Authors are listed alphabetically by LAST name beginning with N
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Julie Navickas
Your Name: Julie Navickas
Genre(s) of your work: Contemporary Romance
Titles/Year of Published Work(s):
I Loved You Yesterday (2022)
I Love You Today (2022)
I’ll Love You Tomorrow (2023)
Bio:
Julie Navickas is a best-selling and award-winning, nationally recognized contemporary romance novelist, known for her keen ability to tell heart-wrenching, second-chance love stories through relatable characters with humility, humor, and heroism. She is also an award-winning university instructor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. Julie earned master’s degrees in both organizational communication and English studies with an emphasis in book history, as well as a bachelor’s degree in public relations, graduating cum laude from Illinois State University. She is a mom of three and has been happily married to her high school sweetheart for twelve years.
Why do you write in the genre that you do?
While I’m an avid reader, I’m really only drawn to two specific genres: fantasy and romance. As a fairly new author, the thought of tackling fantasy is terrifying, so I’ve leaned into contemporary romance as my preferred genre. I love a good romance and look forward to the escape from reality love stories offer. Not to mention, the guaranteed HEA!
How has writing changed/altered your life?
I started writing in the summer of 2020 as a mental escape from the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, I had no goals to do anything more than play around with my crummy creative writing skillset. But one thing led to the next, and here I am three years later with three traditionally published contemporary romance novels. With no plans to stop anytime soon, I think it’s safe to say what started as a passion project has now become my side hustle.
Who are your favorite authors and why?
My absolute favorite author is J.R.R. Tolkien. For as long as I can remember, I have been enamored with Tolkien’s stories. The Hobbit was truly the first book I ever enjoyed—and I read The Lord of the Rings annually. In graduate school, I studied abroad in England and spend several days on the Oxford University campus, taking in the legendarium. Tolkien’s lore fascinates me in a way no other story ever has.
Do you believe that audiobooks are the wave of the future, more of a passing fad, or somewhere in between and why?
Like anything trendy, audiobooks are in the midst of their season. Interestingly enough, I just had a conversation with my publisher this past week and we talked about the idea of recording my novels. I’m intrigued by the concept and inspired by the new way to reach readers, but I worry that audiobooks will see a decline in the near future.
What have you found to be a good marketing tool? A bad one?
My best marketing tool is social media. I’ll even go so far as to narrow it down a bit more and pinpoint TikTok and Instagram as my primary platforms for reaching new readers. I’ve also found success using marketing promotional services like Silver Dagger Book Tours and Romance Me With Books. As for “bad” marketing tools, I think there’s value in all attempts. I learn something new with every effort.
Do you believe writing should be censored – that some topics should remain taboo?
Absolutely not. From day one, I’ve always been told to “write the book you want to read.” It may not be for everyone, and that’s okay. If you don’t like something, don’t read it!
What is your opinion of Trigger Warnings?
Trigger warnings are very common in romance novels. I personally do not have any, so it’s difficult for me to comment on this. However, if a warning helps a reader, I see no problem with it.
Do you find that you sell better in person (at events) or through social media (like a personal blog, website, or Amazon)?
I love the in-person events, but my books sell way better using social media than anywhere else. The romance world is a billion-dollar industry. It’s much easier to target ads and connect with romance readers online than cross my fingers that the random person walking into a bookshop will like my stories.
Andrew G. Nelson is a twenty-two year law enforcement veteran and a graduate of the State University of New York. He served twenty years with the New York City Police Department during which time he served as a detective in the elite Intelligence Division providing protection to visiting dignitaries. He retired in 2005 with the rank of sergeant. He is the author of the James Maguire and Alex Taylor book series’, as well as the non-fiction works: Uncommon Valor & Uncommon Valor II, which chronicle the insignia of the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit.
What prompted you to become a writer?
I’d like to say that it had always been my passion, but the truth is that my writing career began as a dare. Back around 2000 my wife and I were having a discussion about books, as we are both avid readers. She said that she believed that it would be hard to write one and I disagreed. Having spent much of my law enforcement career producing investigative reports I felt that it was just a matter of ‘painting a picture’ with words. She made a bet with me that I couldn’t do it and I wrote her a brief story. She was shocked when she read it and repeatedly asked me to continue it.
