Category: Author Interview

Author Interview

Helping Survivors: Resources, education, and support for survivors of sexual abuse and assault as well as their loved ones

Mandy Webster

Joining us today is Outreach Director Claire Willis who discusses the mission of the organization, Helping Survivors, the challenges survivors face when seeking help, and the resources available to support healing and recovery.

Many of the novels I review here at Write on the World explore difficult subjects such as abuse, trauma, resilience, and recovery. While fiction can deepen our understanding of these experiences and remind us that we are not alone, it’s equally important to recognize the organizations working every day to support survivors in real life.

Awareness can change lives. Read my interview with Helping Survivors to learn about the resources, education, and support available for survivors and the people who care about them.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Claire Willis, Outreach Director at Helping Survivors, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting survivors and their loved ones with trustworthy information, educational resources, and support. In our conversation, Claire discusses the challenges survivors often face when seeking help, the role that stories can play in building empathy, and the resources available to those navigating the path toward healing.

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Author Interview

Author interview: Sarah Gailey on Make Me Better, cults, belonging, and healing

Mandy Webster

In today’s author interview, Sarah Gailey discusses the inspiration behind Make Me Better, including the novel’s themes of identity, belonging, cult psychology, climate anxiety, and the complicated pursuit of healing. In my recent review, I described the novel as an unsettling blend of literary fiction, psychological suspense, and horror that asks difficult questions about what people are willing to sacrifice for connection and certainty.

Author Sarah Gailey discusses the inspiration behind Make Me Better, including the novel’s themes of identity, belonging, cult psychology, and the search for healing. Image credit: Kate Dollarhyde

I had the opportunity to ask Gailey about the creation of Kindred Cove, the challenges of writing Celia’s emotional vulnerability, the appeal of high-control communities, and the literary influences that helped shape their work. We also discussed why stories about cults resonate so strongly today and what Gailey hopes readers will take away from the novel’s exploration of wellness culture, manipulation, and transformation.

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Author Interview

Interview: Leslie Baird on Salomé, literary suspense, and the allure of charisma

Mandy Webster

Leslie Baird’s debut novel Salomé is a hypnotic blend of literary suspense, psychological intrigue, and gothic atmosphere, following a young American woman who becomes entangled in the orbit of a charismatic French family and the enigmatic woman at its center. When I reviewed the novel, I was struck by its dreamlike sense of place, its exploration of longing and vulnerability, and its willingness to venture into stranger, more unsettling territory than readers might expect. In this interview, Baird discusses the cult-like power of charisma, the French landscapes that inspired the novel, the emotional foundations beneath its mystery, and why she is drawn to stories that take risks and embrace the unexpected.

Author Leslie Baird discusses the inspirations behind her debut novel Salomé, including cult charisma, the allure of France, and her fascination with the ways people become vulnerable to mystery and belonging.

Q: Courtney is drawn into Salomé’s world almost immediately. Were you interested in exploring why intelligent, perceptive people can still be captivated by charisma and mystery?
A: I’m fascinated by cults. Not only organized groups, but how even something as ubiquitous as marketing copy can leak over into cultiness. (Shout out to Cultish: the Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell.) How quick we are to align with something, as humans seeking a safe group. And there are so many levels to this, which is fun to tease out in writing. Courtney may be able to scoff at a person who subscribes to Marco’s vitamin MLM subscription, but wasn’t she just as naive when a pretty French woman paid attention to her?

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Author Interview

Inside the imagination of Laura Holt: Mythology, magic, and writing without limits

Mandy Webster

From gothic horror and tragic romance to epic fantasy and southern folklore, Laura Holt writes with a deep love for stories that blur the line between myth and reality. Holt is also featured in Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny with her short story “After Alice,” a fitting addition to a collection shaped by eerie beauty and unsettling imagination. In this interview, Holt reflects on the authors who shaped her creativity, the unexpected lessons she’s learned about storytelling and publishing, and the themes she returns to again and again in her work. She also discusses writing authentic stories in a trend-driven world, finding inspiration in mythology and folklore, and why coffee, cookies, and carefully curated playlists remain essential parts of her creative process.

