It’s a cool, clear-skied, Autumn morning in Dallas, at least from where I’m standing. I’m in my condo courtyard enjoying the morning routine. Some fallen acorns have naturally grouped together, but I know better. It’s a peace offering. The Ogre of Oak Cliff wants to be friends. Too bad; I already have one of those.
A friend, I mean. I may have three or four, to be honest. Dallas is beginning to open up to me quite nicely.
Leaning against my truck, I “shined” to a moment of me and one of my younger brothers. I’d called him over to the truck so I could hit the Proto and tell him something privately. A good reminisce takes two, you know.
You see, I’d only recently discovered through a why not moment that he and I lost our virginity to the same girl. If we choose to deep-dive this, it opens an entirely new can of worms. I’m not ready to tell that tale yet.
Regardless of the details, she recently passed away, and I didn’t know if he’d heard. He had. News travels fast in the vacuum of redneck space thanks to that new-fangled inter-webbie thang. Spit.
To my point, I was wearing a purple and black hooded flannel. It matches my Les Paul, my game controller, and various other things around my home and vehicle. It’s my not-so-subliminal-anymore favorite combination, and I can trace it back to a specific date.
April 18th, 2001.
I was living with friends in Long Beach and working for Nortel Networks. I was new to hockey, and attending my first playoff game at Staples Center. The place was pure static. LA Kings vs. Detroit. Game 4.
Los Angeles was the underdog, just squeaking into the playoffs at the last second, and Detroit was mopping the ice with them. Then, by some miraculous turn of events, the Kings came back from a three goal deficit in the third period and won it in sudden-death overtime. The blast of energy emitted from the crowd when the last puck crossed the line changed me forever.
Their colors were purple and black back then, and it’s all I could see as I got lost in the celebration. You could even see me and my friends a few times in the telecast, forever etched into history.
When I came home to Dallas, I adopted the Stars as my team. Besides, there was no way I could walk around small-town Texas wearing a purple monstrosity during that one week of the year when the weather allows us to do such things without breaking a sweat from too many layers. (You have to read that sentence in one complete breath to really feel my convictions) Purple was one of those gay colors, hyuck-hyuck.
Seriously, I remember one of my grade-school bullies jumping all over a kid for wearing purple. He accused him of being homosexual, when the poor kid wasn’t even old enough to really be any kind of “sexual” whatsoever! Regardless, I didn’t want to be accused of anything new that could get my ass beaten, so I subliminally avoided wearing or liking purple anything throughout my life.
Mental health is a mo-fo, ladies and gentlemen. Listen to your kids when they’re bullying others when playing online; Gorilla Tag, Call of Duty, and such. They’re doing it for one of two reasons:
Either they do it just as well in the physical world, or they’re a victim to it, and this is the easier way to vent frustrations and take the upper hand for a change. Step in and stop this shit before it rolls over into yet another generation of bullies. Society is already near its boiling point.
Back to purple.
My brother flicked my flannel and said, “you’ve really got some kind of purple thing going on, Prince,” or something to that effect.
I replied instinctively rather than formulate a more intelligent explanation.
“Because I can brandish it openly without getting the shit kicked out of me now.”
It’s been a damn long time since I’ve been in the fifth grade; about forty years. My brain still instinctively pings purple as one of the bad colors before I calm it, and remind it that there’s no such thing.
The child within never dies.
Keep that in mind as you nurture yours.
In hindsight, I was a horrible father. I should know a thing or two about wrong-turns.
Preach truths, toke jokes, and shoplift Amazon.
Also, enjoy this jam. Dance around your house at some point today. You’ll feel better.
While we’re on the subject of school-yard bullies…
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.
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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