Plus, a few more goodies in today's newsletter Things are starting to get a little tense for streaming vampire Jade Mourning. His friend with benefits, Daphne, who he is discovering is much more than that from an emotional standpoint, is visiting him at his mansion in Buckhead after
The Exterminator Did you miss a chapter? Here are links to the others: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 The story so far: Streaming vampire Jade Mourning is trying to settle down his followers after several brutal killings in Atlanta. Among the murders: popular streamer Ice
Fiction
When an American presidential candidate says he wants to "root out vermin," believe him. Dystopian fiction for a dystopian world.
Snafu resolved, feel free to comment When I switched my newsletter platform to Ghost from Substack, I forgot to turn on comments. Well, they were on, but only for paid subscribers. That is fixed. Good thing, too, if I have any GenZ readers. Because according to BusinessInsider, GenZ often readers
Can one phone alert change the world? Greetings! I originally wrote the following short story for The Kraken Lore on Medium. I am including it in its entirety for free here. It explores the question of just how far we'll go with our phone addiction. Would we commit
Let’s call teaching racism to your kids what it is: child abuse Hey folks, been a busy couple weeks editing Restive Souls. Big changes there. Here's something I wrote on Medium the other day: I’m blessed to be living in the world capital, Atlanta, of an
Batten down the hatches because they’re coming for you next Greetings again from my lair at Ruminato. One of the better publications on Medium is MuddyUm, a humor publication. My most recent story there ponders the frightening war against humans by orcas, also known as killer whales. Consider yourself
Fiction, Essays, and Ruminations by Charles Bastille
An American president’s job is to solve crises. Not create them. Trump’s four years were dominated by crisis. Most of it was his own making. Why have people forgotten this? Nearly half the American electorate seems to favor re-electing a career criminal and drama queen whose desire for
The other day I sent out my first newsletter aimed exclusively at paid subscribers. I've been told my writing is worth paying for, and, besides, my cat food dinners are losing their charm, so I am giving it a try. My journey as an author is a bit
This is the first "Continue?" story for paid subscribers. I'm currently leaning toward turning it into part of The MagicLand Chronicles, but so far, that is not its role in life. An astute reader who is familiar with MagicLand and the MagicLand Chronicles may be able
Watch new worlds come alive here every day
Lake Michigan When I stepped out of the rideshare, I noticed something peculiar about the estate. Nobody was milling about. To give you an idea of how weird that was, think about an empty backstage area immediately after a rock concert performance. Or a Taylor Swift concert where no Swifties
Daphne's World You might have wondered why, as you hear my tale, Daphne never commented on my biology. My incisors, for example, or my bluish hue. The incisor explanation was always an easy one. I told her, like I tell everyone, that I’m just a biological freak
May I suggest to you, Dark Brandon, a state dinner for the Israeli Prime Minister, followed by delivery on a C-32 military transport to The Hague?
It's moving day here at Ruminato once again. This is the second time in just the last month or so (give or take). This time, the move is from Substack to a newsletter platform known as Ghost. This shouldn't affect you, unless you are in the
Trigger warnings: raw language, violence Chapter Three — Police Procedural I had dismissed Moreland’s concerns out of hand but that didn’t change the likelihood that things could get messy. The internet noise from my violin act was growing almost in direct proportion to the social media trendlines of the
Chapter One can be found here. Trigger warnings: grief and raw language Chapter Two — Rude Awakening I was thinking of Charly’s slovenly ways as I drifted off to sleep. The night’s previous hunt with Charly had been enjoyable until the end when he again got a little sloppy.
Read the first chapter of my novel, Psalm of Vampires, FREE for all subscribers
An excerpt from the novel Restive Souls, an alternative history novel about a great African nation rising on North America's East Coast