First Five Friday – The Prophet and the Crown II: Descent (WIP)

Scene 1

            Mary Blackburn, also known in certain circles as Mary-Mary-Quite-Contrary, ran through the endless, featureless tunnels, just as she had for what felt like forever.

            The petite brunette gasped the tasteless, odorless air as she dashed through the maze of what appeared to be underground corridors, dug deep within the earth.  That she wasn’t within the ground of the Earth itself, Mary didn’t doubt.  She knew exactly where she was.  It was Hell, and Satan was chasing her.

My Five Fave Stephen King Books

Over 60 books.  You read that right.  Stephen King has written more than 60 books (counting his short-story collections).   Almost 40 years of writing.  It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

Love him or hate him, you have to give the mighty King of Horror his due.  So here I am, counting down my favorite five works of the man who describes himself as ‘the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.’

It:  King must be one of those people who is freaked out by clowns.  I sure can’t look at one now without wondering if it’s going to yank me down a sewer.  Yikes.  A beautifully crafted tale that goes beyond the surface scarefest to also trace the heartbreak of being an outsider kind of kid.

The Green Mile:  Originally published as a six-part serial with a cliffhanger at the end of each installment, The Green Mile was like King crack for me.  Yes, I bought each individual piece of this story, read it within a couple of hours, then breathlessly waited for the next one to be released.  It may very well be one of the most satisfying of his many works for me.

‘Salem’s Lot:  One of the greatest vampire books ever written, perhaps second only to Dracula.  It takes the age-old monster and puts him in a present-day small town with totally believable results.  King is absolutely inspired in this one.

The Shining:  This book does for the ghost story what ‘Salem’s Lot does for the vampire tale.  Forget Kubrick’s take on it, because this book is far more terrifying.  Watching a good man spiral down the rabbit hole of alcoholism while malicious spirits egg him on until he turns on his own family … it’s as good as scary gets.

The Stand:  We start off with mankind’s mindless ambition unleashing the ‘Super Flu’ and wiping out 99 percent of the Earth’s population.  We end with the ultimate battle of good versus evil.  In between are some of fiction’s most compelling characters, hero and villain alike.  This is King at his absolute best.

Six Sentence Sunday – The Prophet and The Crown I: The Fallen (WIP)

The first discernable thought that illuminated the man’s consciousness was where am I? Then came an even more disquieting consideration.

Who am I?

            He sat up, pushing with effort against the brown-black ground that supported his weighted body.  He dimly noted the running shoes, khaki cargo pants, and navy blue tee-shirt he wore.  Long, tanned arms, the hair on which was bleached golden, seemed oddly apart from him.  

First Five Friday – The Prophet and the Crown I: The Fallen (WIP)

Chapter 1

The first thing the man was aware of was a heaviness weighing him down.  His whole being seemed to be burdened with a dragging load, keeping him pinned to the unyielding surface beneath him.  And the surface itself pulled at him, as if it would drag him into its thick embrace and close over him, suffocating any screams he might utter.

            Next came an awareness of sticky heat coating his skin.  He could feel it filming his body, a barrier between himself and his clothing.  

Throwing Things at my Television - Orbs

Yep, I’m an utter geek, especially over the paranormal.  Ghosthunters, Paranormal State, Ghost Collector, Celebrity Ghost Stories … I’m all over those shows when I have the time (not often).   And I’m sure I have more than my fair share of gullibility when it comes to such things, though I like to think I watch with something approaching skepticism.

Certain issues with these shows seriously irritate me.  I have been known to yell at the television when the so-called investigators whine how scared they are.  If you’re so darned scared, why are you hunting ghosts?  Go home to your nightlights.  But the thing that makes me really cranky with these shows are those stupid ‘orb’ pictures.  You know, the little balls of light that occur in photos and videos that send too many into paroxysm of delight.  “Spirit energy!” they gloat, when any half-baked brain would immediately see motes of dust and insects flying about.

  Fluffy apparently being menaced by the neighbor’s deceased dog.

So here I am, looking for a nice little throw pillow to toss at the TV in my eyerolling hell.  Hey, it is called a throw pillow … might as well put it to proper use.

Come on, people.  I have yet to see an orb that I wouldn’t immediately discount as a flying critter or dust.  Forget the exorcist, get the Windex.  If so-called orbs were an indication of spirit energy, then my house is infested with ghosts.  Come on in and take a picture.  Then let me hand you a duster, because I don’t have time to deal with shooing them out myself.  Better yet, send me a cleaning service for Christmas.  That’ll clear those restless spirits right the heck out, I guarantee.

 Juliette calling for her Romeo?  Or a home begging for Endust?

Yet here these ‘experts’ go, yammering that this speck reflecting a bit of light is Uncle George, letting us all know he’s fine and dandy and hanging out in the basement with the Christmas ornaments and old cans of paint.  Puh-leeze.

Although occasionally Uncle George invites a few friends over to watch the game in the den

The only show I’ve seen that discounts this nonsense on a regular basis is Ghosthunters, so to them I give kudos for not being nimrods.  And an extra hand for them getting rid of those squealing types who peed their pants every time they saw an unexpected shadow.

 Don’t even think of running, dude

So if you’re starring on one of these paranormal shows, do us all a favor.  Stop claiming orbs are proof of a haunting.  We’re not buying it.  Plus, I’m running low on pillows that still possess stuffing.

Six Sentence Sunday – Willow in the Desert (WIP)

Arner jerked upright in his bed, wakened from the horror of his latest nightmare to face the horror of his real life.  The empty home of his dream vanished to be replaced by the equally desolate room of his Freetown abode.

He swallowed, surprised as always that his throat wasn’t raw from screaming their names.  Wendy, George, Tom, and little baby Pam.  But no, his echoing cries had only happened in the nightmare in which he’d run from abandoned room to abandoned room, where they had all once lived and nobody lived anymore.

Gone.

First Four Friday – Willow in the Desert (WIP)

Chapter 6

Night fell like a dread cloak over the desert, bringing dropping temperatures.  Carli never failed to marvel at how cold the desert could become.  She huddled in her coat as she and Leo walked hand in hand to the west end of town, her slung AR-15 swaying under her arm.  Her backpack was heavy with mostly ammo and water.