Nzondi (Ace Antonio Hall) is an American urban fantasy and horror writer. His novel Oware Mosaic won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement for Young Adult fiction.
Bram Stoker Award winning press Omnium Gatherum publishes unique dark fantasy, weird fiction and horror in print and eBook formats.
Among Nzondi’s many short stories that were published in anthologies and print magazines, Nzondi’s short story, “Raising Mary: Frankenstein”, was nominated for 2016 horror story of the year for the 19th Annual Editors and Preditors Readers Poll. Additionally, three of his short stories were on the Horror Writers Association Reading list for the 2017 Bram Stoker Awards.
A former Director of Education for NYC schools and the Sylvan Learning Center, the award-winning educator earned a BFA from Long Island University.
FMM: When did your passion to write horror begin?
The first novel I read was Escape From Witch Mountain by Alexander Key. I believe I got it from the book mobile that used to visit our school. After I read that, the spell was cast and I was a card-carrying lifetime member of the horror fan club. Truly, I was always enamored by stories that showed people in situations where fear pushed them into desperate situations. When I was in the second grade, a friend named Johnny Bryant and I used to make monster comic books. Growing up, I watched Scooby Doo, Where Are You!, and a horror show called Creature Features. Films like Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Night of the Living Dead and Godzilla definitely shaped my warped imagination. It was also the combination of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and the Twilight Zone that got me interested in psychological horror and speculative fiction.
Among many of your short stories that were published in anthologies and print magazines, your short story, “Raising Mary: Frankenstein”, was nominated for the 2016 horror story of the year for the 19th Annual Editors and Preditors Readers Poll.
FMM: Tell us about the story.
Dying from a terminal disease, seven-year-old Dresy hires a teenage necromancer to raise her ancestor, Mary Shelly from the dead as a last wish but resurrects instead, a dark secret. As far as storytelling, along with Octavia Butler, Richard Matheson and Stephen King, I’ve been influenced by Stephen Spielberg in that, many of my protagonists are children. In the way that Forest Gump was able to accomplish great deeds and adventures because he simply didn’t know his limitations, or rather he didn’t know what he wasn’t supposed to do, young protagonists often face conflict with the sort of fearlessness that comes with youth and dies when one becomes seasoned with reason and wisdom.
I wanted to write a story that captured the fantastical optimism of children while simultaneously showing the grave unfairness that so many have to endure at such a young age.
FMM: You are the first African American to win a Bram Stoker in a novel category. What does this mean to you?
It’s actually pretty scary. To be honored as the best in the world by the most prestigious horror organization in the multiverse is a pretty big pair of Converses to tie up and walk in, and I am eternally humbled. When a person of my heritage is awarded something so groundbreaking that can possibly open the door for others to walk in, it’s a remarkable honor. Kudos to the Horror Writers Association and the many great authors I’ve met who have encouraged, advised and helped me along the way: Heather Graham, Linda D. Addison, Robert J. Sawyer, Kate Jonez, Charlie Franco, Tony N. Todaro and groups like the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society. I’m eternally grateful to them. I truly would not have made it this far without them! It takes a village—it takes a team.
FMM: Tell us about your recent book, Lipstick Asylum.
My latest novel, Lipstick Asylum (where the dead rise), continues in the alternate universe of my novel, Oware Mosaic. Without giving away the surprise twist, the book is about a group of kids who call themselves the Scream Teens. It’s the classic story of girl meets boy, boy disappears and girl nearly gets over boy and then she dies. Ok, not so classic, I admit. However, when she dies…that’s when she really learns how to live.
FMM: Why will readers be captivated by the main character?
Like me, like so many of my readers, Brooklyn-born Cozy Coleman’s not perfect—far from it. Sometimes, she has to get out of her own way to find growth. All of her life, Cozy has never fit in. As a youth, she was bullied, and adapted a tomboyish attitude once she learned martial arts. Upon reaching adolescence, she was regarded as a freak because of her talent for raising the dead. Also, in Cozy’s mind, both of her parents basically abandoned her, leaving her to face the teenage travesties of life to work out on her own. The way that she navigates through her mental issues, her angst and her gifts allowed for a compelling story.
Lipstick Asylum is available in eBook on all Amazon Kindle Marketplaces Releasing SEPTEMBER 10, 2021.
FMM: How have you evolved as a writer?
I used to focus on the horror and action in my scenes and now I focus on the human condition and complicated relationships between people that come with as many problems as they do pleasure.
FMM: Any movie deals in the works?
I have two different projects being looked at by three different Hollywood production companies to be a TV series and/or film. However, I’m not naïve. A novel can be optioned many times and never get made. I am hopeful that the savvy executive producers that are interested in my stories find the financing they need to get one of my projects greenlit. All of those years being a stand-in on TV productions, to be sitting in video village as the creator for what’s being filmed? That would be a dream-come-true!
FMM: Any filmmaker’s that you would like to work with in 2022?
As far as a filmmaker I’d love to work with, absolutely. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of being a guest on the set of Snowfall. I had such a positive experience that I was invited to the wrap party. I hung out with the directorial team Adil & Bilal (they probably don’t even remember me after the couple of beers we had) but yeah, after seeing what they did for Disney’s Ms. Marvel, it would be cool to have them direct a Cozy Coleman story or a Feeni Xo adventure. Also, I loved working with Jet Wilkinson (First Kill, Jessica Jones, Daredevil) when I was a stand-in at How To Get Away With Murder. She, DeMane Davis & Stephen Cragg are not only visionary directors but great people, too. My frat brother, Carl Seaton, would be an incredible honor to work with, too. Are you kidding? In my experience, many shows have several directors working in a series. Imagine if all of them got a paycheck bringing their genius to my future projects? One word: spectacular.
FMM: What’s next?
I’m completing my next novel, and am optimistic that readers will love this story more than any I’ve written, yet. It’s a cauldron brew of horror and science fiction. Thanks for the interview. Great questions and boy, what an honor. I’m truly excited to be a part of the Formidable Men legacy!
More information about Nzondi can be found here:
Website: www.aantoniohall.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/Nzondi3
Instagram: www.instagram.com/aceantoniohall/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ace.antoniohall.1
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Nzondi/e/B0829F7667/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
