In the Present Tense #8Sunday

  

Photo by Mathilde Langevin (mathildelangevin) on Unsplash

In the Present Tense

“My husband’s name is Rama Abadjiev. He is thirty-eight years old, and he is from the country of Turkey. We have a three-year-old daughter named Claudia.”

Natali Dhaval repeated the information to the forensic team who pulled her husband’s body from the pool as if referring to Rama in the present tense could return him to life. Part of her realized the medical examiner needed to know if she had any information about her husband’s drowning, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit he was dead.

“My husband’s name is Rama Abadjiev,” Natali repeated. “My husband’s name is Rama...”

notes

I went off the rails a bit in December. I want to continue sharing the drabbles I wrote last May.

Five of my (C. L. Hart's) drabbles can be found in The Damned drabble anthology. I didn't submit this story for potential inclusion in The Damned because while the situation described is horrible, it doesn't qualify as horror.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

Time's Up #8Sunday

  

Photo by Igor Lypnytskyi  (ilypnytskyi) on Unsplash

Time’s Up

Eulalia Bonner, the mayor of the Village of Peace on the coast of Nucleycia, read the crumpled three-word note again, as if mulling it over for the thousandth time would bring any more resolution than reflecting on it for the nine hundred and ninety-ninth.

TIME’S UP, BITCH.

If she refused to allow the churlish Duke of Atrar access to Nucleycia via the Port of Malfair, he would render every one of the Village’s pristine white buildings to rubble. If she gave into his demands, the entire population of Nucleycia would suffer.

“We must stand up to him,” Mayor Bonner declared.

notes

Five of my (C. L. Hart's) drabbles can be found in The Damned drabble anthology. I didn't submit this story for potential inclusion in The Damned because while the situation described is horrible, it doesn't qualify as horror.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

Song In the Night

Image by Eva Schmidseder from Pixabay

Though your music will always be a part of me,

I will always be apart from you.

I know I could have loved you,

But you would have been a fool to let me.

I want to love but it turns out wrong, 

Better to leave such desires in song.

I keep my feet planted firmly on the ground

In the ordinary world.

But sometimes I still dream

About me, who secretly wishes I knew you when I was young.

About you, gone from this world.

About something between you and me

That can never be

Except in dreams

Where souls brimful of love abide and meet.

In dreams, we are forever young

With thirsting, longing eyes.

I wanted you to be my rock and roll dream,

but I would have been your worst nightmare.

For when I close my eyes I see

Blood and roses

Far more often

Than I see paradise.

notes

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/23/oct-23-prompts-music-of-the-night/

Prompt: For today’s poem think about the people, places, and things that make up your night music, and in your poem “Meet them there.”

Songs and poems referenced:

Silver Springs

1976

Songwriter: Stevie Nicks

Performed by: Fleetwood Mac

Blood and Roses

1986

Songwriter:

Pat DiNizio

Performed by: Smithereens

Ordinary World

1992

Songwriter: Simon LeBon

Performed by: Duran Duran

Wish I Knew You

2016

Written and performed by The Revivalists

Echo

1854

Christina Rossetti

First publication A Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862).

Rock N Roll Dream

2008

Songwriters: Angus Young/Malcolm Young 

Performed by: AC/DC

Sweet Dreams

2009

Songwriters: Beyoncé Knowles, James Scheffer, Wayne Wilkins, Rico Love

Performed by: Beyoncé Knowles

Image by Artie_Navarre from Pixabay

This post was backdated because I was working to finish my contentious story for the First Coast Romance Writers winter anthology. 

Is the story worth the hassle it caused me?

Pre-order a copy of the anthology and judge for yourself on December 6! You can order after December 6, but why not take advantage of the $3.99 pre-order price?

Proceeds benefit the First Coast Romance Writers, an independent non-profit organization helping writers hone their craft and expand their knowledge of the publishing industry.

https://books2read.com/b/baqw6y

Crime Spree

 

Image by Felix Lichtenfeld from Pixabay

I don't imagine pirates broke into my car, but here's a picture of a pirate.

