While at university, I lived a stone's throw from West Wycombe, a quaint English village with a dark past. West Wycombe was home to one of the 18th century's hellfire clubs, home of debauched pagan revelry, and inspiration for my second novel.
Set up by Sir Francis Dashwood, the clubs stood in stark contrast to a deeply conservative society. Here they practised satanic worship, black magic and held mass orgies. It got me wondering... what would a modern-day Dashwood look like? What would happen at a modern-day hellfire club gathering? Queue a series of depraved characters forming in my mind and making their way onto the page.
The story follows a lawless couple in a turbulent relationship as they follow their hedonistic desires and awaken a dark spirit in their revelry. The book touches on themes of addiction, morality and the supernatural as it follows a marriage's demise. Writing this story has been a dark process, but who doesn't enjoy exploring their dark side?
It's at 65,000 words as it stands, but I can already see that it will grow with the second draft. For now, I'm going to celebrate getting to the end and will let it rest for a while. I need to get these characters out of my head for now and come back to the project afresh.
Now a brief respite before I plunge back into the darkness...