Welcome to The Voices Made Me Do It

Look into my eyes!

Hi everyone,

Lark here.

Thanks for visiting my website! I hope you find something of interest, either in my blog, or in one of my books.

I dreamt of writing a book ever since C.S. Lewis hurtled me through that wardrobe and into Narnia (Although, saying that, I think I read 'The Magician's Nephew' first). Those series of books fuelled my childhood imagination, and it hasn't really grown up much now that I'm fifty-five.

Sometimes, when I write something, I have a general idea what the story will be about but, more often than not, it tends to edge towards the darker, scarier side, which usually means I end up killing characters, and not always in a nice way!

When I started writing my debut novel 'CRULUS' over thirteen years ago, I had no idea what I was doing (I'm still not much better now, either! 😂) and, eventually, I plucked up the courage to complete two Creative Writing courses with the Open University. After successfully completing those, and my degree, I dusted off my manuscript and quickly realised it was utter garbage.

Work, family, life in general, lack of confidence, and lots of procrastination resulted in many more years whizzing by before I began to seriously put an effort into the story. The writing software, Scrivener™, really helped me to organise my ideas, locations, characters and, of course, the chapters, which then seemed to flow much better.

The main thing that I wanted for CRULUS was that it could be read, and enjoyed, by all ages, so I kept my dark thoughts and descriptions to a minimum (sort of).

Dylan Wolfendale's Etch-A-Sketch

My wife and I both remember sneaking Stephen King books out of the library, hidden under other books classed as more suitable for children eleven and over, and being terrified by them, but in a good way. That's what I wanted of CRULUS: a novel that the younger generation, raised on eighties shows such as Stranger Things®, could enjoy, whether they were sneaking a copy or getting permission to do so.

Dylan Wolfendale's bedroom

Becoming active in the Indie Horror community was the final push that I needed to get my novel finished. The help and support I've received from other authors, reviewers, and readers has been amazing. If you haven't already found them, check out Facebook groups such as Indie Horror Chapter and Books of Horror.

CRULUS is set in 1981, and the main character, Dylan Wolfendale's, first year in comprehensive school. It is also the year I started in my local comprehensive. Living through the eighties as a child was awesome, but I also have darker memories from that time as I, like my character Dylan, was also bullied at school. But, hey, I survived and in some respects it's made me stronger, although, sadly, I still have zero confidence.

The items in this photo either feature in CRULUS or are related to the characters within the story. One of the polaroid photos is of me, aged eleven. Can you guess which one?

Without sounded old, although I probably will, times were different in the eighties. Parents were strict but also more free with their child's supervision. Due to more women working and greater divorces in the eighties, many kids were left to fend for themselves and let themselves into their house with their own key after playing outside all day or being at school, hence the term, latchkey kids.

Christmas in the seventies and eighties was a special time of the year for me. I love Christmas, and still do. I have fond memories of my mam and dad telling me and my brother to open the stockings that were on our beds and not to go downstairs until they were ready for us.

The stockings would always have a chocolate selection box, a bag of chocolate money/coins, a piece of fruit or a small bag of nuts, soap-on-a-rope, tube of Smarties and some small presents to keep us occupied until they were ready. It never really worked, though, we'd still be nagging them from the top of the stairs asking if it was time for us to come down.

Dylan's bedroom - Christmas Day 1981

I always remember being naughty one year. I balanced on the edge of my parent's bed and managed to slide their top wardrobe cupboard open and nose inside. I spotted a pile of unwrapped presents, one of which was awesome (I can't remember what it was, though), and I remember being so excited for Christmas Day, more so than I usually was.

Anyway, Christmas morning came around and I dived into all of my presents and watched in horror as my brother unwrapped the awesome present that I'd seen. That's karma for you!

If you were naughty in school, the teachers dished out corporal punishment in the form of a clip around the ear, a board rubber thrown at your head, or a cane across your hand or backside by the headmaster. Some teachers, however, took this 'authorized' punishment too far, and I wanted to convey this within CRULUS. This was achieved by making Dylan's teacher, Mr Harwood, a lover of such punishment. He's loosely based on a teacher I had at school, who enforced similar punishment methods and had the same array of 'weapons'.

Mr Harwood's desk - Draigwen Comprehensive School

My love of the eighties has caused a slight obsession in that I started collecting toys and games from that period that I, or my parents, couldn't afford, or I simply didn't have them because there were just too many awesome things about at the time. Toys and handheld electronic (VFD display) games that I longed for but never had, now adorn my shelves. Now, I have retro toys and games everywhere in what was once a spare bedroom.

So, that bedroom is now actually a writing room, library, and retro gaming room all in one awesome package.

Lark's writing space

Hopefully, I shall continue to write stories until I curl up my toes or until the voices in my head stop talking.

I hope you will enjoy my blog ramblings, which I'll try to keep interesting, and my stories, whether they be flash fiction, short stories or full length novels.

Take care, all!

Love Lark