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 Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway!
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?
It’s funny, I’ve never really thought about that ‘moment’ where writing became a thing for me, but this question is somewhat bittersweet as we lost my reason for writing earlier this year.
I know I’ve wanted to write since I was little – my novel saga, that I will eventually be brave enough to get around to writing, I started when I was 8 – but the more I thought about this question the more little snippets of memory came back to me.
My Grannie (God rest her soul, we miss you so much already) was a teacher, and when she retired, she still had a lot of the materials she’d used with the kids in her classes; some of which were a series of books for kids to read. The one that stands out for me was The Silver Key (not the H.P. Lovecraft one, the love for that came later). I don’t remember everything about them, but I vividly remember my little brother and I sitting in bed while she read this series of adventure books — meant for school kids to learn to read — to us.
This also led me to realise that a lot of my stories come from my dreams. The saga I mentioned previously, and the one that (fingers crossed) will have book one released later this year, were both dreams. But it was the first one, the one I had when I was eight, whose first draft I STILL HAVE (cringey does not explain how it feels to read the first chapters of THAT), that I wrote on a pad of paper given to me by my Grannie. And she was the first person I read it to.
I’ve never stopped living in my head, or writing out my dreams, and here we are!
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 don’t usually blow my own trumpet, never been very good at that, but I do pride myself on my characters and the stories I tell. I have a love of folklore, and I strive to bring to life some of the lesser-known creatures and myths into the world for others to enjoy, I’ve had great feedback from my stories and my ability to weave worlds, so I’m definitely happy about that.
Write, just write. I do freelance editing and ghost-writing for other clients, and within the last two years since I started, my own writing has gone from strength to strength. The more I write, the better I get in all aspects. I also think that having a variety of readers helps, whenever I’ve made mistakes or can improve, it’s come from readers who point out things I might not have thought about otherwise.
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 don’t think it could be any easier to be an independent author these days. Whether you self-publish or find and indie publisher to support you, it’s definitely less worrying about actually getting a book published. That said, nothing is all good; there has been a real spate of bad indie publishers (Kandisha NOT included!!!) who have happily fleeced authors out of their hard work and lovely stories, only to disappear into the ether. Will this stop me? No. While there have been bad eggs who have tarnished the waters somewhat, there are some absolute gems out there who I adore. I’ve worked with some of the most wonderful people in the book community, who boost you when you’re feeling at your lowest, and shout from the rooftops with joy when you achieve something. So I’ll cling to them and remember only the good stuff.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
I mentioned my absolute love for folklore, some of my favourite stories I’ve written have been the four short stories involving the Filipino Tiktik (creepy bugger), and basically anything Japanese. I’ve always been fascinated with the culture, only further fuelled by the three and a half weeks my husband and I spent there, so when I get the opportunity to write a story using the amazing Yokai from Japan, well I’m right there! There’s been a couple of contests run where the writers had to pick a creature to write for four short stories with different prompts, and it’s really given me the chance to venture into new folklore and find some new nasties to play with. The Tiktik, however, remains my main nightmare and definitely the biggest hit with people who have read them.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
I have two big pieces in the works at the minute. The first started as a one-shot NaNoWriMo novel which the characters took Umbridge with, so now it’s going to be a seven-book series instead, which I’m hoping to get book one published the end of this year. It follows D.I Sam Anderson, a man who never sleeps, loves a smoke (he blames the Aztecs for that), his whiskey, and lives one foot in the human world and one in the supernatural.
The other story is extremely special and will probably be the most important thing I ever write. Over a year ago, a woman by the name of Lisa King reached out to me on my Fiverr seller account asking if I would consider being her writer for a story that has been passed down her family for over 5 generations.
Her great grandfather (5 times removed), Wiley Pope, was a plantation owner of Irish descent who married one of his slaves, Lucy. When Wiley couldn’t pay his debts, after his plantations failed for various reasons, he realised that Lucy, and the 13 children they had together, were not safe – in the state of Mississippi they were still seen as slaves, regardless of the fact that he’d married Lucy, which meant they could be taken and sold to pay off his debts – so they fled to Kansas.
They were the first family in Kansas, during a time known as Bloody Kansas, to receive Emancipation, which meant that Lucy and their children could never be taken away from Wiley. There are old records from when Wiley reached Quindaro, Kansas, to seek legal aid to save his family, and a proclamation as well, all to prove their story exists.
It’s a story about love, and hope, as well as a part of history. We did a podcast, which contains some of what I’ve written for this originally, so you can hear from Lisa herself! https://www.voyagemedia.fm/show/hope-lives-here/show-1/
KANDISHA PRESS 