Author Laura Holt discusses mythology, horror, storytelling, and her short story “After Alice,” featured in Beautiful and Terrifying.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: Some of my earliest literary influences were authors like Roald Dahl, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, R. L. Stine, and J.R.R. Tolkien. For me, Dahl’s book The Witches was my gateway read to the fantasy genre, likeable villains, and morally gray characters, so he will always hold a special place in my heart. Poe and Shakespeare introduced me to poetry and short stories, as well as tragic love and darker subject matter, both of which play a big part in my writing today. And there is one author who has cracked the code on how to write the perfect story every time, it is Stine, so along with reading his books for a good scare, I study his writing style a lot.

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Author Interview

Inside The Girl with a Thousand Faces: Sunyi Dean on Gothic horror, Chinese folklore, and morally complex characters

Mandy Webster

From the haunted corridors of Kowloon Walled City to the restless spirits woven through Chinese folklore, Sunyi Dean writes horror that unsettles as much as it mesmerizes. In this interview, Dean discusses the cultural history behind The Girl with a Thousand Faces, the challenges of balancing myth with historical inspiration, and why morally complicated characters fascinate her as a writer. She also reflects on grief, forgiveness, experimental narrative structure, and the Gothic and speculative authors who helped shape her distinct voice in contemporary horror fiction.

Sunyi Dean discusses Chinese folklore, Gothic horror, and the layered themes behind her haunting new novel, The Girl with a Thousand Faces.

Q: The Girl with a Thousand Faces blends Gothic horror with Chinese mythology and the real history of Kowloon Walled City. What drew you to that setting, and how did you approach balancing historical inspiration with the supernatural elements of the story?
A: Hong Kong is the place I grew up and learned Cantonese in (though I’ve since lost that language.) I have a complicated relationship with both the city itself, and my family ties there. It is a place of contrasts and contradictions, of extreme modernity and old traditions. I loved portraying it, and tried to keep the ‘important’ aspects of history as true as possible. A lot of trial and error was involved, and many rounds of edits. Whether the balance is right I will leave to the reader to decide!

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Author Interview

Author interview: Kathy Hess on Beautiful and Terrifying, “First Drink,” and writing across fiction and poetry

Mandy Webster

In this contributor interview, Kathy Hess discusses her short story “First Drink” and her poetry featured in Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny, along with the influences and writing practices that shape her work.

Kathy Hess writes with a sense of devotion to both story and craft, weaving together fiction and poetry that linger in memory long after they’re read. Her short story “First Drink” and three accompanying poems in Beautiful and Terrifying reflect her fascination with the supernatural, the emotional depth of relationships, and the quiet rituals that shape a creative life. In this interview, she shares the literary works that first sparked her imagination, the discipline behind her daily writing practice, and the ways in which memory, family, and imagination continue to guide her work across forms.

Kathy Hess is the author of “First Drink” and three poems featured in Beautiful and Terrifying. Her work blends the supernatural with deeply human moments.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: One early literary influence that has stuck with me was when I read Les Misérables in high school. It was the summer project, and I loved it. I bought a copy myself and read it so much the following years that the cover broke off and the binding split in half. I would keep the two halves of the book tied up with a ribbon. I have other copies of the book now, but I still have the crumpled, warped, coverless version with the pink ribbon holding it together.

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Author Interview

Author interview: Emily J. Weisenberger on Beautiful and Terrifying, speculative fiction, and storytelling across worlds

Mandy Webster

In this contributor interview, speculative fiction author Emily J. Weisenberger discusses her short story “Marrying Age” in Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny, her early literary influences, and how anthropology shapes her approach to storytelling.

Emily J. Weisenberger writes speculative fiction that blends curiosity, humor, and sharp observation, creating stories that feel both imaginative and grounded in real human experience. Her short story, “Marrying Age,” featured in Beautiful and Terrifying, reflects her interest in exploring culture, identity, and the complexities of the worlds we build—both real and imagined. In this interview, she discusses the authors who shaped her early love of storytelling, how her background in anthropology informs her approach to character, and the balance of absurdity, heart, and insight that drives her work across genres for both children and adults.

Emily J. Weisenberger, speculative fiction author and contributor to Beautiful and Terrifying, whose story “Marrying Age” explores the complex boundaries between culture, identity, and imagination.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: Eva Ibbotson (Which Witch?, Island of the Aunts, Journey to the River Sea) and Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events) were authors I came back to again and again as a child and have continued to draw from as an adult. Their stories were so strange and so full of heart. Goodness persevered in Ibbotson’s books, while life was harsh but weatherable in Handler’s. Both gave me important and different ways to view the world, and lessons in how to capture young people’s sense of curiosity about life. These are still among my favorite books.

