SEE YOU LATER

SEE YOU LATER

I wrote See You Later during the COVID pandemic. The story was buzzing around in my head for several years before this, along with another (Fear of the Devil), but my previous career made it impossible even to consider putting pen to paper. The original draft of See You Later was my first completed story since leaving school many moons ago.

In this blog, I will review and analyse this story to see how it has aged, consider whether there is anything I would change, and generally share my thoughts. All in the spirit of celebrating the book birthday of my latest horror tale, RED, later this month.

REVIEWERS BLOG

A huge thank you to Debbie for this review, which perfectly sums up the concept of See You Later. 

“Think of your subconscious as a basement. Now imagine you're walking into that basement one stormy evening, turning on the lights, and realizing the scary shadows you locked inside aren't there anymore. Wouldn't that feel so damn liberating? 
Every part we disown within us turns against us. Past traumas and guilt aren't to be ignored. That's why shadow work is essential - to thread fearlessly at the brilliant abode of the dark, to the great unseen, before it is too late. 
In See You Later, 𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙡 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙣's mesmerizing writing will take you on a haunting journey to the infinity of darkness into the wastelands of phantoms lost, to a place beyond this realm. This suspenseful, beautifully written novella explores a waterless stream of fear and the horrific monsters the past and ignored trauma can give birth to - the demons of the night. They can not be laid to rest forever. 
Don't miss this journey.”

OVERVIEW

See You Later is written from the perspective of an individual who has had to deal with a certain degree of trauma throughout his short life. This trauma began in childhood, and while searching for respite from his demons, he discovered a way to detach himself from reality. See You Later is a fictional reflection on genuine events and circumstances. 

Having suffered from sleep paralysis for much of my life, I wanted to create a world where I could explore the deeper recesses of the perceived encounter. Although I have researched this subject exhaustively, I have drawn on my own experience to describe the mechanisms of this often terrifying sensation.

See You Later shares various links with Obsession through one or two ‘easter eggs.’ 

RECEPTION 

On Goodreads, See You Later currently has 12 ratings and six reviews, with an average score of 4.58.

On Amazon, See You Later has five ratings, with an average of 4.4 

See You Later is my most unread story, and although I can blame this on poor marketing, maybe most readers simply enjoy my psychological horror tales more than this supernatural horror,

MY HONEST THOUGHTS

I thoroughly enjoyed my recent read-through of See You Later in paperback format. Although I love the story because it is one close to my heart, I have learned a few things from writing it.

As it is based on actual events, I wanted to incorporate as many childhood memories as possible. This placed undue pressure on the writing, and I was forced to make do with the locations I had cornered myself with. That said, I feel that the scenery and normality of city life actually worked to amplify the sense of dread I wanted to create in this story.

This was the first complete story I wrote, so I made some huge mistakes. See You Later was a mess when I rewrote it after two years, and the editing process was agonising! A massive shout-out to Silja Evelyn for all her help with restructuring this one! From now on, I will always send my stories to beta readers, and my fingers are always crossed that Silja has room in her diary to assist with more of my work!

Overall, See You Later (hopefully) showcases my potential as a supernatural horror writer, and I will undoubtedly consider writing more stories in this genre in the future.

WHAT NEXT?

See You Later has suffered the poorest sales of all my work. When I released this one, I already had some success with my two psychological horror stories, Obsession and Pact. Maybe readers who enjoyed my first two stories expected that See You Later would be a similar read… or maybe I just need to promote it more. Either way, I would love to know your thoughts on my supernatural horror story.

IN CLOSING

I would love to see this story reach more readers. I love writing in this genre, and I have many more stories like this to create.

Yours in horror,

Daniel Lorn

Yours in horror,

Daniel Lorn