Nancy A. Collins (born September 10, 1959) is an American
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...
writer best known for her series of
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...
novels featuring her character Sonja Blue.
Collins has also written for comic books, including the ''
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
'' (vol. 2) series, ''Jason vs. Leatherface'', ''Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin and her own one-shot issue ''Dhampire: Stillborn''.
Collins was born in
McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in
, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia she moved about the South for several years, living in coastal North Carolina and Virginia, before settling in Macon, Georgia in 2019.
Writing
Collins has written numerous novels since 1989, most of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey. She is best known for Sonja Blue, a young woman with demonic powers who after being taught by an older male mentor, hunts and kills vampires. Her first appearance was in 1989. A. Asbjørn Jøn notes possible intertextual links between the Whistler character in the 1998 movie ''
Blade
A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Histor ...
'' and a character named Whistler in the Sonja Blue novel, ''A Dozen Black Roses'' (1996), as they possess "striking similarities in role, dramatic focus, visual appearance, and sharing the name". Margaret L. Carter, in her article on 20th century vampire fiction, listed ''Sunglasses After Dark'' as one of the 13 most influential vampire novels published after 1970, particularly in the way Collins depicted vampires as parasitic beings with no identity of their own who 'borrow' the memories of their hosts.
Bibliography
Chapbooks
* ''The Tortuga Hill Gang's Last Ride: The True Story'' (1991)
* ''Cold Turkey'' (1992)
* ''Voodoo Chile'' (2002)
* ''The Thing From Lover's Lane'' (2003)
Non-fiction
* ''The Big Book of Losers'' (1996)
* ''Drawn Swords - "Foreword" (2017)
* ''From Bayou To Abyss: Examining John Constantine, Hellblazer'' - "What Do You Do With An Undead Sailor?" (2020)
* ''REH Changed My Life'' - "REH: Opener of the Way" (2021)
Comic books
* ''
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
'' (vol. 2) (
DC/
Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
, 1991–1993)
* ''
Jason vs. Leatherface
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
'' (
Topps Comics
Topps Comics was a division of Topps, Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993 to 1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies. It was based in New York City, at ...
, 1995)
* ''Sunglasses After Dark'' (Verotik Publications, 1995–1997)
* ''Machina Jones'' (
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, 1995)
* ''
Dhampire: Stillborn'' (Vertigo, 1996; DC Comics, 1997)
* ''
Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin''' (
Dark Horse, 1996)
* ''
Vampirella
Vampirella () is a fictional vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Cre ...
'' (
Dynamite, 2014–2016)
* ''
Sunglasses After Dark: Full Blooded Edition'' (
IDW, 2015)
* ''
Army of Darkness: Furious Road'' (
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptations ...
, 2016)
* ''
Swamp Thing by Nancy A. Collins Omnibus'' (
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
/
DC Black Label, 2020)
Awards
*
Bram Stoker Award
The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing.
History
The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...
First Novel winner (1990): ''Sunglasses After Dark''
* Bram Stoker Best Novellette nominee (1997): ''The Thing From Lover's Lane''
* Bram Stoker Best Collection nominee (2003): ''Knuckles and Tales''
* International Horror Guild Best Collection nominee (2003): Knuckles and Tales
Other
She is the founder of the International Horror Guild.
See also
*
List of horror fiction authors
This is a list of some (not all) notable writers in the horror fiction genre.
Note that some writers listed below have also written in other genres, especially fantasy and science fiction.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
...
References
Further reading
* David Mathew, "Collins, Nancy A(verill)", in
David Pringle
David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic.
Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whi ...
, ed., ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers'' (Detroit: St. James Press, 1998)
External links
*
Collins' "True Blue - The Official Sonja Blue Blog"Myspace Golgotham
Nancy A. Collins on GoodReads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Nancy A.
American horror novelists
Erotic horror writers
American comics writers
Female comics writers
20th-century American novelists
Writers from Arkansas
Novelists from Louisiana
Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state)
1959 births
Living people
American erotica writers
21st-century American novelists
American women short story writers
People from McGehee, Arkansas
Women horror writers
American women novelists
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
Women erotica writers
20th-century American short story writers
21st-century American short story writers
Weird fiction writers