We’ve had a bit of a crime spree in our little town.

Thieves broke into my car last week.

Just what treasures do you imagine you’ll find in a twelve-year-old, hail-damaged beater?

Several people’s outbuildings were broken into as well.

It makes me wonder how stupid some people are.

What treasures do these criminals think they’ll find in sheds belonging to people dwelling in one of the poorest towns in the state?

A town consisting mostly of disabled and elderly citizens who can’t afford to live elsewhere.

Somehow, people always find a way to further reduce my faith in humanity.

dull-edged apathy

cruelty sharp like a knife 

ice blue like curdled blood

notes

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/18/oct-18-prompts-fear-of-the-living-dead-trespasser/

The prompt asked participants to write their poem in the language of a police report in which the burglar or attacker was supernatural.

I wasn't up to doing that. 

I wrote a good old Haibun about an incident that actually happened.

I used this prompt to inspire the Senryu at the end of the Haibun.

https://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.com/2012/11/carpe-diem-39-blue.html

I'm quite sure the idiots who broke into my car were garden-variety incarnate shitheads. I think a supernatural entity would be able to determine that nothing in my car is worth a damn.

If you'd like to read about tons of super-unnatural things, plus pirates, you need to check out C. L. Hart's Lovecraftian fantasy adventure, The Quest For Captain Sammy's Treasure.

http://books2read.com/PirateGold

The other stories in the anthology are good too. And contain pirates, of course.

Image by Mirko Toller from Pixabay

"I'm very glad you told me about Pirate Gold, Owl. The only problem is, I stayed up all night reading it, and now I'm tired!"

"That's no problem at all, Master Bookseller. Let me direct you to some fine coffee to put the pep back in your step."

https://coffeebrandcoffee.com/?ref=OrneryOwlDrinksCoffee

https://odysee.com/@GamingAmbience:6/baldur%27s-gate-3-chapel-interior:7?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

Wrong-Tober 2023: The Enforcers

 

Photo by Andrew Haimerl (andrewnef) on Unsplash

The Enforcers

The way Hanaa Burnham danced down the sidewalk seemed to defy physics. Father Ruben Bellincioni watched her pass by. Seeing her coming, Abd-Al-Malik Ajam stepped from the shadows near the Grind House Cafe, asking if she knew how to get to the King’s Mill Library.

While Hanaa conversed with the slight, affable young man, the heavyset elderly priest slipped up behind her and pulled her into the alley. The cleric straddled the terrified young woman, restraining her beneath his burly body, covering her mouth with one of his powerful hands. The slim, bespectacled student slit her throat in one pass.

notes

This piece appears in The Damned horror drabble anthology.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5RSJS5M

Bones of a Story

 

I'm taking the first page from my 2018 short horror story, Lost In This Masquerade, and turning it into an erasure poem. 

This story is FREE today (October 8).

https://bit.ly/FTDPIAZ

You can see the process I used to create the poem, then read the unadulterated passage at the end of the post.

skeletons found clinging to each other--

fanciful stories about the macabre pair flew.

some postulated that the boy 

was slain by the girl's jealous lover.

others speculated that the pair had a forbidden love

like Romeo and Juliet.

over time, 

the bodies were repositioned 

clinging to each other 

in an eternal embrace.

“flights of fancy, the lot of it,”

 the decorated seventy-five-year-old archaeologist 

declared quietly.

Preliminary examinations of the skeletons found clinging to each other in the Irish bog were revealed to be an adolescent male and female, both in their late teens. Fanciful stories about the macabre pair flew even from the tongues of seasoned academics.

Some postulated that the boy was slain by the girl’s jealous lover and pushed into the bog. Unable to fathom life without her love, the bereaved miss jumped in and died with him.

Others speculated that the pair had a forbidden love like Romeo and Juliet, drank poison, and clung to each other as they sank into eternity as one.

