We need to talk about “Obsession”. (MASSIVE Spoiler Alert).
Do you remember those old cereal commercials?
The ones that were like, “you’d have to eat (#) bowls of a certain brand to match the (whatevs) in one bowl of Total?
Let me describe my morning:
My cat woke me up around 7:30 am. I grabbed my coffee and my “Pipe Full Of Fun Kit # 7”, and headed outdoors to meet the day. Thanks to citronella coils, I had zero interruptions.
Does everyone remember “Pipe Full Of Fun Kit # 7” or do I need to post a video for the uncool folks in the shallow end? Fine.
That’s the best video I could find without getting a META company involved.
Once finished, I went inside and rerouted my guitar and mic straight through the amp, bypassing my tech and pedals. I put a chorus setting at about 25% (silly, cheap Fender gimmick).
I plugged in that purple Les Paul and beat the living crap out of it for an hour straight. A sang a few notes I normally struggle with, and my solos are getting better. Also, my hand slides along the neck and fret board so much easier when I’m sweaty. My advice to my fellow late to the show musicians? Let go; Luke Skywalker style. Feel the force. Let it guide you.
I poured sweat and felt like a few more dollars than I thought I had in my pocket. See? Even my quirky sayings are reasonable.
My entire body was buzzing, and I’m ready for me and Miss Charlie Rose to play a bit this weekend. Also, my new neighbors have yet to submit a guitar complaint. How do I know where the boundaries are unless I push them?
I’ll be playing “Can’t Steal My Fire” live for the first time this weekend. This’ll probably be the last I’m allowed to play at this venue. Don’t Jesus my open mic. There’s a million churches right down the road for that. Amen.
Anyway, this was a roundabout way of saying I rewarded myself with a second bowl. Hope you enjoyed the ride.
Now, let’s talk “Obsession” – the second viewing.
Spoilers. Do not scroll down if you haven’t seen this film.
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I’m super serious. Do not do this to yourself.
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The queen and I hashed this out last night. She’s a cat. Hear me out.
The cat OD’d on grandma’s pills and died. I wish I knew more about grandma’s death, but I digress.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole new age shop was inhabited by cats playing tricks on humans. Seriously; watch it from that point of view.
Everyone who works in that shop, as well as the help desk guy, flows like a cat. Their vocal cadence and their body movements and their nonchalant attitudes. Even the One Wish Willow says it’s made by Tabi Cat Collectables and there’s cats all over the box.
She watches him sleep
She hides behind the flowers
She lashes out when he tries to get out of bed
She was howling in the dark for no reason
She left him food surprises
She gave him a tiger’s eye
She stayed in one place until he got home, and peed, pooped, and yacked in the same spot. She says, “I ate a bug.”
She actually wants to stand and wait outside the bathroom door
She gets the unmistakable “zoomies”
She paws at the door whenever they’re not in the same room
She wedged herself between the boyfriend and the girl who clearly liked him
She also turned the dead cat into a shrine, and fed it to him
The chick’s a cat. The end.
I love this film.
I really hope you didn’t scroll before watching it.
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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. 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
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