Author Insides: Richard J. O'Brien - Author of THE GARDEN OF FRAGILE THINGS

Interview with Richard J. O'Brien

Richard J. O'Brien was born in Camden, New Jersey. He served in the army, attended Rutgers University, and worked a variety of jobs before attending graduate school. In 2012, he received his MFA in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Currently, the author lives in Pennsylvania and teaches English composition at Mercer County Community College, Rowan College at Gloucester County, and others.

His horror novel, The Garden of Fragile Things, releases today from Dark Alley Press, an imprint of Vagabondage Press.

Richard, what was your inspiration for The Garden of Fragile Things? 

The inspiration for this novel came from a dream. I was a boy again hanging out with some friends I had, and one of them had a hole in his chest. In my dream, my friend lifted his shirt to show me. He told me he could never go home again. That's where this tale began.

What inspired the title? 

For many years, owing to my Irish heritage, I was enthralled with old fairy stories. In Irish folk legends, things sometimes turned out bad for humans who experienced a brush with the fairy realm. The title for this novel came from thinking about a garden in which eldritch creatures were not kind to children.

How much of yourself and your childhood is represented by the main character?

The main character in this story is more a portrait of many boys I knew. Throughout the novel there are many violent scenes. As a child, I did not like violence in any of its permutations—physical, verbal, mental, or otherwise. In many ways, I am a bit like Joe Godwin and a bit like Bobby McMahon. Both characters share a thirst for knowledge to some degree or another. And like them I learned at an early age that there was power in books.

These four friends tend to get themselves into trouble now and then on their adventures. Did you have similar experiences with your friends growing up? If so, can you share a story with us?

Growing up, I got into trouble now and again the way most boys did. There were a host of people in my old town that we developed stories for the way the Swansons brothers in my novel did Mr. Von Braun. Also, the scene in which Joe takes Jack to a Catholic mass one Saturday afternoon was based on a true event that happened to me. I took a friend to mass when I was a boy. There were no cell phones. And everyone's phone numbers were listed. So by the time I got home that Saturday afternoon my father had heard all about it. In those days, part of good parenting was maintaining a loyal ring of spies. My father didn't raise hell over what had happened. He just told me that I would never take that friend to church again.

What was your favorite scene in The Garden of Fragile Things to write and why?

It's a relatively short scene, but in the beginning Marcella and her friends follow the boys to the dock on Granny Swanson's property. Granny Swanson in no uncertain terms lets the girls know what she thinks of them. The response Marcella's friend Annie gives to Granny Swanson's accusation is one that I could hear some girls from my old neighborhood saying.

Which was the most difficult and why?

The most difficult scene for me to write was when Bobby realizes his fate, and afterward Adele leads the other boys to the garden behind the mansion. What happens to the Swanson brothers there in the garden still haunts me.

What sort of research, if any, did you do for The Garden of Fragile Things?

A good amount research for this book had to do with the forest. I was born in Camden, NJ. I don't think I spent any length of time in the woods until I joined the army. What I spent most of the time researching for this novel was the mansion the boys find and ancient belief systems concerning birds and the souls of the dead.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? 

My earliest memory of making things up was when I was sitting on the stairs in my old house. My mother came into the hallway and asked me if I was talking to someone. I was, of course; though I never had a name for my imaginary friend. I began making up stories based on comic books when I was a little boy. Then I got my first library card. By the eighth grade, I was heavy into science fiction and fantasy and horror as well. I started writing stories around that time. It seemed healthier than maintaining a relationship with an imaginary friend. That sort of thing was frowned up, I guess. As children grow up, they are not allowed to have imaginary friends past a certain age. Personally, I always liked their company. So I created characters in stories.

Why do you write? 

I write because I love language. I love how characters act and react. I love that in real life and in stories people have all kinds of faults, and, for the most part, they endure no matter the hardship. But most of all I love creating a reality based on a premise or a situation, or even one particular character.

Is being a writer anything like you imagined it would be? 

It's better than I imagined it. There's a certain amount of rejection that comes with writing if you put your work out there. A writer has to be thick-skinned if they are going to submit their work for possible publication. One thing I have little tolerance for is hanging around with other writers for too long. It can be depressing. People think actors are fickle. Try joining a writers' group.

