“Ascension” by P.L. McMillan follows Sam as she takes us on a terrifying climb through the darkness, up through the middle of a dark tower. Sam was warned not to climb the tower, but she thought she understood the risks and rewards, and so for her, the only way to go is up. However, the higher she goes, the more dark and twisted things get … and every precarious handhold and narrow ledge only intensifies the dread and horror, making escape feel ever more impossible.
P.L. McMillan's short fiction has appeared in a variety of anthologies and magazines such as Cosmic Horror Monthly, Strange Lands Short Stories, Negative Space, and AHH! That’s What I Call Horror, as well as adapted to audio forms for podcasts like NoSleep and Nocturnal Transmissions. In addition to her short stories, McMillan’s debut collection, What Remains When The Stars Burn Out, and debut novella, Sisters of the Crimson Vine, are available now. Besides being a fiction writer, PLM has experience as an editor (Howls from the Dark Ages and The Darkness Beyond The Stars: An Anthology of Space Horror), hosts PLM Talks on Youtube (interviewing peers and professionals in the horror industry), and is the co-host of a horror writing craft podcast, Dead Languages Podcast.
Marissa van Uden: Hi, P.L.M! Thank you so much for sitting down to chat with us today. I loved the way you built up the atmosphere of escalating horror in this story. For Sam, all the signs are pointing nowhere good, and yet she’s so determined to make it that I just couldn’t help but hope for the impossible. The whole situation gave me major nightmare vibes—that horrible feeling of being pulled inevitably forward into a worse and worse situation, with no way to turn back. Did the idea come from a dream, or what was the inspiration behind it?
P.L. McMillan: The idea for “Ascension” actually came from a friend who kept telling me her climbing stories which to her were fun adventures, but to me, they sounded like anxiety-inducing nightmares. I also have to admit to watching a lot of Adventures Gone Wrong on YouTube, which highlights a lot of ill-fated climbing. I tied that to the idea of how harmful extreme obsession can become, whether it is for a passion, person, or ideal. Risk takers like mountain climbers often talk about chasing that feeling of adventure and adrenaline despite the risks involved, and I wanted to capture that feeling of desperation and drive in the character of Sam.
MVU: You’re a big fan of cosmic horror and sci-fi horror, and I could really feel their influence in this story. You did an amazing job of capturing that atmosphere of isolation in the dark, limiting the character’s senses through sound distortion and lack of light, while bringing the alien menace ever closer. What makes you love this type of horror, and what were the earliest works you can remember (books, films, or other media) that first hooked you?
PLM: Cosmic horror appeals to me for the themes of helplessness and despair it captures. I was exposed early to it through the works of Lovecraft (of course) and Algernon Blackwood. I also have a soft spot for big monsters like Cthulhu and Godzilla. They’re just so fun. Alien, Twilight Zone, and the X-Files were my intro to sci-fi horror. As I grew older, I came to find the fear of technology to be persuasive in many types of media, even Victorian/classical fiction. Whether its technology in present day or the future, imagining what horrors could be waiting as humans progress onwards is really fascinating. Both cosmic and sci-fi horror allow for so much possibility and flexibility, they can be set anywhere and nearly any time, so I find myself often drawn to those subgenres when writing and thinking of ideas and themes.
MVU: Another thing I loved about “Ascension” was the non-linear structure, which gave us these needed moments of relief to breathe between the claustrophobic dread of the climb, and to help us understand why Sam is doing all this in the first place. The use of elevation markers to show the timing of the scenes was brilliant. Was this structure something you had right from the start, or did it arise during later revisions? How did the story evolve from first draft to final version?
PLM: Using elevation markers to structure the scenes was something I had decided from the beginning. I knew I didn’t want to tell a linear story, and the idea came to me to use elevation rather than time to mark the changes. From there, the first draft flowed easily. My second draft was for refining my existing scenes and adding a couple new ones I felt were needed. Overall, this story was one of the easiest ones I’ve written—I wish I could say that for all my stories!
MVU: Your super-creepy short story “Phone Call,” in which a friend calls for help in the middle night needing a ride home from the cemetery, was adapted into audio for the NoSleep Podcast. The production and casting really brought it to life and gave it a lovely depth. What was it like hearing your written work adapted into a full-cast audio production?
