Vanessa Haney: Horror Stories Author

Conversations with Alya Lei

Vanessa Haney (pen name: Van Haney) grew up in the new age circus known as the entertainment industry. Van was first published in an anthology of poems in 1997. In the early 2000's she was showcased in young filmmaker competitions for her screenplays, and in 2018 while getting her Master's in Education, while also working as VP of Communications at Shoreline Entertainment, she self-published her first book of short stories, "Stories to Curl Your Toes". Now after two children and a move to the Pacific Northwest she's unleashing her stories into the world once again.

"Bloody Ever After" nine short stories based on re-imagined fairy tales, will be free for digital download on Amazon August 13th through 15th. If you follow her on TikTok: Van_Haney_Books (where Vanessa tells ghost stories), Vanessa will be doing a giveaway for both of her books of horror shorts in September and in October, she will be releasing her novel, currently titled "Safest in the Light".

TikTok: Van_Haney_Books Instagram: @dystopianess

Show Notes (timing is approximate)

28s Intro Vanessa Haney aka TikTok: Van_Haney_Books 1m 15s - Growing up in the Hollywood Circus 3m 12s - Started acting 3m 45s - Looking back - wished she focused more on what she was good at in film school - not the “idea” of the path 4m 6s - Getting into film sales, VP of communications 5m 15s - Details of film sales 8 years: what is it, how Vanessa got into it, how/why she get out of it 6m 38s - Miracle and Interview with Shoreline entertainment 7m 17s - Going to Cannes and assistant to VP of Shoreline 7m43s - Communications and becoming VP 8m 07s - Great boss teaching how to market yourself and be an entrepreneur 8m 34s - High stress job - only 1-3% of films make their money back / profit 9m 13s - Loved job, but no longer a fit with wanting a family 9m 43s - Received Masters in Education 9m 53s - Tends to say “yes” when presented with opportunities 10m 28s - Improv in high school and college 10m 36s - One of the main ways independent films are sold 13m 41s - Picking up films at festivals 13m 47s - Picking up films that have never been screened at a film festival 13m 57s - Pitching directly to decision makers at Cannes, TiFF, etc 14m 47s - Pitched films are not purchased by the company, works as a sales agent 15m 21s - How independent filmmakers get in touch with companies like Shoreline 15m 37s - Cinando.com created by Cannes film festival 15m 52s - look up film sales agents 16m 02s - Short films? 16m 13s - Shoreline distribution wing 17m 01s - Self publish books vs publisher, similar to picking up and distribution for films 17m 38s - Transitioning into being a mom 18m 26s - Volunteering at homeless shelters cooking and teaching art, exploring teaching as a new career 18m 54s - Film set and School community similarities 19m 27s - Looking back, missing things about Shoreline 20m 27s - Timeline after Masters degree and moving to Pacific Northwest 21m 12s - 2022 in Portland, Oregon - teaching and involved in school district 22m 22s - When did writing, screenplays and books, get involved? 23m 28s - Started writing 15 years ago, novels and bizarro books 24m 01s - 2019 wrote short stories and published them 24m 33s - 1st published book 24m 48s - Publish another book 25m 07s - YA fantasy book 25m 17s - Self publishing books 26m 07s - Started social media 26m 31s - Finding your niche 26m 54s - Ghost stories 27m 16s - TikTok: Van_Haney_Books (videos) and Instagram: @dystopianess (horror writing) 27m 52s - Why writing fantasy and horror has always been a part of Vanessa’s life 28m 37s - Most recent horror book, Safest in the Light, hybrid baby as metaphor for being a parent, juxtaposition LA lifestyle 29m 58s - Beta readers and editor, out in October 2024 30m 29s - 2nd book of short stories, Bloody Ever After, 9 re-imagined fairy tales, available on Amazon 31m 04s - 1st book, Stories to Curl Your Toes, short stories on Amazon 31m 22s - Books that go out with the Northwest independent writers association 31m 47s - Giveaways of books and swag - follow Vanessa on social media