Then 9/11 happened and our world was thrown into a tailspin. Tack on some other issues and my retirement and I just never got around to finishing it. Then in 2012, she finally broke me and I began writing again. My first book, Perfect Pawn, was based on the original story concept I had started over a decade earlier.
Why do you write in the genre that you do?
A long time ago I heard a comment that you should always ‘write what you know’ and it sounded like great advice. I feel that having been in law enforcement allows me to open that world to the reader.
How has writing changed/altered your life?
Overall I would have to say that it has given me an outlet for both the factual stories, as well as the imaginary ones, in my head. I enjoy sitting down and creating something that will last long after I am gone.
Who are your favorite authors and why?
That’s actually a tough question, because there are so many and each has a different style of writing. I grew up with a book in my hand, from Sci-Fi stuff by authors like James Blish (Star Trek) to Don Pendleton’s The Executioner. If I were going off of strict character development I would say my all-time favorites are Frank Herbert and Tom Clancy, who, on top of being fabulous story tellers, give their characters a lot of breadth and depth. I also enjoy earlier James Patterson stuff and Robert B. Parker.
What is your opinion of mainstream/corporate bookstores?
As a reader: Honestly, I have mixed feelings about. In my youth I had a love affair with the local mom & pop book stores. I could spend hours just browsing the shelves seeking out new worlds and places to visit. I remember my excitement of finding a new book from a favorite author. Sadly, that feeling changed with the advent of the corporate book stores. They don’t have that same feel anymore. Now I find that I am more apt to find something online.
As a writer: My thought is that only Amazon has embraced all authors, both traditionally published & indie, while the others seem to be more rigid. I had a bit of a time with Barnes & Noble in the beginning which soured me to the point that I removed all my e-Books from them and now list those exclusively through Amazon.
What do you hope your readers will take away from your work?
Well, first and foremost, I hope they enjoy the overall stories, but I also hope that they become invested in the characters. One of the greatest compliments I ever received was when a reader told me that they actually cried over one of the ‘bad’ characters. It meant a lot to me because I knew that that I had gotten them to look beyond the immediate issues and to accept that things are not always so black and white. If I can get the reader to empathize with a character that means I have given you more than just words on a page.
How much does personal experience play in your written work?
I would say that it is probably the leading factor in my writing. I draw a lot from my experiences, not only with the NYPD, but also my time with a local sheriff’s office. I think it gave me the ability to see things from the perspective of both the big and small departments. There’s a certain level of comradery that I want to come through to the reader. Cops are human beings, they are not the ‘just the facts, ma’am,’ characters. They have real issues, real demons and real conversations with one another and I want the reader to understand that.
What was you reason for writing two different series?
My first book introduced the main character of James Maguire. Maguire is a former Navy SEAL and a retired NYPD detective. He is one of those ‘quiet professionals’ whom the reader grows to expect a certain response from, based on the storyline. As I was writing the sequel, Queen’s Gambit, I toyed with the idea of doing a short story for my readers. It amounted to about a 25k word novella and introduced a new character, Alex Taylor. This character was the antithesis of Maguire: brash, troubled & wholly unapologetic; the Yin to Maguire’s Yang. What I couldn’t get away with Maguire I could with Taylor and I found that I really enjoyed switching back and forth between the two.
While all of the books are technically stand-alone, parts of the stories actually interweave between the two series, including the relationship between Maguire and Taylor, who were once partners in the NYPD.
How do you find the motivation to complete a book/story?
If you are asking about a book that I am writing, once I get the plot idea I sit down and create a chapter by chapter ‘talking points’ outline. I like to think of that as the black lines of a coloring book picture. Once I have the overall story sketched out, then I go back and color it all in. Along the way I generally add some chapters, but I can’t even begin to write unless I have the overall journey from points ‘A’ to ‘Z’ fleshed out. Then when I have that completed I sit down and proceed to write it by chapter.
I know some authors bounce around, but for each chapter I have to stay in the moment. I will write for as long as the voices are in my head, but once they quiet down I have learned to walk away. In the beginning I tried to force the conversation, but I just went back and deleted it during the review phase. Now I’m smart enough to just go and play a video game or stir up trouble on Twitter until they come back.
What makes you NOT finish reading a book?
Sadly, I have a stack of them. Generally, I give a book about three chapters. If you can’t hook me by then, or if the writing is just that hard, I’m done. Depending on the genre I will ask my wife to try her hand at it. Sometimes a book just needs new eyes and I’m a firm believer in that not every book is going to have the same reader.
