Rob Shepherd's Blog

News

Work is very much afoot on the newest release.

As I speak, my fabulous publisher is busy working away getting Howaiterozu ready, for an imminent release. How imminent that is, we are not quite sure, but rest assured, it is very close.

I will give more exact details as to the release date etc as soon as I get them myself.

Much love my freakpeeps. Stay twisted, but stay safe.

Short Story length

What is the minimum length of a short story you would be prepared to read or purchase on kindle or eBook in general? 1000 words? More or even fewer?

Thoughts & Comments

Hi Freakpeeps,

If you have any thoughts and comments about any of my books and or the characters involved in the books, feel free to comment on the book profile itself, or alternatively you can comment here with all your thoughts, considerations, comments and ideas.

I read every comment, response and reaction and I reply as soon as I am able.

Reviews & Reviewers

Hey Freakpeeps. If you are a reviewer, work for a review site etc or know somebody who does and would like to review one of my books, please get in touch and I will be happy to ensure you/they have copies to review.

Feel free to email me at robshepherd00@gmail.com or robshepherd@blueyonder.co.uk with any further enquiries. Thank you, Rob.

Monsters

I began thinking about this post a week ago and promptly wrote some notes about my thoughts and what I had watched and read over the course of the week. But I realised that to be honest, that would be rather naff drivel. So instead I decided after some much pondering over the next few days that I would write whatever it is that I thought about and whatever it was that came to my mind. That was working out fine until I clicked off the webpage. Not clever and quite the action of immortal stupidity. However all this was for the better as a chat with a good friend opened up a very interesting topic and thus definitely worthy of a blog post so here it is. Nothing of earth shattering impact but something to talk about nonetheless. Interesting to me and one other, and I hope maybe interesting enough to read to you as well.

Ok so what it is? Of course, you already know it. The title of the post. MONSTERS, TADA!!!

                                                           [image error]

So anyway,

Writing horror and incorporating monsters in to those stories, you are compelled to wonder what constitutes a monster and what it is that scares us.

Is it monsters in the physical sense and context? Or monsters in the hypothetical concept?

Monsters with devil wings, sharp teeth, you know the type of thing, like werewolves, vampires and demons etc. Or is it ourselves that we are truly afraid of. Preferring instead to visualise and immortalise those that represent the very worst sides of humanity as mythical beasts and devils, the utmost idea of the uitterly reprehensible evil.

It's easier to promote and face an angry monster that we conjur from the darkness than to face up to our own evil.

But assuming that there are monsters out there, that are not human, waiting, lurking and preying on the weak, of body, soul and mind. Waiting to pounce on the young and the innocent.  Cursed souls, who's only purpose is to lure, feed on and **** humanity. Where would or might those souls come from? Who creates them? God?

If this isnthe case, then what does this mean for heaven and ****? Are they or were they created by God at the same time? And if so, are all the monsters, the cursed souls if you will, are they created by God in heaven first and cast down as demons and such like? Is this the reason **** was created? A place to store the cursed  and damned? Or was it created as equal to heaven. If this is the case, then what it's true purpose. Why would God create it? For what other purpose would God create it for?

But thinking of these many questions, we find ourselves innevetably lead to another question. The ultimate kind of question as to whether God is good or bad? Is God both good and evil? Is there actually no heaven or **** however? But that which exists within God themselves. That God is actually what we see or envisage as Heaven and ****. Is God both heaven and ****?

If we consider this idea, then it brings about the same question yet again, but within another context. If God is both Heaven and ****, then if they are real, where do all the monsters we know of and write about come from?

Are they all just a figment of our wild an abated imagination?

We could or rather I could talk from a purely religious perspective on this for hours. Yet, what if it isn't religious at all? What if it is a natural thing. Of flora and fauna, a natural part of the world? What if it is much like Sci-Fi?

All these monsters, from demon dogs to banshees and mermaids to zombies and everything inbetween, what if they could for instance come from breaks in realities. Our reality. A hole in the dimentions of time, of space, of other worlds. This would certainly answer some tricky questions. Questions about how they infiltrate our world, our lives, our bodies, even our minds, with apparent disregard of heaven and seeming lack of acknowledge by God and the Heavens. Who'm seem powerless to do anything about it, as the monsters seem not to be under the influence or power of the Heaven's and of God's control.

But this leads us back to the same questions as before. If they exist, why are they here? Why do they want us? What do they want with us?

If they exist then something made them, something evolved them as a creature or species. And if that the situation, then who or what was it?

