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 Marie Lanza!
Marie Lanza writes fast-paced horror, thrillers. She is the author of post-apocalyptic horror series Fractured, and the short story e-series The Colony, along with other short stories part of larger anthologies. She also writes in various genres as a ghostwriter bringing others’ visions to life.
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 loved telling stories whether it was performing in them as a child or writing them as an adult. I was 16 years old when I completed my first full length screenplay and I never looked back.
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 my strengths are creating atmosphere and building tension. I love high tension when I’m building story and that’s something I really focus on in my work. Editing is exhausting. I tend to be a fast reader so guaranteed I’ll miss stuff. This last year I started listening to my writing as I worked and that’s helped a lot! Although, it never fails I’ll still find an error, or my editors will.
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?
With the access people have to get their books out there, the market is definitely hard to break into, but I think that goes for any entertainment industry. It’s difficult to get noticed. You have to put yourself out there and be vulnerable. Most writers are introverts and that’s hard and uncomfortable. But, on the other hand, the power of social media is strong and if you use it right, it can bring a lot of attention to your work. The corner of the book community I’ve found has been incredibly supportive with each other.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
I am super excited and proud of my supernatural Louisiana bayou series. I’ve been working on this world for years. I have the short stories 101 Days, un Lutin, Devil May Come, Darkness Within, and Wetlands out there floating around in anthologies as breadcrumbs for what’s to come.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
I’m working on the final touches for the re-release of The Colony. The Colony series was a five-part short story collection mostly to see if people were even interested in my work when I first started writing books. I had always intended to continue this series, but I couldn’t figure out how I wanted to do it. The first book will be taking the five short stories originally published and building more on those characters and their journey to find The Colony.
KANDISHA PRESS 
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