TGREAPER 2008

It was going to be so easy. John spotted the carving knife soon as he entered Angel Trapp Diner. The clothes he had stolen were too small, but nobody in town seemed to notice. News of his recent prison break hadn't reached the tiny town yet, and John wanted to be long gone before the news did arrive.

The man behind the counter looked up from the cutting board he was cleaning and smiled.

"Sorry about the wait. My help called in so I'm a one man show tonight."

"That's fine, John replied, sitting at the counter. The man cleaned his hands and dried them off on some paper towel. He tossed it away as he walked over to John.

"What can I do you for son?" He asked.

"Turkey on whole wheat, light on the mayo."

"Coming right up. Name's Hank."

"John. Pleasure."

Hank pulled a container of lunch meat from the fridge and shaved a few slices. Then he went about spreading a knife full of mayo on two slices of wheat bread. He held up a slice of Swiss cheese and John nodded his approval. He put it all together and used the carving knife to slice it corner to corner. He laid the sandwich on the plate and added a pickle. John was practically drooling as Hank handed him the plate.

"Coffee?" Hank asked.

"Oh, yeah," John replied.

"Right back." Soon as Hank disappeared into the back room John grabbed the carving knife and shoved it into his inside jacket pocket. It was stiff and protruded slightly, so John had to hold his arm over it to hide the blade. Hank came back through holding a smoking pot.

"Here ya go." He poured the coffee and put the pot on the counter. He watched in silence as John finished off his sandwich and chased it with the hottest coffee he had ever tasted.

"What do I owe you?" John asked. He had no intention of paying, but he didn't want to raise suspicion.

"John, we both know you're not going to pay me for your dinner." Hank smiled. His words startled John, who jumped off the stool and pulled the knife.

"Hank, you're a good guy. I don't want to hurt you."

"Well, that makes two of us," Hank chuckled.

"Fill up a bag with cash from the register. Don't make me hurt you."

"No. That's not going to happen," Hank said. John took a step towards him then stopped, grabbing his chest.

"I was wondering when that was going to happen." Hank watched John fight to stay on his feet.

"What did you do to me?" John croaked. Blood spit from his mouth as he spoke.

"Bad coffee. Does things to your insides. You should research it," Hank said, then added: "Well, guess that doesn't matter now."

"You Fuck-" Blood and smoke spewed from John's mouth, spraying the floor. John's legs gave up and he collapsed.

"I know who you are and what you have done," Hank said, watching John twitch as his life slowly leaked on the floor. "I couldn't let you hurt anyone in my town."

As if on cue, the diners doors swung open, and the room filled with townspeople. Hank held up his hands, keeping the them quiet.

"Okay, his insides are pretty well smoked, in case anyone wants dark meat. Also, he's lost a lot of blood, but if I can get someone to help me drag him into the back before he dies, I'll still try to make my famous stew."

Two men approached John, each grabbing a leg and dragging him into the back. Hank smiled.

"Okay folks, have a seat. Dinner is served!"

While I have your attention please let me tell you about another group of authors that I have the honor of writing with. The Lost word writers group. We have a book out titled WITHIN THESE WALLS, which is full of thoughts, short stories and poetry that is guaranteed to lift anyones spirits. I know you have just purchased Sinister Landscapes, but I ask you to please, consider picking up a copy of Within these walls. These guys deserve to be on that list as well, and, like me, they would be forever grateful.

Thanks for your precious time, and your friendships

Sweet Nightmares!

Thom

TGreaper

http://www.amazon.com/Within-These-Walls-Creative-Community/dp/059537266X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218803064&sr=1-5

Jarretta Mulks was married to a dear friend of mine and coworker. She got a taste of my work through him, and that was all it took. She bought all my books, and any magazines that carried my work. I printed and signed everything that was published online and sent it home with her husband David. He even brought in the books with a camera and took pictures of me signing them for her.

I met her at one of my booksignings and we had our picture taken together. I will be using it as my profile pic for a while in honor of her memory. She was always wanting to know when the next book-story-article was going to be published so she could read it. As a gift of friendship, I wrote a story using her and David as the main characters. Unfortunately, she will never see the book, which is due out next year. My heart goes out to David, who now has to go home to an empty house, with nothing but memories to carry him on. These are the times I really hate my pen name. I love to entertain and scare people, but I hate representing that emptyness that comes with a loss.

