Author Interview with
Heddy Johannesen
I1. When did you start writing?
I began writing seriously in 2006. I always wanted to be a writer. My first project was a slim volume of poetry which I self-published titled Metamorphosis. It was very successful. Then I moved on to nonfiction and it took off from there.
2. What was your journey towards becoming an author like?
I learned everything I needed to know on my own ranging from how to write a query letter to learning how to write an article for an editor to how to write poetry. I have been reading Writers Digest since I could stand. That magazine was a huge help of figuring out how writing works. I think I had it easier than most because the editors and writers were so willing to share what they knew. That was a huge step for me. I have a lot of writing published now. I am sure it’s because I took the time to truly figure out how publishing and writing works. I am still learning. I took workshops and classes. I learned everything I could. I am still taking courses and workshops today. I took part in a mentorship with Tim Waggoner and workshops from Jonathan Maberry.
I own so many books that I don’t even have room for them all. I won’t stop buying books. I just have to find out how to stack them like the books were stacked in the Ghostbusters movie!
3. What can you tell me about your latest book? (Feel free to include an excerpt.)
The Cult of the Spider People feels to me like I am at the end of one journey and on the first steps to a new one. It is my first published book. I am so happy with it. I was seized with inspiration and I sat down and wrote the book in a blank black journal by hand. I couldn’t help it. It focuses on the themes of monsters, body horror and the perils of addiction. I have no addiction issues but some of the characters do. It is also about female empowerment which is so hugely important to me. My main character, headstrong impatient 17-year-old Piper, finds herself with her boyfriend trapped in a hellish alternate dimension overrun by vicious bloodthirsty spider people. They are as uninhibited and wild and dangerous as she is naïve but strong. She has to use all her smarts and resources to help her and her boyfriend escape – alive.
Stephanie Ellis and Fred Rayworth were kind and generous enough to help me whip the book into publishable shape. Unveiling Nightmares is publishing it and I am so happy, just over the moon. I am very grateful. It feels like the end of a journey because in a way the training wheels are off now. I can start on the next phase, climb the next mountain peak now, finally reach that crest. I have to write more but it won’t be as hard now. I’ve done it.
I love spiders. Well yeah, they creep me out but they are amazing. I get to watch spiders weave webs outside at my window in the fall. I love seeing webs covered in dew drops, just something so magical about it. I don’t know what compelled me to write The Cult of the Spider People but I will never regret it. I finally got to see what I am capable of achieving.
Excerpt:
The creatures dragged them over to the cocoons and pushed them inside. Piper fought against her imprisonment. Cory made the same attempt from his intended prison. It was to no avail, both were pushed back and sealed inside the webbed cells. She did not give up in defeat. She clawed at the walls, the material thick and rough. It reminded her of the insulation in the loft at home. She tugged and pulled, small fibers drifted in the air around her, making her eyes water. The fibers found their way into her nostrils, her mouth, causing her to cough. The suffocating feeling grew. She clawed until she tore a small hole that allowed her to breathe. It gave her a view of the horrifying scene unfolding beyond the walls of her prison.
The creatures gathered around stone steps. Ripples of fear curled up Piper’s spine. An arched throne was several feet high and composed of black iron. A strange skull crowned the top part. Four ominous spider legs extended from the armrests. They crisscrossed over the throne, shrouding it in webs. Spiderwebs coated the throne like grave clothes and clung to the armrests and legs. Tendrils curled outward to capture unwary prey. Joe’s story had come horribly to life. It was exactly as he described. He said some had survived. Does this mean he was referring to my mother?
Torches cast a glow on their brawny unclad bodies. Horns curved down the back of their heads, and sharp fangs protruded from their jaws. The beasts ignored the frantic, muffled screams coming from the cocoons. Anticipation charged the air as the curtain of silk parted. Piper stared at the creatures. The others bowed and cried, “The Spider King, the Spider King. Hail, Roth!” The chants echoed around the cavern.
She didn’t want to look at him but she couldn't tear her gaze away. He was more awful than any she had previously seen. A face carved from death, painted with fresh blood, a body so terrible. Piper hoped to wake from this nightmare and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, he was still there and he laughed. Piper’s blouse was damp with sweat and mildew from the slimy cocoon. She cringed from the odor and the clamminess. Roth, the Spider King, bowed his head in greeting to the other creatures. His gaze penetrated through the grisly cavern. He sniffed the air. The creature’s eyes were twin orbs of true pitch-darkness. He wore a black crown of spiders. His cheekbones were sunken, and his hide was charcoal black. Dried blood matted his lower jaw. Eight bristly angular legs protruded from his cephalothorax. His sardonic laughter permeated the cavern.
