One of my fans posted this comment on a fic once:
And that's the core of the Whump genre, isn't it? We want to hit those feelings of "oh poor baby," and we get this by seeing our favorite characters suffer. I happen to prefer a happy ending -- mostly Hurt/Comfort, though other things are possible, and the key detail is that at some point, the suffer is over and behind you. Not to say I won't read really dark stuff with no happy ending in sight, but only occasionally, in small doses.
But the intensity, that's the part that appeals to me. Intense drama, intense emotions. And I'm really quite good at crafting such tales.
My darkest material comes out in October, which is when all the brakes are off. Unlike my usual fare, there's no guarantee of a happy ending, or even that any particular character might make it to the end intact, sane, or even alive.
The shorter pieces come out when I think them up, as they're usually quite fast to get written down, so they're not specific to Creepyfest. Still, they fit the same vibe: They're creepy, they're meant to unsettle, and there's no guarantee of a happy ending.
Manipulations was...