Do you believe writing should be censored – that some topics should remain taboo?
No, not at all. If we began censoring topics than I am pretty sure we wouldn’t have Nabokov’s Lolita. My personal belief is that if you want to establish a list of taboo subjects that need a disclaimer that it contains mature topics, fine. I’m not against warning a person that there might be sensitive subjects covered in a book, but I am strongly against censoring it outright. To me it is a very slippery slope, because once you start a list it becomes infinitely easier to add to it. As a former police officer I have seen man’s inhumanity to man first hand. To pretend that this stuff doesn’t happen is absurd.
Any pet peeves in writing?
When it comes to my writing? Hearing someone go on about how much they loved your books, yet they never leave a review! C’mon folks, hook an author up! I mean it’s not like we are making Patterson money off these books, so a kind review is probably the only joy we are going to get.
In reading other authors work? Grammar! No, not the Oxford comma stuff, but the full-fledged ‘I’ve been reading this same paragraph for fifteen minutes and it is all one sentence’ kind of stuff. I love the fact that it is becoming easier for indie authors to publish their work, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone should. I think it is one of the reasons that make it so hard for indie authors to get the respect they deserve, because most readers have come across that one abomination that seems to taint an entire group. Then again my wife was reading one of George R.R. Martin’s books and she came across a sentence that said: “Rape the windows…….” Ouch !!
Genre(s) of your work: Horror, thrillers, strange science
Titles/Year of Published Work(s):
A small sampling:
BEHEMOTH (Bloodshot Books, 2020)
Abracadabra (Henry Holt, 2016)
The Human Body (Viking/Smithsonian, 2016)
The Book Of Blood (Houghton Mifflin, 2012)
Here There Be Monsters (Houghton Mifflin, 2010)
This Will Kill You (St. Martin’s, 2009)
Bio:
While BEHEMOTH is my first novel, I’ve written nearly thirty books during my career. My books explore everything from brains and blood to music and the macabre. I’ve been very fortunate that publishers like my work enough to have made it possible for me to make a living as an author. In addition to writing, I also created The National GUITAR Museum, the world’s first museum dedicated to the history of the guitar.
Why do you write in the genre that you do?
I’ve always been drawn to writing about things that interest me, whether it’s bizarre, little-known facts about things like blood and chocolate, or those scary things that we think are hiding behind the basement door. Horror, in particular, has fascinated me my whole life—from countless books to innumerable movies. There’s something incredibly thought-provoking and unnerving about not knowing why strange things are happening . . . but hoping there is an answer, some explanation that makes sense. The beauty of horror is the answer doesn’t always have to exist, or even make sense. It only has to tug at your imagination enough to make you a little nervous about going to sleep at night, all alone in the dark. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is perhaps the finest example of crafting this kind of horror.
I got my start as a writer for computer magazines back when magazines were a big thing. Most of that was about artificial intelligence. AI led to writing about how computers were being used in music, which led to writing solely about music, which led to me running GUITAR magazine for a few years. My experience in artificial intelligence got me interested in how the brain works and biology, which led to a series of books about the human body. But I found the most intriguing parts of telling those stories were the ancient myths and superstitions surrounding them, like vampires and blood, and if the brain survives after being guillotined. That has led me, several dozen books later, to focusing on horror.
How has writing changed/altered your life?
Writing has allowed me to travel the world, see unusual things, meet incredible people, and be part of events I could not have imagined. It’s also been very useful when the rent comes due.
Do you have a writing routine?
I don’t know if you’d call it a routine, but I do all my writing late at night. All of it. Everyone is asleep, no emails are coming in, and after 11 PM the world is nearly silent. So I usually write from about 11 PM until 2 or 3 AM. I don’t like writing during the day simply because there are too many distractions. I also think writing in the dark of night helps bring out the demons that are a part of writing horror.
Are you drawn to a particular form of horror?
Horror has so many subgenres that it’s hard to identify any one overarching form. I enjoy cosmic and sci-fi horror all the way to a good psychopath story. That said, I find supernatural horror to be the most interesting. The things that go bump in the night—whether they are from another world or sent from the darkest pits of Hell—are great to write about because there are no limits to where your imagination can go when you’re creating things that don’t exist in real life . . . or that we think don’t exist.
Who are your favorite authors and why?
Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain are my favorite authors, primarily because they are masters of their respective genres (horror and humor). They both had a stunning ability to create entire worlds in a few short pages. When it comes to horror, I love the imagination and prose of people like Shirley Jackson, HP Lovecraft, Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, and M.R. James.
Do you believe that audiobooks are the wave of the future, more of a passing fad, or somewhere in between and why?
I think audiobooks are very much a part of the here and now, and will continue to be important in the future. Audio is great when you’re doing something that doesn’t allow you to hold a book (biking, running, driving) so I don’t think it will ever go away. And as long as people can still read in the future (which is not guaranteed), I think there will always be strength in printed books because—unlike the voices and effects in an audiobook—you have to conjure up 100% of the imagery and sounds in a story on your own.
What is your opinion of mainstream/corporate bookstores?
Any place and any one that sells books is important. It would be nice if the world was populated by small booksellers again, but it would also be nice to be a teenager again. I think writers need to make the best of the world we live in.
What have you found to be a good marketing tool? A bad one?
Engaging directly with people about your writing is both a good way to market and a good way to get a sense of how the world perceives your work. Social media does that, although in-person events are even better. The worst form of marketing is sitting in your room talking to yourself and hoping someone will notice you.
Do you believe writing should be censored – that some topics should remain taboo?
I don’t think any writing should be censored. Censorship leads to a dangerous world. That said, I don’t think all writing is worthy of being published—or even read. In an era where anyone can self-publish whatever they want, from treasure to trash, it’s a writer’s prerogative if they decide to write, say, incendiary tomes. But it’s important that those writers realize that the same prerogative applies to other entities who may decide not to sell their work, and more importantly—to those who choose not to read or buy their writing.
Born in Iowa I moved to central Illinois just before I started 2nd grade, where I’ve lived until now at age 36. I’m married with three little girls and two dogs. Most of these are mentioned in my first novel (Tiny Town). A bit of a jack of all trades, I picked up many skills and hobbies from over the years and found my way to writing nearly four years ago.
Why do you write in the genre that you do?
Personally, I have always been interested in most aspects of horror. Everything from jump scares and subtle psychological horror to brutal body horror and what they call gore-p*rn. That being said my horror writing journey started as I used to listen to YouTube narrations of creepypastas and other shorter horror stories (most of which were found on Reddit’s r/nosleep) all day long as I worked. One day listening to a story called “Feed the Pig” that was narrated on the YouTube channel The Dark Somnium, I thought to myself, “I can think up some pretty crazy and horrific things, I bet I could write a horror story. That night I wrote my first short story, “Listen to the Dogs,” which can be found in my anthology “Shadows of My Mind.” I proudly posted my story to Reddit and to a few specific YouTube narrator’s Reddit pages, just hoping that someone would read it and ask to narrate it on their channel.
Much to my dismay, it never really went anywhere, and I didn’t really write again for nearly 8 months. When the pandemic hit, I decided to try again. That was the birth of “My Tiny Town Just Got Put On Lockdown.” Initially, that was nothing more than a little longer, but still just a short story. After the first two parts were posted, I was contacted on Reddit by MrCreepyPasta (a major heavy hitter in the horror story YouTube narrator world) asking to narrate it. After he asked, my passion for writing skyrocketed. After the first ten parts (which became chapters later), I just wrote more and more. New stories, deeper cuts, more demonic, more disturbing, more malicious stories. I began to crave pushing the limits of my own psyche and sharing my own demented and sadistic thoughts in the form of stories.
So I guess the short answer is that I write in the horror genre because I love horror more than any other.
How has writing changed/altered your life?
Writing stories and novels has changed, in a way, the entire way I look at the world. I now look for my next story in everything. An example of this would be that I heard a story on YouTube video about horrific and insane things claimed to have been found on the dark web. The gist of the tale was that there was a doctor/surgeon who would kidnap young women and chop them up to sell what was left of them as (for lack of a better term) a living sex toy. I haven’t been able to find the original video I heard it on, but the story burrowed into my mind, and I turned it into my short story “I Found The Most Realistic Sex Doll.” I also feel it has made me much more articulate and fluent in my speech as well as my writing.
Who are your favorite authors and why?
Oddly this is a very short and simple answer. Dean Koontz is my favorite author. This is mostly because of how descriptive and detailed he is in his stories. I feel like his descriptions of his settings or environments is amazing at putting you there in the moment with his characters.
