New Novel Complete — The House at Black Tooth Pond

After long, hard work for the past six months, I have finished my latest novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond. It's based on a story of the same title, which will be appearing in the anthology, Shunned Houses, edited by Katherine Kerestman & S.T. Joshi, this coming August (the launch is set for NecronomiCon 2024, in Providence, RI, which I'm planning to attend). Like many of my works of fiction, the novel is set in my fictitious version of Martinsville and Henry County, VA, called Aiken Mill and Sylvan County respectively. While the novel is not a direct sequel to any of my earlier works, it does feature recurring settings and characters from The Lebo Coven, Fugue Devil: Resurgence, and many others.

Here's an excerpt from the book I posted a while back: "Work-in-Progress Excerpt: The House at Black Tooth Pond"

The setting of the novel (and the original story), is based on a couple of places that actually exist in this area. The painting above, by friend and fine artist Charles Hill, is one he did based on some of our old visits out to the place. The drawing below is one that I did, back around 1990, which depicts an old abandoned house my brother and I discovered in the woods of Henry County way back when. In the novel, the two settings are combined to create what I think is an exceptionally creepy location at which terrifying events do happen, which I hope will scare the pants of of ye.

More news about the book's publication will follow at the earliest possibility. For more information on "Black Tooth Pond," the real location, check this out: "Black Tooth Pond"

A Happy Brugger Birthday

Brugger turned older than the hills — again! — today. This past Saturday, we'd gone up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to celebrate both of our birthdays ("Blue Ridge Parkway Caching, Wining, & Dining"), but as always, we had our own mellow little celebration at home on the actual day. For her birthday dinner, she wanted her special "French Onion Burgers," which include mushrooms, onions, swiss cheese, garlic aioli, and lots of Worcestershire sauce, so I made us up some. They were delicious. Plus we opened one of our really good bottles of wine from last fall's trip to the Pacific Northwest (a Cabernet Sauvignon from Sigillo Cellars in Snoqualmie). And she got a couple of nice gifts from some old fellow.

Me, I headed out bright and early for Danville, VA, to set up a couple of new geocaches — a Virtual and an Adventure Lab — in the Historic River District. While I was setting up the cache stages, I happened upon someone's bank card lying in the grass in one of the small park areas, so, in keeping with the theme of rescuing things, which seems to have been my lot lately, I rescued the card and promptly went out and had sushi at Tokyo Grill. (Yeah, the bank was right there, so I did turn in the errant card first, heh heh.)

Anyway, a nice day all around for both of us. Yet another step in the walk to Last Day. Till the next one...

A few random sites around the River District in Danville:

Eldredge, the Red Elephant, which occupies the shell of the old Eldredge's Drugstore on Craghead Street

The old Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. building

Left: restored old water tower; Right: Hidden door in a haunted corner of the River District

Entrance to the old Worsham Street Bridge

Ugly Animal Rescue Inc.

It was barely over a month ago that I (with the help of a neighbor) rescued a turkey vulture caught up in some fishing line across the street from my house (see "O Ugly Bird," March 25, 2024). Today, it was a big ol' snapping turtle* out in the road in the wilds of Guilford County, NC. I'd had a doctor appointment during the morning, and then friend Scott (a.k.a. Diefenbaker) and I spent a good portion of the day geocaching around Burlington. On my way home, I took one of the backroads to replace one of my caches that had gone missing, and very nearby, I happened upon the critter pictured here. It was a great big 'un — over two feet from snout to tail. And, oh my lord, how very unhappy! Aggressive as hell, and those jaws, had they snagged one of my fingers, would have taken it clean off. Still, it didn't appear inclined to get out of the road. So, I presented the end of my hiking stick and let it bite the tip. Its jaws locked on, and so I was able to lift it and carry it well out of harm's way.

Now, I don't know whether yon critter stayed out of harm's way, but I hated the idea of a vehicle smushing it, whether inadvertently or on purpose. Anyway, I did what I could, and I hope it's still out there going about its turtle business in relative safety.

Anyway, Ms. Brugger said I should start a business called Ugly Animal Rescue since seem to have a knack for it. An idea to consider.

*When I posted the photo on Facebook, there was some disagreement over whether this was a common snapping turtle or a musk turtle. Now, I've seen plenty of musk turtles around, but I've never seen one that looked — or behaved — like this critter. This one's shell wasn't ridged in the way of most snapping turtles, although it did appear jagged around the back edge. At no time did it release any of the musk that annoyed musk turtles usually do. So, based on its behavior, its general physical characteristics, and how it compares to the images of snapping turtles in NC vs musk turtles, I've gotta go with the common snapping turtle. Whatever type it was, had it gotten hold of my hand during all this, I'd be in one helluva bad way right now.

