Darker Reality Studios

A couple new ideas have infested my frontal lobe, priming the pump for some future stories.

Just for Giggles: Giggles the Birthday Clown is having a bad day. His wife left him for her orthodontist, taking his kids with her and cleaning out the house. He just got fired from his day job after 20 years. Now, after a major storm sacks the east coast, he seems to be getting sick… more sick than he’s ever been in his life. And he’s getting hungry. Giggle’s day is about to get much, much worse…

Mailbox Baseball: Five friends are spending their last summer together before college doing what they love: partying, drinking, having sex, smoking pot, and smashing the mailboxes around town. But then a party in the woods gives them a surprise… one they’ll likely never forget…

Clocking in at 10,300 words, the first complete draft of The Kindness of Strangers is finished.

Next step is to send this puppy out to some of my Beta Readers for recommendations and edits.  With their suggestions, I’ll jump back in and do the official revision.

Once that is done, I’ll be jumping into the studio to record and produce the first of many of these Aural Infestations, which will soon be nesting in your ears.

Looking ahead, this story will eventually become a much larger story… at the end of this first installment there are just too many unanswered questions to leave it open-ended, so stay tuned!

Have you ever wanted to see your name in print? Ever wanted to hear your name in an audio story? Have I got an offer for you! As I’ve mentioned, I’m working on a few stories for my new site, https://darkerrealitystudios.com/. One of the things I’d like to offer is the chance for my friends and fans to get their names in print by naming characters after them, a chance to get in on the ground floor of this new creative endeavor. For this, the character’s would NOT be you, but they could sport your moniker. Anyone who is interested, send me an email at scottepond AT yahoo DOT com. Keep in mind that many of the stories will be adult oriented and may contain sexual, violent, and supernatural situations. For these, the characters fall into three categories:

Major Character – These are the pivotal characters of the story. If they survive the darkness (or if they serve the darkness) there is a very good chance that they may come back for future stories.

Minor Character – These are the typical characters that the major characters interact with. Typically they will have dialogue and/or will be prominently mentioned in a portion of the story. In many cases, these characters become cannon fodder for the minions of darkness, early casualties in mankind’s fight against the inevitable.

Just a Mention – These are characters that are behind the scenes and are typically mentioned in a single or a couple sentences. These characters potentially have the best chance of being elevated to Minor or Major Character status, especially if they have a relationship with the more prominent characters, if they survive the darkness (or if they serve the darkness). Often times, these characters are also just victims of the encroaching darkness, falling beneath the heels of entropy with barely a wimper.

Right now, here’s a brief description of some of the small and large characters that I have in mind… if you think any of them should coincidentally sport your name, let me know:

Character List #001

• Major Character – Assaulted and violated young adult left for dead (female) – Rated explicitly mature
• Minor Character – Yard-Working Old Adult (male) – Rated Mature
• Minor Character – Gossip-Mongering Old Adult (female) – Rated Mature
• Major Character – Strong-Willed seductress with a penchant for sadism (female) – Rated explicitly mature
• Minor Character – Bumbling Security Guard (male) – Rated explicitly mature
• Just a Mention – Security Guard with good taste (female) – Rated explicitly mature
• Minor Character – Stupid College Student #1 (female) – Rated Mature
• Minor Character – Stupid College Student #2 (male) – Rated Mature
• Minor Character – Stupid College Student #3 (male) – Rated Mature
• Minor Character – Stupid College Student #4 (female) – Rated Mature
• Minor Character – Stupid College Student #5 (male) – Rated Mature
• Major Character – Big game huntsman (male) – Rated Mature
• Major Character – Homocide detective (male) – Rated explicitly mature
• Major Character – Traveling business man – Rated explicitly mature
• Major Character – Crime Scene Investigator (female) – Rated explicitly mature
• Major Character – Adult possessed by violent and degrading evil (male) – Rated explicitly mature
• Just a Mention – Graphic Designer / Fiance (male) – Rated explicitly mature
• Just a Mention – College creep #1 (male) – Rated explicitly mature
• Just a Mention – College creep #2 (male) – Rated explicitly mature
• Just a Mention – College creep #3 (male) – Rated explicitly mature
• Just a Mention – Rape Victim (female) – Rated explicitly mature
• Just a Mention – Impressionist artist (male) – Rated explicitly mature

Character List #002

• Major Character – A Birthday Clown who’s feeling a bit under the weather – (Rated Mature)
• Major Character – Birthday Kid at a birthday party (Female) – (Rated Mature)
• Minor Character – Kid #1 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Minor Character – Kid #2 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Minor Character – Kid #3 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Minor Character – Kid #4 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Minor Character – Kid #5 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Minor Character – Kid #6 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #1 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #2 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #3 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #4 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #5 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #6 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #7 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #8 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #9 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Just a Mention – Kid #10 at a birthday party – (Rated Mature)
• Minor Character – Parents of birthday Kid (Male) – (Rated Mature)
• Minor Character – Parents of birthday Kid (Female) – (Rated Mature)
• Major Character – Grandmother of birthday kid #1 (Female) – (Rated Mature)

This excerpt is from a scene deep in one of the stories currently on the processor. Hope you enjoy it!

Without warning, his eyelids began to flicker rapidly with his flaccid grey face twitching in tandem. After a few seconds, just as abruptly as it began, the twitching and flickering fell suddenly still. He slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position, his eyes shuttering open, revealing only the bloodshot whites, burst vessels spiderwebbing across their surface. He twisted his neck around and stretched his back at the same time, both cracking and popping loudly in the quiet cavern, a loud sigh escaping his lips in the process. Placing his hands on his outstretched thighs, he swiveled his head about, the milky whites of his sightless eyes tracking with his surroundings, somehow seeming to be able to see despite the obvious blindness. When their gaze fell across her broken, still form, his head paused in its travel. A blood-stained grin creased his face as a low chuckle escaped his lips.

Since I started thinking about the darker aspects of creativity, it seems as though my mind has been in overdrive. So far, I have a few ideas for some of the initial content for the site (some drawings and photography), plus some written/audio pieces that will really push the limits and delve into some really disturbing stuff.

Here’s some of the details of the currently planned short stories… a little bit of a teaser if you will:

The Kindness of Strangers: A woman gets hired as an accountant at a major firm in the city. On her way out of the interview, she is stopped by a simple question by a stranger, and her very future is put up on the auction block. (NOTE: This one is potentially part of a much larger story, cracking open the door between the real world and an ancient evil).

Punching the Clock: A man attends a business conference with his beautiful new assistant. A successful deal, a few drinks, and an amorous encounter leads him to some hard questions, questions that his life may depend on.

Hunter and Prey: A hunter out in the deep woods tracks a magnificent beast. But who hunts the hunter? Sometimes, that which is hidden is better left undiscovered.