Black Heritage in Horror: Interview with Candace Nola
Candace Nola is an award-winning horror & dark fiction author. Her work includes Breach, Beyond the Breach (2021 novel of the year from the Horror Authors Guild), Hank Flynn, Bishop, and Earth vs The Lava Spiders. She curated and edited The Baker’s Dozen, the Splatterpunk award-winning, extreme horror anthology, in Dec. 2021. She has various poems and short stories published in several magazines and anthologies with more set to release in the next year.
She owns and operates the horror website UncomfortablyDark.com which showcases her work and supports the indie horror community as a whole. The website features weekly author interviews, book reviews, new release features and more. Her mission to her readers is to bring them “the best in horror, one uncomfortably dark page at a time.”
Website: www.uncomfortablydark.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/candacenola
What inspired you to start writing?
I spent my childhood watching a lot of horror with my father. Classics like Dracula, B-Movies like The Blob and Basketcase, and The Twilight Zone, just to name a few. I discovered Poe and Hitchcock at a young age as well, maybe at eight years old I had stumbled across The Raven, and fell in love with Poe. That started a journey into both poetry and fiction writing for me.
What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it?
At a young age, it was fear. The jumpscares, the impossibility of survival against such monsters and villains. As I got older, it was the slow burn of dread in my stomach, the tension as the characters raced to survive and outsmart whatever hunted them. The unlikely hero that reluctantly discovered a new strength and courage within themselves.
Do you make a conscious effort to include African diaspora characters and themes in your writing and if so, what do you want to portray?
I write whatever the story in my head dictates. I have written a wide variety of characters, including mixed races, strong females, and Caucasian characters. I tend to write themes based on trauma rather than race, things that speak to my own personal struggles or those around me.
As far as what I want my stories to portray, I want a reader to see that almost anything can be overcome, no matter what horror they deal with, what obstacles they face, there is light on the other side.
What has writing horror taught you about the world and yourself?
Writing has opened my eyes to an entirely new world that I didn’t know I was missing, one that I love being a part of. It’s taught me that I can do anything that I set my mind to, and has shown me that overcoming my own challenges and leaving a legacy behind is possible. I never really knew my own strength and determination until the last several years in this industry.
How have you seen the horror genre change over the years? And how do you think it will continue to evolve?
I have seen the genre change, like all other industries. It’s adapted to society, to what’s acceptable and what is not. I have seen a lot more diversity and inclusion across the board for all genres and I am hopeful that it will continue as mankind continues to evolve and extend acceptance towards all people, regardless of race, culture, gender, or lifestyle.
How do you feel the Black community has been represented thus far in the genre and what hopes do you have for representation in the genre going forward?
To add to my above answer, the black community is far better represented now within the genre than ever before and I hope that trend continues. There are more black and mixed race authors from all walks of life than in prior years, both in writing and in the film industry. More black characters, on the screen and on the page, across the board are being written and portrayed in larger roles than the standard stereotypical dynamic that were once widely used.
Who are some of your favorite Black characters in horror?
Blade and Candyman are my two top favorite characters in horror. Wesley Snipes played the Blade character flawlessly, bringing a new take on vampire lore with the idea of a daywalker, not to mention the wild action scenes. Blade helped to normalize a black lead in the industry and that was powerful all by itself.
Candyman will always be iconic, as the story of his origin is heartbreaking, tragically rooted in an all too real scenario, in regards to how African Americans were treated and portrayed in the past. Candyman carries the anger and rage of an entire race of people inside him and I think that is the most important element of his story. It goes deeper than just his origin, but the story of all African Americans that endured unjust treatment, past and present.
Who are some African diaspora horror authors you recommend our audience check out?
L. Marie Wood. Maurice Broaddus. Tananarive Due. Victor LaValle. Wrath James White. Octavia Butler. Linda D. Addison. S. A. Cosby.
What is one piece of advice you would give horror authors today?
Write the story that only you can tell. Write the stories you want to read. The rest will fall into place. Read everything by everyone. Learn all you can about the industry and the craft. Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one genre or subgenre. The universe is infinite as are the ideas that are not yet written.
And to the Black writers out there who are just getting started, what advice would you give them?
Same as above. Write YOUR story. Be true to who you are and what you want to represent. Read all you can. Learn the craft all you can. And find time to write every day.
