Meet Catlyn Ladd

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Catlyn Ladd. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Catlyn below.

Catlyn, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I faced some pretty intense bullying in middle school, so much so that my parents moved us to a neighboring town so that I could attend a different school. It took me years to recover from those experiences, and I acted out in some pretty self-destructive, attention-seeking ways during high school and college. But I had the good fortune of firstly, having amazing parents who recognized what was happening and who took steps to help me, and secondly, a series of really amazing people who believed in me and weren’t shy about showing me. Friends, teachers, professors, and intimate partners: people who love and support me, and always show up for me. I still have moments of serious self-doubt and anxiety – imposter syndrome – but I developed coping tools to get me through those moments. And I continue to have an amazing network of people who show up for me when I need them. These experiences have taught me that lifting people up is important: recognizing good work, vocalizing support in others, and being there when someone needs me. It’s an ongoing journey but one I am enjoying immensely.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I make a living as a college professor of philosophy, religious studies, and women and gender studies. But I have always wanted to be a writer. It took me a long time – over a decade – to embrace being a horror writer. I’ve always loved horror – I read Pet Sematary by Stephen King when I was nine – but it took me awhile to come around to accepting myself as a genre writer. College teaches us, often implicitly, that genre writing is “fluffy,” and not serious. Or at least that’s the message I internalized! I kept trying to submit my fiction to literary magazines and anthologies and faced a lot of rejection as a result. When I leaned in to being a horror writer, I suddenly started experiencing a lot of success. I have almost twenty short pieces published and my first horror novel, As Those Above Fall, published by Winding Road Stories, hit shelves on September 13, 2024.

Anyone who wants to get a taste of my writing can find lots of examples on my website, www.catlynladd.com.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

For me, I’d say the most important skills are these: being willing to take risks and face rejection, perseverance, and a willingness to work and learn. I have published two books and a whole pile of short work, but I don’t even know how many rejections I’ve received. It feels like hundreds! But I just move on from each one: for every rejection, I try to submit at least two more pieces or send two more queries. This is all rooted in my willingness to take risks and face rejection, and perseverance in the face of failure.

The third trait I listed is a willingness to learn. I am constantly honing my craft. I read a ton, paying attention to character development, prose, dialog, scene building – I take it all in. I am in a writer’s group where I receive feedback on my works in progress. I work with editors as part of the publishing process, and I always learn something about the craft of writing every time I work with an editor. I try to soak it all in and get better all the time.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

Being a creative in the world of the internet and social media is both exhilarating and exhausting. Putting myself out there and doing my part to publicize myself, especially as an introvert, is a constant challenge. The market is so saturated that rising above the rest and vying for an audience is more than a full time job all on its own. There are a lot of readers out there, many who enjoy horror, but connecting with them takes perseverance and a willingness to try new things. Being an author is not only about writing, it’s also about algorithms, networking, and marketing. I’m lucky because I can pay for help with some of this, and I also have a publisher pulling their weight. But it’s still mostly a one woman operation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.catlynladd.com
• Instagram: EclecticAcademic
• Facebook: @catlynladd
• Youtube: @eclecticacademic7890
• Other: TikTok: @eclecticacademic
  Newsletter: https://catlynladd.substack.com

Image Credits

Red duotone image by Robert Linder
Strip Cover photo by Robert Linder
Cover of As Those Above Fall by Rejenne Pavon