If you’re lucky enough to have encountered Dana McSwain over the 18 months since she and her husband Winston moved from Cleveland to Granby, then you’ve been warmed by her radiant smile. Perhaps you’ve seen her walking Simon and Pippi, her standard poodle puppies.
“Why standard poodles?” you may have asked and seen her flash that impish grin. “Have you seen my hair?” she inevitably responds before adding, “They’re athletic, good with children, and a cross between a person and a cat.”
A graduate of Kent State University with degrees in library science and history, McSwain loves to hike, definitely not a pastime associated with bookworms—or with the darkness and horror that permeate her writing. She is personable and an avid scourer of thrift, consignment and antique shops in search of the quality items that comprise her unique personal style.
“In the Midwest, there’s a big culture of re-selling,” McSwain explains. “My grandmother was an excellent seamstress, and I found the rest of what I wore in thrift shops. I love good quality and putting together outfits that express who I am.”
McSwain says that she and Winston never planned to live in Cleveland for the rest of their lives. “When the pandemic hit, both of us worked remotely, and with our son and daughter grown, we wanted to live somewhere new, quiet, remote, beautiful,” she says. “We looked all over Connecticut for a place that is not too far from the coast or from places to hike and that is near an airport because Winston travels for work. Everything we need is within a two-hour drive from Granby.”
An online search turned up the McSwains’ dream home 15 minutes from Bradley International Airport. “The house was perfect, and Granby has an abundance of public land for hiking. Now we can do what we love to do right in our town,” she says.
McSwain’s home abounds with staircases and balconies. Its spacious kitchen, complete with a cozy fireplace, plants, flowers and generous natural light, offers ample room for the large desk upon which she writes and the rose velvet davenport upon which she rests. “I’m a daydreamer, and I read a lot of both fiction and non-fiction,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to have my own office, but I found myself working in the middle of the Cleveland house to be accessible to the kids. Now I could turn a guest room into my office, but I prefer to write in the middle of everything.”
This Dana McSwain is a woman whom few would associate with the one who, when at her computer, inhabits a dark universe of horror, brutality and fear. Her light, beautifully lyrical style provides a chilling contrast to her prose. Chicagoans have dubbed her “The Stephen King of the Midwest.”
Considering her cheerful, outgoing personality, what has drawn McSwain to the dark side in her writing?
“I love gloomy weather,” she says. “November is my favorite month. Give me gale-force winds and sideways rain over a sunny day in June anytime. I love the feeling of being cozy inside while something overwhelming is raging outside. The Gothic style hits on all those levels for me, and because of that, it’s the style of writing that comes naturally to me. It’s just part of who I am.”
McSwain has six published novels to her credit: Winter’s Gambit, Winter’s Roulette, Winter Unscripted, Brennan’s Lament, Bangkok Vengeance and Roseneath, which she describes as “horror with a touch of fantasy.”
Roseneath has won four independent press awards. The Indie Reader Discovery Award panel described the book as “An unsettling psychological terror…. Exactly what horror should be.” Roseneath’s sequel, Relict, is due out in June.
After McSwain worked for a decade on Roseneath, publishers rejected it, claiming “they could never sell a Gothic novel set in Cleveland,” McSwain says. Having already self-published five titles, she formed her own imprint, Webb House Publishing, in 2020 and proceeded to publish Roseneath. Rejection is not in her vocabulary.
“[Roseneath] gained regional popularity, and then pockets of Gothic fiction lovers in Canada, England, Australia and Iceland jumped on board,” she says. “I sent copies to the Frankfurt [Germany] Book Festival, and it was a hit.”
When Covid closed bookstores, McSwain barely blinked. “I had spent years building relationships with bookstore owners, so I designed Covid-friendly events for bookstores to promote Roseneath, and it worked!” she says with a triumphant grin.
McSwain’s “chilling” short story Bus Stop, which she describes as “a foray into noir,” was released in August 2023 as part of the anthology Cleveland Noir, among the newest additions to Akashic Books’ “award-winning series of original noir anthologies.”
In addition to refining and editing Relict, McSwain is working on a memoir cookbook and a science-fiction novel. Asked how she transitions between them, she says, “I hit as many senses as possible, so I have specific music I listen to, a certain scented candle or incense that I burn, and an object that I fiddle with specific to each project. Each set of sensory stimuli helps get my head back into the story I’m writing.”
Considering that Granby is light-years from Cleveland in just about every way, it’s natural to wonder if McSwain is happy with the move.
“I love it here,” she says. “Granby is already inspiring me. Here, it’s a different kind of Gothic, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me with my work.
“I’m amazed at the women I’ve met in Granby who moved here after a life change,” she adds. “What is the pull of Granby for all of these strong, complicated, talented women? I hope we add to this wonderful, friendly community that we have chosen to call home.”
Dana McSwain has donated copies of Roseneath, Winter’s Gambit, Winter’s Roulette and Cleveland Noir to the Granby Public Library. Her books are available in bookstores and on Amazon.com For more information, see danamcswain.com