Meet Marissa Yarrow | Horror author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marissa Yarrow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marissa, how do you think about risk?
If I hadn’t taken a risk, I never would have tried writing my first novel. Everything about writing and publishing is a risk. There’s the risk that people won’t like your work, there’s the risk that you’ll spend time working on something you don’t even like, there’s a risk that you’ll lose money trying to succeed. The great thing about all of these risks, I’ve found, is that they won’t kill you. My first novel, which I self-published (there’s another risk!), is either loved or hated by the people who read it, and there’s really no in between. My first year of writing, I definitely lost money, and I sent manuscripts to people who only sent back rejections. Yet, I live to write about it. I’m lucky that I have a supportive husband who keeps me motivated and helps keep a roof over our heads so that money isn’t as big of an issue and the journey I’m taking continues to be worth the risk.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a Colorado author, through and through. All of my stories take place in Colorado, or have a tie-in to my imaginary Colorado town, which is placed just west of Larkspur. I’m a paranormal horror writer, but my setting gives all of my stories some grounding in this reality, or at least a reality which is very close to ours.

I got where I am by choosing to take a leap of faith and just go for writing. I’ve had a tendency towards story writing since I was very young, and during the pandemic I decided to write my first book. I wrote some romance books under my romance pen name, and I self-published my first horror novel, there it is again. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but I think that my journey as an author is just getting started. Since publishing, I’ve found other author friends to bounce ideas off, and I’ve joined a number of critique groups that not only make me a better writer, but inspire me every month with the new material I get to read and critique.

That being said, I do have another novel that I’m working on, and this time I’m hoping to find an agent to help me publish traditionally.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m from Colorado Springs, so I’ll name some of my favorite places here.

Given a week in the Springs, I’d show a friend Garden of the Gods the first day for hiking and scenic drives, and then take them to Trinity Brewing Company for some brews and food. The next day we’d take a walk around Manitou and I’d show them the springs there, the parks, and the arcade, and then we’d get food at Adam’s Mountain Cafe. After that, we’d take a hike near Seven Falls and replenish ourselves at The Burrowing Owl. For our day downtown, we’d wait until the heat of the day has passed and spend time downtown looking at the bookstores on Tejon: Poor Richard’s, Hooked on Books, and the Tattered Cover Bookstore. For dinner, we’d get some personal pizza at Bambino’s and then we’d finish the night at The Rabbit Hole for drinks.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to thank my husband and all my close friends, as well as my peers and critique partners in the Pikes Peak Writers Association, the Denver Horror Collective, and the Horror Writers Association.

Website: marissayarrow.wordpress.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marissayarrowauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwinSprings4evr

Image Credits
Murder on the Mesa and To Give and Receive credit: InfiniteForests