Another Election Day

Virginia held a special election yesterday to approve or disapprove new congressional districts, created primarily in response to the Republican redrawing of Texas districts to pick up new seats. For me, as a local elections official, this meant another big day working at my polling precinct (fortunately, it's at my old elementary school, a short distance up the road). Especially for an aging dude like me, it's pretty grueling. Up at 4:00 a.m. to be at the site by 5:00 a.m.; get the polling area all set up (we did some of it the day before); open at 6:00 a.m., work until 7:00 p.m., with a brief lunch break midday; and then break down/repack all the equipment, as well as tabulate/sign off on all the results. This means getting home a bit after 8:00 p.m.

It was a busy, busy day, with at least three times as many voters coming in as in the previous elections I've worked (about 650 at our precinct). The redistricting issue was the only one on the ballot, so at least tabulating and reporting the results weren't very complicated. There were two hardware snafus during the day (these seem almost inevitable on Election Day), but fortunately, they were relatively brief inconveniences. Oh, and one unhinged fellow who clearly wasn't a registered voter who had a little fit when we wouldn't allow him to vote without going through the full registration/affirmation of identity/provisional ballot process.

Having been on the other side of the voting booth, it's safe to say that while I'm not a fan of making voting difficult, I'm certainly a proponent of requiring a valid ID to vote. It's sensible and practical. No, not in the way the SAVE Act proposes. There's too much potential for disenfranchisement in the terms of that proposal. What we currently have in Virginia is absolutely sufficient.

I don't have it in me to editorialize on the results of the election, other than to say that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. I hate gerrymandering, but when one party starts using it so blatantly to gain an advantage, you cannot be surprised—or legitimately disapproving—that the other does so only to even the playing field. You start cheating, and cheating comes back to bite you.

At least in Virginia, the voters approved the measure. In other states, it was foisted upon them. That said, however the election might have turned out, I am happy to have been part of the democratic process that functioned exactly as it should. By the way, if you believe Trump's typical, unhinged rant about how the election was rigged, I have one question for you: How is the air there on Planet Moronica?

The Devil Flies in Strix

For reasons I really can't detail here, I'm just going to say that this has been one of the worst weeks of my life, and I'm feeling a little broken. The only reason I'm mentioning this here is because there's a certain catharsis in putting it out there. I'm sure that, given time, I'll be all right, although, in its way, this is a life-changing situation. Physically, I'm completely fine, though for right now, I will not deny that I'm feeling a bit of a wreck.

That said, this week I received a most-welcome acceptance from KJK Publishing for my story, "The Devil Flies in Strix," to appear in their upcoming Cryptids anthology later this year. It'll be my second cryptid-themed story to see publication this year; the first — also a "devil" story — titled "The Devil of Transylvania County," appeared in the recent Myths Reborn anthology from October Nights Press. KJK Publishing previously published my story, "Magic Eye," in their Horror Collection: Crystal Edition, in February 2025.

And in other decent news, I'm getting to the last leg of my sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, which I'm pretty sure will be titled Broken Barriers. The cover art has been acquired from artist J. Edward Neill, whose art also appeared on the cover of The House at Black Tooth Pond and Deathrealm: Spirits.

And speaking of spirits, hopefully, next entry, mine will be better.

"Threnody" Depiction by J.B. Lee

In April 2024, I posted an interview with artist J.B. Lee (see "A Graveside Chat with J.B. Lee"), showcasing a variety of his works, most of them in the cosmic horror and/or Lovecraftian mode. Just the other day, he posted one of his illustrations, which was based on my 1987 story, "Threnody," It perfectly captures the atmosphere and horrific elements of the tale, and I most heartily approve.

I originally published "Threnody" in Deathrealm issue #2, and it was subsequently reprinted in Robert M. Price's anthology, The New Lovecraft Circle (Fedogan & Bremer, 1996) under the title "The Spheres Beyond Sound." Now, I had used the title, "The Spheres Beyond Sound" for entirely different (though related), but Mr. Price liked it so much, he wondered if I'd allow "Threnody" to be published under that title. I reluctantly agreed, and to be sure, it's fitting for the story. Later, "Threnody" appeared, with its original title, in my collections The Last Trumpet (Wildside Press, 2000) and Fugue Devil: Resurgence (Black Raven Books, 2022).

