The Lake
The tranquil waters of a lake have the power to soothe our turbulent minds. I can picture myself sitting on the banks of a beautiful lake surrounded by trees with the cool air caressing my face. The reflection of the blue sky is visible on the surface of the clear water. It is the perfect picture of calm. This is a scene from my next horror novel The Lake. Although the surface appears so tranquil, deep under these waters lies a terrible secret that is over two decades old. Secrets, of course, cannot be hidden forever; they somehow have a way of coming out.
Our world is filled with people who commit evil acts. Unfortunately, they do not realize the repercussions of what they do at the time, and how such wrongdoings can impact generations upon generations. I can tie this truth with the underlying theme of The Villa in which the same subject is heavily touched upon. When one does evil acts of any sort it permeates the very fabric of our existence because life is essentially a battle between good and evil.
The main character of The Lake is a young teenage boy. When he encounters this majestic lake, he is overtaken by all it has to offer- the good and the bad. As the truth about this body of water is revealed, his innocence is chipped away and he realizes that the consequences of evil acts transcend time. Isn’t this the story of our lives? If one wants to see all that’s not good in this world, all one has to do is watch the news on television.
I forgot to mention the horror side of the story- the supernatural forces that are at work because of the hidden secret deep underneath the waters. I’m sure, as you read it, you’ll find out for yourself.
Anyway, horror, is a consequence of what people do to others; the past and present are filled with it. On the flip side, there is also the word ‘good.’ This word is pleasant to the ear and its outcomes soothe the fabric of our existence; it brings peace and tranquility to our world. Despite the trauma the teenage boy in the story faces, he walks away with the good. Why? Because he chooses to do so. He learns from the past wrong and chooses not to harbor it or act on it. This is the lesson I hope my readers will grasp. If he can do it, so can we. It’s just a matter of making that choice each day.
Picture from: PXHere.com
The Father and Daughter
One of my friends posted a review of my latest book Retribution on Amazon. As I read through this review, my eyes caught the many wonderful comments he had made about the plot and characters. He also mentioned the relationship between Joan Harrington (one of the main characters) and her late father to be one of the highlights in the story that he automatically connected with. When asked why, he told me that this father-daughter relationship is one of significance because it reminds him of his relationship with his teenage daughter.
Who is a father? Well, the word father encapsulates many things. The first word that comes to my mind upon hearing the word is strength. A father plays many roles in the life of a child some of which are- provider, protector, role model, guide, and stronghold. Joan’s father was all of that and much more to her until his untimely death. Even from beyond the grave, he seems to be protecting his daughter by endeavoring to warn her of danger. According to the story, this comes from the very close and loving relationship that Joan cherished with her dad. He was an honorable man who was committed to his family. A father-daughter relationship is quite special- more so if you are an only child. A loving father is always there through words and deeds from beginning to end.
As I was writing this story I was constantly prompted to weave the father figure into its fabric because I believed that Joan needed the protection of her dad even from beyond the grave-considering the situation that she was in. If you happen to read the story, you will find out the specifics. I certainly believe that if Joan’s father were alive things would’ve been different for her… but who knows? Joan was so much in love with a man who her father didn’t approve of while he was living. Maybe Mr. Harrington sensed this and tried to protect his daughter from imminent danger. This comes from love, which is the most powerful force in the universe.
Image by PXHere.com
The Mountains
The mountains… aren’t they beautiful? Besides the beach, the mountains are my favorite place to be. Breathing the fresh air, and inhaling the majestic and calm scenery is so peaceful and refreshing to the soul. Mountains are indeed one of nature’s marvels. Joan Harrington in Retribution knows the mountains very well. She sees them in her dreams where she is warned of things to come. Although she doesn’t realize it till the end, her dreams mean something. Unfortunately for her, the fictional mountainous setting in upstate New York was not the best place to be. This is where she is betrayed by someone she trusted with all her heart.
Betrayal is a hard pill to swallow, especially when it involves someone you love. How does one handle the shock, heartbreak, and sorrow involved when one is betrayed or backstabbed? Well, here is an answer- one has to stop dwelling on it and move on. If it involves getting back up, wiping the dust off, and being even more determined to triumph, then go for it. Life is filled with such setbacks. Some of these setbacks, believe it or not, can make us stronger and more resilient. It all depends on the way things are perceived.
Getting back to the book, when Joan was betrayed, a whole bunch of other people who loved and cherished her were betrayed. How did they manage to move on? They had to take it one day at a time. Different people react differently to situations that bring hurt. Some retaliate with hatred, some lose their purpose in life and are lost, and some forgive those who hurt them and choose to move on with greater resolve. Which path would you choose?
Photo by Paolo Costa Baldi. License: GFDL/CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19522820
Retribution
I haven’t written to my readers for quite some time. I do apologize for the long delay. I guess you can say with that pandemic and all that we had to go through as a society, some things got put in the wayside. But, I am glad to return to my writing and am glad to share my thoughts in these articles.
