Meet Donovan Smith of Chandler

Today we’d like to introduce you to Donovan Smith.

Hi Donovan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As a child of the ‘80s, I grew up with television screens, video games, and comic books. Attracted to eclectic characters and larger than life personalities, I found out almost immediately that I had an unfettered imagination. I was always dreaming up new stories and ideas inside my head, I knew at some point I had to find an outlet for them.

From about the age of five or so, I knew I wanted to be an award winning movie director, as well as a martial artist. Having an insane love for fighting and cinema, I knew that it was what I wanted to do. The two avenues go hand in hand and are virtually inseparable, with huge franchises like John Wick, The Matrix, and more, proving the case.

In third grade, some friends and I decide to write our first short story (which I still have), each contributing one paragraph to our action filled fictional tale. Being an avid reader since I could count, it was the first time I had put my wild ideas down in print, and I was instantly hooked. Continuing to write a little more in high school, I produced some dark poetry, which ultimately led me to my love of horror.

Having written numerous things in the past, I decided it was time to start jotting my stories down on paper and I joined a few horror movie review websites (MorbidlyBeautiful.com, PopHorror.com, and BlazingMinds.co.uk) to work on my skills as an writer/author. From there I joined a martial arts dojo (M3 Martial Arts), which helped push me to put in the hard work and follow my dreams. Since joining M3, I have produced a handful of books (including four charity anthologies) and a few award winning short films.

Today I’m an author, an award winning indie filmmaker, and a first degree black belt. I’m currently training to earn my second degree, which I hope to attain in April of 2026. I’m also working on a new book “Monsters In the Dark 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones” which will complete my Monsters In the Dark short story collection trilogy (each of which are available for purchase at Amazon.com and RedCapePublishing.com). That should be released late 2026. I also have a new non-binary 1978 Halloween short slasher fan film parody, which will hopefully be premiering later towards the end of this year.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never been a smooth road. I doubt it is for anyone. But nothing ever came without hardship.

The thing is, every setback is actually a learning curve, which you won’t discover until you reach that platitude and choose to push past it. Getting out of your comfort zone and testing your own limits is exhilarating and eye opening. You never know what you are capable of until you go beyond what you thought was possible.

I’ve faced numerous struggles along the way, from having stories and films rejected countless times, to actual physical injuries that have held me back during my martial arts journey. The key is to always keep pushing forward and to never give up on yourself, no matter how out of reach things might seem at the time. Passion and perseverance really go along way, if you believe in yourself and your self worth.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have written two short horror fiction collections, a children’s book, as well as a novela and four other short horror fiction collections for charity. All proceeds from the charity collections go straight to the aforementioned entities, to which each book is dedicated to. The charity titles can be found on Amazon as well RedCapePublishing.com.

The titles are as follows…

“Out of the Shadows” (benefiting ‘Mulligans Manor’’, a temporary home for at risk LGBTQ+ youths),

“Hot Off the Press” (benefiting ‘fast UK’ – cureangelman.org, a charity helping kids fight angelman syndrome).

“A Night of Misfit Stories” (benefiting Unbridled Pathways, a charity that creates and facilitates Equine Inspired Experiences for individuals and organizations).

And “Another Night of Misfit Stories” (benefiting Unbridled Pathways once more). *This book will release in a couple months, and will also be available on Amazon as well as RedCapePublishing.com.

The children’s book I wrote is titled “The Not Me Ghost” (available on Amazon.com and RedCapePublishing.com) which is about a child who never admits to his mistakes and blames the “Not Me Ghost” for his discrepancies, until he begins having dreams that he is going to disappear if he doesn’t tell the truth, since no one believes what he says any longer.

The two short horror fiction collections I wrote are titled “Monster in the Dark”, and “More Monsters in the Dark”, and they are available on Amazon as well as RedCapePublishing.com. They are the adult versions of the “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” trilogy. I’m currently working on the third installment and hope to have it out sometime late next year. They are all stories passed down generation to generation, and reimagined by myself. They are a mixture of monster and serial killer short stories.

The novella I wrote is titled “Go It Alone”. It’s a science fiction serial killer story about a scientist who loses everything he has, and in turn decides to clone himself and send his clone out to kill those he deems responsible for his tragic decline.

Im also an award winning director, producer, and writer of short films, spanning a range of categories.

My first award winning short film is Called “Grimoire Vol. 1” and is available to watch for free on my YouTube channel. It’s a gritty old school style science fiction fantasy film about a broken lone gunslinger who is tracking the creature responsible for killing his family, with the help of a mysterious grimoire. It was made on a shoestring budget during the Covid pandemic.

The second film I made, “Sorry I’m Late!” is an award winning mental health short, which focuses on the topic of suicide and self harm. It’s a harrowing drama that centers around a man named Xavier who is having the worst day of his life, and he contemplates killing himself. It is also available for free to view on my YouTube channel.

I have two other short films, titled “End of the Line” – an experimental fantasy tribute , and “Shoot It Out” – a comedy western short, which are both currently making their rounds on the film festival circuit. Also, my new non-binary slasher film parody of the 1978 John Carpenter classic “Halloween”, will be premiering sometime later this year.

I’m proud of all of my work and love each and every individual piece I’ve created. What sets me apart from others is my will, determination, and passion for what I do. I do what I do because I love doing it and I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My advice for finding a mentor is to look for someone who enjoys the same things you do. Try to find someone who is willing to share ideas and brainstorm with you. Find someone who is passionate about what they do and is willing to teach and give advice.

I’ve found that the majority of people say they are willing to work together and want to collaborate with others. Yet, when approached, they tend to shy away and are unwilling to help. Unfortunately finding a mentor nowadays is extremely tough, as not many are willing to lend a hand nor pass on what they know to younger generations. That is something I truly hope to see change as time rolls on.

Most of the successful people today were once mentored and taught by someone they looked up to, yet they are unwilling to do the same and pass on their infinite knowledge. That’s why there are so many reimaginings and reboots of stuff today, and not enough original content. We need more creatives who are willing to work together and help advance the future generations of artists.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monstersmith13?igsh=MWJ5YzRiMW11Y2NsMg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CX4t28WcX/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@donovanmonstersmith6342

Image Credits
Elena Thornton, Jim Thornton