Renee S. DeCamillis
Southern Maine

Bio: Renee S. DeCamillis is the author of the psychological thriller/supernatural horror/bizarro novella The Bone Cutters, published through Eraserhead Press. Renee is currently a horror novel editor for Wicked House Publishing, and she is a former Editorial Intern for the 5-time Bram Stoker award-winning speculative fiction and dark fiction publisher Crystal Lake Publishing. She is a member of the Horror Writers Association, the New England Horror Writers, and the Horror Writers of Maine. Renee is also a singer/songwriter/guitarist, the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the band Scars Aligned, & a tree-hugging hippie with a sharp metal edge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Renee’s short fiction appears in the After the Burn post-apocalyptic anthology from Rogue Owl Press; the Wicked Women anthology from NEHW Press; Northern Frights: The Journal of Horror Writers of Maine Vol. 2.5 Lost; Deadman’s Tome: The Conspiracy Issue; Siren’s Call eZine Issue 37 the 6th Annual Women In Horror Month Edition, The Other Stories Podcast. Her poetry appears in The Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase Volume IV. She also has her first comic book forthcoming through Phi3 Comics, with a publication date TBD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Renee earned her BA in psychology from the University of Southern Maine, her MFA in Popular Fiction Writing from the Stonecoast Graduate Program, and she attended Berklee College of Music as a music business major with guitar as her principal instrument. Renee is a former model, school rock band teacher, creative writing teacher, private guitar instructor, A&R rep for an indie record label, therapeutic mentor, psychological technician, and preschool teacher. She is also a former gravedigger; she can get rid of a body fast without leaving a trace, and she is not afraid of getting her hands dirty. Renee lives in the woods of Maine with her husband, their son, and a house full of ghosts. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ What reviewers say about her work:------------------------------------------------------ * "'Bad Trip Highway' by Renee DeCamillis harkens back to the best of wicked, sharp, classic horror of the eighties in the vein of Elizabeth Massie." ~~~Cemetery Dance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bone Cutters:------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * “…razor sharp...grabs hold from the get go, and drags the reader through a surreal experience that evokes One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, if written by Clive Barker. A recommended novella.”—Monster Librarian ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * “I immediately fell in love with Dory, the writing style, the story...This is a terribly heart-wrenching story with a bit of a haunted house/ghost vibe where you’re also being chased by a bunch of crazy people who want to devour your bones. I didn’t want to put this book down.”—Kendall Reviews ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * "It's actually refreshing to be able to enjoy a book so much that you were miffed when it was over...As the debut novella from Renee S. DeCamillis it's a fantastic beginning to what could prove to be a career to watch." –Ginger Nuts of Horror ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * “This story grabbed me by my throat and squeezed harder and harder with each chapter… Relentless, aggressive. . .I love this story, everything about it is perfect. Everything. Pure insanity. 5/5 Duster Skulls” –Five-star Amazon & Goodreads Review ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * "What a fresh idea for the world of horror. I'm beyond impressed with how engrossed this little novella made me. Brilliant read."~~~Goodreads Review ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * “This book commands your attention from the get go. Dealing with darker themes of addiction and self-harm with a twist. Many twists and turns in this mini read you won’t know what's going to happen until it does.” ~~~Five-Star Amazon Review ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * “Strange and terrifying, Dory has been sent to a mental hospital that harbors horrible things. I think the insight to her horror and treatment in this facility by far makes your insides cry… Excellent, riveting storytelling. Short read and so worth it! More please!” ~~~Goodreads Review ___________________________________________________________________________________________ What Renee's writing mentors have said about her: "Renee is hands-down one of the hardest working writers I've met at Stonecoast, and her excellent thesis novel, Diagnosis, is proof of that. . . . [Diagnosis] is an engaging and intelligent page-turner that makes its supernatural subject both believable and emotionally engaging." ~~~Elizabeth Hand, bestselling and multi-award-winning author of thirteen cross-genre novels and four collections of short fiction, a longtime critic for the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Salon, and The Village Voice; author of Curious Toys, Wyding Hall, & the Cass Neary crime novel series--Generation Loss, Available Dark, Hard Light and the forthcoming The Book of Lamps & Banners _________________________________________________________________________________________ "Renee did some of the most creative work I've ever seen at Stonecoast . . . Her novel Diagnosis--it's fabulous, it's scary, it's weird. What I love is, I'm a horror person and I've read tons of horror, and I could not read one scene [of Diagnosis] without the next. She's a great writer, and she's a hard worker. Through thick and thin she has been there dedicated to her writing. I want to say how much I respect her and enjoyed working with her." ~~~Nancy Holder, New York Times bestselling author, 5-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, author of the Wicked series and the young adult horror series Possessions. She has sold over eighty novels one hundred short stories, many of them based on such shows as Highlander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and others. She is also the author of the Crimson Peak novelization. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ "I feel Renee has hit upon a powerful and also marketable novel that takes on issues like addiction, prophetic powers, and the thin line of sanity. Renee's novel is powered by narrative tension, edgy sensual prose, and a deep sympathy for all her troubled characters. Her short fiction also delves into life on the edge." ~~~Elizabeth Searle, author of five novels of fiction--most recently We Got Him, and the Tanya and Nancy: The Rock Opera, which has drawn major media coverage and which has been produced in Boston, Chicago, LA, Portland OR and at New York Musical Theater Festival in NYC. Her novel A FOUR-SIDED BED is now in development as a feature film.

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