We were lucky to catch up with S.B. Pearce recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi S.B., thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.
With the shift of literary publishing moving from Agent/Publishing House to independent models, I thought long and hard about the direction I wanted to go with all of my creative endeavors. I decided to create a hybrid situation that allowed me to maintain creative control of my books, cover art, marketing, and related projects. I am very goal-oriented in everything that I do. When I decided to finally finish the manuscripts that had been sitting untouched inside my computer for years, I did not focus on just the immediacy of completing the stories. I created long-term benchmarks that would set me apart from the average indie author. I am not eschewing being represented in the future by an incredible agent and publishing powerhouse. I simply want to completely understand the entire process that is adjacent to the writing. The days of pondering the next great American novel while sipping coffee and stabbing at keys before being discovered are long over. I think you have to be knowledgeable and ready to work hard in many different areas.
We, my husband and I opened a publishing house. This lends a higher level of asset protection as well as provides avenues to being sold in stores and stocked in libraries. It could conceivably become an additional revenue stream in the future if we decide to represent other authors.
I also launched a podcast that was unrelated to my writing but allowed me to improve my research capabilities, find my story-telling voice, learn about digital audio processing for future audiobooks, and expanded my SEO optimization by putting my name in more places on the web. I launched a second podcast/vlog cast in 2022 that is related to my writing as I release an almost weekly horror poem set to digital video imagery that is posted across multiple platforms. Not only can you listen to the poem, but you can also watch the video version. I released the first written volume as a collection of poetry that is now available on Amazon and in stores called S.B. Pearce’s The Monday Morbs Volume 1 – Of Fearful and Monstrous Things.
In terms of social media, I don’t just talk about my writing. I show glimpses of my personal life, and my other artistic outlets such as dance, painting, photography, and fire flow. I love learning bits and pieces about people beyond their main job. It lends a greater sense of humanity to them and shows them as the multi-faceted beings that they are.
S.B., love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I love horror. I always have. I love reading it, watching it, listening to it. I recall watching my first horror film when I was about four years old. I tried to imitate it and scare my friend after the movie was over. I watched all the classic television series in the eighties such as The Twilight Zone, Tales From The Darkside, Tales From the Crypt, etc. I devoured creepy books from the book fair. I also grew up in a family where the paranormal is accepted as a part of life.
I also love writing. I made excellent grades all through school any time creative writing was involved. I didn’t major in that during college but a part of me wishes I had in some respects. I have been penning poetry and short stories since I was very young, none of which were for public consumption. When Facebook rolled out, I used my account to write about the funny aspects of being a mom, employee, wife, etc. Life is hysterically amusing if you let it be. Many of my friends there encouraged me to write a book. The problem is that I don’t necessarily find myself to be all that comical and I had a million ideas of a darker sort stored in my head. I had a few story starts stored away from years prior that I abandoned because life gets in the way. I always thought about them though.
I settled in to finish one of them. The kids were mostly grown which meant they could wipe their own butts and make their own sandwiches. I was ceasing to be cool anymore so they did the typical pulling away from me. That freed me to finish my first manuscript. The day I typed the final period and printed the manuscript was an awesome one. I did it. I wrote a whole 87,000-word manuscript. That in itself is a major accomplishment. I cried a little. Not for too long though because then began the arduous process of editing.
I am lucky to have a business and art background. I utilized those skills to navigate contracts with my designer and set up all the required accounts needed for when the book was ready. The mountains of notes I have related to publishing and business are astounding but incredibly useful. I began the rough draft of the second novel while polishing and preparing the first.
The amount of depravity that exists within humankind is intriguing to me. I write paranormal pieces that highlight this depravity. Most people are essentially good but we all have parts of ourselves that are best left to the shadows. There are those of us that don’t care if you see our ugly. Those blatant people are the ones I love to explore. I am not a slasher type of horror writer, not that there isn’t anything wrong with that. I want to make my readers uncomfortable. I want to scare them out of their wits. My goal is to haunt them with my hauntings.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, that would be bringing to life the self-orchestrated movies in my head. There is a sense of beauty in being able to convey a visual image to the reader through the written word. I do the same in my performance art as well. The best compliment is when I receive comments from viewers or readers that claim they were disturbed by something I wrote. I do the same with dance and art. I love when the crowd cheers when I spin fire with my group, Troupe Dagaz, or clap along to the music when we dance. Creating in and of itself is rewarding, even if your piece is an epic failure. You still learn something, become less inhibited, and expand your horizons.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My ultimate goal is to build a dedicated following enough to pursue this dream full-time. I wish to be the future Queen of the Macabre that sells millions of books. It’s okay if I get there by slow, organic growth.
Even better would be to see my stories on the big screen, maybe directed by James Wan or Jordan Peele. Why dream small?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sbpearce.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s.b.pearce.author/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbpearceauthor/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sb-pearce-755a1b263/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBPearceAuthor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq8plNjw8Ni2a8pQ4wHJ7aA
- Other: Strange Bluegrass Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0f37qGJotxdB28FXviRQmI?si=0ddc812b93b14582 S.B. Pearce’s The Monday Morbs: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bN4mwc5fKvgIzLuzVJ1Ti?si=13a7fb770ea44eb4 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sbpearce Troupe Dagaz: https://www.troupedagaz.com/ Also on Fb, IG, and TT
Image Credits
Intrusive and Supine Book Covers: Alex Lindberg of EvilChilde, LLC Monday Morbs Book Cover: S.B. Pearce Akashic Awareness podcast action shot: Carla Baker Spoken Word, Fire Performance, Scarefest: Helena Pearce Live Storytelling and Headshot: William Pearce