Unveiling the shadows: a writer's journey

Characters depicted in this short story are from Enter Infernum. Paul, the protagonist of the novel, has insights into the supernatural and he has been instrumental in solving bizarre murders. Ruth is Paul’s girlfriend and works as a librarian at the Indianapolis Central Library. She has a knack for finding tomes to help Paul solve cases. Unbeknownst to Paul, his girlfriend is a witch. The following story takes place before the events of Enter Infernum.

Johan Von Apotheker is the villain in Enter Infernum. He is an evil sorcerer in service to Lucifer. Apotheker gets another chance to serve Hell. He returns to earth, with a new scheme. Here’s his story.

Sissy Pogue is a major character in Enter Infernum. She is a teenage graffiti artist. Because of her talent, Sissy was coerced by the mad sorcerer Apotheker into creating a monstrous mural, that served as Porta Ad Deo, the gateway to Hell. Apotheker is gone, the portal destroyed, but her torment continues.

Stoner John is a character from Enter Infernum. He’s a seven-year old boy with a special magical gift. The boy is revered on the Indianapolis Eastside who know him as the “Brookside Park” oracle. This is his story.

If you were a kid in the 1970s and loved horror, you are familiar with Famous Monsters of Filmland.  Forrest J. Ackerman was the editor, and the magazine was published by James Warren, the publisher of Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. Yes, that James Warren. As a kid, I’d buy Famous Monsters and horror comics like The Witching Hour, by DC Comics. I had a newspaper route and while I saved what I made in my “Squirrel Account”, designed by a local bank for children, I had left over money to purchase comics and magazines. You guessed it, I bought issues of Famous Monsters.

My debut horror novel, Enter Infernum, was released last week. I’m very excited. You can find print and e-book versions on Amazon. So, how do I get interest, you may ask?

With the New Year, I decided to journal about the books I’ve read. I started a spreadsheet, listing book, author, review, rating, and recommendation. My reviews included a synopsis, the major characters and my thoughts on the novel or essay collection. Several of the books I’ve read were for a book club. I joined the Blacksburg Science Fiction and Fantasy (SFF) Book Club about two years ago. My journaling now helps me prepare for club meetings. The Blacksburg club is a mix of different ages, genders, and professions. I appreciate the members’ perspectives of a book. Several times I learn about a point I totally missed. When I reflect on it, the light bulb comes on, “Oh yeah.” People either love the book, hate it, or they are ambivalent about it. We express what we may have loved about it as well as share what didn’t work for us. And we respect each other’s opinions.

When I read fiction, I make a mental image of the character, setting, and action. The author may only provide the bare bone descriptions, but I, as a reader, fill in the rest. This may explain why readers are disappointed with a film adaptation. Of course, the other criticism is over what was left out of the film. That’s why readers love limited series, for example The Institute or two part films, Dune and It.

I was blown away this past month with awesome Horror on the big and small screen. I saw Hokum, Passenger, Obsession and Backrooms at the multiplex and The Terror: The Devil in Silver on AMC/Shudder. Some of you may ask, where have I been? There’s been some great films already this year. True, but how many of those films hung around the theaters for more than a week, if they get a screen engagement at all?

What are the three most important things you have accomplished, aside from publishing a book?

You remember those four words, proudly displayed on Fox Molder’s poster, the grainy image of a flying saucer hovering over the tree line. The X-files, in my opinion, the best in television.

Dear Reader. Sometime in 2025, I started to seriously think about retirement. My wife, Margie, pressed me on what I would retire too. “You can’t sit around all day watching TV.” She knows me too well. In retirement, two of my colleagues at the University of Georgia started writing. One friend Larry Shimkets wrote a political thriller, Malice in the Palace, the other, Harry Dailey a Sci-Fi graphic novel, Salad Days. The interesting thing about this is neither one are English nor Literature professors. They’re microbiologists. I’m a microbiologist. I thought, “I’ll write fiction in retirement.”

