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 Heddy Johannesen!
Heddy Johannesen has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Saint Mary’s University, with over thirteen years of experience as a freelance writer. She has a background in managing her own freelance writing business, promoting her writing on social media, and developing her writing proposals for publication. Through her writing career, she has successfully collaborated with editors at various magazines, and cooperated with contacts to promote published works to readers. Heddy Johannesen will continue to develop proposals to editors of various publications, and anticipate the interests and needs of today’s readers.
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 am a very original, creative and imaginative person. I trust my imagination and let it go wild in the early drafts to see where it will take me. I get very frustrated when I feel like nothing is happening. I wait until I am inspired and then sometimes it totally takes me by surprise. I often read what other authors have written to improve my own writing. I ask other authors/ mentors for help. I also ask for help with the Horror Writers Association Facebook group. They are very helpful and patient.
What are your thoughts on the book industry today, or more importantly, about the book community?
I do not support the AI at all. I believe that authors can create their novels, short fiction or poems from their heart. AI can never achieve that. I do believe though that the horror industry, horror novels and movies are hugely popular right now. This is a good time to be a horror author from whatever background anyone is from. The diversity is what is giving horror a new face. New doors are opening for new horror authors now.
Do you feel it is getting harder or easier to make it as an independent author these days?
I do believe it is both. It is good and it is hard. I think it comes down to perseverance. An indie author has to be determined to survive the stigma, that not everyone is going to accept an indie author and close doors to them. You have to get your foot in the door and to push past them and get to the ones who will accept. I had to go through that. Someone from a local library here said no one would ever borrow my indie book The Cult of the Spider People. I brought that to the attention of the other library staff and they did put my book in the library. Perseverance is so important. No matter what, never give up. I believe, at least for me, based on my own experiences of trying to get my book out in the world, that it is crucial to believe in your project and to have the determination of a herd of rhinos.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my novella The Cult of the Spider People: Bone Chillers #1. That is why I love it. Writing it forced me out of my comfort zone. I really love that. I never expected the success. The book is on Amazon, now in my local library, I had a successful book launch, and it will soon be in audiobook format!
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
I am co-authoring a novel with Nora Peevy, planning on a sequel to Cult of the Spider People: Bone Chillers #1, and I do write flash fiction. I want to work on a new novel or novella after that. I have almost composed a grand total of one thousand blog posts in total. I love to write. If find someone who has enjoyed what I have written, then I feel that I have achieved something
KANDISHA PRESS 
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