An Interview with H.M. Dailey

Heather Dailey-Mezzacappa is an artist, author, beekeeper, and curious tinkerer. She enjoys combining traditional art media with technology in much of her work, using one to enhance the other. Her skill for bringing ideas from the digital world into the tactile world and vice versa is something she prides herself on greatly.

Many of Heather’s works focus on her decades-long interest in insects of all kinds. Although she chose a career in art, the wonders of nature have always fascinated her. Insects inspire her curiosity and stir her imagination, not just because of their myriad colors and forms, but also because she sees them as amazing creatures capable of doing astounding things humans could only dream of. To her they are giants of the animal world. More recently, she shifted her subject matter from insects to seashells and flowers, further exploring the amazing world of nature.

The scope of Heather’s artistic endeavors is ever evolving and includes painting, character creation, storytelling, illustration, animation, and 3D printing. She is the author and illustrator of three children’s books: Fiona’s Friends to the Rescue, The Adventures of Gerry the Grasshopper, and The Tale of the Fox and the Cricket.

As a thought experiment in blending her background in both fine art and writing, she also compiled a book based on sculptural figures, art, and rhythmic stories called Curious Creatures and Fairy Tales. This series was based on eight mixed media figures she created. Heather turned one of these characters called The Dandy into an animated short which was featured in the New Haven International Film Festival and the 401 Film Fest, both in 2019. In 2022, she produced another animated short based on one of her more sinister character called Ganth, which was screened at the Jersey Devil Film Festival and the Happenstance Horror Fest.

In addition, she self-published Fluff and Nonsense – a book based on a set of felt figures she calls Cuckoobean Pals, who have their own Instagram page.

Most recently (under the name H.M. Dailey), she wrote and illustrated a collection of short stories called Thirteen Twisted Tales, which all feature female main characters. While it is somewhat of a departure from her typical use of animals as her central subjects, animals do appear in several of the stories.

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What inspired you to start writing this book?

Up until the time I started Thirteen Twisted Tales, I had primarily been writing stories for children, with the exception of my Curious Creatures and Fairy Tales collection, which was geared toward older readers. I was in the process of completing my book Fiona’s Friends to the Rescue and thinking of what I would do next (because I always need new projects!).

I watch a lot of movies and series, especially horror and psychological thrillers, and one day, I watched the film Yella by Christian Petzold. The story has a twist similar to The Sixth Sense but presented in a more subtle way. I became fascinated with the theme of ‘dead people not knowing they’re dead’ and having a female as the central character and wrote a story of my own. A few months later, I wrote another short story for an online writing competition, which didn’t make it into Thirteen Twisted Tales but moved me along the path to writing the other stories. I began to draw inspiration from numerous films and shows I’d been enjoying for decades, and I discovered how much I enjoyed writing for a more adult audience. It gave me some freedom to use a voice I couldn’t really use in the children’s books. I wrote a few more stories and then kept going until I had thirteen of them!

Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Coming up with a title was difficult. Of course, you want to get it just right and make sure it reflects the content. I tried many different ideas before deciding on Thirteen Twisted Tales. I felt this was descriptive enough and not so cryptic that readers wouldn’t know what to expect. It was more difficult to title each of the thirteen stories: there were two or three that didn’t have titles until after the book did.

Describe your dream book cover.

My dream cover would probably be a modern take on nearly any Caspar David Friedrich painting. I love the eerie, mysterious quality of his work and his use of few or solitary figures. That type of visual with a humorous or absurd element would pair well with my writing style.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

These are the songs I think would make a fitting soundtrack for my book! There is one for each story, and the list corresponds to the order of the stories in the book.

Dear Prudence – Siouxsie and the Banshees

Planet – The Sugarcubes

Reptile – The Church

Garlands – Cocteau Twins

No Motion – Dif Juz

I Wanna Be Adored – Raveonettes

Shadow – Chromatics

All of Me – Billie Holiday

Girls on Film (Making Patterns Rhyme version) – Soko

Great Spangled Fritillary – Cocteau Twins

Undertow – Lush

Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004: IV. Gigue – Johann Sebastian Bach

Where Is My Mind? – The Pixies

What books are you reading (for research or comfort) as you continue the writing process?

I gravitate to fiction when I choose books to read, and mainly I just love an engaging story, whether it’s drama, horror, humor, or historical fiction. I finally read Bram Stoker’s Dracula for the first time and am currently reading Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele, as well as The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I have a degree in fine art, which is my first love, but I have worked my entire professional career as a graphic designer. I’ve worked in many industries, from government contracting to publishing, and along the way I’ve acquired many skills that have enabled me to get to the point where I am today. I feel fortunate that I can create books that completely reflect my own vision: from writing to illustrating to layout to promotions to creating related merchandise.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I started writing on a more consistent basis about a decade or so ago when I came across writings from my great grandfather Alfred. Although I never met him, his wit and charm were apparent in his stories, some of which were true tales, some fabricated. He frequently submitted works to Reader’s Digest and seemed to have a knack for ‘spinning a yarn.’ I felt a connection to him through his writing.

My other primary influences came from film and television. I am a huge fan of Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone. I remember watching the show at a young age, and I still love it today. His storytelling was so insightful, and his themes still resonate today. Another visionary I admire is Jim Henson, whose imagination seemed limitless. The Dark Crystal is one of my favorite movies, and the world he created was simply magical. David Lynch is one other creator I am fond of. His work definitely veers toward the darker side, but that is part of why I find his work appealing. Everything in his world is sugar-sweet on the surface with a sinister underbelly. He was a true master of evoking feelings of unease.

Where is your favorite place to write?

I do prefer to write at home, but I have tried to train myself to write just about anywhere under any conditions, quiet or loud! I try to resist the notion that writers should set aside specific time blocks to focus on writing. If I thought like that, I would never carve out any time to write. All my stories before Thirteen Twisted Tales were written the old-fashioned way: pencil to paper.

In order to accommodate multiple stories with different themes, I needed my process to be a little different this time and to allow myself to jot down ideas quickly and easily as they came to me. So, for this collection, I wrote every story using the notepad app on my phone. When a thought for a character or bit of dialogue hit me, I would type it out and build an outline for each story and go back to finetune and edit whenever and wherever I chose.

What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?

My writing journey began much earlier than I realized. I had written and illustrated a book a few years after college, but because I thought of myself as only a visual artist, I didn’t pursue writing until much more recently. If I could go back, I would tell my past self to be more open about my path as an artist and not to confine myself to expressing myself visually. Writing has given my creativity ‘extra layers,’ more dimension, and I feel like I am growing as an artist now more than ever.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

I hope that readers appreciate my dark humor and find the stories clever and surprising.

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