Lisa Knight's Blog, page 17

GUEST PUBLICATION SPOTLIGHT: BLACKFRIARS BESTIARY 2.1 – TOURNAMENT ARMOURED HERO “THE STORY SO FAR” BY KEVIN JOYCE

Taryse Leiter has known her far share of sorrows as of late. Believing her husband to have been murdered by the covert governmental agency, the United States Monster Defence Force, she has found herself on the run across the vast landscape of America with her young daughter, Amelia, as she tries to avoid kidnapping by the same agents who took her husband’s life.

Meanwhile, her childhood friend and mentor, Mark Mitsukai has been desperately trying to catch up with her in order to inform her of a conspiracy within the USMDF itself—a conspiracy that threatens to put the very world itself in danger.

Yet Mitsukai is not the only one searching for Taryse. Her old friend, Spike Campbell, has been sent out into the desert to search for her and protect her from USMDF also.

Standing in the desert before them stood a young man, his long red hair recently shorn close to the scalp like peach fuzz.

Lazily, he lifted a cigarette to his lips, the tattoo upon his left arm reading, ‘‘Victims… Aren’t We All?’’. Pale blue smoke streamed from his nose as he nodded first towards Amelia and then towards her startled mother.

“Hey Taryse,” he offered with a casual smile, “a friend of ours told me you could use a lift.”

DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE? YOU CAN! Download for FREE at Smashwords

BIO: Upon scorched soil, a life-pod from an alternate universe is uncovered by Politruk Blinov. Inside, there is a man—a captain of sorts—bringing with him an ominous message that could sway the very future of the All-Union.

Meanwhile, another dimension away, Ayesha Swanson, freelance magician for the United Kingdom Xenobiology Division, finds herself embroiled in a plot to rob her of her magic—a plot that may lead her to ultimately discovering her true heritage!

Set within the Love Amongst Strangers universe, the new volume of our anthology series, Blackfriars Bestiary weighs in with nine unique stories, each detailing a unique corner of the vast series universe and featuring a diverse array of characters. Featuring authors such as Jack Buxton (Love Amongst Strangers: The Other Side), Bryn Fortey (Merry-Go-Round and Other Words), Joseph W. Patterson (Psychopomp), Jason S. Kenney (Love Amongst Strangers: Twisted) and Artifice Comics legends, Ed Ainsworth and Matthew James Pierce, Blackfriars Bestiary 2.1 serves as your jumping on point for the adventures of Ayesha Swanson and Mister Mo and the world in which they live.

Recommended for fans of Doctor Who, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and John Constantine, Hellblazer, Blackfriars Bestiary is your first port of call for all things action and supernatural!

POETRY: TWO COAT SETTEE BY PAUL TRISTRAM

For years, I travelled around

kipping upon people’s floors

and crashing upon their settees.

I used to point to the top of my head

then swing my finger down to my feet

and say with a friendly smile

“Have you got this much space

on your ground because it is all

the hospitality that I need?”

In the Wintertime which is basically

half the year in Britain,

I would wear two coats

and when I layed down,

wherever I had ended up that night,

I would remove the top one

and wrap it around my legs,

Du-Duh, instantly warm and toasty.

(I’m quite clever like that!)

I even started to get a cauliflower ear

after awhile from the different heights,

sizes and textures of peoples furniture arms.

Good old days, really, when I look back,

mayhem and madness but lots of fun,

they started calling me ‘Pauly Two Coats’

When I finally got settled with my own

nice warm bed upstairs, for a few months

I still slept on the living room settee under…

well, you’ve guessed it, the same two coats.

Written by Paul Tristram

Available to buy via Lulu

GUEST PUBLICATION SPOTLIGHT: BLACKFRIARS BESTIARY 2.1 – HOPS, MALTED BARLEY, MAIZE AND WATER BY JASON S. KENNEY

The place felt disgusting, and Mister Oblique turned his nose up as he entered the door. Normally he wouldn’t be caught dead here. The place reeked of old beer, a damp mildew scent hanging in the air, mingling with the smoke of too many cigarettes and cigars.

It was fairly empty, a table to one side hosting a card game with four gentlemen, another man saddled up to the bar, hunched over his drink, one person working the place, standing behind the bar, cleaning a glass, eyeing Oblique.

Oblique walked to the bar and chose a stool beside the other man there.

“So should I speak to you in French or English?” he said to the man at the bar.