                                                                    

Ultimately, I think, it all comes down to one thing. Faith.

It really doesn't matter if you are religious, agnostic or atheist. It doesn't matter whether you believe in God or not.

Everybody, all of us, every person no matter who you are or where you come from, every person needs or feels the need, the overriding desire to believe in something. Basically, this boils down to the one thought. If we give in to the idea that we are all that there is, no heaven, no ****, no other planets with other life, benevolent or destructive creatures. No Angels or demons, no little faries that greet us at the bottom of the garden, in the woods or at times of solstice. If we are the extent of evolved life, intelligent and capable of cognitive thought, capable of the most amazing, selfless kindness and gentle tenderness and love. And also pure hatred, unrivalled ability to perform the most horrific, disgusting and depraved acts to each other, to ourselves and to other life, then what else is there left for us? What is the point of us being here? Simply to survive like a frog in the Amazon? Even though we have the intelligence, creativity, dexterity, deposable thumbs in order to create a vision and build it in 3D. To build a physical representation of ourselves, our icons, our idols, our desires and our dreams. And most basic of all our physical requirements. To build and create new possibilities.

We need to believe in monsters, boogie men, demons, angels and everything in between. We need to believe in a God, a structure and an order to to it so we have a reason to be here, a place to assurt blame for the horrific acts terrifying selfishness that we excel at and seemingly revel in? We need a way to take the blame away from ourselves. We have to create hideous demons and un-earthly creatures to torment us so we have a reason to live, things aspire to by the way of defeating them and a reason to come together as the social, creative intelligence that we are.

Monsters are a way of us giving a body to our own denial. A denial of our ability that we wish that we didn't posess. A face to our own evil. So adversity to what seems, monsters, from satan themself, to imps, ogres and dragons are in fact a good thing, because they allow ourselves to divert attention away from our own bad sides, into a physical embodiment so that we can combat it together.

                                                    

So at the end of the day, whether monsters are real or just a part of our wild imaginations and form part of our amazingly rich and varied folk and legendary mythologies, it doesn't really matter, because when push comes to shove, it is a method we employ to perfection in order to come together as a society.

So what's my point? I don't know to be honest. But I guess if anything, it is to remind ourselves that yes monsters are real, but not necessarily as we have recorded them down in history to date. But they help us keep in touch with each other and to realise the better part of ourselves. I get my demons out on the page whereas others excise them in other ways. Think about it, what do you do that helps you to relax and chill out instead of killing things and people?  I guess that is the key, monsters are a way to keep us from the worse side of our personality, they represent the worst we can be. And if we give it a body and a name, we can fight it, together.

 

 

Well after this rather babbling wander through what I think are the things that go bump in the night, I bid thee farewell, adieu, goodnight and TTFN my wonderful FREAKPEEPS. Until next post....... Sleep tight and remember, there are no monsters under the bed or in the cupboard, well there shouldn't be, but hey, you never know..............

 

Yours monstrously,

Rob

 

All pictures are the property of and supplied by myself and are copyright (c) Rob Shepherd.

https://www.facebook.com/TheRobShepherd

 

 

Oh and if you like the occasional bit you have read by me, here are links to authors you really need to check out. xx

 

Susan Elliston

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Flaffiteslady.blogspot.com%2F&h=4AQGzFKau

 

Dale Eldon

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdale-eldon.blogspot.com%2Fp%2Fguidelines-for-author-spotlight.html&h=HAQF_VYMG

 

Gregory Norris

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gregorylnorris.blogspot.com%2F&h=uAQFd9nsu

Welcome Freakpeeps!

Welcome one and all, the the varitable eccentricity that it my blog. Here I fully intend to talk about my work, myself and anything that is on my mind.

 

Firstly, don't mind my calling you a freakpeep, but that is simply my pet name for people who read my work, follow it or myself and those that may even call themselves a fan. Strange people. However since I am anything but a regular person then being a freak is definitely apt to be on the cards for you as well. The fact that you are still reading this blog is testament to that fact. So....welcome FREAKPEEPS!

 

Lets get aquainted shall we? First of all, being the writer of the blog and thus the host I shall introduce myself.

 

My name, as you may have noticed, is Rob Shepherd. TA DA!!!!!

 

OK, I'll let you in a bit more. I am married to the most beautiful woman in the world (yes you Michelle!), and am the proud father of a 12 year old son Daniel. Who is every bit as absurd and madcap as myself. I don't know who teaches who the worst habits here, I feel it may be a battle of wills. One that ultimately is going to end in the nervous breakdown of his mother, I suspect.

