EAST LONGMEADOW – After the release of her first book “Inside,” horror author Darlene Longo, writing under the pen name D.M. Siciliano, is back with her second book “Under Another Sun.”

The book depicts a man haunted by the ghost of his twin sister warning him of impending disasters. He and his wife take in his six-year old niece who speaks to her dead mother. He questions his sanity, and begins to lose touch with reality when faced with the dilemma of saving his family.

“It’s an apocalyptic world about the end of the world,” said Longo. “With 2020, I feel that a lot of people sense some of that resonates.”

In creating the book, Longo was inspired by the HBO show, “The Leftovers” and the 2011 psychological thriller “Take Shelter.”

Longo admitted that “Under Another Sun” was the first book she started working on and felt strongly about completing. As she was finishing the book, Longo said the idea, concept and characters for “Inside” came about.

"The story was so strong and so important that I actually put “Under Another Sun” down and finished “Inside” first,” Longo confessed.

Once “Inside” was released, Longo felt she could focus on this project again and realized how close it was to being completed.
The writing process was similar, yet the subjects were different, Longo explained.

“For ‘Inside,’ I was tapping into the personality of a 12- and 13-year-old,” she explained. “It took me back to my childhood growing up in the ‘80s which was the time period of the book, while “Under Another Sun” is more adult themed. The main character is a man in his 30s facing what he thinks is losing his sanity. It’s very different mindsets, but the writing style is very similar in a lot of ways.”

She went on to say, “‘Inside’ dealt with a haunted house, but more than that it was dealing with relationships and friendship struggles. ‘Under Another Sun’ is dealing with the end of the world and yet again there’s always that underling theme of family, relationships and the struggles we all face. Hopefully, anyone who reads this can find that relatable because of the characters.”

Growing up in East Longmeadow in the 1980s, Longo explained she remembered seeing movies like “Poltergeist” and “The Exorcist” which terrified her so much she had to sleep with a night light.

"I was literally the biggest baby ever,” Longo jokingly said. “It’s funny as an adult that horror is what I’m drawn to writing. I don’t know if there’s a reason why I wanted to write horror. It just resonates in what works for me. Sometimes your passion or hobbies you’re really good at choose you rather than you choosing them.”

She credits authors Stephen King, Shirley Jackson and Graham Joyce as her biggest influences in her writing style and genre. One of the more recent authors Longo is influenced by is Paul Tremblay.

Longo explained she would love for people to read her stories and understand they’re not just horror novels – they are about relationships and everyday struggles.

“That’s one of the aspects I love when I get feedback,” Longo responded. “People telling me they can relate to a certain character or have empathy towards them. That’s what’s important to me.”

Longo currently lives in Napa, California with several books in the works. The one she hopes to finish next takes place in Napa Valley with the working title, “Shape of My Heart.”

“Under Another Sun” can be purchased on eBooks and Amazon. Signed paperbacks will be available through Longo’s website at www.dmsiciliano.com.