Do you believe that audiobooks are the wave of the future, more of a passing fad, or somewhere in between and why?
I think that audiobooks are for sure the wave of the future. I believe audiobooks are essential to getting more exposure to your work. Like I said when we first met, it is crazy how little people read nowadays. But those same people are much more likely to listen if its an audiobook, or basically if someone else is reading it to them. I don’t think that it will ever completely take over, and I wouldn’t want it to because people should read physical books more. But I think it is and will continue to be an excellent tool to expose people to more books, even if they aren’t reading it themselves.
And that being said, I also think that it very much depends on the narrator and their ability to fit the proper cadence and inflection into the narration.
What have you found to be a good marketing tool? A bad one?
Honestly, my best marketing was done via word of mouth, mostly through the narrators that read my stories. I also used various Amazon ads and email blasts and various other similar routes, however, most of them were… let’s say rather ineffective.
Do you believe writing should be censored – that some topics should remain taboo?
My first main point has to be that, no I don’t think writing should be censored. That being said I believe that someone doing the writing should understand that the more “taboo” subjects you have in your story or novel tend to shrink your audience. You will always have fans that search for those specific topics or at least don’t mind reading about them. But sadly, you will also limit your readership because those fans are much fewer than the general population. I have many stories with quite a few of those different so-called “taboo” subjects.
What is your opinion of Trigger Warnings?
Personally I understand the use of them with how sensitive people have gotten as of late, but with that I also don’t like them because often the trigger warnings will steal away the shock value that is typically inherent in my writing style. An example of that would be in my story “The Life That Flashes” I put a trigger warning originally because it deals heavily with suicide. Although I put the warning there I hated doing it because I felt that it gave the reader too much of a heads up about the content of the story which reduced the effectiveness of the horror or the message in that story.
Do you find that you sell better in person (at events) or through social media (like a personal blog, website, or Amazon)?
I have actually never done an in person book event. The Bobzbay horror author event (Tomes of Terror -ed.) in October you mentioned to me will be my first. Because of that my only sales method has been on amazon and ads on other social media platforms.
Where can people find you and your work?
My amazon author page has all of my published works available in kindle, paperback, and hardback.
Friend Grief and Anger: When Your Friend Dies and No One Gives A Damn (2013)
Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends (2013; 2nd edition – 2017)
Friend Grief and 9/11: The Forgotten Mourners (2013)
Friend Grief and the Military: Band of Friends (2014)
Friend Grief in the Workplace: More Than an Empty Cubicle (2015)
Friend Grief and Men: Defying Stereotypes (2016)
Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community (2018)
Bio:
I’ve been a writer most of my life, but didn’t admit it until 2009.
After earning a master’s degree in Speech and Dramatic Art from the University of Iowa, I moved to Chicago, where I worked professionally as a stage manager, director and administrator in addition to being a founding board member of the League of Chicago Theatres. I discovered I was good at fundraising, and ventured out on my own, raising millions for arts, educational and AIDS service organizations, and later became an award-winning sales consultant of children’s books. But when a concussion ended my sales career, I decided to finally keep a promise to a dying friend to write a book.
That book became a series of small books. The first three – Friend Grief and Anger: When Your Friend Dies and No One Gives A Damn; Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends and Friend Grief and 9/11: The Forgotten Mourners were published in 2013. Friend Grief and the Military: Band of Friends (Honorable Mention, Chicago Writers Association 2014 Book of the Year), was published in 2014. Friend Grief in the Workplace: More Than an Empty Cubicle was published in 2015 and the final book in the series, Friend Grief and Men: Defying Stereotypes, was released on 2016.
I’m currently working on a more challenging book: Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community, coming in 2018. It’s a labor of love for me to recognize the contributions of amazing women from around the world who stepped up to the challenge of fighting this devastating virus.
Why do you write in the genre that you do?
In 2006, I told my friend Delle Chatman that I had an idea for a book: stories about people grieving their friends. She was in remission from ovarian cancer for the second time and certainly understood my motivation. As usual, she was quite enthusiastic about my idea, despite the fact that I’d never written anything except fan fiction in high school and grant proposals for nonprofit clients. She died about six months later. I don’t think I have the imagination to write good fiction.
How has writing changed/altered your life?
