Bethlehem #poetry #Christmas

 Outside of Bethlehem

rocks, sheep and cold

better than noisy masses

for the city was over full

outside of Bethlehem

we dozed as the sheep slept

never imagining

the concert that we’d get

outside of Bethlehem

unusual night for us

the skies were a blazing

with the Heavenly chorus

outside of Bethlehem

a message we received

we cowed and fearful

in angels we believed

inside of Bethlehem

we beheld and we saw

the babe, the son of Mary

we bowed in silent awe

inside of Bethlehem

inspired with a reason

a message for the masses

“wake up to a new season”

outside of Bethlehem

a tear creased our eyes

disbelief and hatred

this king they would despise

Please if you have time to visit Pen of the Damned read:  “Other Side of Bethlehem.” This is a sad and chilling contrast of that precious night and a look at the cold heart of man.

The top picture of the fields of Bethlehem is from the website of the Salvationist. There are many pictures and reflections about Bethlehem.

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Cursed by Fire Cursed by Stalker #horror #art

 

 

If you look at the contrasts of the two artists (Bosch and Kubicki), you see many. One is black and white and one is color. There’s alot of movement in Bosch‘s The Harrowing of Hell as well as symbolism in this rendition of Hell.  Do you hear the flames licking at the pleading souls? People are looking for an escape from the worst part only to find a new horror.

There is a different kind of horror in the Kubicki something akin to an inability to run. Look at the strands of hair; they closely resemble glass broken at a harsh angle. Is there a way out? No! Is the skin drying out (starting to melt) from a similar heat?

Symbolism in art is rich. As you look deeper you will see more even if you wish you had not delved into the dark.

 

“When the Birthday boy or girl doesn’t blow out all the candles in one breath, they get the Candle-Curse.”

“And the remaining flames act as a doorway from Hell where demons escape to exact their dark deeds upon the failed candle blower,” Barney explained, speaking in a campfire spook-story voice.”…

…Dustin dreamt of fire…

…A hot and hungry blaze tore through the house. He was upstairs at the table, watching. He stood motionless, petrified by the sight of demons leaping into his world through the flames. His spine froze and he shivered despite the rising heat around him…

… It reached out a hand, stopping the upturned fist inches from Dustin’s face. Slowly unraveling its fingers, the demon revealed a single candle, standing straight in the palm of its hand.

~Tyr Kieran is a regular writer for Pen of the Damned. His short story Anti-Wish can be read in its entirety here.

 

blog http://tyrkieran.com

Twitter: @tyrkieran

 

… the portrait you drew is beautiful. The careful way you have rendered each fine stroke of my eyelashes and hair. My eyes are large dark orbs, the light in them extinguished. The drawing stares back at me from the page, frail and petrified. It is as if I was really there before you as you drew me. You have captured it well, that is how I feel. But there are a few things about me you are yet to glimpse.

I have left it for you here, this is where we part for now. By the time you enter the warehouse I will be gone, slipping away into the dark maze of the city, far from you…

And then you will finally find her, over by the wall, bound to a chair with heavy tape. Will a scream, sharp as a razor, catch in your throat?…

…With a face lift and a short dark wig she looks just like me, don’t you think? My scent on her body now. I dressed her in the lingerie and dress I wore when you first saw me. I thought you would like that. The first time you singled me out from the crowd, the first time I felt the suffocating weight of your gaze. Yes, our time is coming soon. We are destined to meet, as both you and I know. But not tonight.

 

~ Magenta Nero is a regular horror writer for Pen of the Damned her story Black Widow  is featured this week. Please check here for the entirety of the short story (Stalkers)  that is excerpted above. 
Blog: Magenta Nero – Dark Fiction Author
Twitter: @Magenta_Nero

 

Find Tyr on Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to Jarek Kubicki who has graciously allowed me to put his art with the horror “pieces” this week. His book (below) comes out in 4 days!!!

 

 

Horror’s Diva #horrorweek #art #fiction #halloween

 

I’m looking at the art I selected for today and realizing minimal and horror works. The use of a few shapes, three or four colors, or primary colors can speak volumes as in these two pieces One by Polish artist Jarek Kubicki and the other by German painter Edvard Munch. If you think about cinematography, dark lightening heightens the senses and muted low musical tones creates an edginess.

