The Sisterhood of the Black Pen: Laurae Knight

Laurae Knight is an author, wife, and mother in a constant battle with time. She is also the co-founder of The Sisterhood of the Black Pen. When not chasing after the kiddos or creating beautiful disasters in the kitchen, she can be found curled up with something to write in her hands. Let’s talk about her!

Q: Where do you draw inspiration from in your work?

A: Everywhere. There’s not a moment of the day that doesn’t inspire something. A scene, a character, a piece of clothing a character will wear, a new spicy coffee at my regular coffee shop that I would hate but my feisty FMC would love.

Q: What does it mean to you to be an author?

A: To me, it means I have something special and rare. A genuine love for writing and creating and opening worlds for readers to love and enjoy. It means having a passion to pour myself into and grow with over the years. It means creating something that readers can truly delve into and forget their own problems.

Q: What is your writing process like? Do you listen to certain music, snack, make loads of phone notes when inspiration randomly strikes?

A: I don’t have a consistent writing process. However, I find I take after Neil Gaiman quite a lot as far as writing in a notebook with a fountain pen with the first draft. Although, living in Oregon with high humidity has forced me to use a pencil instead. I’ve already lost two notebooks to smeared words. After the first notebook draft, I usually transcribe it to a Google Doc, and send it off to readers. I find if I let it sit, I won’t go back to the manuscripts. I need to process them immediately.

Q: Is there a genre or subgenre that you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Conversely, are there any that you’ll never write?

A: I want to write everything. I have dozens of stories that fit into all the genres from horror to romance to fantasy to sci-fi. I struggle to label myself with genres because I can’t ever remember perimeters for each. I like to think I mix a few elements into every fictional story I write.

Q: What has been the hardest part of your career as an author so far?

A: Believing in myself and continuing to try when I face constant imposter syndrome, self-doubt, self-deprivation, and self-hate. That along with balancing writing with becoming a mother, homeschooling, working part time, and finding a second to breathe. Even when my children aren’t an excuse for my lapse of time, I find it hard to finish stores consistently. That’s why I started with short form stories and put a pause on my novels for now.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness as an author?

A: My greatest strength is action scenes. I have this impeccable ability to be able to picture the movements in my head and I can usually tell if a twist of a limb or contortion of bodies would work. I also have a husband who will play out fight scenes with me, which is incredibly useful. My weakness, aside from long form novels, is definitely differentiating speech between characters.

Q: Who is on your radar as someone you’d love to work with?

A: One of the perks of being a co-founder of The Sisterhood of the Black Pen is that I’ve already gotten to work with some incredible authors. I am struggling to name anyone specific, but I always look forward to meeting new authors and creating something beautiful and unique together.

Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard the negative comments: “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” “You don’t belong.” How do you move forward when faced with negativity?

A: I remind myself that my story isn’t for everyone. I sit back and look at who is giving me this advice. Are they my target audience? Do they like to shit their pants form fear while simultaneously getting turned on even if they aren’t quite sure why? No? Then I probably can disregard whatever they have to say. However, if they’re a beta reader, or a peer, I take their comments and compare them to others. If something is wrong with my manuscript, it can be fixed. That’s what editing is for. But some people are just negative and will hate on your diamond, no matter how shiny and polished, because they prefer pearls.

Q: What advice would you give to women who are wanting to write, especially if it’s something others might perceive as “outside of the norm”?

A: There’s a market for everything. Every kink, every niche, every story. I love the old saying “every story has been told, but not by you.” Or something like that. There is something special about you. Something only you can write a certain way. Your story deserves to be shared. It’s okay if it takes a while. It’s okay if you think about it and sit on it and you don’t write until your kids are grown and gone. It’s also okay if you sit back and take the time out of life to write as much or as little as you want. Everyone’s journey is different, and you will find what works for you. When you do decide to share your stories with the world, your readers will find you. They will appreciate you. They will be hungry for more. Especially if it’s out of the norm.

The Sisterhood of the Black Pen is currently going through submissions for their next anthology, Twisted Tales of Halloween Horror: Carnival of Carnage. The book will be released in September, and if it’s anything like the last one, they’ll knock it out of the park!

Laurae hasn’t had much time to read this year, but she is currently reading Breeders by Faye Knightly and Unworthy by J.A. Vodvarka. Despite being two drastically different types of stories, Laurae is really enjoying them both!

Follow Laurae on Instagram for all her important updates, and don’t forget to follow The Sisterhood of the Black Pen on Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss out on their upcoming anthology!