LIT follows the journey of a group of individuals, led by the anxious Ellie, as they confront their deepest fears and traumas through therapy, mysterious realms, and the pursuit of resilience, all while shadowed by an uncanny creature. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story? 

Firstly, it came at a very fundamental level, during an unsettling dream I had many years ago. Secondly, it is inspired by experience with very real emotions and situations. Doubt, desperation, loneliness, and fear can produce very strong negative emotions in a person. As a response, we will often cause damage as a response. LIT asks the question, if your anger could inflict a tangible, undeniable suffering to others, would you still be so keen to use it against them? The consequences of your anger are vile. Would you fight against or embrace that? We all know people who have done both and there are consequences for both actions. I tried to create three main protagonists and follow their story and then…slam them together. 

I wish I could say I carry the archetypal angst of a horror writer but the truth is, I am actually a very happy person! However, we have all had our challenges, and I am no stranger to negative emotions. 

What inspired you to create the character of Ellie, and how did you approach depicting her complex emotions and anxieties so vividly?  

Ellie, the character is inspired by my daughter during her teenage-angst years. Internally there are a few similarities but overall, Ellie quickly became her own person in the story. It’s one of the greatest joys of writing. Create a person and they actually grow so knowable to you. Whether it be Ellie, Josh, or Sam, I think my passion for creating characters that people can really relate to shows through in my writing. I enjoy it and it’s hard to explain but after a time, they actually start writing themselves. You know them so well. I know these characters, I know how they think, how they act, and what they say. I guide them towards being fully realised, uncontrived, and as organic as they can be. 

The creature that tails Ellie is an intriguing element in the plot. Can you elaborate on the symbolism of this creature and its connection to the overarching themes of the book?

It is uniquely nefarious (no plot spoilers!) In creating the main protagonists, I also had to consider which form their particular antagonist would take. Within LIT, in a strange and twisted way, the monster has to complement their human. These creatures plot and play with their minds in the most subjectively effective form they can. Ellie in particular lives life as if holding the gate closed on the most depraved of the affliction. An obligation she reluctantly embraces but wholeheartedly meets, but she knows and has seen what it can do. 

What is the next book you are working on and when will it be available? 

I completed the sequel to LIT, ASCENT and it was released March of 2023 whilst I was in Rome. I had a short time off before I started the third book which is still in progress now, hopefully to be released at the end of the year. Instagram features multiple updates and some fun vids on me doing my thing. 

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“You do want me to go Niles, believe me you really do want me to go. Staying here would be so bad, so bad for you. You don’t understand the danger, you can’t understand and I can’t stay here. . . I’m sorry.”

Evil and merciless, Leviathans attach to souls of the damaged among us. They feed off the emotions of these “Conduits” but are always waiting. Anger can identify a target, light one for an eternity of pain. Once LIT, there is no way out.

Three Conduits face their ever present monster that inflicts their life with terror and loss. Friendships can be forged and alliances can be made. The event of the Circle is approaching when Conduit becomes the hunted by their own grotesque nightmare. Now something else is uprising. There are others in the world who hunt their own.