As a child, my fascination with the macabre was ignited by stumbling upon Edgar Allan Poe's haunting tales in school. "The Tell-Tale Heart" became the cornerstone of my love for all things eerie. Then came the thunderbolt moment: reading Stephen King's "Carrie" left me utterly spellbound. I devoured every King book within reach at the school library, hungering for more, eventually scouring the shelves of the public library in my quest for spine-chilling narratives.

  Dean Koontz soon emerged as another luminary in my pantheon of horror icons. "Phantoms" by Koontz remains etched in my memory as one of the most hair-raising reads to date. And then there's Clive Barker's "Books of Blood," a collection of short stories that, in my humble opinion, stands as the pinnacle of the genre. Brace yourself with a pair of sturdy Big-Boy Pants before delving into its depths—that's a journey not for the faint-hearted.

  These masters—Poe, King, Koontz, and Barker—have indelibly shaped my writing, infusing it with a dark allure that continues to captivate readers. But the tapestry of horror literature is rich and varied, woven with threads from other luminaries like Robert McCammon, Whitley Strieber, Peter Straub, and Joe Hill, each adding their own unique flavor to the concoction.

  And the tradition of terror persists, carried forth by a new generation of authors. Paul Tremblay, Richard Chizmar, Stephen Graham Jones, Catriona Ward, and Sarah Pearse are among the new and exciting voices who keep the flame of horror burning bright, offering fresh nightmares to haunt our dreams.

  In this ever-evolving landscape of horror, I remain forever vigilant, eagerly seeking out the next great spine-tingling tale to send shivers down my spine and inspire my own dark imaginings.