chantel pearson

BIO

Chantel Pearson is a Malaysian-Canadian author living on Treaty 7 territory. She writes horror and fantasy that weave Southeast Asian folklore, oral traditions, and a love for the eerie and unexplainable.She is represented by Hannah Todd at Janklow & Nesbit UK, and her debut novel, THE HAUNTING OF GRACE CHEN—a historical gothic horror set in colonial Malaya—has some exciting news on the horizon.

Drawing on her background in anthropology, Chantel explores how culture, faith, and fear shape the stories we tell and the monsters we create. Above all, she wants to take her readers on a rollercoaster ride, crafting stories that will reel them in, keep them guessing, and punch them in the gut. She loves weaving together creeping fear, shocking twists, gut-wrenching heartbreaks and moments of unexpected tenderness.Whether she's breaking hearts, raising goosebumps, or pulling the rug out from beneath her readers, her goal is always the same: to make them feel everything and leave them thinking about the story long after they've turned the final page.

Chantel values clarity, compassion, and collaboration in her mentorships. She’s passionate about helping writers sharpen their emotional core, build confidence in their voice, and craft stories that demand to be read. When she’s not writing, she is probably hiking with her family, baking bread with her loyal sourdough starter Frodough, or trying (and usually failing) to convince her Great Dane that he’s not a lapdog.

MSWL

I’m a sucker for stories that grab me by the gut from the first page and refuse to let go. Give me the books that make me gasp out loud, question everything I thought I knew and fall hopelessly in love with fictional people.

I want to be scared. I want to be surprised. I want my heart ripped out, lovingly handed back to me, and then promptly shattered all over again. Most of all, I want stories that make me feel something.

Genres I’m especially excited about: A quick note before we dive in: If your manuscript doesn’t fit neatly into one particular box, I’m your girl. Genre-benders are my jam! I love stories that blur boundaries and break conventions. So if you’ve written something weird, ambitious, or a little difficult to categorize, please don’t let that stop you. Chances are, that’s exactly the kind of story I’d love to read!

  • YA & Adult Fantasy: From whimsical, cozy worlds to sprawling epic fantasies and everything deliciously in between. I love inventive magic systems, immersive worldbuilding, complicated relationships, and characters forced to make impossible choices.

  • Adult Horror: Gothic, supernatural, psychological, folk, and body horror. Give me creeping dread, unsettling folklore and monsters. I firmly believe that horror is the perfect vessel for social commentary so, I want to hear what you have to say!

  • Adult Thrillers & Mysteries: The twistier, the better! I love unreliable narrators, buried secrets, shocking reveals, and mysteries where the truth comes at a terrible cost.

Things that will immediately catch my attention:

  • Morally grey characters making questionable decisions.

  • Folklore, mythology, and cultural traditions woven into a story.

  • Found families, complicated loyalties, and relationships with real emotional stakes.

  • Characters that feel so real that I want to be friends with them.

  • Romance that makes me kick my feet, scream into a pillow, or contemplate throwing my book across the room.

  • South East Asian representation!

  • Genre-bending stories that aren’t afraid to get weird.

  • Twists that make me want to go back and reread everything to find the clues.

  • Stories that balance darkness with humour, tenderness, or hope.

  • Lady knights!!!

At the end of the day, I’m looking for stories that take risks. Make me uncomfortable. Make me laugh when I probably shouldn’t. Make me fall in love with someone I know is going to break my heart.

Anti-MSWL

  • Space operas and hard sci-fi: I can appreciate them, but they’re not quite my wheelhouse.

  • When the dog dies: Please spare my heart (and the dog).

  • Romance-centric plots: I love a good romance subplot, but I prefer a larger story driving the action. -Miscommunication tropes: I’m an old lady, and I promise I’ll get annoyed.

  • Grimdark for the sake of grimdark: Make me suffer, absolutely, but give that suffering some purpose.

  • Passive protagonists: I love flawed and messy characters, but I want them making choices, even if they’re bad.

  • Love triangles: Occasionally they work for me, but more often than not, I just wonder “whyyyyy?

And, of course, there are exceptions to every rule. If you think you’ve written something that might change my mind, I’m all ears!

Random media that I love:

  • Armageddon (a la Bruce Willis)

  • One Dark Window

  • The Ghost Bride

  • Bat Eater and Other Things They Call Cora Zeng

  • Crimson Peak

  • Noah Kahan

  • The Sixth Sense

  • Obsession

  • Hereditary

  • Carrie