1. When did you first become interested in horror?
I think I've always been interested in horror. I was an avid reader growing up and I think the stories I connected with the most always had an element of horror to them. I don't remember exactly how old I was, but I remember staying up late, hiding under the covers with a flashlight reading spooky chapter books. One of my earlier favorites was Bunnicula. I remember checking out Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and those other classic anthologies available in the 90s for kids from the library at school. I've always enjoyed feeling scared, although I think to me, horror is really more about hope than anything else.
2. Did you always enjoy horror and science fiction?
I always enjoyed horror going back as far as I can remember, and sci-fi was always a big genre for me. Fantasy as well. I didn’t discriminate; I read everything growing up. I was very much into the classics as well. Starting sometime in middle school, when we really started reading on our own and home and debating and discussing literature in school … well, that was my favorite part of the day. I remember we were assigned to read And Then There Were None, I think in seventh grade. I was geeking out the entire time. I went and checked out and read every single Agatha Christie book I could find in the local libraries in town. Then eventually we read Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Shakespeare, The Crucible, To Killl a Mockingbird … I loved them all. But anything with a darker side that explored human nature always appealed to me.
3. Did you grow up around horror fans among friends and family?
My grandmother was a librarian, and we were quite close, so she was a big influence on me to read in general, as was my mom. My dad was never big into reading fiction, but he loved scary movies. Anything with a good psychological twist, especially. We watched a lot of horror movies together, especially as I got older, and that was always sort of our thing. My mom always hated anything scary, and she would roll her eyes and leave the room, and leave us to it. I think he was a big influence on my tastes as well. I’ll never forget watching The Ring together for the first time. One of my brothers joined us for that one, and he was terrified afterward. But I was too, to be honest, those opening scenes stuck with me. And I remember I absolutely loved the part where you realize all the efforts to lay her to rest were in vain. That she was never going to stop … I have a huge love of epistolary and found footage novels (and movies) and I think that movie is partially to thank. And Blair Witch of course. I watched that with my dad too.
4. Is there another genre that you are interested in?
I sort of touched on that above, but in terms of my writing, my novels have crossed genres a bit I think. Earlier on I was writing more gothic horror/gothic romance. I’ve written creature features, one in particular that contains significant sci-fi elements, and a romance as well. Actually I think all of my novels have some sort of romance element, even if it’s kept pretty minimal. My latest published novel, Going to the Six, has the least amount of romance, but I could still argue it’s quite a strong part of the plot, even though it might not be obvious. I’ve heard it said though (very vehemently) that romance novels must have a happy ending, and almost none of mine do … so I suppose I’m still firmly in the horror camp.
5. When did you first know you wanted to write and publish?
From the time I was old enough to be asked and answer the question, I always wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I ended up getting my clinical doctorate in audiology instead, and that came about in a very roundabout way actually. I only started writing seriously about two years ago. Prior to that, I started maybe three or four novels, but never finished any of them. The first one was when I was about 12. The second I want to say I was 16 or 17. I worked on one or two as an adult but never took myself seriously. Then about two years ago, I saw an ad for a competition, through Kindle Vella. And the word count requirement was 10,000 words. That sounded (naively) like a lot at the time to me, and I decided to challenge myself to see if I could do it. I wrote that first 10,000 and realized that wasn’t nearly enough, and kept going. The finished product ended up being the first novel I ever completed, and the first novel I self-published. I find it a bit cringey now looking back, but we all have to start somewhere.
6. Do you have a circle of beta readers you trust to read your work?
I have had a few people offer to beta read for me in the past, but only two who have stuck around. The first is my husband, he has been the first reader for every book I’ve written (that’s nine and counting so far). The second person to beta read more than one novel for me is a fellow author, Jason Garman. He’s read my last few novels and I’ve returned the favor for his debut, a noir thriller that just released earlier this year, and a few novellas, one of which released a few weeks ago.
7. Do you believe readers need to be horror fans in order to enjoy your work?
I think for the most part, yes. Going to the Six I could argue could be a chameleon and function as a psychological thriller as well, in a way, but it depends whether the reader can tolerate even the question of a paranormal entity. I know most prefer their thrillers to be based more firmly in reality. Not to ever knock what anyone enjoys, (more power to them!) but I find reality far too boring and depressing to ever stick to it.
8. Why do you think horror books and movies remain so popular?
I mentioned briefly earlier that to me, horror is about hope. It’s about watching or reading about someone else surviving (hopefully) or at least fighting, something awful, and I think that has power. I think it relates to a basic human need, which is to tell stories of what others have gone through, and spread the idea that these things are survivable. That fighting back is an option. That we are stronger than we might think. To me, horror will always exist as a medium because it reflects the worst and the best of us back to us in a way we can try to make sense of.
