The following story is true. This book is about my novel, The Lessons. At the age of nineteen, I made the momentous decision to pen this novel – on 23 April 1985 to be precise. I know this because I kept a diary. As soon as I began, an illness cut me down for a week. I thought nothing of it, determined to begin this novel as soon as I felt better. Little did I realise how this novel would affect my life. I kept it secret from family and friends. I feverishly read books about writing novels, sitting at my flat for hours, eking out a few sentences. During episodes, I would lose weight and become ill. My novel appeared to have no bearing upon my life at all. A psychopath operates in a creepy old house called the Hollows. I was living in a sleepy village with my parents and siblings. I did guileless things like babysitting, writing, toymaking and art. During my writing, I connected with this strand. This strand grew addictive. It ran deep, powerful, compulsive, deathly, creepy, and devastating. Thirty years after beginning this novel, I would uncover the source of this strand. Illustrations and excerpts from my diaries are included.