Kester James Finley's Blog, page 7

Poetry Friday ~ Congregate & Passion — The Writer Next Door|Vashti Q

Hello, everyone! Welcome to my blog! Today I wrote a two sentence Horror/Romance story and a Haiku. I’m not sure if the combination of these can be called a Haibun. I also wrote a Tanka. I hope you enjoy. ◊ ◊ Each night on the stroke of midnight her young, dead husband would text […]

via Poetry Friday ~ Congregate & Passion — The Writer Next Door|Vashti Q

Random Book Review-The Trouble With Being God by William F. Aicher

I recently picked up and read William F. Aicher’s work titled, “The Trouble With Being God,” and went into it suspecting nothing and being delivered everything. If you’re interested, I’ve left a review on Amazon and Goodreads as well as below. Check the book out if you like crime thrillers, suspense, mystery and well, so much more. Check out the author’s other works, and see if anything sparks your interest. You will not be disappointed.

Haiku Friday – Old & Days

Another great Haiku from fellow author and blogger, Vashti! This time it comes with a little bit of history to round out our Friday the 13th fun and fears.

Random Book Review- I Killed My Son-In-Law by Shay Mills

It’s been awhile since I left a book review or any blog posting now that I come to think of it. To start, my apologies as adulting is a struggle sometimes, but I’m back on track reading and writing like a damn fool! Below you’ll find my review of Shay Mills’ short story offering. If you’re a fan of the genre or interested in something different, check him out and enjoy!

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4 out of 5 bloody stars!

I recently read Mills’ short work of fiction, “I Killed my Son-In-Law!” and I wish it would have come with some wet wipes and a mop. In the span of roughly 32 pages, Mills takes his readers on a gruesome tour of torture and one man’s breaking point with the slightest whiff of irony and a good amount of dark comedy. Without giving too much away, although the title of Mills’ work definitely eludes to what readers should expect, we are offered up a glimpse of the inner workings of ex-military family man Vick who finally reaches a point in his life when taking care of business becomes needed and old habits die harder than Tad, the gutless wonder featured within the story.

Mills’ ability to offer readers a glimpse into the daily struggles of a man who is used to handling those he does not agree with and the tender heart that beats for his loved ones within allows breathing room within the story and gives it the much needed “human touch” just before arterial flow makes a horrifying appearance. At its heart, “I Killed my Son-In-Law!” showcases Mills’ skill in writing with regards to how people quell the desire to strike against those that have wronged us somehow and ultimately what happens both mentally and visually when we reach beyond the breaking point by peppering his prose with lighthearted comments and sunny scenes mixed in with the splatters and bitter taste that remains when we happen upon those we consider scum or villainous in nature. This visual toppling over of emotion is evident within the first few pages of Mills’ work and also by the cover art done by horror author maven Ellie Douglas.

Throughout the rapid pace of the story, readers could consider Mills’ work a psychological case study in how to correctly poke a bear to get a reaction and what happens when one decides to stop an emotional flood with a paper plate. The “human” factor can only take so much punishment before stability snaps and the monster emerges, and it is one that most horror lovers will cheer to find comes out of hiding brilliantly within Mills’ work. Although many can relate to some of the touching family and friends inspired moments throughout, the star of the show is in the gruesome sensory overload of Vick’s dirty deeds.

Short and speedy, “I Killed My Son-In-Law!” makes no apologies for the feeling of “ick” readers will no doubt walk away with, but therein lies the whole reason one would pick up Mills’ short offering in the first place. You know what you’re getting from the cover and the blurb alone and Mills’ attention to detail delivers in spades with stomach-churning efficiency. Beyond my own personal opinion of wanting a little more backstory and maybe some more confrontational back and forth between characters, it was time well spent and bloody good fun regardless of a few minor word choices or grammar mistakes which is why it’s receiving four stars. If you like your blood spraying horror on the human side and want a quick read, this one is for you but watch your step as handling business tends to make a mess when Vick gets into his work.

My review was also posted to Amazon and is listed on Goodreads unless unavailable. I’ll be back in action here shortly, so stay posted. More fun, more insight, more awesome author reviews. Keep reading, keep writing, and keep doing what you love!

What Self-Sabotage Really Looks Like

Writers, the struggle is real. A great blog article that points out the internal conflicts authors face, give it a read!

Holden Sheppard - Author

If I don’t write, I get sick.

I don’t mean physically sick in the guts. Although, that said, some of the overblown metaphors I’ve spun over the years have caused several readers to experience symptoms including head-spinning and projectile vomiting. (Exorcisms were needed.)

And I don’t mean the manflu that my partner accuses me of having every time a head cold knocks me for six and renders me a curled-up foetus watching old episodes of Pokemon and begging for cups of black tea. (“Please, baby, I’m too sick to boil the kettle …”)

The kind of sickness I’m talking about is more like a soul sickness.

