NZ Horror Books - Author Interviews: Nikky Lee & Daniel Eady
- Denver Grenell
- Oct 10
- 3 min read
Next up in the October series of NZ Horror Books Author interviews are Nikky Lee & Daniel Eady. Read on!
Nikky Lee
Who are you? Hi, I’m Nikky 👋 I’m an author of fantasy, sci-fi and horror, with lots of overlap between those labels.
Your signature style: My style leans towards the dark (though not always), and it tends to mesh more than one genre together from post-apocalyptic cli-fi fantasy and epic fantasy with horror elements to sci-fi cosmic horror, sci-fantasy space opera and post-apocalyptic ghosts. My work tends to have strong themes of family, friendship, and overcoming internal demons, as well as those of the supernatural variety.
Toot your own horn: Horror-wise, I was absolutely thrilled to see my short story What Bones These Tides Bring about ghosts and bone witches after the end of the world won a Sir Julius Vogel Award and was shortlisted in the 2024 Shadow Awards. While there have been other awards, this was the first story I’ve ever had recognised under a horror label. As a relative newcomer to the genre, it meant a lot.
Give your (brief) opinion on Kiwi horror right now: One thing I’ve noticed is that New Zealand horror writers consistently do atmospheric horror very well, leaving you with this surreal sense of unease and unreality as you read. And of course, I’d be remiss not to mention the Kiwi quirky sense of humour that often crops up too.
Words written: I’m currently working on drafting the last book of my epic dark fantasy series, The Rarkyn Trilogy. I just hit the 240k mark this month (did I mention it was epic?😅), which makes it by far the longest thing I’ve ever written. I’ll be focusing on some short fiction once it’s done, that’s for sure!
Future stuff: My attention has been largely taken up with trying to get my last trilogy book drafted, but I just received a stunning review copy of This Way Lies Madness edited by Lee Murray and Dave Jeffery, which I’m very excited about getting stuck into.
Where people can find you:
Favourite Kiwi horror book(s): Butcherbird by Cassie Hart—a wonderful creeping rural horror; Seeds by Tee Wood and Bloodalchohol by Michael Botur are two excellent short fiction horror collections. Despatches by Lee Murray profoundly combines WWI historical fiction with cosmic horror. And if you’re up for something quirky, try Clocks, Locks, Corpses: And Other Epic Horror Poems by S. Jayne Bradley for a bit of light horror comedy in verse.
Favourite Kiwi horror movies(s): Alas, I tend to read more horror than I watch. That said, I do love a comedy horror, so What We Do In the Shadows and, more recently, Grafted scratch that itch nicely.
Anything else: A quick call for submissions for the Te Pae Tawhiti Awards – these are Aotearoa’s first judged awards for speculative fiction—including horror! So if you’ve published a horror short story, novella, collection, novel or graphic novel in 2025, don’t forget to enter! https://tepaetawhitiawards.nz/
Daniel Eady
Who are you? Dan Eady, I’m a writer that specialises in dark fiction/horror but I also dabble elsewhere.
Your signature style: My style could best be described as direct and unambiguous, often using an active voice - no time for flowery prose when there’s blood to let!
Toot your own horn: I wrote a religious cult/horror novel at the beginning of this year titled The Bones Beneath the Skin and the full manuscript is under review with an American small press currently.
Give your opinion on Kiwi horror right now: The isolation of Aotearoa/New Zealand geographically, I think, really lends itself to a particular form of storytelling that is often sparse, tense and at times unforgiving - kind of the opposite of how the world
thinks of the average Kiwi.
Words written: This month is really about filling the well creatively, through reading, music and films - I need that to re-energise myself
Future stuff: I am currently halfway through the first draft of a novel, the working title is The Topography of Sorrow which is about grief, survival and the cost of these things. Hoping to finish that in the next few months.
Favourite Kiwi horror book(s): Can be new releases or old favourites, but keep it Kiwi.
I love Denver Grenell’s collection 20,000 Bloody Words - he has a real knack for the short, punchy and sometimes emotional story, highlight being “Carl." (Thanks Dan - cheque is in the mail - Denver)
Favourite Kiwi horror movies(s): Deathgasm - horror and metal is a winning combination!
Anything else Kiwi horror related you want to share / give a shout-out to: Everyone is doing great work, and this initiative is bloody amazing - so shoutout to Denver and Tee!
Where people can find you: My Substack, where I often post free short stories and Instagram for general tomfoolery.
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