What do you think makes a good story?

A good story stays with you. It is a dialogue between the writer and the reader. We hear about 'voice' all the time in fiction. An authentic voice lends itself well to a good story. We know it when we read it. It's like when someone tells you a fantastic story. The story is so good you don't worry or wonder if it is at all true. The way a story is told makes it sound true. That helps to make a good story.

What's your favorite genre to read? 

I don't have a particularly favorite genre. There's good writing and there's bad writing. The writer's job is to read both over time so he or she learns the difference. As a teen I lived on science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Then when I got to college I had professors who more or less told me that those genres are not worthwhile pursuits if I wanted to be a serious writer. Never mind that these same professors taught Frankenstein or Fahrenheit 451, The Turn of the Screw or The Picture of Dorian Gray. It took a long time for me to come back around. I write stories and novels that satisfy me. If they are scary, so be it. If they are not, then that's fine.

Who is your favorite author or poet? 

Like most writers, I have many favorites. But if I had to make a list I would include Salman Rushdie, William Faulkner, Shirley Jackson, Jonathan Carroll, Toni Morrison, J.D. Salinger, Angela Carter, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Pynchon...the list could go on and on.

What books or stories have most influenced you the most as a writer? 

The summer after I left the army I read Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. That was the first time I thought seriously about writing a novel. There's something about the way that Hemingway put that novel together that made it seem so effortless. And of course I fell into the trap of thinking novel-writing would be easy. Before that, in my early teens, some of the old fantasy novels I had read like Michael Moorcock's Elric Saga and others like it moved me as a writer. Likewise, much of the early Stephen King novels (Cujo, The Stand, and the like) kept me enthralled. One book I return to almost every year since I had first read it is Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. People either hate it, or they love it. I am among the latter of those two categories.

What books or stories have most influenced you as a person? 

When I read Nabokov's Lolita the first time I knew that I had so much to learn about writing. Thomas Pynchon's novels are the same way. Some people can make heads or tails out of Pynchon. For me, especially in Against the Day, there are few who can construct a sentence like him. Salman Rushdie was another writer who influenced me as a person. His Satanic Verses was such a work of the imagination. And Octavia's Butler's Kindred kept me awake for weeks after I read that novel.

Where/how do you find the most inspiration? 

Inspiration can come from anywhere. This particular novel's initial spark came in a dream. Sometimes I eavesdrop on people and just listen. The way other people construct sentences in their everyday speech is enough to inspire me. Other times I will read something in a magazine and think 'what if...' And still more often than not I hear voices as I am falling sleep. I find it best to let stories stew a bit before I put them down on paper.

What does your family think of your writing? 

My wife is supportive. Growing up, my parents loved to read. But it was other people who wrote, who painted, who composed songs, and such. My father always said find something practical (read: pay-worthy) to do with your life. I was never much for following advice of that kind. My brother once asked me long ago if I was going to be one of those guys with a closetful of manuscripts when I die. If there's a God, maybe.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I try to write every day. And when I do it's mostly at night. All writers have different schedules. For me, as long as I am working every day on something then I know I am doing something write.

Do you have any writing quirks or rituals? 

I don't like people reading over my shoulder when I write. Also, I write everything longhand first. Then I transcribe handwritten pages onto the computer. And I have favorite pens. I am superstitious about letting anyone else write with them.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? 

At times I find myself wanting to write big sprawling novels with a thousand characters in them. That can be a challenge. Also, research for a particular story can be challenging to me. At the same time it is rewarding...if that makes sense.

What are your current projects? 

Right now I am reworking a novel that concerns a man who pursues a young woman that might be purely a figment of his imagination after he's diagnosed with brain cancer.

What are you planning for future projects?

Some of my future projects a novel about a university professor and the author he admires most, and how their worlds intertwine with each other, even though nearly a century separates them, when a series of strange events tear rents in the space-time continuum.

I might also revisit Franklin Forest depicted in The Garden of Fragile Things. Since I have completed this novel, I have been thinking about the girl Adele the boys meet at the mansion in the woods. I would like to write her story. And I would like to set another novel completely within the mansion in Franklin Forest...perhaps reveal the person who made the mansion and populated it with so many books and other curios.