Here is Mr. Lee's description of the art: "A scene from Stephen Mark Rainey's 'The Spheres Beyond Sound' ('Threnody'). And before any Stranger Things fans get started, that giant arachnoid critter is copyright 1987. Painted with the usual digital tablet. NO A.I."

Now, I don't know about any Stranger Things comparisons, but I will tell you that when I wrote "Threnody," I had never seen either The Evil Dead or The Evil Dead 2. However, it wasn't long after I wrote the story that I did, and I was mortified that a few of the plot elements corresponded a bit too closely for comfort (although, in all these years, I've never heard anyone make that comparison, for which I am relieved).

 

"Threnody" is not the first of my stories for which J.B. has created a lovely piece of art. His interpretation of my story "Stalker of the Wild Wind," which originally appeared in Robert M. Price's The Ithaqua Cycle (Chaosium, 1999) also does the tale more than justice. That's it below. (Click on the photos to enlarge.)

 

Thanks, J.B.

Destination: Rock Hill

Six weeks ago, Brugger's mom, Fern, fell and broke her leg in several places. Kimberly immediately booked a flight to Michigan so she could look after her folks, since her dad has physical issues of his own. For all these weeks, she's played nursemaid, household manager, and gofer; here at home, the cats and I have done our best to cope (it was certainly not easy on us cats!). Finally, at last, after this extended sojourn, Brugger returned home on Wednesday of this week.

Many moons ago, unaware that life would throw her a series of ripping curve balls, she had reserved a spot at an (expensive) arts & crafts retreat in Rock Hill, SC, for this weekend. So, rather than come and go with only a couple days back home, she decreed that I should accompany her to Rock Hill. And hey, how cool is this anyway? A weekend at a nice hotel (the Holiday Inn Rock Hill), numerous restaurants and bars to check out, geocaching in a place I'd never geocached, individual fun times when she's at her activity, and fun times together when she's not. For me, all this equals a great big woot!

Friday, April 10, 2026 

We headed out about nine o'clock this morning, stopping along the way for coffee, caches, peeing, and lunch at The Smoke Pit in Salisbury, NC. It's one of my favorite BBQ restaurants, which I'd discovered it while geocaching several years ago. This was Ms. B.'s inaugural visit, and happily, she found it as enjoyable as I do. Then we moved on and arrived at the hotel in Rock Hill about one o'clock in the afternoon. She set herself up in the big artsy-craftsy area, and I went geocaching. Of all things, there was supposed to be a cache hidden inside the bar of our hotel, except the bar had been recently remodeled, and the cache was a casualty of the alteration. Alas!

Still, several caches lay within reasonable walking distance, so I hoofed it to a handful of them, which I found. On my geocaching map, I saw a cache in a park along the Catawba River about a mile farther on, so I decided to go for it. It was a lovely walk on a trail through the woods, but when I arrived at ground zero, it was clear the cache was not there. Fuckboogers! That was one long walk for naught, caching-wise, but the scenery was gorgeous, so I figure it was anything but a waste of time.

 

By the time I reached the hotel, I'd put in over five miles on foot, so it was a relief to take a shower, kick back, and work on my sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond. About five o'clock, Brugger reappeared, and we sought dinner in downtown Rock Hill at a place called Ay Papi Tacos & Tequila. Lord have mercy, the food, drink, and service here were incredible. I had a smoked margarita made with mezcal, served in a skull, that about sent me over the edge of ecstasy (see photo above). The two tacos I had—the Heat Wave (grilled chicken tossed in house spicy sauce, black garlic aioli, candied jalapeños, cilantro) and La Bebé Verde (Ox tail slow roasted in a tomatillo sauce, onions, cilantro, queso fresco)—rated as high on the Taco Fantastique scale as it gets.

