Don’t Wake Up actually started as a short story I wrote back in early 2024, aptly named Don’t Wake Up at 3 a.m. I had zero intention, at the time, of evolving this story into anything than what it was, a 2,000 word short story that did not have a happy ending.
When I decided it was time to finally write the novel I always wanted to write, I searched the depths of my twisted mind, coming to the conclusion that this story needed more. It needed to explore the mentality of my main character; her despondent fears of being a failure, her imposter syndrome, her lack of self-worth and struggles with anxiety. Lyla Woods wholeheartedly has a piece of me in her (write what you know, right?), and I’ve shared her views, her shortcomings and unbridled fear of never being enough. If I’m being honest, those fears still linger. But what if those thoughts opened us up to a sinister darkness within our nightmares? What if those fears cultivated an evil that preyed on our weaknesses? That’s what Don’t Wake Up explores. Setting aside the easy scares of a simple monster but intertwining what some of us fear most; our own mental stability. It’s a journey through the psyche, what lies beneath the surface of our nightmares? There are no definitive answers but it intrigues me to dive deeper, to question why our minds come up with such horrors? And I ask you, the reader, what do you fear most outside the realm of your nightmares?
