Women Writing Horror
Urban fantasy has become as much a subgenre of horror as fantasy and has attracted a lot of women to horror writing. This list is an introduction to them. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list — there are many women writing urban fantasy who aren’t on this list yet. Excluded from the list are women who haven’t published in years and those who wrote only one or two urban fantasy stories but are mainstays in another genre.
(This list is alphabetical by the author/editor’s last name.)
 Personal Demon  |
Personal Demon (The Women of the Otherworld Series #8)Author: Armstrong, Kelley |
||
|
In her acclaimed Women of the Otherworld series, Kelley Armstrong has created a scintillating realm where the supernatural and the human coexist on the edge of darkness, romance, and eternity. Now Armstrong tells the captivating tale of a young woman with an insatiable lust for danger. She can’t help it. It’s in her blood. Tabloid reporter Hope Adams appears to live the life of an ordinary working girl. But in addition to possessing the beauty of a Bollywood princess, Hope has other unique traits. For she is a half demon — a human fathered by a demon. And she’s inherited not only a gift for seeing the past but a hunger for chaos — along with a talent for finding it wherever she can. Naturally, when she’s chosen by a very dangerous group for a very dangerous mission, she jumps at the chance. . . . The head of the powerful Cortez Cabal — a family that makes the mob look like amateurs — has a little problem in Miami: a gang of wealthy, bored offspring of supernaturals is getting out of hand, and Hope is needed to infiltrate. As spells, astral projections, and pheromones soar across South Beach, Hope weaves her way through its elite hot spots, posing as upscale eye candy and reading the auras of the clientele — and potential marks. As it turns out, Hope is a little too good at this job. And soon she’s in a little too deep, needing to be bailed out by her jewel-thief werewolf ex-boyfriend and by the Cortez heir himself. And when a killer goes to work, Hope is among many targets at the pinnacle of Cabal rule. For a woman who didn’t know what she was getting into, there’s only one way out: it’s time for Hope to unleash her most potent primal instincts — and open herself, mind and body, to everything she most fears . . . and desires. Sexy and suspenseful, Personal Demon is a thrill ride through a world on the wild side of our own. |
|||
|
|||
 The Darkest Kiss  |
The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jensen, Guardian #6)Author: Arthur, Keri |
||
|
Danger turns her on. Desire turns her dangerous . . . Riley Jenson hunts evildoers — and does it with a style all her own. With vamp blood coursing her through her veins, and a werewolf’s uncanny instinct for danger, Riley wears snakeskin stilettos and pure, in-your-face attitude when she plunges into her latest case: hunting down a killer whose victims are high-society strumpets — and the rich and powerful men they’ve dated. But for Riley, the case takes a chilling turn when a second killer starts trailing mutilated bodies of his own: a crazed young vamp choosing victims from a past marked by tragedy. Riley knows she’s got the skill and cunning to catch two serial killers at once . . . until one of them strikes inside her own tight-knit clan — and a sexy beast of a vampire reenters her life to aid in the hunt. His name is Quinn. He’s lived forever, shed blood, and shared pleasure . . . and he’s the only man over whom Riley has absolutely no control. . . . |
|||
|
|||
 Bad Blood  |
Bad Blood (The Crimson Moon Series #1)Author: Banks, L. A. |
||
|
Sasha Trudeau knows all about working beneath the shadows, back-alley deals, and things that go bump in the night. She also knows that the world is unaware of the existence of the paranormal — and that the government would like to keep it that way. As a highly trained Special Ops soldier, Sasha and her team are an elite group of individuals who are survivors of werewolf attacks, now trained to be loyal to only to each other and their government. But when she returns from a solo mission, she finds that her team has mysteriously gone missing. Shocking government conspiracies, double-dealing vampires, and a host of stunning revelations about who — and what — she really is are only just the beginning . . . |
|||
|
|||
 The Devil You Know  |
The Devil You Know (Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist #2)Author: Black, Jenna |
||
|
The beautiful. The bad. The Possessed. Some people worship them. Some people fear them. And some people — like Morgan Kingsley — go up against them toe-to-toe, flesh-to-flesh, and power against power. An exorcist by trade, Morgan is one of the few humans with an aura stronger than her possessor, even though her demon can tease her body senseless. She’s also a woman who has just discovered a shocking truth: everything she once believed about her past, her identity, may have been a lie . . . With a family secret exploding around her and with a full-scale demon war igniting, Morgan is a key player in an unsettled world. Then a rogue, sociopathic demon enters her life with a bang. His name is The Hunter. And since she is the prey, Morgan has only one choice: to hunt The Hunter down — no matter what heartbreaking truths she uncovers on the way . . . |
|||
|
|||
 Midnight’s Daughter  |
Midnight’s Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Dhampir #1)Author: Chance, Karen |
||
|
This novel takes place in the same universe as the Cassie Palmer Series but chronicles the adventures of different characters. — This book is not yet announced. All information is subject to change. |
|||
|
|||
 Eternal Hunger  |
Eternal Hunger (A Candace Steele Vampire Killer Novel #3)Author: Dean, Cameron |
||
|
A vampire killer with a Las Vegas beat, Candace Steele has risked everything to vanquish the forces of darkness — and to resist her own passionate desire for Ash, a dark and seductive vampire. But suddenly the stakes are raised. Candace has been attacked by a member of the Board, an ancient, powerful, and secret vampire sect with a vendetta against Ash. Now the only way she can save her life is to give herself to Ash — body and soul — and become a vampire. Lusting for blood and starving for Ash’s embrace, Candace is pulled deeper and deeper into his world. She no longer trusts his promise that she will not have to remain a vampire forever. And as the hunger threatens to overwhelm her, it may be too late for her to leave the darkness behind. |
|||
|
|||
 The Vampire Files, Vol II  |
The Vampire Files, Vol II (The Vampire Files Omnibus #2)Author: Elrod, P. N. |
||
|
Reprints the fourth, fifth and sixth books — Art in the Blood 1991, Fire in the Blood 1991 and Blood on the Water 1992 — of The Vampire Files Series in one omnibus volume. The Vampire Files, Volume Two includes three adventures featuring Jack Fleming, Vampire P.I. in prohibition-era Chicago, walking the line between both sides of the law — as well as the line between human and inhuman. |
|||
|
|||
 Luna  |
Luna (The Lykanthrop Series #2)Author: Farago, Gina |
||
|
Werewolf Ivy Cole has her hands full. Willful and hot-blooded, she found she’s borne the same in her offspring, five-year-old she-pup Luna, who has a deadly gift of her own: the ability to shape-shift without the full moon. It’s this lethal virtue that draws the attention of the Order, a murderous cult of lycanthropes with their own plans for Ivy’s child. But the werewolves are not the only predators with sights set on Ivy and Luna Cole. Sheriff Hubbard, still seeking justice after her last encounter with the white wolf, and Deputy Sanders, Ivy’s wronged long-lost love with a horrible secret of his own, have tracked the tiny pack down to their new home in the historic fishing village of Salty Duck, North Carolina. While Ivy goes about the facade of everyday life among the quirky residents of the quaint seaside town, forces from her past are moving in quick to converge for a climactic and surprising bloody end. |
|||
|
|||
 One Foot in the Grave  |
One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress #2)Author: Frost, Jeaniene |
||
|
Half-vampire Cat Crawfield is now Special Agent Cat Crawfield, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. She’s still using everything Bones, her sexy and dangerous ex, taught her, but when Cat is targeted for assassination, the only man who can help her is the vampire she left behind. Being around Bones awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline rush of slaying vamps side by side to the reckless passion that consumed them. But a price on her head – wanted: dead or half-alive – means her survival depends on teaming up with Bones. And no matter how hard Cat tries to keep things professional between them, she’ll find that desire lasts forever . . . and Bones won’t let her get away again. |
|||
|
|||
 Dead Sexy  |
Romancing the Dead (A Garnet Lacey Novel #3)Author: Hallaway, Tate |
||
|
It’s been one heck of a week for Garnet Lacey. The Vatican witch hunters finally think she’s dead, the FBI has closed their file on her, she’s co-founding a new coven — and the gorgeous vampire she loves has just asked her to marry him. How lucky can one girl get? Then, her fiance goes missing and Garnet’s worried sick. Has he been kidnapped? Or could he have run off with that blonde from the coven? Now Garnet will have to seek the help of her future stepson — the same brat who turned her over to the witch hunters for a brand-new Jaguar. But there’s more bad news: the Goddess Lilith, who camps out in her body, has been making embarrassing appearances. And on top of that, some killer’s on her tail . . . |
|||
|
|||
 Blood Noir  |
Blood Noir (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series #16)Author: Hamilton, Laurell K. |
||
|
A favor for Jason, vampire hunter Anita Blake’s werewolf lover, puts her in the center of a fullblown scandal that threatens master-vampire Jean-Claude’s reign — and makes her a pawn in an ancient vampire queen’s new rise to power. |
|||
|
|||
 An Ice Cold Grave  |
An Ice Cold Grave (The Harper Connelly Series #3)Author: Harris, Charlaine |
||
|
Hired to find a boy gene missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there — only to discover that the boy was only one of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways. All calling for Harper. Harper soon finds them — eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterwards, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that’s soon to descend. But when she’s attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville — knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice-cold grave. |
