Charlie Morgan's Blog, page 4

A World of Nightmares

A special hello to all of my fans both in the United States and abroad! You guys are the best in the world!

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Fouke Sequel Cover

For some reason this didn't pop up on the original post.

Fouke Sequel Sample

With the overwhelming success of my short story A COLD NIGHT IN FOUKE, I've been working on the follow-up entitled HALLOWEEN IN FOUKE. Again it will be a young adult book and the fans of the first will get their wish of a longer tale. HALLOWEEN will be at least novelette length. So here's some goodies to tide you over.

HALLOWEEN IN FOUKE
Copyright ©2014

Lori Wolfe literally hit the ground running as she dove from her bedroom window. She could hear the sounds of the creature's fury as it tore through her house, destroying her home with savage ease. Stopping for the briefest of seconds to pull a shard of glass from her arm, Lori turned to look over her shoulder in time to see a hulking silhouette tear her back door from the hinges and charge forward. Lori raced into the damp autumn night, dodging trees and stumbling through thickets that caught and cut at her arms and legs. There was no time to carefully maneuver the dense woods, the creature was gaining. Never had she seen such a beast. It was covered in thick, dark hair like a bear but had the body of a gigantic, disfigured man. It had a stink similar to a dead skunk rotting under the summer sun. Lori cried while she ran. She was no match for the rage-fueled speed of the beast and could already feel it's hot, rancid breath on the back of her neck.

Voices of the Dead

If you've been following me for a while (stop hiding in the bushes outside. I have a vicious, bloodthirsty guard dog that will tear you limb from limb. She may be a chihuahua but she's sadistic and has farts that could melt leather) you know that I'm a regular guest on Jackie Chin's show ZombiePalooza: Dead Again Radio. It's a place for authors, actors, directors and really anyone who creates horror. It's always a good time whenever it's on air. Anyway, the show now has a new home and I'd like to invite all of you fine fiends to swing by and have a look. Also they're always looking for new guests, so if you have something that you've been working on or a new release, I'm sure she'd be pleased to have you on. Be sure to tune in and enjoy the show or I'll sic the psychotic ankle biter on you!

Click HERE to find out more.

P R O W L - Sample

Here's a small excerpt from a current work in progress. Earlier I mentioned that I was tinkering with a werewolf tale and here is a peek at what is to come.

P R O W L
©2014

"What happened?" Dave asked.

"I don't know. I just woke up and can't remember a thing. I don't even know where we are. It's too fucking dark to see anything."

"Have you got your lighter?" Dave asked, knowing that Chuck never went anywhere without a lighter. The man had been a chain-smoker for almost a decade. Perhaps his habit would come in handy tonight. For the first time in history, being a smoker could save not one but two lives. If we get out of this, it'll sure as shit be one for the record books.

"Yeah, hang on."

There was a series of muffled grunts coming from the dark. After a few seconds there were brief sparks like watching a cheap fireworks show from several miles away. Flame spat forth after the third flick and the dark was pushed away, revealing a battered and bloody man lying prone on the ground. It was hard for Dave to make out too much detail from his blurred vision, but he knew that Chuck was in equally bad shape.

Chuck's mouth hung agape as he surveyed the damage through the miniscule light. Seeing Dave's face caused him to look away the second he realized what had happened. Dave was always the strongest of the duo. Now he was trapped and helpless in an overturned vehicle with a large portion of his face torn away. What was seen could never be unseen. Chuck extinguished the flame with unconscious shock when he noticed that Dave's left eye had been popped and ripped from the socket and was now dangling like a tiny, deflated balloon. That split second of horror was enough to churn Chuck's stomach and cause bile to burn his throat.

FREE SHORT STORY!

It may not be horror in the traditional sense, but for those who lived during these days, it was certainly horrific to them.

YELLOW
Charlie Morgan

Copyright ©2011

Alexander Grayden’s head exploded when the cannonball struck him in the face. It killed the man directly behind him too before exploding into the ground in a shower of dirt and stone.

Samuel Boyd felt the spray of warm blood raining on his face and hands. His stomach knotted and twisted. If he had anything in it he would’ve thrown up where he stood. Instead he gagged as he saw a bloody, half decayed tooth had embedded itself in his hand.

All around him officers were shouting orders. Weapons fired and young men were cut down to the ground. Some of them were moving most were not.

Boyd dropped to his knees to reload his rifle. He half cocked the hammer of the heavy Springfield, pulled out a paper cartridge, bit it open and poured the powder down the barrel in one smooth motion. He finished loading, stood and took aim at the advancing Union lines. He dropped to his knees to reload again as another young man stepped forward to take his shot on the line. Boyd repeated the loading process again, stood, took aim and dropped back down to reload. Before the battle was over, Samuel Boyd had loaded his weapon over thirteen times, but never fired a single shot.

