Sometimes it's a dark world. And you need to be careful you're not stuck there.

Writing horror was my thing when I first started out. As such, I decided to be better than most. I wanted first hand information about the subject. As a result, I visited an old friend married to a man who practiced Satanism on a grand scale. He had the black altar, the whips, the Athame, a coven of thirteen. I also met with Dark Witches, practicing Druids, who threatened by life. And I kept going because I wanted first hand knowledge. Even after a phone call from a truck driver from Tampa, when I lived in SW Florida, who wanted me to meet him in a rest area on I95 to discuss our differences, I kept going. The man was an avowed Satanist who objected to my points of view on the subject. I never met him, but I did meet with people--teens especially--who were victims of ritual abuse. Mostly self-abuse, but they were practicing some crazy stuff or other. My point is: I found it all repulsive, but there are some who are fascinated to the point where they stay in that world, join along with being different. I've met them; spoken to them, listened to their stories about how life is so much better on the dark side. When did they let their senses slide downhill, I often wonder? When did they decide to abandon their families, friends, jobs for the sake of being different? You see, when you get involved in research, try to remember it's for a purpose: you're writing a novel based on truth. If you relax for a moment, you're sucked in and there's just no way out.