“Well, you are in France,” the man said back in French.

“Yes,” Oblique replied in the same tongue, “but why exactly are you here? In Gorron of all places?” He turned to look at the card game. “Does it have to do with one of them?”

“No,” said the man, lifting his drink and taking a long pull off of it before continuing. “I just liked the name.”

“Liked the name?”

“It reminded me of Zelda.”

“An old flame?”

“I suppose she would be. If a video game could be a flame.”

DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE? YOU CAN! Download for FREE at Smashwords

BIO: Upon scorched soil, a life-pod from an alternate universe is uncovered by Politruk Blinov. Inside, there is a man—a captain of sorts—bringing with him an ominous message that could sway the very future of the All-Union.

Meanwhile, another dimension away, Ayesha Swanson, freelance magician for the United Kingdom Xenobiology Division, finds herself embroiled in a plot to rob her of her magic—a plot that may lead her to ultimately discovering her true heritage!

Set within the Love Amongst Strangers universe, the new volume of our anthology series, Blackfriars Bestiary weighs in with nine unique stories, each detailing a unique corner of the vast series universe and featuring a diverse array of characters. Featuring authors such as Jack Buxton (Love Amongst Strangers: The Other Side), Bryn Fortey (Merry-Go-Round and Other Words), Joseph W. Patterson (Psychopomp), Jason S. Kenney (Love Amongst Strangers: Twisted) and Artifice Comics legends, Ed Ainsworth and Matthew James Pierce, Blackfriars Bestiary 2.1 serves as your jumping on point for the adventures of Ayesha Swanson and Mister Mo and the world in which they live.

Recommended for fans of Doctor Who, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and John Constantine, Hellblazer, Blackfriars Bestiary is your first port of call for all things action and supernatural!

STEVE GILMORE’S MUSIC REVIEWS: WAXKO – OCEAN

You can listen to this artist on Soundclick

A musician in need of a vocalist is how I came out of the last session with Waxko, although that wasn’t always the impression I had. When I first reviewed his Heroes Of The Daily Grind (December 2005), it impressed the beejeebers out of me and showed that this artist has a sure touch when it comes to writing decent melodies. This initial impression was only reinforced by Deeper (February 2006) which I felt could do with a little trimming but nonetheless recommended it on the strength of the melodies and structure. As I’ve already explained, I felt that The Scream Of The Night (Versions 1 & 2) (April 2006) was seriously in need of a vocalist and that lack definitely coloured my impression even though – as always – the music and structure is worth a listen.

I commented before about the sounds used to produce his work, and that – to be honest – was the first thing that struck me as I listened to the track. I’m not a big fan of factory sounds anyway, so I guess that counts as a personal bias. Again, I can’t see that many people will notice, they’ll be too busy gawping at the things whizzing in and out of their skulls. Ocean, considering the subject matter, isn’t the languid encounter it should be. Matter of fact, it’s all a bit frenetic if you know what I mean and – again if I were honest – a bit disappointing for me. I think the reason for this is that I have such a high regard for Heroes Of The Daily Grind, that lesser tracks are a letdown. Much more to the point there are some (I think) basic errors that need correcting badly.

The first is, obviously, sound.

As well as a flatness of sound, there is some real flakiness with the hi hats suggesting a rendering problem. Now maybe that is down to my copy but I suspect not. The piano sound, an essential part of this track, is nothing like as bright and full bodied as it should be and consequently tends to get buried in the mix. I question, also, some of the timings. For sure there is a problem with the pizzicato strings and the high tom hits, both of which sound out of place. As I say, surprising, because it isn’t something I would normally have expected from this artist given his track record so far. It’s likely then, that this is some kind of demo and – should any reworking be done, I hope the artist has a listen to what I have to say. Underneath it all is the same thing that attracted me to this artist in the first place, a musicality that – in this instance – is woefully buried under a clumsy mix.

Written by Steve Gilmore of Camden Guitars

For the full backlog of music reviews visit his website RebelRiffs

FAN FICTION: EXILES #5 – HOMEWARD BOUND” (“DARK DESIGNS”) PT.1 BY ADRIAN J.WATTS

WHAT HAS COME BEFORE

Brought together by an unknown entity, Aleta, Joseph, Scamp, Daywalker, Firefly, Ph-Eros and Doc Savage have been told that they are to explore the multiverse, experiencing everything, in order to bring new ages of enlightenment to their respective universes.