My latest book is a crime fiction novel titled Retribution. As a writer, I believe in being honest with my readers about my work. I truly believe that no matter how hard writers try, they are unable to keep their personal feelings separate from what they write. Believe me, my personal feelings and thoughts are all over the stories that I create. No matter the characters, settings, etc., the writer’s life is embedded in the deep fabric of the story. Therefore, whoever reads Retribution may conclude that there are or have been conflicts in my personal life and relationships- I mean, who doesn’t, right? We all have our moments of trials, triumphs, drama… you name it!
I identify with the protagonist of this story- Joan Harrington. She just got married to the lover of her life. Within the relationship, she’s the stable one (the one who is established in life) and the one who wants a family. Although Joan has known her better half for quite some time, there are personality traits that she did not know about him… things about him that he had hidden from her. Sadly for Joan, when she came to learn the truth about her husband, it was a bit too late.
I am not a marriage expert. Although I have been married for a long time, I am still learning; some lessons are very hard and heartbreaking. One of the key truths that I have discovered (after being married for over two decades) is that one cannot change the other person. All one can change is oneself. The sooner one realizes that the happier they’ll be. It’s all about finding one’s peace and at the same time speaking that peace over the other person. The only person who can make you happy is you. Knowing this is quite liberating because then, there is no expectation. I love my better half, but I have come to realize that it’s okay that he’s not perfect.
Retribution has an intricate plot- one of love, passion, sex, lies, betrayal, and murder. The story has many twists and turns but ultimately leads to the truth. What does the truth do? It sets us free. In this case, it is spiritual freedom from sin and bondage.
I enjoyed every moment that I spent writing this book. As I put words on the pages, many times, I found my heart racing. As I wrote the most intimate details of the relationships between the characters, I thought of how I felt if I were in their shoes. It was so exciting!
Eleanor’s Character
Imagine that your house is haunted by a killer ghost. Not only does she show up now and then in the house, but she also walks the property at night. Whenever she appears your body feels cold and you have the uncanny sensation that you’re being watched.
Her gaze is piercing. If you happen to look into her eyes, you could feel her suffering. This is Eleanor Mortimer. Her anger is paralyzing and may God help anyone who happens to cross her path.
How in the world did she become so lethal? Well, according to The Villa there is a history behind the haunting. I will not give away the story, but I will mention that she died in a fit of rage and she had not forgiven her oppressor.
What can the poor soul who happens to own this haunted house do? I believe that the power of God is much more potent than any spirit malevolent or not. So, he or she can always rely on this fact when confronting such a spirit.
When thinking about possessions and haunting one must always look into the cause. The answer sometimes points to some past wrong-doing. As I indicate in the book, “… our actions can affect those around us like the ripple effects of a pebble that is cast into the water. Hopefully, the ripple effects that we create during our lives are for the betterment of others…” (a quote from The Villa)
Eleanor has suffered a great deal at the hands of another. Will she find peace? I hope so.
Photo Credit” “The Ada Witch” by farlane is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
In the Shadows
What can you do if someone bought your home from underneath you? In this particular situation, although you call it your home, the house doesn’t really belong to you. You are the butler and it is a beautiful mansion in the mountains. As the butler, you know everything about your mansion, including its deepest darkest secrets.
If you don’t own the house, there’s nothing much you can do about it. The house was just purchased by a well-to-do couple and you are allowed to stay to continue your butler duties out of the goodness of their hearts. You’re paid a salary besides.
Such is the situation of one of the main characters in The Villa. He is angry that he has to answer to the new owners and puts up an amiable front all the while operating in the shadows. He will not have the pesky new owners get their claws into the home he has loved since childhood.
Since he knows all the deep dark secrets about the house he’s going to take advantage of that. First, he’ll resort to tricks. If that fails, he’s going to try something deadly which is conjuring the very old spirits who are ready to be awakened.
And believe me, these spirits are not just the kind that makes their presence known by just shaking the chandeliers (although they do now and then). These are killer ghosts. The result is quite devastating for him and the new owners. One should not tamper with the spiritual realm to alter things for selfish purposes. There’s a price to pay, as he will discover at the end.
Photo credit: “Black and white Chandelier” by Marleh Belle Photography (Creative Commons) is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
A Story Within a Story
What is “a story within a story?” It is when you have one story embedded in another. As a writer, this may not be the easiest thing to manage, but in my book The Villa, the idea was quite relevant and a perfect fit.
The Pacific Book Reviewers state, “It is the ‘story within the story’ that gives the novel proper context and keeps the reader’s attention.”
Well, the novel takes place in the early 1990s. But there’s another story within it that’s happening in the 1860s. The main character is desperately searching for answers and has to dig into the past to determine the cause of her present troubles. She stumbles upon a set of very old journals and reads through them to unravel what occurred in her home a century ago. As she does, things fall into place and she realizes that the present is inextricably woven into the past.
How does one deal with a past that haunts the present? One of the ways is by setting things right or correcting whatever wrong was done. If it is too big of a challenge calling on God’s power is the means that will accomplish the desired end (as you will see in the story).
