Angela Sylvaine: "Gremlins meets The X-Files with a dash of Fargo"

Angela Sylvaine is a Bram Stoker Award nominated author and self-proclaimed cheerful goth who writes speculative fiction and poetry. Her horror comedy novels, Frost Bite and Cold Snap, and her slasher novella, Chopping Spree, embody her cheerful side, while her short story collection, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, is fully goth. Angela’s short fiction and poetry have appeared in over sixty anthologies, magazines, and podcasts. Find her online atangelasylvaine.com.

Thanks so much for being interviewed, Angela!

Your debut novel Frost Bite appeared in 2023 and was well-reviewed. On March 17, 2026, the sequel will come out, and its title is Cold Snap. I have enjoyed reading these! The release of a sequel is a great opportunity to let new readers know about the first book too, so what should readers know about these books?

I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them! These books really embody the spirit of ‘80s and ‘90s horror movies with a healthy dose of midwestern heart. I describe them as Gremlins meets The X-Files with a dash of Fargo, So, if readers are fans of a little wackiness with their horror, these are for you!

Praise for Cold Snap:

“Angela Sylvaine knocks it out of the park with this fantastic sequel to her beloved Frost Bite. Fun, fearsome, and nostalgic, Cold Snap is everything you could want in a horror novel and more. Put this book at the top of your reading pile immediately.”

-Gwendolyn Kiste, Four-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Haunting of Velkwood and Reluctant Immortals

“Angela Sylvaine gleefully fills the Stranger Things void with infectious sci-fi horror fun! Cold Snap is an epically bingeable sequel that left me hungry for more wormy mayhem!”

-Brian McAuley, USA Today Bestselling Author of Breathe In, Bleed Out

“The spirit of ‘80s Amblin films and X-Files paranoia spread through these pages like a cold front. In this sequel, Sylvaine builds on the genre-bending thrills of Frost Bite with a wider scope, higher stakes, and new layered characters while maintaining the heart of the series. Readers will want to follow Realene and Nate to ends of the earth.”

-Joey Powell, author of Squirming All the Way Up

I remember when Frost Bite came out, thinking the cover was one of the best I had seen. I love anything with the collage of characters and events. It reminds me of My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix as well as Stranger Things posters–both of which of course refers back to classic VHS covers–while having its own particular style. I was blown away to see the Cold Snap cover hit all the same notes while feeling distinct. Who is the cover artist, and how involved were you with the development of these?

I agree, I love both covers so much! Eric Hibbeler is the artist, and he was such a pleasure to work with. The idea was to make the covers look like the old Amblin movie posters, and I think he really nailed it. I gave him character profiles and was able to meet with him several times as he created both covers, making the process very collaborative.

I hear you did something special for the release of Frost Bite. Do you have anything planned for Cold Snap?

I did! For Frost Bite I was able to work with a local brewery, Snowbank, to create a Frost Bite beer, which was served at the launch party. My favorite local bookstore, Old Firehouse Books, also supported that launch by selling books onsite at the brewery. Sadly, Snowbank is no longer around, but I knew I wanted to work with Old Firehouse Books again, and they are hosting an event for Cold Snap on April 7th from 6pm-7pm. Following the event, all are invited to join me at The Forge for more beer fueled celebration.

I am around Realeane’s age (I was supposed to be class of ‘93 versus ‘97 for Realeane) and love the many period references in both books–music, objects, culture, etc. I also follow some nostalgia sites on social media, such as 80s.deennice on instagram, and often find myself getting choked up. It seems that young people also enjoy 80s and 90s nostalgia. Why do you think these times are so powerful to people who lived through them and those who didn’t?

I’m around that age too, and I definitely feel the same way looking back on that time. It is really interesting, because younger people don’t have the added layer of having lived through that time and therefore being nostalgic about it. However, I suspect people of all ages yearn for a simpler time, so reading about the years when cell phones and social media weren’t a part of day to day life likely offers a form of escapism.

In addition to having nostalgic cultural references, these books are also set in a small town, which is automatically meaningful to a lot of readers. Did you grow up in a small town, and is anything in the books autobiographical? What are your favorite small-town horrors, whether novels or films or stories, and how do they influence your work?

