DEENA HELM is a mixed Palestinian-American author, and the USA Today bestselling author of Our Cut of Salt. Her other works can be found in Fikra Magazine and So To Speak. She asks that you, the reader, do everything in your power to resist genocide and deepen your commitment to liberation for all.

I had the opportunity to interview Deena, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself? 

My name is Deena Helm (she/her) and this is my debut! I am mixed Palestinian-American and have grown up visiting Palestine since I was little (my favorite piece of personal lore is that my mom took me to be baptized there almost just after I was born). 

What can you tell us about your book, Our Cut of Salt?

Our Cut of Salt is a novel about a haunted house and the three generations of Palestinian women who are tied to it. As the youngest of the generations, Marina, travels to Haifa for the first time in her life, she learns about the house and why, exactly, it’s haunted. As she begins to dig up the secrets of the past, she becomes sicker and sicker. 

What was the inspiration for it?

I had started being drawn to horror as a way to find some sort of control in a world that didn’t feel like it had any. I went on a bit of a haunted house binge, and the more I read, the more I realized that nowhere did it make more sense for a home to become haunted than in Palestine. 

As a creative, what drew you to the art of storytelling?

I’ve always loved both the telling and the listening of stories. As a kid, I would stay up past my bedtime and read by nightlight. My dad would tell me tons of stories – from books, from his own childhood, from mythologies around the world. There is so much power in being able to step into another place and another person’s life. 

How would you describe your creative process?

Chaotic! Any time I try to set rules for myself (i.e. a set time to write, following an outline, etc.), it always ends up poorly for myself and the story. I have to just see where the story will go, and often this requires a lot of time with it. Sometimes, it feels like a new layer of the story is revealed with each iteration, and the story grows from there. 

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult?

I love revising! Putting the pieces together in an attempt to make them fit just right is so satisfying, and forces me to look at it from all angles. I absolutely love doing it. The most difficult for me is the actual drafting – I’m naturally such an impatient person, and waiting for days to have words on the page is agonizing. It’s often why my very first drafts are incredibly short – I just want something to work with. 

As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

I truly love absurdist theatre. I think the way that it strips back the pageantry and allows for an intimate look at humanity is so brilliant – I love those quiet moments that feel so strange and yet so real at the same time. Theatre in general is a huge inspiration to my character work and the purpose and motivation for everyone in the story. I’m also deeply in love with the works of James Baldwin, Sally Rooney, Simon Jimenez, and many, many more. 

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?

Besides clearly being a former theatre kid, I think it’s always fun to tell people that I studied engineering. There’s such a shock because writing and science are typically seen as such opposing forces, but I think they’re two sides of the same coin. Both require a natural curiosity for the world and a desire to seek it out. 

What advice might you have to give for aspiring storytellers out there?

What you write is valuable. If you have been told that there’s no place for your stories, that’s an insidious lie. There will always be people who want to read and love your stories, and it will be both surprising and transformational. 

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Yes! I will have a second book coming out with Nightfire. I don’t know if I can say too much, but it’s a possession horror. 

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of GeeksOUT?

I read Hungerstone by Kat Dunn earlier this year and it’s been one of my favorites. I also recently read Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi and was astounded by it. 

---

Header Photo Credit Richele Renea Photography