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 Jennifer Weigel!
Multi-disciplinary mixed media conceptual artist Jennifer Weigel lives in Kansas, USA with her husband. Weigel is an avid art collector and enjoys playing board and role-playing games, junk store thrifting, and mail art. Her spirit animal is the deer and if she were a dog, she’d be a Beagle. Weigel’s favorite foods are unagi don or broiled calamari steak and frosting with or without cake. Weigel is a regular contributor to Haunted MTL and Nat1 Publishing. You can learn more about her art and writing on her website here. https://jenniferweigelart.com/
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 always knew I wanted to be an artist, and authorship mostly evolved out of that for all that I was encouraged to write in high school, especially poetry. There was a brilliant children’s bookstore in Kansas City when I was going to the art institute there, next to the café that also housed the Classical radio station, and I spent a lot of time exploring how different writers and artists created such brilliant masterpieces in that genre. It inspired me to want to do the same but this was backburnered to other pursuits. As far as fiction, I think I began to pursue this more when I was able to get some of my works published, starting with “Fording the Styx” as seen in Czykmate Productions’ 101 Proof Horror anthology. This story had been sitting in wait for decades before finally finding a home, and getting it published inspired me to write more.
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 biggest strengths in writing lie in my characterization and ability to write outside the box. I’m really big into hermit crabs and use alternative means of storytelling to let my characters express themselves in whatever means seem best suited to them individually, further building upon language and storytelling devices. I write a lot of narratives in the guise of other content including advertisements, letters, rants, recipes, and more, and much of this is very meta, including the reader beyond just passive observer. As such, a lot of my written works are expressed as one-way conversations shared between the story’s narrator(s) and the reader(s).
I try to approach each major project in both writing and art as a means of creating opportunity for growth. This comes from my study of performance art, considering how each engagement can also serve to solve some problem or further personal development. Each large-scale endeavor helps me to learn and to grow, and to keep the act of creating (anything) interesting and fresh. I may try a new means of storytelling, or incorporate poetry or graphic elements, or engage in some in-depth research to expand the sense of realism. Reading also helps to improve writing as I internalize what works and what doesn’t within others’ works. But mostly, it’s like anything else – I find I get better the more that I practice the skill.
What are your thoughts on the book industry today, or more importantly, about the book community?
I have been a visual artist for over twenty years and really only took off with my writing during COVID after focusing more on publication than exhibition. It amazes me just how many outlets there are in publishing nowadays, and with so many different audiences and areas of focus, in part because there are more opportunities with self-publishing and print-on-demand services. I find that the literary community is more inclusive and allows for a lot of freedom of creative expression, also fostering collaboration and connection in various ways.
That said, there is a lot of content available now and I know that people can have a difficult time navigating it, both as consumers and as creatives extending their reach. It is very difficult to see the forest for all of the trees springing up everywhere, and it can be challenging to find the perfect fit for a story with anthologies edited for cohesion and to garner very specific ideologies. This also makes the echo chamber(s) louder because it allows us to focus solely on what we want without forcing us to expose ourselves to things outside of our comfort zones, making trigger warnings even more necessary and further isolating the content we consume which can lead to greater polarization. And it can conceal problematic practices and predatory people, though I’ve found that those individuals unfortunately always seem to find a way to prey upon creatives struggling to find recognition using whatever means are available at the time.
Do you feel it is getting harder or easier to make it as an independent author these days?
I don’t really have a basis of comparison in this, as I only recently entered into writing more within the last five years. Based upon my experience in the arts, I would say this is complicated. There are a lot more opportunities to find placement for your work, but that doesn’t guarantee fit or viewership. Far from it as it becomes even more necessary to engage in your own marketing and promotion so that what you are doing isn’t drowned out in the cacophony.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
My native genre is horror. Essentially, I grew up reading Stephen King and I like exploring inner monologue and psychological turmoil in my work, and I find that horror allows for more freedom in this than some other genres do, especially for someone like myself who tends to struggle with dark thoughts. I also write speculative fiction, fantasy, and role-playing-game inspired stories as well as poetry and alternative content. My natural means of expression often comes in the form of the rant, exploring political or social themes in a new light. Many of these rants are essentially monologues with a sort of angsty, humorous bent that provokes thought in a very tongue-in-cheek manner. Maybe this evidences an unpursued career in stand-up comedy, but given my horrible stage fright it is unsurprising that I would take to writing over performing. Plus, my timing is often off. (Cue the inappropriate laugh track here.)
I have a few favorite stories honestly, all for differing reasons. “The Unending Pain” from the Czykmate Productions’ Bodies anthology is a harsh socio-political commentary continuing my feminist art discourse surrounding women’s reproductive health and rights. And the “Total Monster Makeover” fake television script and “Zombie Apocalypse” Black Friday drabble, both published on the Haunted MTL website, were really fun to write. But I think my all-time favorite is “In space it was all well and good until someone could hear you scream… and then they all started to tune in for the show” which appeared in Weird Weird West through Nat 1 Publishing, because it is so quirky and exists as a commentary on the act of storytelling itself, intentionally leaving the reader wondering what just happened. I am also very pleased with the exploratory nature of my longer-form explorations in Witch Hayzelle’s Recipes for Disaster.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
As mentioned, I have several solo publications coming out, including my very alternative trilogy of fantasy novellas Witch Hayzelle’s Recipes for Disaster which opened with Let’s Do Lunch in 2024, Sup Sup Suppertime in January 2025, and will continue with But What About Breakfast? in September 2025, followed by a compilation and the Handy Dream Diary coloring book release in early 2026. I am very pleased with how these incorporate a myriad written forms, including actual recipes and nonsense poetry, as well as meta narrative writing told by multiple (often argumentative) storytellers.
I also have a compilation of works from my presence on the Haunted MTL website (including the aforementioned “Fording the Styx” and “The Unending Pain” and the “Total Monster Makeover” and Zombie Apocalypse” bits) due out later this year, titled Truly Tasteless Terrors and featuring “bite-sized morsels of gristle and grit you can really sink your teeth into.” This book will feature over 70 shorts in a span of ~300 pages, including new content in addition to Haunted MTL favorites. Monies raised will go towards suicide prevention.
And, in addition to all that plus an active visual art career including small-scale mural and illustration work, I am currently writing my first full-length novel in three acts, a serious dark cottage-core folk tale of life, love, and loyalty, but this is still very much in process.
KANDISHA PRESS 
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