My new metal obsession is Nordic supergroup Cemetary Skyline. Their title of their debut album, Nordic Gothic, pretty much says it all. The band all come from Nordic death and black metal but here they deliver a dark but beautiful collection of gothic metal. Lead singer is Swede Mikael Stanne, whose regular gig is in melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. Here, he puts his powerful growls aside and focuses instead on his remarkably smooth baritone clean voice. The results are magnificent and this is challenging a lot of bigger name albums for my "album of the year".

Sunny but a bit chilly in my world. How's things out in the rest of the world?

I'll put on some La Chicas Dark Roast Nicaraguan coffee. For teas, I'll put on some Buddha's Blend and Sencha.

Working on a new story. It will be a long one but I'm going to do it in one big file and then break up into chapters later. I found trying to work in chapters was a distraction and might be part of why my other chapter pieces are flailing.

Basic plot is that a mystery woman is shipwrecked (well, boatwrecked) on the private island of a playboy tech billionaire. She's a biologist doing research in the area and convinces him to let her do research on the island. That opens the door to a relationship but her mysterious past eventually intrudes...😨 Right now, there's a scene early on that is too explicit for SS but I'll see if I want to stay on that track or tone it down to something R-rated so I can use this site. The scene just establishes the billionaire's cred as a "playboy" so could work without the sexy details. Genrewise I am thinking romance with a bit of a thriller element or maybe, depending on where I go with the mystery past, paranormal romance.

Now that's something I can handle pumpkin spice in. Desserts not tea. That's my motto for the stuff.

So now Molly is the cookie lady? We probably need a sign-up sheet or something to keep it all organized. 😀

Quote by verbal
Dodgers-Yankees tonight (sorry Red). A classic American matchup! Who are you rooting for?

Really, neither. Baseball isn't my thing. But with a series like that, might be best to just flip a coin and then enjoy the fun unless you're a hardcore fan of one of them.

Goooooooooooooooooooooooood Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooorning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another week is winding to a close. Fallish weather is back in my world with some frost risk looming on the weekend. And things get spooky in the coming week. Very scary, kids!

For some seasonal caffeine, we've got Dragon's Lair Dark Roast from Bones Coffee. Ooooooo.

Tea wise, we've got some Pumpkin Spice Chai (not my groove but it's seasonal) and Raspberry Royale.

Pitchers are washed up and refilled with iced tea and lemonade. Soda stock looks good.

How's things? Plans for the weekend?

Ankor are based in Spain but have a (fantastic) English lead singer and (absolutely amazing) Greek drummer. It's a great band that I came across maybe a year or two ago. Metalcore base with other musical influences layered around it. New album is out today. This is the title track.

Quote by verbal
The sure outcome is it is gonna take at least a week to figure out who won, maybe longer.

I'll be shocked if there's a clear winner by Inauguration Day at the rate things are going. Sad to see an election in the "world's greatest democracy" probably settled by judges rather than votes. Vibes, Americans. You'll need them.

Quote by JamesPBear
I also recommended StoriesSpace as a place where they could work on writing their own stories.

I do this from time to time but, yeah, it doesn't seem to get much action out. Oh well, at least you tried. Need to get a copy of the book downloaded. Just be warned that my patience for actually reading fiction is a bit low right now. At least I have some motivation for reading this one.

Good morning! Take warning! The coffee is hot and in the pot! So's the tea for me and thee!

How's things, everyone. Back to more seasonal weather after a nice warm spell. Overall, it has been a fairly nice October. Trees around my yard haven't even dropped much save a couple that always come down early.

Quote by JaxRhapsody
The whole family is like that, Skunks are like the only one that uses it as a weapon.

Yeah, weasels and related are an interesting bunch of animals, really.

Good afternoon! Long meeting this morning and I now feel like crap. Son and d-i-l are in town for a few days, so at least I get to see them this week.

Quote by verbal
11 days until the election.

Vibes for you and the other Americans. I hope this turns out better than it appears it will and you end up with a proper, peaceful transition of power.

Ferrets are kind of cool. I've never known one, but heard of people who had them. When I was in kindergarten (yes, that long ago) the school librarian had a de-scented skunk. Brought the skunk in to show us, too. They are rather lovely animals if you leave aside the whole naturally evolved chemical weapons thing.

With two weeks to go until Halloween, it is fitting that Author's Publish for this week is a list of markets for your spookiest, creepiest, and scariest stories. Some are specific to horror, some are more general speculative fiction and take sf and fantasy, too. Of course, dark fantasy and horror overlap heavily so some of the horror markets tread that line. Here you go. Have a look ... IF YOU DARE!!!! Mwahahahahaha!!!!