 

Then we returned to the hotel, Brugger went down to continue her artsy-craftsy activities, and I worked on me book. A lovely fooking day, I must say. It's so, SO good to hang out with my wife (a.k.a. the Stranger) finally, at last, again.

Brisket sandwich, red slaw, and fried okra at The Smoke Pit in Salisbury, NC. Heavenly.

L: Grogu on the caching trail??? R: I wonder what that is in yonder crevice?

A purty sunset from our hotel room window, Friday, April 10, 2026

Saturday, April 11, 2026
There is an emotional downside to this particular date, and that is because my dad passed away on April 11, 2001. For me, April has historically been a bad month for losing loved ones. Apart from Dad, several good friends and three of my beloved cats passed away in April. These sad events have tarnished a month that, in my younger years, I found tranquil and generally heartening, what with the onset of spring, the blooming trees and flowers, moderate temperatures, and an upcoming birthday in May (though nowadays, the birthday is a date to ignore rather than celebrate). Still, with the passage of time, the pain of profound loss has at last given way to joyful memories of love and companionship. May April not be a bitch from here on out.

Once we were up and about this morning, I wandered down to the hotel restaurant for a quick bite at the breakfast buffet, which I found satisfying (far better than the last hotel breakfast buffet I'd had), and Brugger went to her crafty event. I got myself together and headed out geocaching. My first destination was the nearby Manchester Meadows Park, which has a few nice trails and several caches. There was a soccer game or two in making, and tons of people were filing into the park, but thankfully, the caches were mostly off the beaten track, so dodging muggles didn't present much of a problem. One cache was missing and disabled, but I figured I'd give it a look anyway because, occasionally, I have found missing caches by searching areas where they might have washed away. No luck on this count today, but I did find a very old, archived geocache—a plastic ammo box—that at some point had been smashed by a falling tree. Pity I can't claim a find on it, but at least it was an interesting item to turn up.

A smashing discovery

After logging my final cache in the park, I managed to bang my shin pretty good on a metal bench. Since it broke the skin, I hit the wound with some Purell sanitizer when I reached my car, and people probably heard the hollering most of the way across town.

 

From Manchester Meadows, I headed toward downtown Rock Hill and Winthrop University, which I ended up touring à pied. It's a scenic campus, and I encountered lots of muggle activity. Again, the caches were mostly tucked away, so muggles were barely a concern. Several of the hides were very nicely done too, much more satisfying than the all-too-common park & grab variety. After this bunch, I settled for a light lunch at Katana Kitchen—a couple of spring rolls and a cup of miso soup—because I figure we'll be having a substantial dinner somewhere this evening. 

R: Turtles! L: Woops!

L: Artesian well. There might have been a cache there. R: Winthrop University clock tower

Whee!

Once back at the hotel, I settled in to write, first on this blog entry, and then on Broken Barriers (assuming that's going to be its title). I can finally see the light at the end of this book, so I'm hoping to finish it within a month. I'm very happy with the progress I've been making so far.

 

For dinner, Ms. B. had taken a shine to a place called The Pour Market, down at Winthrop University, where I'd been caching earlier today. Once we got there, though, we discovered the place was closed for a special event. So, upon searching some nearby, apt-looking locations, we settled on Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails. This turned out to be a great choice. The surroundings here are all modern, industrial style, but the interior of Old Town has a warm, bookish atmosphere. The service, food, and drink turned out to be first-rate. Brugger went for white wine (seriously, she's usually all right) and a superb smashburger. I had an excellent dirty martini and smoked chicken wings with a white BBQ sauce, which I'd rate very good. So, despite being denied our first dinner choice, our second turned out quite loverly.

 

Back at the hotel, Brugger returned to artsing and craftsing, and I wrote many words. I must say, it's nice to be away, to have an enjoyable weekend that breaks the routine. And lord knows, after six weeks and every variety of stressor in the book, Ms. B. was due for a major respite. Of course, she's still had to spend a lot of time on the phone sorting out her folks' care since she's not there to do it in person. For me, finally managing substantial quality time with her plus caching, dining, writing, and excellent spirits have worked wonders for an aging inner spirit.

