Overexposure, a short story about addiction to a person and the total obliteration of oneself in the pursuit of the impossible, is the closest thing to Pink Horror I’ve ever written. It’s also very firmly Weird Fiction, or New Weird.
“Pink horror takes back all of the real-life horrors that we who identify as femme experience just living our everyday life and shoves it back in your face”
Wendy Dalrymple
I would say that losing yourself in pursuit of a relationship, especially with a man who comes off as ‘special’ but gives you nothing of substance, is part of the femme experience. I would also say that, although this story is Weird with a capital W, it’s also a riff off this kind of personality strangulation that happens when people, especially femme people, put their own needs below those of someone they want to ‘save’ or ‘understand’. Charlie never interacts with another woman throughout the whole story – and that’s the point.
I’ve recorded it myself for the Eldritch Girl podcast, but this is the first time that it has been sold. You can now listen to it on The Weird Library, narrated by Bridgette Brenmark. Honestly, she did such a good job I cried on the train.
This is probably my favourite short story to date. I wrote it in 2021, but hearing it read by someone else made it so fresh and I fell in love with the story again. That’s a very weird thing to say about a character whose life I ruin, but there we are.
About the Short Story
Charlie Eversley-Smith, an award-winning photographer, has an eye for detail and a love for London life, but this proves to be her undoing.
When she meets a glamourous man at a party and immediately forgets what he looks like, she has to see him again. And again. And again. The more Charlie sees him, the bigger the black hole in her head becomes, and even photographs won’t capture a memorable image.
As Charlie’s obsession consumes her, how far will she go to keep his image in her head?
OVEREXPOSURE is a one-shot psychological horror short with Weird elements, which contains a scene of on-page self-mutilation, gore, and features mental health deterioration. Reader discretion is advised.
This is a standalone short story in my Pagham-on-Sea universe. If you enjoy this, there is a lot more to discover!
The Crows and Thirteenth are both published with Canelo, and other titles are available directly from me.
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