Sounds of the Season. One of my favorite fanvids. The Army of Darkness version of "Dead Man's Party."
Creepy Pictures, hosted by my undead oldest daughter
Your Tuesday Tipple The Alien Brian Hemorrhage
To make an alien brain hemorrhage cocktail, fill a shot glass halfway with peach schnapps. Gently pour Bailey’s Irish Cream on top. After the shot is almost full, carefully add a small amount of blue curacao. After it settles, add a small splash (or a few drops) of grenadine syrup.
We'll be drawing for an e-book copy of Riding the Nightmare on Monday. Leave a comment with your email to enter.
Eighteen gay dreams and nightmares to leave the reader wanting. Paul and Dan, architect and English professor, and werewolves, as they get together with internet friends, explore Memphis, save the world and fall in love. Chris and Dave love dressing up for conventions, usually with sexy results. Apollo and Zepheryos, a sadistic incubus, a variety of truck drivers, academics, thieves and morticians await between the covers.
Excerpt, from "Prey"
There it lurked, hulking atop a low rise, half hidden by overgrown tress and out-of-control weeds. Old Baptist Hospital with its wide lawns, iron fence and empty windows, loomed at the intersection where Pauline ran into Crump, a photographer's dream of light and shadow.
I drove by it a lot, my eyes always shifting to it of their own accord, but on this late autumn afternoon, I finally stopped to shoot. No one stopped me as I drove up the old drive, running over the weeds that came up over my bumper.
I parked out by a building with a huge smokestack labeled "Hope Clinic." My cynical side made me wonder just what sort of "hope" the clinic peddled.
I wandered the grounds, shooting the broken-out windows, the long shadows, the overgrowth and desolation.
I got a pretty decent shot of my shadow next to the entrance sign, heading for the missing door. After two rolls, I got up my nerve to venture inside.
"This is stupid, Michael. Don't do it," I whispered to myself.
Ignoring my own good advice, I walked the sickly green halls, taking pictures of the empty rooms, shooting them so they'd look like antechambers of Hell. Trees were framed at just the wrong angle in the windows. The light was getting chancier and I took advantage of the shadows and unexpected illuminations.
The building had been used as shelter by transients. Bits of fires, graffiti, the occasional den in a sheltered corner where the remaining doors could be closed for protection from the wind and ice. I caught a few of these. The Flyer always ran a heart-tugging story on homelessness when the weather started getting cold.
I shot some of the graffiti. Most of it was basic crude intaglios: initials, drawings, dates. There were some more skilled artworks.
One in particular made my skin crawl. I didn't recognize it, but I shot it anyway. It looked sort of like a summoning seal, but I'd never seen one with eight points. The language around the edges looked like Latin and I figured I could translate once I got it developed.
The seal had me curious, but it made me nervous at the same time.
A low-grade stomach churn and the skin crawling on my neck like It was watching me -- whatever It was. I'd see what I could find in the occult section at work.
I finished the roll and got back in my Beetle. I drove out of the gate as darkness fell and straight to the nearest bar.
After two drinks, my hands stopped shaking and I poured myself back into the bug and drove home.
I'd develop the pics after work. I didn't feel like fooling with it right now.
I didn't feel like eating either, so I just went to bed.
* * * * *
So pretty this one. Oh, Lord of Lust, let him... no, he didn't touch the seal. Damn.
Ah! A picture. Now that I can work through. Yes, and he's a developer sort. When he develops that one he's mine.
Mother Lilith, why do you put such mortals so near yet so far, like the temptations of Heaven? Is it to remind us Winged Ones that we can have neither?
He's sleeping now. Father Asmodeus won't mind if I take a peek.
Hm! Bisexual. He dreams of pretty red-haired girls and pretty blond boys at the same time. I wonder which way he'd like me better? The succubus shape never feels as right as my incubus form. Most demons are neuter and we Winged Ones switch as the mood takes us. But a few, like me, have a distinct preference. I am male.
Today's excerpt is from "Paying Forfeits," in which a pair of board gamers decide to start playing for sexy prizes. It was originally published by Torquere Press in their "Games People Play" line.
This is currently available from Inkstained Succubus, in their Into Dark Waters collection.
Sam and William enjoy their weekly board game. They enjoy it more when they begin playing for forfeits, a piercing here, a sexual play scene there. But when William's godson, Billy, is sent to them by his father, things change. Billy is indiscreetly gay and it is up to Sam and William to teach him proper behavior, and good sportsmanship.
BIlly has just arrived, met Sam who is being William's puppy all week, and been invited to play.
'
In the shadows of the rose arbor, William bent close and kissed Billy in such a way calculated to make Billy decide that what his godfather didn’t know about kissing hadn’t been invented. William enjoyed kissing to no end and was very good at it. He’d never understood men who didn’t like it.
“Yeah, I’ll play. I think it’ll be fun." Billy swallowed hard, realizing he’d just admitted he liked men, a terrible stain in his family’s eyes. To cover his confusion, he looked over the eight horses in the stable, then looked back at William, delighted as a child. “Can I ride?”
William gave him a wicked smile. “Only if you do so naked and allow me to watch. Would you like to take care of the horses?”
Billy nodded. “I’m crazy about horses.”
“Lovely. I’ll introduce you to the stablemaster in the morning. For now, we need to get back to the house. This week, Sam is being my puppy and it’s almost time to walk him. Come meet him.”
“Puppy?" Billy looked a little nervous. “That’s kinda kinky, isn’t it?”
“No, dear. It’s very kinky. And we’re having great fun." William pushed open the door and Sam crawled to him, collared and naked, with a leash in his mouth. William squatted down and petted him, tousling his hair and speaking in the voice people used with dogs. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you? Such a good puppy. Are you ready for walkies?" He clipped the leash onto Sam’s collar then turned to Billy. “Billy, dear one, would you like to walk the puppy?”
There is a circle of Hell that is nothing but trying to scan barcodes stuck on sparkly silver boxes while pop music, two different songs fro two different departments, plays simultaneously.
Sounds of the Season.
Because it is so bizarre, not to mention Nightmare Fuel. Muppet cock-fighting. I kid you not.
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup 8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, softened 1 (.25-ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin, softened in 1/4 cup water 1 bunch green onions, chopped 3 pounds cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped (or 1 pound crab meat) 1 cup mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon lemon juice Tabasco or creole seasoning to taste
Heat soup, undiluted, and mix in the cream cheese. Stir in softened gelatin and blend well. Fold in remaining ingredients and pour into a lightly-oiled mold. Chill until firm and serve with your favorite crackers. Chop the shrimp and green onion in a food processor for a smoother texture.
