A Rapid-fire Q&A With Camille Cabrera, Bestselling Mystery Author

Allow us to introduce Camille Cabrera: a bestselling self-published author of 16 mystery, suspense, and romance novels. 

She’s known for using cozy holiday settings to contrast the eeriness of the unknown, such as in The Mystery of Mistletoe Motel and the forthcoming A Very Coastal Christmas. In other books, most notably the Troublesome Trades series, she employs nuggets of fantasy to create larger-than-life stories grounded in haunting reality. For Cabrera, writing is a tool to bridge gaps and explore topics wholly new to her. While her novels are sure to give readers a thrill, Cabrera gets her thrills from touching her pen to a blank piece of paper, which is how all of her first drafts begin.

Since it’s October (or spooky season, to those who celebrate) we decided there was no better time to subject Cabrera to our very scary rapid-fire Q&A:

What’s your favorite horror trope?

Cabrera: Potential premonitions being disregarded as nightmares.

Where do you get inspiration?

Cabrera: Everywhere! Spooky season is a yearlong festivity. 

Where would you hide a body (theoretically, of course)?

Cabrera: The setting and situation dictate the hiding spot (theoretically, of course).

What are three ways to build suspense in a scene?

Cabrera: Conflict, foreshadowing, and raising the stakes. 

What's your favorite Halloween/horror movie?

Cabrera: It's hard to choose between all of my darlings, but I rewatch Misery seasonally. 

What settings scare you the most?

Cabrera: Settings where there's a sense of isolation like an abandoned town or wayward ship. 

What's your favorite writing snack?

Cabrera: Dark chocolate-covered mints with a freshly brewed pot of coffee. 

Is there a song that gets you in the horror-writing mood?

Cabrera: I try to avoid listening to music when I write, but Evanescence is never the wrong choice. 

Do you have any rituals before you begin writing?

Cabrera: I like to find a quiet spot and place my phone on silent.

Who is your current favorite author?

Cabrera: How can I choose just one? This might be the scariest question, yet. 

What makes a believable suspect?

Cabrera: A well-created character with plausible motivation. 

Why do you write suspense novels?

Cabrera: I love exploring the human condition without shying away from the unsavory angles. 

What's your favorite banned book?

Cabrera: I don't choose darlings. Instead, I like to read a minimum of one banned book a month while donating to combat ever-expanding book bans. 

As both an author and workshop instructor, Cabrera is an expert in the patterns of the mystery genre, as well as how to employ red herrings and create suspense. For more from Camille Cabrera, sign up for her Zoom master class, Hiding the Body: Writing Horror for Beginners, which will focus on supernatural and psychological scares.

October 23, 2024 at 6:30PM EST