People please, PLEASE, live each minute like its your last. love everyone...EVERYONE..don't let stupid petty things get in the way of your friendships. You never know when it will all be taken away from you. David, my heart goes out to you brother, anything you need, never hesitate. We lost our greatest fan.

TGReaper

Review by T.G.Reaper

Visually stunning. an amazing and sometimes terrifying look into the future of mankind.

The Archer is sent to settle a potential home for the human race. What they discover is a planet that is still in it's youth. It has all the elements, but it is still in it's violent infancy. The captain named it Sirat, in spite of Earth religions. A meteor shower forces them to land, and what follows is an epic adventure filled with action, love, pain, and betrayal. The crew has to fight disasters, diseases, and death. After several generations of fighting, they create a new Sirat, only to have life threatened by another starship from Earth.

Tamara Wilhite has taken science fiction to a new level. She is an author to be on the look out for. I give this book five out of five bones.

Churchyards, cemeteries, manors, and foggy streets are breeding grounds for specters of all walks. Ghosts, goblins, witches, and demons lurk in these dangerous places, stalking from the darkest corners. Mysterious noises, rattling chains, strange occurrences, and eerie shadows. These are just some of the spine-tingling oddities we encounter when we dare tread upon forbidden soil. Brace yourself readers. Sinister Landscapes takes you back to the roots of horror through eighteen gothic tales told by a new crop of authors that go straight for the throat. Featuring the genre's newest and finest voices with a foreword by award-winning and bestselling author Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc, including:

Thad Linson
Sarah Wilson Basore
Eric Enck
Jessica Lynne Gardner
Ryan B. Clark
Brandon Ford
Jeani Rector
David Boyle
Gordon Anthony Bean
Bret Jordan
Alan Draven
Stéphanie J
T. G. Reaper
R. Vance
Jeff Ezell
Charlotte Emma Gledson
Charlie Glover
Frank E. Bittinger

Greetings my friends! Just a small update on the stuff I am up to. I miss all of you and I wish I could post more than I do. Anyways, before I get totally off topic:

EMPTY GRAVES is going on kindle! The reaper's stuff is meeting the newest technology!

BIG FOOT RISING (tenative title) Is nearly finished, actually, it should be finished today! That would be my birthday present to myself!!

PORTRAIT SKETCHES: For those of you I have sketched, I will be mailing those out in the near future, I will also be doing some more, so stay tuned if you would like a sketch.

BOOK REVIEWS: Knee deep into them right now. Reading Sirat, and I will say this..so far so great!! Looking forward to reading the next ones on the list as well!!

See? Not that big a list this time. Didnt even put you to sleep! Have a great sunday everyone!!!

yours, in your sweetest nightmares

Tgreaper

Let me start by asking you: Do you want to be a writer? Seriously, do you want to be a writer?

I have a news flash for you: You already are. You are a full time writer.

According to the world, you may not be. But if you wait for the world's permission, it will never happen. The world would never give you permission to shine, so you shine

Anyway.

If you say you are a writer, then you are. It dosen't matter if you never get published. If all you do is write and think about writing and have the words running through your veins like fresh blood waiting to be spattered onto paper or a computer screen, you are a writer.

But, you must understand something: It may or may not happen overnight. The thing is, you do it anyway. That's the key. A lot of people don't like to hear that. They say "I only want to do it if I can make a lot of money." The money is there, its on the other side of hard work and dedication. You have to write to be a writer. Every day. Every moment. If it's not going into paper, it's running through your mind like a demon in search of souls. You have to focus on the craft of writing and not on the eventual paychecks and book signings.

Do you think you have to sacrifice? Let me tell you something: To sacrifice is to give up something you love. If you want to be a writer, a published author, screen writer, etc, there is no sacrifice. That is where you want to be anyway. You want to be a writer, just write. Save the sacrifices for special occasions.

I've been to several writer conferences over the years, and one thing I hear a lot of is this: You will never see success as a writer. There are too many already, you would never be able to compete with these masters. This is what I say to them: Shut up! It can and with a lot of work will happen! You will meet other writers, network and learn from them. It will pay off for you, if you give it a chance. Even if you end up never being on a best sellers list, you are still creating a life worth living.

You're a writer. Start acting like one. Imagine a great life, and make it your own.