Excerpts and Extras

Farewell wanderlust, you’ve been oh so kind You brought me to this party, but you left me here behind And so long to the person you begged me to be She’s down, she’s dead Instead, what is left but this old satin dress and the mess that you left when you told me I wasn’t […]

Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscrib’d In one self place; but where we are is hell, And where hell is, there must we ever be. – Christopher Marlowe, “Doctor Faustus” Act ii, Scene i 1: INSOLENCE OF OFFICE The townhouse in the Upper East Side had an air about it, the sort which hinted

Men at some time are masters of their fates:The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,But in ourselves, that we are underlings. – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 1 scene ii The cemetery of Avonditch was shrouded in mist as the long and limping figure of Henry Báthory made its way up towards a

“When beggars die, there are no comets seen,The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.” – William Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar”, Act 2, scene ii CHAPTER 1 The moon hung bright and low in the starless sky as my eyes blinked open against it. Theground under me was unforgiving, unrelenting, as stones and other assembled

The reason no man knows; let it sufficeWhat we behold is censured by our eyes.Where both deliberate, the love is slight:Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight? – Christopher Marlowe 1: Startled Cries 1,800 BCE, KNOSSOS The sun hadn’t quite set over the horizon as Ariadne Konosotis watched from the balcony as a

The novella Out of the Grave was the first quarter of a planned longer story. I lost passion partway through drafting the entire thing and published what I had written. The playlist is for the entire novel. Main Theme: Centuries by Fall Out Boy Closing Credits: Demolition Lovers by My Chemical Romance Ariadne’s Theme: Throne

The playlist for Precious Vile Things is tamer than a lot of the other ones, I think. Theme Song: Silent Melody by Working for a Nuclear Free City Closing Credits: Seven Nation Army by SKÁLD Arsonist’s Lullabye by Hozier Beat the Devil’s Tattoo by Black Rebel Motorcyle Club Highway to Hell by AC/DC Ignorance by

The playlist for These Kind of Knaves is crazy. But I like it. Theme Song: Reincarnate by Motionless In White Closing Credits: Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons Homecoming King by Andy Black Bullet With Butterfly Wings by Them Smashing Pumpkins Radioactive by Our Last Night Brick by Brick by Paramore A Line In The

The “official” playlist for Valerian Bone, previously called This Way Madness Lies. Theme Song: Saudade by Cody Matthew Johnson featuring Shin Closing Credits: Mad World by Jennnifer Ann Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons Gotta Let Go by Hollywood Undead Empty Walls by Serj Tankian Locust by Machine Head Half God Half Devil by In