Blue Ridge Parkway Caching, Wining, and Dining

Since my birthday fell on last Thursday, and Brugger's birthday is next Thursday, we decided to celebrate both by heading up to the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday, primarily to visit Villa Appalaccia Winery for wine (it's our favorite winery in the region), and Chateau Morrisette for dinner (plus some more wine). There are a couple of Aventure Lab caches on the Parkway with a handful of stages at Mabry Mill, so we stopped there on our way so that I might claim them. I did. It was nice to visit the mill, which was a long-running personal & family tradition for many years, but — very sadly — the restaurant has closed, possibly permanently, though hopefully temporarily. Mabry Mill is one of the most photographed locations on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I've taken more than I can count there over the years. And I'm posting a couple of more here.

Near the Parkway, U.S. 58 is undergoing a massive construction project, and last year, we had the misfortune of being stuck on it for an exceptionally long time while the work was going on. Google Maps indicated there might be delays, so on the way up — which was rainy (and very foggy once we reached the Parkway) — rather than taking 58, the more direct route, I went up U.S. 57 to Route 8 to the Parkway. It's a bit longer, but it's somewhat more scenic, especially since the construction work has utterly destroyed the most beautiful scenery along 58. We did take 58 home since by then it was late evening, and we ran into no problems whatsoever.

At Villa Appalaccia, we encountered a large crowd, which we found surprising since the weather was pretty dismal. Regardless, Ms. B. and I sat out in our favorite location — a little walled courtyard set back from the main building in a scenic grove of trees. We met a couple of interesting gentlemen smoking cigars out there, so we buckled up and shot the shit with them for a solid hour. Turned out to be a lot of fun.

Then Ms. B. and I migrated to the nearby Chateau Morrisette restaurant, where we enjoyed a first-rate dinner (as we almost always do) — butter-poached filet mignon for me and a beet salad and French onion soup for the missus. To accompany dinner, we went with a bottle of Dry Dog red, which wasn't bad. Not bad at all.

So, it was a lovely birthday excursion. We even enjoyed the fog and rain because it offered us a somewhat haunted atmosphere. Not much could be better for a birthday celebration.

Yesterday also would have been my brother's 60th birthday. He and I shared a lot of times on the Blue Ridge Parkway in our younger days. Here's to remembering all the best times with him.

Another Milestone on That Long, Winding Road to Last Day

YESTERDAY: Another birthday, another day closer to death, blah-blah-blah. This is my first month on Medicare, so that's how many of these milestones I've passed on the long and winding road. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for every second that I still inhabit this planet; milestones just don't seem to mean what they used to. The main reason I even remembered this one was because I needed to make sure I changed all my old medical insurance information over to the new.

It was a mellow birthday, to be sure. I began the day with my usual long walk around the neighborhood. I've managed to put in at least three miles a day without missing a single one since early January, and, before that, missed days were few and far between. It's definitely made a difference in my physical strength and stamina, and, given the abundance of steep hills in this area, I expect the cardiac workout has been good for keeping the ticker on a healthy track. I could probably stand to focus on a more healthful diet, but at the same time, it could be lot worse. I've got a regular physical checkup coming up soon, so I'm hoping my doctor will give me a smile rather than a frown.

Ms. Brugger made me one of her classic birthday cards (see above) and, come dinnertime, treated me to one of my favorite desserts ever — a mascarpone and Irish cream whipped dessert with bitter cherries, a recipe she got from our friend Yvonne. I was craving Thai chicken & basil for dinner, and since it's one of my mostest favoritest things to make, I up and fixed it myself. Next week, it's Brugger's birthday, so we're going to have a fancier dinner outing tomorrow evening as sort of a joint celebration.

We've been on a WWII movie kick lately, so for our evening theatrical feature, we put on Tora, Tora, Tora, which she hadn't seen, and it's one of my favorite films. The Blu-ray has the extended Japanese cut on it, so we watched that version, which I think I prefer. That carried us pretty late in the evening, so before bedtime, I finished listening to the audiobook of Gateways by F. Paul Wilson, as I've been on a Repairman Jack binge lately. Paul has had some serious health issues, but I heard from him the other day, and it sounds like he's on the upswing. I very much hope so.

I received a ton of very nice birthday wishes from friends both online and in person, and every last one is deeply appreciated. Perhaps I can continue plaguing you with my existence for a long time to come. (Evil laughter...)

Laters, all!

My infamous Thermonuclear Thai Chicken with Basil

Ms. B.'s mascarpone & Irish cream with bitter cherries. Heavenly!