9. Do you think just as many people read books as they did ten or twenty years ago?
Gosh, I don’t know if I’m qualified to answer this. My gut would tell me yes, and by God I hope that’s true, but I really don’t know the answer.
10. Who inspires you?
A writer who inspires me is Dan Franklin. He has a phenomenal way with prose and description and weaving a story together. He’s also a fantastic person, someone who operates with integrity and humility and kindness, always. I have found those qualities to be sadly lacking in many of my encounters in the indie horror community, so to see someone who is a fantastic writer and also a good person is refreshing. I do think he is severely underrated as well, probably because unlike most of us, he doesn’t seem to attempt to focus his energy on promoting his own work, so heck, I’ll do it for him whenever I can. Another person who inspires me is Robbie Dorman. He is again, a great writer, a fantastically kind human being, and he is someone who I think really studies the craft and takes the time to constantly try to learn from other authors and better himself. I really admire Clay McLeod Chapman, for his creativity, his humor, his kindness, his willingness to be vulnerable and share his struggles. On top of that, he seems to do more, and be more places than is physically possible for one person, all while churning out an insane number of books. I have found a lot of inspiration as well just in my journey as a female author in horror by reading, watching, and learning from authors like Laurel Hightower, Cynthia Pelayo, Viggy Parr Hampton, Candace Nola, RJ Joseph, CJ Leede, and so many others. There are a lot of phenomenal women writing horror right now, and I’m thrilled to be a part of that in my own small way.
11. What are some of your favorite horror books?
Oh goodness … How much space do I have to answer this? Alright, I’m going to give you some all-time favorites first, just whatever pops into my head: The Terror, The Sarvan, Withered Hill, Wintersett Hollow, The Little Stranger, Echo, The Haunting of Hill House. I’m going to cut myself off, and switch to some of my top reads for this year so far: The Instruction Manual to Being a Vampire, by Craig Wallwork, Close to the Bone, by CS Jones, Decomposition Book, by Sara Van Os, SuperNoirtural Tales, by Ian Rogers, The Eater of the Gods, by Dan Franklin, Come Knocking, by Mike Bockoven, Experimental Film, by Gemma Files, Stolen Tounges, by Felix Blackwell, Phantom Constellations, by Daniel Braum, My Name Isn’t Paul, by Drew Huff, The October Film Haunt, by Michael Wehunt, Itch!, by Gemma Amor, The Rotting Room, by Viggy Parr Hampton, Liminal, by Shawn Winchell, and On Darkened Wings, by Winona Morris.
12. What are some of your favorite horror movies?
Alright, well, I mentioned The Ring earlier, that will always be a favorite. Another long-time favorite is Jurassic Park, yes, it counts as horror, I can do a whole separate interview about that! I love Fallen; that was another favorite that I watched (more than once) with my dad. I love House on Haunted Hill, for nostalgic reasons. My all-time favorite horror movie I think would have to be Midsommar. I have only two movies I will never watch again, and they are Hereditary and The Babadook. Those moves actually scared me, and I basically don’t get scared. I think there’s probably some tie-in there with maternal horror that just makes me uncomfortable, and I probably need to examine that more closely at some point in my own writing. Another favorite is Get Out. Absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed Vivarium, and I also loved Coherence. I liked the movie Life, and fun fact, my oldest son is named after the alien. I recently watched and really enjoyed Talk to Me. I can’t talk about scary movies without mentioning Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series; the Haunting of Hill House, the Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass … I realize they aren’t movies, but all are comfort watches for me. I know I’m going to think of more movies later and sorely regret neglecting to mention them, but that’s it for now.
13. What are your current projects?
I’m currently taking a mandatory break from writing. I wrote three novels in under seven months, including Going to the Six, which just released from Cemetery Dance in June. Shameless plug, the audiobook has been picked up by Simon and Schuster and will release on August 18th via their Simon Maverick division. I also wrote a feminist horror novel pitched as Midsommar meets Fight Club meets Nightbitch, which is currently out on submission, along with a novel set in WWII France, which is loosely inspired by the Grimm Fairy Tale, The Three Army Surgeons. That novel is titled Three Girls and a Lie. I decided I’d earned a bit of a rest for the moment, but I’ll be back at it again shortly I’m sure.
14. Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
I’m going to share my author bio here; a good excuse/reminder to update it!
A.C. Hessenauer describes herself as a writer of horror, chaos, and madness. Her latest novel, Going to the Six, was published by Cemetery Dance Publications in June 2026 and was selected for the Cemetery Dance Trade Paperback Book Club alongside works by Jack Ketchum, Bentley Little, and Brian Hodge. When she’s not participating in macabre ceremonies dedicated to the eldritch horrors out in the woods, A.C. enjoys spending time with her family. She loves a good horror movie, and of course, getting swallowed whole by a good book.
You can follow Amanda on Insta @a.c.hessenauer
Buy Amanda's books at https://amzn.to/4yk3kdz
