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 Laura Stone!
Laura Stone is a horror writer with a BA Honours degree in English and Journalism.
Her more recent pieces can be found in the Anansi Archives, Night Picnic Press and Flash Phantoms.
Her writing tends to lean towards the macabre, but she is actually quite a nice person!
She currently resides in rural Bristol, England — an area she finds quite inspirational.
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?
All my stories are based within the horror genre. Whether it is folk, Gothic or a traditional ghost story, my strength lies within the emotion behind each piece. What the narrator is feeling, their relationships with other characters, their thoughts and reactions that drive each decision. You can only make the reader experience fear and tension through the eyes of your characters. I feel I am able to achieve this effectively by making the reader empathise with their plight.
Behind every good ghost story, there are ordinary people: their history and psychology.
To improve upon a skill I just keep writing! Just get it on the page, even if it’s terrible. Especially if it’s terrible! Come back to it later. And never be afraid to open yourself up to a decent proof reader. Learning from criticism is key. They can point out a flaw that is screamingly obvious to everyone but you.
I also read a lot of different writing styles which helps. You take on board many techniques even subconsciously which strengthens your writing. I tend to write pieces that are more dialogue driven so this has definitely helped me to flesh out my descriptive writing.
What are your thoughts on the book industry today, or more importantly, about the book community?
There seems to be a lot more emphasis on the social side: social media posts, tours etc. A lot of expectation falls on the writer to self-promote which can be a challenge, especially for us introverts! I think the rise of AI is also one more obstacle to compete with. This is a shame because if you don’t think a story is worth writing yourself, why should anyone make the effort to read it?
There are other barriers which seem to be on the rise. Fees to submit work to publishers can be discouraging for new writers. There is so much talent out there and the field seems to be becoming even more competitive which can be daunting.
Small independent blogs and bookstores will always have my gratitude for the help they give to new writers and amplifying marginalised voices. We need to support them, especially in the face of certain mega online marketplaces.
Do you feel it is getting harder or easier to make it as an independent author these days?
As above, I feel it’s getting harder in some respects. You can submit to hundreds of publishers in a year, and make very little headway. Without contacts in the industry and networking, it can certainly be a struggle.
On the other hand, there are more opportunities to self-publish should you wish, and social media means everyone is capable of promoting their own work.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
My work will always feature the following: something supernatural and sinister; a strong female lead, and a bold ending that will either be cathartic or mildly traumatising!
I’ve grown up on horror stories. From Edith Wharton to Shirley Jackson, or the more contemporary Susan Hill to Stephen King. I know what scares me and I write what I know. I want to honour tradition whilst also taking the reader someplace unexpected because that’s what frightens us most.
I’m most proud of The Wish. A folk horror about a desperate mother who makes a deal with a wronged spirit on the banks of an isolated marsh. I worked hard on the descriptive prose so that nature is just as powerful a player as our character. It flowed quite beautifully and the juxtaposition between the mother and the entity, two mistreated women, worked well.
Women make fantastic main characters and writers of horror as historically, we have lived through true horrors. It’s fun to flip the script and have women triumph over something menacing.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
This year, my traditional ghost story Undertow will be published in The Ghost Papers: Arms in the Dark, an independent publication from Emby Press. If you’re a fan of creepy hotels on stormy headlands with a strong female narrator, this may be for you.
I intend to keep writing and submitting short stories as this is my passion and brings me great joy (and frustration… but mainly joy!).
I have also finished redrafting my full length novel: The Breaches, and hope to find a home for it one day. It features a lonely but spirited girl, surviving in a world that has undergone a major supernatural catastrophe. It is very close to my heart and the process of its creation really helped me through some sad times. Stories really do heal the writer and the reader, a unique magic.
KANDISHA PRESS 
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