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 Desiree Horton!
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 in writing lie in my ability to describe something in a way that feels and sounds real and is unique. I like to make people really feel or at least imagine what I’m talking about. When I need to improve something I generally ask for feedback from people I trust, and then head to ye old Google machine. Between other authors and editors, and Google, plus the dictionary, there isn’t anything we can’t do, right?
What are your thoughts on the book industry today, or more importantly, about the book community?
I think with any large community you will have your share of drama and those with questionable intentions. I have found a space and a collection of authors that I enjoy working and interacting with, but it took a while. I feel like some social media platforms use drama to promote the less desirable side of authors and books because drama always sells. I try not to feed into that too much. I’d like to make the community I’m a part of a better place and a more welcoming one for people who are working on achieving their writing dreams.
Do you feel it is getting harder or easier to make it as an independent author these days?
Both! There has never been an easier time to self publish it seems, but long gone are the days when someone could get a huge book deal and quit their job to become a full-time author. That’s obviously an exaggeration, but it does seem like there is a stigma about self-publishing and it keeping you from being published by one of the big five. Good thing we like breaking stigmas!
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
That’s hard! I am proud of all of my work because I know what I’ve gone through to even start them. Being an author is a lesson in confidence and perseverance, and you never stop learning those two lessons. I will always have a special place in my heart for my first book, “Midnight Mother,” because it was a breakthrough moment for me. I realized that I could, in fact, complete a book and that when I released my expectations for how the process should go and just focused on making it a learning experience, it became one of the first times I was truly proud of myself in my entire life.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
I have a lot in the hopper at the moment. It feels like authors spend a year of toil only to reap the rewards the following year or two. I have a few charity anthologies I was lucky enough to be a part of coming out in the next two months; “Our Womb, Your Torched Remains,” which benefits a women’s charity, and “Dark Harvest; Terrifying Tales From the Poisoned Planet,” benefiting the National Audubon Society. A few author friends and I have a collection of space horror stories coming out in June, and a few other assorted collections all along the rest of the year. This will also be the first year I am dipping my toe into self publishing, so I’m excited to see if that’s something I can do successfully!
KANDISHA PRESS 
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