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Hi all, below I'll explain some of the background behind the House of Twelve and answer some of the common questions I get about it – be warned, there's massive spoilers ahead so if you haven't read it you might be better off looking away now :P
The Challenge
As I've always dabbled in writing sci-fi and fantasy stories, the House of Twelve was a personal challenge I set myself in-between writing my main series, ‘The Book Wielder Saga’. I also wanted to try writing a short story for a change, as I thought it would be better delivered as something short and ‘sweet’, rather than long, depressing and dreary given the subject matter (and I also didn't want to spend too long away from my main works).
I’m pleased with how the book turned out, and I never imagined that the House of Twelve would become my flagship story, but even in hindsight I don't think I could have made it longer or approached it from a different angle. To be honest, it was a struggle to write as I like to envelop myself in my stories—and to repeatedly plant myself inside the same desperate, anxiety laced environment was tough after a while, especially as world-building is one of my most favourite parts of writing and this book all played out in the same grim place.
As such, I'll go over the main questions I receive, while also pointing out the details I hid between the lines:
How are the victims meant to ‘escape' when they have amnesia?
In short – they aren't.
The amnesia is there to deliberately hinder the inhabitants’ ability to find redemption, adding insult to injury whilst still revolving around the idea that condemned souls can find forgiveness and salvation if they truly atone for their sins. When writing my first notes, I compared the scenario to being placed within a prison cell where the door has been left wide open but the corridors have been coated in razor wire; escape is a possibility, but an extremely painful and unlikely one at that.
Also, I tried to hint at the fact that the people who were actively seeking out their old memories regained them quickly if they struggled past the intense headaches (like Lucas) compared to the individuals who were completely remorseless or simply didn't care.
In truth, most of the people trapped within the houses know they've done something very bad to warrant their incarceration after the first few hours of waking up on day 1, but they don't want to face that realisation, and most fight against it even as the tension and the stakes rise.
Even if the occupants of a house die early on in the 12-day cycle, their soul will simply be planted in a new house and the process will repeat on and on until they work it out, but the inhuman forces at work on the dark side of the afterlife are more than happy for them to stay for all eternity.
Why does no one listen to ‘the Wreck’ or take the Redemption part of the rules more seriously?
The occupants of the house don’t listen to the Wreck primarily because they think he's completely insane, and secondly because on some level they know the awful things he's rambling about are true and they really don't want him to be correct—especially the souls who have suffered through dozens and dozens of houses.
The redemption clause is mainly ignored due to the fact that the characters believe it to be a mocking jest from their captor, as achieving it wouldn't help them physically escape, thinking from a purely logical standpoint. Of course, there are also the remorseless characters (like Sarah) who don't want redemption, even at a subconscious level, as they believe their actions in life are truly justified, no matter how horrific they were.
What/Who is the antagonist in the House of Twelve?
As the ‘victims’ trapped within the houses are the souls of people who have committed heinous crimes in life, I pictured an endless void (hinted at in one of Sarah's dreams) filled with various torture scenario; one of which was a vast plain of houses, all in different styles but sharing the common theme of being supernaturally unbreachable prisons.
I envisioned that all of the houses would be overseen by a malicious, yet arguably justified spirit, who takes condemned souls out of the cold void of nothingness and puts them into groups of twelve, picking a mix of the most clashing personality types to guarantee the most unpleasant experience possible for the tormented souls.
The Characters
This was one of my biggest difficulties when I put pen to paper, as most of the house's occupants are unpleasant, unstable and unfriendly individuals (who were maybe a little crazy even before suffering the same bleak scenario on a repeating loop). It was hard to write about them without revealing who they really were and giving away too many clues at an early stage. As such, I had to create ways to keep them out of the main spotlight until they played their respective parts, which meant having them act more as background characters rather than main ones. I had pictured the story like a movie, with the camera following the actions of Sarah, Lucas, and Komo, and it was definitely challenging turning what I'd imagined as scenes into words.
Will you return to writing in the Thriller/ Suspense/ Horror genre?
I definitely will someday, and I do have some ideas revolving around a similar premise as the House of Twelve, but for now my attention is fixed on a post-apocalyptic story called ‘Terra in Bloom' (think zombies and mutants spliced with alien flora and superhuman survivors), and maybe a bit of sci-fi after that.
Anyway, I hope I answered many of your queries and gave you all an inside view of the House of Twelve
Many thanks as always,
Sean Davies