The other night I was double-checking the formatting on digital editions of
Lovecraft’s Curse while watching
Halloween and
Halloween 2 on AMC FearFest. Man, those movies are great. Anyway, it got me to thinking about the upcoming launch of my own book, how my favorite horror properties have influenced me, and why I like to write horror stories.
First off, I was struck at how the character of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) shares some qualities with Fela Barton, the main character in
Lovecraft’s Curse. Both are survivors of childhood tragedies, and both are academically gifted young women who are introverts. Granted, Fela was a bit older and a direct witness to the tragedy that befell her family, but both characters are survivors that are trying to lead normal lives when evil comes calling for them again.
Of course, those qualities could be lumped into the Final Girl trope that is present in many horror stories. For me though, there’s another reason Fela has those qualities--because I do. Growing up, I was an academically gifted child who was an introvert as well. As a young child, I was bullied, had only a few close friends, and had some significant events occur in my home life that profoundly affected me.
Books were always an escape for me, and I fell in love with the fantasy and horror genres. I preferred books and worlds that I could escape into, and fantasy provides plenty of that. But I gravitated toward horror because I could relate to the main characters more.
My writing is as heavily influenced by horror movies as it is by horror stories and novels. John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon, Sam Raimi and Wes Craven are as influential to me as H.P. Lovecraft, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz and Stephen King. I like my stories to feel like a good horror movie for the reader--a thrill ride that is only as long as it needs to be, and leaves you feeling exhilarated and wanting more.
In reflecting back on
Lovecraft’s Curse, there are nods to many of Lovecraft’s Dreamlands stories, Godzilla movies,
Halloween, a particular
Friday the 13th movie,
Nightmare on Elm Street and many more.
I am very excited (and nervous) to share
Lovecraft’s Curse with readers, and I hope it provides horror fans with the type of experience that made me fall in love with the genre and want to create stories of my own.
