Joan De La Haye and Death Express #guest

Today we welcome South African author Joan De La Haye, one of the contributors to this year's anthology. So, Joan, tell us a little about yourself?

Joan De La Haye

JDLH: I'm one of the very few South African authors living in Pretoria. Most SA authors seem to live in Johannesburg or Cape Town, heaven only knows why. My focus as a writer is predominantly on horror, but I have been known to also write some very twisted thrillers. I also spent most of my childhood living in Germany and Austria, beautiful countries. My writing tends to be rather dark and my sick and twisted sense of humour has a habit of making it's way into my stories.

Tell us a little about the background of your story.

JDLH: I wrote it quite a long time before I heard about the Bloody Parchment anthology. The story sat on my laptop waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. It was rather patient with me, I have to say. I wrote it just after I got divorced, which is probably why it's so dark. Anyway ... the story is about a couple who go to an amusement park in Johannesburg. They go on a scary new ride that no one will talk about and scary things happen.

Are there any interesting anecdotes relating to its creation?

JDLH: I wrote it shortly after I'd had a conversation with a woman who'd had an affair with a married man. What got to me, was the woman's absolute stupidity in thinking that the guy was going to leave his wife for her and that they would live happily ever after. I got home and Death Express was born.

What do you like about horror as a genre?

JDLH: I love that there are no hard and fast rules in horror. I can let my dark side out to play and that is rather liberating and lots of fun.

What scares you?

JDLH: Stupidity! And the thought of being burnt alive.

Where can people find you online?

I can be found on my blog: http://joandelahaye.wordpress.com/
And Twitter: http://twitter.com/JoanDeLaHaye

This year's competition submission deadline is October 31. Find out more about the submission guidelines and this year's anthology here.