If you’re looking to scare yourself to sleep this Halloween, curl up with a book by a local South Florida author and international Amazon bestseller, Sara Brooke. Just don’t forget to leave the lights on.…
Brooke, who dreamed of writing horror novels since childhood, has been keeping readers up at night since 2012. Her debut novel, “Still Lake,” a chilling medical thriller, made the Amazon bestseller list and captured the No. 1 spot in Barnes & Noble’s horror genre for two days, which is no easy feat for a new author. Since then, Brooke has written 10 additional horror titles and contributed to four anthologies, often scaring herself in the process.
“Writing ‘Kransen House’ bothered me. It’s a disturbing book. It’s about a very dysfunctional family, and the patriarch is psychologically not right. Writing that, it was a very dark environment and brooding situation that made me uncomfortable,” recalls Brooke. But she isn’t one to shy away from the discomfort.
“I think it’s a good thing because when I’m writing if it takes me to a really dark place in my imagination where I’m kind of looking around and not wanting to think about the story when the lights go out. Hopefully, it does the same for my readers,” enthuses Brooke, who loves being told that her books are demented.
“The best part is having people read my books and tell me how scared they were,” she says. “To know that somebody is fully immersed in something I’ve written—immersed in my twisted little world—that is the biggest reward.”
In addition to writing horror novels, Brooke also conducts paranormal investigations with the Paranormal Existence Research Society, a nonprofit organization that investigates paranormal phenomena across Florida and conducts in-home investigations for those who think their home is haunted. While these investigations would seem the perfect complement to her writing, Brooke rarely draws inspiration from them.
“For me, the investigations are about helping people,” explains Brooke, adding that what happens on a typical investigation is also much milder than what you read in her books. “If I walked into a home and the things that happen in my stories were happening, we would need to call a person of the cloth to help us.”
Brooke is currently working on her 12th novel, “In the Marsh” (a working title that may change), a gothic horror story inspired by a trip to St. Augustine. Though no firm publication date is set, Brooke is confident the book will be released in the first half of 2023.
For some thrills and chills this Halloween, Brooke recommends “Cursed Casino,” a cross between “The Shining” and “The Mist,” which readers have described as “the perfect story for a rainy, stormy, drink-filled Halloween night,” and “Kransen House,” one of her more twisted tales. “‘Kransen House’ is with you after you finish it. You feel like you need to take a shower after that one,” she laughs.
For more information on Brooke and her writing, visit www.sarabrooke.com. Her novels are available on Amazon.