Corner of Hell and Second Chances

Where have I been? Dabbling in the Occult…Collage

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WOW! Didn’t realize it’s been a month since my last post. Where have I been? Well, creating the collage to the left is one thing I’ve been up to. I love this one, although it took forever to come together. I started with just the star carved in wood background and placed all the other items, so this one was very involved.

Watched a few horror shows/movies worth watching. In Dark Harvest there’s a “deadly annual ritual in a small town and Sawtooth Jack, rises from the cornfields and challenges the town’s teenage boys in a bloody battle of survival.” All around good acting, characters, effects, etc. Generally a slasher movie if you like that sort of movie, which I was up for when I watched. Also appreciated that they set it in the 1940s.

Also enjoyed Midnight Mass, “an isolated island community experiences miraculous events – and frightening omens – after the arrival of a charismatic, mysterious young priest.” Overall great story line with well rounded characters. Very much about relationships with horror around holding on to the past.

Making some progress on The Pumpkin and the Jinn. New page to show off. Here, the pumpkin wishes himself into a dark truck on the way to market. He’s not very happy about it. I just noticed I haven’t added tears to this one, so back to that page for some more details.

I’ve been having a lot more fun with Adobe’s Firefly AI image generator. If you’d like to see more fun with the Grim Reaper, drop by my Instagram account. There are also a few more for the Heaven and Hell series there.

So, I’ve been pretty busy with art projects. Not so busy with writing, although I have been playing with a few AI text generators, including EditPad, Sudowrite, and Claude. Really love how Sudowrite works, so I’m thinking of writing a series with it. EditPad is good for a blog post and I’m pretty impressed with how little editing I need to do with what it generates for free. I need to spend more time on Claude, but I did ask it to write a story about Nita, who will serve Satan by running his restaurant on Earth in her own series after the end of the Angels Dark and Dumb first trilogy is complete in The Corner of Hell and Second Chances. I gave it no history about the series, so it made everything up including the main character’s name. Here’s the prompt and the story if you’re interested in reading it. The story’s not that interesting and doesn’t have much of a plot, but it’s well written.

Here is a fantasy story about a waitress who works in Satan’s diner, and is a God-created daughter of light possessed by a demon:

The Fallen Daughter

Amara had been an angel once – a pure daughter of light created by God himself to bring joy and grace to the mortal realm. But that had all changed the night the demon Malacai invaded her celestial form, twisting her brilliant aura into smoldering embers of corruption.

Now she walked among the denizens of the underworld, trapped as a server at Lucifer’s Pit Stop Diner on the outskirts of Hell. Her once radiant beauty was still evident beneath the demonic possession – flowing blonde locks, porcelain skin, and haunting azure eyes. But they stood in stark contrast to the infernal diner and its customers.

“Order up!” growled the flaming cook, Belior, sliding a platter of molten lava cakes onto the scorching hot counter. Amara snatched it up, the searing heat not even fazing her tainted flesh.

She wove between the booths packed with belching hellhounds, cackling witches, and foul-mouthed dwarven miners fresh off the night shift. Reaching a secluded corner table, she stopped before its solitary occupant – a wizened demon with ash-gray skin and curved horns protruding from a misshapen skull.

“Your desssssert,” Amara hissed, her voice a mixture of celestial harmony and demonic rasp as Malacai’s influence briefly flickered across her face.

The demon barely looked up from the arcane tome he was studying. With a clawed hand, he waved her off in clear dismissal. Amara’s jaw clenched in frustration. Even in this wretched place, she refused to be treated like a common servant.

Defiantly, she slammed the molten lava cakes down on the table, splattering small globs across the demon’s precious book. He reared back with a animalistic snarl of rage. Before he could utter a curse, Amara locked eyes with him, her irises pulsing brilliant blue for just a moment.

The demon instantly calmed, his anger melting away into an almost trancelike calm. With a slight nod, he returned to his studies as if nothing had occurred. Amara spun on her heel and continued on her rounds, a small smile playing across her lush lips.

The demon’s willpower was negligible compared to the strength of angelic mind control granted by her divine origins. Malacai’s possession had robbed her of so much light and goodness, but some holy powers still lingered. One day she would break free from this wicked place, Amara vowed to herself. One day soon.

