I’ve been a fan of horror stories since I was young. In fact, when I started buying books, I separated the horror books from all other books when I made my reading list. I have a lottery system where I’ve typed all my book titles onto pages in a Word document, printed the pages, then cut each title into similarly-sized strips. I put these into the proverbial “hat” and draw out titles to read.
For horror novels, when I created my general list of all the books I have, I’ve numbered them. 1. The Nighttime Guy, T. Kenrick; 2. Wolfen, W. Strieber; Ghost House Revenge, C. McNally; and so on. When I finished a book, I’d write that number, using Roman numerals, on each half of a 3×5 index card. One half of the card went between the cover and the first page of the book. The other half went into the plastic bag in which I wrapped the book.
I don’t know why I kept up the numbering system all these decades. I just have. I also made it a point—rarely broken—to read them in the order I obtained them. Just horror. So, on the lottery slips, I have the book title, but I add an asterisk to let me know it’s a horror title and to read the next in order. Currently, I’m up to 1888 in my horror novel collection. However, I’m up to only 1028 in the reading order. I have a ways to go. Lol.
I was interested in writing mystery stories. Throughout the years, I’ve written short horror stories, many of which have been published in the Back Roads Literary Review. I’ve had one novel published Night Shadows, with the latest edition coming out May 16. I have others in this series I’ll be writing and submitting.
How did Night Shadows come about?
I used to work in hospitality. That’s a tactful way of saying I used to be an overnight desk clerk for a Super 8. During many nights, I listened to 1040-WHO radio. From midnight to four a.m., they broadcasted Coast to Coast AM. It’s a show dedicated to the weird, the mysterious, a bit of science, some medical topics, and a lot of other fun stuff. Most of the time, they have guests talking about ghosts, UFOs, monster like the chupacabra, psychics, and other spooky, eerie stuff.
One night, the guest talked about shadow creatures. People have reported shadowy forms hovering over the bed or standing at the foot of the bed or seeing these forms out of second-floor windows. Sometimes the shadows just stand and watch. Sometimes they may sit on the person.
I thought that was absolutely fascinating. My creative mind jumped into gear and asked the question: What if the shadows started killing people?
That’s what you get from working all by yourself all night in a quiet motel on the edge of town. Lol.
From there the story’s plot rolled out before me. I think it’s been the only story where I didn’t have to think too much. Everything popped into my head almost immediately. Characters, order of story, resolution, etc.
I don’t recall how long I took to write the book, but I thought it turned out pretty good. It had to wait until 2009 to be first published as an eBook with Echelon Press. Not too many years later, that house closed and I looked elsewhere. It was picked up for about a year with another publisher and most recently by Black Rose Writing.
Next week, I’ll introduce some of the characters and highlight some plot details.
Sign up for my email and newsletter updates and receive a free first chapter of the book of your choosing.