Do you hear the woman gasping as she throws her bloodied face back? I think the bit from Craig McGray fills in her gurgling whispers. Her draping dripping necklace infers blood dripping off her nexk. It’s a great desperated effect that Kubicki has created. (

Munch’s painting “Two Women on the Shore” ,  do you feel the black figure prodding the girl forward into another world? Do you see innocence contrasted by death’s decay? The figure in white seems to be in a trance being pressed into death. The woodcut print was an excellent choice for preventing distraction from the theme.

Nina’s feathers are indeed black (and blood is flowing) in her chilling short story.

“You’ll not speak of my secret in life nor death. Of this, I’m sure.”

…In one hand, a large needle with wire tailing from the eyelet; in the other, a small vial of liquid gleamed in the glowing candlelight.

Beth strained against her bindings, but she was too weak to break free. Gloria removed the cloth from Beth’s mouth and grabbed her chin before tilting her head back, forcing the potion down her throat…

…Intermittent flashes of reality only offered hints as to Gloria’s purpose; the biting pain as her stepmother forced the wire through Beth’s lips made those intentions all too clear.

Darkness devoured every ounce of light.

Craig McGray is a regular writer for Pen of the Damned.  You can read all of the short story (excerpt above) Kept Secrets here.

… “Did I frighten you?” I ask with mock patience, patience I have not felt in a decade or more.

She stares back true and steady for several heartbeats, licks her lips – a gesture of fear, or simply to moisten them? Her eyes say the latter. In a whispered voice that carries more strength than I would have imagined, she replies, “No, not frightened. Startled.”

“I don’t frighten you? I find that hard to believe. Please don’t tell me you are some ignorant field peasant the grovlings dragged in here because your curves will suit me.” Exasperation and a growing anger fill me as my fingernail draws blood from the soft hollow where it resides.

This is not the distraction I hoped for; yet another useless mongrel, I look away. Just as I am ready to release her from the burden of breathing, her hand gently wraps around mine, forcing my nail in deeper. I turn back, ready to dispatch the second disrespectful whelp of the day. “No, I was not dragged here by those hideous little creatures. I came of my own accord.” Staring directly into my eyes, she continues, “I have seen you, in the glade. Warming yourself in the sunlight, I have seen you soar above the cliffs that house this cave. I have seen you caress your lover to death near the water’s edge. I have watched you for some time now, and I wish to be like you. To…”

Nina D’Archangyal is the co-founder of Pen of the Damned  and a regular writer.  You can read all of her short story Feathers- here. Nina is also co-owner of the Siren’s Call E-zine.

Twitter @sotet_angyal

Blog: http://sotetangyal.wordpress.com/

 

Jarek Kubicki has given me permission to use his art this week to make the horror writing more tangible. Please have a look at his gallery this piece today is from his numbers collection and the negative of his black feathers (from Rumors about Angels collection) was an awesome addition for the end of Nina’s Feathers. In six days he has his own book release coming out in 6 days!!!

 

Looking for some good horror to read? Check out the Coffin Hop that runs through the end of this week. 50 authors are doing the hop with lots of free and discounted horror to keep your blood at the perfect chilled level. Nina is one of the participants and she is giving stuff away every 8 hours here  – I think she will be a Zombie by the end of the 8 day HOP.

 

And… Craig and Nina have recent releases. Please enjoy their work- they are both are exceptional horror writers.

The Art of Horror #horrorweek #art #pen #horrorwriters

 

This week is set aside for the darker edge of life. Why not combine the two disciplines of art and writing to see what gets dug up!!!

What is horror for writers and artists? Darkness is in the air, it suspends one against its will,  it hides in the shadows, but it doesn’t stay there. Darkness awakens the sleeper casting him into a delusional dream or awakens the dreamer into a place he tries to claw away from.

Why write it? why paint it? I ask this question often. There are too many answers and none the same (and some darker than others.)

Is horror just about Monsters?

“[Horror fiction] shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion.”
― Clive Barker

 

 Dali The Face of War

“Tired. So tired… Confusion and disorientation numbed his mind like cotton wrapped hands. Thoughts felt like a jumble of dusty moths bumped plaintively against a dim light bulb. He couldn’t grasp where he was – what he was doing. His limbs felt stiff and unused.

