Tuesday, December 22, 2015

A Trip Around Hell - part 1
 
 
Welcome to the Den of Iniquity - Juxtapose level of hell - the place from which Daemon Grim, his Hell Hounds and Inquisitors operate.
 
A good place to start our trip around the underworld would be with the Reaper himself.
These are various shots of what his own private apartment would probably look like:
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 The Study
 
The Drawing/Dining Room
 
The Office
 
And yes - he does play
 
 
Bedroom
 
As you can see, Grim enjoys a lavish, if somewhat baroque preference and fills his home with the very best in gothic chic. You could say...dark tastes for darker deeds.
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Stay tuned. Next time we'll take a glimpse around the other parts of Juxtapose itself. Then you'll begin to appreciate why things are so naturally macabre here.

 
 
 
 

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

The Enemy
 
In Hell Bound, Grim and company pit their skills against a resilient trio of antagonists.
Here they are:
 
Frédéric Chopin

Upon his arrival in hell, the Undertaker ensured to compound Chopin’s earthly maladies, and in particular, the debilitating symptoms produced by Chopin’s temporal lobe epilepsy. However, those manipulations engendered an unforeseen and startling side effect. They triggered in Chopin the ability to receive glimpses of the future, and visions of events and locations that Satan had spent millennia concealing. Resolute in his belief that he was unjustly sentenced to eternity in hell, Chopin seeks to use his skills to breach heaven's gate to be reunited with his long lost love - Amantine Dupin.
 
Nikola Tesla
Mankind remembers Tesla as an unassuming and mild-mannered philanthropist. But in death, he has turned his talents to amassing the fame and fortune denied him in life. And here in the underworld, there are no shortage of bidders for his work. In fact, one of his inventions – a multi-phasic portal generator that can access any level of the underverse – has proved a huge hit amongst hell’s revolutionary element, as it not only moves troops en-masse, but appears capable of circumventing any infernal security measure it encounters in the process. Not the kind of thing the Reaper can allow to exist.
 
Dr. Thomas Neill Cream - aka The Lambeth Poisoner
A narcissistic sycophant who loved to poison his victims and watch them die. (And onetime Jack the Ripper suspect). Cream thought Hell would welcome him with open arms. It did, but Cream couldn't handle the fact that in the underworld, he wasn't a particularly outstanding killer. Unable to suffer the ignominy of being a small fish in a much larger pond, he sets out to increase his notoriety by challenging Satan himself. The consequences? Bloody mayhem!
 
See for yourselves in:
 
 
 
 
 
The Inquisitors
 
You've heard of the Reaper's special interrogators.
Here they are:
 

Strawberry Fields - aka Red Riding Hood - codename: Red Cap
 

Baron Ferenc Nasady - aka The Blood Baron
 

Elizabeth Bathory - aka The Blood Countess
 

Myra Belle Star - aka Black Velvet
 
 

Leonard Skeffington - aka Bonecrusher -
former Lord Lieutenant of the Tower of London.
 
 
Together, they form a very special team of interrogators working out of Grim's headquarters - at the White Tower - otherwise known as, The Den of Iniquity. 

 

The Hell Hounds
 
You've heard of them - here's a little peek at what they look like.
 

Nimrod
Former king of Shinar - A mighty hunter in opposition to God.
Lead Hound.
 
 
 
Yamato Takeru
Formerly Prince Osu - a legendary 1st century Japanese ninja assassin

 
 
Champ Ferguson
A notorious guerrilla fighter and butcher from the American Civil War
 
Together - they form the Hell Hounds, Satan's bounty hunters and all-round bad news for those on the receiving end of injustice.
 
 
For more information - go to the Facebook page at:

Interview with the Grim Reaper
 

 

Name: My name is Daemon Grim

Age at death: I have no idea. I only know I look about thirty-five years old.

Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m the Reaper. And yes, before you ask, I’m that Reaper, Satan’s bounty hunter. As the title implies, I hunt down and silence anyone who is – or is likely to become – a threat to infernal security, or an embarrassment to Satan’s infernal or demonestic policies.

How do you think you ended up in Hell? What sins have you committed?
Who I was before I came to Hell, or what I did, I haven’t got a clue. There’s a hole in my mind that prevents the retention of any memories from the time before. My first recollections of unlife are of waking up before a roaring log fire, in the presence of His Satanic Majesty himself, and being welcomed home like a long lost son. It was He who invited me into his inner circle, and appointed me to what was to become my true vocation. I haven’t looked back since.

Describe your appearance in 10 words or less.
Your worst nightmare, attired in kick-ass, gothic ensemble.

Where do you live in Hell? Tell us about your residence and area.
My suite is situated at the top of Black Tower, in what humans would call, the Tower of London, smack-bang in the middle of Olde London Town itself. For those who don’t know, that’s in the Juxtapose level of Hell. I’ve lived there since I can remember. My Hell Hounds, (fellow bounty hunters) and the Inquisitors, (Satan’s Special Interrogators), have their own apartments there as well, so we can be close to our base of operations.