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Author Interview

Author interview: William M. Chippich on Beautiful and Terrifying and Nevermore: The Heir, The Witch, and The Fool

Mandy Webster

In this contributor interview, William M. Chippich—author of the upcoming novel Nevermore: The Heir, The Witch, and The Fool and contributor to Beautiful and Terrifying—shares the literary influences, writing habits, and creative philosophy that shape his character-driven fiction.

William M. Chippich brings a deep love of character-driven storytelling to every page he writes, whether he’s crafting the darkly atmospheric short story “Three or Four Miles, Mostly Flat” for Beautiful and Terrifying:Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny or building the richly imagined world of his forthcoming novel, Nevermore: The Heir, The Witch, and The Fool. In this interview, he reflects on the writers who first shaped his imagination, the discipline and creativity behind his process, and the themes of love, hope, and the unknown that continue to guide his work. From comic book legends and literary classics to the quiet rituals of everyday writing life, Chippich offers thoughtful insight into what it means to tell stories that truly connect with readers.

William M. Chippich, contributor to Beautiful and Terrifying and author of the upcoming Nevermore: The Heir, The Witch, and The Fool is pictured at Dunnottar Castle in Scotland.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today.
A: My earliest influences were writers like Stan Lee, Chris Claremont and John Byrne of Marvel comics. The great comic book writers of that era are very overlooked. Stan Lee in particular made comic writing and stories legitimate. After that, everything from Mary Shelley to Steinbeck, Hemingway, and too many classics to name. Guys like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Christopher Moore are definitely stand outs for me as well. Every one of these great writers build amazing worlds, but I think the real influence on me were their characters. They make fantastic, fictional beings seem real to people. You love them, you hate them, you feel for them. That’s the real magic of these greats.

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Author Interview

Author interview: Emily Persichetti Schuster on Beautiful and Terrifying, poetry, and writing through grief

Mandy Webster

In this contributor interview, poet Emily Persichetti Schuster discusses her work in Beautiful and Terrifying, the themes of grief and memory that shape her writing, and the creative process behind her deeply personal poetry.

Emily Persichetti Schuster writes with a quiet intensity, exploring grief, memory, and the fragile threads that connect identity, family, and place. Her work in Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny reflects a deep attentiveness to both the emotional and the everyday, drawing inspiration from poets like Marie Howe and Mary Oliver while carving out a voice distinctly her own. In this interview, she shares how early reading shaped her imagination, how she balances writing with the demands of daily life, and why poetry remains a powerful way to hold both individual moments and larger, unfolding stories.

Emily Persichetti Schuster, is a contributor to Beautiful and Terrifying.

Q: What’s a memory of a story or book that made you realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: Roald Dahl’s The BFG is the first book I remember reading completely on my own, when I was in early elementary school. I loved all Roald Dahl’s books when I was a kid, and I love reading them to my kids now. Through all the creepy, uncanny, and seemingly hopeless events of his books, the heroes always prevail because they’re never willing to give up. His books taught me to face my own fears and build resilience in the face of adversity.

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Author Interview

Michelle Maryk on writing The Found Object Society, creative routines, and finding inspiration in the supernatural

Mandy Webster

Michelle Maryk’s The Found Object Society, released February 10, 2026, invites readers into a world where memory, mystery, and the supernatural blur the boundaries of time—and her own creative journey is just as compelling as the story itself. In this interview, Maryk reflects on the unconventional childhood influences that shaped her imagination, the early-morning writing discipline that keeps her grounded, and the spark of inspiration that arrived in a single, unforgettable moment. From ghost stories and cinematic storytelling to the realities of modern book marketing, she shares an honest look at the habits, challenges, and creative instincts that continue to guide her work as an author.

Michelle Maryk’s debut novel, The Found Object Society, released February 10, 2026.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: As a kid, I grew up with a dad who took me to Dairy Queens alongside graveyards so he could tell me ghost stories; bought tickets to Alien as I watched, enthralled, and my Swedish cousin ran to the bathroom and puked; encouraged me to consider all things supernatural and extraterrestrial—in other words, the best-worst dad ever.

Parenting skills (or lack thereof) aside, those wild, terrifying, exhilarating experiences imprinted themselves in my DNA as a human and an author. I’m drawn to stories that feature what-ifs, tales that dance within the realm of reality only to dip into the murk of what could be possible…if.

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