The stony grip of anxiety seized his mind and burned in his lungs. A deep breath was impossible. Thin air pulled slowly through his nose, bringing with it the smell of fresh clothing and an acrid smell that reminded him of a dissected frog. His anxiety doubled when he realized his mouth wouldn’t open. A hand finally responded to his slow mind. It moved sluggishly, fumbled around haphazardly until it found his lips. Glue. Somebody had glued his lips shut while he slept. Anger and the inability to get a full breath drove his fingers to tear at his lips with a horrible frenzy.”

Zack Kullis is a published author and writes regularly for Pen of the Damned.

The excerpt  above is from the short story “The Manipulator.” The story can be read here.

Blog: Official Site for Zack Kullis, author of Dark Fiction

Twitter: @ZKullis

 

 

 

Andrew Wyeth

 

” He did not leave, that night on New Year’s Eve, because there was nowhere else for him to go. There is nowhere else when he hears every ragged wheeze, wherever he is; the shuddering breaths of a world on the brink of expiration. As best he can remember he has always heard these sounds. He did not always know what they were, or what it meant to hear the death-rattle of the stones and the trees and the earth, but he felt them all the same, and stood slightly apart from everyone else because of this, while the others ran laughing after one another, or played hopscotch, or made daisy-chains in the grass, oblivious…

… “On paper, darkness shines. Words convey savagery with the finesse of bright bouquets. Language illuminates the broken back of the world, its atrophied limbs, its eyeless face: a rotten leviathan floating in space, quivering with parasites while it sings its last whale-song through an ocean of distant stars, almost inscrutable except by those who dare to pause in their furious lives and, for a moment, listen.”

Thomas Brown is a published author and regular writer for Pen of the Damned. Hope you enjoyed the except  from the short story “All These Voices.” It can be read in its entirety here.

Twitter: @TJBrown89

blog: tbrownonline.wordpress.com

This wonderfully depictive work of art is by contemporary artist( from Bucharest)  Oana Cambrea

 

It became my ghost, that lullaby—its virulent strain infecting not only the cloaked woods that surrounded us, but also the ears upon which it fell. It haunted us all, wormed its way into our brains and cored our frightened eyes to hollowed orbs. Unlike the other girls, who mewled in dread as those tinny chords crackled out from the absolute darkness, I sought to discover its origin…

…The creature sniffed my body. I gagged upon its putrid breath. Its moist snout moved slowly along my neck as a sharp talon grazed the top of my shoulder. Feeling. Touching. Pinpricks of white twinkled in one eye—the starlight reflected back from within its inky, remorseless orb. It peered upward, measuring my response. Urine trickled along my legs and I dropped the knife to the ground.

All those same people who scold you,
what they’d give just for the right to hold you

 

Joseph Pinto is the Co-founder and  writes regularly for Pen of the Damned. The short story “Lullaby”(excerpt above) can be read here.

Blog: Author Joseph A. Pinto’s Horror (and things not so horrible) Blog

Purple Hope (Pancreatic Awareness website)
Twitter: @JosephAPinto

 

Zack Kullis on Amazon

 

Thomas Brown’s Lynnwood on Amazon

 

 

 

Joseph Pinto Dusk Summer on Amazon

“

I’ll Be… #horror #PEN

DAMNED!!!

I dont usually do too much promo and I never sell stuff on my blog.

But it’s hard not to be proud of these shirts and cups and stuff that Pen of the Damned is selling at Cafe Press.

 

I’m thinking black or cabernet depending on my mood.

The only thing better would be a 3D head that actually could bite on command. Kinda like a “guard dog.”

So if you see one of these shirts out and about, please feel free to ask “Are you Damned?”

Our answer invariably:”Why yes we are!”

And as you are sipping coffee from your “damned cup” read some awesome horror at the click of a button.

This lil darling changes colors when reading hot horror

Ordering information here.