A Few Weeks Later

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I’ve had an incredibly busy few weeks, reason #1 why I skipped out on blog posts the last few weeks.

I did have time to put together this collage. A zombie walk of sorts. I’ve been doing a lot of work in Photoshop lately. Also finished up some illustrations for a book by another author and am trying to format the book with the best illustration sizes and such. Trying to figure out images in eBooks has been my latest challenge. Sure it sounds easy, but getting them a small and readable size is not the easiest, especially considering how illustrations or photos are so different depending on how they are created.

Now that I’ve bored you, let me bore you some more. I added a new blog post to the ArmLin House blog. Note that my editor and artist (non-horror related.) name is Wendy Spurlin. How to Standardize the Punctuation in a Manuscript Before Submitting or Formatting Your Book is all about what it says. It’s a pet peeve of mine to read a book and find all different types of punctuation like straight quotation marks vs slanted, the later being the correct format for a published book.

I watched Five Nights at Freddy’s, and it’s a fun horror movie for kids as well as adults. I added kids because I found it very light horror, and one of the main characters is a child. I’ve decided to continue watching horror movies I haven’t seen because the holiday season has begun and there will be plenty of themed horror movies to watch. Finding new ones will be challenging though!

Sorry, nothing new on Angels Dark and Dumb other than chapter 2 was handed over for critique. It needs a lot of work. I thought about doing NaNoWriMo this year, but I’m in the middle of too much with ArmLin House, so it didn’t happen.

All I got for ya this time. Have a great week!

Angels Dark and Dumb on Barnes and Noble & Corner of Hell and Second Chances Preview

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Howdy all! It’s been a few weeks.

Got a collage for ya with Trisha the angel apprentice. I’m getting kinda irritated with Canva because it’s been buggy lately. Doesn’t like to remove backgrounds consistently and when you save the file, some images regain their background. So, I’m going to start using Photoshop exclusively because the images just come out better. I really need to do more videos too.

Anyway, I thought I’d mention that the first two books in Angels Dark and Dumb are now on Barnes & Noble. Follow the links to purchase Call for Obstruction and Warrant for Damnation. You can only get the paper version at the moment, but the eBook should be available soon.

I also finished the first chapter of Corner of Hell and Second Chances. I’m sure it will change a bit before the book is published, but I decided to include it here just for fun.

Corner of Hell and Second Chances

Chapter 1

I’d rather poke my eyes out than ride in another one of Satan’s transport vans, but here I am, sitting in the passenger seat beside my self-proclaimed babysitter. At least we’ve escaped southern Colorado and have made it halfway to Denver without being attacked by his evil forces.

My grip on the door handle tightens as Candy pushes the petal to the metal and weaves into the left lane to pass a semi-truck. The horn on the car she cut off speaks to what I already know—she’s an asshole. At least she is to me. While staring into the rearview mirror, she snarls and grunts. With short blond hair combed upward into a mohawk, camouflaged t-shirt and stretch pants, and spit-shined combat boots, she plays the role of psycho driver well.

Maybe she’s trying to wreck the van and take off my head, the easiest way to remove a Nephilim like me from Earth. But if she beheads herself, she’ll be in Hell’s refugee camp, guarding lost souls. My fate’s a million times worse than hers, considering the many warrants for damnation Satan has issued in my name, one of which is for accidentally helping my old demon boss plugging up one of the Gates of Hell that was nearly ready to open. Only one reason it’s insane for me to be in one of his vans.

Then again, after the last few days, the CEO of Hell should think twice before sucking me down to Hell. I’m half fallen angel and half Daughter of Light with the ability to absorb supernatural abilities from dark beings. Yesterday I stole half of my fallen angel father’s knowledge and otherworldly abilities, although I have no idea what sort of havoc I’m capable of reaping yet. I never know what I’ve poached from a demon until a circumstance calls its use, like when I spit fire in a guys face.

We reach the last exit to Monument, Colorado, marked by a blue sign covered with gas station and fast-food logos that tempt my hungry gut. “Get off at the next exit… Let’s pick up burgers.” I bounce in my seat and my head grazes against the ceiling. Sometimes it sucks to be nearly seven feet tall.