Stories that occur simultaneously yet at different times can teach us a lot. When crafted properly, the reader can discern a connection between the time in the past or future and the present scenario. Some writers employ the good old time machine for this purpose or maybe a wormhole. I stuck with the old fashioned journal.
Photo Credit: “Journal Entry” by JoelMontes is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Marital Discord
This is a very sensitive topic for anyone married. In The Villa, this marital discord is revealed in a set of very old journals. A lovely young woman marries a very wealthy man who whisks her off to a majestic house in the mountains. She is in love and her life seems to be perfect, to be envied actually.
As time goes on, she discovers that the handsome prince that she married is absent for long periods and she finds herself alone and abandoned. When he comes home on occasion he’s drunk, distracted, and does not display interest in her.
“What is going on?” she asks herself. When she questions him on his whereabouts, he loses his temper and tells her it’s none of her business. Then one day he brings another woman to her home and makes advanced to her in front of his faithful wife who’s in shock.
What can we deduce from this? Yes, the man’s a cheater and a womanizer. It breaks the faithful wife’s heart but she manages to pull herself together because of the child she’s carrying. One night I a drunken rage, he beats her. How awful!
Such is the evil that trickles down to the unborn child. He can feel his mother’s suffering from the womb. It grips him and he grows up in fear and hatred toward his father. The deadly ripple effects of one man’s actions, therefore, take hold of the next generation.
How do you stop this? Well, we can’t travel back in time to change someone’s actions. Growing up in a home with marital discord I can attest to this. Changing someone who thinks they know it all is one of the hardest things to do unless a miracle happens. So what can we do? Give them time and maybe they’ll realize. If not, we learn from their mistakes and not repeat them in our own lives. I’d go for the later.
Photo Credit: “.somewhere in a broken heart” by 27147 (Creative Commons) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Our Legacies
My goal as a writer is to convey an overall message to my readers via the stories I create. These could be life lessons or just simple tips on how to avoid trouble and make it to the next day in one piece.
There is a lesson to be learned even through a horror story. If you are like Susan Smith who is the main character in The Villa who finds herself amid a whirlwind of trouble with two killer ghosts haunting her home and murdering her friends you would be head over heels trying to figure out the reason for such misfortune.
At the end of her quest, she does find the reason. It has to do with the legacies that one leaves behind. What does the word legacy mean? According to Merriam-Webster, it is something that is or may be inherited. Another word is a bequest.
Well, according to her research, there is a history in the home. Who creates history? People do. The previous generations who lived in this villa were not very nice. The patriarch I guess you could say (from a couple of generations ago) was an evil man. His evil acts brought suffering to those closest to him.
Sometimes unforgiven hurt or deep emotional scars can show up in the most unexpected ways; even in the spiritual realm. We don’t even realize this. They can be passed down to children, grandchildren, friends, colleagues, and much more.
As I state in the book, “The legacies (good or bad) left behind impact the present and the future… for our actions can affect those around us like the ripple effects of a pebble that is cast into the water.”
Understanding this helps us to do right by others. When those around us see or experience our goodness (in word and deed) the more likely they will follow suit. Even if they don’t at least you are the bigger person.
“Cherub Fountain” by historique is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The Driving Force Behind The Villa
“The Villa is a classic Victorian style horror story,” says the Pacific Book Review. I was inspired to write it about a year ago. I guess you could say as a writer I wanted to scare myself through the story I created. Funny ha?
I love horror- TV, movies, soaps, you name it! If it’s horror, I’ll watch it. Anyway, there are two things I recall that I thought a lot about before I began working on this project.
The first was an episode of the 80’s series Perry Mason, The Case of the Sinister Spirit. The second was a very old Sri Lankan legend of ‘Mohini.’
If you ever watch Perry Mason (I am a fan) you’ll never get tired of it. The particular episode that I’m referring to was about a troubled writer who used his stories to scare people- I mean intentionally. His book The Resort was about a very lavish hotel in the mountains which is supposedly haunted because the owner committed suicide a century ago. So it was said that his spirit walks within and without the property. I thought the whole concept was striking.
The second was the legend of Mohini. If you grew up in Sri Lanka for the first fifteen years of your life like me or if you studied ancient Asian horror legends you will for certain hear or read about ‘Mohini’ the woman in white who walks in the dead of night in lonely roads or cemeteries holding an infant child. If you are a hapless young man who happens to meet up with her, oh! too bad for you! There’s no escape. She would tell you to hold her child while she adjusted her white dress. If you do take the child, either you will be frightened to death or go mad for the rest of your life.
As I thought up the plot I incorporated some of my thoughts from both. My own unique vision came about as I began writing. This is one of the novels that I truly enjoyed writing. I guess you can say that a writer puts a lot of him or herself in what he or she creates.
So, if you happen to get a hold of the book, I truly hope you enjoy it!
Photo Credit:
“Sunset in the Garden of the Haunted Mansion” by Tours Departing Daily (Creative Commons) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0