This is my fourth career (theatre, fundraising and publisher’s rep) and I never expected to be doing this at this age. I knew less than nothing about writing, much less self-publishing, so I’ve had a steep learning curve. But despite having a master’s degree in theatre, not psychology, I’ve carved a niche as a go-to person when discussing grieving the death of a friend. It has also brought me back in the HIV/AIDS community after a long absence, energizing me in ways I could never have predicted. I honestly feel it’s given me a new purpose in life.
Who are your favorite authors and why?
Shakespeare will always be #1. The plays – most of them – have always appealed to me, but I have a theatre background and that may be why. In fact, I think more people would love Shakespeare if they saw performances rather than start out trying to just read the plays. They’re meant to come to life on stage! As for prose writers, Dorothy Sayers, Armistead Maupin, Sara Paretsky, J. K. Rowling, W.P. Kinsella because all of them have written memorable characters with a clear sense of purpose and unique sense of place. I feel like their books are full of real people I would love to call my friends.
What is your opinion of mainstream/corporate bookstores?
I love bookstores, period. The only big guys left are Barnes & Noble, which has always seemed to struggle with their place in the book world. I hope they succeed. But I’m partial to indie bookstores, partly because they’ve been so generous with their support of me. In turn, I support them: I volunteer, I’m a member, I spend money at them, I offer programs that might interest their customers. And that may be the biggest advantage to indie bookstores: the opportunity to build and maintain relationships. I think that’s where the big guys fail. My favorite indie stores are Women & Children First (Chicago), Strand, Housing Works and Bureau of General Services-Queer Division (NYC), Powerhouse (Brooklyn), Left Bank (St. Louis).
What do you hope your readers will take away from your work?
Occasionally someone looks at one of my books and says, “Oh, that’s depressing.” And though some of the stories are sad, they’re not depressing. There’s even a fair amount of humor. The Friend Grief books are a collection of stories about real people whose friendships meant the world to them. They’re men and women who struggle with their grief at times, but ultimately find ways to live their lives in ways that honor their friends. So I hope that as readers identify with the stories, they’ll find ways to treasure their friendships. Nothing makes me happier than when someone reads one of my books and says, “You get it.”
How much does personal experience play in your written work?
Well, personal experience got me started. If it wasn’t for the promise I made to Delle and the ways she haunted me after she died, I never would’ve written them. But I knew from the beginning that these books couldn’t be about me. They had to be about other people, people who aren’t like me. In order to prove that grieving a friend is as life-changing as grieving a family member, I had to find people with stories to share.
With the next book, it’s the same thing. I am a straight woman who has worked in the HIV/AIDS community off and on since the early years of the epidemic. But there are thousands of us around the world whose stories have not been told. When I interview women we have that shared experience, even if our lives are very different. It helps establish trust. Telling their stories is – if I may be so bold – like Hidden Figures: women who mostly worked in near-obscurity, but whose contributions have changed the course of the epidemic and saved thousands of lives.
Maybe I was a therapist in a previous life, because the people I’ve interviewed have opened up to me in surprising and sometimes dramatic ways. If they hadn’t, there would be no books.
How do you find the motivation to complete a book/story?
Number one, I hate unfinished projects. I have too many of those in my personal life! Mostly I’m motivated because I feel a deep sense of responsibility to the people in my books: to share their stories and to give them the recognition they deserve. I don’t want to let them down.
What makes you NOT finish reading a book?
If it’s fiction, I don’t finish if I lose interest in the protagonist or the plot is too convoluted.
Do you believe writing should be censored – that some topics should remain taboo?
I repped two children’s book publishers for 15 years. I think there is an obvious need for age-appropriate subject matter for kids, though we often underestimate their ability to understand complex subjects. In trying to shield them from the world, we sometimes hamper their ability to deal with it. Any subject can be covered in a simple, clear, non-judgmental way so kids can understand them. That said, I’m not interested in censoring anyone’s writing. I may not agree with it, I may find it disgusting or dangerous. But unless it breaks a law, it’s not my place to stop it.
Any pet peeves in writing? In reading others’ work?
Typos and bad editing – problems I find in traditionally published books as well as self-published.
Candace Nola is a Pittsburgh author with a lifelong passion for reading and writing. She started writing poetry as a young teen and branched out into short stories in high school. She did not begin writing professionally until early 2019 when a friend asked her about collaborating on a story for a writing contest. Four months later, Breach was finished and Candace set about the self-publishing route. As the story received more and more great feedback, she decided to give this writing dream a chance.
