THE GRIMALKIN'S BLOG

Hey there! Welcome to my blog. Let's chat about the books you love, my stuff, or any of your works or WIPs

MY CURRENT PROJECTS

I am pleased to announce that my book, Evil Grain, has recently undergone several significant enhancements. After setting it aside to focus on other stories, I have now revitalized it. One of the most notable updates is the redesign of the cover. The original, digitally created by an artist years ago, never fully captured my vision, lacking the depth, intrigue, and imagery that the story deserved. The new cover successfully embodies the characters I created and the essence of the narrative I intended.

A NEW BEGINNING

I recently republished the Second Edition of my short story collection, All Things Truly Wicked. The stories, the introduction, and back cover synopsis have all been invigorated. I've also added some captivating Gothic poetry as well. This exciting updated edition is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and Kindle. I would be incredibly grateful for any reviews if you allow yourself to dive into this fresh version.

Hey, I also want to share my latest creation with you—it's called Night Sin. It's a fictional story packed with hoodoo magic, revenge, terror, and the fine line between life and death, all set against the backdrop of dark voodoo culture in Trinidad and Louisiana. I've got an agent now, and I'm hoping a publisher will jump on board soon. I've come up with a few cover ideas myself and would love any feedback you might have!

New Story

Once again, my friend the Grimalkin is collaborating with me to create a narrative inspired by two vintage paintings I discovered online. Below is an excerpt from this story, which will be featured in an upcoming short story collection entitled "Oddities, Heirlooms and Abominations." Please note that this story is still evolving, so it may differ from previous versions you have read.

                                          THE CONGREGATION OF BASTET

The cities did not fall in a single night. First the alleys. Then the basements. Then the homes. By the third week, almost every state of the union had been under siege-- Pennsylvania being one of them. Cats poured out from storm drains, broken cellar windows, from the dark mouths of condemned row houses and from the bell towers of churches that had not rung in years. They moved with purpose. Not with hunger but with diabolical intent.

People said rabies. Others believed toxoplasmosis--or maybe some new internal parasite moving from feral colonies and into housecats. The news cycled through explanations the way a dying man cycles through prayers. None of them able to account for the the cats' behavior or why they began to congregate in large, organized clowders. The Harrisburg city health department called veterinarian Dr. Paris Azorg on the fifth day.

Dr. Cleo Vess, director of Animal Control, had read Paris’s old paper on coordinated behavior in certain animal clusters. “You’re the only one I can depend on,” Vess said. “Even the CDC will not touch the dead ones with a ten-foot pole in fear of spreading whatever this contamination is. The World Health Organization can only tell me what it isn’t instead of what it is! Please. I need someone like you who can examine the carcasses with care and without bias. Tell me if we are in the midst of a deadly biological pandemic.”

Paris took the assignment. She had been a veterinarian long enough to recognize panic in an animal’s body. But the corpses showed no signs of disease. Pupils normal. Coats sleek. No fever. No mange. No parasites. The live ones were coordinated, stealthy and silent except when they chose not to be. Their hisses arrived as low, layered vibrations and infrasound that made the fillings in her teeth ache. She heard about unusual activity in the nave of St. Lawrence. She went there. The sanctuary smelled of wet fur, old incense gone sour, and coppery metal. Black cats occupied every surface. . .

In conclusion, this remains a work in progress and is advancing successfully.

The two paintings serving as inspiration for this story are markedly different in style and mood, which is why they complement each other effectively as visual stimuli for this narrative. You can see why they motivated me to write this tale.

The first painting (rooftop cats at dusk/moonlight) is a 19th-century oil painting in the romantic/realist tradition. It depicts several cats on tiled rooftops and a chimney under a glowing moon, with a distant city skyline of towers and buildings. The lighting is warm and golden on the left, cooler and more mysterious on the right. The cats exhibit distinct personalities—one perched calmly, others hissing or interacting. It evokes the classic “cats ruling the night city” ambiance, reminiscent of artists who specialized in feline scenes (similar to the detailed, almost narrative cat paintings popular in the late 1800s). The atmosphere appears peaceful on the surface but conveys a subtle sense of the animals dominating the city after dark.

The second painting (interior with many glowing-eyed black cats) possesses a more ominous, almost fairy-tale horror quality. It portrays a dimly lit room with wooden floors, a fireplace or hearth glowing reddish-orange, and dozens of black cats with bright, staring eyes filling the space. The lighting is warm yet theatrical, causing the eyes to stand out unnaturally. It resembles a scene from an illustrated storybook or a mid-20th-century fantasy painting rather than a traditional oil.

The sheer number of cats and their collective gaze creates an immediate sense of being surrounded and observed. Together, these paintings provide two complementary moods: the first depicts cats as nocturnal rulers of the city’s rooftops (the “summoned army” gathering), while the second shows them invading interior spaces (homes, churches, places presumed safe). This contrast is ideal for an urban-gothic tale where the invasion is both picturesque and terrifying.

Ideas are everywhere, just waiting to be discovered. I find inspiration for my stories in quotes, snippets of overheard conversations, dreams, daydreams, even while staring at walls or gazing at a picture or artwork. Ideas are all around us! So, what sparks your passion for crafting tales of terror? Where have your most bizarre and spine-chilling ideas come from? Share them with me, I'm eager to hear! Have a blast and keep on writing, drawing, or doing whatever it is you love!