I’m happy to report that I recently completed a new novel: The Inhabitants. Essentially, it’s my grownup take on the types of stories I most liked to write as a kid: tales of haunted spaces, and what happens to those who enter them, intentionally or by circumstance.

Although I’ve long been a fan of ghost stories, that has been perhaps my biggest impediment to writing one as an adult. How, I asked myself, could I possibly create one as chilling and strange as my favorite tale of the supernatural, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James? The answer, of course, is that I can’t, and didn’t. Yet it was fun to take up the challenge of writing a novel that tries to engage readers on a psychological level, that aims to spark the darkest parts of their imaginations, as James did so brilliantly. In the process, I tried to bear in mind something that Joanna Briscoe observed in The Guardian: “The power of a ghost story lies in what is feared beneath the surface of the narrative, terrors glimpsed or imagined in the cracks, rather than what leaps out of the shadows.”

So what’s the novel about? In brief, it tells the story of a portrait artist who moves into a house constructed by a nineteenth-century architect whose work was said to influence the mind, supposedly in beneficial ways. As she seeks revenge-by-painting against a contempt-worthy portrait subject, she begins to have strange experiences in the house, making her worry that she might be falling under its spell. At the same time, she’s becoming entranced by her handsome nextdoor neighbor, a chemist who starts brewing seemingly innocent herbal tonics for her, drinks that are intended to boost her creativity but that might be having other influences. All the while, someone seems to be looking out for her: a housekeeper who might not be of this world. But in time, it appears that the housekeeper may have an agenda of her own.

As with previous books, I’ve found finishing the draft of this novel to be a bittersweet experience. Although it is something of a relief to have a good chunk of the work behind me, I’m beginning to miss my deep engagement with the protagonist and other characters. I’m even missing the hours and days I spent, mentally, in the rooms of that often-mind-bending house.

If the book ever gets published, I’ll let you know. And if you end up reading it, you can determine whether I achieved what I set out to do.

Update as of September 2022: I’m delighted to report that The Inhabitants is slated to be released by Regal House Publishing in the fall of 2024.