 Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself? I am a lover of everything creative. I used to dance and sing , and when I was younger I wanted to be an entertainer. I always had a love for reading and writing. My earliest memory of reading was the book Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. It was my favorite. Then my mom, who loves to read too, used to have tons of Harlequin Romance novels. So, I started reading them too. I wanted to write after reading those. From there was V.C. Andrews, and then Stephen King. I always loved horror movies, so it only made sense to read that genre. I honestly love and will read all types of books, but I am more into horror and YA fiction. Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life? Anasha. She is a horrible person that will use you till she can’t, and then she will kill you. She has no remorse, and being nice to people is like scratching her nails down a chalkboard. She has one agenda, and if you do not get on that bandwagon then you are against her. Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing? My life experience has been a major influence. I add some real things that have happened in my life in my book. I also use real people that I know in the book, even though they may not be like the characters. Except for Sebastian’s mom. He is the MC in my book and his mom is my mom. My mom could be scary if you mess with her kids, and Sebastian’s mom is the same. 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? I think all we can do is continue to show our passion for it through movies and books. We need to show how creative and amazing horror is. Horror is different things to different people, and mostly everyone has experienced some kind of horror in their lives. If we can connect with people by writing about those different horrors maybe it will end assumptions, and receive more understanding and appreciation. I mean how creative are we to come up with the stuff that we come up with. In the end, we can’t make people do anything they do not want to do, so all we can do is try to put ourselves out there. If that doesn’t work then we can just continue to push the envelope, and prove how amazing horror is, and not care what other people think. Obviously, horror is loved by a lot of people. The books, TV shows, and movies make millions of dollars in this industry. So, we are doing something right. 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? I just see horror becoming the go to genre for readers and writers because of what’s been going on. What we have been seeing on TV recently with the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests is a horror show in itself. We can all relate to it. To watch someone whose job it is to protect and serve actually killing you is scary as fuck. Real life for some of us is scarier than anything we will ever read. Reading horror can help us leave the real world and just escape for a minute, or deal with our stuff. Like I mentioned horror doesn’t always have to be grotesque. It can be real life. I read a book a couple of months ago called Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and it is about black boys killed because of the color of their skin. They are ghosts and they all communicate and discuss what’s going on in the world. The one ghost boy visits the white daughter of the cop who killed him. In my opinion, this is horror and can open someone’s eyes if they are ignorant to the movement, or can help with explaining what is going on to your children. Horror has so many different types of stories within itself, and I think that it will continue to grow this way. Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it? Because people love to be scared. It is exciting and gets your heart racing. It allows you to use all of your emotions. It makes you use your imagination so much that you start seeing and hearing things in real life, and for me that is fantastic. It allows for people to enjoy themselves, wonder if this could really happen, and escape from reality for just a moment. What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre? More accolades for horror, and more POC and women horror writers. When I used to go to the bookstores to purchase books, the horror section was never as big as the non-fiction, or other fiction novels. It should be. I do not know if traditional publishing isn’t buying enough of them, but they should. We have something to say too. I also want to see horror books pushed as much as fantasy. Unfortunately, the only way I know of horror books out there is on Twitter, or if I do a search on Amazon, but they are not just pushed as they should be. Just like other novels are advertised, so should horror. What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off? I think we should take notice of Cat Scully. I can’t wait for her Jennifer Strange novel. Also, Douglas L. Wilson is an indie author like myself. Right now I am reading his book Affinity’s Window. He has had some great reviews. I haven’t finished the book yet, but from the reviews it sounds like he is great at scaring people. Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you? So far the reviews have been all positive. They all stay with me because they basically can’t wait for book 2, and found that it grabbed their attention. They couldn’t put the book down, which I love hearing. I have one person that is wanting to do a review, but they are too scared to finish it to do the review. I love that too! I hope all my readers feel this way. I know that my book won’t be for everyone, but for those that it is for...I hope they truly enjoy it. That is all I can hope for. What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult? Editing is the most difficult for me. Sometimes I can be stubborn about an idea, and it takes someone else to say that doesn’t work that I trust to think about it, and say ok. That is why after I do my edits, I then send my work to other writers that I trust, and an editor that I hire to make it better. If their edits make sense to me, and do not change my story that I am trying to tell then I will change it. However, it has to work for the story and the characters. I have changed Sebastian: The In-Between so many times. It has been third person to first person POV. Then I changed the age, then I went from it being YA to adult then back to YA. This journey has been 5 years in the making. Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? Probably erotica. Even though I started out reading Harlequin romances. I do not see myself writing about it. I may have love scenes in my books, but not straight erotica novels. There is nothing wrong with them, but I just don’t see myself writing them. Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years? I have taken my time and write when I feel it. I do not want to rush it. I want the story to flow. I do not do outlines, which might be taboo, but I love just having the story play on it’s own. I have to be in a quiet space in my home. When the magic is there I sit and write until it is done. Recently, I have been so into what is going on in the world that I have been a little depressed and have not written or read anything in about two weeks. I am trying to get myself out of the funk, and start writing and reading again. I owe a few people some reviews. :) What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing? Writing isn’t easy, to never give up, and to believe in myself because if I do not believe in my ability to write no one else will either. Which of your characters is your favourite? I have to say Bertha is my favorite. She is one of those no nonsense black grandmother types that never sugar coats anything. She loves helping people, and will not feel bad about it. She loves to eat, and has no shame on that either. She has her own style, and is very knowledgeable. Which of your books best represents you? At this time I only have one book out, even though I am working on book 2 with others in the cabinet waiting to be finished. So at this time I have to say my book Sebastian: The In-Between represents me because I put a lot of love, time and effort into this novel. I also have a main character who is bi-racial, like myself, who has an overprotective strong black woman as his mother, also like I have. Some of the things you read that Sebastian’s mother does are things that my mother has done. So if it seems over the top...that was my mom. When it came to protecting my brother and I she was no joke. Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us? This is one of my favorite lines because one of my teachers got sick at the smell that entered their nostrils after reading this passage: She is burning from head to toe; her skin is black, and smoke is billowing from her body. She smells like a mixture of burnt lamb and a sewer; her red curly hair is now gone, except for the little pieces that are stuck in different parts of her bald crispy scalp. Blood is falling from her eyes instead of tears. Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next? Sebastian: The In-Between is my novel that is out now. It is about a boy who finds out that he is a part of this cursed, but magical family called In-Betweens. He also learns that he and his family that he’s never met are in danger. An evil that has been trying to kill off his family for years is now after him. It has a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns. A lot of ghosts, and different creepy looking beings. If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice? The damsel in distress. Women can kick ass too. We are not always weak. Now we have weak moments, like everyone...even mennn, but we can be strong, and take care of ourselves. In my book women run shit, and Sebastian is learning from them. What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you? The last great book I read was not a horror novel. It was Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. The last great horror novel I read was The Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. The last book to disappoint me was A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle the second book in the series. I loved the first one A Wrinkle in Time, but I can’t get past the first chapter of the second book, so it is still sitting on my end table. Maybe I will try it again at a later date to see if I feel differently. What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do? And what would be the answer? Would you like someone to make a movie of your book? Yes, yes I would as long as they do it justice, and stay true to the POC in my book. I want my people represented. I want to be represented.  Vanessa Dunn has a true love for creating and reading stories. She especially loves the scary ones. She is an adult that has a preference for YA novels, but really just loves to read. She loves how her favorite authors are able to place words on a page, and have it play like a movie in her mind. She hopes to be able to do the same with her present and future novels. Vanessa is originally from Boston, MA, but now lives in San Antonio, TX with her husband and three children. She prays that you all will love this story more than she does. Website Links Twitter Handle: @VanAspacia Instagram: @VanessaDunn1315 Amazon book link: https://www.amazon.com/Sebastian-Between-Vanessa-Dunn/dp/B085R72K8L BN.com book link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sebastian-vanessa-dunn/1136649017?ean=2940162747000  Sebastian is an outsider bullied by everyone because he is very different than us. There has always been something off about him. His best friend is his overprotective mother, Samantha. She is all the family that he has, or so he thought. At the age of 13, he witnesses a gruesome murder by a supernatural being that no one else can see, but him. That night he learns of his abilities, about what he really is, and about his mother's lies. As his world crumbles, Sebastian's newfound gift quickly becomes a curse, when he realizes that he can't control his growing powers. Especially when he almost kills his mother. Now he doesn't know who to trust, especially himself, which forces him into hiding with a stranger, who is the only one that understands him, but has an evil past of her own. Sebastian realizes that he must evolve from a shy, newly angry outcast to a fierce warrior--or die trying. As an old enemy stays close in the shadows to exterminate him, and everyone in his bloodline. Everyone that is an In-Between.   the heart and soul of horror promotion websitesComments are closed.
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