Yasmin Angoe’s first novel, Her Name Is Knight, was all over the best-of and most-anticipated lists when it came out. The book features an “elite assassin heroine on a mission to topple a human trafficking ring and avenge her family.” Kirkus Review called it, “A parable of reclaiming personal and tribal identity by seizing power at all costs.” Now she’s got the second book in the series, They Come At Knight, releasing in a few weeks, so you have time to catch up if you haven’t yet read the first!
In the meantime, I am excited to hear all she has to say about the stuff she finds scary. Let’s do this!
What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is waking up one day and having no story to tell. Sounds dumb or like something a writer would say, but I really mean it. It’s probably why I obsess so much about the stories I am telling.
What are your phobias?
I have a phobia of spiders and clusters of bubbles or holes. Just writing it freaks me out. Ick!
What is your favorite urban legend (or one that’s really stuck with you/freaked you out)?
That would be Bloody Mary, I think. Or any story where if you repeat a name it comes to get you.
What is your greatest fear as a writer?
What scares me most is writing something that people will hate. Like, the story just flops. That’s terrifying.
Do you have any horror movie dealbreakers?
I used to be scared to read/watch movies with the devil or possessions. I thought those could hit too close to home, being Catholic and all. LOL.
What’s the scariest book you’ve ever read? Is there a particular scene that really haunts you still?
It would have to be Stephen King’s IT. The second would be Paul Tremblay’s Head Full of Ghosts. And then My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix…the latter two, you can see why they scared me by reading my response to the previous question.
What’s scarier: attics or basements? Why?
Basements. I don’t want to be below or underneath anything and then have something scary happen there on top of that? No way.
If you HAD to live through/experience one of Stephen King’s novels or stories, which one would you pick and why?
Too many. Stephen King is one of my favorite writers of all time. I would want to live through one of his milder books, because I’m too chicken—lol, probably The Outsider or maybe The Institute.
Yasmin Angoe is the author of the award nominated thriller Her Name Is Knight, the first book in the Nena Knight series, and a freelance editor. She is a first-generation Ghanaian American, former English teacher, and the recipient of the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging Writers of Color from Sisters in Crime. Her Name Is Knight was an Amazon Best Book of the Month for mystery, thriller and suspense, and is an Editor’s Pick. Yasmin is a nominee for the 2022 Anthony Awards for Best First Book, the Silver Falchion Award for Best Thriller, and the AAMBC Awards for Debut Author of the Year. Yasmin’s work has received numerous recognitions, Best Of lists, and a Library Journal starred review. Her Name Is Knight has appeared in OprahDaily.com, POPSUGAR, Nerd Daily, the Washington Independent Review of Books, The Guardian, and other platforms. Yasmin’s second book, They Come At Knight, comes out September 13, 2022.