 

Celebrate Poets #poetsday #poetry #poets

To poets near and far

the images you paint

with words and feelings

my reason taint

minds strive to think

hearts to moan

on cold nights

we shiver alone

the words you’ve penned

o’er centuries

palpate my heart

bring to my knees

soar high the earth

plunge in the deep

and with ink drops

a promise keep

*

“cheers to you poets

young, dead and old

to words you cherish

and those you’ve told

true to your task

forge on wordsmith

this of you I ask

and with your pen forever dip”

*

 

There are so many who have inspired: Edgar Allen Poe, Sylvia Plath, Tagore, Charles Martin, Pen of the Damned, Poets United, One Stop Poetry, Carpe Diem and oh so many more…

Regale the DAY!!!

Poet’s Day

*

*

Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival

In a drafty museum, your nakedness

Shadows our safety.

We stand round blankly as  walls

~Sylvia Plath

(Stanza from “Morning Song”)

Pen of the Damned #horror #writers

Ever wonder what people who write and are damned do in their spare time???

Well come have a look at my prose this week: Pointed Ends is a melee of sorts. The question: can you determine who the real monsters are? In the end, I hope you get the Point. (smile)

While you are there- take a look at some excellent writing.

I felt a painful jab in my arm.

“Don’t worry darling this will calm you down.”

Even though I had been married to him, I had never liked his smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Feature #writing #fiction #author

 Welcome to Friday Feature and Author Joseph Pinto

 

I am privileged to know some remarkable and talented writers. Joseph Pinto is no exception. When I met Joe I was living on the Dark Side of the Moon which reflected in my darker than normal poetry. I had admired his writing as well as the work written by what I consider a Horror Guild called Pen of The Damned. I don’t know what other writers ponder (when their pen is resting) but I remember wishing that some day I could write to the caliber as these engaging horror writers each with a chilling style all their own. When Joe asked me to join PEN, I was dumbfounded but gladly said “yes.”

I know that writing with experienced writers helps to improve one’s own style.  I will never arrive at the level of the horror writing that Blaze McRob, Nina D’Archangela, Thomas Brown, Craig McGray, Magenta Nero, Tyr Kieran, Zack Kullis, Jon Olson, Hunter Shea, and Joseph Pinto have achieved,  but I believe my horror has intensified because of their patience and influence.

I am pleased to feature such a fine and intense writer as Joseph and urge you to dig deeper into the core of the world he paints on the page.

 

Joseph where does your inspiration for writing horror come from? (i.e. bad dreams, everyday life…)

My inspiration for writing horror comes from a variety of places.  Most of the time, I’ll glimpse at an image in my mind; it’s almost like a still frame from a movie.  Using that image, a story will slowly develop and ferment like fine wine.  Music, believe it or not, inspires me tremendously as well.  I’ll take the emotion a particular song will churn up within me and use that when writing.  Every day life is definitely a contributing factor, whether in my own cosmos or things I’ll read in the news.  As far as I know, I don’t have bad dreams; none that I can remember, at least. lol

Tell us about Pen of the Damned. What was your original goal for POTD and what are your visions for this “guild” in the future?

I started Pen of the Damned along with Nina D’Arcangela a little more than two years ago.  It rose from a very simple concept: developing a platform that will promote and market both writer and guild alike.  So we decided upon a strict limit of only ten writers employing varying writing voices.  Each Tuesday, a new writer takes the spotlight, so to speak, and shares their work.  The material is always free for readers and of course consists of horror fiction or dark, angst-ridden prose or poetry.  We keep a strict maximum of 2,500 words per post.  This ensures a brief but impactful read for all to enjoy during the course of their day.

We’re delighted that we’ve gained so many fans and are gaining more as each week passes.  Our original goal has definitely been met.  Nina and I have many dastardly intentions for Pen of the Damned – it’s just a matter of cultivating it to fruition.

***

Which I know from experience takes alot of work and is appreciated by each of the Damned members ~Leslie

 

Please share with us

about your recently published book:

My most recently published book is Dusk and Summer with Sirens Call Publications and is actually a contemporary fantasy story.  I wrote and self-published it a little more than six years ago when my father passed away after a fifteen month battle with pancreatic cancer.  Grief stricken and unable to process my loss, I came to the realization that I had to do something to make sense of it all.  I sat to write what I’d initially believed to be a vessel for my emotions, but it unexpectedly transformed into a fantasy tale.  Inspired by my father’s passion for the sea, Dusk and Summer was born.

