I had the good fortune to meet Mandy DeGeit (pronounced de-gate) at KillerCon 4 in Las Vegas. A force of nature in a tank top, she’s one person that does not blend into the background.

Mandy, a new author on the dark fiction/horror scene, is currently known as the woman who spoke up after having one of her stories butchered by an editor. Her lament ended up getting tweeted by Neil Gaiman, shoving Mandy firmly into the spotlight in front of tens of thousands of readers.

I’ve heard folks jealously talking about Mandy getting lucky by a stroke of (Neil-generated) lightning hitting her career and her brand. A lesser person would fold under the weight of so many eyeballs focusing on them.

I had a couple of conversations with Mandy at KillerCon 4, and I was quite pleased with the new Canadian writer. She actually “gets it”, and understands that she was blessed with instant name recognition. Mandy is dedicated to improving her craft. She has several stories in anthologies, and anticipates having many more in the next year. Mandy intends on having name recognition for her work, long after the spotlight fades from Neil Gaiman’s Tweet.

During KillerCon, Mandy had a Sunday morning reading. She read two short stories, both of which were well received by the audience. Mandy noted she was surprised how many people turned up for her reading, and she had time to spare at the conclusion to performing her two flash fiction pieces. She kidded around with the crowd with her self-depricating humor, and left a lasting impression. I think we’re going to see great things from Mandy DeGeit in the future.