Daniel Lorn's Blog, page 3

OBSESSION

In the run-up to the book Birthday of my latest release, RED, I decided to review and analyse my stories to see how they have aged, consider if there is anything I would change, and generally share my thoughts. First, we have my debut release, Obsession…

REVIEWERS BLOG

A huge thank you to Fiza Pathan for taking the time to leave this review.

‘Obsession’ by exemplary horror writer Daniel Lorn is a short story that speaks to the lurking demon within us. Sometimes, it surfaces and enters our otherwise mundane lives, but most of the time, it lies hidden beneath layers of conscious and unconscious social conditioning. Daniel Lorn, through his deluded protagonist, brings alive this aspect in ‘Obsession’, which is inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe classic ‘Tell-Tale Heart’.

THE BACKGROUND OF OBSESSION

While struggling to finish my first novel (it’s still not finished), I tried to eliminate my writer’s block by crafting a new story. I had the seed of the idea but wasn’t quite sure where I wanted to go with it, so… I just went with it!

Instead of encouraging a jump-start of momentum for me to complete my novel… Obsession swiftly blossomed into life. The story's atmosphere excited me, and I knew I had stumbled upon a writing style I was finally comfortable with.

I wrote the first draft of Obsession in just a few hours, then spent a week editing it, as I just loved the concept of the story and couldn’t wait to see if I would find any readers.

I released Obsession in April 2022. 

RECEPTION

On Goodreads, Obsession currently has 37 ratings and 19 reviews, with an average score of 4.16.

On Amazon, Obsession has 19 ratings, with an average of 4.2.

Obsession (an earlier draft) has over 20,000 views on the fantastic Dr Creepens YouTube channel.

Overall, this is a story most reviewers enjoy, and I am glad I went with this as my debut release.

MY HONEST THOUGHTS 

I read through Obsession recently and was tempted (significantly) to tighten up a few areas, but I decided against that. I love the story's atmosphere, and if I were to make any changes, I would probably need to completely rewrite the whole thing and risk losing the story's original voice. My writing has improved since releasing Obsession two years ago, and I value having this story out there as an imperfect gateway into my world of horror. If you enjoy it, there is a high chance you will love my other work.

WHAT NEXT?

Although Obsession is a stand-alone story, I have plenty more psychological horror stories planned in this particular style. I would love to see Obsession reach 50 ratings on Amazon and Goodreads, and this would be a mind-blowing achievement for me.

IN CLOSING

In closing, I am blown away by the average score of 4.2 for Obsession. I will always encourage new readers to check this out first, as it is a perfect introduction to my work.

If you want to know anything else about this story, please feel free to get in touch.

Follow Me Into The Darkness Contact Me

Yours in horror,

Daniel Lorn

JANUARY COMPLETED!

It feels like January has lasted particularly long this year, but the crazy weather and long nights have granted me the perfect conditions to get on with some writing. 

SINS OF THE WRONGED

This is confirmed as my next release and is currently simmering at around 27,000 words, which works perfectly for this disturbing psychological horror. It’s been a long slog, but I look forward to sharing some ARCs soon. I will have a promo video for SOTW at the end of February, but the story won’t be released until I feel it is ready. Although I have mixed some key ingredients from my first four stories amongst the pages of SOTW, it reads as a genuinely original piece of horror fiction.

WHAT’S NEXT

As soon as SOTW is released, I plan to complete my first novel, Fear of the Devil, my main project in 2024. FOTD is a supernatural/folk horror tale, and I wrote this immediately after See You Later but never released it. After FOTD, I will focus on my psychological horror novella, All The Girls and my first extreme horror novella, Meat Head. These plans are subject to change at a moment’s notice…

WIP

PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR

Obsession was my first psychological horror story, and as soon as I wrote this, I knew I had found the genre I love to write in. The story is far from perfect, but as my first release, I am immensely proud of it, and it has given me something to grow from. I continued to practice my writing with my second psychological horror Pact, which remains my highest-rated story. Using the experience gathered from writing these two novelettes, I tried to better them both with RED, which I feel is a real showcase of my development as an author since my first release.

SUPERNATURAL HORROR

See You Later was my first attempt at writing supernatural horror, and one I am immensely proud of. I plan to explore this genre further with my upcoming folk horror novel FOTD—more details to follow.

EXTREME HORROR

I have read many extreme horror stories recently, which have inspired me to outline a few ideas of my own within this genre. I want to test out the flexibility of my writing, as this is essential for my development as an author.

IN CLOSING

That’s all for now. Stay tuned to my social media platforms for important announcements about my next release.

Yours in horror,

Daniel Lorn

The Death of 2023

2023 was my second year as an author, and although I haven’t written as much as I intended, I have successfully reached a few milestones. Within this short blog, you will find a short overview of my year, followed by my plans for 2024, and an opportunity for you to get your hands on some free books!

READERS

My stories have attracted many new readers this year, and I hope to build on this in 2024. Writing tends to be a very lonely and personal venture, but seeing so many people giving my stories a chance motivates me to continue through the darkest moments. As the reviews on Goodreads or Amazon continue to build up, more readers are attracted to my work, which is the key for many writers.

SELF PROMOTION

Other than waiting for readers to stumble upon my horror, I have slowly but surely built up my profile on several social media sites. Linking in with fellow writers and horror readers has helped me expand my online footprint, which always helps when self-promoting my work. Self-promotion is a necessary evil when self-publishing, and I need to get much better at this!  

OBSESSION 

Obsession was my first release (Apr 22) and is a psychological horror story that went from humble beginnings to attracting new readers each month. Obsession has had an overwhelmingly positive reception, and it does its job perfectly to act as a gateway into my world of horror.

PACT 

My psychological horror story, PACT, was my second release (Aug 22). With PACT, I had the seed of an idea I wanted to practice with for a future story, but as things progressed, so did this nasty little tale. PACT had a relatively quiet post-release reception, but I have been pleased to see sales and reviews picking up more recently. PACT is slowly proving to be my most popular and highly-rated story.  

SEE YOU LATER

As an author of primarily psychological horror, See You Later (Oct 22) was a departure for me. This supernatural horror tale is based on actual events and was the one story I felt compelled to write. It doesn’t attract the same level of attention as Obsession and Pact, and I understand this to be because readers who have enjoyed my debut tales want to read more of the same.

RED

RED is my latest release and the only story I released this year (Mar 23)! This is another psychological horror tale, but I purposefully left enough uncertainty there for some readers to be pulled in a more supernatural direction. RED is the story I am most proud of, and it showcases how much my writing has improved.  

SINS OF THE WRONGED - ADVANCE REVIEW COPY (ARC)

I have been working on my next release for far longer than planned. Sins of the Wronged has tested my patience, and for a few months, I considered giving up writing entirely, thanks to the experience of editing this one. That said, I am now almost there and will have a release date and trailer on the way very soon.

Please get in touch with me if you have read and enjoyed Obsession, Pact or RED and would like me to send you an ARC of Sins of the Wronged. All I ask in return is for your honest feedback and maybe even a review on Goodreads.

FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY

To get 2024 started on a positive note, here is how you can get your hands on one of my stories for free.

If you read any of my stories between now and the end of Jan 24, all you need to do is leave me a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Take a screenshot and send it to me (link below), and let me know which story of mine you would like to read next. I will then send you the book of your choice. This giveaway will end on 31 Jan 24.  

MOVING ACROSS TO 2024

I have many stories to write, and with some already in the editing stage, my realistic goal is to release three of them this year, including my first novel.  

Thank you for expressing an interest in my work, and I will take this opportunity to wish you a truly unforgettable New Year!

Yours in horror, 

Daniel Lorn

Contact Me

The Death of 2023

2023 was my second year as an author, and although I haven’t written as much as I intended, I have successfully reached a few milestones. Within this short blog, you will find a short overview of my year, followed by my plans for 2024, and an opportunity for you to get your hands on some free books!

READERS

My stories have attracted many new readers this year, and I hope to build on this in 2024. Writing tends to be a very lonely and personal venture, but seeing so many people giving my stories a chance motivates me to continue through the darkest moments. As the reviews on Goodreads or Amazon continue to build up, more readers are attracted to my work, which is the key for many writers.

SELF PROMOTION

Other than waiting for readers to stumble upon my horror, I have slowly but surely built up my profile on several social media sites. Linking in with fellow writers and horror readers has helped me expand my online footprint, which always helps when self-promoting my work. Self-promotion is a necessary evil when self-publishing, and I need to get much better at this!  

OBSESSION 

Obsession was my first release (Apr 22) and is a psychological horror story that went from humble beginnings to attracting new readers each month. Obsession has had an overwhelmingly positive reception, and it does its job perfectly to act as a gateway into my world of horror.

PACT 

My psychological horror story, PACT, was my second release (Aug 22). With PACT, I had the seed of an idea I wanted to practice with for a future story, but as things progressed, so did this nasty little tale. PACT had a relatively quiet post-release reception, but I have been pleased to see sales and reviews picking up more recently. PACT is slowly proving to be my most popular and highly-rated story.  

SEE YOU LATER

As an author of primarily psychological horror, See You Later (Oct 22) was a departure for me. This supernatural horror tale is based on actual events and was the one story I felt compelled to write. It doesn’t attract the same level of attention as Obsession and Pact, and I understand this to be because readers who have enjoyed my debut tales want to read more of the same.

RED

RED is my latest release and the only story I released this year (Mar 23)! This is another psychological horror tale, but I purposefully left enough uncertainty there for some readers to be pulled in a more supernatural direction. RED is the story I am most proud of, and it showcases how much my writing has improved.  

SINS OF THE WRONGED - ADVANCED REVIEW COPY (ARC)

I have been working on my next release for far longer than planned. Sins of the Wronged has tested my patience, and for a few months, I considered giving up writing entirely, thanks to the experience of editing this one. That said, I am now almost there and will have a release date and trailer on the way very soon.

Please get in touch with me if you have read and enjoyed Obsession, Pact or RED and would like me to send you an ARC of Sins of the Wronged. All I ask in return is for your honest feedback and maybe even a review on Goodreads.

FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY

To get 2024 started on a positive note, here is how you can get your hands on one of my stories for free.

If you read any of my stories between now and the end of Jan 24, all you need to do is leave me a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Take a screenshot and send it to me (link below), and let me know which story of mine you would like to read next. I will then send you the book of your choice. This giveaway will end on 31 Jan 24.  

MOVING ACROSS TO 2024

I have many stories to write, and with some already in the editing stage, my realistic goal is to release three of them this year, including my first novel.  

Thank you for expressing an interest in my work, and I will take this opportunity to wish you a truly unforgettable New Year!

Yours in horror, 

Daniel Lorn

Festive Update

As the chimes of a new year creep ever closer, it is time to organise my thoughts and share my plans over the coming months.

SINS OF THE WRONGED

My next story was meant to have been released by now… but it isn’t ready! I have finished writing Sins of the Wronged, but editing is taking longer than expected! Nevertheless, you can add it to your TBR list on Goodreads, and I look forward to sharing this story with you… in Jan 24…

Sins of the Wronged

MY NEXT RELEASES

As well as Sins of the Wronged, I am working on two horror novels, Fear of the Devil and VOID, one of which will be released in Summer 2024. My first extreme horror novella, MEAT HEAD, will be released in time for Easter 2024.

BOOK OF THE MONTH

RED has been doing fantastic lately in terms of sales. Many readers are worried about this one, but I invite you to go ahead and lose yourself in this bleak and unsettling horror tale. RED is my strongest story and displays my best writing. Here is my latest promo video, and I have left some links below.  

Enter RED

OBJECTIVES 

This year, I planned for at least two of my stories to reach ten ratings on Goodreads or Amazon. Amazingly, I have passed this modest milestone, and my next push is to try to get each of my books over 20 ratings on both Amazon and Goodreads. Ratings are a necessary evil and attract more readers to my work. So, if you have read any of my stories, please leave me a few stars.

IN CLOSING

Thank you for your continued support! Whether you are a reader who enjoys my work or a contact who shares my stories on social media, you are all a vital part of this game. Writing is a huge passion of mine, and it would be amazing to continue this journey. I have many horror stories to write… this is just the beginning.

Stay Scared,

 Daniel Lorn

October Update

I spent much of September editing my next planned release, Sins of the Wronged, and although I managed to make steady progress, I am still determining if I will meet my self-imposed deadline of Halloween. An early December release date is more likely, but if you would like an advance copy of this, don't hesitate to contact me.

 

SINS OF THE WRONGED - BLURB

Maria is helplessly in love with Dominic, who appears quite detached from her attempts to resolve their issues. Dominic has been consistently cheating on Maria since the start of their short relationship, but she cannot see past how perfect things used to seem.  

In an attempt to give things one last chance, they head off to the place where they had first declared their love for each other. Instead of rekindling their disconnected emotions, what transpires is a dark descent into despair and mayhem…

Sins of the Wronged is a nasty, twisted and unsettling horror story… You have been warned!

ADD TO YOUR READING LIST - GOODREADS

MY NEXT RELEASES

As well as Sins of the Wronged, I am working on two horror novels, Fear of the Devil and VOID, one of which will be released in Summer 2024. My first extreme horror novella, MEAT HEAD, will be released in time for Easter 2024.

 

SEE YOU LATER

 My sleep paralysis-influenced horror novella See You Later is now available on Kindle Unlimited. I may even do a free book promo to celebrate its first anniversary in print, so stay tuned to my social media.

READ ‘SEE YOU LATER’ NOW

 IN CLOSING

 This will be my last author update until I release Sins of the Wronged, so I will take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support and wish you a very happy Halloween.

Until next time, stay scared…

Daniel Lorn

August Update

August has been an excellent month for me regarding sales and reading, but I haven’t done much writing. As the UK summer draws to a close, I plan to get back into my writing rhythm, and this month's blog will be all about my plans over the next two months.

 

NEXT RELEASE - SINS OF THE WRONGED

Although I originally planned to have Sins of the Wronged ready for release by now, I have decided to spend a bit more time to make this story the best it can be. I started writing this in November last year but ended up side-tracked by my latest release, RED, the concept of which manifested from nowhere. This month (September), I will allocate all my spare time to prepare this for a final edit before spending October tidying it up for my planned Halloween release date.

 

SINS OF THE WRONGED - BLURB

Maria is helplessly in love with Dominic, who appears quite detached from her attempts to resolve their issues. Dominic has been consistently cheating on Maria since the start of their short relationship, but she cannot see past how perfect things used to seem.

 

In an attempt to give things one last chance, they head off to the place where they had first declared their love for each other. Instead of rekindling their disconnected emotions, what transpires is a dark descent into despair and mayhem…

 

Sins of the Wronged is a nasty, twisted and unsettling horror story… You have been warned!

ADD TO YOUR READING LIST - GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR OBJECTIVES

Sales: I set myself a goal to sell 100 books this year, and I am blown away to have surpassed this already. This is a significant milestone for me, and if I do not sell any more books this year, I am content.

 

Ratings: By Halloween, I would love to see each of my stories with over 20 ratings on Goodreads or Amazon. The following graphic shows how close I am to achieving this goal.

 

FELLOW WRITERS

  I read books daily, but I am not in the business of giving negative reviews, and if a story is not for me, then I move on. If I have a positive experience with a story, I will always leave a review, but some stories are not for everyone, including mine. 

If you are a horror writer and want me to check out one of your stories, please get in touch with me. If your story entices me, I will gladly give you my honest opinion.

 

READERS

To each reader who has checked out my work, I cannot thank you enough. Writing takes up a small fraction of my free time, but I am motivated to continue it, and this is ALL because of your support. Please continue to contact me if you have any questions regarding my work, and I look forward to sharing Sins of the Wronged with you at Halloween.

 

IN CLOSING

Although it has been tough to get into a writing rhythm this month, I will be back to my routine of one hour each day throughout September. I don’t plan to read anything other than Sins of the Wronged this month, as this story truly deserves to see the light of day, and I have some work to do to ensure I make it my best book yet.

 

Yours in horror,

 

Daniel Lorn

July Update

READ PACT FOR FREE IN AUGUST - DETAIL IN MY BLOG

WELCOME TO MY BLOG

I am now well into my second year as a horror writer and will use this month's blog to update what I have been working on and how things are going with my stories in general.

BEST SELLER

 My latest story, RED, was my best seller in July. Although I am still determining what most readers think of this story, I hope to gain more feedback on RED before the end of the summer. I expect this story to be met with mixed reviews. It has had a few strong ratings, but some didn’t get on with it for whatever reason. And this is fine with me, as I don’t expect every reader to enjoy my work. Thank you to everyone for giving this story a chance.

FREE STORY 

My second psychological horror story PACT is now available on Kindle Unlimited (KU). If you do not have KU, this story will be FREE for five days from Friday, 4th August, to celebrate its first anniversary in print. Please check it out, and don’t forget to leave a review.

CURRENT WIPs

I am still fighting through the final edits for SINS OF THE WRONGED and CHOSEN, which I plan to release for Halloween. 

SINS OF THE WRONGED

 Maria is helplessly in love with Dominic, who appears quite detached from her attempts to resolve their issues. Dominic has been consistently cheating on Maria since the start of their short relationship, but she cannot see past how perfect things used to seem.

In an attempt to give things one last chance, they head off to the place where they had first declared their love for each other. Instead of rekindling their disconnected emotions, what transpires is a dark descent into despair and mayhem…

SINS OF THE WRONGED is a nasty, twisted and unsettling horror story… you have been warned! 

CHOSEN

CHOSEN is a story I initially wrote to mess about with descriptive prose and fine-tune a few other writing skills. After re-reading it a few months back, I decided to go ahead and prepare it for release, and I am incredibly pleased with the final product. 

CHOSEN centres around a school trip I went on to the country in the summer many years ago. It combines mystery, adventure and horror and will likely appeal to those seeking a more subtle and easily digestible story. Due to Chosen not being my usual kind of horror, I was going to release it under a pseudonym, but instead, I have decided to drop it subtly and without any promotion.

IN CLOSING

If you made it this far, thank you for your support, and I would like to offer you the opportunity to read CHOSEN or SINS OF THE WRONGED before the expected publication date in October 2023. I plan to send ten advance copies of both stories to gain some early feedback and a few reviews. If you are interested in this, please send me a message from the CONTACT page.

Yours in horror,

Daniel Lorn

June Update

It's been a slow start to the year for my writing, but my goal is to release another three stories by the end of 2023. I have several projects nearing completion, with my main focus shifting between Sins of the Wronged and Chosen, both of which I plan to release by October this year.

SINS OF THE WRONGED

Maria is helplessly in love with Dominic, who appears quite detached from her attempts to resolve their issues. Dominic has been consistently cheating on Maria since the start of their short relationship, but she cannot see past how perfect things used to seem.  

In an attempt to give things one last chance, they head off to the place where they had first declared their love for each other. Instead of rekindling their disconnected emotions, what transpires is a dark descent into despair and mayhem…

Sins of the Wronged is a nasty, twisted and unsettling horror story… you have been warned!

CHOSEN

Chosen is a story I initially wrote to mess about with descriptive prose and fine-tune a few other writing skills. After re-reading it a few months back, I decided to go ahead and prepare it for release, and I am quite pleased with the final product.

Chosen centres around a school trip I went on to the country in the summer many years ago. It combines mystery, adventure and horror and will likely appeal to those seeking a more subtle and easily digestible story. Due to Chosen not being my usual kind of horror, I was going to release it under a pseudonym, but instead, I have decided to drop it subtly and without any promotion.

THAT’S IT

I have kept my update very short this month, as my main effort is to get at least one of my stories released before Autumn. Thank you for reading my blog and for supporting my work.

Yours in horror,

Daniel Lorn

May Roundup

I am content with how well my stories have performed this month. Although sales haven't been as fruitful as in April, I have sold at least one copy of each of my books. I haven’t committed enough of my time to advertise my work recently, and I need to get much better at this.

RED 

Red leads the pack for sales this month, and I imagine readers are checking this story out after enjoying Obsession, my most popular book in April. For those yet to read Red, please be aware that recent feedback has described this as a bleak and depressing horror tale. This was always my intent for Red; I wanted it to offer something different from my other work. Red is still my best story (in my humble opinion), although it will not be to everyone's taste, and I hope to gain more feedback in June.

BUY RED

 SEE YOU LATER

 Sales for my supernatural horror novella See You Later have been extremely promising recently, making it my second most popular book of May! Feedback has always been steady for this story, with many readers describing it as ‘haunting’ and others commending the quality of the writing. This is a very different story from my usual work, and I have more tales like this planned for the future.

BUY SEE YOU LATER

PACT

 Pact continues to attract regular sales, and this month is no different. Many people who have enjoyed Obsession tend to try out Pact next, which I absolutely encourage. Both stories are Psychological Horror but go in very different directions. I wanted Pact to read more like a ghost story than a Psychological Horror, and I am pleased with the praise this story continues to receive.

BUY PACT

 OBSESSION

Last month’s best seller fell short in May, but my debut story has served me well! This novelette has proudly outsold all my books (combined) and continues to find new readers.  I wanted this story to hit ten ratings on Goodreads before placing it on another platform. Obsession now has 17 ratings, so I have decided to try it out on ‘Godless’ in the hope that it can reach a wider audience. Obsession was released in April 2022 and didn’t get its first review until August, so for any new authors waiting on that first RV, my advice is to be patient. I was honoured to have an earlier draft of this story read by the legendary Dr Creepen on his brilliant YouTube channel, and so far, Obsession has had almost 20,000 views but not as many sales...yet.

BUY OBSESSION - AMAZON BUY OBSESSION - GODLESS

OUR CONNECTED MADNESS

Our Connected Madness contains Obsession and Pact but has only had one sale this month. I never give this book the attention it deserves; therefore, this will be my ‘Book of the Month’ for June, and I will launch some promos for it shortly.

BUY OUR CONNECTED MADNESS

Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions, please feel free to message me.   

Dan