Recently released as of February 2025, Mad Axe Media has launched Totally Freaked, a series of ’90s nostalgia YA horror novellas inspired by the likes of R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, and the prolific authors of Point Horror. First in the line-up is Birthday Party Demon, a tale of slumber parties, fashion magazines, and demonic possession from Wendy Dalrymple.
Wicked Horror took the time to chat with Wendy about Birthday Party Demon, as well as the release of her standalone novella Pageant.
WH: The premise of Birthday Party Demon involves a ’90s birthday sleepover that goes horribly wrong when three gal pals summon a demon that banishes two of them into a fashion catalog. Where’d you get the idea to turn something as innocuous as a catalog into an eldritch prison?
WD: So this idea of being trapped in a catalog has been with me for a long, long time. As a teenager I poured over fashion magazines and catalogs (JANE magazine and dELiA*s were my favorite). dELiA*s especially used this all white background method in their photography that felt very much like a liminal space to me. Sort of a Neverending Story situation, but make it ’90s fashion.
WH: What was your favorite thing about working on Birthday Party Demon? Is there anything you’d like to share about the protagonists and the antagonist without giving too much away?
WD: Writing Birthday Party Demon was very indulgent and cathartic for me. I have a lot of cherished memories of times spent with friends during those important, formative years, especially during sleepovers. I loved reliving those memories on the page, how we used to try and scare each other and how we had nothing but time to explore the things we loved. The teens in this book aren’t modeled after me or my friends, but they more represent the zeitgeist of that time.
WH: This isn’t your first foray into 90s nostalgia horror I believe, as you were also included in the Fear Street tribute anthology Reader Beware, correct? Your short story “The Swimming Pool” was about siblings dealing with a bully. How’d it feel to be included in a collection paying homage to one of the most well known teen horror franchises within the last several decades?
WD: Well there’s no doubt that my earliest influences as an author came from R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike and Point Horror. I have always been a voracious reader, and I’m always chasing the high of getting a fresh Fear Street paperback as a kid. I feel like 10-year-old Wendy would think that it’s pretty rad that I’m writing the kind of books now that I always wanted to read.
WH: Also, this isn’t your first work from Mad Axe Media. They’ve recently published your 90s horror novella Pageant, about all the evils of child pageants with Christmas tinsel and a dash of Stephen King’s Carrie for flavor. Tell us a bit about Pageant and why it’d be a fun new holiday horror read.
WD: Pageant was another indulgent, cathartic book inspired by my experiences as a young dancer. The main character is definitely inspired by my own outlook as a kid, seeing injustices that I couldn’t do anything about, feeling frustrated and different. I’m also a sucker for 90s nostalgia and this book is chock full of it.
WH: What was it like working with the people at Mad Axe Media?
WD: Honestly, so great. Joey Powell, the owner, does everything from editing and interior design to cover design and marketing. It’s been a real pleasure to work with a press who not only understands my vision and voice, but is enthusiastic about it.
Jude: Wendy, you’re making a name for yourself as the Queen of Florida Gothic. Would you mind telling us about what Florida Gothic is exactly and what it’s been likely carving out this sub-genre for yourself? With works such as Roser Park, Parasocial, Cadaver Bone and They Come From The Water which also fall under the pink horror heading. There’s also your mall gothic story “This Place Belongs To Us” in Escalators to Hell.
WD: Florida gets a bad wrap, and deservingly so, but as a 3rd generation Floridian, its my home. I read a lot of Stephen King as a teenager, and if he taught me anything, it was to write about the places I know. Florida is a terrifying and beautiful state where the horrors are evident even in the sunshine. With traditional gothic, people think of castles and graveyards, overcast skies. Well, we don’t have all that here! In Florida, the gothic is a state of mind, a darkness and claustrophobia of the heart. Florida Gothic is Spanish moss swaying in the breeze or a moldy pool cage with tattered screens destroyed by a hurricane. I’m not the first to write about Florida Gothic topics, but I do love to read about my creepy state as well. Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory is an excellent example of Florida Gothic done right.
WH: The submission window just opened up for Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved & Insane, an anthology of 90s nostalgia horror you’re co-editing with Grace R. Reynolds for Brigids Gate Press. Congrats! What’s it like to be helming a flash fiction and nonfiction anthology for 90s horror babies?
WD: Thanks! This is going to be my first big editing project of this kind, so I’ll have to report back after and let you know, haha. I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s entries. It is difficult to connect with others, but I feel like by reading about our shared horror fandoms, inspirations and obsessions, we can all feel a little less lonely in this big, sometimes horrible world.
WH: You’ve also written some non-horror fiction, Wendy, some paranormal and romance tales I believe if you’d like to tell us a bit about those stories.
WD: While horror is my preferred genre, I love to write about almost everything. I got my start writing paranormal, cozy and gothic romances for Scribd (now Everand) and it taught me a lot about the drafting process. I also do some non-fiction writing and children’s book ghostwriting on the side. One of the nice things about being able to independently publish is that I’ll never be beholden to writing one genre under one pen name. I appreciate the freedom of being able to write and publish whatever is in my heart.
WH: What are some of your inspirations for your writing? Your favorite and least favorite books and authors growing up. What inspired you to craft your tales as you do? Were there some stories you ingested that made you want to say “I think I’d rather do it differently than this?”
WD: Children’s literature was a big influence on me as an early reader, and I consumed everything from R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Anne M. Martin, Judy Blume and Lois Lowery. I spent my early years reading big name authors, whatever was available to me at the library or at the bookstore. Now, I try to seek out indie authors whenever possible. I love reading works by authors who take chances and are allowed to stretch the limits of their creativity.
WH: What do readers have to look forward from your pen in 2025 and beyond?
WD: In February 2025 I have my YA 90s novella Birthday Party Demon coming out from Mad Axe Media, then in Summer 2025, my gothic novel Credenza will be releasing from Quill & Crow. Also late 2025, Brigid’s Gate Press will be releasing the Poisoned Soup anthology that Grace and I are editing. In 2026, I have a poetry collection that will be releasing with a small publisher, and Quill & Crow will be releasing my erotic horror novella Feed the Tree.
That’s all for now, but if enjoy Birthday Party Demon, be sure to check Totally Freaked’s next releases, Codeskull by Chloe Spencer and Gorman’s House by TT Madden.
And coming out this December, Mad Axe is releasing Christmas Party Demon, Wendy’s sequel to Birthday Party Demon!
