Interview: Jamie Ferguson & DeAnna Knippling on Monster Road Trip
Ten monsters hit the open road, and not one of them remembered to fill the gas tank. Amazing Monster Tales: Monster Road Trip—the second issue of the series—loads werewolves, a dragon who rides with his wings out to feel the wind, Medusa, the Norse dwarf Andvari, and a few creatures you’ve never met into the car for a summer of trips that go gloriously, horribly wrong. Behind the wheel are co-editors Jamie Ferguson and DeAnna Knippling, who run Borogrove Press together—and whom curator Kristine Kathryn Rusch calls “dangerous” as a team. We put the same questions to both of them, in turn, about what earns a story a spot on the trip, editing each other’s work, and what’s coming next for the press.
The Interview
Kris Rusch calls the two of you “dangerous” together—two creative minds that, combined, keep spinning out fun new projects. What do the two of you actually argue about when you’re putting an issue together?
Jamie: We don’t really argue with each other. The closest thing to arguing is we don’t always agree on the table of contents. For example, sometimes one of us wants to lead or end with a certain story, but the other person wants a completely different story in that spot. We each plan the table of contents separately, and then meet to discuss and negotiate. DeAnna is more likely to get her way these days because she now puts together a plan for how the stories fit together. I just go by facts (things like: don’t sandwich a super short story in between two really long stories, don’t have five serious stories in a row and then five funny stories, and so on) and my intuition (I like what I like). So I show up with a table of contents, whereas DeAnna shows up with a plan for how the stories make the book flow. Obviously she’s getting her way more now. 🙂 I do still get to apply my facts and influence the order that way, though, so we’re both happy.
DeAnna: Hahahahahaha! STORY ORDER. Okay, okay, mostly we don’t argue. It’s mostly just mutual support for our respective lives, once again, having their unscheduled meltdowns. Also having to talk each other through overscheduling and not giving ourselves individually enough credit.
Monster Road Trip takes the open road as its theme. When you were putting it together, what made a story actually belong on the trip?
Jamie: Obviously there had to be at least one monster on a trip, but on top of that, the story had to really grab us. When we started this anthology series I didn’t know where it would go, but wow did we get some amazing submissions that went in directions I never would have expected. That’s really what stood out with the stories we selected for Monster Road Trip—I’d read a story I couldn’t put down (which obviously meant we had to include it), and DeAnna would feel the same way. For some anthologies I’ve edited I’ve provided more information on the theme so I know I’ll get what I’m looking for, but with this series it’s almost better to provide fewer instructions and give the authors the room to surprise and wow us.
DeAnna: For me, what makes an Amazing Monster Tale story is the sense of the author taking a creative risk, while putting it in an action-forward story. I really just want to imagine the author cackling as they write. A sense that the story is just out of the author’s control, that’s the fun part. For Monster Road Trip, if I remember correctly, the main reason I went “meh” on stories was that they didn’t take risks.
The ten stories range wildly—Medusa and the Norse dwarf Andvari sharing the road with invented critters, classic werewolves, and a dragon who rides in a convertible just to feel the wind on his wings. Was there a story one of you fought to include that the other wasn’t sure about? Or one that stood out where you felt so strongly about you would have fought for it if necessary?
Jamie: We’ve never really fought about stories—at least not so far. 🙂
I remember when we met to discuss submissions for Monster Road Trip DeAnna immediately announced she was ready to fight for one story, but I liked it too so we were good. That’s the only time I recall one of us being that animated about a story.
DeAnna: I think the number of stories I would fight for is far higher than the stories I wouldn’t include, and I don’t remember really disagreeing on any of these. I did have a moral panic when I realized that one of the stories needed some major tightening up. It was like 4,000 words over the word count limit, but we both loved it. I was on pins and needles when I sent the edits back to the author, though. Fortunately they agreed to trim things back quite a bit.
You each have a story in the book—Jamie’s goblin Bean driving his forgetful cousin Heinrich cross-country to propose, DeAnna’s 1957 zombie-plague comet out in the Nevada desert. Be honest—does your co-editor edit your story as hard as everyone else’s? Has either of you had to kill the other’s darling?
