Horror author C. W. LaSart released Ad Nauseam, a collection of horror short stories, back in 2012 to rave reviews.
To help celebrate 2013, C.W. LaSart was gracious enough to stop by and answer a few questions.
PAS: What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you there yet?
CWL: I can remember wanting to be a lot of things when I was growing up. Mostly, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Writing was just something I did, never something I thought of as a living. It was around High School that I began to entertain the idea of being a writer for a living. Then life got in the way and I quit writing for a long time. I would try to pick it back up from time to time, but I always walked away again. As a young mother with a full time job, I lied to myself and said there just wasn’t enough time. The truth was, I wasn’t happy and it thwarted my creativity. I give a lot of the credit for my return to writing to my boyfriend, Lou (I also took his last name for a penname). He has always shown such quiet confidence in my ability to write, has never pressured me, and has supported me along the way. I think people don’t realize how important a supportive family really is to the creative process. I don’t know that I’m exactly where I want to be yet, but I feel I have made one hell of a start in that direction.
PAS: If you could talk to the 15-year-old Caren for five minutes, what would you tell yourself?
CWL: First and foremost, put down those damned cigarettes. They will be hell to quit later. Also, I think I would tell myself to just trust my own instincts, though I wouldn’t change a single thing in my life. Well, besides the cigarettes.
PAS: What is your favorite word?
CWL: My favorite word? You might as well ask my favorite child! I love all words; they are my tools, my craft. I suppose that most of my favorite words aren’t meant for polite conversation, but just off the cuff… oh, how about GHASTLY. That’s a fun word.
PAS: Is there a voice inside your head? Can it sing?
CWL: There are many voices in my head. My own, my characters, but mostly my narrator. The narrator speaks louder than my own voice most days. And can it sing? Like an angel. The voice that comes out of my mouth on the other hand… not so much!
(Tangent: I should pause here to give a tiny nod of the head and tip of the ol’ cap to Caren. Why? Because I loved her choice for favorite word: ‘ghastly’ and in talking with her about it we both decided that the similar word ‘ghostly’ had been unfairly corrupted by association with such ‘cartoonish horror’ as ‘Casper, the Friendly Ghost’ and that ‘ghostly’ needed to be re-invented. With that thought in mind, just yesterday I sent a new proposal for a novel off to my agent. The name of the new book? Yes, GHOSTLY. Keeping in mind that most of the time the name of the book is thrown out and the publishing house comes up with a new one so I’m fully aware that the novel, if it sells, will most likely have a new name, still…for now, at least, it’s GHOSTLY. So, again, a tip of the cap to Caren for that ‘ghastly’ thing…her choosing that as her favorite word indirectly lead to my current WIP, go figure)
For more on C. W. LaSart, check out her website and find her on Facebook and Twitter. Also, Ad Nauseam can be purchased at Amazon.