Still others believed that the girl had died of an opportunistic illness. Driven mad with grief, the boy took her body in his arms and jumped into the bog. Over time, the bodies were repositioned clinging to each other in an eternal embrace.

“Flights of fancy, the lot of it,” the decorated seventy-five-year-old archaeologist, Zaidy Ruggieri, declared quietly, reaching to squeeze the fingers of her friend of fifty-seven years and husband of forty-five.

Preliminary examinations of the skeletons found clinging to each other in the Irish bog were revealed to be an adolescent male and female, both in their late teens. Fanciful stories about the macabre pair flew even from the tongues of seasoned academics.

Some postulated that the boy was slain by the girl’s jealous lover and pushed into the bog. Unable to fathom life without her love, the bereaved miss jumped in and died with him.

Others speculated that the pair had a forbidden love like Romeo and Juliet, drank poison, and clung to each other as they sank into eternity as one.

Still others believed that the girl had died of an opportunistic illness. Driven mad with grief, the boy took her body in his arms and jumped into the bog. Over time, the bodies were repositioned clinging to each other in an eternal embrace.

“Flights of fancy, the lot of it,” the decorated seventy-five-year-old archaeologist, Zaidy Ruggieri, declared quietly, reaching to squeeze the fingers of her friend of fifty-seven years and husband of forty-five.

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/owls-night-moon-full-moon-nocturne-1462732/

https://odysee.com/@BreakbeatMusicMix:c/breakbeat-mix-54:1?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

The Drain #8Sunday

    

Book: The Damned

Stories: The Drain, The Enforcers, The Fog, On a Spring Day, and The Trial.

ASIN: B0C82RQFSZ

Publication Date: September 23, 2023

Genre: Flash Fiction, Horror

Buy Link: http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

Price: $1.99 ebook (Pre-order price)

Book Blurb:

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.

Pre-Excerpt Information

I wrote this drabble along with 29 others for potential inclusion in The Damned, an anthology of drabbles from Dragon Soul Press. I did not submit this one for potential inclusion. The drabble is ominous but not horrific.

So, why in the world am I sharing it here?

Because there are 2 more weeks until the anthology is published. My contract stipulates that I can't share more than 500 words from the anthology prior to publication. That's all five of my selected stories. So, what in the heck would I share the rest of the time?

The other drabbles that didn't make the cut for this anthology, of course! 

Photo by Mo (mo_design_3d) on Unsplash

The Pinnacle

The cabin in sixteen-year-old Shideh O’Floinn’s dream was not user-friendly. Innumerable steep steps carved into a slender peak of white stone led to the confounding cottage. The dream always culminated with Shideh plummeting from the precipice just as she reached the strange edifice. Right before she hit the ground, a gust of wind whispered “thirty-two.”

“It’s a foolish structure,” Shideh told her father as the pair prepared for a climbing expedition. “It’s completely open to the elements. I only ever see one room with a plant, a recliner, a table, and two chairs for visitors. I can’t fathom its implication.”

Notes

I've been aggressively sharing the limited edition Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink, which will be pulled from publication on October 30th. If you'd like to read excerpts from my (Lil DeVille's) story, The Liberation of Mac MacCarrick, visit the official Naughty Netherworld Press blog. 

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

I also want to tell you about an upcoming event where readers can win free books and other good stuff and authors can share their stories. I will be giving away one copy of Hot and Sticky and one copy of The Damned. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

Fellow authors can sign up to participate. Here are the details:

Your book does NOT need to be Halloween related just make sure your graphics are Halloween Themed, that's it!

All Romance, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi subgenres are welcome.

 

Rules are simple:

1. Fill out the form below

2. Join the Party Room https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

3. Ask your readers to join Rene's Getaway Party Room. They will not want to miss this event! It will be so much fun for them to meet new authors, play games and win prizes.

4. Commit to sharing "A Spooky Good Time's" graphics on Social Media and in your Newsletters (including links to the group) leading up to the event. This is a team effort, so please share!

