How I Wrote My First Book

I’m a horror writer because I am often intrigued by the concept of what we consider “good” or “bad.” I believe we’re all capable of being the “bad” guy in someone else’s story. Maybe a personal tragedy, a desire for revenge, or some deep-seated trauma bubbles to the surface. One day we’re respectable and blameless, the next we’re hunting down the person that killed our child. It’s all relative. Good people do horrible things for good reasons, while bad people sometimes do good things for bad reasons. Or bad things for good reasons. I had a lot of fun playing around with this concept for my first book, Come Join the Murder.

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Horror also enables me to get close to terrible things without being in any real harm. It’s the less-dangerous form of an adrenaline junkie. There is a French term, “l’appel du vide,” which translates to “the call of the void.” It’s defined as the impulse to hurl yourself into a void, or otherwise cause bodily harm to yourself … and then walking away without doing so. For example, when I’m driving on a high bridge (usually over water), I get a sudden, strong urge to veer to the right and fly off the bridge, soaring downward until I plunge into the water below. Researchers say those who experience “the call of the void” have a great appreciation for life, and it’s a rush to get close to the edge knowing full well that they’ll step back before anything happens. Writing horror gives me a similar feeling. I’m close to that edge; I’m covered in blood, driving off a bridge, or having my own intestines ripped out of me. But I’m not. I’m safely at my computer, tapping away at my keyboard.

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I also like writing horror because there are no rules. It’s one of the only genres where your imagination truly is the limit. Happy endings and moral codes aren’t necessary. I can use my stories to comment on social issues, explore the dregs of society, and conquer my own fears.