Firstly, forgive my lack of an authentic author pic, but my desire to get the website up and running overshadowed my ability to find something suitable. I will do my best to get something more - 'authentic' - up soon.

As a child, I had a deep crush on stories and storytelling. I was lucky enough to have a second-hand bookstore within walking distance of my home, and I would wander down there with every spare bit of change I could to bring home some new comic or novel. I loved to get lost in a story, to escape reality and roam worlds of adventure. Fantasy, Sci-Fi and adventure were my staples, but it was the darker realms of fiction that really captured my imagination. Monsters, spirits, psychopaths - anything to do with horror I devoured with glee.

No surprise then, when my first major creative writing piece at school was a horror story. And the moment I got the first "ewww" from my classmates, I was hooked! It has long since be my desire to write, to share my imaginings with others who appreciate delving into the darker side of life from time to time.

And so ... here I am.

Writing Fiction

I remember reading somewhere (I can't think of where, but I'll find it!) the thoughts of a well known horror writer (it may have been Mr King) who was talking about why horror writers do what they do. It went something like this (apologies to those who know the piece - particularly if you were the one who wrote it! - for any inaccuracies):

Imagine you're in the morgue. A gurney with a sheet over it stands in front of you. There's a vaguely human shape under the sheet. Most people get a secret thrill from wondering what's under the sheet. They wouldn't dare peek under there themselves, but they're quite happy to let their imaginations run wild. The horror writer dares to peek. They'll take your hand, tell you it's ok and that your safe, and then show you what's under there.

For the most part, that's what I like to write, what I try to write, and what I hope comes across in my stories. I like to peek under the sheet, and bring it out for all to see. I like that because it challenges us, our way of thinking, our understanding of things. I like to challenge the concept of what's "normal". To take things that are strange or unfamliar, or that would normally be construed as horrific, and twist, shove, squeeze them into the "normal" mold. To make the reader wonder why they feel good about something in a story that, if they read it in a newspaper, should make them feel awful.

And then sometimes, I like to get back to the idea that a story can be told just for some plain good ol' fashioned fun. No particular depth, no overwhelming thought processes, no late night can't-get-to-sleep-for-thinking-about-it analyses required. Just a story, that you enjoy for the moment for what it is. Storytelling - story reading - after all, should be enjoyable, should it not? Surely every story doesn't have to mine the depths of human intellect. I think really short fiction (< 3000 words) in particular lends itself very well to that concept.

The website is a work in progress.

Unfortunately, I'm not by any measure a website designer, so please forgive any "interesting errors" you may encounter on your visit.

I am working with people to improve the website, and will be making regular updates.