Their first mission was to prevent the time-travelling bounty hunter Death’s Head from entering the Earth year 8162; a mission that they failed, but rectified by sending the hunter back where he came from. In the aftermath of that battle, the Exiles were whisked away once again…

***

” – right!”

When Ph-Eros finished speaking, he looked around to find himself somewhere completely different from the desert in which he had been fighting a militant group calling itself Dragon’s Claws only moments earlier.

He now stood in the pouring rain, in the middle of a concrete jungle of a far greater size than any other he had encountered before. As far as his eyes could see – about two feet in each direction – massive skyscrapers penetrated the clouds that acted like a heavy blanket over the city. Ph-Eros didn’t even want to guess at the size of the skyscrapers, whose upper floors were shrouded in cloud; at that moment he was concerned only with getting his injured friends out of the rain.

“Wonderful,” he muttered. His dark brown hair had become matted to his forehead, and his white shirt – worn beneath a ruddy vest – had turned decidedly see-through. “We’ve been teleported. Again.”

Daywalker was a young man with a body more fit and toned than most. He had light blonde hair, but the rain had made it appear much darker than it usually was. He wore a blue spandex bodysuit that was unaffected by the rain. The water droplets trickled down the material and formed a puddle at Daywalker’s feet, and as Ph-Eros sneezed from the cold he imagined how warm it must be in a suit that was designed to maintain a comfortable temperature.

Ph-Eros’ other companion was a woman younger than both him and Daywalker. Like Daywalker, Scamp possessed an incredibly well-toned body, earned by years of intense physical training. She wore a red and blue bodysuit that, like Daywalker’s, protected her well from the elements. In Ph-Eros’ opinion, Scamp’s usually light brown hair looked much better as the darker brown that it became when it was wet.

Both Daywalker and Scamp had been badly injured in the battle with Dragon’s Claws, and had regained consciousness and sat upright a split second before the trio of heroes was forcibly shunted into another timeline. When they appeared in this new reality, they remained in the positions that they had been in when they left. As a result, Scamp and Daywalker appeared sitting side-by-side on the mucky, slimy ground of the alleyway.

They stood simultaneously and brushed themselves off as they tried to work out where they were. They appeared to be between two skyscrapers, the lower levels of which had been constructed from a black stone that had also been used to pave the alleyway.

“You’re both okay!” Ph-Eros said again as Scamp and Daywalker rose. “You were pretty badly injured, and the medical equipment in the Claws’ base even said Daywalker was dead – ”

“Really?” Daywalker interrupted hastily. “They should have that checked out.”

” – but you two must be quick healers or something!”

“Yeah, somethin’ like that,” Scamp replied distractedly in her southern accent. “Does anybody have any idea where we are?”

Ph-Eros shook his head. “All I know is that it’s raining. I don’t have the faintest idea where we are. How about you, Daisy?” Ph-Eros looked at Daywalker, who had started to wander off down the alley.

“Hey, Daywalker!” he shouted.

“Huh?” Daywalker turned to face Ph-Eros and Scamp. “Sorry? I wasn’t listening.”

“Do you know where we are?” Scamp asked.

Daywalker shrugged. “No. Never been here before.”

Ph-Eros furrowed his eyebrows. Daywalker seemed strange. It could have been a concussion or some similar after effect of the battle with Dragon’s Claws, but he thought he’d best make sure.

“Daywalker, are you – ”

“I’m fine. I just want to get out of the rain, okay? Come on,” Daywalker snapped as he motioned for Scamp and Ph-Eros to follow him out of the alley. Ph-Eros knew that something was wrong – and he was going to find out exactly what that was.

Joseph was angry.

Not as angry as he once was, but not the happiest he’d ever been, either. He had gone from standing in the dusty, dry desert of 82nd century London to find himself stuck in a sewer tunnel.

He sighed loudly and looked down the tunnel to see what lay ahead. The sewer was incredibly dark. A few electrical lights lined the tunnel’s walkway, and Joseph was relieved that he would not need to trek through the vile slime that separated him from the other side of the tunnel.

He could not see the ceiling above him, and that made flight impossible. He did not want to risk wounding himself in a sewer, where bacteria reproduced freely.

He began to walk carefully along the tunnel, listening to the squidgy noise that his boots made each time he stepped on the slimy pathway. After five minutes of walking, he heard a noise a few feet ahead of him. He assumed it was just a rat and kept walking.