Also, my wife recently challenged me to write a novel about aliens who abduct a heroin-addicted vampire and what might happen to a vampire in throes of addiction on a planet where none of its inhabitants have blood flowing through their veins, or even possess veins for that matter. It could be fun...

Do you have any advice for other writers? 

Write for yourself. It sounds like bullshit you'd read in a writing magazine, but it's true. And I would echo people like John Gardner and Toni Morrison when I say write the stories and the novels you would want to read. Another important thing to remember is to write every day. Always be working. Lastly, accept the fact that some works may shine while others are going to not as good. Whatever the case, never throw anything away. A character in one failed story may end up saving the day in another.

Where else can we find your work? 

My stories have appeared over the years online and in print at various magazines. And I am eager to publish my next novel. In the meantime, the best way to keep up with my writing pursuits is to visit me at obrienwriter.com or look for me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/richard.j.obrien.904) and Twitter (@obrienwriter).

In the late 1970s, Joe Godwin was just twelve years old, living in a working-class neighborhood. Plagued by bullies and a volatile home life, Joe spends his time with his three friends in search of adventure. The discovery of an abandon mansion during a simple camping trip in a state forest sets of a series of consequences in motion between the boys, inhabitants of the mansion, and the others who occupy the garden behind the colossal home. 

The Garden of Fragile Things is a literary dark tale that chronicles four boys’ coming of age against paranormal forces that operate between two worlds.

Read an except here. The Garden of Fragile Things is available at the VBP website, Amazon, B&N, and other fine book retailers. 

Interview with Tim Dankanich, author of Old Hag Syndrome

Interview with Tim Dankanich, author of Old Hag Syndrome

Tim Dankanich was born within the state of Pennsylvania, a state which happens to be (in his

opinion) the insane little sister of historical Transylvania. Without any formal training or education, he is a completely self-taught author, screenwriter, and artisan with a pathological obsession toward the dark, frightening, unexplained realms of the unknown. You can visit him online at www.timdankanich.brushd.com

His creepy horror thriller, Old Hag Syndrome, is soon to hit the big screen and was published by imprint Dark Alley Press in September 2013.

What was your inspiration for Old Hag Syndrome?

The Old Hag Syndrome was inspired by the very real and terrifying phenomenon experienced by more than half of the world's population, myself included. The Old Hag Syndrome is a mysterious and horrifying sleep disorder documented throughout almost every ancient culture and known today by its modern medical term as sleep paralysis. For this story I was first inspired to create my own explanations for this widespread and unexplained nightmare that cannot be fully rationalized by psychology, culture or medical science. Then I tried to create characters who were not only likable but worth caring about. Consequently I led these poor people through every insane and disturbing horror my mind could imagine.

Twins and the psychic connection some seem to have is critical to your novel?

“Critical” is a very interesting word choice to use in that question. That particular adjective contains different meanings, yet looks exactly the same. Much like identical twins themselves, which are statically the only sets of twins to sometimes share acute psychic abilities between each other. But I honestly think the only critical aspect of such a connection would be that the novel itself would have looked very differently had I not mentally given birth to identical twins as important characters, when I first started to compose the skeletal structure of the story itself.

Are you a twin? If so do you have this connection with your twin? Could you give us some examples?

Sadly no, I do not have a psychic twin. It’s rather depressing to think of how quickly and efficiently the writing process would be if I had such a twin finishing my thoughts and typing them out for me while I had other things to do.

If not, where does your fascination with twins and this connection come from?

Honestly, I’m not exactly sure where my fascination with biological nonconformity and the entire spectrum of the paranormal originates from. I wish I knew. Although I do remember when I was younger (about the age of 9) a friend’s mother took her and I to see a psychic, who only told me very vague and incomplete thoughts during my reading. After my friend and her mother had their readings and we all left, her mother told me that the psychic refunded the money she had paid for my reading. When she asked why, the psychic told her that I had frightened the poor fortuneteller because no matter how hard they tried, I could not be read psychically. Or it could have something to do with being born five days after Halloween.

The story mentions many different sleep disorders. Is this something you’ve experienced yourself? If not, what drew you to delve into this topic?

