I had such fun participating in the author J.D. Allen's series of Skull to Skull interviews.
Want to peruse the contents of my skull? ;) Check out the Q&A below the graphic.
SKULL TO SKULL – CRANIUM #21
J.D. ALLEN INTERVIEWS MIA DALIA
JDA - The life of a writer can be filled with unexpected plot twists and misadventures. Tell us some of the highlights in your life story.
MD – Well, I started writing in the summer of 2021. And I could not stop. I wrote a bunch of short stories and published a few before moving on to longer form. My debut novel, Estate Sale, came out in April 2023, right on my birthday. That same year I had two novellas and well over a dozen short stories published. Two of them were adapted for podcasts, with one, Dig, winning the runner-up for Tales to Terrify annual contest. In January 2024, Anuci Press collected my three previously self-published novelletes with a few brand-new ones and some short stories in Smile So Red and Other Tales of Madness. Anuci Press is also rereleasing two of my novellas, Discordant and Tell Me a Story this April, again for my birthday. Later this year, I will have a number of short stories in different anthologies by Crystal Lake Entertainment, Phobica Books, and more, two novellas coming out from Spaceboy Books. and my first major release, Haven, debuts in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook this October from CamCat Books. I also do graphic design, book covers, ads, video promos, etc. Still book connected, but it lets me use the other side of my brain.
JDA - Since storytelling can often be as difficult as extracting brain cells from the frontal lobe and making them live on a page, what compels you to write?
MD - I hear the stories in my head, demanding to be told. There, that sounds so much better than “I hear voices in my head.” Hold the straitjacket. It began a few years ago. My wife insisted I start writing these stories down. I listen to my wife, so I did. And then I fell in love with it, and it started to feel like the thing I was always meant to do.
JDA - Who or what influences your storytelling?
MD – I’ve always loved stories, words, books. I’ve been reading voraciously since an early age. I have been reviewing books online (anonymously, to speak the truth and avoid stepping on anyone’s toes) for a very long time on several public websites and a private blog. At the height of my reading, before all this pesky writing nonsense cut in, I was averaging about 50 books a months. When people ask me to list my favorite writers or books, my list goes on and on. But I digress. I suppose to answer the question, I think there’s something very noble about storytelling, about offering people a new perspective or an adventure or a temporary respite from their lives. And I’ve read enough books to know I can do it as good as most and better than some, and so I write.
JDA - Do you have any writing rituals or routines? As a published author can you offer any tips for aspiring writers?
MD – I write a lot on a semi nine-to-five schedule that occasionally spills over into the weekends. There are no real rituals outside of perhaps an occasional midday snack to replenish the brain. To any aspiring author, here’s my three-tier advice: 1. Read. A lot. Read diversely and pay attention to what you’re reading. Not just the plot, but the craft of the narrative. Venture outside of your comfort zone, try new genres. Reach higher with your selections. I always say that your friends and your reading choices should be smarter than you are. 2. Edit. A lot. There are books and website out there to assist you. Find people who will help you edit, and when they do, learn from them. If you cannot afford professional assistance, find some BETAs. It’s a hit and miss, but there are some really good ones out there. Take criticism when offered and use it whenever it’s useful. Take pride in your work and its presentation, check your grammar, check your facts, polish it, make it shine. There is a lamentable amount of people and small presses out there that don’t. Do better! Some mistakes are unavoidable, but most of them are. I used to dislike editing so much, one of my publishers made a meme of it once, but I have been pushing myself to do it more and more, and it makes a world of difference and improves my work tremendously. 3. Get a thicker skin. We’re talking like a rhino hide (it’s two inches thick!) This business will crush you if you don’t. Especially if your work doesn’t conform to the current industry standards. Do you research, submit around for publication, but know that more often than not the answer will be no, and do not let it stop you.
JDA – Your debut novelette SMILE SO RED hit bookshelves in March of 2023. Without giving away any spoilers what will readers discover in this tale?
MD – After a lifetime spent as a city dweller, a few years ago I moved out to the suburbs. It was a huge change that has inspired a lot of my work. Smile So Red, in particular, was whispered to life by a creepy, graffitied house I came across while hiking in the local woods. Imagination took over from there and served up a cautionary “be careful what you wish for” tale.
JDA - That same month you also published THE TRUNK, a creepy little tale about a couple who find the mysterious object of the title in the basement of their new home. Tell us about this story.
MD – Another tale inspired by the move. The Trunk came about after I heard that our new place comes with a basement storage unit. There’s something inherently creepy about basements, isn’t it? I think I did ours justice. It’s a story about being haunted by one’s past, with a deadly twist. Amusingly enough, when I finally checked our basement out, months later, it was exactly as I had described it. Only the trunk was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it was hiding in the next unit over …
JDA – Next came SPINDEL, a novelette that has been described as a ‘coming-of-age, serial killer’ story. Sounds wild. Without giving anything away, what can you tell the readers about this tale?
MD – Spindel was one of my early departures from horror. I’ve actually done it a lot, especially in my short fiction, Though it may not be well known, I write broadly across genres, and hope to prove it with my future publications. In a way, this tale was also inspired by the move. There are so many spiders here. And they weave their webs exhaustively everywhere. There was one web on the outside of the window in the room where I write, and instead of cleaning it off, I watched it day after day, to see what happens. The web proved to be a successful snare and a surprising source of inspiration for a story about a twelve-year-old boy who thinks a man on his bike route might be a serial killer and takes it upon himself to investigate.
