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 Natasha Sinclair!
‘Audacious stories marinated in macabre, magic and mayhem.’
From the heart of Scotland, Natasha Sinclair is an independent writer, editor and artist. Working under her brand ‘Clan Witch’ for her creative endeavours and ‘Word Refinery’ for editorial works.
Her writing is often woven with horror, sex and psychological elements. She loves to frolic in the darkness with folklore and the macabre and rich history of her homeland.
Art is unrestrained freedom, as is how storytellers choose to wield the fluid movement and global diversity of language to carve captivating and authentic tales that woe, excite or terrorise an audience. Sinclair passionately embraces that, painting original characters with true form, dialect and depth. The devil is in the details.
Sinclair is the co-conspirator of ‘Brazen Folk Horror’ with her writing partner, Ruthann Jagge. The Brazen Folk Horror duo’s debut collaborative novel, Delevan House released February 1st 2023. Book II in the trilogy is underway. Keep up to date by subscribing to the #BeBrazen newsletter.
https://linktr.ee/natashasinclair
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 always been a writer—I never wanted to become an author. I understand labels are important to many folks. We can covet them fiercely and chase them (like the goal of becoming a ‘published author’) for validation or an arbitrary feeling of ‘success’, peer acceptance, too, I guess. Michael Stipe (R.E.M) saying, ‘labels are for canned food’ always comes to my mind. I’ve never sought acceptance or had the desire to be validated by labels. I’m a writer. Writing is how I work through life, how I process, exorcise demons, how I find freedom, and using that to create is life itself.
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 my strengths are also my weaknesses, and I have no qualms about showcasing them all. I get deeply psychologically involved with the characters and settings I create. And with that, I am immensely critical. In many ways, creative writing can be like acting; we get to try on many skins, even those we’d never wish to encounter in reality, especially in darker forms of creative writing.
When there’s a particular weak point, I seek honest and impartial feedback and use that to help develop, read writers’ work whose skills I admire and practice, practice, practice. In art (as in life), we should always seek to improve. It’s not over until that last death-rattle breath. Never trust anyone who claims to know it all. We’re all students.
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 believe the book industry is wide open. Though, creators have a noose around their necks. The phrase ‘double-edged sword’ comes to mind. Perhaps that’s always been the case, but with digital social platforms, things can feel more volatile and at any second, things could take a (often negative) turn, and that is certainly the case with what I’ve witnessed in book communities online. It can be vicious! Admittedly, I’ve never been the sort to buy into a community mentality. I do not trust or feel secure by the idea of them for the most part.
I am concerned about the dilution of art to appeal to or appease particular audiences. Such an example is Penguin Random House’s controversial changes to Roald Dahl’s catalogue. His much-adored and popular children’s books underwent re-editing with support from professional sensitivity readers to weed out so-called offensive and outdated language. Language is a living thing that evolves constantly, and we shouldn’t be putting art through literary cleansing to be more palatable to a modern audience. It’s disrespectful to the (in this case, deceased) author and the time from which these fantastic stories were created. We can learn and move on without corrupting past works.
As an independent author, it is relatively simple to publish with various routes to choose from and accessible book-building tools. This is perhaps why several genres are saturated with content, which adds to the difficulty in finding the right audience for the work—that’s the real challenge to authors: getting the work into the hands of readers. I’ve been publishing since 2018, and I’m still finding my way there. It’s certainly not easy!
There’s a fine, barely visible line between ‘community’ and ‘clique’. They can destroy easier than they lift. And that lifting only goes so far. Independent authors need a thick skin and to be able to advocate for themselves. It’s wise to drown out certain noise so it doesn’t impede the work of creating art.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
My work is a kaleidoscope of genres, though, for the most part, I naturally play in the darker corners with elements of gothic, urban, folklore, horror, BDSM erotica, psychological and dark fantasy sprinkled through my material. Most of my work is set in Scotland, with Scottish characters. I don’t like to bastardise language by neutralising it to appeal to a mainstream market or audience. I love to execute authentic dialogue that’s true to how folks really speak. I embrace the use of dialect and language variances that a reader can really hear. The diversity of Englishes (yes, plural) alone is fascinating and so much fun to work with.
As far as fiction, I’m most proud of my collaborative work with my literary partner on Brazen Folk Horror, Ruthann Jagge. For anyone who has read our work as solo writers, we each have a distinct style that’s entirely different to the other. And yet, we are similarly inspired by nature, history, art, and the psychological complexities of the mind. As different as we are, we have got to a place when collaborating on a story, sometimes even we can’t tell who wrote which part, well, except for the more salacious scenes. I can’t deny that I bring the smut to the party! Ruthann encourages it! When we create together, our brains attune—a noisy little orchestra of crows chattering a symphony across the six thousand miles between us, and we could be there on the same page, in the same room working as one. Instead of talking to ourselves, we have the other—the Gemini twin.
Not in the sense of it being a ‘good’ story, and this one certainly doesn’t showcase the skills I’ve developed as a writer, but for other reasons, I’m also proud of my first published book. Without that, I may never have published anything or had the courage to submit work to other publishers. I wanted to be an example to my children to do what they love and not let insecurities and fear hold them back, as many of us do. Life is too fragile. It could end at any second, and it will. Becoming a parent, my losses and near losses taught me that. Our time in this life is too fleeting not to take action and run with our passions.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back is my only non-fiction book. It gave me the courage to share my love of fiction and poetry in the stories that have followed.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
Upcoming works, in the near future, will be coming from my collaborative brand with Ruthann Jagge, Brazen Folk Horror. We publish a quarterly magazine (which is available free digitally to subscribers). Books II and III of our Delevan House trilogy will be published this year, alongside one or two things from our little sub-imprint, Brazen Noir. We’re also getting together in the same country and will have a table at this year’s WorldCon in Glasgow! Not only will this be a super packed and exciting literary event, but it’ll also be our first time meeting in person. We have many exciting and brazen-as-hell plans!
Aside from a few articles publishing, I have a few solo projects pinned for a little later. Their time will come.
KANDISHA PRESS 