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Tuesday, October 10, 2023

31 Days of Horror: Day 10-- Why I Write Horror by PD Alleva w/ Giveaway

Today I am beginning a mini series, within a series, within a series. Wait...what? Becky that is very confusing. Okay, so let me explain.

You are currently reading the 31 Days of Horror series and today's post is part of the "Why I Love Horror" series within that series. Today is also the start of three days featuring authors who play their trade in the self publishing sphere, authors who are putting out solid books, titles readers love, but with little to no marketing push behind them.

All three of these authors are also members of the Horror Writers Association and they have offered up a book for one of you. All titles offered are finished copies that you should add to your library's collections immediately. The rest of you, should consider ordering a copy for yourselves.

Please see the most recent giveaway for rules. Those rules apply here as well. I will pull 3 separate winners over the weekend. The first will get today's title.

Now you can see what I mean about this being "a mini series, within a series, within a series." So let's begin.

PD Alleva writes violent, fast paced Horror that reader LOVE. His novel Jigglyspot and the Zero Intellect is coming out on Halloween, and the advance praise is good. You like cannibals, carnivals, and clowns? Well then this book is for you. In fact, I have a hard cover copy for one lucky library worker to give away this week (see link with rules above). 

But here's the thing, Alleva's novels may be full of graphic violence but his reasons for writing Horror are based in his own personal history and his work as a psychotherapist. You want to know why some of the most violent and gory Horror novels are no only fun for some readers, but also necessary, meet PD Alleva.

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Why I Write Horror
By PD Alleva

There are so many reasons I write horror it’s difficult to fit everything into a quick blog read. I could probably write a full book on the subject, and maybe someday I will write such a book, but for now we’ll have to list the reasons in this blog. I’ve outlined a few of those reasons below, but the short answer is because horror is the only genre that truly satisfies every emotion, feeling, and sensation the human mind and heart can conjure. Where else can you get humanity, gore, and intellectual stimulation? What other genre makes you want to cringe, puke, shiver, inspire, laugh out loud, and be horrified to the point that the reader questions every simple bump, creak, or shadow creeping into their bedroom?

Horror satisfies my craving to be bold, brilliant, eclectic, and terrified all at the same time. As a writer, I like to conjure emotions within my readers that they never knew existed. Whether that takes place with a laugh out loud moment as someone is carving, slicing and dicing a human body for dinner, or a tender moment that twists into a sadistic orgy, it’s all good to me.

What I enjoy most about the genre is the constant battle between the light and the dark, and the delicate balance when walking a fine line between the two. Inside every horror story, the dark side of humanity is on full display, both within the story and within the reader. I’ve always been intrigued with the balance between the light and the dark and how delicate that balance is. How easy it is to be bad and how difficult it is to maintain integrity, honesty, and goodwill when everyone else seems to have given up and given in. How easy it is for people to slip into the darkness and how one wrong move or choice can lead to a path paved with tragedy despite our good intentions.

I write horror because no matter how bad things are, they can always become far more dire and horrific. Horror is a reflection of the worst-case scenario, but with a few twists. A twist because there’s always the other side, the one that triumphs through it all. The place where hope is discovered is never more profound as when we confront our ultimate fears. However, unfortunately, life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies and our unlikely heroes don’t always run off into the sunrise, holding their arms up in triumph. There’s a lesson to be learned in such circumstances, because there’s another side to the coin, another side to life that constantly persists on winning and will do anything to secure that win. It’s called the dark side, the evil and downright nasty hearts who will stop at nothing to stretch their talon across humanity. Think of the manipulative con man, or the gas lighting narcissist or any other person you’ve ever come across that had evil in their heart. We need to be aware of such people and not fool ourselves into believing that everything is going to magically work its way out. Horror teaches us to keep our wits in check, to persist and stay true to ourselves. To forgive but not forget.

Horror asks: how far are you willing to go? How far are you willing to cross the line into darkness in order to survive? It’s only when we embrace the darkness that we are truly evolved and when we confront dire circumstances, the most horrific parts of the human heart can rear their ugly heads. But it is also the time for triumph, overcoming tragedy and standing up to confront our darkest fears. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. If I could choose for this not to happen I would, but I’m not the one running the big show, I’m simply reporting what I see and I tend to not placate or lie to people that everything’s gonna be all right when sometimes it’s definitely not going to be. That’s the reality that horror is capable of, because where else can we stretch the limits and spoon feed a heavy dose of reality that burns all the way down into the stomach, leaving a nasty taste in the back of the reader’s throat and then toss in hope and victory? If the purpose of life is to evolve, we’ve got to find recourse to tragedy and learn the lessons that allow us to evolve. Horror offers a platform to pen such stories. But there’s more on that below. So let’s tidy up this little blog with a few additional reasons on why I write horror and the path that has led me down the horror rabbit hole.

