After a week of various tunings, I finally settled on “standard” (so much wasted time), came up with riffs for both verses and chorus and a rhythm bridge. The lyrics are done-ish as well. Sigh. I may have a new song tomorrow. Maybe next week.
‘Deep Breaths’ is just overly dramatic breathing for the sake of attention.
It never fails that I wake up to a night’s long tirade of advertising emails from businesses I frequent. Occasionally, as I’m sure it is with the rest of you, I don’t mind seeing a particular sale going on at Guitar Center or Lowes, but, Office Depot, you’ve got some shenanigans going on.
For months I’d get a “link broken” page when attempting to unsubscribe. Finally, today, I managed to make it happen; I hope. Actually, I had to do it two separate times for two separate emails. Whatever will happen with email number three is beyond my knowledge. Fingers crossed, though.
Let’s set the mood…
Actually, let’s not do that. I began deep-diving KISS a couple of years ago – avoiding their shtick until they took the make-up off in the eighties – and there’s a lot of songs from the seventies about underage girls. Perhaps this was acceptable behavior in The Bronx in ’74, but, it’s rather Epstein in this day and age. Not that it matters; apparently you can make it all the way to the top as a kiddie-diddler in this country. Say what you will about fences and bi-partisanship, but not many Republicans are breaking down the door to prove any of us wrong. If he’s not, release the files. End of story.
Yes, I know every woman I was ever involved with throughout life – save one; I really wanted the job – was younger than me, sometimes way younger than me, but I’m not running for president. I never planned to. Live free; don’t join and yada yada yada. I know better than to try to do anything honorable because my hometown could dig up an arsenal of ammunition against me. All I can do is smile and say, “yep, that was me.”
Was being the keyword here.
I was well on my way to running for County Commissioner or JP of Hunt County Texas in 2013 before I flipped, stroked-out, and said goodbye to everything and everyone I’d ever known. T’would have been one helluva debate. I had ZERO knowledge of my mental health at that point in life and was rather confident of my non-existent boldness. What a joke I must’ve appeared to be. Still, no one had the balls to reach out and tell me otherwise. It was way too comical to interrupt, I guess. I can respect that.
T’would’s not a word, but have you see some of the crap they stick in the dictionary every year? I think if we rally, we could make T’would happen.
T’would aside, I’m thinking about opening myself up to the world again, face-to-face, and performing solo in front of a crowd again. I came out so strong a year ago, I forgot to prepare. Something finally clicked, and continues to click daily – there’s a lot of ‘clicking’ when it comes to guitar.
My love of writing hath dwindled so much over the last few years. No, it’s not the state of the market of the fact roving groups of nobodies can make or break your craft with a simple review, it’s other writers. Since my career moved back to the US upon the closing of MBLA, I’ve been reintroduced to some metaphorical high-school grade BS worthy of nose punches.
It has everything to do with the false-courage provided by social media, and I can’t contribute to it anymore. I also don’t want to see it occurring between others. Being a writer was so much better before I got to know other authors. I’m sure some of them can say the same about me. Therefore, I think it’s time someone does the honorable thing – I’m not sure why this always has to be me – me and my opinions are going to try their hardest to dip out of the public eye a bit.
The Gonzo Wolf will be the safe place. If it’s an opinion, here is where I’ll say it. I pay for this site, and it’s a choice to come here. I think that’s fair enough. Also, I don’t have to worry about sponging-up all the negativity involved with social media scrolling. Also, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve tried doing this since The Great Starving Zoe Incident of 2020, 2022, 2024, and incidents yet to be born, I could pay for my WordPress annual subscription.
I’ll be successful this time, because I just said I would. Have you ever heard of my legendary New Year’s resolutions?
Preach truths, toke jokes, and shoplift Amazon. Which world would you rather live in: 1984 or The Walking Dead? Meh, it’s not like we’ll have a choice in the matter, but I feel like I could lead a group of crazies in TWD. Everything I ever needed to know in life, I learned from Negan.
The “comments” section is at the very bottom of the page. That way, if you’re going to be a poon, I can try to sell you a book on the way down.
The Reverend’s Reads
To most, 1865 was an eye-opening year. The American Civil War was officially over and the soldiers fortunate enough to survive the bloody conflict returned home to collect the pieces of their former lives. To young Arizonan, Robert Jack, the fateful desert homecoming marked the end to all he once knew. Forgiveness is overrated. Death is final. Revenge, however, dances between the fine lines of mortality and eternity. Love always finds a way.
“Reading Jim Walker and the Redemption Hymn is equal parts quirky fun and riveting action. Cloud’s confident, entertaining voice draws the reader in like an old radio western: the perfect bite-sized story with a main character you’re ready to follow through every adventure he finds himself on. So, tune in next time…”
– Megan Stockton, author of Lovely, Dark & Deep
The history books would read that Jim Walker was brutally executed after the Battle of Goliad, but a few promises in the right ear blurred the contrast between blood and ink. Now an aging bounty hunter on the verge of retirement, his services are requested in the Northern Arizona Territory to solve the terrifying mystery of the Verde River Massacre. With guns from a local Deputy, courage from a saloon proprietor, and a deathbed confession from an all-too-familiar Medicine Woman, Jim sets off on what could be his final adventure. Will he lay the ghosts of his past to rest once and for all, or is he simply whistling his Redemption Hymn?
