Explore Robert’s work on Amazon

📱 Connect on Socials:

• Instagram/Facebook: @robertessig

• TikTok: @robertessig_author

• Substack: @Robert Essig

Robert Essig, Splatterpunk, horror fiction, indie horror, Disco Rice, Baby Fights, horror author interview, This Damned House, horror podcast, writing horror, visceral fiction, dark fiction, editing anthologies, Substack authors

#InkBlotsPodcast #RobertEssig #Splatterpunk #HorrorFiction #DiscoRice
#ThisDamnedHouse #BabyFights #HorrorAuthors #WritingHorror #IndieHorror

Entering the Mobius Mind with Andrew Najberg

In this episode of Ink Blots: Author Interviews, we step across dimensions with Andrew Najberg, the author behind cerebral and chilling works like The Mobius Door, Gollitok, and The Neverborn Thief. A master of psychological and cosmic horror, Andrew’s storytelling pulls readers into strange realms where reality unravels and fear takes hold.

We dive into:

• The inspiration behind The Mobius Door and Gollitok

• His upcoming releases from Wicked House, Crystal Lake, and Vincere Press

• The craft of balancing slow-burn horror with cosmic dread

• The themes that run through his multi-publisher portfolio

• How teaching creative writing fuels his own work

• Advice for authors navigating horror, sci-fi, and literary crossover

Whether you're a fan of genre-bending horror or a writer looking to challenge traditional form, this conversation will keep you intrigued—and unsettled.

📚 Books by Andrew Najberg include:

• The Mobius Door (2023)

• Gollitok (2023)

• In Those Fading Stars (2024)

• Try Not to Die In the Shadowlands (2024)

• The Neverborn Thief (2025)

• Extinction Dream (2025)

• Paradise Falls (co-authored, 2025)

• Dead Hearts Eat the Light (2026)

📖 Short fiction published in: Fusion Fragment, Khoreo, Translunar Travelers Lounge, Utopia Science Fiction, Psychopomp Review, and more.

🧠 Find Andrew’s books on Amazon:
👉 Andrew's Author Page

🪓 Find Andrew’s books on Bookshop.org:
👉 Andrew's Books can be purchased at Bookshop.org

📘 Facebook: @andrewnajbergauthor
📸 Instagram: @anajberg
🐦 Twitter/X: @anajberg

Andrew Najberg, The Mobius Door, Gollitok, cosmic horror, speculative fiction, horror novels, psychological horror, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, Try Not to Die, literary horror

#AndrewNajberg #TheMobiusDoor #CosmicHorror #PsychologicalHorror #SpeculativeFiction #TryNotToDie #WickedHousePublishing #LiteraryHorror #InkBlotsPodcast #Gollitok

Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review Ink Blots: Author Interviews to help more readers and writers discover these amazing conversations.

Haunting the Bayou with Blaine Daigle

This week on Ink Blots: Author Interviews, we step into the eerie world of Southern Gothic horror with Blaine Daigle, a Louisiana-based author whose terrifying tales are inspired by haunted plantations, cursed woodlands, and the folklore of the Deep South. A high school English teacher by day and horror writer by night, Blaine blends literary craft with chilling storytelling rooted in the bayou's shadows.

From cursed woods to haunted minds, Blaine’s work captures the psychological and paranormal terror unique to Southern horror fiction.

Having lived his entire life deep in the gut of Louisiana, Blaine Daigle grew up surrounded by ghost stories of haunted plantations and cursed woodlands. He still lives in Louisiana with his wife and two children and can't wait to pass on the nightmares to his kids..when they are old enough. During the day he teaches high school English. At night, he enjoys diving deep into the fears that shape and mold the world around him.

📚 Follow Blaine Daigle:
📘 Facebook: Blaine Daigle
📸 Instagram: @blainedaigleauthor
🐦 X (Twitter): @bdaigle_author

🧠 Find Blaine’s books on Amazon:
👉 Blaine's Author Page

🪓 Find Blaine’s books on Bookshop.org:
👉 Blaine's Books can be purchased at Bookshop.org

Blaine Daigle, Southern Gothic, horror fiction, Louisiana author, haunted stories, high school teacher author, ghost stories, cursed forests, paranormal fiction, bayou horror

#BlaineDaigle #SouthernGothic #BayouHorror #HauntedLouisiana #HorrorFiction #GhostStories #IndieHorrorAuthor #InkBlotsPodcast #CursedWoods #HorrorTeacher

Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review Ink Blots: Author Interviews to help more readers and writers discover these amazing conversations.