|||
|
|||
 The Outlaw Demon Wails  |
The Outlaw Demon Wails (The Hollows #6)Author: Harrison, Kim |
||
|
To save the lives of her friends, Rachel did the unthinkable. And now her sins are coming home to haunt her. As Rachel searches for the truth behind a terrifying murder, an even greater menace threatens, for the demon Algaliarept will stop at nothing to claim her, and the discovery of a shocking family secret throws Rachel’s entire life into question. If she is ever to live free, Rachel must first walk willingly into the demonic ever-after in search of long-lost ancient knowledge. But when you dance with demons, you lay your soul on the line . . . and there are some lines that should never be crossed. |
|||
|
|||
 The Missing  |
The Missing (A Sequel to The Keepers)Author: Langan, Sarah |
||
|
Winner of the 2007 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel A remote and affluent Maine community, Corpus Christi was untouched by the environmental catastrophe that destroyed the neighboring blue-collar town of Bedford. But all that will change in a heartbeat . . . The nightmare is awakened when third-grade schoolteacher Lois Larkin takes the children on a field trip to Bedford. There in the abandoned woods, a small, cruel boy unearths an ancient horror — a contagious plague that transforms its victims into something violent, hungry . . . and inhuman. The long, dark night is just beginning. And all hope must die as the contagion feeds — for the malevolence will not rest until it has devoured every living soul in Corpus Christi . . . and beyond. |
|||
|
|||
 Succubus on Top  |
Succubus on Top (The Georgina Kincaid Series #2)Author: Mead, Richelle |
||
|
Georgina Kincaid’s job sucks. Literally. Love hurts, and no one knows it better than Georgina Kincaid. If she so much as kisses Seth Mortensen, the shy, sexy, incredibly gifted Seattle writer she’s been dating, she’ll drain his life force. Georgina is a succubus — a demon who draws her power from other men’s pleasure. Admittedly, the shapeshifting and immortality perks are terrific, and yes, Georgina did choose to join the ranks of hell centuries ago. But it seems completely unfair that a she-demon whose purpose is seduction can’t get hot and heavy with the one mortal who knows and accepts her for who she is. It’s not just her personal life that’s in chaos. Doug, Georgina’s co-worker at a local bookstore, has been exhibiting bizarre behavior, and Georgina suspects that something far more demonic than double espressos is at work. She could use help finding out, but Bastien, an irresistibly charming incubus and her best immortal friend, is preoccupied with corrupting an ultra-conservative talk radio star — and giving Georgina some highly distracting come-hither vibes. Georgina is going to have to work solo on this one — and fast because soon, Doug’s life won’t be the only one on the line. |
|||
|
|||
 Lord of Bones  |
Lord of BonesAuthor: Musk, Justine |
||
|
Jess and Ramsey stopped a demon from bringing about the apocalypse. But a gate was opened and more demons have come to Earth — inhabiting human bodies. Now, these demon hybrids are paving the way for the arrival of the Soulbreaker, known as Lord of Bones. . . . |
|||
|
|||
 The Touch of Twilight  |
The Touch of Twilight: The Third Sign of the Zodiac (Signs of the Zodiac Series #3)Author: Pettersson, Vicki |
||
|
On the surface she’s a sexy, sophisticated socialite, at home among the beautiful people of the Las Vegas upper crust. But Joanna Archer inhabits another world: a place ordinary humans cannot see . . . a dangerous dimension where an eternal battle rages between the agents of Light and Shadow. And Joanna is both. Stalked by an enigmatic doppelganger from a preternatural realm, Joanna can feel the Light failing — which is propelling her toward a terrifying confrontation with the ultimate master of evil, the dark lord of Shadow: her father. Vegas is all about winning big . . . or losing everything. To save her friends, her future, her worlds, Joanna Archer must gamble it all by fully embracing the darkness inside her. |
|||
|
|||
 Underground  |
Underground (The Greywalker Series #3)Author: Richardson, Kat |
||
|
Harper Blaine was your average small-time P.I. until she died — for two minutes. Now Harper is a Greywalker — walking the thin line between the living world and the paranormal realm. And she’s discovering that her new abilities are landing her all sorts of “strange” cases. Pioneer Square’s homeless are turning up dead and mutilated, and zombies have been seen roaming the underground — the city buried beneath modern Seattle. When Harper’s friend Quinton believes he may be implicated in the deaths, he persuades her to investigate. But the killer is no mere murderer — it is a creature of ancient legend. And Harper must deal with both the living and the dead to stop the monster and its master . . . unless they stop her first. |
|||
|
|||
 Wicked Game  |
Wicked GameAuthor: Smith-Ready, Jeri |
||
|
Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin is trying to live the straight life, even if it means finding a (shudder!) real job. She takes an internship at a local radio station, whose late-night time-warp format features 1940s blues, 60s psychedelia, 80s Goth, and more, all with an uncannily authentic flair. Ciara soon discovers how the DJs maintain their cred: they’re vampires, stuck forever in the eras in which they were turned. Ciara’s first instinct, as always, is to cut and run. But communications giant Skywave wants to buy WMMP and turn it into just another hit-playing clone. Without the station — and the link it provides to their original Life Times — the vampires would “fade,” becoming little more than mindless ghosts of the past. Suddenly a routine corporate takeover becomes a matter of life and un-death. To boost ratings and save the lives of her strange new friends, Ciara re-brands the station as “WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” In the ultimate con, she hides the DJs’ vampire nature in plain sight, disguising the bloody truth as a marketing gimmick. WVMP becomes the hottest thing around — next to Ciara’s complicated affair with grunge vamp Shane McAllister. But the “gimmick” enrages a posse of ancient and powerful vampires who aren’t so eager to be brought into the light. Soon the stakes are higher — and the perils graver — than any con game Ciara’s ever played . . . Note: |
|||
|
|||
 The Watcher  |
The Watcher (Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles #3)Author: Stein, Jeanne C. |
||
|
Newly-made vampire Anna has become a Watcher — one of the supernatural world’s enforcers — even as she fights to control her vampiric rage. When a series of very dangerous events threatens to draw out her unstable powers, her Watcher mentor sends her away for her own safety. But if there’s one thing Anna has always been able to find, it’s trouble. |
|||
|
|||
 Kitty and the Silver Bullet  |
Kitty and the Silver Bullet (A Kitty Norville Novel #4)Author: Vaughn, Carrie |
||
|
Kitty’s radio show is as popular as ever and she has a boyfriend who actually seems to understand her. Can she finally settle down to a normal life? Not if this is just the calm before the storm. When her mother falls ill, Kitty rushes back to Denver — and right back to the abusive pack of werewolves she escaped a year ago. To make matters worse, a war is brewing between the city’s two oldest vampires, threatening the whole supernatural community. Though she wants to stay neutral, Kitty is again drawn into a world of politics and violence. To protect her family, her lover, and herself, she’ll have to choose sides. And maybe become what she hates — a killer. |
|||
|
|||
 Rogue  |
Rogue (Werecats #2)Author: Vincent, Rachel |
||
|
Okay, so cats don’t always land on their feet. I know that better than most. Since rejoining the Pride, I’ve made big decisions and even bigger mistakes: the kind paid for with innocent lives. As the first and only female enforcer, I have plenty to prove to my father, the Pride, and myself. And with murdered toms turning up in our territory, I’m working harder than ever, though I always find the energy for a little after-hours recreation with Marc, my partner both on and off duty. But not all my mistakes are behind me. We’re beginning to suspect that the dead are connected with a rash of missing human women, and that they can all be laid at my feet — two or four, take your pick. And one horrible indiscretion may yet cost me more than I can bear . . . . |
|||
|
|||
 Spectre  |
Spectre (A Zoe Martinique Investigation #2)Author: Weldon, Phaedra |
||
|
Zoe Martinique has the extraordinary ability to travel outside her body at will. When she is drawn into an investigation of a series of bizarre murders, in which the victims are missing body parts, Zoe hopes to help her boyfriend, Atlanta homicide detective Daniel Frasier, stop the killer — one she’s sure is from the darkest levels of the astral plane — without letting him find out about her special abilities. Then danger strikes close to home when Zoe’s mother disappears, and Zoe must use all the powers at her command to save her — even though Zoe knows that, in doing so, she may make herself into something no longer entirely human. |
|||
|
|||
Summary:
Title List:
1. Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong
2. The Darkest Kiss by Keri Arthur
3. Bad Blood by L. A. Banks
4. The Devil You Know by Jenna Black
5. Midnight’s Daughter by Karen Chance
6. Eternal Hunger by Cameron Dean
7. The Vampire Files, Vol II by P. N. Elrod
8. Luna by Gina Farago
9. One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
10. Romancing the Dead by Tate Hallaway
11. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton
12. An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
13. The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
14. The Missing by Sarah Langan
15. Succubus on Top by Richelle Mead
16. Lord of Bones by Justine Musk
17. The Touch of Twilight by Vicki Pettersson
18. Underground by Kat Richardson
19. Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready
20. The Watcher by Jeanne C. Stein
21. Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn
22. Rogue by Rachel Vincent
23. Spectre by Phaedra Weldon
Popularity: 2% [?]
by Simon Logan
by Brad Hooper
by Kealan Patrick Burke
by Paul Tremblay
by Stuart Neville
by Justin Halpern
by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso
by Andrew Vachss
by Tim Lebbon
by Dennis Lehane
by Stephen King
by John Wyndham
by Richard Matheson
