Dragon Soul Press took the opportunity to interview Bernardo Villela, an author featured in The Fear Doctor: Volume One.

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1) Introduce yourself!

My name is Bernardo Villela, I’ve had short fiction included in periodicals such as LatineLit, Penumbra Online and Horror Tree, and in anthologies such as We Deserve to Exist, Enchanted Entrapments and There’s More of Us Than You Know. I’ve also published both original poetry and translations.

2) What prompted you to begin writing?

My husband once said that I am a filmmaker by training and writer by compulsion, and I feel that’s the most accurate answer. Regardless of form, writing is always something I’ve felt compelled to do. It’s almost beyond my control.

3) Do you have a favorite story or poem you’ve written? What’s it about?

If I have to pick a single favorite, I like many writers would be unable to. I think that “The Corpse Bell” which was published by The Coffin Bell Journal was a blast to write, though. All the events fell into place one after the other and it pulled together horror, post-apocalyptic and religious themes well. It tells the story of a boy fascinated by antiquity and old artifacts, the practice of bell-ringing in general. He seeks one out and it’s a far more harrowing journey than he expects.

4) How many projects do you have planned over the next few years? Tell us about one.

Planned projects are always myriad, but I do want to assemble a collection, or collections of short
stories, to publish. And publish more poetry translations (Portuguese to English).

5) What is your writing process like?

One of the most invigorating aspects of writing is that there are times when the work demands a unique approach to the process. One thing that has been fairly consistent over the past few years is beginning with pencil and paper and then typing later. Computers are great editing tools and the Internet is fantastic for conducting research but terrible for maintaining focus. Pencil (or pen) was how I started and I came back to it after reading an introduction by Joe Hill about his process had evolved.

6) Where do you draw inspiration from?

The boring answer is from everywhere. But what that truly means is sometimes ideas come from the most unexpected places, all of a sudden. Sometimes I seek them out very purposefully following common themes like Brazilian folklore or fear of death.

7) Who is your favorite author / what is your favorite book?

My favorite writer is Stephen King who drew me to the genre for good and helped me embrace the cathartic side of fear and own up to the fact that it’s unavoidable, so you might as well try to exorcise it.

8) What is one goal you have for your writing future?

To write and polish some longer works and get them published.

9) What do you hope readers enjoy most from your work?

I hope they enjoy the diversity of my works. While I keep mostly to horror fiction, I do find a lot of latitude within the genre and can take different approaches. However, by writing both short fiction and poetry I do find opportunities to do things that are quite disparate from time to time.

10) Where can readers learn more about you?

You can read more of my work on LinkTree. You can find me on Instagram and Threads.