I think the basic biological need for sleep has always disturbed me in some way. Not only do we spend more than half our entire lives asleep, but modern science is still searching for the exact reason behind why we as a species need to sleep and dream in the first place, and why it’s a necessity in order for us to stay alive. I myself have always been nocturnal by nature, as well as being able to stay awake for several days at a time. I think I may have experienced almost every sleep disorder at least once or twice in my life, including the Old Hag Syndrome. But it wasn’t until a friend of mine confessed to suffering through Hag Attacks on an almost nightly basis that this phenomenon first became the larval stage of a nightmare that I set out to explore artistically. It was an attempt to better understand exactly what I had experienced, and why so many others throughout human history were also afraid of falling asleep in fear of it happening again. The most frightening aspect of this experience is the widespread, dramatic, realistic, and bizarre elements of this phenomenon that cannot be fully explained as being nothing more than a sleep disorder.

What sort of research did you do for this book?

At the risk of sounding pretentious, I honestly did extensive research online, at libraries, in bookstores as well as contacting a university professor said to be an expert on the subject, (but he never wrote me back). However I think the most interesting and insightful research I did was when friends, strangers, or second hand acquaintances would ask me what I was writing about. Once I told them about the Old Hag Syndrome, I was shocked to learn just how many people I knew or happened to meet that had experienced it firsthand. Some of which never even knew there was a term used for what had happened to them. Some of those people had never even told anyone about their encounters before, or were even aware that other people have had the same thing happen to them.

Is there any part of you in Annette?

I think Annette is comprised of a lot of people I used to know, as well as me. In the most compassionately simplistic terms, Annette Chambers is a beautiful mess. Despite everything she’s ever been through she retains her self-taught independence. She prides herself on never asking for anyone’s help. She is careful with the little money she has managed to save. But she still eats poorly, dresses poorly, and cares very little about what people think of her. She understands that exterior beauty and inner strength are nothing more than psychological projections upon strangers. She knows the power of a single action, and the influence of a nice smile. She has also helped more people than she knows by being able to distinguish between the two. One thing Annette perfected during her abandoned education in psychology was how to compartmentalize all her flawed human emotions. She is able to place all of her fear, anxiety and sadness into large formaldehyde filled jars within her mind and seal them shut in order to function properly and efficiently as a person. She places these jars in her psychological basement storage facility, amongst all of her other deformed, well preserved, and euthanized emotions. She already knows that storing so many cognitive containers behind walls of repression is in itself a dangerously detrimental defense mechanism, which could potentially possess severe and long lasting consequences. But she is also fully prepared to one day go through every imaginary jar from the past and thoroughly dissect and study every saved specimen, in order to one day better understand herself and the f**ked up world around her.

What was the toughest part of this story to write?

As an avid horror fan I would have to say the hardest part was trying to frighten myself as I wrote. I would rewrite and rewrite rewrites until what I wrote scared me enough to never write it again.

What is it about Annette that you think will draw readers to her?

I suspect readers will be drawn to the challenges which test the character and resolve of Annette that happen to be a series of inescapable psychological horrors. I think the readers may establish immediate sympathy for Annette through her relatable and understandable struggle of just barely scraping by in life, while walking that thin line between things going from success to failure at any given moment. But no matter how bad they think her life seems, they could never even imagine the nightmare that awaits her at the bottom of the downward spiral of being forced to not only question the foundation of reality but also surpass the boundaries beyond all known fear and insanity. 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

The realization was a very slow process starting at a very young age after I first started drawing and before having the ability to read. It was through comic books that I first noticed the exquisite craft of connecting written text with visual art to create a captivating story. Prior to being old enough to even spell simple words correctly, I was illustrating and writing the stories for my own childish comic books. I remember it frustrated me to the point of tears that I couldn’t draw what I saw clearly in my imagination, so I would just rip up the paper and start all over again. This process led me to focus more on practicing and perfecting my visual art throughout high school. I would always have a notebook on hand to write down ideas, stories, or any interesting conversations I had that day. I soon noticed I was subconsciously adding more and more words, random text and cryptic storytelling into my artwork. That was around the time when I alternated my complete attention from a canvas and paintbrush to a notebook and pen.

Why do you write?