Aleta retched as she suddenly materialised inside of a well-furnished but dimly lit room. As her internal organs began to feel secure inside of her body, Aleta wondered if she’d ever get used to the method of teleportation that she was now being subjected to.

She examined the room and saw that Firefly, another member of the Exiles, had appeared in the room with her and was experiencing similar problems. He slumped onto one of the two beds that were in the room and curled up into the foetal position.

“It feels worse every time,” he moaned.

Aleta didn’t say anything. She was still looking at the other items in the room. Beside each of the beds was a small table, on top of which were kerosene lamps that splashed a very dim light across the walls of the room. The walls were painted black, and the carpet was a dark red. A tall mirror was mounted on one wall, with a thick door opposite.

She raised her hand and created a solid light orb, flooding the room with bright golden light. She couldn’t see anything else in the room, and so, for Firefly’s benefit, she made the orb dissipate and sat down beside the young man.

“Are you okay?” she asked kindly.

Firefly slowly nodded. He knew that the nausea that he was feeling would pass, as it had the two other times he had been pushed through time and space.

Aleta opened one of her hands, which had been clenched into a fist and saw that she was still carrying the clear orb that had been given to her by Spratt.* She began to wonder what its purpose was when a pair of cloaked legs, and then a torso and head descended through the ceiling.

[ * – see last issue ]

“Doctor!” Aleta cried as Doc Savage touched down on the floor. “Do you know where we are?”

“I have some idea. It is interesting to note that the darkness that envelops this world is not natural,” the Doctor said stoically. “This place, wherever it may be, is infused with a great deal of magic.”

Aleta nodded. “I wonder if this orb that Spratt gave me has anything to do with it?”

The Doctor smirked. “You don’t already know the orb’s purpose?”

Aleta shook her head.

“Silly girl,” the Doctor muttered as he walked through the wall and out of sight.

Aleta sighed heavily. As a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy and half of the composite being known as Starhawk, she had become used to travelling through time and being used by cosmic beings with far greater powers than her own. However, the events of the last few days had been overwhelming, and she had not yet had a chance to sit down and sort everything out – and the Doctor’s arrogance and rebelliousness were hardly helpful.

She turned back to the bed and saw that Firefly had managed to compose himself and was relieved to see that he had managed to keep his last meal, whenever that had been, inside.

Thinking about food made her realise how long it had been since she had last eaten. It had been at least three days, and she resolved to find some food as soon as she could.

“So… any idea what we’re doing here?” Firefly asked a little groggily. “Let me guess – we’re supposed to track down the Hulk and give him a manicure?”

“I don’t know yet,” Aleta replied. “We seem to be in a hotel room. Perhaps we are now being given a chance to rest.”

“Aaaaarrrrrghhh!” A scream pierced the air, and the ever alert Aleta spun quickly to face the open window. Without a second thought, she generated a solid light shield to cover the torn shoulder of her uniform and ran to the window.

She looked down at the dark and deserted street. Her sensitivity to any changes in the light stream provided her with great night vision – even in the dark, she could still usually pick out the slightest movements. She could see nothing on the street, but she could still hear scuffling and banging coming from outside of the building.

As she continued to watch, Aleta stumbled back as a sewer grate suddenly rose from its depression and flew several meters before clattering on the paved ground. A head covered with long white hair appeared where the grate had been, and Aleta recognised it instantly.

“Joseph!” she cried. She stepped out of the window and lowered herself to the ground, landing only a few feet from Joseph. She offered him her hand and helped to lift him out of the sewer, and pulled his slimy body behind her as she realised something else was crawling out of the hole.

Several figures with ridged, bumpy foreheads on their otherwise smooth-skinned faces clambered out of the hole, and their snarling coupled with the fact that they had seemingly been chasing Joseph made Aleta guessed that their intent was anything but friendly.

The blonde Arcturan concentrated, and from her outstretched hand appeared several long, thick shafts of solid light that pelted her assailants, dissipating on contact with their bodies. The creatures reeled as they were bombarded with light, and tried as hard as they could to get back down the manhole, hissing and snarling all the way.

“I don’t understand,” Aleta said as she put a stop to the stream of light that was emanating from her hand. “Those lumen pulses were only strong enough to stop them coming any closer, but they seemed to be in pain.”

