A widower takes his new girlfriend, old friends, and young daughter on a trip to Ireland, and a dark spirit rises from a real-life pyramid in rural Offaly to tear his fragile new family apart. Alexander Lane’s Blood Point is folk horror built on genuine Irish history and the author’s own hard-won understanding of grief, set against the genuinely strange Kinnitty Pyramid.
Content note: this book and the conversation below touch on grief and bereavement.
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Q&A with Alexander Lane
Q: Where did Blood Point begin?
A: The setting is based on the Kinnitty Pyramid, a real location close to where I was living in Ireland. As soon as I saw this strange pyramid behind a little church in the heart of rural Offaly, I wanted to use it. The more I found out about it, the more mysteries arose that begged to be filled with a fantastic story built on Irish folklore and history.
Q: How did you come to writing, and why publish?
A: I’ve been writing since I was a kid, and I always loved making up stories, but I spent 25 years as a journalist reporting on the real world before I returned to creative writing. As for publishing, I want people to enjoy my stories, and I hope that it’s a thrilling, memorable experience.
Q: Which characters were the most fun, and which were the most challenging, to write?
A: The witches, past and present, were the most fun to write, and their voices came very easily. Holly, the banshee, and the ghosts were difficult because they do very bad things but I want the reader to feel that they’re driven by emotions and experiences that we can all relate to with at least some sympathy. Black Thomas was fun, too, because he’s also trying to do the right thing but he’s a classic alpha male jerk.
Q: Is there a message at the heart of the book?
A: I’m not here to send messages, just to write stories that people enjoy, but Blood Point is about grief, finding love after bereavement, and holding on to the love around you when you feel lost.
Q: How much of your own life is in the story?
A: I’m a widower, so Josh and Holly are based on some of my own emotional experiences, as well as other widows that I’ve met since my own loss. I’ve learned that grief is different for everyone and that we all learn to live with it in our own way, at our own pace.
Q: Is there a question about the book you wish readers would ask?
A: What’s really inside the Kinnitty Pyramid, and why did they build it? Allegedly there are six members of the Bernard family interred there, but I don’t know why those six, and I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer for why they built it, so I made one up!
Q: Do you have a favorite moment from the book?
A: I loved writing the dialogue between Caragh, the old witch, Black Thomas, the master of Kinnitty in the 1840s, and the banshee, Norig. Caragh is just fearless, Black Thomas is arrogant and infuriating, and Norig is so angry at the world.
Q: What was the biggest challenge in writing or publishing it?
A: The biggest writing challenge was changing the first act to bring the threat into the foreground, cutting back days of preamble about getting to Kinnitty. My beta readers gave honest feedback that helped me change things I was too attached to, and it’s a better story because of them.
Q: What is next for you as a writer?
A: My newsletter subscribers will get a Nightmare Vacations novella, Blood Type, later this year. After that, I’m going back to the science fiction trilogy I started during my creative writing MA, aiming for a release in 2026.
Top Reviews
Storm – 5.0 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ancient Irish terrors
“What started as a peaceful Irish countryside getaway quickly spiraled into my worst nightmares – and I absolutely loved every terrifying minute of it! Alexander Lane has crafted something truly special with Blood Point. This isn’t your typical jump-scare horror; it’s the kind of creeping dread that burrows under your skin and stays there long after you’ve finished reading.”
Bre Ervin – 5.0 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Blood point
“Josh, a widowed father, takes his daughter Holly and some old friends to an Irish village to celebrate his 50th birthday. But when Holly accidentally awakens a vengeful spirit inside a strange old pyramid, their peaceful trip turns into a nightmare. As ancient Irish folklore comes to life, Josh must fight to protect his daughter from a deadly banshee with unfinished business.”
Author Bio
Alexander Lane has almost died on several continents. When he’s not writing, he’s thinking about travelling around our planet or into the stars. He’ll be wondering whether scuba diving is truly as safe as it is incredible, planning his next trip to somewhere that’s hopefully more fun than fatal, or dreaming of the many ways that space travel could be both wonderful and dangerous. He always buys good travel insurance, and so should you. Alexander currently lives with his partner and their dog in Birmingham, UK, where there are no snakes or large predators.
Buy the book here: Blood Point (universal) | all retailers hub · Author website: alexanderlane.co.uk
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