JDA – In the fall of last year you released your first novel, ESTATE SALE, to much acclaim and rave reviews. Described as a ‘historical horror story’ and a ‘gothic mystery’ it tells the tale of the Koshmaroff family after its mysterious matriarch passes, and of the dark trinkets they have acquired over the course of their lives. Tell us about this dark tale.
MD- Ah, Estate Sale. My beloved first bookbaby. I haven’t written anything like it since. It is quite unique. Conceptually, it veers off from a traditional haunted house trope, offering instead a story of a perfectly ordinary house full of haunted objects. Structurally, it is original in that it features a number of short stories woven into the fabric of the main narrative. Each story follows an individual object. There are even illustrations for each one. Estate Sale took a lot of research, a lot of love. I’ve been told it made grown people cry. I’ve been told that people read it then passed it on to their parents—I love the fact that my work can be enjoyed across generations. I’m really proud of that book.
JDA – You’ve also contributed short stories to many anthology publications, such as KIDS ARE HELL!, HEAVY METAL NIGHTMARES, and THE DARKENED DOORSTEP. Tells us about these publications, and your contributions to them.
MD – I’ve contributed short fiction to a lot of publications by now (16 alone on 2023), so if I may be permitted, I’ll offer a more general answer instead. It is always very flattering to have your work selected for publication. But the actual process is different each and every time. When I first began submitting my short fiction around, I wasn’t being particularly discerning, I just wanted to get my work in print. It served the purpose of getting my name out there, I made some great connections, and I learned a lot of valuable lessons. I have since redefined my parameters rather strictly and now only work with anthologies (and editors, professionalism goes a long way with me) that pay properly or the ones I’m very excited about thematically (Bigfoot, Pirates, etc.), ideally both. I must give a shoutout of gratitude here to Tucker Christine of DraculaBeyondStoker Magazine for showing me how contributing authors ought to be treated. The man sets a high standard! My story In Ink, In Blood was the centerpiece of his magazine’s issue 1.5—one of the few times I wrote vampires. That said, I love writing short stories. It’s a format I go back to time and again. My short fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies and magazines (and even a couple of narrative podcasts), and in those stories I’ve genre-hopped from horror to noir to comedy to weird to sci-fi. My noir story, The Last Best Thing, was just longlisted for the 2024 Crime Writers Association’s Dagger Award. So it’s been a lot of fun.
JDA – Fans of your writing will be delighted to learn that you have two new releases coming out this month! DISCORDANT and TELL ME A STORY are scheduled to drop on April 29 and are currently taking preorders on Amazon. Without spoiling any surprises, what can readers expect from these new tales?
MD – I’m very excited that Discordant and Tell Me a Story are getting a second chance to shine through Anuci Press. I have personally reedited them, reformatted them, and created new covers for them. I think they came out very spiffy … though I may be biased. They will be available anywhere books are sold, but if you go through Anuci Press, you can get a bundle deal, along with some nice custom-made bookmarks, also designed by the author. Tell Me a Story is my love letter to books, bookstores, and those who haunt them. Depending on your reading of it, it is either a ghost story or a serial killer suspense story. Or both. And Discordant is my love letter to music and musicians. It’s a Faustian tale of the deals we make to get the things we want. Both of them (as some of my other work) are united by the shared theme of second chances.
JDA - What kind of plot twists can fans of Mia Dalia expect from the upcoming chapters of your life?
MD – Since this is the year I’ve set out to prove just how diverse of an author I am, I’ve got a bunch of things coming out to that effect. There are some fun anthologies that feature a Bigfoot buddy comedy, a real-life inspired pirate story, my take on the final girl trope, a meta-fiction psycho thriller, a haunted book nightmare, and more. I’ve also got two very different novellas coming out from Spaceboy Books. The science fiction one, Arrakoth, blasts skyward on June 4th. The neo-noir murder mystery comedy, Do You Know The Muffin Man? pops out of the oven on Christmas. And my pièce de resistance is my novel, Haven, which comes out on October 29th from CamCat books. It is my first major release, and I couldn’t be prouder of it or happier with the fantastic job the CamCat team did. Among other things, it has a stunning cover that will look amazing in hardback, and an audiobook read by several, incredibly talented professional voice actors. It’s very exciting. I can’t wait to share it with the world. Haven is a literary family drama and a slow-burn psychological thriller/horror that’s already gathering advance praise. One of my favorite authors, Michael Marshall Smith, told me it was one of the best books he’d read in a long time, which made me ridiculously happy. So, yeah, lots going on. Plenty of stories to keep my readers busy and hopefully win over some new ones!
I’m also leaning in more into my graphic design work, so if anyone out there needs book covers/ads/video promos, etc., feel free to reach out at daliaverse1.0@gmail.com I’m very budget-friendly and can work on any timeframe. References and samples are available upon request. Thank you for indulging this bit of shameless self-promotion.
JDA - Thank you, Mia, for allowing me to metaphorically x-ray the ole cranium to expose the brain of a published author to readers, fans, and aspiring writers. I look forward to whatever that brain of yours comes up with next.
MD – Thank you so much, Joe. This was very enjoyable. If anything, my cranium feels positively refreshed!
JDA – Mia Dalia’s books are available on Amazon Kindle and paperback. Estate Sale and the novelettes (Smile So Red, The Trunk, and Spindel) are only available on Amazon. Smile So Red and Other Tales of Madness, Discordant, Tell Me a Story, and the upcoming Arrokoth, Haven, and Do You Know the Muffin Man? are or will be available wherever books are sold and respectively on Anuci Press, CamCat Books, and Spaceboy Books websites.
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