With a story packed with all the ingredients of a psychological thriller and an adult mythical fairy tale, a local author unveiled her debut novel earlier this month.

Anne Marie Curtis released ’Where Acorns Landed’, described as ’a quirky, gripping, creepy tale of love, loss and obsession, where unexpected twists and turns are blended together with huge dollops of magic realism, Celtic mythology and Kafka-esque paranoia.’

The book is set partly in the Isle of Man, Ireland and France, and centres around Lowell, a loner who has shut himself off from the world with only an old, mysterious 1940s radio for company.

The radio tunes itself to where ever it wants, and eventually Lowell hears the voice of a woman, called Nell, who Lowell develops an unhealthy obsession with.

’It is like a fairy tale, but can also be seen as a paranoid psychological thriller,’ said Anne Marie.

’There is something in there for everyone, anyone who likes thrillers to people who are into stories about fairies and ghosts.’

’Where Acorns Landed’ has been a labour of love for Anne Marie.

She first conceived of the story more than ten years ago, and the tale has undergone several pain-staking edits and re-writes before she was happy with the final result.

’I began to write this story from a few ideas I had 10 years ago,’ she said.

’When I first completed the original draft, it came to something like 13,000 words, which I have now condensed down to 80,000.

’There were lots more fantasy elements in there, but I felt Like I wanted to draw it back it in.

’I wanted to intensify the claustrophobic fear of Lowell and his obsession.

’As a result, I feel that it has become less fantasy and more of a Kafka-esque type of story, based around magic realism and paranoia.

Anne Marie draws her inspiration from authors such as Neil Gaiman, Franz Kafka, Margaret Atwood and Isobelle Allende, along with many tales taken from Irish and Manx mythology.

She also likes the idea of magic realism in fiction.

She said: ’What strikes me about that particular genre is that they bring the magic into everything, and it is almost like it is part of the everyday.

’It is almost like the way that people still say hello at Fairy Bridge, and it is not seen as odd at all.

’I wanted to bring Manx mythology and the traditional belief in fairies into the everyday, but turn it in its head and say how far we do we go with that.

’There is a lot to do with reality versus illusion, and sanity versus instability.’

’Where Acorns Landed’ is published by Cripperty publishing , and available online through Amazon.

by Mike Wade

Twitter:@iomnewspapers