I wanted to tell you all a few small things about the book I’m almost finished writing.
This new book has resisted a good title for longer than any project I’ve ever worked on, but I finally have a few good options. Right now, I’m calling it:
I’LL SEE YOU IN THE OUTER DARKNESS.
Here’s some basic information on what it’s about.
At the book’s heart is a love story about two people—with families from different cultures—who begin far apart, trying to make work a unique long-distance relationship. A wonderful, liminal space of a distant connection defined by phone calls that last for hours and hours, sometimes through the night; a relationship that begins sustained primarily by hope and longing.
Juxtaposed against this is the main character’s determination to uncover details of his sister’s mysterious and horrific death, which was the catalyst for the formation of a cult called Starlight. All the while, he is haunted by auditory and visual hallucinations of some unexplainable entity, something that seems to burrow through his thoughts like an infection, and which may be connected not merely to the Starlight cult’s mission, but also to his sister’s death.
That’s as well as I can describe the initial premise, at this moment.
When it comes to the horror elements, one of my early thoughts about the story was: What if you had good intentions to write a book—a book that could cause actual, positive change in the world—but you accidentally wrote a real-life equivalent to the fictional play The King in Yellow? Which is to say: you accidentally wrote something dangerous to those who read it, despite your best intentions.
The relationship aspect is, to me, the story’s heart. It’s rooted in a lived experience, something I wanted and needed to write about, fictionalized. From the start you know it’s doomed, but there is so much to it—and the juxtaposition against such shattering, encroaching horror is a jarring experience.
As the writer, it’s such a tormenting book that I’m sometimes afraid to keep writing it, in part because it is a vulnerable story to write. It’s so sweet and romantic but also so heartbreaking; and as the horror overtakes and dissolves any refuge from it, it becomes incredibly sad and disturbing.
I’ve been writing this book for just over a year, which is, I think, the longest I’ve ever taken on a first draft. It stands now at about 100,000 words, which is already longer than I expected—but who knows how much it’ll change and shorten in the editing process. Slowly, at last, the ending is coming into focus.
I am… scared of this story, but so excited about it.
Thanks for your time. There’ll be more details to come with time.