I write as a personal artistic challenge, as an attempt to fine tune, document, and expand upon my overactive imagination. With my writing I aspire to show and share everything I see in my mind by using only words. I write because I came to the conclusion that every form of art contains its own deadline for someone to formulate their own negative or positive opinion of it. With visual art, personal opinions are immediate. You like what you see, or you don’t. Music on the other hand takes a little more time to listen closely and decide how it makes you feel. But reading a book from cover to cover, that takes time. That is a commitment. But sometimes you gain more from art than just an opinion of it.

Is being a writer/poet anything like you imagined it would be?

Honestly, I’m at a loss for words. *insert comedic drum roll here*

What do you think makes a good story?

Well established believability, especially towards the unbelievable aspects of the story, and a mutual trust between the author and the reader.

What's your favorite genre to read?

I love horror, including all of its varied subgenres, especially non-fiction books on the paranormal, supernatural, and the unexplained. 

Who is your favorite author or poet?

I respect and admire so many authors, each to their own credit. However my top three would be: William S. Burroughs, H.P. Lovecraft, and Hunter S. Thompson. As for pure poetry, nothing beats a case of beer and something by Bukowski.

What books or stories have most influenced you the most as a writer?

Stalking Is a Contact Sport, by (a brilliant bastard and friend) Fred Seton. As well as the author’s entire unpublished works.

What books or stories have most influenced you as a person?

The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allen Poe. This was read to me and my fellow first-grade classmates by a sweet old librarian during story time. It all spiraled downward from there.

Where/how do you find the most inspiration?

I find the most inspiration from imperfections, mistakes, and the unknown, easily found both in myself and the world around me.

What does your family think of your writing?

I assume they think the same thing as they thought about my visual art; if I’m not getting paid every time I do it, it’s not a job.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

…I’ll answer that question as soon as I have or find the time.

Do you have any writing quirks or rituals?

Not that I’m consciously aware of…

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

The middle and endings are always a challenge. Starting anything is easy.

What are your current projects?

I’m currently composing several horror movie spec screenplays, while continuing to raise and be responsible for an abandoned baby squirrel that I rescued from the hands of death earlier this summer, a squirrel which is now a happy and healthy blur of chaos and destruction.

What are you planning for future projects?

I really hate to plan anything too far ahead so I’ll just cryptically say, “It’s a surprise.”

Do you have any advice for other writers?

My only advice is; adopt a monkey. Or if you live in a place where monkeys are readily available, invite one to stay inside your home… because if you are able to continue writing while a temperamental primate screams and destroys your house, you will obtain discipline and focus. A monkey will also teach you the proper way to handle discouragement and rejection by learning to wipe it all away and move on. Just like all the feces the monkey will throw at you… and yes, you will be repeatedly hit with monkey excrement… monkey excrement that smells of humiliation and shame… just wipe it away, and move on.

Where else can we find your work?

Some of my artwork and prose can be found in Migraine Expressions, a beautiful book of powerful migraine poetry, prose, art, and photography promoting awareness and understanding of migraine and the need for further research, understanding, and treatments.

That and I sometimes vandalize roadside billboards with profound anti-consumerism truths. Or you may find one of my notebooks filled with strange drawings and written madness that I am compelled to purposely loose in random public places whenever I travel. www.timdankanich.brushd.com

Tim's chilling supernatural novel, Old Hag Syndrome can be purchased from our website or from your favorite online bookstore in print or ebook format.

           

For the last twenty years, Annette Chambers has been haunted by the same recurring nightmare of her beloved twin sister’s death.

When a cryptic stranger warns Annette that she is in danger of being murdered -- just like her sister -- by an ancient evil that dwells between dreams and reality, Annette initially dismisses the idea until she is attacked in her sleep by an unseen entity.

Annette soon learns what she experienced is known throughout history as Old Hag Syndrome, a horrifying affliction that causes victims to awake, paralyzed, unable to scream while they are tormented by hallucinations.

Soon Annette realizes the Old Hag she faces is real and has been killing off her friends and family. Her nightmare becomes a frightening reality where the only hope of survival lies somewhere between death and madness.

