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 Valerie B. Williams!
Valerie B. Williams’ short fiction has been published by Flame Tree Press, Dark Recesses Press, Grendel Press, and Death Knell Press, among others. Her most recent publication, the short story “Wheels Against Wings,” appeared in the Vinyl Cuts anthology from Scary Dairy Press in January 2024.
Her debut novel, a supernatural thriller titled “The Vanishing Twin,” will be released by Crossroad Press in late summer/early fall of 2024.
Valerie spins twisty tales from her home in central Virginia, which she shares with her very patient husband and equally patient Golden Retriever. When not writing, she can be found reading and drinking either tea or wine, depending on the time of day.
Website: Valerie B. Williams (valeriebwilliams.com)
Amazon: Amazon.com: Valerie B. Williams: books, biography, latest update
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valerie.b.williams.2
BlueSky: Valerie B. Williams (@valwillwrite.bsky.social) — Bluesky
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 came to writing late in life. I was always a good writer technically, but doubted I had the creativity needed to tell stories. In my mid-forties, I decided to give it a go and took lots of classes, learned what NOT to do, and wrote some really bad stories. Life interfered, I stopped writing, and inertia set in. I guess my Aha! moment was when a family member (after I hadn’t written in ten years) asked why I had stopped writing. I didn’t have a good answer, so what could I do? I started writing again. I took it much more seriously this time–joined professional organizations, networked, took more classes and workshops, and began to submit my work. Starting in 2017, my stories began getting accepted for publication. Which proves it’s never too late!
No single book inspired me, but I’ve been an avid reader all my life. I used to sneak a flashlight under the covers when I was a kid so I could keep reading after lights out. I read just about anything I could get my hands on, but finally settled on the horror genre as my favorite. My mother was a horror fiction fan who shared books with me, and probably the biggest influence on my preferred genre.
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 love editing! Once I have a draft, I go to town. The flip side is that drafting is a struggle because I can’t just let the words flow. I pick at them until I’m happy (for the moment) before moving on, which makes me a terribly slow writer. I get weird satisfaction from finding just the right word, rearranging a sentence, or eliminating unnecessary words. You won’t be surprised to find I’m a recovering(?) perfectionist. Good enough is a tough concept.
I turn to my library of craft books first for improving a particular skill. I read a LOT of craft books, but the first read is usually to see what will be useful in the future. When I’m struggling with an area of writing, I check a few written sources for advice, then apply what I think will work for me. I also enjoy weekend intensive workshops, for the firehose approach to learning!
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?
At the beginning of my career, I was fortunate to be assigned an HWA Mentor, and even more fortunate that my mentor was Tim Waggoner. I was clueless about the writing industry, community, publishing, etc. I had no social media presence at all until Tim advised me that I needed to let people know (readers and the writing community) that I was out there. The horror writing community has been very helpful, and I’m grateful to many fellow authors for their support. I’m paying that support forward by mentoring a novice writer through the HWA.
I don’t really have a frame of reference for “harder” or “easier” to make it as an independent author. I can only speak for myself as a fairly recent entrant into this particular playground. I work hard at improving my craft, and I write as much as I can. I write to tell stories and hope that readers will enjoy them. I also believe creators should be paid for their work. The sheer volume of books (now including AI-generated books) on the market does make it harder to get noticed. Authors need to market their work more than in the past, whether traditionally published, indie published, or self-published. The amount and quality of the work is the only thing a writer can truly control.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
To date, I’ve written mostly short stories. The early ones, due to my still-developing writing skills, would fall into the “ugly baby” category, but I still love them for what they taught me. The more I write, the more I seem to gravitate toward historical horror. I’ve had two stories published that are set in the Civil War South, inspired by the same real building used as a hospital. The most recent is “A Mischief in Gordonsville,” published in September 2023 in the charity (proceeds benefit Scares That Care) anthology Dark Corners of the Old Dominion from Death Knell Press (woman-owned!). It involves a traumatized soldier, a deceased general, and rats!
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
I will have two stories, a flash piece called “Inheritance” and a short story called “The Wages of Sin” in the The Sirens Call e-zine at the end of April. I also have a short story, “Red Lipstick,” coming out this fall in the anthology Dastardly Damsels from Crystal Lake Publishing. And I’m thrilled about my debut novel, “The Vanishing Twin,” being released this year from Crossroad Press. It’s a supernatural suspense story involving dysfunctional families, a shared body, and Haitian Vodou.
I’m hard at work on my second novel about a woman photographer in the early 1900’s who specializes in post-mortem photography. Don’t want to say too much more (spoilers!). I also continue to write and submit short stories to the slush pile(s) and am open to more anthology invitations (hint, hint).
KANDISHA PRESS 