ISWG September 2022

September 7 question - What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why?

Horror, without a doubt.

I struggle with PTSD, and while it’s better than it was, I’ve worked hard to feel safe in my own skin. I’ve been learning energy medicine for the past four years (and am now studying to be a practitioner—I will be a Children’s and Young Adult Author, Illustrator, and Energy Medicine Practitioner...how’s that for branding? Lol!) and while progress is slow, it’s steady. Since managing fear and anger are a huge part of living with PTSD, adding more fear (and the subsequent anger) is toxic for me. Horror movies/books, roller coasters, anything done for a “thrill” puts me over the edge I’m already on.

Writing is a huge release for those experiences I’m still processing. While the young adult books I’ve written deal with mature themes and have some very violent scenes, those scenes are integral to telling the story, not an end in themselves. I am a big believer in redemption and second chances, and horror books/movies often don’t feel the need for such things. The few horror stories that seem to drill deeper, however, are fascinating to me, and while I can’t read them (the images they create in my mind are too much), I can watch them on TV with the remote close at hand in case I need to shut it off.

Whatever story I’m writing, whether it’s a picture book or a young adult novel, must have HOPE, and a deeper story to tell, or for me, there’s no point in doing it.