Do you ever wonder if the book you wrote was somehow meant to be? That no matter what you intended to write, this was always the one that was crying out to be written?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately after talking with a few people on what they got from reading Dark Sanctuary.
I’ve mentioned it before I know, but I grew up reading Stephen King and James Herbert, two of the most unrelenting horror writers that have ever existed and so it was always quite normal for me to read about giant killer rats, terrifying clowns and haunted houses. If blood wasn’t spilled and the body count was low, then I was never particularly interested so I always assumed I would write in a similar vein (pardon the pun).
Admittedly the body count in Dark Sanctuary is pretty high as I did kill off quite a few characters and have continued to do the same in Lost Creatures, but sometimes I wonder whether it’s all still a bit tame. Of course, I don’t just rate it on its death toll but just the whole feel of the book was never really what I imagined it would be.
Some people have commented that they really do see it as a love story, which I suppose as stuck in my head quite a lot recently as I never considered it to be that before and when I read it back myself, I do totally see where they are coming from. Despite the blood, guts and death toll, there’s always been this backdrop of two people who are destined for each other, whether they like it or not. And I’m not sure why that bothers me, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. I always thought that I would write very differently, and true, some of my earlier ramblings are definitely quite far removed from what Dark Sanctuary is.
Yet when I wrote Dark Sanctuary, I never had a plan. That’s just not the way I write. I had an idea, I sat down and I started writing and what developed on the page came day by day, with no thought as to whether I intended it to be a horror story or a paranormal romance. It is what it is and maybe it’s just best to not label it too much or dwell on what I had always hoped to write.
Maybe it is as it was always meant to be?
LINDSEY CLARKE 
Great question! I’m like you, I have a general idea and when I start writing it kind of evolves from there.
I love those influences, send me a message when you’re finished, whether you normally publish it or self-publish I’d like to check it out!
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I read so many blogs and articles about ‘planning’ your work and always think ‘why’? Never understand how that works but hey, each to their own!
And thank you, once I have decided how I’m going to publish I will be sure to let you know. Thanks for reading 🙂
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I think if you dwell too long on what your story is and analyse it too deeply, it takes the fun out of it for the writer. It becomes rigid and all you can think about is keeping the events of the plot to certain parameters to fit in with your genre of choice. The magic of any book is that it can be interpreted differently by different people. What is an out and out horror for some may be leaning towards paranormal romance for others or even contemporary fantasy for another. Dark Sanctuary works wonderfully as both a horror and a paranormal romance; there is that spark of the beginnings of attraction between Sarah and Michael, but the story is also peppered with a generous amount of gore and darkness to make it enjoyable for someone who likes their fiction a little grittier. Keep doing what you’re doing and let it go where it wants – it’s working perfectly so far.
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I do think I have a tendency to get too hung up on which genre the series fits into. I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact that its probably better to not pigeon hole it and let readers take from it what they will.
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