Characters depicted in this short story are from Enter Infernum. Paul, the protagonist of the novel, has insights into the supernatural and he has been instrumental in solving bizarre murders. Ruth is Paul’s girlfriend and works as a librarian at the Indianapolis Central Library. She has a knack for finding tomes to help Paul solve cases. Unbeknownst to Paul, his girlfriend is a witch. The following story takes place before the events of Enter Infernum.

Johan Von Apotheker is the villain in Enter Infernum. He is an evil sorcerer in service to Lucifer. Apotheker gets another chance to serve Hell. He returns to earth, with a new scheme. Here’s his story.

Sissy Pogue is a major character in Enter Infernum. She is a teenage graffiti artist. Because of her talent, Sissy was coerced by the mad sorcerer Apotheker into creating a monstrous mural, that served as Porta Ad Deo, the gateway to Hell. Apotheker is gone, the portal destroyed, but her torment continues.

Stoner John is a character from Enter Infernum. He’s a seven-year old boy with a special magical gift. The boy is revered on the Indianapolis Eastside who know him as the “Brookside Park” oracle. This is his story.

If you were a kid in the 1970s and loved horror, you are familiar with Famous Monsters of Filmland.  Forrest J. Ackerman was the editor, and the magazine was published by James Warren, the publisher of Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. Yes, that James Warren. As a kid, I’d buy Famous Monsters and horror comics like The Witching Hour, by DC Comics. I had a newspaper route and while I saved what I made in my “Squirrel Account”, designed by a local bank for children, I had left over money to purchase comics and magazines. You guessed it, I bought issues of Famous Monsters.

My debut horror novel, Enter Infernum, was released last week. I’m very excited. You can find print and e-book versions on Amazon. So, how do I get interest, you may ask?

With the New Year, I decided to journal about the books I’ve read. I started a spreadsheet, listing book, author, review, rating, and recommendation. My reviews included a synopsis, the major characters and my thoughts on the novel or essay collection. Several of the books I’ve read were for a book club. I joined the Blacksburg Science Fiction and Fantasy (SFF) Book Club about two years ago. My journaling now helps me prepare for club meetings. The Blacksburg club is a mix of different ages, genders, and professions. I appreciate the members’ perspectives of a book. Several times I learn about a point I totally missed. When I reflect on it, the light bulb comes on, “Oh yeah.” People either love the book, hate it, or they are ambivalent about it. We express what we may have loved about it as well as share what didn’t work for us. And we respect each other’s opinions.

When I read fiction, I make a mental image of the character, setting, and action. The author may only provide the bare bone descriptions, but I, as a reader, fill in the rest. This may explain why readers are disappointed with a film adaptation. Of course, the other criticism is over what was left out of the film. That’s why readers love limited series, for example The Institute or two part films, Dune and It.

I was blown away this past month with awesome Horror on the big and small screen. I saw Hokum, Passenger, Obsession and Backrooms at the multiplex and The Terror: The Devil in Silver on AMC/Shudder. Some of you may ask, where have I been? There’s been some great films already this year. True, but how many of those films hung around the theaters for more than a week, if they get a screen engagement at all?

What are the three most important things you have accomplished, aside from publishing a book?

You remember those four words, proudly displayed on Fox Molder’s poster, the grainy image of a flying saucer hovering over the tree line. The X-files, in my opinion, the best in television.

Dear Reader. Sometime in 2025, I started to seriously think about retirement. My wife, Margie, pressed me on what I would retire too. “You can’t sit around all day watching TV.” She knows me too well. In retirement, two of my colleagues at the University of Georgia started writing. One friend Larry Shimkets wrote a political thriller, Malice in the Palace, the other, Harry Dailey a Sci-Fi graphic novel, Salad Days. The interesting thing about this is neither one are English nor Literature professors. They’re microbiologists. I’m a microbiologist. I thought, “I’ll write fiction in retirement.”