Interview with Writer Valerie B. Williams
1. Have you always been a writer?
No. However, I’ve always been an avid reader. My mother gave me my love of reading and words. I read just about anything I could get my hands on and finally settled on the horror genre as my favorite.
I had always been a good technical writer, but doubted I had the creativity needed to tell stories. In my mid-forties, I decided to give it a go and took lots of classes, learned what NOT to do, and wrote some really bad stories. I joined professional organizations, networked, took more classes and workshops, and started submitting my work. In 2017, my stories began to get accepted for publication. Which proves it’s never too late to start!
2. When did you realize that maybe writing was actually a "thing" you could do, get published and even sell?
One of the organizations I joined early on was the Virginia Writers Club. They held an annual fiction and poetry contest, and in 2017 my story “The Succession” placed third! This was a bit of a surprise since most (all) of the other stories were literary fiction and mine…was not. I was particularly pleased that the quality of writing came through and overcame whatever reservations the group may have had about selecting a horror story. The win resulted in a plaque, a $25 prize, and publication in their annual anthology.
3. What was your first sale as a writer and how did it feel to sell your work?
The first actual sale of a story was also my first professional (paid professional rates) sale. My story “Amazing Patsy” was published in May 2019 by Flame Tree Press in their anthology American Gothic Short Stories. I received the acceptance in November 2018 and I’m pretty sure I screamed. I remember a lot of running around the house, unable to contain myself.
This is a very prestigious anthology series and includes new fiction along with classic stories. My story kept company with classic tales from Ambrose Bierce, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Washington Irving, Shirley Jackson, Flannery O’Connor, and Edgar Allan Poe. Other contemporary authors in this volume include Ramsey Campbell, Russell James, Joe Nazare, Christi Nogle, Lucy A. Snyder, and Nemma Wollenfang. The books themselves are beautiful gilt hardcovers. To have one of my stories included in such a publication made me feel like a real author.
4. How has writing helped you in other areas of life besides being something you could earn money from?
Ha ha ha ha ha! Excuse me. Ahem. I’ve heard of (and even met) writers who make money, some who even make a living at it. Writing is a tough business—attention spans are waning, the market is flooded, and AI is making it easy to crank out a “book.” Fortunately, I didn’t get into this to make money. I am very privileged (and grateful) in that I can treat writing as an avocation, and still take it seriously, without the added pressure of having to put food on the table.
I gain satisfaction from creating something that entertains people, whether it be short stories or novels. I’ve traveled more (to cons and workshops) and gotten better at talking to strangers about my work (although I’m still not comfortable with it). My social circle has expanded to include many wonderful writers. The writing community, particularly the horror community, is very welcoming to those looking to learn.
5. What was your biggest accomplishment as a writer?
Getting my debut novel, The Vanishing Twin, published. The time from completion of the first draft to publication was nearly five years—of workshops, revisions, rewrites, agent queries, and subs to small presses. I had a couple of nibbles from small presses, until Crossroad Press accepted the manuscript and published the novel in October 2024.
The beginnings of the novel, however, go back much longer than five years. The characters were born in a completely different story during NaNoWriMo in 2004. Life interfered and I took a long hiatus from writing until picking it back up again in 2014. I looked at the old story, hated it, but loved the characters. I rescued them, tweaked them a bit, and plunked them into the new story.
6. Who has inspired you the most in the writing field?
Elizabeth Massie. She entered the horror field, a male-dominated genre, early on. She won a Stoker award for long fiction in 1990 for Stephen, and again in 1992 for first novel, Sineater. She was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the HWA in 2022. Her work has also been nominated for Scribe, Locus, and World Fantasy awards. She continues to write both short fiction and novels in the horror field and has added historical fiction for adults and middle grade, novelizations, and comics.
Beth is a role model for other women writers in general, and in the horror field in particular. She’s generous with her time and helpful to other writers. She was kind enough to read and blurb my novel. I’m proud to call her my friend.
7. What are some of the challenges you have faced as a writer and how did you overcome them?
Handling the many rejections that are part of the writer’s life. Art is subjective. The story might be well-written but doesn’t appeal to that particular reader on that particular day. Or the editor has just accepted a story with a similar theme. A story can be rejected for a multitude of reasons. The only thing you have control over is writing the best story you can and following the submission guidelines (ALWAYS read the submission guidelines).
