The Beginning of a Lifelong Obsession

Every writer has an origin story. Mine began when I was ten years old, with a television miniseries, a book that would change my imagination forever, and a love of horror that has stayed with me for more than four decades.

Growing up, school wasn't always an easy place for me. I experienced regular bullying, and writing and imagination would eventually become a form of escapism — a way to step away from the difficulties of everyday life and disappear into other worlds.

But the spark that would help shape my creative imagination came from an unexpected place: a television screen.

When I was ten, I watched the television miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot, starring David Soul. Something about that story captured my imagination in a way I hadn't experienced before. The atmosphere, the horror and the sheer power of the supernatural opened a door in my mind that I didn't even know was there.

A few days later, my parents gave me the actual book as a gift.

That moment would stay with me.

Holding the novel and being able to immerse myself in Stephen King's world was the beginning of a fascination that has lasted 41 years and counting. What started with a television adaptation became a lifelong appreciation for King's storytelling and the extraordinary possibilities of horror fiction.

Looking back, I can see how important that experience was. At a time when I needed somewhere to escape, I discovered the power of stories to transport you beyond your immediate surroundings and into worlds limited only by imagination.

That childhood experience helped shape the reader I became and the author I would go on to be.

I've been a Stephen King fan ever since, and the love of dark, imaginative storytelling that began with 'Salem's Lot remains part of who I am today.

Sometimes, all it takes is one story to open the door to an entirely new world.

For me, that door opened when I was ten years old. I've been exploring what lies beyond it ever since.