About Me
Del Sandeen
Take a military brat who watched horror films with her dad every Saturday afternoon, add an insatiable love of reading, and what do you get? A speculative and horror author, of course.
When I was 10 years old, I decided I wanted to write books when I grew up. My parents’ reaction wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement: "Do you want to be poor all your life?" But at 10, I wasn't thinking about bills and rent and other adult responsibilities like sharing Netflix passwords. My reading habits largely revolved around Judy Blume, then Stephen King, and way too much Star Trek fan fiction. (My kids were horrified to learn that I read Stephen King books as a child, but they don't understand how it was growing up in a time when parents didn’t care what you did, as long as you were home before the streetlights came on – What can I tell you, kids? The '70s was a wild decade.)
When I became an adult, I realized my parents were right, but do you think I told them that? Instead, I put novel-writing aside and did what I call day-job writing. But once my kids were a little older, I had more time to write what I wanted. I love writing speculative fiction, especially horror, because these were my favorite books to read growing up, but I rarely saw main characters who looked like me. Writing in this genre gives me the chance to create the characters I wanted to read more about. When I’m not writing or reading, I’m watching scary movies in broad daylight, looking for my next travel destination, baking a mean red velvet cake, or spending time with my family.
I live in Florida – the Sunshine State – home to sinkholes, gators, and the unique fashion combo of sweatshirts and flip flops. Which is probably way scarier than anything I'll ever write.
Short Bio
Del Sandeen lives in Northeast Florida, where she works as a writer and copy editor. She also writes speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in FIYAH: Speculative Literary Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Nightlight Podcast, and Gay magazine. Her debut novel, THIS CURSED HOUSE, will be published in 2024. She can be found on Twitter @DelSandeen.
Long Bio
Del Sandeen lives in Northeast Florida, where she works as a writer and copy editor. She is the recipient of the 2019 Diverse Writers Grant and the 2019 Diverse Worlds Grant from the Speculative Literature Foundation. Her short fiction has appeared in in FIYAH: Speculative Literary Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Nightlight Podcast, and Magnolia, a Journal of Women's Socially Engaged Literature Volume III. Her nonfiction has appeared in Allure, Uncanny, Gay magazine and ZORA. She's the author of three young adult books: Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: Joined by Fate; Coping With Racial Profiling; and Maya Angelou: Writer and Activist.
Del is represented by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC. Her debut novel, THIS CURSED HOUSE, will be published in 2024. She can be found on Twitter @DelSandeen.
Author Photography Christy Whitehead. Background Images Keagan Henman.