An Interview with Evil Girlfriend Media Founder/President Katie Cord

We here at Girls of Geek are always excited when we find a true gem in the publishing world.  So needless to say we have been close followers of Evil Girlfriend Media.  This publishing company focuses on horror, science fiction and fantasy, something right up our alley.  To date they have released five books that have included the full length novel, The Heart-Shaped Emblor by Alaina Ewing and four short story anthologies; Witches, Stitches & Bitches, Roms, Bombs & Zoms, Stamps, Vamps & Tramps and their most recent release, Bless Your Mechanical Heart. With so many quality books coming out of this company, we thought it would be a good idea today to speak with the brains behind Evil Girlfriend Media, Founder/President and Writer, Katie Cord.

Girls of Geek: What led to the creation of Evil Girlfriend Media? 
Katie Cord: There were multiple things that led to the creation of EGM. The first being that back in 2006, my boyfriend called me his evil girlfriend after he saw me express my pent up anger at being bullied in nursing school through a horrific cartoon I drew. After that, I started a blog, Evil Girlfriend with a Pen where I wrote about my creative struggles in cartooning, writing, and life. Then in 2011, I created Evil Girlfriend Media to self-publish my own work, starting with He Left Her at the Altar, She Left Him to the Zombies. 

Girls of Geek: What motivated you to get into publishing? 
Katie Cord: I always wanted to create without others influencing my work. I wanted it my way. People were starting to make money and be validated by publishing on their own. There was less stigma attached to independent publishing.  I thought I could do it. After having a self-published book out for two years, some of my other writing friends started talking about doing it. After being publicly embarrassed because of the poor editing and formatting of the book, plus the struggle to get noticed in the self-pub world, I did not want anyone to go through that. Sometimes, it works better to let someone who is more skilled than you handle those details, freeing you up to create. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the hybrid author 100%. It is the way of the future.

Girls of Geek: Now you've worn all the hats at EGM. Writer, Publisher, Editor. What is it that drives your passion for literature? 
Katie Cord: I've said this in other interviews but it still holds true. I've always had this natural desire to read and know story. At age four, I would sit in our living room floor crying because I couldn't read the words in the book. Then as I got older, I was this chubby lonely little opinionated girl with weird teeth, thick glasses, and unruly hair that lived out in the country in Pulaski County, Kentucky. I read all the time to distract myself from the things that bothered me in my world. It was an escape. I want to share stories that not only teach us things about ourselves and our world but give others the same escape I needed to survive and enrich my own life. Plus, you can ask other kids from my childhood, I was always trying to start a club or business.

Girls of Geek: What are some of your influences when it comes to writing? 
Katie Cord: Oh goodness, this gets embarrassing. Not because they aren't great writers but the disparity of women on the list. From childhood, Stephen King, Nevil Shute, Ray Bradbury, Ira Levin, Ann M. Martin, Margaret Atwood, Madeleine L'Engle, George Orwell, H.G. Wells, and Robert Heinlein. In all fairness, my grandmother owned a junk store and as payment for working for her, I would get to pick out all of the books from huge estate sale libraries.  I benefited from the sold-off books of deceased, rich, educated people whose families didn't care about their vast love of science fiction. I still love the smell of old books.

In my adult life, I've been exposed to more popular fiction. One of the folks I really love reading is Rachel Caine. Four years before I met her, I read WORKING STIFF and thought about how I wanted to write stories about smart women having adventures without romance as the driving force of the book. I also love Octavia Butler. She was a highly intelligent woman who wrote about concepts that people still have trouble grasping. I absolutely loved DAWN.  That damn book broke my heart. I wept for the main character, her alien lover, and how shitty humanity can be.  And these days, my work with EGM and as a writer has introduced me to a bunch of writers whose friendship influences me greatly.  My friend Timothy W. Long has really influenced my life, Evil Girlfriend Media, and my writing. The man writes like a poet about murder, mayhem, and the zombie apocalypse. How can you not love a man who has a title that includes, "Satan's Glory Hole?"  Trailer Boy a.k.a Ken Scholes – author of the Psalms of Isaak series and a whole pack of short stories -- has also really impacted my writing. Basically, he says, "Trailer Girl, get your act together and write!" He threatens to destroy EGM by starting his own competing publishing empire if I don't write for myself. I think that makes him an influence.   Or maybe Satan.

I’ve also been influenced by my writing group, Cascade Writers Workshop. It is where I met Alaina Ewing, our flagship author and closest friend. Stephanie Bissette-Roark who is one of our spot on submissions editors and who we wouldn’t get through our submission pile without. Karen Junker who reads for us and advocates for good practices in working with authors (sometimes we do make faux pas). Then there are the multitudes of people who’ve believed in Evil Girlfriend Media and me. An encouraging word goes a long way when you feel like giving up.

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Girls of Geek: What brought about the idea to revitalize the short story anthology that EGM has now released four of? 
Katie Cord: Well, I love short stories and I love anthologies. How could I not want my company to release them? We are going to focus on full length manuscripts in 2015. We have two major anthology projects in the works and plan to do another Three Little Words in 2015.

Girls of Geek: What can you tell us about Bless Your Mechanical Heart? 
Katie Cord: BLESS YOUR MECHANICAL HEART is a collection of short stories all meant to make the reader think, Bless Your Mechanical Heart. Sometimes, the reader will find themselves thinking this about the human characters as well.  This is a fusion of a southern saying and classic futuristic science fiction story elements. I'm absolutely in love with this book and I hope others will see how great it is too.  It includes stories by Seanan McGuire, Peter Clines, Ken Scholes, Jody Lynn Nye, Sarah Hans, Jason Sanford, Fiona Patton, and Lucy A. Snyder. It is edited by the award-winning editor, Jennifer Brozek.

Girls of Geek: What advice can you offer to up and coming writers/editors/entrepreneurs who are reading this interview and are hoping to do what you do?
Katie Cord: Well, I'm going to give you advice I've learned from other successful people in the business who mentor me almost daily: 1) Be nice. 2) Know your limits and boundaries. 3) Try as best as you can to be honest and forthright with others. 4) Forgive yourself if you are not perfect. 5) Learn from your mistakes.  6) The thing that will separate you from the coulda-shoulda-woulda-beens is that you never stop working. You just learn to work more effectively. 7) Quit talking and just do it.  8) Follow through with your promises and if you can't, figure out a way to remedy the best you can. 9) Realize, for you to succeed others, do not have to fail (courtesy of Jennifer Brozek). 10) Did I mention be nice? Included in that, watch your words to others. Entitlement and derogatory comments get you nowhere.  

Girls of Geek: Is there a particular story that you as a writer are dying to tell? 
Katie Cord: Yes, I actually have two manuscripts I'd like to take 4-5 weeks off and work on. One is about two sisters in the zombie apocalypse. The other is a YA about a young girl who's half zombie in a post-apocalyptic dystopian society modeled after the McCarthy era. I'm also in the early stages of working on a time travel love story with a good friend of mine. All my stories are usually about self-discovery and surviving difficult circumstances. So, I don't know if that answers your question. I mean, like all writers, I have about 8-10 stories milling around in there at any given time that are DYING to get out of my head.

Girls of Geek: What's next for Evil Girlfriend Media? 
Katie Cord: Evil Girlfriend Media has one more book coming out this year that will be announced in May. Then we are releasing at least six full length books in 2015, one anthology, and potentially a couple of e-novellas.  We have a Kickstarter coming out later in the fall. It is being rescheduled from this summer.

To learn more about Evil Girlfriend Media, visit their website: http://www.evilgirlfriendmedia.com/

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