The entire complex and grounds is known throughout the many layers of the Underworld as the Den of Iniquity, but my team and I just refer to it as The Den.

Juxtapose is a great place to live, as its environs constantly blend into other epochs and levels of Hell. You can be walking along a busy, traffic-clogged street one minute, and find yourself having to jump out of the way of a horse-drawn carriage as it clatters along cobbled Victorian roads the next. It’s confusing when you first arrive, but once you get used to it, well…I wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else.

Do you have a moral code?
Yes, I have a moral code, I never lie. I know that might sound weird, coming from a denizen of Hell, but I’m keenly aware of how my role reflects on Satan’s integrity. So, I always ensure to act in a way that can never be criticized. And when it comes down to it, I’ve found displaying such a trait really strikes fear into the hearts of my prey. Once I’ve been set on you, there’s no escape. I can’t be bribed, fooled, or conned. I don’t feel sorrow or remorse. If you appear on my list, you’re dead. You might as well turn yourself in at the Undertakers and save yourself a lot of bother. Annoy me and make me work for it – and I’ll let my Inquisitors cut you up and feed the choicest parts back, bit by juicy bit, before they let you pass on.

Do you get any time for enjoyment, apart from your job that is?
Sure. I think it’s important to get away from relentless blood-letting now and again. It keeps my mind sharp. So, I like to sex things up with those few who have the stamina and fortitude to stay alive at my touch, and I listen to music a lot. Because of my antiquity, I have tastes that range from classical to modern. My preferred classical pieces are Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse Macabre and The Isle of the Dead by Rachmaminov. But I also listen to Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Evanescence, Nightwish and Clan of Xymox.

Any particular favorites?
It depends on my mood. Although I’m always in the mood for Mojca Zugna and Floor Jansen. Or were you asking about the music?

Do you have any phobias? Are you plagued by anything particular in Hell?
Other than the dread of not being able to track down and capture a fugitive from injustice, I don’t have any phobias. But I must admit, when I’ve been away from the Bâlefire for too long, I get plagued by the strangest dreams of falling stars, burning skies, and gaping pits of dense darkness from which nothing can escape. If only I could understand what they all mean, I think I’d be that bit closer to understanding my origins.

What do you think Satan’s most creative punishment is here?
Ha! Without a doubt, the twisted idea of giving the masses what they crave, so long as it’s perverted in some way. For example, there’s nothing quite like witnessing the suffering of some poor fool who happens to be the world’s most accomplished pianist, only to watch him literally crash and burn before an audience. And there’s so many ways to torment them! I’ve watched several souls begin to play, only to forget how to read music midway through their recital. In other cases, their finger bones might break during the chorus, or they’ll be driven mad by the notes they hear. I’ve even heard of one idiot who was determined to create a new opus magnum, despite the fact Satan had blighted their hearing, and cursed them with a form of tonal dyslexia. It was hilarious listening to the beginning of an absolute masterpiece, only to watch the performance disintegrate into utter farce by the close of the first movement, because what they’d written ended up sounding like total gibberish.

Brilliant!

You can probably appreciate why I love it here so much.

Who are your friends here?
Because of the sheer volume of souls I’m sent to reap, I keep my circle of friends small, and limit them to just the Hell Hounds and the Inquisitors.
For those who don’t know them, the Hell Hounds are as follows:


Nimrod, King of Shinar, and my lead Hound. A mighty hunter in opposition to God. Then there’s Yamato Takeru, otherwise known as Prince Ōsu. Yamato is a legendary ninja killer from first century Japan, who brutally murdered everyone who ever stood in his way. My final hunter is a guy called Champ Ferguson, a notorious Confederate guerilla fighter and butcher from the American Civil War.

Then we come to the Inquisitors.
First of all, I have to mention the person who keeps me sane. Strawberry Fields, aka Red Riding Hood. She’s a siren of death who will happily eat your liver as she showers you with kisses.

Then there’s Leonard Skeffington, a previous Lieutenant of the Tower of London itself. We affectionately refer to him by the pseudonym, Crusher, as he invented several remarkable torture devices in life that we still use today.
Baron Ferenc Nádasdy, a sixteenth century Hungarian nobleman, and his wife, Elizabeth Báthory come next. While relationships are usually frowned upon in the Underworld, His Satanic Majesty has made an exception for these two.

Ferenc goes by the codename, Red Baron, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the foes he has vanquished in battle. For a denizen of Hell, he’s an honorable man, who prefers to give prisoners a chance to spill the beans before he spills their guts. History refers to his wife as, ‘the Blood Countess’, but we know her as, Nutcracker Sweet, because of her fetish for crushing certain parts of male prisoners anatomy.
Finally, there’s Myra Belle Star, aka, Black Velvet. An infamous outlaw from the end of the nineteenth century, Myra is a crack shot, who has adapted to the position of Inquisitor rather well.