 

In the morning, we'll get up and get going. All in all, our Rock Hill excursion has been a treat, and I hope it helped Ms. B.'s stress level. Sadly, it won't be going down appreciably anytime in the near future. We just have to take what we can get whenever we can get it.

Tonic for the spirits at Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails

MYTHS REBORN Is in the House!

Yay! My contributor copy of Myths Reborn: Modern Tales of Cryptids & Dark Folkore has arrived from October Nights Press. Edited by Kelly A. Hearty, this new anthology features my story, "The Devil of Transylvania County," along with 18 other tales of cryptids, critters, long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night.

From the Publisher: Can a skinwalker become the savior of two terrified young girls? How might the tale of Sasquatch be different when told from his perspective? Could a vampire exist undetected in your city or a Tatzelwurm make its way into the very walls of your home? Within the pages of this anthology, encounter cryptids and folk characters portrayed in novel and frightening ways. Nineteen talented authors breathed new life into traditional tales to create a new collection of reenvisioned, recontextualized myths.

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Order Myths Reborn from Amazon.com

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Eden's Ember Bookshop Grand Opening — A Sizzling Success

Photo by Eugene Smith

In my years of experience as a writer (which is a pretty big number because I am not so young), I've found book signings to be hit or miss. I've participated in some that, by all rights, should have been resounding successes but flopped, and others that seemed doomed to disappoint, yet doubled and tripled my most optimistic expectations. I felt pretty good about today's grand opening event at Eden’s Ember Bookshop in nearby Eden, NC; because, although Eden is a small town in a fairly rural county, from the beginning, owners Stephanie Lynn and her husband, Shawn, as well as several dedicated helpers, went all out to organize and promote both the event and the store itself. Plus, this region is home to an impressive number of successful writers. So, going in, it felt like all the building blocks for a decent day were in place. Authors Delphine McClelland, Val Neiman, and Al Sirois and I were set to sign books on the first shift (12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.), with another four — Maddy Butler, Ellen Ceely, Olivia Piervincenti, and Britta Threshie — at 3:00 p.m.

And...oh, yeah. From the moment the doors opened, a steady flow of patrons came in, and many — or maybe even most — took advantage of the opportunity to check out us local folks, conveniently set up in the vestibule in front of the main entrance. I sold out of my copies of The House at Black Tooth Pond and Blue Devil Island, and I diminished my stock of all the other books I had on hand. So, yes, I'd say this one more than met my expectations, and I hope this bodes well for the store in general.

 

The bookshop is located in the basement of Kings Mill Coffee Shop, and before the signing started, I paid them a visit to have breakfast. I killed a wonderfully spicy western omelette, and I can safely say this was one of the best omelettes I've ever had — bacon, sausage, onion, jalapenos, and habanero ghost jack cheese. And their coffee is great.

Eden's Ember Bookshop and Kings Mill Coffee Shop are located at 729 South Van Buren, Eden, NC. If you're in the area, I highly recommend paying them a visit. 

I'm Getting Too Old for This Shit

I can always tell when spring officially rolls in because I start having migraines. I've had a couple in the past few days, fortunately not too severe. Inevitably, in spring and fall, the changes in weather seem to play hell with my system, and that is when the migraines are pretty much guaranteed. At least they're not as bad as they were some years ago, when they regularly knocked me down and out for at least a full day.

 

There are woods all around our house, so in the fall, the leaves that gather in the yard are prodigious. We tend to clean them up about every other year, and we skipped this past fall. They do gather pretty deep in the lower yard out back, though, so I figured that, as part of my regular spring cleaning, I'd take care of them today. Not surprisingly, this turned out to be a masochistic, awful thing to do. It took me about three and a half hours to blow out the garage, the driveway, and the lower yard, which was covered by as much as two feet of leaves in places. Now, I feel like my back is permanently stooped. I'm getting too old for this shit.