I did grow up in a small town in North Dakota, and more specifically in a trailer park like Realene, the main character. So, that’s definitely based on my experience. I really wanted to capture the terror that is North Dakota winters when you live in a metal box, lol:) Additionally, Realene is bi and so am I, though I’ve only come out publicly in recent years. I’m a fan of small town horror for sure, and I’d say the two movies that are most influential to my work are Slither and Tremors. I also read IT very young and it’s still one of my favorite small town horror stories. I think the characters in Frost Bite and Cold Snap embody that “kids on bikes” vibe that Stephen King is so good at (though my characters are a bit older).

I also loved your Bram Stoker Award-nominated collection The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls. How are the pieces in your collection similar to or different from your novels?

Thank you so much! My short stories are definitely more heartbreaking and less comedic. I think in the short form I experiment more and allow myself to go to darker places. Perhaps that place is harder for me to spend longer periods of time in, because my longer works tend to be more comedic.

Where else can readers find more of your work?

Check out my website at angelasylvaine.com, where I have links to all my books, stories, and poems. I’m also pretty active on Instagram, so readers can follow me there if they want to keep informed about what I have coming up.

What’s next for you?

As I mentioned, my Cold Snap book launch will be on April 7th at Old Firehouse Books. I also have a signing at the Fort Collins, CO Barnes and Noble on April 11th and the Loveland, CO Barnes and Noble on April 18th. You can also find me at StokerCon in June!

As far as publications, I’ll have several short stories coming out this summer, including one in Of Dread, Decay, and Doom from Stars and Sabers Publishing and one in Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night II from Death by TBR books.

Who are some other contemporary women in horror you think more people ought to be reading?

For those craving more nostalgia horror, I recommend V.S. Lawrence. I loved her book With Friends Like These. For more feminist horror, which is one of my favorite sub genres, I recommend Gwendolyn Kiste. I’m such a fan of her work, and I’m so excited to get my hands on her upcoming short story collection, The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own. I also love JAW McCarthy, whose rock and roll succubi novella Sleep Alone is being rereleased. I definitely recommend it!

Thanks so much for being interviewed, Angela!

Thank you so much for including me in your interviews, I really appreciate it!!

My five-star Goodreads review: “Several of the stories here feature some kind of take on the haunted house theme, and most focus on close relationships between women whether mother-daughter, friends, or girlfriends. Each is a mix of beauty, magic, pain, and anger. Some favorites were "The Sea Witch of the World's Fair," "The Last Video Store on the Left," "Sister Glitter Blood," "All the Hippies Are Dying," and "Lost in Darkness and Distance."

Kiste was one of the authors whose works stood out to me most when I was just starting to read a lot of new short fiction in horror around ten years ago, so it's great to see this wonderful new collection from her! Those who loved it might also appreciate her 2017 collection And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe--as well as her novels, of course.”

"J.A.W. McCarthy is a spectacular rising star in the horror genre, and Sleep Alone is a fantastic entry in her indelible and growing body of work. This fast-paced and creepy tale will rock your world and keep you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommended!" -- Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals

"Instantly intoxicating. Sleep Alone thrives in a lustful, hungry ballad, where McCarthy’s horror beats with yearning hearts and carnal desperation. A classic trinity of sex, blood, and rock and roll." -- Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth

"Sleep Alone is a feral howl of longing for found family, a gory road trip, a sensual rock & roll adventure through human and inhuman hungers. McCarthy’s language satisfies like a gorgeous and intoxicating feast. While the book drips with insatiable desire, it also asks us in the most heartfelt way to take responsibility for our love in its many forms." -- Joe Koch, author of The Wingspan of Severed Hands

"A sensual, synesthetic tour through the dive bars of the Pacific Northwest with a most unusual band, Sleep Alone grapples with ethical questions about responsibility and care even as it revels in sex, drugs, and body horror. I couldn’t look away." -- Christi Nogle, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Beulah

And two quick self-promotiony things for anyone in the Treasure Valley:

• A presentation and discussion at the library, March 14 10:30-12:30. Facebook event link

• And on that same day, March 14 6-8 PM I will be at the Grown Up Book Fair (Facebook event link here) at Amelie’s Event Room (1749 Cole Road, Boise)