PLM: I love the NoSleep Podcast! Their production quality is always stellar. As an author, it’s amazing to hear one of my stories brought to life in an audio production. That’s probably a little bit of ego to feel like that! Joking, maybe. In a way, it’s like seeing your story take a life of its own outside your control in the best way.
MVU: I loved your story “Wandering But Not Lost,” which appeared in Welcome to Your Body edited by Ryan Marie Ketterer. That whole anthology is amazing and so gross and visceral, but your story was one of the standouts for me with the wild imagery in that pool of Moonfell, and because John is a character who I truly loved to hate. The way he interprets everything his wife does as some kind of insult inflicted upon him—and makes everything about him—was enraging, but it made the ending so satisfying and delicious. Can you tell us about the inspirations for this story, and especially behind the pool? When did that image come to you in the creation of this piece?
PLM: A lot of the inspiration comes from history. In ancient Greece, it was believed that a uterus was mobile, wandering around and causing all sorts of issues. Treatments sometimes used pleasant scents to lure a uterus back home. Throughout the history of medicine, there have been a lot of absurd theories regarding women and their bodies. For example, did you know the chainsaw was initially invented to “aid” in childbirth by removing the pelvic bone? A lot of my knowledge of this history came into play when I wrote this story. The curse, the offerings, the ambulatory organs, the title being a play on the idea of “wandering uteri.” As for the moon pool, the moon’s phases have often been associated with women and their cycles so it only seemed natural for a body of water reflecting the moon itself to be the resting place for those wayward organs. As for the protagonist, being blunt, I feel like everyone has known someone like John. I know I have.
MVU: Unfortunately, yes. There are way too many Johns out there. I saw that you also created all of the illustrations for the anthology! They’re so freakin’ good. The mouth ones—the tongue illustration for Mary Rajotte’s story and the teeth for Sasha Brown’s—made me so uncomfortable [complimentary]. The anatomical clarity just added to how disturbing those stories were. What was the process like for creating the illustrations, and were they as fun to make as they look?
PLM: That commission has been my favorite so far, and I had a ton of fun creating the pieces for it! The editor, Ryan Marie Ketterer, had a vision for the inner illustrations to resemble the diagrams found in Victorian medical textbooks. So, for the commission, I spent a lot of time studying those diagrams and making notes on how they were drawn, shading style, positioning. I would then read each story to pinpoint specific elements to add to the diagrams like, using your example of Sasha Brown’s story, the “hardware” seen in the artwork along with the mouth. At some point while I was working on the art, I also had the idea of the authors providing labels for the diagrams to mimic how the Victorian diagrams would have the various components of the organ marked. Fun fact: some of the authors provided the text in their own handwriting, others (when they thought their writing was too messy) are in mine.
MVU: Tell us about your writing/illustration workspace. What do you keep nearby for inspiration or motivation, if anything? Any special objects, sentimental items, or favorite works of art on your desk? Do you like to work with music in the background or animal companions nearby?
PLM: A quiet corner of books and beverages. Staying well-read and over-caffeinated.
PLM: I am usually writing curled up on the couch, nesting in blankets. I will either have music going in the background or something on the TV. Feral, I know. It just helps. I can’t explain it. My cats, Sabrina and Agatha, make sure to sustain me with pompoms they bring by, screaming the song of their people. My art starts as a sketch on paper, also on the couch, before being migrated to digital form at my desktop in my office. My apartment is filled to the brim with witchy and macabre art that always helps keep me inspired and in the horror mood. I exist a lot on vibes, so I just like to be surrounded by the dark and mysterious to keep me grounded.
PLM: Agatha ensures the household is well-fed. No pom-pom escapes her hunt.
MVU: In addition to writing short stories and novellas, you’ve also edited or co-edited anthologies, including Howls from the Dark Ages and The Darkness Beyond The Stars: An Anthology of Space Horror. Did you encounter any challenges or delightful surprises when putting together these collections? What was your process for selecting and organizing the stories?
PLM: Editing anthologies was definitely a new experience and a great exercise in confronting my imposter syndrome. I don’t know how often I thought: “Am I sure I’m qualified to do this?” and many tears were shed in the making of the books—just kidding about the tears, there’s no crying in editing, but it really was an obstacle to overcome. I had to learn to leverage and have faith in my own experience while also knowing to trust the experience of my fellow writers. The end result being two really unique and outstanding books.
