Sissy Spacek in Carrie (1978)

A Prank

“Do you believe that a prank can ruin a life?” Ketil inquired of his companions as they walked down the shadowed corridor of the House of Lost Dreams.

“Apologies fer hedgin’ on yer query, old currant bun, but I’ve noticed that this portion of the old Dream Drum continually looks very much the same, although what it branches off to varies in its rotten scariness,” Little John observed as he took a chomp from a rotten hunk of haunch.

“Pranks are an unfamiliar concept to me,” Yitzy imparted telepathically. The gigantic creature held a lantern in one great claw as he slid silently along the floor of the malevolent structure. “My race never engaged in frivolity. I do not mind Robin’s tendency to do so. Do you fellows recall the time when he said: ‘Yitzy, old boy, I’m gonna bury you!’ in a grumbling voice, and as I was wondering what I had done to inspire his wrath, he presented me with a bowl of berries.”

“This is not a prank, Yitzy, it is a jest,” Ketil countered. “While it is true that some pranks are harmless, such as short-sheeting a bed or putting what is knowed as a whoopie cushion on someone’s seat so it sounds as if they has farted loudly, I has finded in my time that many pranks is cruel in their intent and some has dire consequences that lasts a lifetime and beyond. Such a prank was depicted in the story Carrie, which was writed by the author Stephen King.”

“Oi, there was this cinema in Crouch End that used ter have a late showing of movies that had been out fer a spell,” Little John revealed. “Me and Rob went and saw Carrie there one night after we found ten quid just layin’ about on the ground.”

“Did you sneak in your own entrails for a snack, or did you purchase popcorn?” the ghost quipped.

“Well, yer see, the proprietor was one of them fish folk, an’ he was sympathetic ter the dietary needs of ghoul-kind,” Little John said. “Seemed ter ‘ave a limitless supply of molderin’ meat-stuffs in ‘is larder, an’ ‘e gave us a rusty bucketful of stale popcorn smothered in rancid butter and ‘uman fat. Rob and me had a foine time watchin’ the film, but we did feel right sad fer the young twist 'n' twirl what ‘ad a bucket of pig blood poured over ‘er dome by them arseholes who didn’t have nothin’ better to do than behave shite ter a poor lass what had a rough lot in life already.”

“Yah, this is the sort of prank of which I mean,” Ketil acknowledged. “Now, as so often is the case in a story such as Carrie, the arseholes what fucked with her paid for their shite behavior. But the accounting team of the Cosmos does not work so smooth in the real world. There was fuckers what near to got me killed all for a stupid joke because they do not like a fellow who is strange, especially when they is jealous that his father is holded in high regard for his position. I shall tell you of this incident, beginning with a poem which I shall now recite to you.”

cruel jest the match

a spark that leaves life in ruin

joke far from funny

Acknowledgments

This chapter was Written using the October Spooky Writing Challenge prompts from The Writers Handbook.

https://thewritershandbook.tumblr.com/post/630699213481705472/this-years-october-spooky-writing-challenge-is

The piece was also inspired by the November PAD Chapbook Challenge prompt challenging participants to write a Ruin poem.

The form of this piece is a long fictional Haibun. A Haibun is a form of Japanese poetry where a piece of prose is followed by a Haiku or Senryu.

This piece is part of my WIP, The Key of Eidolon. 

The Key of Eidolon is the second book in the Tales from the Dreamlands series. You can pick up the first book, Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure in the Xura Dream House from Amazon or LBRY.

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October Spooky Writing Challenge 2019 + Aunt Cie's Soapbox: A New Age in Publishing

I just discovered the October Spooky Writing Challenge and intend to use the prompts to move this month's Team Netherworld Creations WIP, Nyarlathotep's Necropolis, and Naughty Netherworld Press WIP, Castle Necros, along. 

In case I'm feeling like I don't have enough to do (heavy on the sarcasm), I may also use it to lighten things up and create a little Ghost Town Grover and Cactus Clem adventure.

One thing I won't be using the prompts for is writing poetry. Between the Carpe Diem Haiku prompts and OctPoWriMo, I have a surplus of poetry prompts. If dark 'n' snarky poetry really is your bag, Baby, you can see mine at the Poetry of the Netherworld blog.

For the past year, I have only published the Naughty Netherworld Press WIPs because erotica tends to be focused on substance rather than length. There is probably a mathematical smut-o-meter to explain the ratio of sexual encounters to page count.

The Carnal Invasion series started out as a one-off Hump Of The Month series featuring human encounters with a group of lusty aliens. Following the release of Climax Castle, it became a serial focused on recurring characters.  The current WIP, Castle Necros, is the sixteenth book in the series. The books are of varying lengths, ranging from short and spicy to long and lurid.

In the heyday of pulp horror and classic science fiction, fans of these genres snapped up novelettes, novellas, and collections of short stories by their favorite authors. By the 1980s, shorter books had fallen out of favor and readers tended to only be interested in full-length novels.

Once I started reviewing books full-time, I became aware that shorter books are making a comeback. Michael J. Allen is an author who makes excellent use of the novelette and novella format.

I could not be happier about the renaissance of novelettes, novellas, and volumes of short stories. The modern Internet age provides a multitude of avenues for authors to share their work with potential readers. With blogging, paid content platforms such as Patreon or Ko-Fi, and ebook publication services such as Kindle, authors no longer need be confined to the constraints of the traditional path of seeking agents and publishers and papering their walls with rejection letters or throwing good money after bad to have their work distributed by unscrupulous POD publishers.

I, personally, find the seeking an agent and publisher route odious and will not be treading that path. I realize that this means I have to be my own promoter. This comes with its own set of pitfalls. I'm shy and introverted by nature and am not good at networking. I'd rather be reading and writing. Still, when I think back to the dark ages in a time before blogs and e-books, a bit of networking is a small price to pay, and sometimes I even find some kindred spirits along the perilous path.

Whichever path to publication you decide to take, I wish you well.

~Cie~

This post is sponsored by Cie's Proofreading, Editing, and Review Services.

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I am here if you need my services as a beta reader, proofreader, editor, or reviewer. My prices and conditions are listed here.

I do not and never will charge a fee to individual authors for reviews. I only do paid reviews for author promotion services such as the Online Book Club.

My requirements to review a book for individual authors are as follows:
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2) The right to provide a link to your ebook on Amazon if it is available on Amazon. If a copy of your book is purchased through this link, I make a small commission from Amazon.

3) Please share a link to your review on this blog if you like it.

4) Please realize that while I really love giving positive reviews, I cannot guarantee a positive review. My less stellar reviews tend to distill down to "a good idea which needs improvement in execution."
It is rare for me to give a scathing review. On those occasions when I have done so, it is because the author has expressed hateful biases against members of a marginalized population, usually larger people. I am not keen for anyone being used as the butt of mean-spirited jokes and doing so will immediately earn a poor rating for a book.

So, there you have it! Let me know if I can help you.