Brescia University professor Jamie Alvey is interested in teaching her students to love the craft of writing – somewhat.
Using what she learned as a student at Brescia and then returning to teach part-time in 2019 and now as a full-time professor, Alvey uses her writing classes to teach not only introductory writing but also advanced courses, along with a few literature classes.
“It’s always cool to see students connect to writing for the first time or create a stronger relationship with it,” she said. “My goal is always to aid students in learning writing in a painless and interesting way.”
She also uses her writing experiences to show the connection. As an analytical writer for various publications, an author of short stories and screenplays and a personal essay that will be released on Oct. 23 in Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror Volume II, Alvey shows students how her life of teaching runs parallel to her life of writing.
Alvey said that she always loved storytelling and reading so she gravitated toward creating stories.
“I spent a good portion of my high school years writing short stories mostly for myself, and in college I started branching out and sharing my work with other people,” she said. “I think writing appeals to me because it’s something I can lose myself in as a reader. There’s power in the written word and harnessing that is truly a gift.”
She believes that she did not choose the horror genre, but rather it chose her.
“My mother … is a longtime fan of the genre, so I came into contact with it via her,” she said. “I then grew to love it myself. I’ve always been the sort that likes creepy and macabre media, so horror seemed like the perfect fit for me. If I’m Cinderella, horror is my glass slipper of genres.”
She has published short stories but said that many of those presses went out of business, so she is submitting them for republication.
Her latest screenplay, Housewife, has been two years in the making because she put it on hold to concentrate on her students’ needs.
“I don’t regret setting it aside because it has given me more time to spend with my characters and learn what I want from the piece,” she said.
Her previous screenplay, Bystanders, was drafted in a month, but perfected over five years.
“It was my first screenplay, so I learned a lot about the process,” she said.
The reviews and comments about her work are what she called “interesting – some people aren’t fond of the content while others adore it.”
Alvey said, “In college, I wrote pieces that made people cry. I upset a lot of people and killed off characters. I recently finished a short story called Beasts Beyond the Door, and writer Christine Makepeace gave me some high praise in the form of comparing the short story to the atmosphere of Emma Tammi’s 2018 film The Wind.”
One of her favorite comments about her work comes from Mary Beth McAndrews, EIC of Dread Central, who was so involved in the story that she mistook it for a movie that had already been produced.
“[She] was scouring the internet and Twitter for the title before realizing she was thinking of Bystanders,” Alvey said. “I think about that a lot. It was funny and heartening. It still makes me smile.”
With her latest work being published this month, Alvey said she is constantly writing and constantly busy with her teaching as well.
“It’s such a rewarding experience. I loved the chance to come back to my alma mater and make a difference there,” she said.
To find links to her social media and her original work, visit her website.
