IN THE LIBRARY WITH MOCHA PENNINGTON

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 Mocha Pennington!

Mocha Pennington studied Journalism with a minor in Creative Writing in college. Her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including 2020’s The One That Got Away: Women of Horror Anthology Vol 3 and most recently, The Encyclopocalypse of Legends and Lore: Volume 1. When she isn’t writing, she is co-hosting Tea Time, a gossip channel on YouTube, which has accumulated over a million views.

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 been writing for as long as I can remember. It’s a cliché answer but a very true one. I was writing stories well before I fell in love with reading. I remember being a kid, writing and illustrating a series of books that were my own version of Clueless, which was heavily influenced by the reruns of Beverly Hills, 90210 I used to watch. It was probably writing those was when I knew being an author was what I wanted to do with my life.

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 believe provoking emotions would be a strength of mine, making the reader feel what my characters feel. I think it’s important to do so in horror stories; I believe it enhances not only the reader’s experience but the reader’s terror also.

When I feel like I need to improve on a writing skill, I read books from an author who I feel specializes in that skill. I learned how to write an action scene from reading Lee Child, (I have a HUGE crush on Jack Reacher) reading Jackie Collins and Lisa Jackson has taught me how to add elements of romance to my stories, which was never my strongest suit.

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?

I’m not sure how each section of the book community is, but I love how the horror writing community is, especially the indie authors. We support each other, advocate for marginalized voices to be heard, and we band together to point out wrongs done by authors and publishers. I used to think to be a successful writer, I had to have all my main characters be white and cis. Through the horror community, I found that not to be the case.

As an independent author, I find it easier to get work out in the world. There are so many platforms to be published on. However, with so many authors using those platforms, I think it’s a bit harder to get your work in reader’s hands, especially when some readers see independently released work as inferior to work released behind a big publisher.

Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?

The story I’m the proudest of would have to be “Farewell II Flesh”, published in Dark Murmurs. The idea for it came to me after meeting another transwoman at the bar. She expressed disappointment in her appearance and how she wished to look more feminine. Not being seen as “passable” is an issue a lot of transwomen face. I wanted to write a story for not only transwomen, but for all women. We are constantly criticized for not being pretty enough, kind enough, smart enough; or for being too smart, too funny, too confident. We are held to unrealistically high standards; we are told to change who we are to be seen as more desirable. I’m so proud of “Farewell II Flesh” because of how relatable it has been for women. I’ve received messages from women who read the story, telling me about their struggles. It means so much to me to have a story that has that sort of impact.

What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?

My debut novella should be released this year, and I’m so excited to have my first full-length body of work out in the world. It’ll be an installment in the Price Manor series. Each book in the series is written by a different author and is centered around Price Manor, a haunted house that can time travel and appear anywhere in the world it wants. The first three volumes are already out with more releases planned.

My future plans are to publish another novella and the novel that I’ve been working on for a while now. I have no plans for any upcoming anthologies appearances, but I’m always open to them.