We recently connected with Chantell Renee and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chantell thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Intention. This is the one ingredient that I have kept through all the challenges I have come across to become a published author. Even after I made this goal, to continue down the path i always thought back what was my intention. For example, I am not a degrees writer. There are several ways for one to get their stories out there and that way was never a path available to someone of my background. Perhaps now I could go that route and may one day, but I have chosen the route that brings out one’s grit and intention.
When I was young, I was labeled dyslexic at a time that this was an unusual way of looking at children. Therefore, I was not given much attention, and due to my crude upbringing I was quiet, and to myself, therefore didn’t demand any attention.
However, because of that, I discovered reading and my love of the written word. Later in life, I became a poet, and eventually became a writer of short stories. I lived one year in LA, and this gave me aspirations to write a full length novel. When I came back to Houston, I joined a lot of different writers groups and attended a lot of writers workshops. Within the next three years, I published three books, a series. This was the Shifter Series, an urban fantasy series.
I spent that time doing conventions, selling hundreds of books, meeting a lot of great writers, getting to be in Barnes and Noble, and eventually, I got to sit next to Neil Gaiman at the Barnes & Noble table during Comicpalooza. But life, sometimes throws you curveballs.
I went through a divorce, lost a very close family member, which really caused me to go in a tailspin unexpectedly. But I kept writing, and published short story collections with myself and others. I remarried and found a new outfit for my creativity. .
I had met author Dicey Grenor and she and I created the Sex and Horror Podcast. Through this media, I kept active and discovered a new side of myself, really I came out of my cocoon. In 2021 Dicey met Tony Rodriguez, who later created the Houston Horror Film Festival with two other amazing Houston guys in the horror community.
This was fate, bringing us together with this incredible group of young men, who wanted to create something special for Houston. My podcast became media for them during their very first convention, and we are affiliated with them in many ways, including at the most recent convention, having our podcast record, live during the convention for an audience.
Going to the shows brought some thing back in me, that I had been missing, my intention. Which, if you haven’t guessed, is to use the written word to both entertain and make people think.
At the 2022 con, I was so inspired that I wrote my next full length novel, Shades of Evil. Now, I’m back on my path to leaving my mark as a published author.
Being self published is difficult, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It has made me realize more than anything that your intention is truly what keeps you going. I still have other writers that are extremely supportive as well as writers that went through schooling and feel I’m not a real writer. Or that being self published, makes me not a real writer. However, at this point, I’ve sold probably 1000 or more books and to me if even one of those people enjoy what I have written, that makes me a real writer.
I hope if somebody reads this and they’re aspiring to do something that is not along the well eroded path that the proverbial river runs that you understand that doesn’t mean you can’t start creating a new crevice.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always loved all things, spooky. I grew up with a father for the first three years of my life, who loved watching black and white horror. Even though he became a weekend dad at some point, he still always watched things like the Elvira show, or other comedy-horror, related television. But I was entertained by it and felt it was harmless fun. As many have experienced, I did have a tumultuous upbringing. There was violence, a lot of neglect, but later in life, I came to look at it as opportunity. Opportunity to push myself and learn to balance life around me. Seven years after I was born my little sister came along, and though it was a challenge due to the environment, I found having someone to protect gave me a different point of view.
Not to long after this, went to live with my grandparents and aunt. This was a big influence. Being Hispanic, and being with female family members was vital part of my development, when eventually, seeing my mother, become independent, really brought out that warrior in myself. So now in life, when I face adversity, I tend to not flinch.
Perhaps this is why my path lead to the horror genre. There are a lot of things that make up this genre. From the supernatural to real life horrors. Something I have started to learn working with the HHFF.
I recently met some great authors at the Texas Authors Convention in Dallas. I have learned horror has a built-in audience, because not everyone can handle the world of horror. When was the last time you watched the news,? We don’t live in a world full of dandelions and picnics. So I understand when people can’t handle horror.
What I think really makes me good at telling stories in this genre is I have a lot of first hand experience with fear. And I do not believe in being a victim. So when I spin a tale, it’s to show that no matter what happens, made up or real, we can overcome. Damaged, maybe, but breathing.
Of course not all my surviving characters are the “good guy.” However, who decides what makes someone or something good? That’s the thing with horror, it’s a cautionary tale. And that is something I aspire to leave in this world. An understanding of choices and their consequences.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

The one thing that has always been a constant struggle is maintaining regular life with your artistic one. In order to create and continue to publish books I have to work my 9 to 5. This means sometimes taking myself out of an element that I feel like I truly am myself in. However, I found Happiness in my other life, and clung to the things in that life that made it worth my time besides the financial support. As a writer, every thing you experience is worth your time. At some point in your writing even small mundane things like making coffee can be a big part of making people feel as if they are truly in your story and not just reading about a story. So, though you may find it unpalatable to have to work a regular job as you create, I cannot tell you how vital it is for you to do this. Because, as an artist, sometimes you are affluent, and sometimes you are buried under 10 feet of self-doubt and negative energy. It is times like those that having an outlet such as a job can help you come back to who you are what your intentions are, and ignore all the negativity.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I really wish I’d had a better concept of how to work social media at an earlier stage in my process. Having social media can be a curse and a blessing. Even though I feel like, I don’t have a great grasp on utilizing this tool still. However, what I have come to realize is Maintaining who you are throughout all your social media platforms is vital. Once you create your presence your label or whatever it is you want to call it you have to make sure and maintain that throughout all of your platforms. This is important in branding yourself and also something I didn’t realize at the beginning. Yes I did write urban fantasy in the beginning of my writing career however, it was still dark writing. That one element, darker writing, has been the main thread through all of my creations. So as I build upon it, naturally getting into horror, this has enabled me to create a stronger platform. Before you start doing some thing, make sure you know who you wanna Be as representing yourself to the public goes. Only then you’ll be able to know what you’ll need to do and where you want to end up. Personally, I would love to get my works made into TV or cable series. And of course, as all writers, I’d love to have a movie created after one of my novels. Again, all of that could be possible as long as whomever might be searching for someone with my particular flavor, sees who I am on my social media, and gets a good sense of that throughout all my platforms and creations.

Contact Info:

• Website: Chantell Renee.com
• Instagram: Crrenee_
• Facebook: Chantell Renee
• Other: Sex and horror podcast on all platforms Tic Tok @chantellrenee

Image Credits
Elizabeth Mackey