Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Johannesburg born author who has currently (up until August 31st) published 13 works including three anthologies. I live in Johannesburg with my best friends, our six dogs and our two cats.
Growing up I have always loved writing and have always wanted to be a published author but only published my first book, Ensnared, in 2017.
Since then I have been persevering in becoming a well-known horror author in the indie community.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have two books about to come out that I am proud of. The first is Belladonna which is set to release on September 15th and it was inspired by a cover I saw on Facebook. Initially, I wanted to write a government conspiracy type of story but my characters had a plan all their own.
Buried was also inspired by a cover I bought, however, I didn’t feel like it was going to be any good when I first plotted it out. The more I wrote it, though, the more excited I got and I soon realised it was going to be the best work of horror fiction I have written to date.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know what you would count as unusual but sometimes I argue with my characters, I’m prone to yelling at my computer screen while my best friend stares at me curiously. (Not in horror because she is also an author)
I also cannot write without my write foot tucked between my left calf and the chair. It’s just really comfortable for me and it’s how I prefer to sit when I write. When I’m not writing I don’t sit like that at all, in fact I generally sit with both legs tucked under the chair when I’m not writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I would definitely say that the two authors that had the biggest influence over me are Stephen King and Anne Rice. Both authors I have loved from a young age. My sister first introduced me to Stephen King when I was learning to read and I have been a fan ever since with my favourite book being Bag of Bones. Anne Rice was something I asked my sister to buy in the spur of the moment and The Witching Hour has been my favourite book by her since.
What are you working on now?
Right at this moment, I’m working on a book called Hex. It follows the story of a woman who helped kidnap a baby and years later has to return to town because her mother has passed. She doesn’t think she’ll be caught but strange things start to happen and she wonders if someone knows the truth, or if something otherworldly is after her.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Lots of hard work and a lot of websites. I don’t believe in just going to one site and being like BOOM I’m done. I post on average in 150 facebook groups, 15 at a time hourly, on a daily basis. And that is just facebook. That’s not including all the other websites I use to market my books, for free.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Absolutely. I would like to quote JK Rowling for this one.
“You cannot live life without a measure of failure unless you live so carefully that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you fail by default.”
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My favourite advice that I have heard is from Ashleigh Giannacarro who loves to say: Reviews are for readers, not authors.
Write, just write. Don’t go back and edit. You can do that once you’ve got down all the words.
What are you reading now?
I just finished a collection of Short Stories by John Wordsmith and am deciding what to read next.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Next, I have Comic-Con Africa coming up in September which is huge for me! It’s the biggest event in my country for authors and I’m proudly part of it, and part of a panel spotlighting my work so I hope to see a lot of South African fans there.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
To Kill a Mockingbird
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
The Book Thief
Author Websites and Profiles
Sian B. Claven Website
Sian B. Claven Amazon Profile
Sian B. Claven’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account