 

There used to be grass back there, but as the trees have grown and cast more shade over the backyard — not to mention the frequent gullywashers that flood the low-lying areas in the summertime—grass does not grow happily back there. Right now, there's some lovely dirt though.

 

Remember, tomorrow is the grand opening of Eden's Ember Bookshop in Eden, NC, at 729 South Van Buren Road, Eden, NC, and I'll be there signing books from 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Stop by if you can! 

Haw River Hiking

Back in 2011, when we lived in Greenboro, I placed a cache ("A Bridge Too Far," GC2VDEF) along the Haw River Trail in Glencoe, NC, and it's been lurking out there ever since. Apparently, though, in the recent past, either by natural or human interference, the cache went missing (I'm going with severe weather, since the location is pretty damned close to muggle-proof). So, this morning, I took the opportunity to head down there, replace the cache, and hunt a few others in the vicinity.

 

The Haw River Trail runs along the river for many miles, and most of it is very scenic (though the parts that aren't really aren't). Today's four-mile hike took me through some of both. Most of the trail is moderate, with only a few rugged patches, although when one steps off the trail to hunt or hide caches, all bets are off. I found a couple of nice newish ones on the trail, plus a few out in the sticks of Alamance and Caswell Counties.

 

I also discovered an excellent Mexican lunch at Crazy Mexico restaurant in north Burlington—a chile relleno and chicken quesadilla, which quite hit the spot. Good food, good service.

 

Sadly, I'm running out of geocaches to hunt within reasonable driving distance, especially with prices so high just now. But it was certainly a beautiful day, and I enjoyed the trip immensely. I may have one more outing like this in front of me in the foreseeable future, but after that, folks need to place more caches. Some of us might have a little addiction.

Eden's Ember Bookshop Grand Opening — Saturday, April 4

Next weekend — Saturday, April 4 — is the grand opening of Eden’s Ember Bookshop in Eden, NC, starting at noon, with several local authors — including me! — on hand to sell and sign books. The store will be carrying Blue Devil Island, Fugue Devil Resurgence, and The House at Black Tooth Pond, but I'll have a larger selection at my table, including The Lebo Coven, The Nightmare Frontier, Gods of Moab, and several of my Ameri-Scares series titles.

Eden's Ember Bookshop is located at 729 South Van Buren Rd., Eden, NC 27288 (see map below), in the basement of the Kings Mill Coffee building. (Note that parking and the entrance are at the back of the building.)

 

I'd love to see you at Eden's Ember's grand opening. If you're within traveling distance, please stop in, so I won't have to hurl a bunch of insults at you. I will, you know.

No Kings...Ever

If you follow me here, you probably know I don't talk politics on my blog very often; I usually have my say on that subject on other social media, mainly Facebook, and I reserve my blog as more of a journal about positive current events, writing, geocaching, monsters, books, movies, etc. However, I'm gonna mention that today, I took part in the third No Kings rally because in my view, it's a personally meaningful subject. I make no secret of the fact that I despise DJT, and even more, I hate what he and this entire MAGA regime is doing to this country, and with the approval of far too many Americans. Peacefully protesting this bullshit is something I feel compelled to do, and thankfully, I am far, far from alone. How anyone with half a brain can't see — and oppose — the hellish depths to which Trump & Company are dragging this country is beyond unfathomable. So, it's good to see so many people, all over the USA, coming together for events like this to show that not all of us have lost our fucking minds.

I don't know the exact number at this point, but Martinsville's rally today was well-attended (I'm guessing at least 200 people), and best of all, many, many passersby honked and waved in approval versus the scant handful who had nasty things to yell. That, at least, is heartening.

Some scenes from our local No Kings rally. A good crowd, and far more honks of support than ugly shouted epithets from the passersby.

My favorite moment was when one old fella yelled out at us, "I will pray for all of you."  Several people called back, "We'll pray for you too, and peace be with you." He looked kind of surprised, and after a moment he called back, "Well, peace to all of you folks too." There really was a great sense of fellowship with all these local people who clearly care about democracy and decency.