5. Mark your calendars. Saturday, October 28th. Anytime on the 28th, make 1 post in the group. Introduce yourself, tell the readers a bit about your books, tell them what you are giving away, and ask them a question, have them play a game, ask them to follow/friend you, whatever you want to do--but their comment on the post is their entry into the giveaway! You can give away as many books as you'd like! You can also give away swag and gift cards.

6. On Sunday the 29th you will pick your winner(s). Be sure to friend them and tag your winner right under GIVEAWAY CLOSED, so I know that you have reached out and made arrangements with your winner(s).

7. Link to graphics:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e2tAeckDS5TFdAkNYxkDWL6RMg64g2lZ?usp=sharing

 

**PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP SHARE THIS FORM WITH YOUR WRITERS GROUPS OR WRITER FRIENDS WHO MIGHT WANT TO PARTICIPATE** https://forms.gle/Yum4MLC9DX2ZBNvc6

 

Thank you!

 

I will be sending important updates as we gear up for the event, so be sure to check your inbox!

Hope you join us!

--

Rene Migliore

Personal Virtual Assistant

Rene's Getaway

Blog: www.renesgetaway.wordpress.com 

Please contact Rene, your ghostess with the mostest, if you have questions.

   

Book: The Damned

Stories: The Drain, The Enforcers, The Fog, On a Spring Day, and The Trial.

ASIN: B0C82RQFSZ

Publication Date: September 23, 2023

Genre: Flash Fiction, Horror

Buy Link: http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

Price: $1.99 ebook (Pre-order price)

Book Blurb:

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.

Pre-Excerpt Information

I wrote this drabble along with 29 others for potential inclusion in The Damned, an anthology of drabbles from Dragon Soul Press. For the first time, you're seeing one of the drabbles that was included in the anthology. Hurray!

You have until September 23 to pre-order your copy of The Damned for $1.99. On the 23rd, the price for the ebook increases to $4.99.

Photo by byMATTER MADE BETTER (bymatter) on Unsplash

The Drain

Professor Vladimir Reed-Field wished he had never taken the job at Miskatonic University. He’d never had problems like this when he was teaching at the University of Hawaii. A volcanic eruption would be a welcome change over the sound coming from that damn kitchen sink.

The plumber from Blizzard Pipeworks could find nothing wrong with the drain. She’d scoped it, snaked it, and performed a full flush. She said that sometimes the plumbing in Arkham’s old houses just made odd noises.

The problem wasn’t the pipes themselves. It was the thing inside the pipes that kept whispering the professor’s name.

Notes

I've been aggressively sharing the limited edition Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink, which will be pulled from publication on October 30th. If you'd like to read excerpts from my (Lil DeVille's) story, The Liberation of Mac MacCarrick, visit the official Naughty Netherworld Press blog. 

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

I also want to tell you about an upcoming event where readers can win free books and other good stuff and authors can share their stories. I will be giving away one copy of Hot and Sticky and one copy of The Damned. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

Fellow authors can sign up to participate. Here are the details:

Your book does NOT need to be Halloween related just make sure your graphics are Halloween Themed, that's it!

All Romance, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi subgenres are welcome.

 

Rules are simple:

1. Fill out the form below

2. Join the Party Room https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

3. Ask your readers to join Rene's Getaway Party Room. They will not want to miss this event! It will be so much fun for them to meet new authors, play games and win prizes.

4. Commit to sharing "A Spooky Good Time's" graphics on Social Media and in your Newsletters (including links to the group) leading up to the event. This is a team effort, so please share!

5. Mark your calendars. Saturday, October 28th. Anytime on the 28th, make 1 post in the group. Introduce yourself, tell the readers a bit about your books, tell them what you are giving away, and ask them a question, have them play a game, ask them to follow/friend you, whatever you want to do--but their comment on the post is their entry into the giveaway! You can give away as many books as you'd like! You can also give away swag and gift cards.

6. On Sunday the 29th you will pick your winner(s). Be sure to friend them and tag your winner right under GIVEAWAY CLOSED, so I know that you have reached out and made arrangements with your winner(s).

