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Flash: Hellhound Puppies

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of the Internet Hivemind

A friend of mine posted the above on her Facebook page. I responded, and then it devolved. Below is the result.

First Response:

The hellhounds leap past the others (demons), knocking me down.

“Snuggles – good puppies!”

“But they’re hellhounds.”

“Puppies want belly rubs?” (Rubbing bellies)

“bbbbbut”

 

Second response:

Much later – Young Demon checks in with an overseerer.

“Hey, I’m here to torture” (he looks at name on sheet and says it).

“Again? When will they learn? Look just grab a piece of flame and wait out the decade and go back.”

The hothead rakes the burnt-out demon with his eyes and sneers, “Some of us still got what it takes. Where is my ‘client’?”

Underworld weary, the overseer just waves in a direction. “There.”

“Why is it surrounded by hellhounds?”

The older demon looks over, squinting his eyes against the smoke. “I think they are playing fetch.”

A skull gets thrown and a dozen hellhounds run after it snapping and snarling, with one staying at the client’s feet guarding. The skull was wrong; white bone, but it wasn’t human. The hounds come trotting back, one with the skull in its mouth. The human plays a little tug-o-war until the hound lets go and then gripping the horns curling at the temples gives a big swing and lets it go again.

The young demon clears his throat, “So, where did it get the skull.”

“The last demon sent to torture it. The human said ‘Kibbles’ and pointed at the torturer.”

“You know, I think I will just sit here and enjoy the flame for a while.”

(words 246; first published on FB 6/17/2019; published on website 1/26/2020)

Other Cool Blogs: Lucy Blue Writes 10/9/2019

Erin Penn 1 Comment

Photo by Nery Zarate on Unsplash

Hey you, yeah, YOU.

So how is that New Year’s resolution to write more coming?

I know, I know. January is COLD, and you have to recover from the holidays, and everyone is back at work demanding why the things that needed to get done on a schedule are behind like half the workforce hadn’t been off for two weeks of the last six.

You are exhausted, stressed, and miserable – maybe even feeling a real cold coming on.

I get it. Believe me.

So does Lucy Blue. Back in October, she wrote a post Ways to Keep Writing When You Can’t. Look them over and see if you can get back in the saddle on those resolutions. Remember, just because you slipped doesn’t mean you have failed.

Meme created by Erin Penn

WRITING EXERCISE: Comment below what your New Year resolution is for writing and how far you made it before your first slip. What do you plan to do next?

***

(1) Keep the momentum going from NaNoWriMo 2019 – at least an hour in chair every day, doing at least 500 sellable works. (2) Finish and publish two books this year. (3) Keep up on blog and vlog and patreon.

Tax start put a dent on this right from the start – but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to continue to try every day this year. This is my year!

Author Spotlight: Jay Requard

Erin Penn

Amazon Cover

In-your-face, action-packed, down-and-dirty, sword-and-blood fantasy wanted? Got you an author right here: Jay Requard. Yes, he is a fantasy author, but it isn’t the high-elf, long-quest version over green and fantastic landscapes.

My relationship with this author started when I read his Saga of the Panther through the Thief of Destiny omnibus. If you like things in smaller packages, the individual novellas are available as Thief of Shadows, Thief of Secrets, & Thief of Nations. This storyline builds – so stick around to the end.

Initially when I read Shadows, I was “meh, typical sword&sorcery action-adventure light on the sorcery”. Each novella actually is three short stories so it is easy to pick up or put down.

Then I read Secrets, “oooh, political intrigue and layers to the world. Characters all have their own motivations. The good not completely good and the bad not irredeemably bad. Perfect for a thief-hero. Plus all the action-adventure in a African-like setting. This is good.”

Finally I hit Nations. This was beyond good and stepped into amazing. Moments during the reading felt like I was diving into a new hero mythology from the times of legends – The Odyssey and Beowulf.

Now here is the fun part for me. I am working with him on his next series, the Salt Songs, which follows a group of sea marauders from The Curse of Shallow Bay to The Silver Queen. It’s set in the same world as the Saga of the Panther, but you don’t need to read the one to enjoy the other. The action of the two novella series happen in completely different areas on the planet.

The Curse of Shallow Bay will keep you on the edge of your seat – the raiders’ trireme is surrounded by salt water and the crew about to die of dehydration, being inexplicably  anchored in the opens waters of Shallow Bay. The captain and crew fight for survival against creatures and each other, not sure if the cause of the curse is from within or without.

Look for the novellas to come out in late 2020!

Flash: Shit and Blood

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of ForgedCommoditiesUA (on Amazon) – available for special order

The unique odor of shit and blood combined sent another recruit retching. Well, not that unique, Rose sneered. She got to smell it once a moon cycle, which was why women were made for war. She did envy the men their height, strength, and reach advantages. But her weapon and target of choice evened those odds. Her shorter stature let her aim attacks below her shield-mate’s rim. She smiled as her razor-sharp spearhead removed another enemy from the line and the gene pool. Shit and blood. She moved to another target.

(Words 93; first published 1/19/2020)