Who are your enemies?
Everyone who has ever been condemned to Hell, for I’ve reaped their souls a thousand times, and will continue to do so until creation falls. 
 
You mentioned relationships are frowned upon? Does that make life difficult?
Not really. I am one of the few denizens who is allowed the freedom of expressing my desires in any way I wish. Of course, my Dark Father has seen fit to capitalize on this golden opportunity in a typically sadistic way. Remember, anyone I touch – skin to skin – dies instantly. A bit of a bummer during those intimate moments, unless that person also happens to have special dispensation.
Ah, you’ve gotta love His sense of humor...(Bastard!)


What do you think about your author?
I’ve followed his life closely ever since he faced-down a poltergeist in one of the homes he’d grown up in. (One of ours, in fact, a Dread-Lock). Despite the fact he was only three, he would not back down and kept testing the wraith to see what it would or wouldn’t do. Even the nightmares we triggered backfired. In the end, the sneaky bugger seemed able to recognize he was sleeping and gained control over his dreams. We saw potential, and steered him along a certain lifecourse after that. Talk about fruitful...especially his military life. But that’s another story. (You get a clue from his team nickname – Red)...and it has nothing to do with the color of his hair)

Please give us an interesting and unusual fact about yourself.
Despite the fact I’m out and out evil, I have to recharge my essence on a regular basis in one of the most powerful satanic power sources in existence, the Bâlefire. Without its arcane puissance, I would lose my augmented strength and become like anyone else. Weak and pathetic.
Apart from that? I’m really light on my feet, and just so happen to be a pretty good dancer. I’d be fantastic, if I could just get a partner who managed to stay alive long enough. (Where’s Amy Lee when you need her?)


Oh, and I’ve also been told I’ve got “Come-to-bed” eyes. So long as that means your deathbed, fine.

Which books do you appear in?
I was introduced in a short story...Grim, in the “Doctors in Hell” anthology from Janet Morris’ Heroes in Hell universe.

I had to keep it tame there. Now I’ve been granted my own adventure, expect things to get brutal, bloody and downright wicked.

 

This is the link to Hell Bound:

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Hell Bound


#1 Bestseller

In hell, none of the condemned believes they deserve to be there. And that’s fine, so long as they’re not foolish enough to try and do anything about it. For those that do, there’s always Satan’s Reaper–and chief bounty hunter–Daemon Grim.
Feared throughout the many layers of the underverse, no one in their right mind dares to cross him.
However, when Grim discovers that someone has attempted to evade injustice, and seems hell-bent on gaining access to ancient angelic artifacts proscribed since the time of the original rebellion in heaven, circumstances point to the fact they may be doing just that.
The question is...why?
Thus begins an investigation that leads Grim throughout the many contradictory and baffling levels of the underworld, where he unearths a conspiracy that is not only eating its way like a cancer through the highest echelons of Hellion society, but one which threatens the very stability of Satan’s rule.
As you can imagine, Grim’s response is bloody, brutal, and despicably wicked.

Hell Bound – In hell, everyone can hear you scream...
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If this sounds like your cup of deathly nightshade
Press the buy link - here.
http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Bound-Heroes-Andrew-Weston-ebook/dp/B015G2AI0I/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450031524&sr=8-1&keywords=hell+bound
Doctors in Hell


Myth and legend. Historical fantasy. Literature. Horror. Demonology and Satanism. Urban fantasy. Damned souls wail as plagues wreak havoc, doctors up their fees, snake-oil salesmen make a killing, and Satan turns his hit-man loose. Be there when Erra, the Babylonian plague god, and his seven personified weapons, spread terror throughout the underverse! 

Victor Frankenstein and Quasimodo develop a vaccine -- with diabolical results... 

Satan looses Daemon Grim, the Devil's personal hit man, and damned souls cower... 

Bat Masterson finds himself caught between plague victims and Wyatt Earp... 

Judas learns you can't teach an old dog new sins... 

Calamity Jane and her Sinchester carbine defend hell's last uninfected outpost... 

Nietzsche and Lilith, Adam's first wife, face the Beast and come to fiendish accord... 

Doc Holliday tries one last gambit, and unleashes all hell's fury... 

And there's worse to come, even an excerpt from bestselling author Andrew P. Weston's forthcoming Heroes in Hell novel! If you think life is tough, try the afterlife, where the doctor is always wrong, sinners never win, misery runs amok, and all hell's damned get their just deserts -- eternally.

http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Hell-Heroes-Janet-Morris-ebook/dp/B00Z753EX8/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450031161&sr=8-1&keywords=Doctors+in+Hell