It’s a book of love and loss; a bittersweet tribute to my father.  It’s also a book of hope, of dreams made real, and of a fantasy world beneath the waves that is my gift to my father.  My book will not only help anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one, but will sweep readers away with its unexpected story arc.

The Sirens Call Publications team did an amazing job guiding me through the revision of Dusk and Summer nearly seven years later.  They kept it as true to the heart now as it was then.  I couldn’t be more pleased with the caring and compassionate manner in which they handled this very delicate subject matter and the professional acumen they displayed while doing so.

I’m also very proud to say that I’ll be donating a portion of proceeds from all sales of Dusk and Summer to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

******

I won’t say too much about Siren’s Call Publications now other than please check them out they have many publication opportunities for writers. I hope to get an interview with them in a forthcoming article.

What classic horror inspired / inspires you?

The classic horror that inspired me comes from the literary medium, and that would be the early works of Robert McCammon.  Reading from this amazing author definitely opened my eyes to a new and wondrous world and pushed me to become a part of it when I was much younger.

 ***

I was not familiar with McCammon but I am diving into his River of Souls.

 

If you could be a monster what would you be?

If I could be a monster what would I be…can I cheat and give you two answers? lol First, I’d want to be Cookie Monster.  I mean, who doesn’t love Cookie Monster?  And a chocolate chip diet for life?  Sign me up!

The second monster I’d want to be is Godzilla.  I’d rise my cranky self from the bottom of the Pacific, stomp cities and scorch them with my radioactive breath- even fight some other monsters along the way.  Oh yes, hands down, Gojira, or as you know him…Godzilla, King of Monsters! lol

 *****

I have to throw this question in as I love the answers 🙂

 

  Can you divulge what is up next for Joseph?

What’s up next for me is the start of a new book.  I’ve had an idea scratching around inside my head and it’s about time to get it out!

Thank you very much for offering me the opportunity to talk about myself and my most recent book. I’m truly privileged to be featured on your blog, Leslie!

*****

Wishing best of luck to you, Joseph. It is a privilege to try to keep up with you on Pen of the Damned.

I have a new stack of fiction!

 

 

Here’s additional information about Joseph Pinto:

Joseph resides in Northern New Jersey with his young daughter and wife. You can find him in a multitude of places online.

Track him down on Twitter: @JosephAPinto;

Facebook:  Joseph A. Pinto, horror author and more…

His personal blog: JosephPinto.com

The Pen of the Damned blog

He happily shares his deranged likings on Pinterest

He occasionally lurking in the halls of  Google +.

Or, you can simply email him at authorjosephpinto@gmail.com.

You can pick up Joseph’s book, Dusk and Summer, in both eBook and print versions on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, an eBook version on Kobo, as well as other formats on Smashwords.

Please don’t forget, every purchase is more than a great book; it’s also a contribution toward the fight against pancreatic cancer through the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

 

 

 A reminder that each Tuesday a new post comes up on Pen of the Damned. I am always surprised at the variety of horror and never disappointed.

 

 

Flash Back #horror #war #pen

 

 

” Echoes of machine gun fire and distant explosions rattle my nerves…”

 

“I slowly turn my head and make out the distinctive black uniform of an SS officer.

Without hesitating, I pull out my knife and leap onto him, my blade finding its mark in his throat…”

 

*******

Enjoy “Paratrooper” by Jon Olson. This Pen of the Damned flash fiction is a fitting piece of horror for a day (week) where we recognize the heroics and sacrifices of D-Day. Some men never returned. There were others who brought back more than they had left with.

Not familiar with Pen of the Damned? Well we write dark, horror for the fun of it. An award winning group of authors who weekly wet your appetite with blood and other sundrys. Join us on Tuesdays!

Jon Olson is on Twitter @jonolsonauthor

Stone Cold #poetry #pen

you whispered a story

deep in my ear

things

I’d rather not ever hear

*

fantasy

a bow about my heart

had screamed and tugged

torn me  all apart

*

Imagined I

dark beasts and worlds

spiraling  flames

that burned and curled

*

now the very thing

I dreamed

was the place I awakened

in a frightful scream

*

leave me not

no more alone

for in this grey reality

I awoke a stone

Please join me today at Pen of the Damned where my prose  grew from this poem.