BIO
Dani has accepted the curse of a warped and deviant mind that bends reality, rending the fabric between the real and the unreal. Perhaps a form of schizophrenia, Dani prefers to think of it as wonderful inspiration for some deeply creepy but strangely intellectual horror stories that are pulled from those nightmarish visions. A student of the great horror writers (and filmmakers), Dani has turned a passion for twisted tales that unlock deep truths about humanity into a career focused on scaring the pants off readers.
WEBSITE LINKS
https://www.amazon.com/Dani-Lamia/e/B08B3HGJSS https://www.level4press.com/dani-lamia-horror-collection https://www.instagram.com/dani_lamia1/ @dani_lamia1 Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself? I’m whoever I need to be for the book I’m currently working on. I don’t just write the book. I wrap the world of the book around me, like a cloak, and become the book. So if I’m writing a book about witches and covens, then that world is real and true and those covens are meeting in the attic of my house, at least until the book is done. Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life? This question assumes that there is a real life and a pretend life. But there is no real life, it’s all an illusion. Solid matter isn’t solid, it’s just reflected electromagnetic waves from quantum fields. Reality itself is quantum probabilities at the most fundamental level. What you “see” is actually a story created by your brain, so we’re all creating stories every second that we’re alive. And since those stories can be anything we want, reality can be anything that we want. Or sometimes, things that we’re afraid of. So, at the risk of sounding glib, I truly meet all of my characters and often spend more time with them than you could imagine. Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing? Well, for me the best horror books aren’t really about horror. They’re about human psychology. So I enjoy anything that gets into the human psyche. Stephen King’s an obvious master of this. I also enjoy things that expand on this concept of how unreal our “reality” is, which takes me into quantum mechanics and astrophysics. The term horror, especially when applied to fiction, always carries such heavy connotations. What’s your feeling on the term “horror” and what do you think we can do to break past these assumptions? The question assumes that we should break past the assumptions. I say embrace horror for what it is. Horror allows us to explore the darker side of who we are as a species. Some might even say the core of what makes us unique as a species. We’re not going to explore that in romance, comedy, or even action-adventure. We get it in the best of Science Fiction, but there’s a partnership and overlap between good horror and good science fiction. A lot of good horror movements have arisen as a direct result of the socio/political climate. Considering the current state of the world, where do you see horror going in the next few years? Horror allows us to explore the things we’re afraid of, so this is really asking me what we’ll be afraid of over the next few years. I think the dehumanizing aspects of technology are clear threats to us in both the short-term and long term. Similarly, the human hubris when playing with ever more powerful technologies (e.g., AI, genetic manipulation) creates lots of great opportunities to explore scary things. Then there are the horrors that are fundamental aspects of our existence; aging, loss, self-doubt. All keep me up at night and are begging for stories. I also think we’ll see more “comfort food” horror, by which I mean traditional, comfortable horror topics that reassure us in an almost nostalgic way. Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it? First, I think that a lot of horror is not dark, violent, or grotesque. So I’ll start by saying that there is a vast array of really great horror books that are much more subtle than this. Again, going back to Stephen King, even books like “It” and “Dr. Sleep” are as much psychological thrillers as anything else. But in terms of the books that are dark, violent, and at times grotesque in nature, I’d say that people long for the moment of release immediately after those dark, violent and/or grotesque scenes. We take someone to a very emotionally intense situation, with a lot of stress, a lot of pressure . . . and we hold it . . . just a little more . . . and then we let it all go. And that moment of release is the reward for withstanding the pressure. What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre? I’d have to say that we’re in a golden age of horror. I’m seeing very high quality, innovative and imaginative work coming out all the time. I’m particularly pleased with the amount of elevated horror that’s being released, and with the appetite for this material not just in books, but in movies and TV. What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice of? Well, I don’t know if I’d call him new and upcoming, but I recently enjoyed Joe Hill’s book, The Heart Shaped Box. And while it’s not clearly in the horror genre, Amy Tan’s book, A Hundred Secret Senses is a good example of an elevated ghost book that you can read over and over. Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative, that have stayed with you? In addition to reviews in publications like Publisher’s Weekly, I do read every single review that gets published on Amazon. And I’d say that I consider those Amazon reviews as the most immediate and valuable feedback possible on my writing. I learn what’s working, what’s not working, and what people are taking away from the book. But no, I wouldn’t say that any single review has a large positive or negative impact. There will always be a few people that like anything, and there will always be a few people that will hate anything. What’s interesting to me are the trends among lots of people. What aspects of writing do you find the most difficult? Finding the time to work without interruptions. It’s so important to have long enough blocks of uninterrupted time to allow my mind to enter a state of flow, to get “into the zone.” Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? I won’t do torture books. I won’t do books where children are the victims of terrible violence or sexual assault. I guess I won’t do any book that would make me feel dirty or degraded just by being part of that world, even if only through the act of writing the book. Writing is not a static process, so how have you developed as a writer over the years? Well, I began with a focus on plot and structure as my primary driving force. Then I got more into the sound and rhythm of the words, painting pictures with words, and heavier use of metaphors and similes (the poetry, I suppose). Lately, I’ve been diving deeper into character. What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing? Write every day. And always strive to open your veins . . . so your readers don’t have to. Which of your characters is your favorite? I’d have to say Caitlyn Prescot from my first book, SCAVENGER HUNT. She’s so incredibly unlikable but driven and determined. She is the book’s protagonist, and a true embodiment of the central theme: the toxic nature of secrets. All great protagonists, in my opinion, are deeply flawed. Caitlyn’s flaws cut so deep and are tied to something so traumatic that she has alienated everyone who might want to be part of her life. And yet, somehow there is a glimmer of humanity that I hope readers cling to as they ride out this thriller and eventually experience the extraordinary, albeit painful, transformation that Caitlyn undergoes. But until that transformation finally happens, she is deliciously wry, cutting and dark. I love that when writing her dialog, I’d think to myself, “Did she really just say that?” Which of your books best represents you? I’d have to say that Hotel California, coming out this next year, is the book that’s the most personal to me. I really did run a bed and breakfast, and it really was haunted by ghosts, and I really did have a film crew film a horror movie in the bed and breakfast. So there’s a lot of unbelievable but real life true stuff in that book. Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us? I love 666 Gable Way, a terrifying, contemporary story about the very worst kind of witches, but if we’re isolating my favorite passage, I’d have to say it’s from Scavenger Hunt; the first few sentences of the book, in fact: It is 1987. I have never been drunk before because I am an eleven-year-old girl. I haven’t yet done a line of cocaine off a glossy board game box top or screwed one of our summer interns just to watch them squirm when I make them get me coffee afterward. My entire family is fucking terrible, and so am I. Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next? Scavenger Hunt was released last June. It’s essentially the story of family trauma wrapped in a dark thriller package. The patriarch of a family-owned and operated multi-billion-dollar gaming empire dies. His will, surprisingly, does not leave the company to his oldest daughter, despite the fact that she’s given up everything to make it a juggernaut in the industry. Instead it provides that the entire fortune will go to the family member that wins an elaborate scavenger hunt—one last game. But someone begins manipulating the game and at the end of each round the loser dies. So we have the ultimate prize for the winner, and death for everyone else. It turns into a shocking excavation of dark family secrets. It’s been getting good reviews and there’s a lot of interest on the film side. My next book after 666 Gable Way is Hotel California, which is about an isolated bed and breakfast that’s haunted by benign, maybe even benevolent ghosts. But when a film crew uses the B&B to film a violent horror film, the violence in the film spills over and changes the character of the ghosts from Casper the friendly ghost to evil, demonic ghosts. If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice? Women that stand around wringing their hands while their boyfriend is in a fight to the death on their behalf. I’d love to see a scene where the boyfriend stands around wringing his hands while his girlfriend is in a fight to the death. What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you? Last great book would be Mythos, by Stephen Fry. Or more precisely, I listened to it as an audio book. It was a really fascinating telling of Greek mythology. Absolutely fascinating. Latest disappointment was Ben-Hur, by Lew Wallace. I recently picked up the book because I have somewhat fond memories of the movie from when I was a kid. Well, I don’t know about the movie, but the book was pretty horrible. I think I’d prefer needing to get into the gladiator pits myself rather than read that book again. The only part about the movie that I remember after all of these years is the chariot race, and that was the only good part about the book. So if you want to read the book, just read those few pages, skip the rest, and you’ll be in good shape. What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do? And what would be the answer? Q: Would you mind if I started a fan club for your work, and we got up a petition to award you the Nobel Prize for Literature? A: Why no. I wouldn’t mind at all. COMPETITION TIME
Something evil hides within the House of Seven Gables...
Phoebe Pyncheon hasn't had an easy life. Alone and out of work, she does her best to make ends meet while she finishes her debut novel. But when even the monthly rent becomes too much for the struggling young writer to afford, she is forced to move in to her Great Aunt Hester's boarding house. Known as the House of Seven Gables, this Victorian mansion is a maze of decrepit halls, musty old furniture, and faded glamour. At first, Phoebe feels at home in the strange, quirky old house. But soon she senses a presence lurking in the shadows, just out of sight. She hears it breathing in the darkness, feels its cold touch on her skin at night. Then the police knock on her door with news of a dead body found nearby. And Phoebe discovers the terrifying truth... The House of Seven Gables is a temple to an ancient evil, a terrifying power unleashed by Hester and her coven of friends. This dark entity haunts the stones of the old mansion, plotting its revenge upon the living. But a secret power hides within Phoebe as well. And releasing it may be her only chance to survive the terror that awaits her... the heart and soul of horror promotionComments are closed.
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