She signed up for a mentorship with the HWA, built a website dedicated to supporting indie horror authors called Uncomfortably Dark, began reviewing as much new horror as she could handle and began working on the sequel to Breach, called Beyond the Breach, that was released in December of 2020. Hank Flynn will be her third novel, releasing in July of 2021.
She is a member of the Horror Authors Guild, and has appeared in the anthology, “Second Hand Creeps,” put out by Franklin E. Wales and Joseph M. Monks. She will also be appearing in two more anthologies in 2021, has a new novel in progress that is tentatively scheduled for a late December 2021 release and will continue to support indie horror with her website and TikTok following. She has plans to continue to build up her website to become a premiere site for all things horror and to make Uncomfortably Dark Horror a brand, not just a website.
She is also a freelance editor that is available for new and upcoming horror/dark fantasy authors. Follow Candace on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
Why do you write in the genre that you do?
I have always loved the horror genre, horror movies, scary stories told around the campfire, spooky haunted houses; anything that gets the heart rate up or makes you scared to turn the lights off at night. Horror is such a broad genre as well, it includes paranormal, other worlds, demons and devils, stalkers and slashers and everything in-between. No matter what sub-genre you write in, there is something for everyone and it’s broad enough that an author can easily write in any sub-genre of horror, without straying too far.
How has writing changed/altered your life?
Writing has always been a dream of mine. There is nothing that I ever wanted more, than to be a writer when I grew up. After having given up on my dream for so much of my adult life, it really feels good to be doing something that I really love. As far as changing my life, not many changes yet, except I am a much happier person and my confidence has slowly been building up the more I write and publish. I can also say that I have made so many new friends and connections within the writing community that it has made it all worthwhile. I feel like I have found my tribe.
Who are your favorite authors and why?
Edgar Allen Poe is my absolute favorite author of all time. I have been a collector of his works for a long time now. Stephen King is also another favorite author, along with Bentley Little, Iain Rob Wright, Scott Nicholson, Frazer Lee, Paul Carro, Matt Shaw, Daniel Volpe, Aron Beauregard, William Holloway, Edward Lee, Christine Morgan. I could go on and on. Each of these authors have inspired me in some way to be who I am today. The vast abilities of each one to craft a tale that you can lose yourself in and be swept away to another place or time is mind-boggling.
To me, that is what writing is about, to take your reader away to some other place. To pull them into the story that you are telling, to make them fear, rejoice, squeal, squirm or cry. To make them feel stronger when they finish, or braver, or content. I read to escape my realities. I read to become a part of something else, something bigger, something new or something unexplored. These authors can do that and so much more. It’s a huge honor to know some of them and maybe one day, I will get to meet one or two of the others.
Do you believe that audiobooks are the wave of the future, more of a passing fad, or somewhere in between and why?
I think audiobooks are just as important to our society as the real thing. Some people are just not sit-down readers. Books don’t do it for them. Having a book narrated for them or fully produced like a radio show or play can often engage someone that otherwise would not have experienced your story. When done well, the voice actor can fully immerse the listener into the story and give them the same effects that normal readers can achieve when reading alone by themselves. Some people also travel too much or work too much to really enjoy reading a long novel, but being able to listen in while driving, running, walking, grading papers or doing housework can often fill those hours with something other than radio advertisements.
What is your opinion of mainstream/corporate bookstores?
I love a good bookstore. That being said, I will say that I have found the smaller used bookstores to be the best ones, especially for horror books. I have never gone to a bookstore and not found something new to take home, whether it’s a big or small store. I would very much like to see more large stores take on more indie authors, no matter what genre they are in.
There are so many amazing authors out here with stories to tell and the world is missing out when a bookstore only caters to the top five. There are billions of people on earth and millions of readers for each genre, shouldn’t there be at least hundreds of authors to choose from at any given time, not just the top ten NY bestsellers?
Do you believe writing should be censored – that some topics should remain taboo?
NO! Absolutely not, all subject matter should be open to write about. We are all humans and all are subject to the same feelings, the same crimes, the same tortures, abuses, fears, desires, etc. Nothing should ever be so off-limits that it furthers feelings of shame, embarrassment or confusion by mis-perception by not speaking about it. When handled appropriately, any subject matter can be written about and be well-received. Writing about things only furthers our knowledge and understanding of those things, without knowledge, who are we and how do we progress?
Sue Rovens 