“Someone call DC and tell them this is how you write a female hero character!” – Lisa Lee Tone, Bibliophelia Templum
Angel Burns is a young firefighter with a shrouded history. During a routine night at work, she stumbles upon a demonic ceremony that brings her memories out of hiding – as well as her repressed supernatural powers. Angel soon learns her life was intended for things greater than extinguishing fires for mortals. Now on the payroll of the Vatican, Angel embarks upon an epic quest to protect the Gutenberg Bibles from evil. If successful, she will secure peace for generations. If she fails, the power of the ancient books will bestow an eternity of darkness upon all humanity!
Toby Liberman is nearing the end of his rope. After a fateful confrontation with his wife’s lover, he is chased into the woods only to be discovered by an unidentifiable creature. He is attacked and rendered unconscious. Upon waking at the scene of a gruesome triple homicide, Toby is arrested as the sole suspect and thrown into a jail cell with a strange man that knows way too much about his predicament. The stranger reveals to Toby that he now possesses the curse of the werewolf. Using his new-found strength to flee his captors, Toby begins to discover that things are not what they seem in the sleepy town of Twin Oaks, TX. Now hunted by law enforcement, as well as the town’s gun toting civilians, Toby seeks vengeance against his false accusers and embarks upon a quest to clear his name once and for all.
A Curse Beyond Comprehension. A Power Beyond Belief. A Girl Far From Home. Katie Liberman is your typical eighteen-year-old college student…or at least that’s what her family thinks. Picking up five years after the events of A Taste of Home, Katie has dropped out of school and embarked upon a dangerous quest to find Kurt Jimmerson, the New York City attorney responsible for her family’s werewolf curse. Unknown to her, the attorney’s grip on the ‘City That Never Sleeps’ is tighter than imagined and she’ll need any and all help available to be victorious. But… where do you find friends when you’re Far From Home?
Twin Oaks, Texas is at war! Taking place immediately after the Far From Home events in New York City, Katie Liberman has returned to rescue her birthplace from the clutches of her nemesis. As the paranormal battle of North vs. South rages in the shadows, the tiny town must decide to fight against the odds or become one with the darkness. Blood will be shed and only one will survive as the final battle of the Home Series concludes.
I know this is the part where I’m supposed to talk about the book, but I feel as though the synopsis needs its own preface to truly understand. 2023 was quite an eye-opening year! I began it by living my dream as a vintage steam locomotive fireman, but that dream was soon squashed thanks to my writing career. It won’t matter that you wrote your extreme horror offerings years ago and under a pen name. Also, it won’t matter that your publisher and author friends from days gone by express pleasantries and kind, nurturing words to your face, because they’ll clique-up and talk trash the minute you turn your back. F**k the biz, create. Create for art, not clicks. Click for love, not hate. Those are words true artists should have no issues living by, yet most seem to hide behind their keyboard shields, flinging ill-thought words of destruction toward once-trusted ears. Don’t pour something into everything; pour everything into something. Do it all by yourself if necessary. With any luck, 2024 will be the year of The Reverend. I’m not exactly sure what that means yet, but we’ll find out together. Anyway, here are a few short stories and poems I wrote as C. Derick Miller in 2023. I stole them from myself. Fair and square. Enjoy.
Poetry has always come naturally to me. Whether it is an expression of emotion toward someone I care about, or a display of humor pointed in the direction of those I loathe, it is my true outlet. Several of these works were written in a passenger seat while exploring the highways of the United States and somehow managed to survive “The Great Ex-Wife/Ex-Girlfriend Poetry Purge” of 2019. Others were penned during COVID-19 quarantine. Although it may not be the most epic poetry collection you’ve ever read, it all contains bits of blood and soul. You will feel something. Guaranteed.
“This profound collection of horror brings classic monsters into new light in the modern day” – B.L. Blankenship, God Walks The Dark Hills series.
The modern world is a crazy place. Worrying about childish politicians, empty grocery store shelves, and our pending membership to the “global disease of the week” club, it leaves very little time for the average reader to finish an entire novel. This is where Six from Five Seven: Short Stories from a Short Man comes in clutch! A story per day to keep the impending apocalypse away, with a single day left over to contemplate why you purchased this book in the first place. That sounds like an entertaining week when compared to the one you were destined to have regardless. What do a cursed husband, a privileged brat, a curious prostitute, a repressed savior, a vengeful son, and two hell-bound soldiers have in common? Their stories lie within the pages of this collection and invite you to tag along on their journeys of fate, redemption, and demise. When finished, you, dear reader, can hide this book inside your basement with the rest of those important documents you wished you’d never taken home. The FBI won’t be happy, but at least they’ll know you’re a cool person for owning a copy while conducting the raid. That must count for something, right? Let’s hope the judge thinks so!
Also, there’s a few other things not listed here that are floating around out there. Best of luck with the hunt.
Current Projects
Rev. Dare Cloud
Reverend · adjective. worthy of adoration or reverence. synonyms: sublime · sacred.
is a Dallas author, musician, and gonzo journalist. Some of his works include the controversial splatter-western Starving Zoe (written as C. Derick Miller), the Taste of Home trilogy, and the ongoing Jim Walker series. He is also the co-host of the American Justice Podcast and Senior Writer/Junior Producer for AtuA Productions LLC. His literary crushes are (of course) Hunter S. Thompson, J.D. Salinger, and Kevin Smith. Preach truths, toke jokes, and shoplift Amazon.
“You’ve got to press it on you You’ve just been thinking That’s what you do, baby Hold it down, Dare!” – Gorillaz
The Gonzo Wolf 
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