It's in the Trees, and Don't Wanna Die Young

Kind of like the 1962 Godzi I finally acquired recently ("Oh Lawd, He Comin'," Thursday, March 26, 2026), I was finally able to find the SF Revoltech 5" figure of Mogera, from Toho's 1957 SF spectacle, The Mysterians at a decent price. So, I set about creating a new Photoshop scene of the little guy, pictured above. The line "It's in the trees! It's coming!" from Night (Curse) of the Demon is apt, so that's what I call it.

There was a geocaching lunch event at Uptown Charlie's in Browns Summit, NC, today—called "Don't Wanna Die Young," since its theme was extreme caches, which was a topic of some enjoyable conversation. I set out early and grabbed a number of caches I hadn't yet found, mostly around Reidsville. Just a handful of attendees today, but it was great fun.

This afternoon, a visit to Hamlet Kitchen for wine with friend Gretchen, who is recuperating from a knee replacement is on the docket.

Laterz.

"Oh, Lawd, He Comin'!"

I've collected a fair number of daikaiju figures over the years, my favorites mostly being the different Godzilla variations. The 1962 "King Kong vs. Godzilla" variation is one I've sought for quite a while, since any of the approximately 6" figures are hard to find and usually very expensive. However, I recently found a pre-owned NECA 62 Godzi on eBay at a fair price, so here he is. I set up one of my miniature landscape sets, found a free background image on Pixabay that looked nice, Photoshopped it a wee bit, et voila. Achievement unlocked.

Author Updates Interview

On April 4, a new bookshop, called Eden's Ember, is set to open in nearby Eden, North Carolina. Along with several other authors, I'll be there for the grand opening event, with plenty of books to sell and sign (see "The Creeps Are Back, Eden's Ember, and More," Friday, March 13, 2026). To promote local authors, writer and podcaster Eugene Smith has launched a new podcast called Author Updates, and yesterday, he was kind enough to interview me about my books, stories, and writing in general. It was a very enjoyable conversation, so give it a look. It runs about 25 minutes.

Eden's Ember Bookshop is located at 729 South Van Buren Rd., Eden, NC 27288, in the basement of the Kings Mill Coffee building. The grand opening event is from 12 p.m.–4:00 p.m. (I'll be signing between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.).

Frankie's Bridge

Now that I am a gentleman land baron, ha-ha, I have, as promised, placed a new geocache somewhere in the wooded valley across the road from my house. It's called "Frankie's Bridge," the title being based on a local legend from days of yore.

 

Going back many years before I was born, the area that is now my neighborhood was mostly farmland, and even when I was a kid in the early 1960s, there was a horse stable and a small wooden bridge across the creek that meanders through the valley. A horse named Frankie lived down there, though I don't know who actually owned him.

 

One night, as Frankie was crossing the bridge, one of the planks broke beneath him. He toppled from the bridge and broke his leg, which resulted in him having to be put down. In the years that followed, the neighbors whispered that they sometimes heard Frankie crying out in pain late at night. Personally, I never heard any such sounds, but back when, certain neighbors swore it was true.

 

Nowadays, I don't know whether anyone around here even remembers Frankie's story, but it has always stood out in my mind. Sometimes at night, I'll go outside, gaze at the stars, and listen for any ghostly sounds out there in the dark, but alas... no such luck.

 

Anyway, after the cache's publication the other day, friend and fellow geocacher Skyhawk63 (a.k.a. Tom) came around to hunt the cache, and he earned the almost-coveted first-to-find honors. Afterward, he and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Be Wiched Diner uptown and then went our separate ways. I ventured over to Danville for a first-to-find of my own and then moved on to Caswell County, NC, to seek a few more caches.

 

In April, I'll be hosting a geocaching event here at home, so I'm sure most or all of the attendees will want to venture into the woods across the road to hunt Frankie's Bridge. 

