Trusted by 500+ fans to find the fun in the funereal, the absurd in the macabre, and delight in the darkness. Join fiction author Morgan Delaney three times a week for genre-bending stories of cozy horror, dark fantasy and a brain with mind of its own...
All Birds Must Go!
 You think you’ve seen it all… I’m friends with the stray dogs in our local park. The people working in the park feed the dogs, and I supply the tickles (and additional treats). Then the bloody birds ruined it. What should have been a win-win situation has turned into a catastrophe. The dogs get food – and tickles. The blackbirds get whatever’s left. But the birds wanted more. So they started pecking at the oldest dog, who only has three legs, to hurry him on before he’s finished. They sneak up behind and peck his bum. Wait. It gets worse. They realised I also bring treats, so they started arriving as soon as I showed up. But this week they reached a new low. It was well past breakfast time, and I had stopped to dispense tickles to the deserving on my way home from bringing Nadine to work. The three-legged dog was enjoying the sun. And an ugly blackbird – I’ll admit I’m not impartial – plonked down and started pecking the three-legged guy for no reason! He – or she – stopped when I gave them my honest opinion of their behaviour in a loud voice laced with plenty of, er, French. What’s next? At this stage, I fully expect them to kidnap my pals and turn up disguised as dogs themselves by the end of next month. And if you stop receiving these emails shortly after that, you’ll know they’ve come for me… And that’s birds. Imagine how terrified the people of Hawkinge-by-Hythe must be when a plague of rats descends upon the town in answer to a dead witch’s 400-year-old curse. Or just read about it here! Chat soon, Morgan P.S. More Morgan? Get 2 of my books free here: morgandelaney.info/newsletter |
Dark, Strange and Fantastic Fiction
Trusted by 500+ fans to find the fun in the funereal, the absurd in the macabre, and delight in the darkness. Join fiction author Morgan Delaney three times a week for genre-bending stories of cozy horror, dark fantasy and a brain with mind of its own...
We’re in what used to be East Berlin. Tip: If there are trams, you’re probably in East Berlin. East Berlin had trams. West Berlin ripped them up for being old-fashioned and stupid. They’re regretting it now and want more, but trams still mostly don’t go further west than Hauptbahnhof (Main Station). So if you’re on a tram, you’re probably in old East Berlin. Seeing the most incredible things… Taking the tram yesterday, we passed a big vet (animal doctor, not war hero), and the surgery windows...
George Orwell had blue spots or circles tattooed on each of his knuckles. Probably done while he lived in Burma before becoming a writer. Possibly the tattoos are the reason he became a writer. “Writing can hardly be more painful than getting my knucks tatted,” he thought. “Let’s have at it!” The poor fool. Here’s the thing: What makes tattoos difficult is that you get only one chance to do it right. What makes writing difficult is that you get as many chances as you like. Unless you’re under...
My two favourite things are music and books. But I recently watched mclusky on KEXP and was blown away that some people can play music and sing at the same time. I don’t have the concentration to listen to the music and the lyrics at the same time. When I listen to music, I’m only listening to the music. Of course, I like a lot of growly metal, where the vocals sound like the Cookie Monster trying to eat his way out of a quarry. Good luck with those lyrics, but still. I’ve never been...