 

I began writing when I was at school. I didn't much think about writing, but always found myself doing it whenever there was a quiet time and I had nothing more exciting to do. I mean let's face it, a child of 12 usually has a thousand more exciting things to do, football, athletics, going to the movies, farting on his siblings and making them smell it. But writing falls down the list. In this respect I was no different. I did this and many other disgusting and or weird things to them and my eternally frustrated parents.

 

It was only when I got to my teens that I really got the feel for writing when I was encouraged by my wonderful English teacher. Yes we had to endure Shakespear, something that I still resent and still feel unapologeticf in saying personally I feel Shakespear hasd been much over rated over the centuries. The enly exception being his contrebution of sorts to the 1970's radio series Vivat Rex. Obviously he didn't write for the show, but his writing concerning the many changes in monarchy over several hundred years was used and to excellent result. just listen to BBC Radio 4 Extra and find out for yourself.

 

Then came the college years where I wanted so much to be a scientist, especially an envrionmental scientist including marine biology and conservation. As a result, writing in the purest sense of the heart. Fiction and everything else, was put off and left as something I had thought about when I was a kid. After all I had also wanted to be a wwe wrestler too. Somethings are just ideas that you have as a kid, that is how I saw it.

 

Fast forward many years into my adulthood and after several bumps in the road of life and I find myself with nothing in my life and nothing to occupy me. Sad and miserable I began to inextricably write down collective words and ideas. Hundreds of pieces of paper would litter the home I kept by myself. Soon I began an online adventure discovering social networks for myself and encouraged by the friends I made, as a simple exercise to gauge peoples reactions, I posted some of the notes I had written. And from there it progressed, each time encouraged by complete strangers as to how good they thought they were. It's funny how the people that encourage you the most, can be the people that you know the least. At least a stranmger isn't going to give you false impression and lie to you. A stranger is more likely to call you an arsehole and give an honest opinion of your work. A friend or family member is always, no matter how objective they try to be, going to be biased. they may not likie your work personally but they won't down it to anybody else, in fact they will do the opposite and will encourage it overly so and defend it against all odds, because it is their friend or their parent, child or sibling that hs produced it. So always take a complement from family etc, a little bit with a pinch of salt, much like you would any criticism of your work. 

 

Now many years on again and I am a self published author of several books, paperback, ebook and kindle stories among them. The work I have produced so far include: LIFE WITH BORIS KARLOFF!, THE HUMAN CONDITION volumes 1-3, A HUMAN CONDITION (a collection of works from the the poetrilogy The Human Conditions vol.1-3) into one book, FIELD OF HOPE & THE GENE e-books and KINDLE stories. For a full collection of my books you can go to LULU.com. Which as of this time is my main area of publishing.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I am not rich and I haven't sold millions of books, otherwise you weould have heard of me and my works all over the place through the media, obviously. But having fell back in love with writing all those years ago, I am now busier than I ever thought I would be. Some of it I will be talking about on here at other times and some of it, obviosly needs more secrecy because it is still early stages and I wouldn't want to jeapordise anything that could result from them.

 

Well, now you know me a bit better and you will get to know me a whole bunch more over the course of this blog as I post to it. But you will read it and I will know nothing of you, save for maybe a number on a ticker showing hits or visits here. So, here's is the deal, you can tell me about you. That way, I can get to know readers of both my books and of this blog etc much better. I wouild certainly love to find out who reads this and or maybe even my books and even more than that, those that may possibly even call themselves a "fan" of mine.

 

So if you can comment, please do so. The more interaction I get the more I love you all. Introduce yourself, maybe even tell me a bit more about yourself and your own story. There is much I could rattle on about here but it would go on forever and that would be very boring. Very boring indeed. You casn also find me on facebook, twitter and Myspace. just look for Rob Shepherd. TheRobShepherd - facebook, AuthorRshepherd - twitter, and TheRobShepherd - on Myspace. If there is anything you'd like me to discuss or to ponder my freakish mind over don't be shy to let me know and message or comment saying so. My aim is to make this blog as interesting and entertaining as possible. So in that respect, I may ask as few author friends of mine to contribute to it with a few small interviews as well, if I am lucky enough that is.

 

But as you need to go to work, get off lunch, go to bed, have dinner or start work, or simply go and have a good poo, In shall leave you now and remember Freakpeeps, Life isn't what you make of it, it's what you write from it that counts.

 

Until my next post. TTFN

 

Rob