We’re looking forward to introducing you to A.E. Santana. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning A.E., it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Procrastination makes me lose time. Or worse, run out of time. As a writer, editor, and educator, deadlines are a huge part of my job. I need to stay on track or I’ll be playing catch up for weeks. To keep that from happening, I need to deal with all tasks as they arrive. Doing it later, for me, often translates to not getting it done at all.
When that happens, I need to reset. Resetting includes cleaning out my spaces: physical spaces like my office and virtual and digital spaces like my emails, socials, etc. Resetting also includes scrapping old projects and starting them over from scratch. I have to admit that they weren’t working or were no longer working in their old form. Something new is needed.
Sometimes starting over, starting fresh, is the best way to go forward.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m A.E. Santana, an educator, editor, and author. I write horror and dark fantasy. I also write non-fiction, mostly articles on horror and their connection to social issues and current events. My works often deal with the human condition and the horrors of cultural and societal pressures.
My works can be found in Crawling, Latinx Screams, and other speculative anthologies. I am the moderator for the horror book club, Creepy Story Collective; the co-chair for Horror Writers Association, Colorado; and am on the steering committee for Denver Horror Collective.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was a child, I used to to believe that if I was compliant then I would be well liked. So untrue. Being compliant kept the peace, which I had misconstrued as being liked. I don’t believe that staying quiet is the way to go. If people like me, then they like me — and if they don’t, then they don’t. I can’t control that.
In fact, I have found the opposite to be true. The more I am genuinely myself, the more I find myself surrounded by true friends.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
Stories helped. I got lost in reading stories, listening to people tell stories, and eventually writing my own. Today, I still feel soothed by stories. It’s escapism, for sure, but as a child it was also life saving. In the stories I made up there was a catharsis that happened. I sought out horror stories in particular because those stories dealt with fear and grief, which in turned helped me with my own.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I’d like to think that my closest friends would say that loyalty and trust really matter to me. I need the people who I rely on in my life to give me their trust and be a loyal friend because that is what I give to those who are in my inner circle. I feel that is it exhausting to give that and not have it in return. I think it’s an important part in being a companion of any sort.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would stop not being a cat behavioralist.
I would also stop procrastinating on writing all the stories that are in my head. I have so many that I am excited about sharing with the world, so I should probably get on that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aesantana.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foxflur
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoraesantana
