Daniel Lorn's Blog, page 5

MARCH UPDATE

OUR CONNECTED MADNESS 

This is out now on paperback/kindle and contains my first two stories, Obsession & Pact. My initial plan was to include my up-and-coming short story Red, but Red decided to grow arms and legs, amongst other things, and it will work better as a standalone, I firmly believe.

RED

Red will be released later this month. As mentioned, it has grown quite a bit since the original short story, which means it is now long enough to place in print and e-book. This is my best story so far, and I look forward to sharing this with you.

HOW ARE MY OTHER BOOKS DOING?

Well, thank you for asking.

Obsession remains my top seller and has a score of 4.22/5 on Goodreads.

Pact remains my top-rated story, with a score of 4.75/5 on Goodreads.

See You Later is currently somewhere in the middle on both accounts, with 4.67 on Goodreads.

WHATS NEXT?

Firstly, I have been working on a secret project which I can now confirm to be named Meat Head. Its going to be my first ‘Extreme Horror’.

For the first time ever, I have the entire story plotted out, so will shift my focus to this as soon as Red has been released.

Secondly, I have began to write down the outline of a new Psychological Horror which I currently refer to as Where Did They All Go?.

Finally, and this ‘should’ be my main focus, I have decided to re-edit a novel called Fear of the Devil. I wrote this one immediately after See You Later a few years back, but it has been shelved since then.

When my wife kindly took an interest in my writing hobby over lockdown, this story blew her away, so she has been on at me to just get on with it! With no real-time writing experience, I released it hastily before retracting it again. The project was not quite ready at the time, but now that I have found my stride, I will endeavour to make this the best story possible. I will share a snippet from the prologue shortly.

If I manage to get Fear of the Devil ready for release this year, I will be absolutely over the moon.

THAT’S IT…FOR NOW

Thank you kindly for taking the time to read my blog, and I will see you next time.

Dan

AUTHOR UPDATE

HOW TO BE A GREAT INDIE AUTHOR 

This is something I am currently still learning. Writing is a huge passion of mine, but promoting is a tough gig. Life as an indie author is much more complex than simply writing a book, publishing it & filling the swimming pool with royalties. The most significant hurdle to overcome is finding a captive audience. There are millions of readers out there waiting to read a book like yours; they just haven’t heard of you yet. It takes time, and you need to be stubborn.  That said, my current promotion schedule is to post a few updates on Twitter and Goodreads whenever I get a spare moment.

BOOK COVERS 

An eye-catching book cover that sums up your book's tone is critical in attracting readers to your work. When I released my first story, Obsession, I used a stock photo and placed the title and my name using a PowerPoint template. Now you may think that this state-of-the-art approach could not fail…but it did…sort of. The very few readers of my book in the first few months were underwhelmed by the cover and were happy to make me aware of this. So, what did I do? I did the same thing with my second story, Pact, and I will explain my logic about this madness next. 

MY LOGIC 

Still here? Haven't you got bored yet? Ok, I will keep going. My logic regarding the basic cover for my first two releases was that I didn’t know how my writing would be received, so I didn’t want to go in all guns blazing with the most attractive cover. What if loads of people bought it for the cover and, after the first few pages, decided that they hated the book? My tentative approach allowed me to gather a slow trickle of positive feedback, subsequently allowing me to become confident in my new craft. If I was going to take up writing seriously, I needed to know that I could actually write!

SEE YOU LATER 

With Obsession and Pact doing much better than I could have imagined, I felt it was time to go back and re-write a story I threw together very hastily over the first UK lockdown. See You Later was my first Novella, and after practising with a certain degree of success, I wanted to see if I could salvage this old story. Re-writing/editing See You Later was quite simply a nightmare. I got bored, and frustrated, contemplated shelving it, lost my momentum…the list goes on. That said, I am very proud of what it has become, but it has put me off re-writing some of the other stories I threw together over the past few years.  

WHAT AM I WRITING IN 2023?

I have already written another horror novella and a horror novel, but like See You Later, these need to be rewritten, and I am struggling to find the motivation to do this again. I haven't completely switched them off just yet, but I want to gain momentum and work on my new ideas instead of going backwards again.  Anyway, here is my planned release schedule, subject to change 100 times over the weekend:

March

Red - Horror Novelette

Our Connected Madness - Horror Anthology

August

Void - Horror Novel

Dec

Chosen - Horror Novella

OTHER STUFF

I plan to get better at promotion this year, but I don’t want to push too hard with this until I have a Novel out there and a few more stories. I have more ideas than time to write at the moment, but I will eventually get there. Overall, I have been thrilled with my first year (2022) as a writer.

Stay Scared!

Dan

AUTHOR UPDATE

Well, it's 2023. Don’t blink, or you will miss January as it races away into the unknown. Before that happens, I will take a few moments to summarise my plans for the next few months. 

NEXT RELEASE - RED 

As my latest novelette of psychological horror nears completion, it seems reasonable for me to project a March release date for RED.

RED is my third original tale of psychological terror, and I look forward to sharing this with you. If you would like an advance copy of RED, in return for a pre-release RV, please send me a message & I will get this through to you.

RED - PREVIEW 

Snowfall drapes like a burial shroud over the cobbled streets below. Gazing down with morbid intent from an icy rooftop, a broken soul stands alone to contemplate a Christmas gift for those who have wronged him.

ANTHOLOGY 

RED will join OBSESSION & PACT in my first anthology in April, which is currently titled ‘Our Connected Madness’. All three stories will remain available on their own.

WHAT'S NEXT? 

I am still editing my second horror novella, Chosen, which I finished writing last year. Chosen follows a group of children on their school trip to the country. Chosen is a supernatural horror story with a slightly different theme from my usual stuff.  

If all goes well, I will release Chosen in June, leaving enough time to get something else out by the end of the year - hopefully, my first Novel! 

Until next time…

Stay Scared!

Dan

AUTHOR UPDATE

It’s been a busy year so far, and time I feel for a quick update on my plans for 2023.

AVAILABLE BOOKS

I have released three stories this year, & these are available now on Amazon, Ko-Fi & Smashwords. You can find information about these on my website, along with links if you wish to read them.

WORK IN PROGRESS

RED

RED is my third psychological horror novelette.

Whenever I get bored writing/editing, I tend to take a break and just start creating something new and unplanned. This process worked with Obsession & Pact, and now RED has appeared.

RED, will join Obsession & Pact in my first anthology, as well as being a standalone release. These three stories complement each other perfectly and I cannot wait to see them all together in print.

I don’t want to give anything away about RED just yet, but if you enjoyed my first two novelettes of psychological horror, you will love this!

CHOSEN

 Chosen is my second horror novella.

Although I finished writing this story last year, it has remained on the shelf since then. After a recent revisit, I decided to change it from first person to third person, just for a bit of practice & to make my life more difficult.

Chosen follows a group of children on their school trip to the country. Unfortunately for them, something insidious is stalking them from the shadows. Is this spectre real? or is it a figment of their young imaginations?

VOID

Void will be my first horror novel & is a story I have been planning for several years.

Void follows a man travelling deep into the Scottish countryside to tie up the loose ends of his uncle's estate after his recent death. After stumbling upon his uncle's hidden research, he unearths a world of secret and brutal experiments. I plan to make this my most sinister and terrifying story to date.

RELEASE DATES

RED - Feb 2023

Anthology (Title TBC) - Feb 2023

Chosen - May 2023

Void - Aug 2023

SEE YOU LATER

AVAILABLE NOW

My horror novella See You Later is out there now for any fans of horror, book reviewers and peers to check out.

OVERVIEW
Beyond the shadows of physical comprehension is a world we only touch the boundaries of during our most terrifying nightmares. Whether our imaginations fashion the monsters that lurk there or whether the dead themselves walk these realms is unknown to most.
Some of us are cursed with the ability to peel back the fabric of reality to glimpse at this inconceivable domain.
Others are destined to walk there, amongst the damned.

Tormented by the horrors of his past, a young man is exposed to terrifying manifestations that seem linked to the appearance of an old friend.

WRITING PROCESS

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. Riding high on the buzz of creating something new, I briefly released See You Later, only to retract it two weeks later. It did make sales in that short time, and I even got some reviews, but it was nowhere near ready for me. See You Later ended up shelved, and I didn’t give it a passing thought for two years.

PERSPECTIVE

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 events and circumstances which are genuine.

MY INFLUENCE FOR SEE YOU LATER

This story is based on ACTUAL EVENTS/EXPERIENCES.

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.

ENDING

Obviously, I cannot give too much away here, but I hope you, as the reader, feel as though you have been part of the whole ordeal.

FEEDBACK

“Absolutely Terrifying”

“Beautifully Written”

MY DECISION TO INCLUDE OBSESSION IN THE PAPERBACK 

With Obsession being a novelette, I plan to place it into an anthology eventually; until then, it at least now finds its temporary home in print. These two stories complement each other nicely and have a few shared connections that you, as the reader, will probably notice.  

SOME THINGS YOU WILL NOT HAVE NOTICED…YET

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

QUIZ: Can you guess where the music is from on my See You Later trailer?

CLUE: The tune is called Prisonic Fairytale.

SHOUT OUT TO READERS

A huge thanks to you for reading this book. As an independent author, reviews do make a difference. If you enjoyed this book, please leave a short review on Goodreads or Amazon. This helps to boost an author's profile and makes a massive difference in terms of sales.

WHERE CAN I READ THIS?

This is now available on Amazon & KO-FI.

Links (buttons) below.

AMAZON KO-FI

PACT

PACT was the second horror story I ‘officially’ released, and this blog goes into a bit more detail about some of the stuff behind the scenes.

OVERVIEW

With his wife recently deceased, William has fallen into a spiral of depression and alcoholism. Memories haunt him when he is sober. Memories he struggles to contain, no matter how hard he tries. But there is something else that comes with those memories. Something which causes him to question his sanity. Something unwelcome and deeply terrifying. 

WRITING PROCESS

Pact began as a practice exercise, as I wanted to test a new writing style. I finished writing the first draft in November 2021, but something didn’t seem ‘write’ with it (did you see what I did there?). I allowed a few people to read it during its earlier drafts, and although the feedback was highly positive, I decided to shelve the story for a while before revisiting it in May 2022. After a few months of editing and Beta Reading, I was finally satisfied with how it flowed.  Pact was then ‘officially’ released as my second novelette.

PERSPECTIVE

Pact is written from the perspective of a grieving individual who is unsure of the meaning behind his fragmented memories. Alcoholism and depression are the key areas I explored, and I wanted to make the reader experience a slow build-up of tension before William began to accept his fate with a sober mind.

‘OFFICIALLY’

Why do I keep putting ‘officially’ in inverted commas on this blog? Here is why. 

This is the original unofficial order of my stories before I found my current writing style…

See You Later - Oct 20

Fear of the Devil -  Mar 21

Chosen - Sep 21

Pact - Nov 21 

…and here is the official order after several complete re-edits:

Obsession - May 22

Pact - Sep 22

See You Later - Oct 22

Chosen - Jan 23

Void - Feb 23

Fear of the Devil - May 23

MY INFLUENCE FOR PACT

This story came from out of nowhere. I am sure there must have been a few things I have read or watched which may have planted a seed in my mind, but I genuinely have no idea where Pact came from, which I am sure is quite worrying for my wife.

ENDING

The ending for Pact is very effective (in my opinion) and ties up some of the loose story threads. I feel the conclusion gives appropriate closure to the story, and I am pleased with how it reads.

FEEDBACK

This is another short one at 31 pages; however, feedback has been excellent across various platforms. I am delighted with the response for Pact, particularly as I was beginning to settle into my writing style with this.

LEARNING POINTS

So many to choose from, but I will select the main ones.

-If a story doesn’t seem right, shelve it for a few months before revisiting it. If you plan to do this, prepare to see the entire thing through.

-Accept that each story has its own unique flow. Embrace this.

-Don’t compare your current WIP with your last. Allow your new ideas (and writing style) to unfold. Keep developing as a writer. 

WHAT NEXT FOR PACT?

Pact will join Obsession in my future horror anthology collection. I also have a story in mind called Meat, which is loosely connected to Pact. Stay tuned for more on this.

SOME THINGS YOU WILL NOT HAVE NOTICED…YET

William stumbles onto the street when he leaves the supermarket and is nearly hit by a minibus full of kids. Well, that very same minibus is escorting those very same kids into the country for a school trip in Chosen, one of my WIPs.  

SHOUT OUT TO READERS

Once again, a massive thank you for reading this book. As an independent author, reviews really do make a difference. If you 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 THIS?

You can either buy the story on Amazon or Smashwords.

PACT - AMAZON REVIEW PACT ON GOODREADS

 

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.

OBSESSION - AMAZON OBSESSION - YOUTUBE REVIEW OBSESSION ON GOODREADS

 

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Dr Creepen reads Obsession

Daniels debut release Obsession has been fantastically narrated by the one and only Dr Creepen on his amazing Youtube channel, so head over now and subscribe. If you have not yet checked this out, you are denying yourself a real treat.

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