It is my pleasure to welcome American author, Steve J Hermann from Chicago, Illinios. Steve will discuss wuth us the struggles he has with self harm in order that we may accurately reflect this in our writing. Steve, over to you.
Thank you for having me on your site, Val.
Over the past few years I’ve been very open about my fight with self harm. If you were to look at my arms you would think that there were dozens of tic tac toe games going on at once. So why does one do it? I’ll do my best to explain.
People react differently to the emotion distress. Some isolate, some cry, some close off the world around them and after awhile that distress fades away. Severe depression, anxiety and panic attacks are combinations of all the before mentioned rolled up as one constant barrage that completely overwhelms you and never goes away. It becomes so severe that one cannot function until all that pain is released or diverted somewhere else. For some, this is where suicidal thoughts enter their mind for they see no other way to free themselves, cutting is another. Now that I think about it, they go hand in hand.
Say you have a migraine that is driving you insane. As you’re walking you slam your knee into something. More than likely you are going to forget about the migraine and concentrate on the pain in your knee. Cutting works the same way. Does it solve the issue. No, but it gives temporary relief from what you are feeling at the time. Do I personally feel better after I’ve done it? Yes and no. Yes for the pain and warmth of blood on my skin calms me down. No, because each scar represents the demons of hate for myself and the fear inside me.
Steve's most recent novel is Dead Love.
The Blurb
Revenge is a dish best served when you’re dead.
When Brad found Melissa, he believed he’d found his true love. Their relationship blossomed like a rose and he cherished her with all his heart. His world comes crashing down when he discovers the love of his life may be cheating with an old friend. Unable to cope with the devastating news, Brad enters a new plane of existence and finds that the woman he trusted is not who he fell in love with. Filled with anger, he seeks to punish her and push her to the brink of insanity. When she breaks, Melissa pushes the boundaries of cruelty to a new level and Brad questions if he pushed her too far.
The Author
S.J. Hermann fascination with the supernatural and horror began when he read The Stand by Stephen King. From that point on, King' s work has been the inspiration for his own books.
His genre of choice is horror and supernatural which allows his mind to create stories not only to make you think, but also to terrify you.
His first book, Morium, was released in the fall of 2014 to much praise. Runner up in the 2015 Books go Social best self published book, it tackles the tough subject of Bullying and has been described as, CARRIE on steroids. The Morium trilogy concluded in 2017.
Since Morium, S.J. has written Trepidity, a short story based off eighties slasher movies. The emotional and highly praised, Stranded. Perfect Soul, a story based on faith and beliefs. Two short stories are available for free, In the Dark and Eventus.
When S.J. is not busy plotting and writing his next book, he enjoys visiting his local theme park and watching horror movies.