*****

Boyd sat in front of the fire warming his hands. He still felt bile churning in his empty stomach. It was the first battle he had ever been in. It was also the first time he had seen anyone die.

Images flashed through his mind of the dead soldiers who fell to the earth and screamed in pain and fear before their life was whisked away on the wings of a bullet. Some of the men he even knew. Alexander had been one of his closest friends and had been more like a brother over the years. They had joined the Confederacy together. One was supposed to look after the other. Boyd knew he’d made a mistake. He was a farmer not a soldier. When he stood on the line and stared across at faces filled with the same fear, he froze. The time had come to pull the trigger but he couldn’t bring himself to take the life of another human being.

Now it was just Samuel J. Boyd, sitting alone by a dwindling fire, lost in his troubled thoughts.

Tears burned his eyes as he thought of his friend. Each time he closed his eyes the apparition of Alexander’s headless body bleeding and twitching flashed before him again and again.

Boyd wiped his eyes and glanced around the camp. The sun had already slipped behind the looming mountains and the land was illuminated by the fading light of dusk. Most of the men were eating, sleeping or gathered around fires talking amongst themselves. The only face that Boyd recognized belonged to Teddy Wallace who busied himself by drinking whiskey, singing a rather odd, off-key tune and pissing on a detained Union soldier who had been captured after the battle and chained to a tree. The spectacle was amusing and Boyd allowed the beginnings of a thin smile to grow along the corners of his mouth. Teddy took a long swig from the bottle, lost his balance and fell backward to the cool, dew soaked grass with a garbled yelp. Laughter and applause erupted from various onlookers, except for Boyd. For a brief moment Boyd had thought Teddy had been shot and the loud clapping was gunshots popping from within the trees.

A hand slapped against Boyd’s shoulder, making him jump. He quickly turned his gaze to the visitor and breathed a slight sigh of relief as he saw Lt. Brown standing behind him.

“May I have a seat?” the officer asked, his voice low and ragged.

Boyd nodded his head and turned back to face the fire in silence.

Lt. Brown eased around and sat on a large rock just opposite the young soldier. He took a long moment studying his face and body language before he spoke.

“How’s your hand holding up?” he asked as he removed a pipe and match from his trousers.

“Its fine,” Boyd’s reply was just barely above a whisper.

The Lieutenant struck a match and puffed at his pipe, never taking his eyes away from Boyd.

“I hear that you and Grayden were both from Lakewood. Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir, it is.”

“Did you know him well?”

“Yes, sir, I did. We grew up together. He was… he was my friend,” a fresh round of tears threatened to spill forth from Boyd. He fought hard against them but was losing quickly. He turned his gaze away from the lieutenant and back to Wallace hoping that might help.

Lt. Brown took another draw from the pipe and exhaled as he studied the young man.

“May I see your rifle?” Lt. Brown asked keeping his voice steady.

Without saying a word, Boyd reached for his Springfield rifle and extended it toward Lt. Brown. Boyd felt a mild dread as he did so. His pulse quickened in his veins as the officer looked over the weapon. The concern escalated into full silent panic as Lt. Brown removed the push rod and slid it down into the barrel. The rod came to a quick stop, long before it should have.

“Hmm,” the officer said bemused.

Boyd could almost feel himself shrinking down to the size of a bug.

“You could’ve aimed high,” Lt. Brown said with his pipe still gritted between his teeth.

“What?” Boyd stammered.

“Aim above their heads if you don’t want to shoot them. That way you maintain the illusion that you are actually fighting and don’t manage to ruin a perfectly good weapon.”

Boyd sat in total silence as the lieutenant spoke. At that moment he considered leaping to his feet and attempt to run for the woods at full speed and slip away. If he was caught he could be shot for desertion, if he stayed he could be shot for cowardice.

“A lot of men died today,” Lt. Brown continued. “I wonder how many of them would still be alive if you had fired this weapon?”

"It won't happen again," Boyd said.

"I know it won't," glared the Lieutenant. "I ought to shoot you right here and now. I have no need for a coward in this regiment. I think the best thing for me to do would be to spray what little brains you have all over this goddamn field and be done with it. Now, what do you think? If you were me, what would you do?"

"Please, sir! Don't-"

"Every man in this camp is a killer. Whether they want to be or not. That's why they're here. If they don't kill, then they get killed. Do you understand?"

Boyd nodded.