“Those creatures are not used to the light, Aleta,” Joseph said as he stared down at the uncovered manhole. “They are vampires.”

“I’m hungry…” Ph-Eros moaned as he, Scamp and Daywalker walked slowly down what appeared to be a major road. “Can we please look for somewhere to eat…?”

“Just shut up, will you?!” Daywalker snapped. He and Scamp were walking side-by-side, a few feet ahead of Ph-Eros, who had lagged behind while trying to take in the sights. “You haven’t gone five minutes without whining since we appeared here!”

“He has a point,” Scamp said. “There must be somewhere around here where we can get somethin’ to eat…”

“I… fine,” Daywalker conceded. “When we finally find a restaurant or something we’ll stop, okay?”

As Daywalker finished speaking, a loud clap of thunder could be heard in the distance and rain began to pour down on the already soaked trio once more.

“Let’s find some shelter first,” Ph-Eros sighed. He looked down at his body. Unlike those worn by Daywalker and Scamp, Ph-Eros’ clothes were anything but waterproof. He was hungry, he was wet, and he was cold. “Let’s go down that alleyway,” he suggested, pointing at a narrow alleyway to the group’s right.

This place sure has a lot of alleys, Ph-Eros thought.

After much debate, Ph-Eros convinced Daywalker that the heroes should seek refuge in the alley. As they turned into it, Scamp held her two male companions back.

“Look,” she whispered. At the end of the alleyway, four people huddled together. There was a woman who, despite trying to look as though she was calmly leaning against the alley wall was clearly being pressed up against it by three men. “Let’s see what’s going on!”

“Let’s not,” Daywalker said. “Look at them – it might not be safe.” He was right – all four figures wore black leather jackets and tall black boots. The woman, the least fearsome of the four, wore her white hair in a mohawk. They didn’t look too friendly, but Scamp led the way toward them anyway.

“Isn’t this exciting?” Ph-Eros whispered to Daywalker as they followed behind Scamp. “It’s just like a thrilling horror film – a dark, wet alleyway, a rusty old fire escape to the right, mouldy old crates at the end, and a bunch of fearsome thugs – ”

“Shut up!” Daywalker snapped.

“Fine,” Ph-Eros said with a sniffle before hurrying to catch up with Scamp.

“What’s goin’ on?” Scamp asked when she was within earshot of the group. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

The three men turned to look at Scamp, and as they took her in a sleazy look crossed each of their faces. They approached Scamp calmly, one of them licking his lips as he got closer.

“Scamp!” Daywalker shouted. “Run!”

“Wha – ?” Scamp looked back at Daywalker, a mistake that could have killed her. When she turned back to the three men, she saw the ridged foreheads and fang-like teeth that identified them as vampires.

“Ah!” Scamp yelped. The men lunged at her, but Daywalker was by her side in a flash. He grabbed one of the men and swung him into the alley wall as Ph-Eros nimbly reached Scamp’s other side.

“What are these things?” Ph-Eros asked, panicked.

“Vampires!” Daywalker replied as he reached for another of the men.

“What?” Ph-Eros asked, dumbfounded.

“Just hit them!”

Ph-Eros grabbed the third man by the bare forearm and whispered a command, but the vampire simply sneered, emphasising its disfigured face.

“You think you’re special?” Ph-Eros asked. “Watch this!”

Ph-Eros stopped moving for a moment, and his appearance very quickly changed. His skin was drained of colour, and a long scar appeared down the right side of his face. His lips turned into what appeared to be an involuntary sneer, and the teeth in one corner of his mouth lost any semblance of straightness.

“Eugh!” The vampire staggered at the sight, tripping over the first of his comrades to fall at Daywalker’s hands. Ph-Eros’ face returned to normal in an instant, and he looked to Daywalker for guidance.

“Stay down,” Daywalker said to the three monsters before looking up at the woman with the mohawk. “Face us,” he commanded.

The woman turned, and was immediately recognised by one member of the group.

“Aunty ‘ro!” Scamp gasped. “Wh-what happened? What are you doing here?”

“You know her?” Daywalker asked.

“Of course! That’s Ororo Monroe, the leader of the X-Men! I’ve known her forever!” Scamp took another look at the woman that she thought she knew, and realised how wrong she was. This was not the Ororo Monroe that had helped to raise her; it was something entirely different.

