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August 2021




  

A Chat With
Horror Author
Candace Nola
Interview By: James G. Carlson



Like any area of the arts, the literary world is impossibly vast and heavily populated. Even if broken down into specific genre fiction, like horror or fantasy, it seems almost endless. I think that’s partly why the horror writing community was formed – as a way for its members to stay connected across its diverse and extensive domain. One author, Candace Nola, knows this all too well. She has not only written and released quality novels but has championed the community through a website called Uncomfortably Dark. With her novels, she entertains. With her website, she supports. As such, she has become a valued and respected member of the indie horror community.

Having read the first in her two-part Breach series, I appreciated both her writing style and her impressive imagination. For this story, she blended horror and fantasy in a way that has always appealed to me. I look forward to reading the second book, Beyond the Breach. And by the time I’ve finished that one, there will be a brand-new Candace Nola book on the market, titled Hank Flynn. 

Recently I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Candace Nola. This is what she had to say. 


PUNK GLOBE: For those who aren’t yet familiar with you or your work, who is Candace Nola?

NOLA:  I am a Pittsburgh author with a lifelong passion for reading and writing. I started writing poetry as a young teen and branched out into short stories in high school. I did not begin writing professionally until early 2019 when a friend asked me about collaborating on a story for a writing contest. Four months later, Breach was finished, and I decided to self-publish it. As the story received more and more great feedback, I decided to try to follow the only dream that I ever really had. 

PUNK GLOBE: I recently read your debut novel Breach, and really enjoyed it. Would you mind telling us a bit about the story itself and what inspired it? 

NOLA:  Breach happened purely by accident when a friend convinced me to co-write a story with her for a contest she found interesting. She had been trying to convince me to get back into my writing for several years. I finally agreed to give it a shot and started writing a scene with a monster in it, something that she could build off of. The deeper into the story I went, the freer rein she gave me. As I wrote, I realized that many of the creatures were from some of the nightmares that I had as a young child, so I moved forward with the idea of placing my main character in a nightmare world that becomes a reality for her. 

PUNK GLOBE: Breach has a cool creative marriage of horror and fantasy. What attracted you to those genres in the first place?

NOLA:  I spent most of my young life reading fantasy novels, but my father was a huge horror and sci-fi fan. I began watching some of the classic black and white films with him and by the time I was a teen, I had started reading horror almost exclusively, mostly Stephen King, and Clive Barker. I knew if I ever had the opportunity to write, that it would be horror or dark fantasy stories. 

PUNK GLOBE: What does your writing process entail?
 
NOLA:  Not sure that I have a set process, nothing that I strictly follow.  I’ll get an idea in my head, brainstorm it a few times with my kids or friends. See what direction it might go in, what potential it might hold. Usually, this will marinate for a couple of months before I start really drafting scenes in my head.  Before I actually put anything on paper, or on my computer, I generally have the completed story in mind. 

Once I start writing, I can outline it pretty quickly and just write it out. From there, it will change a bit from what I had in my head, usually as the character finds their voice, it’ll change some. Once the first draft is done, I’ll let it sit a couple of weeks, make some revisions, do some re-reads and make more adjustments. Then it goes to my team of beta readers who answer a set of specific questions for me by way of feedback, then I take those results, do another round of revisions and editing. Then I get it ready for publishing. 


Punk Globe:  Your new novel, Hank Flynn, is nearing its release date. Can you give us a little synopsis of the book and what your experience was writing it?

NOLA:  Hank Flynn took a while to finish, as I actually had the idea last January, in 2020. I had been talking to my father about my idea and he was going to help me on some of the occult details, and demonology since that was a major hobby of his, but then he unexpectedly passed away in late January. Hank was put on hold for quite a while at that point, but I continued thinking about it and letting it work itself out in my mind as I went through the grieving process. Finally, Hank had become such a verbal character in my mind that I knew it was time to write his story. 

It is set in the Old West and Hank is an outcast of sorts, a demon slayer without a home, who believes he is more cursed than any demon ever could be; so he has pledged his life to God to help rid the earth of Evil, as a means of redeeming his soul. He finds a home in a small town called Protection, Kansas, and settles there, vowing to protect the town at any cost. There is much more to Hank than he lets on and he carries a dark secret of his own. 

Punk Globe:  Between your own writing and the work that you do with Uncomfortably Dark, you seem quite busy and productive. What are the biggest obstacles for you in your creative and journalistic efforts?

NOLA:  My biggest obstacles would be time constraints and having a day job! But of course, I need a day job and I really enjoy what I do. I take my website very seriously though, as I do my support and promotion of indie authors, and the horror community in general, so I make sure to plan out my weeks, one day at a time, to make sure I fit everything in. It can be overwhelming but I love doing it. I have gotten to meet so many amazing authors and have read so many great books over these past two years that I have nothing bad to say about the experience. 

Punk Globe:  Speaking of Uncomfortably Dark, how did that endeavor come about?

NOLA:  My website was originally meant to be just a normal author website, but I realized how boring that was and I knew in order to get my name out there, I had to do something to keep me relevant in the horror world. I figured by using my website, I could bring something more to anyone that happened across it. 

I started out by interviewing some authors that I had some connections to as well as some horror podcast narrators that I love to listen to and those turned into the Dark Dozen interviews. I also developed another page to post book reviews on and started my blog as well. The Dark Dozen was so well-received that I decided to keep going and added more features to my site and it’s still growing and changing today to meet the needs of my readers and fans as they suggest things to me. 

Punk Globe:  The writing community is a diverse and interesting bunch, especially in the horror genre. What has your experience been as part of that community? 

NOLA:  Overall, it has been a great experience. I have met some amazing people and made some truly great friends that genuinely support my work. I have learned a great deal from my peers and incredibly find myself interacting with some of my most admired authors on a daily basis. 


PUNK GLOBE: Who are some of your favorite authors, past and present, indie and mainstream?

NOLA:  Poe is my favorite author of all time. Stephen King has always been a big part of my life and my library. Some other favorite authors that I have been reading for years include Clive Barker, Edward Lee, Bentley Little, Jeff Strand, Iain Rob Wright, Frazer Lee, Blake Crouch, and Scott Nicholson. 

For my more recent favorite authors, I will start with Dave Jeffery, Paul Carro, Dan Soule, Christine Morgan, Rowland Bercy, Jr., Aron Beauregard, Daniel Volpe, Lee Franklin, Eric Butler, Carver Pike, Mike Ennenbach, and William Holloway, to name a few. I could go on for days. There are so many talented people out there. 

PUNK GLOBE: What’s next for Candace Nola?

NOLA:  Well, I have several short stories that will be going to some anthologies over the summer. I have another novel coming out in late winter and one more surprise project that I cannot elaborate on as of yet, but I think it’s going to be a big deal. I’m excited for this year – it’s been a great year so far and I look forward to more. 

PUNK GLOBE: Lastly, if there’s anything I failed to cover, please feel free to share it here. The floor is all yours.

NOLA:  I am sure we could talk for days about my goals and dreams or the hundreds of story ideas that I have but you do not have the time. I plan on being here for a long time to come, and seeing how far this dream can take me. I love my website and the people that I meet. I aim to help as many new authors as I can and to make as big of an impact as I can on the community, whether that is by my writing, my reviewing, my promoting, or my mentoring, makes no difference to me, as long as it is having an impact on someone, somewhere. 

You can subscribe to my newsletter at www.uncomfortablydark.com

Instagram: cnola.author        Twitter: @candace_nola       

Tik Tok: @uncomfortablydarkhorror








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