As we enter into the Halloween season, I’m delving into the world of darkness where love might be hard to find. Spiraling into the world of drugs can be a nightmare that no one should have to endure. Follow the journey of one woman into the dark side, follow her recovery and finding love. It’s a dark read where love is light. I had a chance to talk to Nicole D’Settemi, the author of the book Addictarium. I asked her about her influences in writing and her future ideas and projects.

• What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

Nicole D’Settemi: The subjects that interest me are various and wide-ranging, subjects such as with my poetry as well as my memoirs & diaries, range. Yet one of my signature traits is tying them together. I speak of addiction, recovery, human nature, toxic love, sex and love addiction, psychology, sociology, human greed, global issues, racism, money and material drive and other things. What I like to do is create a sort of web—if you will—which ties everything together.

I would like to delve even further into human nature, especially some of the ‘Freudian’ studies for lack of a better term. I am very interested in psycho-analogy and especially Otto Rank’s work. He went out of his way to understand, study and befriend the artist. I am very interested in his theories and would like to write and reflect on them, tie them into my own work and beliefs.

I also love adding erotica to my pieces, whether a diary entry or a chapter in a novel. I feel that sexual encounters can be almost magical if approached from the right angle.

• Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Nicole D’Settemi: My favorite author, diary/non-fiction is Anais Nin, who I find was extraordinary. The exploration of the human condition, and especially female, with a light on sexuality, was the most compelling work I’ve ever read. Her diaries revolutionized writing and changed my own perspective.

As for fiction, it’s a tie between Janet Fitch and Chuck Palahniuk. Fitch is a MASTER when it comes to the language itself. Her work is so strongly penned. She is by all accounts a poet, really, and she is another writer who tremendously influenced my life.

As for Palahniuk, his books are just pure entertainment and brilliantly executed. ‘Invisible Monsters’ is my favorite book. I have never read anything like it. It’s an absolute masterpiece in ‘bizarro’ fiction.

3) How can you sum up what writing is to you? Share you process.

Nicole D’Settemi: I think writing is a way to experience something over and over, but also, the writer and especially the poet, articulates the things which others FEEL, but have a hard time constructing into language. You know? I feel as though a poet translates EMOTION.

Typically, emotion should not be intellectualized because it is the opposite of intellect. Yet, for me, the poet IS capable of doing so. Of seeing, feeling experiencing things which are rare, sacred, explosive, beautiful, tragic, life-altering…the writer is able to articulate what they felt, what it was, what it stood for, the symbolism and what have you. So, the writer/poet is almost like a person who translates sign language to a crowd, and then, people understand it!

Philosophers and psychologist, it could also be said, do this to a degree. However, the poet is an artist, so he/she is translating it, but with beauty. Art. Language. Creativity.

Addictarium is Nicole D’Settemi’s current book. Danielle Martino knows it’s time to quit abusing heroin. After waking up in a filthy bathroom and surviving a bad batch of black tar heroin, she is forced to abandon her bohemian life and leave south Florida returning to New York City. Through the eyes of the narrator, Addictarium takes the reader on a compelling journey of a young woman battling her addictions while showing the underlining contributing factors in a frank and honest candor.

For your copy, use this link to buy on Amazon.

For more information on Nicole D’Settemi, visit her website HERE.