7. Link to graphics:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e2tAeckDS5TFdAkNYxkDWL6RMg64g2lZ?usp=sharing

 

**PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP SHARE THIS FORM WITH YOUR WRITERS GROUPS OR WRITER FRIENDS WHO MIGHT WANT TO PARTICIPATE** https://forms.gle/Yum4MLC9DX2ZBNvc6

 

Thank you!

 

I will be sending important updates as we gear up for the event, so be sure to check your inbox!

Hope you join us!

--

Rene Migliore

Personal Virtual Assistant

Rene's Getaway

Blog: www.renesgetaway.wordpress.com 

Please contact Rene, your ghostess with the mostest, if you have questions.

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

The Pinnacle #8Sunday

   

Book: The Damned

Stories: The Drain, The Enforcers, The Fog, On a Spring Day, and The Trial.

ASIN: B0C82RQFSZ

Publication Date: September 23, 2023

Genre: Flash Fiction, Horror

Buy Link: http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

Price: $1.99 ebook (Pre-order price)

Book Blurb:

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.

Pre-Excerpt Information

I wrote this drabble along with 29 others for potential inclusion in The Damned, an anthology of drabbles from Dragon Soul Press. I did not submit this one for potential inclusion. The drabble is ominous but not horrific.

So, why in the world am I sharing it here?

Because there are 2 more weeks until the anthology is published. My contract stipulates that I can't share more than 500 words from the anthology prior to publication. That's all five of my selected stories. So, what in the heck would I share the rest of the time?

The other drabbles that didn't make the cut for this anthology, of course! 

Photo by Mo (mo_design_3d) on Unsplash

The Pinnacle

The cabin in sixteen-year-old Shideh O’Floinn’s dream was not user-friendly. Innumerable steep steps carved into a slender peak of white stone led to the confounding cottage. The dream always culminated with Shideh plummeting from the precipice just as she reached the strange edifice. Right before she hit the ground, a gust of wind whispered “thirty-two.”

“It’s a foolish structure,” Shideh told her father as the pair prepared for a climbing expedition. “It’s completely open to the elements. I only ever see one room with a plant, a recliner, a table, and two chairs for visitors. I can’t fathom its implication.”

Notes

I've been aggressively sharing the limited edition Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink, which will be pulled from publication on October 30th. If you'd like to read excerpts from my (Lil DeVille's) story, The Liberation of Mac MacCarrick, visit the official Naughty Netherworld Press blog. 

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

I also want to tell you about an upcoming event where readers can win free books and other good stuff and authors can share their stories. I will be giving away one copy of Hot and Sticky and one copy of The Damned. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

Fellow authors can sign up to participate. Here are the details:

Your book does NOT need to be Halloween related just make sure your graphics are Halloween Themed, that's it!

All Romance, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi subgenres are welcome.

 

Rules are simple:

1. Fill out the form below

2. Join the Party Room https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

3. Ask your readers to join Rene's Getaway Party Room. They will not want to miss this event! It will be so much fun for them to meet new authors, play games and win prizes.

4. Commit to sharing "A Spooky Good Time's" graphics on Social Media and in your Newsletters (including links to the group) leading up to the event. This is a team effort, so please share!

5. Mark your calendars. Saturday, October 28th. Anytime on the 28th, make 1 post in the group. Introduce yourself, tell the readers a bit about your books, tell them what you are giving away, and ask them a question, have them play a game, ask them to follow/friend you, whatever you want to do--but their comment on the post is their entry into the giveaway! You can give away as many books as you'd like! You can also give away swag and gift cards.

6. On Sunday the 29th you will pick your winner(s). Be sure to friend them and tag your winner right under GIVEAWAY CLOSED, so I know that you have reached out and made arrangements with your winner(s).

7. Link to graphics:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e2tAeckDS5TFdAkNYxkDWL6RMg64g2lZ?usp=sharing

 

**PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP SHARE THIS FORM WITH YOUR WRITERS GROUPS OR WRITER FRIENDS WHO MIGHT WANT TO PARTICIPATE** https://forms.gle/Yum4MLC9DX2ZBNvc6

 

Thank you!

