Hello
Author of fantasy, horror, and magic. Master of my garden. Queen of delicious recipes. Mother of basset hounds.
My Story
Charlotte’s love of writing began with her love of stories, the stories that her mother read to her as a child: Ray Bradbury, Hans Christian Anderson, and Roald Dahl. “I wasn’t sure if it was because they were read to me that I liked them, or I just liked them. Nature, nurture. I’m not sure.” From there, Charlotte discovered the works of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Christopher Moore.
It was the influence of these writers that Charlotte wrote her first serious story, “Emily Bandefut”. She describes the story of “a very strange girl who has a dog that she prefers to spend time with over her friends or family. She prefers to read books in a window, rather than running around with silly kids. It’s very Tim Burton-esque.” Reflection on her childhood self, Zang admits, “If I had been allowed to my devices, I would have been Emily Bandefut.”
However, Charlotte’s real watershed moment, where she knew she wanted to become a writer, was at the inaugural C2-E2, Chicago’s version of a Comic-Con, when they hosted “An Evening with Neil Gaiman.” She says, “He was kind and humble. He gave writing a human quality.”
It was shortly after making her way through every Gaiman book available, that Charlotte began writing her first novel, Satan’s In Your Kitchen, while she was finishing her Master's degree at Columbia College. From there, she completed and self-published her second and most personal novel, Consuming Beauty, which later was adapted by Gantry Productions into a short film. Taking a detour from her fantasy worlds, she dipped into horror for her third novel, which is one of her favorite genres to watch. Blooding speaks to one of her all-time favorite horror tropes, the cult. With hints of witchcraft, secret societies, demonology, and, of course, monsters.
Charlotte is driven by a desire to pass on to others what she received from her inspirations: “I hope to give to people what writers before have given to me, an escape. And sometimes a much-needed one. In your darkest times throughout life, when something bad happens to you, or you lose someone you love, or you have to move as a child- it’s difficult. I want to write something that brings a bit of happiness to someone, that gives them an escape to help them move forward.”
Charlotte was born in Annapolis, MD, grew up in the Midwest, and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with three loyal hounds, an impartial cat, and her very own vampire husband. She is a fan of horror and fantasy and collects journals she’ll never write in. When she’s not writing, she enjoys gardening, cooking, and watching movies.
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