This was perhaps one of my simpler stories, at least in conception. I was keen to explore the way I used descriptions of sensation in stories, and the best way to do that seemed to be to place a character in a situation where sensation is seriously limited. At least, that made sense to me at the time. I’m fairly sure I was sober.
Enclosing my protagonist in neoprene and dropping him into the English Channel seemed to be as good a way as any, so then I needed something for him to do down there. I’m not sure quite how I got the idea of a haunted house story, but once I did, the idea of placing a structure as familiar as a house in an environment as unfamiliar as the bottom of the sea was irresistible.
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Coldwater Cottage was published in Lamplight #1.2, December 2012 and is available in the Lamplight Vol 1 Annual. It is now available as part of the Steel in the Morning collection, and as a standalone Kindle edition.
Cover by Manda Benson.
Cockburn's Eclectics 
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