Tressa Graves

Horror novelist Tressa Graves is an intriguing lady, with a look very fitting to her occupation. As someone who's read a couple of her works, I did find her characters to be well-developed, the settings vivid, and the stories gripping, even though some will probably not be to everyone's taste. I know it's cliché to say "I couldn't put it down," but if you aren't flipping ahead to see how many pages are left to go in the chapter until you can take a break, then it's a gripping read, and that's what I've found Tressa's writing to be, particularly her short story The Lady in the Backyard.

As evident from reading the early chapters of her most recent novel, The Sawgrass Footpath, it's clear that Tressa seems to believe there's a significant cultural clash between Southerners, living in the heart of Dixie, and "Yanks." Perhaps there is, but before reading her humorous narratives of these incompatibilities, which are from a Southerner's point-of-view, I thought it was only Northerner's who were aware of it.

What follows is hardly what I'd consider an in-depth, or even full interview with Tressa, but for those who haven't heard of her, and are looking for something new by someone new to add to their horror library, here's an authoress whose works you may want to check out.

Park Seo-yeon – Gastronomic Exhibitionist

Sexy broadcast jockeys (known as BJ’s and yes, I know), who dance for and flirt with their viewers in exchange for tips, are nothing new in Korea. However, in the last couple of years, a new breed of pretty female BJ has emerged, who simply eat for their viewers’ enjoyment.

Seregon O'Dassey

Actress and model Seregon O'Dassey is another of the ladies who first caught my attention while viewing the New York City Horror Film Fest interview with her and two of her Captured Hearts costars, which I featured here several weeks ago.

With horror titles beginning with 2005's False Face to the currently-filming Bloody Slumber Party on her IMDb credits, Seregon is another lady in modern indie films, who has truly earned the title of "Scream Queen." It's a title she's honored to have, even though she prefers acting in drama and sci-fi to horror.

After Seregon very graciously agreed to an interview for this site, research on her found some unique and interesting facts on her resume. Two of note are that she has a degree in mortuary science and is an aspiring drummer. The former has gotten her a gig on the TV crime drama Elementary as their morgue tech adviser. The latter hasn't earned her any gigs yet, but with her dedication, it's a good bet she'll be afforded the opportunity to show off her drumming skills in the near future. Above photo of Seregon at Plainfield, New Jersey's Dragonfly House by Xavier De La Vega.

Melantha Blackthorne

Actress, model, producer, director, screenwriter, and stuntwoman are all titles that can precede the lovely Melantha Blackthorne's name. Her early dance and later music training, eventually gave way to a love for acting and a fascination of monsters and horror films. After creating her own alter ego, Countess Bathoria, Melantha started her own productions company that has produced three feature films and is currently working on number four, a women-in-prison exploitation genre gem, Death House Dolls.

Described by some prolific horror journalists as "the Elvira of the 21st century," "a rare commodity in the world of exploitation cinema," and the "Vampirella, Betty Page, and the Whore of Babylon all rolled into two weapons of mass destruction," (my personal favorite), Melantha is one of the few ladies in modern indie horror who has truly earned the title of "Scream Queen."

In addition to her film work and modeling, Melantha is an avid animal rights activist. Describing herself as "a rebel with a cause" when it comes to animal rights, she spends a lot of time volunteering at local animal shelters and is very passionate about spreading awareness about animal cruelty. Above photo of Melantha and her cat, Osiris, courtesy of Melantha, herself.

Sarah French Gets Boned on Valentine's Day

I recently caught up with actress and model Sarah French (née Scarlet Salem) and proposed a follow-up piece with her that would be appropriate for Valentine's Day. Sarah, who was first featured here in an interview back in November of 2011, was not only game for the proposal, she even shared with me some recent photos of her with an unnamed skeletal suitor, in honor of the occasion.

Hye-kyoung Lee

Choreographer and dance instructor Hye-kyoung Lee doesn't look old enough to have played a company secretary over 20 years ago, but that small role on a then-popular Korean TV drama was her acting debut. Four years after that, she began performing in the Korean adult entertainment industry, where she became one of its most popular stars, working with other top actresses in the business, such as Mi-oh Ryu, Se-hee Jung, and Do-hee Jin. Names so relatively unknown outside of Korea, only those who have spent a significant amount of time in Korea, may recognize them.

Known in Korea as "ero" movies (short for "erotic"), Korean adult films are mild by Western standards, as lower-frontal nudity isn't shown, nor are the many "variants" that are produced by the US adult film industry. Even though there's a bit of a social stigma attached to eroticism in Korea, where Confucianism is a fundamental part of its society, Hye-kyoung doesn't feel any need to hide her adult film past, not that she should. She was willing to speak with me candidly about her past vocation, as well as her life these days, where she spends many hours a week in the dance studio, motivating her students to realize their dreams of performing on stage. The above, and very recent, photo is courtesy of Hye-kyoung, herself.

Ysabel Young for Doritos

On this Super Bowl Sunday, here's a commercial produced by Last Doorway Productions' Reyna Young for Doritos' 2011-2012 "Crash the Super Bowl" ad contest. According to Reyna, who shot the commercial in Pacifica, California; "there were quite a bit of zombie-themed entries, but every time I checked, it looked like ours had the most hits, which was cool."