» 35 Horror Fiction Magazines and Anthologies that Pay

There's an interesting discussion about time travel happening on another site I am on and that's a genre of SFF that could be fun to play with in a comp and isn't confined to SF, even if that's usually the genre for it. Fantasy time travel is an option (magical time travel), even horror (a gateway to the past where some horrible thing or event awaits). Could even be a dream in a non-fantastical setting. One could even put the actual methodology as background and focus on the drama or romance or whatever that happens when people from different time periods meet up (think Outlander). So time travel in a broad sense of what happens when someone from one era visits or meets someone from another. Just a thought.

Throwing on some dark roast coffee from some bag. It's a bit of a "try your luck" day.

Teas? Hmm. Maybe this one and that one. One is definitely black, the other definitely green. Beyond that, let's see.

And for munching, here's some healthy stuff.

Way ahead must be found.

Have never had Galas and wasn't aware of Golden Gala but might give them a look. My apples of choice tend to be McIntosh and Empire (hybrid of Macs and Red Delicious). Thanks for the tip, Bear. And for getting things spun up for the weekend.

Quote by JamesPBear
I'd like to see more humour stories. They're not easy to write, especially for someone like me who has no sense of humour.

Funnily enough, I have a sense of humour, albeit one that leans to the goofy, weird, and absurd at times, and find humour very hard to write. I think the only really funny stories I have written have been micros just because 100 words is basically enough for a long joke or short sketch.

Almost 3 years ago, Floor Jansen launched "Fire", her first original solo single after a 20+ career spent in bands. The song ended up being one of my favourite tracks on the eventual solo album.

And now she has a very nice new version, the "Stripped" version which cuts back on the instrumentation in favour of the one instrument that matters: her magnificent voice. It dropped on the streamers today and she will also be debuting it on Dutch television (given the time difference between here and Europe, probably already has).

Best to move things forward.

Quote by Cora
Ideally, a short story between 1,000 to 5,000+ words I would prefer.

Flash is actually 100-1000. I kind of like that length for some themes and ideas. Forces me to rein things in and focus more tightly, but can still tell a full story, vs. a micro where you're really just giving the bare bones.

Genre-wise, I am generally open to anything. Some of the best comps I have been in are ones where there is a broad theme that can cut across genres rather than a specific genre. So there was a "punk" comp I was in one time that was basically open to anything themed around "punk" genres like cyberpunk, steampunk, dieselpunk, and so on. And, of course, just punk culture and music. I think for a comp that works better as a focus than genre. Even a "space" themed comp could work that way. Even if it leaned heavily to SF, you could also have stories about modern space exploration (e.g. something involving astronauts on the ISS or its Chinese counterpart), astronomy, and such.

Way back, I was young.

Good afternoon! I survived a meeting that ran way over. Latest I have eaten lunch in quite a while. Fortunately, a nice person from corporate HR who came for a meeting brought muffins. 😊

More meetings to come. Fortunately, I have a mug of oolong at hand.

Good morning!! Very frosty here today. Almost everything had a sheen of white as I was driving to the office. And there was a mist over the intersection where I turn to go South. Not enough to be a problem for driving, but a very visible presence. Definitely Fall.

I shall put some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe on for the coffee crowd.

For teas we have Yorkshire Gold and Duke of Earl (vanilla Earl Grey).

Washed up the pitchers and put iced tea and lemonade.

Hope you're all doing well. Special good thoughts for Gil as she deal with her grief and her father.

Quote by gillianleeza
My Mom died on Sunday, which by then was a relief.

Condolences to you and your family.

Quote by gillianleeza
I'm drowning in paperwork related to dealing with death and trying to arrange a funeral and my father's upcoming move to memory care.

I have dealt with both a death and a move to longterm care, but it was same person so at different times. Can't imagine trying to do both at the same time. Vibes.

We're here if you need to vent, Gil.

Forgotten tales brought to light.

Quote by JamesPBear

(checks cookie jars) Anyone been in touch with Sara recently? I sent her a couple of things, but haven't heard anything back.

Cora's been doing the cookies of late but she's scarce these days, too (active, just not as active). I have not seen or heard from Sara in quite a while. Hope she's okay. Her profile here shows last visit 2 months ago.

Thanks for getting the drinks going. pours a Darjeeling tea

Quote by verbal
My fear now is having to face the Yankees in the World Series.

An all New York World Series sounds kind of fun, though. But, yeah, facing the Yankees in a World Series will be rather nerve wracking, eh.

Tea and coffee

Tea and coffee

Keep us going wide awake!

Good morning, folks. Ape has some nice Deathwish Dark Roast coffee brewed. In the teapots, we got Darjeeling and Raspberry Royale.

Cool and sunny here now, the kind of Autumn weather than I like.

How's things?