DEFENDING THE PEN
It’s all about murder . . . romance – writing it!
I post flash fiction, book announcements, interviews, and the things I love.
Careful . . . you may end up the victim . . .
of fun!
The Devil doesn't need magic. Do you? Protection
from this new Hell on Earth. You only have to survive until November 1st. Then
evil returns to its unholy home.
But for thirty-one days, you're exposed.
Better find some of that old black magic, but what's the cost? Your firstborn,
or are you forever lost?
She'll ask for the harshest. Can you
make the sacrifice? Will you pay or take your chances as evil roams? Or sell
what's precious to save your unworthy soul?
Better act fast. For this, consuming evil will last until the toll of midnight on October 31st.
I know it's only September, but I'm already excited for the unholy month of haunting, October. So here it is. My ode to the ghosts, goblins, vampires, and witches. Starting today, I'm posting weekly. Each week a new song, because everyone needs a playlist for that Halloween party, and why not a flash to go along with it? After all, it's all about the ghost story, isn't it?
September's here, but something disconcerting is occurring in
Hell. There's a disturbance among the denizens below.
Even Satan is dancing to a tune we all know.
Celebrating in Hell, the ghosts and goblins are preparing to
appear. Unfortunately, the bad news is that it won't just be on Halloween this
year.
When the sun goes down. The world will awaken to an unholy
sound. All the demons, gargoyles, and ghosts will arise and take flight. Guard
your soul, don't mess around!
Lock your doors tight, for evil has arisen, and no one is
safe from diablo's intrusion.
A little more inspiration taken directly from the list of Challenges for 2022
This is the Fear fest Challenge in which we ramp up the spook factor over here, welcoming your creepiest compositions, your most haunting and haunted tales running the gamut of paranormal, speculative, crime, and horror genres. However, as always, there are no rigid rules. Feel free to write to any genre if those mentioned are not your thing.
The prompt is based on Thriller, released in the early '80s, an unofficial anthem for Halloween and horror. Both singer and song are music industry icons. Thriller has sold 70 million+ copies worldwide and Michael Jackson, known as the King of Pop, is one of the controversial and culturally significant figures of the 20th century. They credited him with some landmark music as well as reinventing complex dance moves like the moonwalk to make it his own signature. Just like the Beatles, MJ was, during his lifetime and remains, more than a decade after his death, one of the bestselling artists of all time. He has left a massive and unique thumbprint on the music/entertainment scene of the late twentieth century.
The prompt has endless possibilities. Take the lyrics to this song - they can inspire myriad flashes - the forty thousand years of funk, the beast about to strike, the thing with forty eyes - the imagery is vivid and specific, and boy! Can they be used to craft a creepy tale or what? Or you could use the video's own storyline to write to. Use that iconic dance with the undead MC morphing into a zombie, to spin a horror flash.
Or maybe not...because hang on...not everyone needs to be a horror/Halloween junkie. Use the demons as a metaphor. Let the dance with the zombies become an inner wrestling bout with some tragic character flaw(s) in your MC. Or weave a girl-boy-movie-night narrative. Or one of a rescue mission where the hero snatches the damsel in distress from the jaws of monsters real or imaginary. Or...just write to the title 'Thriller' - no end to the tales you could tell. You see? - a million ways to go, a million things to be!
Here is the link to the thriller lyrics if you need more inspiration: THRILLER
A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely 100 words. The
purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express
interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space.
I'm a practical, well-educated man and an athlete that
enjoys a challenge, adventure, and travel. It's why I joined the Navy after 9 11.
But after twenty years in the service and giving my
best in the fight for freedom. The exodus from Afghanistan exposed a weakness.
I began questioning my choices. Retirement from command was my solution.
However, the change wasn't easy. I sought direction at the Meher Spiritual Center of Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina. I wanted peace and healing from what I saw as a spiritual
crisis.
Now I'm wondering if I've completely lost my mind.
After a week of meditation and silence, I began to see
a new path to my future. On Friday, August 11, the evening of the sturgeon
moon, I took a healing walk along the ocean. This night as it was
explained, was the season of Leo. Astrologers claim the August moon stands for
perseverance and the ability to adapt with time and change just like the
sturgeon. Tonight, was all about going inward. Clearing the ballast and making
room for opportunity. Which I was open to.
The evening was hot, but the breeze off the ocean made
it comfortable. I had a flashlight to help me find the way, but once the moon
was high, the light was brilliant and my walk invigorating. Then I heard music,
faint at first, but the further south I moved, the more recognizable the tune
became.
Then, it dawned. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata was being played. Even
though I was no longer on the property of the Spiritual Center. I kept walking
south. The area was privately owned, but I just had to know who was playing
this hauntingly beautiful piece.
I came around a high dune and stopped in my tracks.
Standing in the direct rays of the Sturgeon Moon stood
an angel. Or was she a mermaid turned human? It didn't matter. Her beauty captivated.
She wore a gown of brilliant white trimmed in gold. Her arms were raised to the
heavens as though in worship. I thought she was praying.
Her long luxurious hair was the same color as the moon,
red with glimmering gold highlights. The breeze lifted the tresses, caressed
them, then laid them carefully across lightly tanned shoulders. She was
perfection.
Her feet were bare, and the surf kissed her toes
lightly, reverently. Watching her, I was frozen in place.
The Moonlight Sonata flowed in an evocative lament.
When she turned toward
me, I saw tears on her cheeks, shimmery diamonds she quickly brushed away. What
could bring this beautiful goddess to tears?
She smiled, and her deep
blue eyes held me fast. Suddenly I was drowning. I felt the cool, clear water
pulling my willing body deeper into its depths. Fighting for breath. Her smile
calmed me.
Though my heart raced. I
relaxed as she moved toward me. Was she walking or gliding across the sand? Did
it matter? No, not at that moment, for I knew instantly that she was a gift
from God. The answer to my prayers. My future.
Communication went
beyond words. Clasped in an embrace, our bodies were one. I could feel her
heart beating as furiously as my own. When our lips met in a kiss, the word ecstasy
would never describe our response or the carnal nature of our union. The world,
the entire universe disappeared, and we were alone. Soaring through a cosmos of
indescribable color and beauty, the Moonlight Sonata played its soulful refrain,
and we rediscovered our love.
In that kiss, I
uncovered the past, saw our future, and recalled our eonian vow of love eternal.
She was mine, and I, forever hers. If she'd come to me as a succubus, vampire,
or the living dead, I would have willingly given her all and more.
Then the music ended. I
opened my eyes, and she was gone. I stood there, unbelieving. Confused. Even
the moon had disappeared behind clouds that hadn't existed before that moment.
But she was here, and in
the flesh, my moonlit goddess. I could still feel the warmth of her lips, the
softness of her skin, the silkiness of her honey-colored hair, and the want in her
kiss.
Her absence left me
hollow as though she'd taken my soul. But it was my heart that she stole.
I searched until dawn
but failed in my quest. Was my goddess a dream? A siren of the Moonlight Sonata
or my heart's yearning made flesh under the thrall of a full moon?
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