First published in Robert Bloch’s Psychos in 1998, Denise M. Bruchman has written short stories, especially ghost stories, since the second grade. Having grown up in a haunted house where the ghosts played tricks on her as a child and checked in on her when her parents were out, Denise feels right at home writing ghost stories and dealing with the undead. In fact four of the seven stories she has published in anthologies are ghost stories, but they generally take an unforeseen twist near the end. She collects books on true hauntings and loves programs on the Travel and History channels that deal with ghosts because they feed her twisted mind. Some of her published ghost stories include:

 

"A Stitch in Time" - Cemetery Sonata
"The Passing" - Cemetery Sonata II
"Chasing the White Light" - Imagination Fully Dilated II
"Promises Kept" - Dead on Demand

 

Having a father, who was a police officer for nearly thirty years, it wasn't until she went off to college that Denise realized that other kids' parents didn't come home and discuss murders and other crimes over the dinner table. In fact, her father is as likely to tell you that he attended the FBI Academy to further her knowledge of crimes and the criminal mind as to further his own law enforcement career. How many other fathers are likely to say "we learned something really disgusting in forensic entomology and I immediately thought of you?" Thus, murders and the criminal mind feature in a lot of her stories. She reads a lot of psychological suspense and enjoys movies and television shows of the same vein. She also reads sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and "Mainstream" literature.

 

If that doesn't explain her background in writing ghost stories, murder mysteries, and other horror stories, then her Bachelor's degrees in Russian and Biology, and her Master's degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies, help support that direction in her writing. Anyone who has read much Russian literature can well understand Denise's dark side. And after reading Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, and Tolstoy in Russian and in French, Denise was well in the mood to write dark, gothic short stories involving death, ghosts, murders, and such. The biology comes in handy whenever Denise delves into her theories in genetic experimentation and cloning as can be found in her upcoming novel, Murderous Thoughts and the Countdown trilogy that she is currently working to complete. While it isn't exactly the subject matter her Genetics professor probably had in mind, it does prove she was listening. She just sort of extrapolated the information in a different way. And they have been born out to a certain degree with today's scientific discoveries. Don't you just hate it when the scientific geeks copy your work?

 

Denise Bruchman works as a technical writer for a computer peripheral company, creating documentation to help customers get started with their new products. Working with Denise provides for some interesting conversations in the office. Her motto is: "Some people hear voices in their heads and act on them, I hear the voices and take notes for future use." That pretty much keeps her coworkers in line and wondering when she'll try out some of what she writes. It also means that they are treated to intense, deeply philosophical conversations such as "So where would you get human bones if you could not dig them up or get any more from the morgue or mortuaries?" That very discussion helped her develop her character in "The Masterpiece", a story she is trying to get published. It also really creeped out her coworkers, but they're learning to chalk it up as a side effect of working with Denise.

 

In her spare time (what little of it there is) Denise raises Westies, Japanese and Butterfly koi, and orchids; reads voraciously, gardens, and collects Michael Whelan and Alan Clark artwork. She loves spending time on the Oregon coast and would dearly love to live there because she'd get more writing done and could go whale watching more often. She has been a member of the Horror Writer's Association for several years and regularly attends the World Horror Convention. She also makes it to the World Fantasy Convention whenever possible and hopes to attend other writing conventions in the future. As a 6’1" redhead she's kind of hard to miss at conventions so say hi.

 

You can find more of Denise's short stories in:
Robert Bloch's Psychos - "The Lesser of Two Evils"
Imagination Fully Dilated - "Fate's Exile"
Hemogoblins - "Amy Will Never Know" (cowritten with Alan M. Clark).

 

Her first novel, Murderous Thoughts, a futuristic murder mystery set in the year 2095 is due out later this year from CrossroadsPub.com as an electronic and paperback book and involves many of the genetic misfits she has dreamed up. When a murderer leaves no trace of his existence and all of his victims appeared to have died due to natural causes or accidents, who can possibly catch him? An empathic cop experiencing his murders. That is if he doesn't succeed in killing her first. Denise is currently working on a trilogy titled Countdown, which involves cloning, shadow conspiracy groups, and a young woman just trying to live a normal life. She is also the Domestic Author featured on TwilightTales.com for June and July 2001 with a couple of short stories posted there. So check it out.

 

Favorite Authors: J.R.R. Tolkein, Anne McCaffrey, Nora Roberts (JD Robb), Eileen Dreyer, Dean Koontz, Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Tad Williams, Laurel K. Hamilton, Elizabeth Engstrom, Ivan Turgenev, and too many others to list them all here.

 

Favorite Artists: Michael Whelan and Alan M. Clark

 

Favorite Radio Station: Rosie 105

 

Favorite TV Shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Roswell, Charmed, Witchblade, Angel, Dark Angel, Gilmore Girls, The Pretender, Profiler, The Others, Xena Warrior Princess, Farscape, Crossing Over with John Edward, The Unexplained (great for ghost stories and other bizarre subjects), Haunted History

 

Favorite Gallery: Stevenson's Gallery