Near the cache: all that now remains of Frankie's Bridge

In this photo from 2016, one beam of Frankie's bridge still remained alongside that sewer pipe;
below, a couple of views near the cache I took the other day

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

I alluded to this in a blog entry a few days ago, but now that I am the rightful owner of one and a quarter wooded acres across the street, I aim to see that it remains wooded. When I lived in Greensboro, developers would sometimes disregard property boundaries and cut trees on land they had no business entering. Case in point, about fifteen years ago, our neighbor across the street owned a portion of the woodland adjacent to his house, but not the entire stand of woods. When the inevitable developers showed up to build on the other lots, they went right ahead and cut down the trees on his land. He and his family had been away for a time, and when they came home that day and found the lot cleared, I feared there would be bloodshed (he was that kind of guy). Me, I would much prefer to avoid bloodshed.

 

I must say, I rather dislike "No Trespassing" signs, as just about everyone and his brother has them on their property, and like the song says, "Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind." Regardless, I've put several out at strategic points because, in the event that developers set their sights on these woods, those markers will show which portion is not theirs to cut. Or even enter, for that matter.

 

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, I plan to place a geocache down there. And frankly, I don't care if kids come around to play at the creek, just like I did when I was a youngster, or if the plethora of folks in this neighborhood who take daily walks wish to walk in those woods. I just don't want there to be any ambiguity about where anyone who intends to cut down trees is not welcome.

Here's a few shots of the land, taken a couple of years ago.

The Creeps Are Back, Eden's Ember Bookshop, and More

When a traveler takes one of the winding back roads between Martinsville, VA, and Eden, NC, he may come upon a lonely and curious little community called Sandy Level. There, for many years, at least one forbidding-looking but otherwise jovial figure occupied a singular space along the roadside, leering and waving at the passersby. I called him the Sandy Level Creep (or Creeps, when there was more than one; you may read about them here), but a few years ago, all the Creeps mysteriously vanished. Happily, as I discovered recently, a new corps of Creeps has settled in the old ones' place. That's them in the photo above, in case there's any question.

 

I had an appointment in Eden this morning, so I opted to take the back roads rather than the main highway. Since I'd noticed the Creeps' return some time ago, I decided to stop and take a photo today. Notice how overjoyed they appear,

 

My trip to Eden was to deliver a few books to Eden's Ember Bookshop, which is set to open on Saturday, April 4. There will be a grand opening event from 12 noon to 4 p.m., with several local authors—including me!—on hand to sell and sign their books. The store will be carrying Blue Devil Island, Fugue Devil Resurgence, and The House at Black Tooth Pond, but I'll have a larger selection at my table, including The Lebo Coven, The Nightmare Frontier, Gods of Moab, and several of my Ameri-Scares series titles.

Eden's Ember Bookshop is located at 729 South Van Buren Rd., Eden, NC 27288 (see map below), in the basement of the Kings Mill Coffee building. (Note that parking and the entrance are at the back of the building.)

 

I'll throw in a personal plug for Kings Mill Coffee, as I had lunch there today—a gigantic BLT and a jumbo mug of coffee. The sandwich includes bacon, lettuce, and tomato, of course, but also prosciutto, arugula, avocado, and garlic aioli, all on toasted sourdough bread. It comes with fries. Yeah, I recommend this highly.

 

After lunch, I headed to several relatively new geocaches north of Reidsville. I even got first-to-find honors on one of them, which was fun.

 

I'd love to see you at Eden's Ember's grand opening. If you're within traveling distance, please stop in, so I won't have to hurl a bunch of insults at you. I will, you know.

Moo Moo Land

I had to go to Danville this morning to handle some business, and once it was done, I figured I should go geocaching because there was a trio of new caches a few miles east of town along the Ringgold Rail Trail. Well over a decade ago, various geocachers had loaded the five-plus-mile trail with all manner of hides, and it was a frequent destination for me, but now, with so many cachers retired, passed on, or moved away, I haven't had the opportunity to get back to it for a long time. Happily, it was a beautiful day for a pleasant, fairly lengthy walk.

Sadly, the first cache I hunted turned out to be a bust. Based on certain information I came upon later, I strongly suspect it is missing. Ah, well. But as I was hunting, a handful of moo cows came wandering up and gathered around me. They were nice enough companions, but they kind of suck at geocaching.

