My heart is running a marathon in my chest,
each beat a heavy footstep racing.

Years ago, I embarked on an adventure.
A quest to share the words that drip from my pen
and let others experience the worlds inside my head.

Today marks a monumental moment,
a chance for my fiction to be published in print.
And by the end of the month
the fate of the anthology holding my newest story will be decided.
I already feel its phantom weight in my hands,
can smell the freshly-printed ink.

My tales will finally come to life
and readers will explore my world and those of others
in the realm of Dark Dominions.

​Whatever happens,
I will never forget this day.



-----------------------


Check out the Kickstarter! :D
​
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkdominions/dark-dominions-a-fantasy-anthology

A greeting,
a chance meeting between two people,
giving reason to a turn of luck.
A seemingly random moment
given meaning by strangers.
What neither of them know,
is trillions of new lives could spiral outward
from this moment.
Versions of themselves they never could have imagined
and ones that are so infinitesimally different
that they wouldn't even recognize the discrepancy.
All emerging from a moment,
a conversation and a smile.

Yellow blossoms burst
below towers of steel.
​Reaching for the sun.

Light a match
light the flame
flame brilliant in the night
flame flashing crimson
crimson blush traveling
crimson flames dancing
dancing through wide thoroughfares
dancing over walls and roofs
roofs created to protect
roofs that crumble and bury
bury your enemies
bury the innocents caught beneath
beneath fate's unyielding gaze
beneath the fire you created
created out of matches and tinder
created out of gasoline and revenge
revenge that's flared within your chest
revenge that's gnawed away at your insides
insides that ache for your enemies screams
insides that throb for those in the crossfire
crossfire that's merciless
crossfire that devours all
all flickering towers of flame
all screaming heat and smoke
smoke that chokes your grin
smoke blackening the horizon
horizon that marks a new beginning
horizon where you can't see the sunrise
sunrise reserved for others
sunrise denied to murderers
murderers driven by justice
murderers shrowded in darkness
darkness that reaches into your lungs
darkness that's strangling you now
now the flames reach for you
now embracing their creator
creator that sparked with revenge
creator screams like the rest
rest amidst the gasoline you poured
rest among the dancing flames
flames that devour you
flames that stink of your screams
screams of triumph
screams of regret
regret borne of lighting and listening
regret that eats away at your ashes
ashes that mingle with enemies
ashes that mingle with innocents
enemies
innocents

The view during her fall was breathtaking.
Wind pulled her eyelids open wide with eager fingers.
"See this world of mine?"
Its shouts vibrated her skin.
"I've carved the mountains,
hardened the trees.
It is mine. Not yours to conquer."
The greens and browns deepened,
showing they were innumerable shades and textures,
far more complex then from outside the atmosphere.
It would take her years to explore!
But when she reached to activate her parachute,
the wind ripped it away,
let out a cackle as the cord snapped.
She took a deep breath
and held in her curses,
​saving them for later.
This was going to hurt...

Call them stone, if that
makes you feel safer. You know
they're still watchibg you.

I'm really surprised you didn't get the hint
the first two dozen times you tried.
Little love notes slipped into texts I deleted,
voicemail messages to which I gave no reply.

You're persistent, I'll give you that.
But a thick-head and a blind eye
won't let you bulldozer through our little 'spat'.

When someone says no, they mean it.
That rule applies to me too, not just strangers.

Our shared blood isn't thick enough
to wash away the fruit of your anger,
or heal with a snap of a finger
a childhood of fear
I disguised as acquiescence.
​
When I said I'd heal on my own, I meant it.
That maybe one day I'd show you.
But I'm not that far down the road yet.
Just like me, you'll have to wait your turn
to see what I become next.
Who I decide
I'm meant to be.

Editing is a bloody business.
Going over every sentence
and carving out the extra.
Trimming the fat, leaving
trails of red behind.
We know it's ink.
But it feels
more like
​blood.

If you're ever driving down the road at night
with clouds up above and the lake to your right,
don't take a moment and stop to marvel,
​no matter how brightly it sparkles.
Because below the surface of that glassy face
lay creatures silently waiting to replace
a clueless human such as yourself
with one of them. Those tricky elves!
If they succeed, no one will know that you
​are in the Unseelie court making your debut,
while a changeling begins their masquerade.
Their won't notice the others, as they're dragged off to the glade
or how the children mumble louder now in their beds.
The takeover will be subtle, and all of you will be dead.

Oh, did I say you?
Why silly me, I've mispoken so.
If you'll excuse me
I must return to my burrow-
umm, my home now.
But remember, be careful
​for you do not know what may be lurking
along those curving roads.

I wish you could open a window to my mind
and see exactly what I'm trying to say.
Because the words that spill out always end up misaligned.
I wish you could open a window to my mind.
It would help to know my meaning resonates.
I wish you could open a window to my mind
and see exactly what I'm trying to say.