Instead of the X-Man’s opaque white eyes, the creature bore dark red eyes that seemed not to focus on anything at any time. Her skin was far paler than Scamp remembered, and her long, jagged teeth were totally alien to the perfect teeth possessed by the Ororo that Scamp knew.

“What…? I…” Scamp took a step back. And another. And another. “What… you…”

Daywalker darted forward and pressed the creature against the wall. His forearm covered its throat, and his hand wrapped around the back of its neck so that he could snap it in an instant.

“Ph-Eros, break off a chunk of wood from one of the crates,” Daywalker ordered without taking his eyes off of his prey.

“Daywalker…” the creature sneered. “Finally.”

The creature twisted one of her arms free and, after pressing it against Daywalker’s stomach, allowed a bolt of lightning to escape from her hand. Daywalker was blown off his feet and through the air, stopped only by the stone wall of the alleyway which he hit with a loud crack.

The creature’s head was snapped around as Daywalker was blasted away, but it calmly rotated it back into its normal position as it cast its gaze toward Ph-Eros. It lifted its hand again, preparing to strike, but Ph-Eros did not move.

Scamp stared at the creature that looked so like her Aunty Ororo. She couldn’t begin to imagine by what means the woman could have become a vampire – but as she began to lower her hand, to release a ball of lightning that would strike the frozen Ph-Eros, Scamp knew what she had to do.

“Move!” she shouted. She leaped at Ph-Eros and knocked him into the mouldy crates. She landed on top of him, and their combined weight shattered the crates as the creature’s lightning ball struck the alley wall and broke off large chunks of stone.

“Ph-Eros!” Scamp shook her companion violently, and he looked up at her. “Ph-Eros, you have to check on Daywalker – he could be dead! Ah’ll protect you from the vampire!”

She pushed him away, and he scrambled to his feet and ran toward Daywalker. The vampire looked as though she was going to attack him again, but as she tried to summon another lightning bolt Scamp took a step toward her and nothing but a spark was emitted from the creature’s fingertip.

“Storm!” Scamp shouted. “Give y’self up!”

“Rogue…” the vampire said quietly. “You’re alive.”

“My mama’s got nothin’ to do with this!” Scamp cried. “What happened to you, ‘roro?”

“The name is Bloodstorm now, girl,” the vampire said. “The woman you knew as Ororo Monroe is long gone – as I shall be in but a moment.”

Bloodstorm raised her arms again, and Scamp watched helplessly as the vampire began to dissolve into a black mist. She looked around and saw that the same was happening to the three men, and she suddenly realised that she was not helpless after all.

In one swift movement, Scamp stomped the ground and caught the piece of wood the came flying up to her. She twisted in her hand before throwing it – hard – at Bloodstorm’s rapidly disappearing chest.

“ARGH!” Bloodstorm shrieked. Her body became completely corporeal once again and she slumped to the ground. Scamp took another step closer and stared, even as the three men disappeared completely, at the vampire’s dying form.

On the other side of Bloodstorm, Daywalker rose groggily to his feet and looked toward Scamp. He watched as tears began to well in the young girl’s eyes and asked Ph-Eros to show her out of the alley. Ph-Eros didn’t say anything – he just walked slowly to Scamp, took her arm, and led her away.

Daywalker calmly approached the vampire and smiled down into her terrified face.

“The Crimson Circle is breaking,” he remarked. He lifted his foot and rested it on the protruding wooden stake. After making sure that Scamp was out of the alleyway, he drove the stake deep into Bloodstorm’s heart and stared as flames engulfed her entire body.

“Goodbye, Bloodstorm.”

At the entrance to the alleyway, Ph-Eros trembled. He had seen it all but understood nothing. What was a vampire? Did it deserve to die, as Daywalker seemed to think? How did it know who Daywalker was?

He ducked out of the way as Daywalker emerged, and Scamp ran into the blonde man’s arms. Daywalker staggered back, and Scamp saw for the first time the damage that Bloodstorm had done. A long burn stretched across Daywalker’s stomach. A fatal burn, if it hadn’t been for Ph-Eros.

“You saved my life,” Daywalker said. “Thank you.”

“S-s-she’s dead, isn’t she?” Scamp solemnly stammered through her tears.

Daywalker paused. “Yes,” he said finally. “We should find the others – they might have been attacked too.”

“Wait,” Ph-Eros said. “That woman… how did she know your name?”

Daywalker froze. He had hoped that Scamp and Ph-Eros hadn’t heard.