 

I will be sending important updates as we gear up for the event, so be sure to check your inbox!

Hope you join us!

--

Rene Migliore

Personal Virtual Assistant

Rene's Getaway

Blog: www.renesgetaway.wordpress.com 

Please contact Rene, your ghostess with the mostest, if you have questions.

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

The Orb #8Sunday #SnipSun

  

Book: The Damned

Stories: The Drain, The Enforcers, The Fog, On a Spring Day, and The Trial.

ASIN: B0C82RQFSZ

Publication Date: September 23, 2023

Genre: Flash Fiction, Horror

Buy Link: http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

Price: $1.99 ebook (Pre-order price)

Book Blurb:

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.

Pre-Excerpt Information

I wrote this drabble along with 29 others for potential inclusion in The Damned, an anthology of drabbles from Dragon Soul Press. I submitted this one for potential inclusion, but it didn't make the cut.

So, why in the world am I sharing it here?

Because there are approximately 3 more weeks until the anthology is published. My contract stipulates that I can't share more than 500 words from the anthology prior to publication. That's all five of my selected stories. So, what in the heck would I share the rest of the time?

The other drabbles that didn't make the cut for this anthology, of course! 

Photo by BoliviaInteligente (boliviainteligente) on Unsplash

The Orb

Israel Evensen was the kind of kid who insisted upon empirical evidence for everything. Therefore, the little purple and gold orb that had been following him everywhere for the past two weeks stymied him. Nevertheless, it seemed quite real.

Israel wondered if the appearance of the orb meant he was schizophrenic like his mother, although there were no other signs he had manifested the disease. In truth, he found the presence of the globe comforting, even if it sometimes appeared to be analyzing him as he would a specimen on a microscope slide. He couldn’t risk losing his only friend.

Notes

I've been aggressively sharing the limited edition Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink, which will be pulled from publication on October 30th. If you'd like to read excerpts from my (Lil DeVille's) story, The Liberation of Mac MacCarrick, visit the official Naughty Netherworld Press blog. 

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

I also want to tell you about an upcoming event where readers can win free books and other good stuff and authors can share their stories. I will be giving away one copy of Hot and Sticky and one copy of The Damned. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

Fellow authors can sign up to participate. Here are the details:

Your book does NOT need to be Halloween related just make sure your graphics are Halloween Themed, that's it!

All Romance, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi subgenres are welcome.

 

Rules are simple:

1. Fill out the form below

2. Join the Party Room https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

3. Ask your readers to join Rene's Getaway Party Room. They will not want to miss this event! It will be so much fun for them to meet new authors, play games and win prizes.

4. Commit to sharing "A Spooky Good Time's" graphics on Social Media and in your Newsletters (including links to the group) leading up to the event. This is a team effort, so please share!

5. Mark your calendars. Saturday, October 28th. Anytime on the 28th, make 1 post in the group. Introduce yourself, tell the readers a bit about your books, tell them what you are giving away, and ask them a question, have them play a game, ask them to follow/friend you, whatever you want to do--but their comment on the post is their entry into the giveaway! You can give away as many books as you'd like! You can also give away swag and gift cards.

6. On Sunday the 29th you will pick your winner(s). Be sure to friend them and tag your winner right under GIVEAWAY CLOSED, so I know that you have reached out and made arrangements with your winner(s).

7. Link to graphics:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e2tAeckDS5TFdAkNYxkDWL6RMg64g2lZ?usp=sharing

 

**PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP SHARE THIS FORM WITH YOUR WRITERS GROUPS OR WRITER FRIENDS WHO MIGHT WANT TO PARTICIPATE** https://forms.gle/Yum4MLC9DX2ZBNvc6

 

Thank you!

 

I will be sending important updates as we gear up for the event, so be sure to check your inbox!

Hope you join us!

