Moe Lane's Blog, page 461

Holiday posting is now in effect, for my own sanity’s sake.

Tomorrow just got extremely complicated for me and my wife. As in, we may not be able to get rid of the car this week, and will instead have to tow it home and deal with various irritations involving it next week. This is not a good time to be dealing with this nonsense.

So, sure, open thread.

11/22/2022 NaNoWriMo, BANSHEE BEACH: 2004/42043

Trying to knock down the numbers!

“I’m gonna need an old priest, and a young priest,” I told the receptionist. “In that order.”
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked me, taking in my ripped-up vacation finery and flopping flip-flops before focusing on the hat. That got me the same look of dawning realization I was getting used to seeing on the good subjects of Red Beach. They knew what Shamuses were, sure. They just weren’t used to somebody like me being around, and a pain in the ass.
“Nah, but I got an evil hell-sword that needs breaking,” I told her cheerfully. “Did you want to shut it down?”
Believe it or not: she did not. Instead she grabbed a bellpull and yanked on it until somebody poked his head out the door — no, wait, it was a her instead. Sister Daria, in fact. Small world, I guess.
She started to frown at me, but the macuahuitl got her attention, even wrapped in linen. “Get that in here!” She held the door open. “Now.”
“Good, I’m in the right place.” She backed up to let me come in; I couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t seem too thrilled to get real close. “Where do you want it, Sister?”
“Get it… on that table. The circular one.” While I did that, the good sister started lighting hanging braziers around the table. They must have been full of incense, because the room started smelling better right away. Sort of a cross between pine and oranges, or maybe lemons; I wasn’t familiar with it, but it didn’t seem to be affecting me.
“Hello,” came a voice from the door. I turned, to see an extremely old man beaming at me. “I’m Father Gerard. You must be the Shamus. Now, Tiffany out front said something about ‘an evil hell-sword?’”
I pulled the fabric away. “Take a look for yourself, Father.”
They both gasped. “Is that a…” asked Daria.
“A macuahuitl? Yeah, that’s what I’ve been told. All I know is, it’s old, scary, and smells like blood. Can you do something with it?”

The Very Odd WHITE NOISE trailer.

I’m not exactly sure what WHITE NOISE is. The trailer’s not exactly cut like a science fiction / ecodisaster flick, but it… might be? I should keep an eye out for this one.

Welp, *my* car’s totaled.

My wife’s is fine, so Thanksgiving has not been cancelled. Anyway, that engine light thing translated to “replace the radiator, thermostat, and something else I didn’t hear because it didn’t matter at that point.” The estimated repairs, even from the place I trust, would blow through how much I was prepared to put into the car to keep it running. Now I have to figure out who to unload it on, particularly since it’d involve a tow*.

Personal anecdotes about getting rid of broken cars for money welcome.

Moe Lane

*I’d donate it, but money’s getting tighter right now**.

**I might still donate it anyway. I should eat something before I make bad decisions.

‘Baker Baker.’

Baker Baker, Tori Amos

#commissionearned

I’m starting to look for 1Q 2023 conventions.

Basically, I need the following:

Close to Maryland (preferably in Maryland)Reasonable table fee ($100 or below)Friendly to fantasy/horror writers

If you have any suggestions or leads along those lines, by all means: let me know.

 

I dunno what to do with this Substack.

I put it up, on the random chance that Twitter might blow up and I wanted to lock in the name. It looks like Twitter is not blowing up, though – but does this thing have any use anyway? Lots of people use Substack, but I’m not really on fire about it. Although possibly I should be.

Suggestions welcome.

Book Showcase: TINSEL RAIN.

TINSEL RAIN is my third novel, and second Tom Vargas post-apocalyptic high urban fantasy pulp detective novel. And isn’t that a mouthful! To quote myself:

Tinsel Rain returns us to the post-apocalyptic world of Cin City, glittering tinsel crown of the Kingdom of New California. When an old not-quite-friend of Shamus Tom Vargas is found dead, Tom gets pulled into a case of murder, magic, and mystery! Sinister archmages! Bodies in alleys! An actual high-speed car ride! And as many bad jokes as the author could cram in! Truly, you deserve to read this book!

Available in paperback, Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited. Check it out!

11/21/2022 NaNoWriMo, BANSHEE BEACH: 2516/40039.

Clawing my way back! Now over 40K words. 2/3rds of the way there!

The Banshee stiffened. “La, Vargas,” she hissed. Actually hissed. “Where did you get that filthy thing?”

Well, I wasn’t expecting that reaction. I looked at the club again. It didn’t look any more ominous than before. “Somebody tried to slice me open with it.”

“And?”

“They didn’t. The bastard got away, though. At least he left this behind. So, what is it?”

She wearily shook her head. “First, it’s a macuahuitl. The ancient Aztecs used them to kill or knock out their opponents. Second, that’s old enough to be an actual one, not just a copy. Third, it reeks of death energy. Fourth, you’re a priest. How can you not feel that? Fifth, how is it that you don’t recognize a macuahuitl? The Aztecs came from Mexico!”

I took a deep breath. “Okay, in order. First and second, thanks for the explanation. Third and fourth, I ain’t a Christian priest. They’re our go-to guys for demonic crap. And fifth?” I shrugged. “There ain’t much about the Aztecs in the Lore. They had pyramids, wore feathers, and cut out people’s hearts, right? Oh, and then they got killed off by another bunch of bastards, who then lost all their money to pirates. I can tell you a lot about the pirates, at least.”

“The mythology of this place never fails to fascinate me,” the Banshee muttered.

The Surprisingly Mainstream VIOLENT NIGHT trailer.

Usually Christmas-themed horror* flicks don’t get that wide a distribution. But VIOLENT NIGHT looks like it might get some play. Interesting.

*Although it’s more ‘brutal action’ than ‘horror.’