I was never the kid who read lots of books. I was never the kid who read—full stop. My writing passion struck me as much by surprise as it still does my friends. It is fair to say that my writing genesis is not your typical tale.
In school, I was an A* student, except in English. I just didn’t care about English. What was the point of analysing religious imagery in The Old Man and the Sea? No, I wanted to do something worthwhile, like designing the craft that would take mankind to the stars. So, where am I 15 years later? I am an Aerospace Engineer designing conceptual air vehicles… by day, and writing novels, by night.
My sixteen-year-old self would be very confused by that last bit. Now you might expect this science nerd to say that he writes Science Fiction—but no. I write Horror and Dark Fantasy. Wonderfully dark and devious stuff too.
After I left school, I began travelling. There’s nothing quite like turning up in Guatemala or Colombia or India on your own without knowing where you’re going to stay. I love the adventure that comes with stepping into the unknown. I started taking books on the trips too, typically something by Clive Cussler or Barbara Erskine.
There were those mythical moments when the book “had” me. That feeling of awe then fuelled my own explorations. But that feeling was so fleeting, so rare, and ultimately, the books disappointed. I would read another when I got home to build up excitement before my next adventure. That was when I read ‘Crocodile On The Sandbank’ by Elizabeth Peters. The reviews were rave. Yet, I hated it!
I didn’t know it then, but this was the first sign that I would become a writer. What was burning within me was frustration. I’d sampled the brilliance of books, but the books that I wanted to read just didn’t seem to be out there. That put me off reading for a while, then I tried a different type of story, a horror story, by H. P. Lovecraft. This I loved!
One of the first short stories that I read was ‘The Statement of Randolph Carter’. It had the adventure associated with a man entering a newly discovered tomb, but the story was different. The pages oozed mystery and atmosphere and dread, and it didn’t conform with your template story and Hollywood ending. I read another short story and another… They inspired me to ask myself a question: could I write something like this?
So, I was thinking about writing a story, and surprisingly, a flurry of ideas came to me. I was drawing from so many sources of inspiration, and after several weeks of thinking on it, a tale formed clearly in my mind. I hadn’t even written a word, yet I was supremely excited about it. It takes a lot to get me that excited too.
The first night that I sat down to write, I only wrote a paragraph in about two hours. I was proud of my one paragraph, and I’d enjoyed crafting it. Now, I only had another 1000 or so paragraphs to go. It won’t come as a surprise, given my introduction, to say that I had a steep learning curve, but I found the motivation to put in the hard work easy to come by. And this was before the coronavirus pandemic made indoor hobbies a necessity.
Right now, I am proud to say that my debut novel—a gothic ghost story—is in the hands of a professional editor. I have truly written one of the tales that I wanted to read and believe many others will too. But this is not my only writing project: a poem I wrote about a haunted settlement in the mountains is set to become a short film; a novella set in a 1920s guest house is next in line to be edited; and I am actively writing a second novel that brings the fear of witches and beasts back to the modern world.
I strive to create that spark of excitement that only a great mystery can deliver. I also want the reader to attain that sense of adventure, of discovering something new, something never before seen. And as with all exploration, there is wonder and there is dread. In essence, I want my stories to be like unearthing a hidden chest. Inside you may find treasure, or it may be a dastardly booby-trap that impales you through the heart.
I hope to have lots to announce soon. And If I’ve stirred your intrigue, please join my email list so that you may be the first to open the chest.
N. P.
