Why you'll want to read this South Jersey author's debut collection
Author Jamie Zaccaria was raised in Burlington County, all too familiar with the nuances of South Jersey life, nuances that appear in her debut short story collection, "Lavender Speculation."
Also highlighted? Her queerness.
The collection, published through Wildling Press in October, combines her love for her South Jersey roots, the search for the magic in the mundane and the opportunity to place queer characters in the forefront of horror and speculative fiction genres, something she said was missing when she was a young reader.
"Growing up, and even into college, there wasn't a lot of representation, especially in the horror genre," 34-year-old Zaccaria said. "I wanted to read about people I identify with, and so I was like, 'Well, let me just write it I guess.'"
"Lavender Speculation," with a title teasing at its queerness, is filled with South Jersey-ism if you just look for them, like plenty of references to Wawa, Rutgers and the Jersey Devil.
These ties are something that "came naturally" for Zaccaria, an author who already loves to pull from her surroundings and experiences by asking, "What if?"
"A lot of my stories come from my emotions and my experiences," she explained.
Some of her plots include a spooky, slasher corn maze on Halloween night, a cat scratch gone wrong and, of course, the Pinelands' very own 13th child.
Zaccaria described her nineteen-story collection as "eclectic" and said she hopes it inspires readers, especially queer readers, to reevaluate the genres they envision themselves in.
This isn't Zaccaria's first time on the publishing scene, but it is her first single-author collection after previously having stories printed in various anthologies, some of which have made a return in this collection while other works are completely new to her October release.
As for her personal favorite story in the book, Zaccaria said that title would have to go to "Cat Scratch Fever," her first published story and one in which she feels she was able to "meld horror, comedy and queer representation."
"Lavender Speculation" is available through various booksellers, Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Author's collection has South Jersey inspiration, queer representation