Eventually, I decided to give up on that elusive first cache and move on toward the next. To my surprise, the cows decided to follow me for a fair distance, although they gave up shortly before I reached ground zero. I managed to find this cache easily, thus earning the dubious first-to-find honors (as I did on the next one as well).

Once back at the Rodan Mobile, I made my way to Tokyo Grill, which is my number one Danville go-to restaurant, and had a very good sushi lunch. Then, it was time to motor back home.

I reckon there's no reason to make a secret of it, so I'll mention that I was in Danville to close on a tract of land I have purchased across the street from our house. It's 1.25-acre wooded lot that's been part of a larger buffer between our road and another one that meanders up the ridge beyond. This woodland has been there all my life, but lately developers have been making overtures toward building in that area. Oh, no, no, no, you don't. That land is an extreme flood zone (in May 2018, it was completely underwater, which you can see in my video of the big flood here). You'd have to be a damned fool to build down there, but that is rarely a consideration where developers are concerned. So, after lengthy contemplation, I tore into some assets that I didn't really want to, but I absolutely cannot abide the idea of anyone destroying those woods, ruining the creek that threads through them, and putting a bunch of fucking shoe box houses on the land. I just hope the adjacent lots to the north remain untouched.

Anyway, there's no question that I'll put a geocache down there. And I've ordered some No Trespassing signs to post around the boundaries in case any developers get confused about who owns what (those signs will not apply to geocachers, of course). It's almost tempting to go down there and post "No Tressping!" signs, as someone did out in the country not too far from here; some folks in these parts might even find that easier to understand.

Moo Moo Land. Moo Moo Land. All bound for Moo Moo Land...

"I turn my back on you, geocaching hooman."

This means YOU, developer-types

Urban Renewal

It's been awhile since I created a daikaiju scene, so I did. I was walking uptown this morning, and when I passed one of our local restaurants and had a clear view of the sky, I thought I might snap a photo that could be used for a background. And there it is.

 

Bandai Godzilla and MechaGodzilla, the 1974 designs, both about six inches tall, Photoshopped. Scary, eh? 

Erica, a Novel Completion, THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND Reviews, and More

Erica Wetzel Fields and the Old Dude at AuthorCon. I look happy. I blame Erica.

At AuthorCon last week, I was over the moon to see book collector Erica Wetzel-Fields making her rounds, as she is the consummate AuthorCon fixture. I think Erica has done more to support all of us authors than anyone I've ever known. At each con, you'll see her rolling her large cart full of books from aisle to aisle, conversing and taking photos with the writers, and generally elevating people's moods somewhere through the ceiling. Here is a shout out and a big "thank-you" to her.

 

This past weekend, I finished a collaborative novel that's been in the works for many moons, so I had a celebratory martini, as is my tradition. Actually, I might have had two. There will be plenty more news on this once it becomes appropriate to discuss the details.

 

Also this weekend, a couple of new, very flattering reviews of The House at Black Tooth Pond came out and made me smile.

From Stephen Provost:

"Stephen Mark Rainey has created an intricate world populated with relatable characters facing horror beyond comprehension. The author deftly juxtaposes the "ordinary" life of a fictional rural community against the existence of a surreal and terrifying "other" dimension, then explores the explosive consequences when the two intersect..." Read more: Stephen Provost reviews The House at Black Tooth Pond

From Dark Entertainment Trends:

"Stephen Mark Rainey writes literary horror like it's nonfiction... It's this realism that elevates Rainey's stories to a literary level... I see other reviews calling this Lovecraftian. I think we're past calling Mark Stephen Rainey's work "Lovecraftian". It's time to use the more applicable moniker: Raineyan, for Real Horror." Read more: Dark Entertainment Trends reviews The House at Black Tooth Pond

I've got a busy week of appointments and other necessary tasks, but my main focus is going to be making progress on the sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, tentatively titled Broken Barriers. I'm well over halfway done with it, but there's still a lot of work to do whipping this monster into shape.

 

Till next time...