"If you want to live to see the sun come up again, you best bring me a corpse tonight," the Lieutenant continued.

"Sir..."

"I'm not finished." The light of the fire reflected in the man's eyes as he leaned closer to Boyd. "We have a prisoner. The man chained to the tree over there is a Union soldier. A killer. I watched him shoot a man that I knew well. A man who had a wife and two young boys who will never know their father. I want that man dead and I want you to be the one to kill him. After that, you may leave if you choose to do so. If you do not kill him, then I'll put a hole through your head right now. Kill or be killed, young man."

Boyd felt a shiver creep into his bones. He knew he was doomed no matter which path he chose. If he refused, he would, in a sense, be taking his own life; a mortal sin that would surely condemn his soul. If he agreed then he would be taking the life of an unarmed man. Murder. Each choice led him to the pit of fire that his uncle preached about.

Brown reached for his sidearm and drew a bead between Boyd's eyes.

"Wait!" Boyd shouted. "I'll do it."

"Wise choice."

Brown stood and eased toward a table where he could have a close, unobstructed view of the execution. Boyd rose and grabbed his rifle by the barrel like a club and moved toward his prey.

"Time's wastin', soldier," barked Lt. Brown.

Boyd's hand trembled as he drew closer. He could feel the hairs on his arm and neck stand on end. At last, he stood before the man. The Union soldier glanced at the weapon and spat at Boyd.

"Fuck you, farmer," he hissed.

"I'm here to help you, you fool," Boyd whispered, kneeling down.

Boyd grabbed the chained man by the shirt and pulled him close.

"There's a thin nail in my hand. When I let you go, I want you to get it to your hand. You should be able to pick the lock. Take this rifle and head for the woods. That buys your freedom and gives me a clear conscience. Do you understand? I just need you to do me one favor. Do you see the man behind me? The officer?"

The man nodded.

“The rifle is loaded. I need you to kill him. You kill him for me and you get your freedom,” Boyd continued.

The man nodded with bewilderment. Boyd released the man and delivered a swift kick to his ribs. The man recoiled and twisted to his side. The nail was in his hands and working the lock in an instant.

Boyd turned to face Lt. Brown who sat smiling and nodded his approval.

"Proceed," chuckled Brown.

Boyd turned and the man leapt from the ground and swatted him across the face with the heavy chain. In a flash the man had snatched the weapon from Boyd's grasp. He cocked the hammer back and took aim at Brown. Confederate soldiers, alerted to the commotion, raced toward the enemy. The Union soldier glanced over his shoulder at the woods, his freedom. He took one final look at Brown and squeezed the trigger. In a deafening flash of flame, wood and metal, the rifle exploded in his hand, shooting a wooden shard into his throat.

Boyd stood and stared at the dying man. He cast a hollow look at his commanding officer. "He'll die," he said.

Brown grinned at the man standing before him. “Nicely played.”

Boyd wiped blood from his cheek and without uttering another word, began walking down the trail on his way home to Lakewood. Samuel Boyd's conscience was clear. He had gone to war with the north and himself. Throughout it all, he never fired a shot.

Something is out there

I've got several things on the way this year. Namely Sticks And Stones 2 and my Bigfoot Field Guide. Those will be along later. I'm currently without a computer and unable to work on those for the time being, but don't worry, I assure you that they are coming just as soon as I get it back.

In the mean time, I'm putting the office app on my phone to good use. I'm working on a brand new short that I've wanted to do for years now. One of my all time favorite monsters has always been the werewolf. That being said, I wanted to unleash my own lycanthropic tale but I could never find the right story for it. It had all been done before and I didn't want to rehash the same old stuff. It was put on the back burner to simmer for a while and, at last, the story came.

PROWL is a very dark and very personal story to me. It's me facing one of my biggest fears (and no, I don't mean spiders). A large chunk of my stories serve as a healing tool for whatever's going on with my life at the time. 2014 is still young but it's already been one of the hardest years I've ever lived. On the other side of this fucked up coin, it's been lots of fuel for the creative fire. I'll have the official synopsis up shortly. If you're a fan of my vampire tale, CARCASS, you'll be pleased to know that PROWL is cut from that same, bloody, cloth. I'm working hard on building the tension and making this the scariest thing I've ever created. It's my twisted, evil baby and I hope you guys like it.

Hiatus of Sorts

It's been quiet around here and my Facebook page for a while now. This is just to let everyone know that I'm still alive and kicking (well... alive).

The past month has been pretty rough as far as my health. Dealing with a bigoted doctor's office didn't help things much (long story short, if you're pagan and in Henderson County, North Carolina, don't get sick).

