{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Voices from the Hill","title":"Tamika Thompson - The Curse of Hester Gardens","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3335,"description":"Today on Voices from the Hill, I’m joined by Bay Area author Tamika Thompson, whose debut novel The Curse of Hester Gardens blends horror and social commentary in a way that feels both haunting and deeply real. Set in a Michigan housing community, the novel explores fear not just as something supernatural, but as something shaped by place, history, and lived experience—touching on themes of violence, race, and collective memory. Tamika is part of a new wave of writers redefining horror—using the genre as a lens to examine the realities that often go unseen, and to ask what it means not just to be afraid, but to be witnessed. Today, we’ll talk about writing at the intersection of horror and truth, how place shapes story, and what it means to use fiction as a way to confront the world we’re currently living in.\nJennifer Barone is an Italian-American poet and artist. She is the author of four poetry collections, including \"Sirenland,\" about the Bay of Naples, Italy, the siren mythology and stories of the sea, and \"Saporoso: Poems of Italian Food & Love\", Feather Press. A two-time winner of the SF Public Library’s \"Poets Eleven\" contest for North Beach, where she resides, she hosts the \"Voices From the Hill\" podcast interviewing Bay Area authors for Telegraph Hill Books, and leads creative writing workshops that blend writing, alchemy, and Italian culture. jenniferbarone.wordpress.com / Instagram & Substack: @baronejenn\nThis podcast is brought to you by Telegraph Hill Arts & Literature. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please follow, subscribe, leave us a review and share.\n\nPlease visit telhilit.org to find out about our local events such as author talks, writing workshops, and consider making a donation to support our public programs. If you’re a Bay Area author interested in being on the show, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us at submissions@telhilit.org.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/EecN6vd3lyguVVMrAUnauhQGdBNJof_snk-bFKmtKWY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9iMzMy/MWQ1NjRiN2RkZjRm/NTk3N2Q5YzU3NDZh/MzU2Yy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}