HftDA was an exercise in teamwork since I had a co-editor, Solomon Forse, and sometimes we disagreed on the stories we wanted to include or how we wanted the cover layout to look. Solomon mainly decided the order of the stories for HftDA and presented me with a proposed order. I came up with the idea to have a Curator introduce each story like the reader was on a museum tour and wrote the text for him. Though we definitely had some moments where we butted heads, ultimately, it was a great learning experience.
TDBtS was a passion project for me in that I needed more space horror in my life and I was planning on getting it one way or another. My only rule for the stories was that none could be set on Earth. As for the TOC, I organized it by each story’s setting, starting with the story closest to Earth and moving away from it. As I came to the stories that had no true definite set distance or location, I went with my gut, ending on Bridget D. Brave’s sucker punch of a tale right at the end.
MVU: These are both such great ideas—the Curator and the travel distance for structure. I always appreciate anthos where the editor has crafted the journey. Also now I’m enjoying the parallels between the TDBtS and “Ascension” in terms of structure by elevation from Earth!
As if you aren’t already doing a ton of stuff, like reviewing books and hosting YouTube talks and events for authors on top of writing and editing, you’re also the cohost of the Dead Languages horror writing craft podcast alongside Carson Winter. I saw you’re now closing in on 140 episodes! Congratulations—that’s amazing. For readers who might like to check out the podcast, can you tell us a bit about it and recommend a few favorite episodes to start with?
PLM: Dead Languages is a podcast that focusses on the craft of writing horror, so we cover topics like explaining various subgenres and discussing classic monsters to having presses on to chat submission processes. Carson Winter and I are both pretty passionate about improving our own writing, as well as demystifying the industry in general. All the episodes are pretty fun and feral. New listeners should definitely check out the “About us” episode to get a feel for the tone. Like you said, we’re closing in on 140 so it’s really hard to call out one episode or another as a starting point, so I’ll just call out some fun ones! Episode 9 is all about pitches with Tenebrous Press—super useful and practical information for any writer to hear. Episode 77 is a fun medical one where we interview a doctor (Dr. Nina Miller) and ask listener submitted questions like how to skin someone effectively. Episodes 114-115 are live on the spot author interviews at Stoker 2025. Episodes 132–133 are the Dungeons & Dragons episodes and are pretty entertaining. We cover such a range of topics, I am absolutely sure there is something for everyone!
MVU: With all of these different projects on the go, what does your weekly routine look like? Are you a super organized person with lots of structure and routine, or do you prefer a more chaotic approach that follows the muse?
PLM: To put it simply, I excel in organized chaos. I have a day job which forces some semblance of routine, plus other activities like dance or podcast recording, which always happens at the same time. However, I just try and write when I can and make art whenever I feel like it, because it is what brings me the most happiness in my life—don’t tell my cats.
MVU: Absolutely, it’s our secret! As we near the end of the interview, I like to help boost authors’ favorite charities. Could you share a little about a charity that’s meaningful to you right now and that you’d love our readers to check out?
PLM: Here we see Sabrina offering dark salutations to my Mothman shrine. Not shown—ritual zoomies that follow.
PLM: Not a charity but I wanted to call out the local shelter that I adopted my cats from: Almost Home Adoptions. It’s an indie run no-kill shelter that relies mainly on donations. When I was there, I could see how kind and loving the volunteers were. They are very diligent in matching cats to their best new forever home and I’ll be forever thankful to them! Animal shelters are very near to my heart and I highly encourage everyone to support this one and the local ones near them as well!
MVU: Amazing. And thank you again for joining us to talk about this story and all of your amazing projects! Last question before we sign off: Do you have any upcoming publications our readers should look out for, or are you working on anything exciting at the moment?
PLM: Absolutely and thank you for inviting me to be interviewed! For upcoming publications: I just had stories come out in Slugger Magazine (a sci-fi horror about AI tech gone wrong) and the Shattered zine (a weird horror story about a woman drowning in bad dreams).
As for current projects, I am always working on something—if not writing, then linocut or sewing (recently learned how to make a Victorian-style corset). Usually, I’ll always have a piece of short fiction on the go, and my big project for this year though is to finish the edits on my debut novel, with the end goal being to start looking for an agent. Gotta keep those goals moving, only way to make my kitties proud.