Dissecting Pauline Yates
Who is Pauline Yates?
A twice-nominated Australasian Shadows Awards winner and an Aurealis Awards finalist, she has published numerous short stories and poetry with publishers including Black Hare Press, Metaphorosis Magazine, IFWG Publishing, Midnight Echo, PseudoPod, Aurealis Magazine, HWA Poetry Showcase, Twisted Wing Productions and many more.
Her home is on a mountain range where she lives with her family and rescued pets. A magnet for the local wildlife, she loves the birds, the wallabies, and the bandicoots. Not so much the snakes.
Pauline’s Books:
Memories Don’t Lie: books2read.com/PYates-MemoriesDontLie
The Connections We Keep: books2read.com/PYates-Connections
Shattered: books2read.com/PYates-Shattered
Dream Job: books2read.com/PYates-DreamJob
Connect with Pauline here:
Author Website: paulineyates.com
Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/pauline_yates
GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/17174636.Pauline_Yates
BookBub: www.bookbub.com/authors/pauline-yates
Instagram: @midnightmuser1
Facebook: @pauline.mcauliffe
Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/midnightmuser1.bsky.social
What drew you to your preferred writing genres?
I must view life through a dark lens because I can, and will imagine everything that could go wrong in any situation, usually with a gruesome outcome, so naturally, my writing strengths lie in writing dark fiction that leans toward the horror genre. I don’t mind. Horror allows me to explore the extremes in human emotions and I apply what I learn to other genres.
But I also love the ‘what if’ in science fiction, and the broadness of possibilities in any given scenario. With science fiction, the only boundary is how far you can stretch your mind. Stories can be grim, uplifting, educational, enlightening, or offer an alternative or speculative view about the world we live in, our past, present and future. It’s not unusual for me to blend science fiction with horror, and I’m glad I do because sometimes I struggle to keep my characters alive.
How much of your writing is ‘‘write what you know’ or ‘researched to death’?
Elements like character descriptions, mannerisms, and emotional responses will come from what I know or have encountered. Everything else depends on what I’m writing about, and where I set the story. If I know the location, I’ll describe the scenery/climate/weather, etc as seen through my eyes. If not, I research, or research to fact-check specific details to make sure my recollection of something isn’t a total fabrication. It’s not unusual for me to have multiple tabs open for research purposes while writing. The downside is falling into rabbit holes which can be quite distracting. The upside is researching my way out of a plot hole, or discovering new information that could take my story in a direction I hadn’t considered or wasn’t aware was possible.
Have you ever based a character on someone you know?
Sometimes, though I’ll never say who. They become my muse for the character I need and though I change their name and features, the way they talk and their mannerisms, or even their situation, helps me to keep the character clear in my mind while writing. On the flip side, the majority of my characters appear fully formed as if they are real people. Those characters are the most enjoyable to write because they are new and fresh and bring an element of mystery that forces me to do a deep dive into their psyche to find out what makes them tick.
What’s your favourite part of the writing process?
I love the second draft. It’s like a squishy lump of clay that I can give shape to and smooth out the imperfections. The second draft is no easier to work on than the first, but at least I have something to play with.
Is there a story you must write, and have you written it yet?
There is a supernatural story I will write one day. But not yet. This story requires venturing into a very dark and sinister place and I won’t go there until my writing has significantly improved so I can do this story justice.
What’s brewing? What are your next big writing goals?
Take your pick—my next novel, another novella, more short stories, oh, and a poem here and there. I usually have multiple projects on the go so if I need a break from one project, I can jump into another. I’m not happy if I’m not tinkering with something. I’m conscious of building a backlist, so more writing, more submitting, and hopefully more publishing.
Do you have a furry friend writing assistant (dog, cat, bird, Hellhound) and how do they help you achieve your writing goals?
My 22-year-old immortal cat times his need to eat with my writing sessions, so that interruption is no help at all. He’s the complete opposite of my border-collie-X who is always there to celebrate/commiserate the acceptances/rejections. The cat couldn’t give a stuff. But he likes unboxing days when I order books because he gets the box.
In relation to your latest book:
Step into a world where the ties that bind—love, family, and memory—twist into something far more chilling, and discover what really lurks in the shadows of human connection.
This collection of short stories explores the intricate and often chilling ties that bind people together, whether through blood, love, or the strange and supernatural.
Each tale in this collection delves into the darker aspects of human connection, where fear and longing intertwine. From unsettling familial bonds to the eerie relationships people have with their memories and bodies, these stories confront the terrifying and inexplicable aspects of life.
A mother feels phantom pains as her daughter goes into labor; a dollhouse harbors sinister secrets; a dying man confronts the horrors of his last wish. In every story, the connections that once felt comforting or familiar warp into something far more unsettling.
Yet, there is beauty in these bonds—fragile and terrifying, they reveal deep truths about our humanity. This is a collection for those who find themselves drawn to the shadows, where fear is not just an emotion but a bond that ties us all together.
What sparked the idea for this book?
The simple answer is that I wanted to bring my stories home. Some of my earlier publishers are now inactive, and I’ve had a few stories disappear from online print because the publisher closed down.
The more complex answer is that I got serious about pulling together a short story collection when I struggled to find open publishing markets. I had two stories ready to submit, one that had been previously accepted by a prominent anthology but we switched stories at the 11th hour, and another from an anthology that didn’t go ahead. That was around the end of 2023 when the influx of AI-written stories forced markets to close or shorten submission windows everywhere. Add in closures of some favourite publishers and the submissions trail looked quite grim. Rather than wait/hope for suitable markets to reopen, I decided to keep these two stories as originals in a collection.
What challenges did you encounter to finish it?
Choosing the overall theme was the biggest challenge. I studied many short story collections and researched how a collection should be put together, but I needed to find a common link between the stories I wanted to include. The theme I ran with was connections, thus the title. That struck me out of the blue one morning and fitted perfectly.
Is there a particular message that you hope readers will take from the book?
I usually do have a message floating around when I write a story. There are certainly plenty of story messages within this collection. But messages are only my opinion about a topic. If a reader spots a message, then they either relate to it or need to read it. If they don’t spot a message, it’s not for them, at this particular time in their life, or ever. My hope is that readers will take away a message if they need it, or simply enjoy the story. Either is fine.
Is there a recurring theme in this collection?
The collection is all about connections—with each other, with events, with memory. Being a horror collection, these connections do not always have a happy ending, rather they reveal the sinister side of clinging to things we should let go of, if we can.
Do you have a favorite story?
I love all my stories. Each brings something different or tackles a topic that was important to me at the time of writing. A favourite is “Renascent”. It covers a topic that runs through many of my stories, especially my novel.
“The Best Medicine” is another favourite. I sometimes read it and think “Did I write this?” I wrote it at a time when I was floundering. I recall thinking “I just want to write a good horror story.” It took me on a merry journey from winning a contest to getting nominated for awards to getting translated in Italy. Wow! So happy with all of that.
With “The Happiness Man”, I wanted to tackle grief from a different perspective, in that when struggling with grief, it can attract…well, you’ll have to read the story to see where I went with that. This will be the first time this story has appeared in print. It’s only ever appeared in a podcast. My character’s desperate struggle against The Dark is as strong today as it was when I first wrote it. I hope you enjoy it.