“Are you nuts? It’s bad enough Pete’s making us transport evil energy canisters to Denver. If Satan catches us with his property…” Candy shakes her head and wiggles in a seat too small for her massive ass. She’s right about not stopping, so I’m quick to let it go, but she’s not. “We will stay planted in this van until we reach the church drop off in Denver. Then I’m getting as far away as possible. Think about it. Evil energy that near a holy building and righteous humans could turn us into salt.”

“Yeah, fine,” I say snidely. “I didn’t want to do this anymore than you did. But with Margery buried up in the mountains, I agree with Pete. We couldn’t just leave five truckloads of evil energy at her Trinidad warehouse.”

“Pete may be in charge, but he hasn’t been making the best decisions since his demon reactivated.”

Last thing I want to do is trash Pete and his demon. He’s put up with a lot of my crap. And he and Boss have a long history, battling my father, Azael. “He’s doing the best he can under the circumstances. And think about what we were able the accomplish the last few days. Azael’s weakened, Margery’s out of the way, most of the skaks are dead or turned into white warriors—”

“Yeah, yeah, but you didn’t finish off Azael, did you? Now we have to search Denver for the Bastard, all because you couldn’t finish the job.”

Whatever, I think. But what else would I expect from a woman who thinks I’m the master of failure.

I lean over and unzip the gym bag near my feet to retrieve a box of Fruity Loopy cereal I snagged from the warehouse. Instead, my gut churns when I spy a cigar butt on the floorboard. I reach for it, careful to hold the ash end between the tip of my thumb and index finger, as if it might discharge poison. While dry heaving, I reflect on its owner, a conniving son of a bitch rightly condemned to guard Hell’s refugee camp. Slimeball helped set me up for closing the Gates of Hell.

I shove the chewed on mouth end between Candy’s lips.

“What the…? She slaps my hand. “Is that Vern’s?”

“Yeah.” Although I don’t know why she’d asking. We were assigned his old van and everything around us smells like a cross between cedar-scented cigars and old-man farts.

I jab her cheek, missing her mouth this time. “Is it like kissing him?”

This time she punches my arm. The van veers right and so do I, her freakish brute strength forcing my torso against the door and my head against the window. The cigar flies through the air and lands in her lap. She jumps in her seat, as if the cigar is still lit, mumbling every curse word in the book.

I laugh so hard, snot flies from my nose and hits the dashboard.

“Won’t think it’s so funny when I throw your ass out and make you walk to Denver.” Candy throws the butt back at me, then she points at the ninety-eight degrees, registering on the rear-view mirror. “See that temperature?”

“Damn, can’t you take a joke.” I brush my fingers through my mussy, curly hair.

She growls, jerks at the steering wheel, and focuses back on the road. “Take a nap.”

Instead, I reach in my bag and pull out the mini box of Fruity Loopy cereal. As I pull on the tab, Candy says, “Stop! Where’d you get that.” But she’s too late. I’ve already opened the box. A snake head’s peaks out, ready to strike. And he’s not alone.

Angels Dark and Dumb NOT on Vella

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Last week I mentioned that I was putting Angels Dark and Dumb on Vella, but they decided that the series doesn’t qualify despite my reading it should. Yes, I’m a bit bitter about the time lost… Okay, now I’m over it.

Good news is that I have been working on the first 20 pages of Corner of Hell and Second Chances and will share it here soon.

Otherwise, all I got is the collage with Barry’s father, Azael to show off.

Enjoy your week!

Frank-n-Furter is Complete

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This is it for Ladies of Horror for awhile. Frank-n-Furter has brought me to the point I need a break from this style, although the characters in The Rocky Horror Picture Show could keep me busy with these for months. We’re planning on seeing the movie in the theater this year around Halloween. Can’t wait!

I really need to do something different. Something a bit more detailed. What shall I do? Feel free to request something. Otherwise, I have a million things to do on the list, so the fact that I’m wondering what to do is kinda insane.

Chugging forward on Corner of Hell and Second Chances. It was a hard start, and it felt like I was writing a novel for the first time. Once I started writing about Barry and Candy, it got easier. Really love that author/character relationship during the writing of the first draft.

Guess that’s all. Have a GREAT week!