I was supposed to hit the woods this week but that had to be put on hold because I felt too bad to do too much. I hate this crap. All of the projects that I've been working on are still in the works and still set for a 2014 release. Sticks And Stones 2 and Beasts of the Field are coming along. I'll post some excerps soon to whet your appetite.

I wish you all the best and your support is always greatly appreciated. Wish me luck with finding a new doctor and getting back on track.

Talk with y'all soon.

10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty - review

I first heard of this while I was a guest on ZombiePalooza: Dead Again Radio. I was immediately intrigued and just had to check it out. Tonight was the first chance I had to give it a look and get caught up on what I had missed. I'm actually still watching it. What I'm seeing is basically SURVIVOR: BIGFOOT EDITION. The reason for that is simple, this is a game show that follows that format. Teams of "hunters" are given two challenges per episode and at the end, one team is eliminated. Is this what I expected? No. Sometimes that can be a good thing. You get a pleasant surprise and discover something brilliant. That's not the case here.

The teams consist of people who seem to spend more time fighting than bigfooting, not just with other teams but with each other. You also have the so called "Bigfoot Killer" Justin Smeja. Supposedly Justin shot two sasquatches and actually killed a juvenile. According to him, instead of bringing back what would be the single greatest zoological discovery in history, he thought it would be a better idea to bury the body and walk away. Later, fueled with bravado and a touch of fame, he returns to the, now frozen, grave and brings back a clump of hair that was in the general vicinity and claims it was 100% certain from the creature he killed. After testing, the hair was proven to be from a bear and Justin started crying. You can see this on Bigfoot: The New Evidence. So, this is just my opinion, Justin is a hoaxer. Having him on a team such as this dents the credibility for me.

The big problem is the game show format. If producers were serious about this, instead of eliminating people, they should place each team in a known hotspot and turn them loose. Have them spend the duration of the season searching their designated area and if nothing is found, move to a new spot on the next season.

These are just my opinions. You may really like the show and if so, more power to you. I just don't think this is the way to handle this particular subject. I will say, however, it's leaps and bounds better than that abomination that the National Geographic channel aired in which researchers and witnesses were made fun of by a comedian host.

I have had numerous people ask for my thoughts on TMDBB and, as promised, gave it a shot. I am pleased to see that Bigfoot is growing in interest. My hope is that the future will hold more shows that have legitimate interest and take things seriously. In that case, more information will be available for those who want to hit the woods and start their search. I would love to see Bigfoot be proven in my lifetime.

One final note:
The two camps in Bigfooting is kill and no kill. I'm not going into my personal stance on this just yet but if you are on the kill side, see a Bigfoot, shoot it and kill it, DON'T BURY IT AND WALK AWAY! BRING IT BACK SO IT CAN BE TESTED!

Thanks for dropping by and I'll talk with y'all later.
- Charlie

Coming Back Swinging

I haven't been online for a while. I've been down with this nasty flu and, as usual, back troubles. I want to say thanks to all of you who've checked in on me to make sure that I haven't died and been stumbling through the house like a rotting zombie. Yes to the zombification but no on croaking... I think.

Anyway, my down time wasn't exactly spent being down. I have been working on some new stuff for Beasts of the Field, Sticks and Stones 2 (which WILL be released this year, I promise) and Halloween In Fouke which will be the next entry in my YA series.

On the YA front, A Cold Night In Fouke continues to impress me with just how well it's been received. It's been holding strong on the best seller list since it's release in October. Thank you all for your purchase and reviews. It really means the world to me. Horror fans are the best in the world and my fans are a spectacular lot. Your support in this crazy dream of mine makes life worth living.

In other news, I'm looking to expand a little. As of now, all of my works are sold exclusively through Amazon but I'm exploring other outlets. Barnes & Noble is on my radar and I'm thinking of putting a couple of my titles on the Nook as an experiment. Earlier today, on my Facebook page, I asked readers what they would like to see pave the way. So far the top runners are Sticks And Stones and A Cold Night In Fouke. What would you like to see? If this goes well, my entire catalog will follow and other outlets could happen. I'm going to do some research and, hopefully, have the first one up within the next week or so.

Lots of stuff coming up in the near future. 2014 will belong to the apex predator. Keep close watch for these titles. I assure you, they're watching you from a dark, secluded thicket. Waiting for their moment.

Halloween In Fouke
(A Cold Night In Fouke: Book 2)

Beasts of the Field

Sticks and Stones Part 2

That's about all I have for now. Have a great day/night/timeless purgatory.

Back to watching Wicker Tree for me.