"By her hand, she draws you down.
With her mouth, she breathes you in.
Hope and dreams and soul devoured.
Lost to you, what might have been."
So begins Douglas Smith's wonderful, creepy and suspenseful tale of a boardwalk portrait artist who struggles with a powerful dark hunger, and the man who, through loving her, must come to grips with his own inner demons.
By Her Hand She Draws You Down is horror, yes, but also love story, as once again Douglas Smith's characters shine through extreme circumstances as strong, believable and sympathetic figures. These are people who we care about, fighting a horror born of darkest nightmares -- nighmares made real through Doug's aptitude for drawing all of his reader's senses into the story.
Reading By Her Hand, I saw the desolate expanse of Joe's endless highway, heard the gravel crunch beneath the feet of Cath's next victim, smelled the salt air of the ocean -- tinged with decay, tasted the bile of Joe's horror, and felt his growing dread in the pit of my own stomach. By Her Hand She Draws You Down is a compelling, horrifying, tragic read.
***
By Her Hand She Draws You Down has been adapted into an independent short horror film of the same name. The text of Doug's original story is available as part of an Official Movie Companion book which includes many interesting features such as: notes from the writer, director, producer, and lead cast member, the film's storyboard, on set photos, reproductions of some of Cath's sketches (truly creepy artwork drawn by Drew Willis for the film), and an interview with Doug about his writing processes and ideas. This book is a great package for a wonderful story for anyone interested in the craft of writing and/or the process of transforming written word to screenplay.