Author Spotlight: Sarah Faxon

1. Tell us a little about yourself as a writer. What kinds of stories do you love telling?

I enjoy stories with deeper messages and themes, stories that make people wonder or think, “What would I have done?” Genre-wise, I tend to nest within high fantasy and horror. While I have written the occasional slasher, the horror that I write tends to lean more toward the paranormal or demonic in nature, though just as many feature every-day people as the “monster”. For the majority of my writing career, I have written high fantasy where I frame real-life situations, such as those involving social justice issues, within a fantasy package so that I may explore and better understand how people are able to perform terrible acts against one another, while also exploring how people are able to overcome the greatest of tragedies imaginable.

2. What first pulled you toward writing? Was there a specific book, movie, or something else that made you fall in love with the idea?

I first started writing when I was around 8 years old. It started with a comic, which I still have, then an assignment to write a short story in third grade, which was my first example of prose. There wasn’t a specific book or movie that made me fall in love with the idea of story telling; it was my grandmother. My grandma used to read to me or tell me stories every night before I went to sleep. She showed me how to fall in love with story-telling and she was my biggest cheerleader. Every story I have ever written, I owe to the seeds she planted in my spirit.

3. Tell us about your latest work. Are there any new projects you’re excited to share?

My latest work is my collection of twenty-two horror and dark fantasy short stories, entitled Tiny Dreadfuls, which is now widely available. This is the second edition of Tiny Dreadfuls and I could not be more thrilled about what people are saying about the stories inside. Included in this collection are four real-life haunted house stories based on the year I spent living with a ghost who hated my cats and me. There are also stories that harken to themes from fairy tales where the wisdom of elders is cast aside. One of my favorite stories within Tiny Dreadfuls is about a teacher who thinks she knows everything about vampires after a horrible event stole away her life and her child, but an encounter with a person she believes to be a devil flips her world upside down. I consider Tiny Dreadfuls as my portfolio demonstrating the breadth of my writing skills.

4. What is one thing you wish readers understood about indie authors?

I wish people valued the hard work and sleepless nights it takes to be an author in general. For indie authors, we have to play both the ring leader and every actor within a three ring circus. It’s a massive project management endeavor with many business components that few realize until they’re in it. I also wish people would support their local indie authors through likes, comments, and reviews, for every interaction helps others to find our work and motivates us to hold on through the hurricane.

5. Readers love to know how stories are written. Tell us about your go-to writing space, your soundtrack, or any weird habits that help you focus.

I am blessed with the ability to write just about anywhere, but my go-to space in my home is on our gray pleather couch in our living room. I love to have my headphones on, listening to the soundtracks of each work that I write, and just letting loose on the keys. I don’t have any particular rituals or candles (though I do love candles) as I have had to write on subways, in airplanes, and in between (or in) college classes. I do find that having soundtracks for each book/project extremely helpful in telling my brain that it’s time to lock-in. For my horror pieces, I listen to a mix of soundtracks from The Conjuring, Insidious, and Longlegs. For the high fantasy series I’m developing, I’m listening to Game of Thrones, Dune, and The Mummy soundtracks.

6. What scene, character, or moment from all of your work still sticks with you?

This was so difficult to answer without spoilers as most of the scenes that “stick with me” come from the climaxes of my tales. But there is one character who stands out. I originally wrote her as a sub-character in a duology I wrote that has not seen the light of day yet, but I did this character SO many dirties, it’s criminal. After I wrote the end of that series, I WEPT thinking of how badly I treated her and within the hour of finishing that story, I started working on her prequel as I knew she deserved a moment of light in the darkness I had given her. That story is my novel Spellbound, which I am currently revitalizing as well. The character’s name is Laudine Grace and she has lived in my mind and heart for the last fourteen years. I cannot wait to see what people think of her story, as it will be published before the series where my sick author brain just destroys this poor woman. Zero doubt, if people read Spellbound before they read that series, books will be flung across the room when they learn about what eventually happens to her.

7. What is an ordinary thing that you think would make a fantastic horror story?

Being stuck in traffic. There are so many potentials for high stakes and potential circumstances that I hope horror authors see this post and run with it!

8. What horror trope will you defend forever, and what trope are you ready to see disappear?

One of the horror tropes I will defend is “final girl.” I love when horror stories show that women are strong and smart and totally capable of kicking a monster, whether human or inhuman, to the curb.

One trope that makes me scream every time I see it or read it is the old, “Let’s split up.” Don’t split up. Just… don’t. Find ways to make the group sever beyond their intention, which will raise the tension of the story even more.

9. Which author’s brain would you most want to pick, and what secret of the craft would you hope they teach you?

Though some of the authors I have chosen are in the beyond, I would like to sit down with Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Kate Chopin, and Maya Angelou. I’m not sure I would want them to tell me secrets of the craft so much as to just hear stories about their life experiences first hand. I would love to just sit and speak with these incredible powerhouses to hear about the challenges they endured and how they emerged with their heads held high.

10. The lights flicker and the house goes dark. You hear something moving in the next room. What is the last sentence you write before the end?

As the flashing lights of the incoming ambulance illuminate the dark, she understands that she is still alive, though life will never be the same.

11. Where can your readers connect with you online?

I’m on Facebook and Instagram as Sarah Faxon, but I am most active on Substack where I release once a week emails, which include two Flash Fiction Prompt: sfaxon.substack.com