My way of handling rejections is to keep many stories in the pipeline. That keeps me from obsessing over “one chick.” I’m aware if a story has been out for a while, but I don’t worry about it. And when a rejection comes along, I try not to take it personally. That can be more difficult with a favorite story, or if I’m feeling fragile. The key is to get over it, see if the story can be strengthened, and send it out to the next market where it may be a good fit.
8. What is the best writing advice you have ever received and why do you feel it is important?
I was very fortunate to have Tim Waggoner as my HWA mentor in 2017, early in my writing career. He told me to always make sure the story has a strong emotional core. This core can be the connections between characters (good or bad), a character’s commitment to duty, love for hometown—the emotional core motivates the characters, moves the story along, and ideally, moves your readers. After all, if your readers can’t connect with the characters, why should they keep reading?
9. What sort of writing do you do now?
I continue to write and submit short stories, usually for themed anthologies. I have gotten an invitation or two to submit to anthologies, which is always very exciting since I don’t have to go through the slush pile. The story still has to stand on its own merit though. Sometimes an idea for a story gets stuck in my head and it must be written. In that case, I wait for a sub call where it might fit. Since I plan to publish a collection in the near future, there’s always a home for a strong, unpublished story.
In long fiction, I’m shopping a pre-WWI supernatural mystery novel right now, and have a nearly complete novella about the witch hunts in medieval Germany. I plan to continue to write both long and short speculative fiction, but I find myself increasingly drawn to historical settings.
10. Where can we find some of your work online?
Links to my work can be found on my author website.
Go to the Short Fiction tab and scroll through the story list, which has purchase links for all of the anthologies containing my stories. Sadly, the two of the three magazines I had stories in have folded so those stories are no longer in print.
To get a free taste of my work, click on the link for “An Echo of Murder.” If you’d rather listen, there are also links to full video readings of “The Tinker’s Gift,” “A Delicate Matter,” and “Amazing Patsy,” as well as a video reading of an excerpt from “A Mischief in Gordonsville.”
11. What advice do you have for aspiring writers thinking of taking the leap of getting their work published?
Have other people read it first, at least two or three. And not just family or others who want to please you. You need an honest assessment. What a writer “meant” to say doesn’t always make it to the page. Take critiques seriously—if more than one reader points something out, it’s likely a problem. But it is your story, and you don’t have to apply every note or suggestion.
Once the work is polished, research the market you plan to send it to. Make sure it’s a good fit. Read the submission guidelines. A manuscript that doesn’t follow the guidelines will probably be rejected unread, no matter how brilliant the prose. Hit that send key. Celebrate! Then get to work on your next project, confident that you’ve done everything within your power to give your manuscript a chance.
12. What are your final thoughts about being a writer?
I was well into my forties before I began to write. Many times, I wish I’d started earlier. But then I wouldn’t have the life experiences to draw on for my fiction. Writing brings both pleasure and frustration, not always in equal amounts. The satisfaction of completing a story (or novel), filling in plot holes, sculpting it down to its essence, and having it accepted for publication provides validation to continue. Later hearing a reader say how much they enjoy my work is priceless. Writing is hard and requires practice and persistence. The same can be said about anything worth doing. I look forward to sending many new stories into the world.
ABOUT VALERIE:
Valerie B. Williams’ short fiction has been published by Flame Tree Press, Grendel Press, and Crystal Lake Publishing, among others. Her most recent published story, “Daddy’s Girl,” appeared in Bite: A Vampiric Anthology, from Graveside Press in December 2024. Her story, “Home to Roost,” will appear in the 2025 Women of Horror Anthology from Kandisha Press. Her story, “The Lookout,” will appear in the April 2025 edition of Space and Time Magazine.
Valerie’s debut novel, a story of supernatural suspense titled The Vanishing Twin, was released by Crossroad Press in October 2024. She is currently querying her next novel titled A True Likeness, a ghost story set in pre-WWI Richmond, Virginia. She is also finishing a novella about the witch hunts in 16th century Germany.
Valerie is an Active member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and has benefited from its mentorship program, both as a mentee and a mentor. She has a BS in Business from Johns Hopkins University and an MS in Systems Analysis from the University of Maryland. She lived in Europe and many places in the U.S. while growing up in an Air Force family.
Valerie spins twisty tales from her home in central Virginia, which she shares with her very patient husband and equally patient Golden Retriever. When not writing, she can be found reading and drinking either tea or wine, depending on the time of day.