“Because this is my home.”

NEXT ISSUE: The Crimson Circle – and more shocking revelations!

Written by Adrian J. Watt’s of SoftPixels

STEVE GILMORE’S MUSIC REVIEWS: HELLBUS – I MISS YOUR LITTLE BLACK HEART

You can listen to this artist on Soundclick

HELLbus, in the space of three tracks, established their credentials with this reviewer and then some. They blew me away with Table Fate (January 2006), Lift (March 2006) and certainly tickled me with their Azoora collab track January One (April 2006) although I think I prefer my HELLbus pure and undiluted. Which is what you get with the splendidly adventurous (and extremely well named) I Miss You Little Black Heart. Best to strap yourself in though, before you start the track off. HELLbus have a known habit of making some propulsive mixtures and IMYLBH has enough for just about anyone.

Joe Cockner (aka HELLbus) likes everything about music, as his list of references/influences will show you. I bet the music will show you more eloquently than any words can though. The one thing I have always appreciated with this artist’s work is the depth of musical detail, and the time and effort involved in making all that detail work stand out in the completed mix. Little Black Heart is a classic example of exactly what it is that makes HELLbus work, at least for this reviewer. He describes this track as ‘dark house/blues influenced ‘ and in some ways, I can see that.

What I see more though is an artist willing to work to tease that beat out, make the damn thing work for you and I will put money on it that the track will NOT seem like six minutes long or anything like it. Again, a sign that the artist has sweated a great deal about getting it right. It has an indecently infectious bassline, along with the aforementioned blues influences (in this case coming from the piano). Stylistically this scores off the scale, as pile driving as the rhythm is, the different elements of the track spin around and capture your attention just as much, neither being able to outdo the other. The two line vocal works surprisingly well too, and it’s use is just sparse enough to keep you wanting to hear more. It’s a rainy day, and I’m glad I’ve got this track to make me feel a whole lot better about it.

Highly Recommended.

Written by Steve Gilmore of Camden Guitars

For the full backlog of music reviews visit his website RebelRiffs

GUEST PUBLICATION SPOTLIGHT: BLACKFRIARS BESTIARY 2.1 – CALEB WAYWARD “WEDDING SMASHERS” BY MATTHEW CAVAZOS

“So what’re you supposed to be?” She stayed poised, low to the floor, and punctuated her question with a quick dart of her bruise-coloured tongue between blood-stained lips.

A pattern of welts rose on his olive-toned flesh as he stood just a few paces away but did not answer; instead his fingers prodded the spots where his skull and lower jaw met.

“Who sent you for me? You Lucifer’s bounty hunter? Yahweh’s hitman? Buddha’s bitch? What exactly is it? Just why are you starting trouble for me?”

Her thin, pale shoulders flinched as an audible pop issued from his skull.

Through grit teeth and cracked lips he let out a hiss then a question of his own, “You hit like a pro boxer, you know that?”

As her reply, she simply widened her eyes exposing more of the blacks of the sclera that surrounded the burnished gold of her pupils. Of all the feats he witnessed her perform in their skirmish, this was the most unnerving, and he turned his gaze on the blood streaked glass platform that kept them mere inches from the water’s surface.

“Alright, to answer you in reverse: Because I can. I have a job for you. Karma’s. Not exactly. Not entirely. And, first of all, I sent me.”

DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE? YOU CAN! Download for FREE at Smashwords

BIO: Upon scorched soil, a life-pod from an alternate universe is uncovered by Politruk Blinov. Inside, there is a man—a captain of sorts—bringing with him an ominous message that could sway the very future of the All-Union.

Meanwhile, another dimension away, Ayesha Swanson, freelance magician for the United Kingdom Xenobiology Division, finds herself embroiled in a plot to rob her of her magic—a plot that may lead her to ultimately discovering her true heritage!

Set within the Love Amongst Strangers universe, the new volume of our anthology series, Blackfriars Bestiary weighs in with nine unique stories, each detailing a unique corner of the vast series universe and featuring a diverse array of characters. Featuring authors such as Jack Buxton (Love Amongst Strangers: The Other Side), Bryn Fortey (Merry-Go-Round and Other Words), Joseph W. Patterson (Psychopomp), Jason S. Kenney (Love Amongst Strangers: Twisted) and Artifice Comics legends, Ed Ainsworth and Matthew James Pierce, Blackfriars Bestiary 2.1 serves as your jumping on point for the adventures of Ayesha Swanson and Mister Mo and the world in which they live.

