Descent into Darkness

I haven’t been as active here for the past year, but I have a very good reason and that reason is writing. Between knowing that this is what I want to do, and doubting myself, there was quite an abyss. Some days I would cross it and manage to write something, but on other days I would just stare into it, unable to get away. Well, no more. I wrote a few stories. One of them, The Door, is in this short story anthology, together with stories by 19 other indie writers.

Having a story published in a book is a dream come true and I’m incredibly excited. It’s a dream I’ve postponed and pushed aside for later because of fear. What if it’s not good enough? What if people will hate it? All insecurities about writing, you name them, I’ve had them all. But when this opportunity came up, I jumped right in.

The idea for The Door came to me when I saw a writing prompt on the internet. I had been talking to a writer friend about inspiration and ideas, and he said, why don’t you look up some writing prompts online. So I did and found this:

“You know…there is nothing as tempting as a locked door.”

Illustration by David Schmidt

Some horror fans like zombies, vampires, or ghosts. I’m irresistibly drawn to old houses, and especially doors. There is something intriguing about a locked door. I began to wonder. Why was that door locked? Was it to keep someone from going in? Was it to keep something from coming out? Were there any people living in that house? How did the locked door affect their daily lives? And so the prompt became the first line in the story. I didn’t have a plan, just the questions, so there was a lot of going back and forth on ideas. I decided to keep the story simple, with very few characters. I wanted to create doubt, apprehension, a feeling of mental discomfort. But I also wanted to write a story that would leave the reader satisfied with the ending. Maybe it’s not the ending they suspected (or maybe I wasn’t as clever as I thought I was) but I wanted to give the story closure. I even wrote a short blurb:

Not all doors are meant to be opened.

An unknown writer catapults into fame after he moves into a mysterious house with a locked door. An ambitious young journalist is sent to interview the writer, in the hope that she can find out if the rumors are true. Did the writer’s wife leave him or has something sinister happened to her? And why hasn’t the writer left the house in years? But the house is not about to reveal its dark secret without a price. Will she be willing to pay it?

And here’s a snippet from the story:

“A locked door, a red scarf, a tiny key, an old paperback. I say these words again and again, a litany of sorts, or a spell meant to reveal something. The devil is in the details. And yet there are no revelations.”

Almost two years ago I wrote a short flash fiction piece called The Great Hall. You can read it HERE. Not surprisingly, it involves a door.

If you’d like an ARC copy of Descent into Darkness, just leave me a message and I’ll get back to you. All I ask is that you write a review either on Amazon or Goodreads (or both if you can). I would also be grateful if you could help spread the word about the book – a repost on Twitter, a note on Facebook, every small thing counts.
To find out more about the book and the authors, click HERE.
The book is now available on Amazon.

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8 Responses to Descent into Darkness

Brian Joseph says:

October 10, 2017 at 12:21 pm

Congratulations on getting your story published!

I also like old houses as they relate to horror. I tend to like subtle horror.

I like the passage that you quoted from your story.

- Delia says:
  
  October 10, 2017 at 12:26 pm
  
  Thank you, Brian. Your support is always appreciated.
  I like subtle horror as well, the kind that doesn’t reveal much but insinuates itself under your skin and makes you question things.
  I’m glad you like that passage. It was hard to choose something that wouldn’t spoil the story.
  
Caroline says:

October 11, 2017 at 2:39 pm

I’m so so happy for you! Yay. This is excellent.
I would love a copy.

- Delia says:
  
  October 11, 2017 at 3:02 pm
  
  Thank you so much, Caroline. A copy is on the way. 🙂
  
Deb Atwood says:

October 28, 2017 at 4:25 am

This is exciting news! (And also scary, I know, but yay!

Locked doors are indeed intriguing. I like how you used the prompt as the first line of your book.

Congratulations on your first publication. Here’s hoping for many more.

- Delia says:
  
  October 30, 2017 at 1:30 am
  
  Thanks Deb, I appreciate the support. I frequently get caught up between excitement and fear, a strange place to be indeed.
  I love locked doors but only if I’m on the safe side. Something tells me I’m not done with that particular image. Some images come back again and again, who knows why…
  Hopefully next year I’ll have something new to publish.
  
Deepika Ramesh says:

November 5, 2017 at 3:33 am

I love this news, Delia. May I request for a copy? I promise to review it on Goodreads and Amazon. I remember reading ‘The Great Hall’ and did a little doodle for it. 🙂 I loved ‘The Great Hall’. I am looking forward reading ‘The Door’. Thank you!

Like Elizabeth Gilbert wrote in ‘The Big Magic’, you were born with magical abundance. I hope you would share it generously. <3 🙂

- Delia says:
  
  November 6, 2017 at 10:57 am
  
  Hi Deepika,
  I’m so glad you want to read it. I’ll send you a copy and I really hope you’ll enjoy it. Fingers crossed.
  I loved that doodle you did for “The Great Hall”. I still remember it vividly.
  Thank you so much for the nice words. I like that, “magical abundance”. 🙂 The book was great too.