Obsession
A few readers have reached out to me regarding my debut horror story, Obsession. From asking me what influenced the story to just what the hell was going on. I have broken this down into a few bullet points which may be of interest.
OVERVIEW
Obsession is a dark psychological horror which explores the insidious nature of a deranged mind. The main character observes a terrible occurrence, and this causes a strange compulsion to consume every fibre of his being. Consequently, he becomes fixated on the obsessive desires which have floated up to the surface of his sanity.
WRITING PROCESS
I started writing Obsession in February 2022. I was in a bit of a slump, editing through some other stories and decided just to sit down and write something from scratch. My idea began with the premise of a protagonist reacting quite strangely to the murder of someone in the local area. I had no ending in mind and just began to write.
It was one of those stories that seemed to unfold naturally, and I became utterly absorbed in the world I was creating. Consequently, it took me around 10 hours in total to complete the first draft.
PERSPECTIVE
Obsession is written from the perspective of a deranged individual who perceives that he is entirely normal and that his recollection is one of a sane person. The book is written with that in mind, to try and allow the reader to step inside this world and experience it for themselves. I also wanted to make it as uncomfortable as possible to read, something which caused a few readers to put the book down after a few pages.
INFLUENCE
The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe). An absolute classic piece of work, which I highly recommend you check out.
The Greek Myth of Oedipus (Play). Oedipus blinds himself as a symbol of self-realisation and insight. It is ironic because he chooses to be physically blind after seeing everything he has done. Figuratively blind throughout the play; his response is to actually blind himself as punishment for his deeds.
ENDING
I love the ending of this book, and I would say that 90 per cent of readers will agree on the one intentional ending. I have decided not to elaborate on this any further. To me, the ending is very clear, but there have been a few readers that have perceived a different angle to the story, and that is fine.
FEEDBACK
Although short at 29 pages, feedback has been very kind for Obsession on various platforms. This was the first book in which I finally began to find my writing style.
LEARNING POINTS:
Obsession wasn’t proofread or edited. This was my conscious decision, as I felt this story had to be slightly imperfect. I believe this was the right choice; However, from now on, I will always send my books to a few Beta Readers, who have proven to be an essential part of the process. A story may read fine to you as the author but may not flow very well to others, and it's all about keeping the readers reading at the end of the day.
WHAT NEXT FOR OBSESSION?
Obsession will eventually become one of the stories in my future horror anthology collection.
SOME THINGS YOU WILL NOT HAVE NOTICED…YET
The coffee shop Nuts about Coffee also appears in my Novella See You Later.
The reason for the lights not working in the park can be found in See You Later.
NOTE: Other than these ‘coincidences’, See You Later is not linked with Obsession and is a separate stand-alone story.
A SHOUT OUT TO READERS:
A massive thank you to those who have read this book. As an independent author, reviews really do make a difference. If you have read and enjoyed this book, please leave a short review on Goodreads or Amazon. This really helps to boost an author's profile and makes a massive difference in terms of sales.
WHERE CAN I READ OBSESSION?
You can either buy the story on Amazon or Smashwords. Otherwise, I am excited to share that Dr Creepen has narrated this story on his fantastic YouTube channel, so I highly recommend checking that out. And it's completely free, so subscribe and share.