GREETINGS, BOOKWORMS! I’m Aisha Kandisha, Head Librarian at Kandisha Press. Join me in the dusty stacks of the library I will never leave again as I chat with some of my favorite Women in Horror. Today we feature author Shawnna Deresch!
Shawnna Deresch has been crafting scary stories since she could first talk. Her love of horror began when she was a child watching horror movies with her father and now as an adult is obsessed with anything horror related. She’s a lover of paranormal investigations and loves checking out cemeteries and old buildings.
She travels extensively and splits her time between the Chicagoland area and anywhere down south where the temps don’t go below 80 degrees. She lives with her three blue heelers and two black rescue cats in a condo in a big city near the ocean. She is a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and is the HWA Chicagoland Chapter Co-Chair, HWA Chapter Program Co-Manager, Chicago Writers Association, and Women’s Fiction Writers Association. She has short stories in Kandisha Press Women of Horror Anthology Volume 3, D&T Publishing’s ABC’s of Terror, Volume IV, and Siren Calls Publications’ The Siren Calls eZine, Issue 62 & 64. You can find her at www.shawnnaderesch.com; Twitter: @shawnnaderesch; Instagram: @shawnna_deresch_author; or TikTok: shawnna_deresch_author
What made you want to become an author? Did you have an “Aha!” moment when you knew you were born to write? Or perhaps a beloved book inspired you?
I’ve wanted to be a writer my entire life as far back as I can remember. Even as a child, I loved reading and writing horror and dark fiction. My parents never censored anything my sister and I read so I’m sure reading Stephen King’s Salem Lot at a very young age impacted my brain. I still have nightmares about vampires. To this day, I pull the covers over my neck when I’m in bed, just in case.
My favorite book of all time is The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. A friend in college who looked like Neil Young lent me the book and it opened a new way of writing for me. I went to the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. That program taught me to be objective, but the rebel I am, I wanted to write like Hunter S. Thompson, the father of Gonzo Journalism. Instead of objectively reporting a story, Gonzo Journalism is first-person narrative where the writer is part of the story.
What do you believe are your strengths in writing? And when you feel you need to improve on a particular writing skill, how do you go about it?
I think I create relatable characters and have solid plots. I love plot twists at the end, like a Twilight Zone episode where everything starts out normal and then goes downhill in a total unexpected way toward the end. I love my one liners at the end of my short stories. But I’m always trying to work on pacing in a story. I want to be able to create and keep the suspense going in longer works like a novel.
What are your thoughts on the book industry today, or more importantly, about the book community? Do you feel it is getting harder or easier to make it as an independent author these days?
The book community is constantly evolving. I like seeing small indie presses starting up with the intention of giving newer writers a chance to get published and for diverse voices to be heard. I’ve always searched out new authors to read. So, in a way, it makes it somewhat easier to find those works. I also think self-publishing is a way to go for writers. Either way, it’s a lot of work and sometimes there’s a learning curve with promoting yourself and your work especially if you’re an introvert like me. You do not need to be published by the top 4 of traditional publishing to be considered a successful writer.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
I have some short stories published, but I have two that I’m really proud that I wrote. One is Little Sally Ann which appears in Kandisha Press’ The One Who Got Away: Women of Horror Anthology, Volume 3. Two horror tropes I love are haunted houses/haunted places and evil/demon children. I got to combine those two tropes in that story. I’ve always loved how children can appear innocent but in a split of second, they can become the spawn of Satan. And I love the creepiness and dark atmosphere of something haunted.
The other short story that I’m partial to is Pud-Wuk-Jie Crossing which appeared in The Sirens Call eZine, Issue #62. A pud-wuk-jie is a cryptid that is half troll, half porcupine. And they are tricksters. I really liked writing the main characters. The story practically wrote itself.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
I have a short story called “Final Ride” in Above the Rain Collective’s Final Passenger
Horror Anthology that’s coming out in the spring 2024. I experimented with this story written in a 1st POV in the present and past tense. And then I have a short story called “Lovely Rita” in PsychoToxin’s, Sgt. Pepper’s Anthology that’s coming out in June 2024.
I love writing short stories, so I’ll be submitting those this spring and summer. I’m also working on a historical horror fiction novel about Rasputin and the Romanov family with the Russian Revolution in the background. The Romanov family has always fascinated me.
In the future, I’d love to write a true crime non-fiction book, but also keep writing dark,
eerie, and creepy stories.
KANDISHA PRESS 