--

Rene Migliore

Personal Virtual Assistant

Rene's Getaway

Blog: www.renesgetaway.wordpress.com 

Please contact Rene, your ghostess with the mostest, if you have questions.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/401643826588474

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

Midnight Fascinations #8Sunday #SnipSun

 

Book: The Damned

Stories: The Drain, The Enforcers, The Fog, On a Spring Day, and The Trial.

ASIN: B0C82RQFSZ

Publication Date: September 23, 2023

Genre: Flash Fiction, Horror

Buy Link: http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

Price: $1.99 ebook (Pre-order price)

Book Blurb:

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.

Pre-Excerpt Information

I wrote this drabble along with 29 others for potential inclusion in The Damned, an anthology of drabbles from Dragon Soul Press. I didn't even submit this one as it is a supernatural erotic romance, not horror.

So, why in the world am I sharing it here?

Because there are approximately 8 more weeks until the anthology is published. My contract stipulates that I can't share more than 500 words from the anthology prior to publication. That's all five of my selected stories. So, what in the heck would I share the rest of the time?

The other drabbles that didn't make the cut for this anthology, of course! 

Photo by MontyLov (montylov) on Unsplash

Midnight Fascinations

Berach Novak wasn’t sure he believed the rosary Father Baumgardner had given him would grant him protection. Further, he wasn’t sure he wanted to behave in accordance with the doctrine he’d grown up with. If he was honest, he hoped that putting red satin sheets on the bed might prompt a return from the strangely compelling midnight visitor with the tall, muscular body and long, black hair cascading over his shoulders.

“I can’t come in unless invited,” the visitor told him.

Berach prayed one Hail Mary before placing the rosary in his nightstand and calling out, “come to me now!”

Notes

I got off track with sharing this project. I've been sharing the limited edition Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink, which will be pulled from publication on October 30th. If you'd like to read excerpts from my (Lil DeVille's) story, The Liberation of Mac MacCarrick, visit the official Naughty Netherworld Press blog. 

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

I also want to tell you about an upcoming event where readers can win free books and other good stuff and authors can share their stories. I will be giving away one copy of Hot and Sticky and one copy of The Damned. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

Fellow authors can sign up to participate. Here are the details:

Your book does NOT need to be Halloween related just make sure your graphics are Halloween Themed, that's it!

All Romance, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi subgenres are welcome.

 

Rules are simple:

1. Fill out the form below

2. Join the Party Room https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

3. Ask your readers to join Rene's Getaway Party Room. They will not want to miss this event! It will be so much fun for them to meet new authors, play games and win prizes.

4. Commit to sharing "A Spooky Good Time's" graphics on Social Media and in your Newsletters (including links to the group) leading up to the event. This is a team effort, so please share!

5. Mark your calendars. Saturday, October 28th. Anytime on the 28th, make 1 post in the group. Introduce yourself, tell the readers a bit about your books, tell them what you are giving away, and ask them a question, have them play a game, ask them to follow/friend you, whatever you want to do--but their comment on the post is their entry into the giveaway! You can give away as many books as you'd like! You can also give away swag and gift cards.

6. On Sunday the 29th you will pick your winner(s). Be sure to friend them and tag your winner right under GIVEAWAY CLOSED, so I know that you have reached out and made arrangements with your winner(s).

7. Link to graphics:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e2tAeckDS5TFdAkNYxkDWL6RMg64g2lZ?usp=sharing

 

**PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP SHARE THIS FORM WITH YOUR WRITERS GROUPS OR WRITER FRIENDS WHO MIGHT WANT TO PARTICIPATE** https://forms.gle/Yum4MLC9DX2ZBNvc6

 

Thank you!

 

I will be sending important updates as we gear up for the event, so be sure to check your inbox!

Hope you join us!

--

Rene Migliore

Personal Virtual Assistant

Rene's Getaway

Blog: www.renesgetaway.wordpress.com 

Please contact Rene, your ghostess with the mostest, if you have questions.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/401643826588474

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com