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.
Once upon a time, early on in my short-lived UK writing career, my agent asked me and some colleagues to write some short stories for a surprise critic. According to said agent, that critic was none other than the god of horror literature himself: the great Stephen King.
My agent has since passed away, so I can verify none of this. Still, there’s a chance that THE Stephen King has read one of my short stories. It was about a werewolf who fed at truck stops and planned on suicide-by-cop in Central Park. I used to write the good stuff.
The chance to put some of my work in front of those eyes made the whole fiasco worth it. I personally don’t love every Stephen King story, but I love Stephen King. The Shining is one of my top five favorite films, even though Stephen King himself hates that adaption. He and I are all over the place, barely seeing eye-to-eye, unlike many indie horror authors who lick the ground the man walks upon. Whatever helps you keep those pages turning!
When I heard they were making a Pennywise origin story based on the newest IT movie franchise, I cringed. I’ve despised watered-down, made for television productions based on existing intellectual properties since the days of Sci-Fi Channel Originals. Then, the world converted to streaming…
Many of the Star Wars series and Alien: Earth on Disney Plus have knocked my socks off, allowing for massive amounts of world building not traditionally allowed in film. Ultimately, did one of horror’s greatest villains need an origin story? Sometimes, it’s better off left to the imagination.
Let’s see what the fine folks at Wikipedia have to say about this series…
Andy and Barbara Muschietti along with Fuchs began developing an It television series in March 2022. After receiving a production commitment later that November, Fuchs and Brad Kane were hired as showrunners. The series was greenlit in February 2023, with Andy Muschietti attached to direct multiple episodes, including the pilot episode, and Fuchs as a writer. Casting began later in April, including Skarsgård being cast in May 2024. Filming for the series began in May 2023 but was halted that July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming ended in August 2024.
It: Welcome to Derry premiered on HBO on October 26, 2025. The series received generally positive reviews from critics for its production value, direction, opening title sequence, and performances (particularly those of Skarsgård, Chalk, and the younger actors), but received criticism for its visual effects and some writing choices.
The Rev-iew:
I hate television shows. It seems like every time I get invested in one, it gets cancelled, the story arc isn’t completed, or it’s obviously rushed to finality. Then, there are times when characters get a spin-off series, so they needn’t bother with an ending. I still can’t believe I gave eleven years of my life to The Walking Dead. I felt cheated.
Then, during the height of COVID, my wife introduced me to the 2000’s Battlestar Galactica and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. They’re rare examples of shows who stuck the landing, and didn’t drag on pointlessly like Supernatural. If we can keep it to about four or five seasons, I’m good. Game of Thrones-ish length. LOST would be pushing it.
Those are my boundaries. Once I heard it would be a stand-alone prequel series to the IT theatrical films, I figured there wasn’t much damage they could do to the existing lore. I decided to give it a shot, but I refused to hold my breath.
Tonight was the final episode to the first (and possibly only) season.
Thoughts?
That’s easy. It’s worth the trouble of a month’s long sub and cancel to HBO Max. With every episode nearly an hour in length, you’re getting an additional eight hours of footage within the mythos of Derry, Maine.
The source material takes place in the fifties and late eighties (If I’m not mistaken. I’m not going to bother looking it up. Just brush me off if I’m wrong), but the film franchise came about in the height of the ‘eighties nostalgia’ movie boom aka in the time of Stranger Things. They even share one of the same stars!
That said, this series takes place in the super-racist fifties, and serves as the battle against Pennywise prior to that of the legendary Losers’ Club. Perfect timing in our horrible, hate-filled political timeline. Now, if only someone would pay attention, take the hint, and do something about it…
Not only does this series connect to the IT film franchise, but it crosses over with characters from both The Shining & Doctor Sleep. If you stretch a bit of the imagination, you’ve also got some connections to one of Stephen King’s most underrated features, The Mist.
Hell, since I’m not a King worshipper, I may have missed a few other connections within his world. Let me know what I missed in the comments below.
I won’t go much deeper than that, because it will remove from the wonder of the creature’s well-written and surprisingly imaginative origins. In my opinion, this show knocks it out of the park in ways rarely conceived by television writers. I rewatched both IT and IT Chapter Two in the week prior to the show’s final episode, and the existence of this story actually made them better films!
There are some who’ve complained about a few of the creature effects, but they were handled better than the CGI abominations from IT Chapter Two. Also, there were a few scenes in which a line of dialogue felt forced for the sake of continuity with King’s existing material. You can let those slide.
This television show isn’t perfect, but it’s perfect television. It was suspenseful between episodes, it was incredibly acted by most, and Pennywise deserves your full attention whenever he appears on screen. It contains much more of a macabre feel than either of its theatrical counterparts, and some of the imagery is downright terrifying. I actually stood and applauded in my own living room after many of the episodes.
And, there you go. That’s about as far as I can get in a review without spoiling some of the wonderful surprises Derry has in store for those who’ve awaited a final verdict before forking over the subscription fee.
This simple, eight part television series was better than most theatrical films I saw in 2025.
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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