The Spooky Six with Deirdre Swinden and Willow Croft

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While the animal lover in me would like to hear a gazillion more of Deirdre Swinden’s pet stories, that’s not really why we’re here, is it? Read on to discover what spooky shenanigans wake her up in the middle of the night!

Deirdre Swinden (she/her) likes to dwell in the realms of dark fiction. Her love of language began with a single utterance when time had little or no meaning. It was simply “Charlie.” In that word lay a child’s understanding of absolute love. Charlie was Deirdre’s first dog. She was a scrungy little black-and-white mutt. Deirdre’s fledgling creative attempts were poems about Charlie’s trotting feet and slobbering kisses. Her first short stories were devoted to Charlie’s amusement, particularly when she ate them.

As she grew, Deirdre developed a love for all things spooky. Ghost stories became a particular favorite, and she devoured every tale of terror and dread she could get her hands on. Throughout high school and college, she worked diligently to improve her writing, and completed her first full-length novel during her senior year. After a few failed attempts to find an agent and publish, she set aside her dreams of becoming a published author and made a successful living as a communications professional in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. During that time, she learned a great deal about science and developed a great love of science-fiction. Her early love of dark fiction and horror never went away, and she was soon combining the two as she picked up her creative writing once more and set to work pursuing her dream. That dream recently came true when her debut novel, Somnium, was released by Crystal Lake Publishing on May 31, 2024.

Deirdre earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Arcadia University in 2022, an MA in Communications from Southern New Hampshire University and a BA in English and Elementary Education from Wilkes University. Her short stories have been published by Grim & Gilded and Griffel literary magazines, and she’s a past winner of the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference Popular Short Story contest. She currently lives in North Carolina with her dog, Jasper.

Links

Website: www.deirdreswinden.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deirdre.swinden.5

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/deirdre-swinden

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dswinden531/

Purchase Somnium on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Somnium-Deirdre-Swinden/dp/1957133988/

Willow Croft: “Hey, look at that derelict Victorian mansion . . . let’s go explore it!” What’s the most unusual setting you’ve read about in a horror/thriller book, or included in your own creative works?

Deirdre Swinden: I’m not sure it’s all that unusual, but before I moved to North Carolina, I lived in a little town outside of Philadelphia, PA called Exton. I lived and worked there for several years, and right next to the property where I worked, there was a derelict house—windows boarded, peeling paint, graffiti—the works. Turns out it was what’s widely known as The Exton Witch House. There’s a popular belief that an entire family is buried under the house, face down so that their souls could not escape. I don’t know if that’s a truly unusual setting, but it was certainly the most interesting thing about the town for me. The fact that it was right in the middle of town, sitting on prime real estate but no one wanted to buy it made it all that more spooky.

Willow Croft: “It was a dark and stormy night . . .” What are your go-to comfort foods, drinks, or other ways to wind down after a long day (or night) of writing?

Deirdre Swinden: Buffalo wings are a go-to comfort food for me, and I’m completely addicted to Diet Coke. I tend to wind down by either reading or watching movies—immersing myself in a story other than my own helps remind me of why I write in the first place.

Willow Croft: “Did you hear that noise?” Everyone, even us horror/suspense writers, have our night terrors. What is it that frightens you the most?

Deirdre Swinden: When my dog barks in the middle of the night, I get really spooked. He’s usually quite quiet during the night, so when he lets loose, it freaks me out. I’ve also had episodes of sleep paralysis, where I’m conscious enough to know I’m awake but I can’t move a muscle. During the most recent episode, I saw a large shadow figure outlined in my bedroom door. It was human in shape, but had no face I could discern. The idea that someone could enter my private space unseen or unheard scares the living hell out of me.

Willow Croft: “I’m sure it was nothing. But I’ll just go outside and check, anyway. Alone. With no weapons.” Have you ever gotten writers’ block? If so, how do you combat it? Do you have certain rituals or practices that help get you into the writing (or creating) mindset?

Deirdre Swinden: I try to write every day—whether it’s working on a novel or just writing in my journal. When I get writer’s block, it’s usually because I don’t have enough information either about the setting, the characters or the story itself. To combat it, I step back and review my notes and the plot flows I created. I’ll reread the work I’ve done to pick up any threads I might’ve lost, and of course, do my research if it’s simply something I need to learn more about before I can extrapolate it into something fictional. Sometimes I just need to go for a walk or listen to some music and I can overcome the hurdle.

Willow Croft: “Don’t go into the basement!” Are you an impulsive pantser or a plotter with outlines galore? What other writing/industry advice would you share with your fellow writers & creators?

Deirdre Swinden: I’m a “plantser”—meaning I do both. I start with an ending in mind and a very broad outline, then drill down into those major scenes to create scene “flows” (basically outlines of the reason for the scene). Then I follow the flow to see where it leads. Sometimes it goes where I think it will and other times the writing takes a turn into something I didn’t think about originally. When that happens, I’ll reflow the outline and see where it leads.

Willow Croft: “Ring ring!” It’s the middle of the night and the phone mysteriously rings. Which notable writer, or person from history, would be on the other end of the line?

Deirdre Swinden: So many people I’d love to talk to! I’d love to pick Mary Shelley’s brain on the intricacies of Frankenstein and what inspired her to write the novel. It’s such a complex story, and I’d love to dissect it with the author.

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