A soul disease, maybe.

All I know is that when I spend too much time away from writing, everything goes to shit for me in terms of my mental and emotional wellbeing.

When I’m actively writing – whether it’s my blog or my creative…

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Book review: Cusp of Night — From the Pen of Mae Clair

Originally posted on Dandelions Inspired: Cusp of Night, (A Hode’s Hill Novel), by Mae Clair Publication: Lyrical Underground; June 12, 2018 About the book: The truth hides in dark places… Recently settled in Hode’s Hill, Pennsylvania, Maya Sinclair is enthralled by the town’s folklore, especially the legend about a centuries-old monster. A devil-like creature with…

via Book review: Cusp of Night — From the Pen of Mae Clair

Haiku Friday – Home & Free — The Writer Next Door|Vashti Q

Home and Free are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes. Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does […]

via Haiku Friday – Home & Free — The Writer Next Door|Vashti Q

Creature Feature — From the Pen of Mae Clair

If you’re a regular follower of my blog, it’s no secret I have a love affair with creatures—a passion I developed early, thanks in part to my older brother. He had a Creepy Crawler maker when we were kids. Remember those? You poured colored goop into a metal mold, then heated it up in a […]

via Creature Feature — From the Pen of Mae Clair

Clearing the Hard Drive of Humble.

With the start of June approaching, I decided to come clean.

I know that sounds rather odd, but let me put everything on the table, all cards face up. I’m an author, I write, I’ve self-published two books so far, the second a week ago. I have a Bingo Ball Tumbler being constantly cranked by an angry retired circus monkey on a sugar high rattling through my mind and I love it. I plot people’s deaths during dinner, carry on a monologue with invisible people in the shower, and occasionally ask Google and complete strangers random off-topic questions like “What’s the Latin word for soap scum?”, “What is the stabby cutty part of a chainsaw called?”, and “How do you spell where?” I love it and wouldn’t change most, the only thing I needed to change was my honesty about it all.

See, I live in a make-believe world, most of the time. While I see postings from others about dinner plans, 400 pictures of baby #3, and funny memes depicting life in general, I hide. Hidden behind a wall of humbleness I creep doing what I love in the shadows of everyone else’s accomplishments and that, dear readers, is not good. I’ve spent so much time hiding what I do and love from friends and family because I was humble, arrogant, scared, feel free to add in your own words, that I couldn’t be happy about my own pursuits, my joy, my goals, and accomplishments.

I recently released Book 2 of The Keeper Chronicles series I’m working on, and it was then I realized I needed to make a change. I needed to pat myself on the back and tell people I had hidden my little secret away from for the past year and a half. I should be proud, I should be happy for actually doing it regardless of my own perceived fears, and so I did.

I told one of my oldest and dearest friends via text. I know, but baby steps and all. He was overjoyed and impressed, I was actually relieved. Whether he buys and reads any of my work remains a “what if”, but I could care less now if he reads them and slams them or praises either or, or any additional. I told someone close to me what I do, I told someone I’m more than what they see and believe. Like an onion and to totally overuse a worn out cliche, I too have layers. I’m still that chubby witty friend who always has your back, I just now secretly hide bodies and battle supernatural enemies with the help of people who do not exist.

I needed to clear my inner hard drive of all this humbleness because, while it is a desirable trait in some aspects/contexts, as it built up I took it to a negative place and for cripes sake, shouldn’t we be applauding our successes? Couldn’t we let slip to more than two people that we write with the fury of a thousand fingers on any given day? Haven’t we stepped aside long enough when someone wants to flaunt their “doing good” scenarios in our face across social media? I say yes, I say open up and get it out there. I wanted to hear the words “good job”, not for the support, but just to hear it from someone who understands the magnitude, work, and dedication it takes to put a novel out there into the giant ocean of written works. I got it, took me a couple of years, but I got it, finally.

The question for the rest of you is this, Do you generally tell everyone you write or keep your lips sealed? How do you handle the fear of the unknown critique from someone that truly knows the real you? Do you let it all fly or do you only tell a select few? What scares you the most about going public to everyone you know or have you already? Talk to me, I listen.

Also, just putting it out there. Twisted Reunions, The Keeper Chronicles Book 2, was released over Memorial Day Weekend. It took just under a year to finish due to adulting, and I’m pleased with the result. I’m getting better at this, and now I won’t have to hide any of my accomplishments in the closet from certain friends like that prom dress I never got to wear. Just kidding, am I? Also, here’s the cover for Book 2.

Haiku Friday – Obsession & You — The Writer Next Door|Vashti Q

◊ Love Obsession ◊ You are one white rose In a field of red roses I only see you I create a mist That only envelops you The sun clears the haze I reach out for you But your thorns are long and sharp Still I grab ahold A thorn pierces through my […]

via Haiku Friday – Obsession & You — The Writer Next Door|Vashti Q