I met Denise Tapscott on the Queen Mary during the 2017 StokerCon. She had just published her first novel, a sweeping story that begins as a Romeo and Juliet story and swells into an examination of power, responsibility, and family.

When I mentioned Death’s Garden Revisited to her, she sent me a meditation on American history that encompasses Marie Laveau’s grave in New Orleans, the Whitney Plantation in Edgard, Louisiana, and the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, California.

Officially, California native Denise N. Tapscott left her heart in San Francisco, but somehow left her soul in New Orleans. She recently joined the popular weekly podcast Beef, Wine & Shenanigans with Steven Van Patten, Marc Abbott, and Kirk A. Johnson. She plays sassy vampire “Tasha” on the YouTube web series The Vamps Next Door. As a member of the HWA, she published her first novel Gypsy Kisses and Voodoo Wishes, as well as her short story “The Price of Salvation.” Check out her work at www.denisetapscott.com.

What’s your favorite thing to do in a cemetery?

I like to look at the dates and figure out what the oldest grave is.

Tell me about your favorite cemetery.

My favorite is St. Louis #1 in New Orleans. It has a lot of character.

Is there a cemetery or gravesite you’ve always wanted to visit?

I always wanted to visit Marie Laveau’s two graves (which I did). They were amazing.

What would your epitaph be?

I won’t have one because I’d like my ashes to be added to fireworks.