Recommended for fans of Doctor Who, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and John Constantine, Hellblazer, Blackfriars Bestiary is your first port of call for all things action and supernatural!

POETRY: AS YOUNG AND FRESH AS ARICOTS IN A STRIPPERS PURSE BY PAUL TRISTRAM

I am nowhere near the age of eighteen anymore, Jesus!

There’s grey in my face stubble after a five-day bender,

crows feet and bags around and under my bloodshot–eyes

and some Bastard’s gone and turned up the volume

of my hangovers to 11 and snapped off the switch.

I gave up cigarettes three years ago, now I only smoke

(Besides illegal things!) a cigar or three with beer,

which isn’t every night now, more like every four of five.

My days are just too full and there’s just so much work to do,

yet, I have to be careful for my mind’s just as fucked-up

and as devious as ever and it takes just a fraction of a second

to send me acting out ‘The Fool’ card of the tarot pack, again.

It’ll happen when I awake, I’ll be out of bed and down the road,

money, knives and knuckles in my swaggering pockets

and dusty old Rover’s hat perched handsomely upon my head.

Walking around that cemetery up in Highgate, over in Bristol

sailing a ferry across to Saint-Malo, wandering London’s Soho,

and stumbling Cardiff’s Butetown directionless and alone.

I can be gone for days sometimes, exploring this crazy life,

clearing the cobwebs of my mind and smiling for no reason

with my Soul and Spirits soaring high, wired and alive

and feeling as fresh and young as apricots in a strippers purse.

Written by Paul Tristram

Available to buy via Lulu

GUEST PUBLICATION SPOTLIGHT: BLACKFRIARS BESTIARY 2.1 – CORNELIUS BY JOSEPH W. PATTERSON

They say there is a crossroads, somewhere in Mississippi, where a hoodoo ritual can be performed, to make the devil appear.

If you wanted to become proficient in a particular skill, such as playing guitar or throwing dice, all you had to do was give him a symbol of your desire and he’d make you its master.

Some legends are true, most are what people would like to believe. It is true that something will appear and help you with what you think you need, but it’s not the devil. The devil rarely ventures from his domain. Bargaining for souls is a myth. What can be believed, beyond the shadow of doubt, is that dark things can be summoned, if the right spell is cast.

Cornelius had no concerns about the crossroads of Mississippi, or the beasts that manifest there. Kansas is the place where all worlds intertwine, overlap, and sometimes merge, so a hoodoo ritual isn’t needed to summon the dark inhabitants of the underworld. They already roam over the plush hills and haunt the Great Plains.

The reason he was here, amongst the wandering demons and the restless ghosts, was a child. His name was Tommy Bendle, and his soul was lost.

DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE? YOU CAN! Download for FREE at Smashwords

BIO: Upon scorched soil, a life-pod from an alternate universe is uncovered by Politruk Blinov. Inside, there is a man—a captain of sorts—bringing with him an ominous message that could sway the very future of the All-Union.

Meanwhile, another dimension away, Ayesha Swanson, freelance magician for the United Kingdom Xenobiology Division, finds herself embroiled in a plot to rob her of her magic—a plot that may lead her to ultimately discovering her true heritage!

Set within the Love Amongst Strangers universe, the new volume of our anthology series, Blackfriars Bestiary weighs in with nine unique stories, each detailing a unique corner of the vast series universe and featuring a diverse array of characters. Featuring authors such as Jack Buxton (Love Amongst Strangers: The Other Side), Bryn Fortey (Merry-Go-Round and Other Words), Joseph W. Patterson (Psychopomp), Jason S. Kenney (Love Amongst Strangers: Twisted) and Artifice Comics legends, Ed Ainsworth and Matthew James Pierce, Blackfriars Bestiary 2.1 serves as your jumping on point for the adventures of Ayesha Swanson and Mister Mo and the world in which they live.

Recommended for fans of Doctor Who, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and John Constantine, Hellblazer, Blackfriars Bestiary is your first port of call for all things action and supernatural!

MUSIC BLOG: DIG THE NEW BREED – SUNDAY 10TH MAY 2015

Death Valley Girls – Summertime

Marian Hill – One Time

Hot Chip – Need You Now

The Zambonis – Don’t Pick a Fight With Chara