The creatures were alive with vile merriment. Hunger and anticipation were written across their faces. They turned in her direction. Roth made his way over to her. Piper shrank back, pushed herself as far back in the cocoon as she could. Roth studied her and a dark smile crossed his face. Razor-sharp claws reached out and shredded the strands encasing her in the cocoon. She pictured them slicing into her skin, drawing blood and she shuddered. Yet she could not move. His probing gaze and the presence of the other creatures kept her fixed in place. She sensed her presence didn’t alarm him.
4. What sort of methods do you use for book promotion?
I keep a blog, and I use social media mostly Facebook and Twitter to promote my writing. I just started a TikTok account and my cat has her own account on Instagram: pennygingercat.
5. Where do you get your ideas for stories?
I get my ideas for stories from reading books by other authors in the genre I like to write in. I also get ideas from dreams, rare moments of inspiration, YouTube videos, my weird imagination, cemetery visits, my life. I am fascinated by the paranormal and the supernatural. My ideas stem from there too. I used to spend a lot of time in cafes. You would be shocked at the type of stuff you can hear people talk about in a café. I use that in my stories and I like to draw on folklore too.
6. What are you working on right now?
I have had a lucky month. I just submitted a short fiction horror story dealing with a character suffering from narcolepsy and addiction issues. I hope it gets published. My other flash fiction stories published by Sirens Call Ezine and Wicked Shadow Press will be out this fall. I am co-writing a novel with Nora B Peevy and I want to get started on my own next novel this fall too. I may even write a sequel to The Cult of the Spider People too.
7. Any advice for other authors?
My best advice is no matter how down you are, never give up. You never achieve anything if you are quitting. I was once told I would never be able to read. Well, if you look at my portfolio of 12 published short stories, several published poems, a novella and a large number of nonfiction magazine and Ezine articles, I definitely proved that teacher wrong. I also want to achieve the goal of having composed 1000 blog posts. Right now, I am at # 956! I wanted to quit so many times. I am glad I never listened to my inner critic. It won’t be easy but when you achieve the end goal, it is so worth it. Don’t copy other writers. Use your own voice. Practice, practice. Keep trying. Be patient and professional and hone your own writing voice. Eventually you will succeed.
ABOUT HEDDY:
Heddy Johannesen's fiction has appeared in The Horror Zine, Halloweenthology: Yule Cat Codex, Halloweenthology: Trick or Treat, Polar Borealis, Wax and Wane: A Gathering of Witchy Tales, Ghosts, Spirits and Spectres Volume 2, Handbook of the Dead, Samhain Secrets, One Night in Salem, Feminine Macabre, Paranormal Chronicles and Untimely Frost: Poetry Unthawed. She's a member of the Horror Writers Association and co-chair of the Horror Writers Association chapter for Atlantic Canada. She's attended the virtual Horror Writers Association annual Convention StokerCon, in 2021, 2022 and 2023. She participated in the online From Idea to Finished First Draft Masterclass with Jonathan Maberry in June 2023, the Three Prime Rules of Writing Horror Webinar with Mort Castle in October 2020 and a mentorship with Tim Waggoner. She graduated from a Copy Editing Certification Training at Writer's Digest in July 2020 and a Bachelor of Arts degree. She's a writer with a fascination for the paranormal. Heddy Johannesen is a horror writer who loves to write gothic fiction and poetry. She likes to take photos in cemeteries, drink too much coffee and write in artsy blank journals and watch horror movies.
Her fiction has appeared in The Cult of the Spider People, Flash of the Dead: Halloween 24, The Horror Zine, Halloweenthology: Yule Cat Codex, Halloweenthology: Trick or Treat, Polar Borealis, Wax and Wane: A Gathering of Witchy Tales, Ghosts, Spirits and Specters Volume 2, Handbook of the Dead, Samhain Secrets, One Night in Salem, Feminine Macabre, Paranormal Chronicles and Untimely Frost: Poetry Unthawed. She's a member of the Horror Writers Association and co-chair of the Horror Writers Association chapter for Atlantic Canada. She has attended the virtual Horror Writers Association annual Convention StokerCon, in 2021, 2022 and 2023. She participated in the online From Idea to Finished First Draft Masterclass with Jonathan Maberry in June 2023, the Three Prime Rules of Writing Horror Webinar with Mort Castle in October 2020 and a mentorship with Tim Waggoner. She graduated from a Copy-Editing Certification Training at Writer's Digest in July 2020 and a Bachelor of Arts degree. She's a writer with a fascination for the paranormal and is a horror writer who loves to write gothic fiction and poetry. She likes to take photos in cemeteries, drink too much coffee and write in artsy blank journals and watch horror movies.
Twitter: magicka66
Instagram: pennygingercat