Reason 1: Being born was a tragedy. I was born into violence. Groomed for it too. Without getting into too many details, let’s just say I’ve seen more than my share of violence, manipulation, crime, and all that comes with such a lifestyle. Although at the same time there was a lot of light within all that darkness and growing up, I constantly battled with walking a fine line between the darkness and the light. Luckily, the light won. But that winning method was only achieved after the darkness was accepted. I spent so many years attempting to deny that dark part of the heart, but like a child, it wanted more attention. Kept rearing its ugly head. Best way to describe it is the yin and yang. Are we going to be mostly darkness with a little light or mostly light with a little dark? It’s only after we’ve accepted all of ourselves that we are free. I have a keen understanding of the criminal and violent mind, so why wouldn’t I write horror? Such knowledge lends to creating great villains, and who doesn’t enjoy a proper villain?

Reason 2: Horror, horror, everywhere. I see horror everywhere. What do I mean by that? I mean, I hear about horror and tragedy on a constant, everyday basis. The manipulation and treachery that exists within our species is a constant player in all our lives. I’ve been a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist for close to twenty years, specializing in treating PTSD and traumatic experiences. There’s nothing more horrific than the reality of one human being inflicting trauma on another. We live in a sick, sick world, although just how sick most people are unaware of. In my time, I’ve serviced patients who have suffered through human trafficking, satanic worship and pedophilia, as well as war, addiction, abduction, and psychological trauma/brainwashing. The brainwashing aspect is what I refer to as programming, or psychological trauma, which, unfortunately, is the trauma no one ever talks about. As I tell my patients, as strong and as powerful as the human mind is, it is also equally as fragile. Horror is everywhere. It’s a part of our lives and a part of our history. Of course, people are going to be drawn to horror, terror, and tragedy. They see it all the time whenever they turn on their favorite news channel. Horror is everywhere, but without it, we’d never be able to see the light.

Reason 3: Venting frustrations without hacking and whacking human bodies. In my private life, you’d never guess that I wrote horror novels. I’m a compassionate, spiritual being who would rather spread joy in my daily life than engage in manipulation, crime, and negativity. Horror provides an outlet to vent frustrations and offers a method to indulge in that fine line between the light and the dark. I keep it to the books, which allows such things to stay out of my personal life, because if I don’t, that dark energy has a tendency to spill over into a series of self-deceptive behaviors. Energy is a fickle thing, it’s going to live and breathe whether or not you want it to. It’s the law of attraction, and it’s better to channel that dark energy into a creative response, exorcising it in the most positive outlet. As I tell my patients, use that dark energy for purpose, focus, ambition, and success.

Reason 4: What is past is prologue. But mostly I write horror because I absolutely love the genre. When you grow up in a troubled home, attempting to understand your environment, horror is as natural as gravity. We need to understand. We need to persist. And we need to see the light that exists within ourselves. I remember all those nights, reading by my flashlight, under the covers, at home within my little hovel and inspired by the words dripping off the page. It’s where I found the light. It’s in all the stories, those plot points where sacrifice for another is on full display, or how the feeble child finally comes out of their shell to tell the devil to fuck off. Where the human condition ballooned from chapter to chapter with the lesson that life is not always perfect and sometimes we’ve got to stand up and make our voices heard. Plus, and let’s be honest, because I am a writer, the craft, the emotions, and the sensations that ripple through the reader with a profound emotionally charged reading experience is by far and bar none the best experience I could ask for.

I grew up on the classics: Poe, Shelley, Bradbury, Stoker, Bronte, to name a few. Horror always highlights that fine line where the internal struggle of the human heart is on full display. It can tear a family apart or bring them together. Spiral a sick mind into madness or bring that same mind into the light. There’s no telling how it’s all going to end, but what we know is that the journey satisfies all the cravings, itches and emotions, so why not continue?

Fiction should be intelligent, entertaining, and should dig deep into the heart of the human condition. Fiction has always reflected society and has historically come with dire warnings on the persistence of the darkness that exists within the human heart. And what genre captures the heart of humanity in all its splendor and madness better than horror? Of course I write horror. There is no other genre that comes close to all that horror can provide.

Keep it real. Read horror to escape. Read horror to learn. Read horror to satisfy that itch to be bad. But read horror, don’t live it. Read horror so your private life is awesome, filled with joy, wonder, and amazement. Keep reading. 

 ~ PD Alleva

Author Bio: I write books, that’s what I do. Horror, scifi, thrillers, fantasy, and sometimes a literary gem. Good ones, crazy ones, fun books, entertaining books, scary creepy books that are absolutely insane, books with depth and thrills, and stories that rip out the heart of humanity and throws it on a slab to be feasted on. Yeah, that’s what I do, I write books. Any questions? My current projects include: the Pulp Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy series, The Dark Veil: The Rose Vol. III; the horror thriller novella series, Girl on a Mission; the supernatural thriller series, The Hypnotist; and a follow up to Jigglyspot and the Zero Intellect, tentatively titled, The Sleepy Hollow Incident.

Author Links: 
TikTok: @horrorbookclub
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