An Interview with Stephanie Minns, author of The Tale of Storm Raven

An Interview with Stephanie Minns, author of The Tale of Storm Raven

Steph Minns has been a keen reader, writer, and artist since childhood. Her professional career has predominantly been in publishing, website, and print design, including positions as publications manager and commissioning editor. She has also worked as a freelance illustrator for Talking Stick and Pentacle magazine. You can visit her online at http://stephminns.weebly.com.

Her spooky short, The Tale of Storm Raven, was published by imprint Dark Alley Press in April 2014.

What was the inspiration for The Tale of Storm Raven?

Funnily enough, a comment from my boss. I’d been responding to enquiry emails at work and remarked on yet another marketing email from a wig company in China (to the Forestry Commission in England?) My manager remarked on people buying wigs made from real human hair and how creepy it would be to have someone elses’ hair on your head. That set off the idea of a haunted wig that comes with ghost attached, as old objects are often claimed to do by paranormal researchers.

What draws you to horror?

The fact that it takes you completely out of normal everyday mundane existence. You can lose yourself in a dark, creepy tale and forget your worries for a while.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always written stories, even as a child, although they were mostly about ponies until the age of ten. Then I progressed to ghosts and things lurking in forests.

Why do you write?

I love reading and always have stories in my head waiting to pop out, maybe inspired by a chance comment overheard or a street scene where I borrow a scenario or character I’ve observed and think that would make a good story.

Is being a writer anything like you imagined it would be?

I do it for the love of it. I don’t think I’ve ever imagined being a writer as such, but to be able to make a reasonable living from something you enjoy doing anyway is everybody’s dream I guess.

What do you think makes a good story?

Credible characters and a plot that keeps you guessing and keeps you wanting to turn the page. I like unusual and off beat characters who maybe don’t always fit comfortably in the world, and have a different take on life. A surprise ending that gets the reader thinking also helps.

What's your favorite genre to read?

Horror, mystery/crime or dark fantasy at the moment. I’m not a chick-lit type of girl. My first (only) self published novel though was a historical fiction set in the 18^th century and based around real history, smuggling specifically, in the West Country where I live.

Who is your favorite author or poet?

Lots but Poppy Z. Brite and Neil Gaiman come to mind.

What books or stories have most influenced you the most as a writer?

Best of horror collections I guess, and Neil Gaiman plus Stephen King’s collections. I grew up on a diet of 2000 AD comics with characters such as Slaine and Judge Dredd.

What books or stories have most influenced you as a person?

As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann is a book that’s still on my shelf and I’ve read it three times. I’ve always liked Oscar Wilde’s shorts too such as The Portrait of Dorian Gray, creepy in a subtle way.

Where/how do you find the most inspiration?

People and things I see around me mostly. I’ve just written a short humorous story for a competition inspired by a recent trip to the eye hospital and what happened on the bus, the characters in the waiting room for example. I watch the crime channels too on TV and sometimes ideas come from real life, the dark, terrible things people do to each other.

What does your family think of your writing?

They enjoy reading my efforts (so they say)! My parents were always great readers and encouraged a love of books.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I work part time in an administration post but have the mornings free so make myself sit down most mornings for a couple of hours, even if I don’t feel very inspired. I’ve got a few notebooks with scribbled ideas and half-formed stories in to trawl through when I’m feeling a bit lost for some ideas.

Do you have any writing quirks or rituals?

Lots of cups of tea.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Trying not to be too wordy with short stories. They tend to lapse into long short stories if I’m not careful.

What are your current projects?

I’m working on a series of dark fantasy short stories but have a novel idea drafted ready to start.

What are you planning for future projects?

To finish the novel and try and get that published.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

I belong to a small Writers Group where I live in Bristol which has proven invaluable for feedback as we critique each others’ work, helping each other with stuff like plots and endings that may not work.

Where else can we find your work?

I have a short story called The Watcher From The Woods on UK e-publisher AlfieDog’s website and my own website www.stephminns.weebly.com has a couple of freebie reads on it.

Steph's horror short, The Tale of Storm Raven can be downloaded from our website or purchased at your favorite ebook retailer.

Nick, a London musician and bookstore manager, falls for a Goth beauty he meets online.  However, Suzy has a problem. No one believes a ghost is gradually taking over Suzy’s life, until Nick and his friend Zac start to investigate. But is it too late though for Suzy, who is gradually spiraling into a sordid decline?