#WriterWednesday Interview with Eric Raglin

I’d like to welcome Eric Raglin to the blog for #WriterWednesday holiday edition!

Favorite treat: Ginger cookies, especially this time of year. Such a cozy treat!

A treat that makes you gag: Even before I became a vegetarian, I was grossed out by pork rinds.

Something crazy you did on vacation: Climbed a fourteener in Colorado. It was brutal but 100% worth it.

Something you’d never do again on vacation: The first time I visited Sweden, I forgot to book a place to stay for my last night in Stockholm. I scrambled to find a new one as the sun was going down. I’d like to never do that again.

Best vacation memory: Jumping into the waves at Secret Beach in Hawaii. Absolute magic.

A vacation disaster that you’d rather forget: Getting sick on a cruise ship from Sweden to Finland with an annoying cabinmate. It was awful.

Most favorite place to write/edit: I love writing in a cozy coffee shop.

The worst place to try to write because of all the distractions: I hate writing when someone has a TV on loud. It’s impossible to focus.

The thing you like most about being a writer: Making friends and sharing stories with other morbid, creative weirdos.

The thing you like least about being a writer: Marketing. I’ve never enjoyed selling things.

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life: As cheesy as it sounds, the friends I met along the way. Truly lovely people!

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over: I wish I had never worked with presses that don’t pay.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Quit my job with no other job lined up. That might sound basic, but it was terrifying.

Something you chickened out from doing: I chickened out of snorkeling the second I saw a shark. Didn’t feel like getting eaten that day!

The funniest thing to happen to you: I have a thousand hilarious stories from when I was a teacher. One that sticks out is the time a ninth grader (yes, ninth grader) attempted to shotgun an energy drink in my class and wound up spraying half of it on my face. Annoying in the moment, but so funny in retrospect. I hope that kid is doing okay now.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: When I was a high school senior, I read a super raunchy poem I’d written out loud to the class, and I still look back on it with horror. What was I thinking?!

The nicest thing a reader said to you: A reader told me she’d never look at ticks the same after reading my story “A Most Bulbous Congregation.” I’m proud of that one.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I don’t tend to read reviews, but I’m sure some wild comment is lurking out there somewhere. I’ll try my best not to discover it.

The best job you ever had: Teaching high school English. I got to work with so many great students. Plus, I got to teach Horror Lit and Creative Writing—an absolute dream.

The worst job you ever had: Detasseling corn. Most Nebraskan teenagers do it at some point. Waking up at 4 a.m., walking through wet fields, and getting corn rash, all for a minimum wage paycheck.

About Eric:

Here is my author bio: Eric Raglin (he/him) is a Nebraskan horror/Weird fiction writer and the editor for Cursed Morsels Press. He frequently writes about queer issues, the terrors of capitalism, and body horror. His debut short story collection is Nightmare Yearnings and his second collection Extinction Hymns will come out December 2022 through Brigids Gate Press. He is the editor of Shredded: A Sports and Fitness Body Horror Anthology and Antifa Splatterpunk.

Let’s Be Social:

Find him at ericraglin.com or on Twitter @ericraglin1992.