Jamie: Ha. Yes, DeAnna absolutely edits my story as hard as everyone else’s. 🙂 One advantage we have at this point is we’ve each edited each other’s work many times. Each of us not only understands how the other writes, we often see what the other person meant to write, which can be very helpful.
DeAnna: I am the stricter editor of the two of us. Not “stick to the rules” strict but “how dare you not treat this story like the goddess it is?!?” strict. Sometimes that involves trimming stuff down. Other times, it involves nagging Jamie (and other authors) to push things a little further.
Kris framed this whole bundle as escape—her sense that a summer of traditional monsters might be less frightening than the summer we’re actually living through. When you’re making the book, does a summer’s worth of monsters feel like escape to you, or is it something else?
Jamie: Escape, definitely. My life is way too busy right now, and while spending my free time creating anthologies might look like work to someone else, it’s a lot of fun! This series has been a ton of fun to put together from the beginning. It’s a series about monsters with a pulp flair, how could it not be fun to work on?
DeAnna: Hm…you know, it’s a lot of work, but it is an escape, both because it’s editing (which I love) and I get to read other people’s stories, and because the monsters in these collections feel very real to me. Everybody’s vision for the alternate world they’re in always feels very personal and immediate. Maybe it’s because I know most of the authors personally? But even the unpleasant worlds feel very much like they have the author’s presence in them. Our writers are an improvement on reality…
You teamed up with Tami Veldura to create a new anthology series, _Department of Dragon Archives_—and the collaboration clicked so well you brought Tami on as an equal partner at Borogrove Press. What does Tami bring that the two of you didn’t already have?
Jamie: DeAnna and I came up with the dragon series idea when we were at a writing workshop a few years ago. There was a lot going on in both our lives at the time so we had some planning discussions, then shelved the idea until we could focus on it. A year later we attended another writing workshop that Tami was also at, and the three of us clicked so well that on the last day of class I suggested to DeAnna that we consider adding Tami to the mix. The three of us went out for a drink (coincidentally, there was a neon sign at the bar that said “Dragon Club”—obviously a sign) and talked about this. And then we were three!
Tami brings experience we don’t have—for example, Tami has done more Kickstarters than either of us. (Easy with me since I’ve done zero so far.) And Tami is also a wonderful artist (and did the artwork for our first cover!). But I think the more important part is the collaboration aspect. Tami is calm, thoughtful, direct, and is super easy to work with. They add a balance to our partnership that I hadn’t known was missing, but now that Tami is part of the equation everything feels more right, if that makes sense.
DeAnna: A playful vision backed by technical skills? Tea expertise? The ability to talk about things that went wrong in great detail while making you hang on the edge of your seat even though you know how things turned out? Focus?!? Tami’s strengths are many and varied.
And _Amazing Monster Tales_ rolls on… your upcoming issue, #5, is _Monsters in Love_. Is that going to be sweet, or the kind of love that ends with someone getting eaten?
Jamie: Both! 🙂 I can’t give away if anyone gets eaten or not, but there are absolutely some romantic complications you’re not likely to find anywhere else! But that’s what you’d expect from an anthology titled Monsters in Love.
DeAnna: Sweet. No plot twists at all. Just disgustingly sweet 😛
About the Editors
Jamie Ferguson writes stories where magic lives just beneath the surface—where ghosts haunt houses that no longer exist, selkies are stranded far from the sea, and witches discover their power one herb at a time. Her work blends folklore, emotional depth, and a deep empathy for characters navigating impossible choices. She lives in Colorado, where her two border collies are still waiting for her to get them a proper herd of sheep.
DeAnna Knippling writes atmospheric gothic horror, mystery, suspense, and twisted tales from the edge of space & time. Her hobbies are cooking, taking long walks on Florida beaches, digging into the realm of open-source intelligence, fangirling over history, science, and psychology—and reading lots of fiction, graphic novels, and web comics while her tea goes cold.
Find Jamie & DeAnna
- Jamie: jamieferguson.com
- DeAnna: wonderlandpress.com
Amazing Monster Tales: Monster Road Trip is available now in the Escape from 2026 StoryBundle, curated by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 15 exclusive books of alternate history and time travel—pay what you want, starting at $5. Customers can choose to direct a portion of their payment to World Central Kitchen. The bundle runs through June 25, 2026.