A Spooky Wine & Words Interview with Kenya Moss-Dyme! 🎃

How old are you and where are you from? What’s a fun fact about your hometown?

I’m from Pontiac Michigan. I don’t have any fun facts. It’s not the same place it used to be.

You have a new book coming out, ‘Best Laid Plans.’ Tell us about it!

Best Laid Plans is my first non-horror thriller since Prey for Me and I’m really excited about it! It began as a short story for an anthology I was invited to. But as I wrote the story it kept growing bigger and bigger until it was just way too long to be part of that antho. So I decided to publish it as a novella and write a different story for the anthology. It’s about a pretty charismatic career criminal who targets a woman on a dating app with the purpose of finessing her out of her money when he’s released on parole. Just when it seems her fortune is within his reach, his best laid plans begin to fall apart. He thought he'd met the worse of the worse in prison but that was nothing compared to the devious people he was now surrounded by! (How DARE they get in the way of his criminal activity!)

What drew you to the horror genre, and what is your favorite subgenre of horror to write in?

I can’t say exactly what drew me, it was just always attractive to me. My earlier thriller movie that I remember watching was a black and white film called The Killer with the Silk Scarf and it was a favorite. I also watched stuff like Suspiria and The Devil’s Rain. As far as books, I loved Magic, Sharp Practice and then everything by Stephen King. It was just more interesting to read/watch than anything else. I still prefer darker content but I also really love comedies – I know it’s a weird path but I can spend days bingeing King of Queens and then flip back to 24/7 horror.

Which of your horror novels was your favorite to write and why?

Right now, my all-time favorite is Sick xoxo, which just came out in February. I love it for several reasons. It’s a collection of short horror stories and several of them were written (or at least outlined) as far as 7-10 years ago. There are FB posts going back to 2017 where I spoke about specific stories I wanted to write so it’s really satisfying to have those stories completed and in the book. I love to say that in this book, the women are the monsters for a change. All 12 of them. There are no weak victims and body bags at the hands of men, which is the most popular theme in the horror industry. And I also love the world built around these 12 women and their unique voices. No other book that I’ve written had the potential for so much expansion and merchandising! I’ve created ‘The Women of Sick xoxo’ and ‘The Sick xoxo Universe’ featuring a whole line of relevant and immersive items. So yeah, Sick xoxo is my favorite!

In your opinion, what about the black experience connects us to the horror genre, and makes our storytelling so unique?

Even though every black family doesn’t share the same experience, we do overwhelmingly have the most church and religious connections especially from childhood. Horror is ingrained in our lives and those around us, because we grow up reading and studying a book of some of the most horrific experiences known to man – the bible. I think WE have the capacity to weave our histories into some of the best works of horror but I continuously get black people coming up to me and saying, “Oh I didn’t know any of us were into this!” It cracks me up because yes, WE are into this. WE can be into anything we want to be into!!!

Are you inspired by any famous/classic horror films or directors?

Since I grew up watching television shows like Blacula, Alfred Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, etc., I would have to say that they set the standard for me. The way Twilight Zone used to take a realistic situation and turn it into something so possible and frightening, that’s what I love to do. Sometimes you have to stop and think, well could this actually happen? Well, it just might! Except for Blacula, of course! But watching Blacula was so inspiring because that was the first time I saw black people in horror and it validated that there was a space for us even if I didn’t see it all too often.

In your opinion, what is the best horror film of all time?

I couldn’t even name just one!!! I’ll do my top THREE… Dawn of the Dead (2004), 28 Weeks Later, and Trilogy of Terror. But don’t hold me to it, my top 3 may change if I’m asked later to choose!

Do you have any other projects or events coming up?

I recently decided to do as many events as I could possibly handle so I’ve been booked almost every weekend or every other weekend. It’s been fun but also exhausting!!! My biggest events include the Boozy Book Tour in Tulsa, next February, and Detroit Book City in mid-November, just to name a couple. I’m still slated to release Seed, the dystopian satire short teaser that brought Sick xoxo to an end; and the follow-up to my vampire novella, The Forever Souls.

Where can readers keep up with you and purchase your books?

I can be found more frequently on TikTok under Kenya Wrote That, as well as FB. You can always go to my website and get to all of my social media, sign up for my monthly newsletter and SHOP your heart’s content! I’m getting better at keeping my site and store updated with not only books but also MERCH! Visit www.kenyamossdyme.com or www.kenyawrites.com

What advice would you give someone trying to break into the horror genre?

If it’s your passion, go for it. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it. I experienced that a lot, people telling me not to write horror because it’s a tough sell. It is. But it’s still my passion and my favorite so I’m going to keep doing it. There’s no point in writing something you aren’t feeling and aren’t excited about! Write what you love and also READ what you love to stay inspired and motivated because there are some real movers and shakers in this genre that we don’t hear enough about!

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