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Do you dare approach Zenobia’s purple throne?
Friends and Foes of Zenobia
A Paranormal Horror Anthology
featuring tales by
Denise N. Tapscott, Marc L. Abbott, Linda D. Addison,
Kirk A. Johnson, John Palisano, Robin Reed, Steven Van Patten
From the spellbinding novel Gypsy Kisses and Voodoo Wishes, meet Zenobia Jalio.
Many know her as a grandmother with a few magic tricks up her sleeve from the heart of New Orleans.
However, some believe she is a self-righteous witch, a dangerous judge, and a ruthless tormentor. Others know her as a trusted healer, savior, and kind friend.
History shows she was once the beloved queen of Palmyra.
Read this collection of her deeds, then decide,
do you dare approach Zenobia’s purple throne?
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Denise N. Tapscott is a California native. She left her heart in San Francisco, but somehow managed to leave her soul in New Orleans.
She is the author of the novel Gypsy Kisses and Voodoo Wishes and the sequel, Enlightening of the Damned. She recently published an anthology called The Friends and Foes of Zenobia and she’s currently working on a third book in the Zenobia series called Lotus Flowers of the South.
As an actress, she’s known as ‘Tasha’, a sassy vampire featured in the YouTube comedy series ‘The Vamps Next Door’.
Denise is also a co-host of the Beef, Wine, and Shenanigans podcast with fellow dark fiction writers Steven Van Patten, Marc Abbott and Kirk A Johnson. The podcast is known for being both hysterical and insightful as it deals with a wide range of topics.
*Headshot courtesy of Jay Courtney Photos.
Often referencing her favorite quotes, below is Denise’s favorite motto by Hans Christian Andersen:
“Just living is not enough…one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.”
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AUTHOR Q&A
- Pen or typewriter or computer?
When I first started, I wrote everything down with a blue pen in journals. Eventually I wrote and continue to write on a laptop. When I have trouble with a scene in a book, I will write it out by hand and later add it to a word document. If I get inspired, I’m definitely writing notes on scrap paper or post its. I do have an old school manual typewriter, but I’ve never used it. I have no idea if it still works.
- Tell us about a favorite character from a book.
One of my favorite characters is the dog in Cujo by Stephen King. I love how as a reader you see things from his perspective and then how it switches to the humans encountering a monster. It bums me out that supposedly Steven King doesn’t remember writing that story.
- Describe your writing style.
I do my best to write kind of like painting a picture. I want my reader to visualize what the characters see, or if the stories were on a big screen the reader could sit back and enjoy it. There’s a saying that as a writer you should show more than tell. So I do my best to show. For example, instead of saying “she walked across the street” I would say “As the sun burned brightly overhead, she slowly limped across the hot asphalt, hoping that her heels wouldn’t start to blister.” It took me a long time to really understand “showing” versus telling. I’d say it is definitely an ongoing battle.
- What is your writing process?
I make a rough outline so that I can stay on track with the main storyline/plot, but the rest is definitely organic. I do my best to stay true to what characters want, so there will be twists and turns. However in the end, the main plot will still be the main plot. Chapters will come later, to help with the pacing of the book as a whole.
- What is your writing Kryptonite?
My Kryptonite is time. Sometimes there is plenty of time, but more often than not, there’s never enough time. I don’t get writers block, but I do struggle finding a balance of finding time to write, do social media stuff, work at the muggle job and doing something physical like taking a walk. The stories are in my head but finding the time to get them onto screen and eventually into a physical book is a challenge. So many characters, so little time.
My other Kryptonite are certain words that I use entirely too much, like “beautiful” or “dark”. I constantly ask myself, “why is it beautiful? Is there another way to describe it?”.
- Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I try to be more original. I think there’s an audience for everything, even if it isn’t mainstream. Generally, my plot lines aren’t super unique or new, but how I present them are definitely different, which I enjoy. I hope my readers find my stories distinctive and entertaining.
Nina Soden 