Something to TICKLE your Fancy.

Step into the darkness of Africa with me…Don’t be afraid…after all, it is just my imagination.images (67)

Or is it?

 

 

 

Blood Moon over Africa…Breaking News…NOW IN AFRIKAANS IN E-BOOK FORMAT.

TBT BMOA Release clip

A growl shatters the stillness around them, and into the moonlight walks a creature that only nightmares are made off, Veronica stiffens as she sees what has invaded the yard, she feels Pastor Steve jerk next to her, and from Peggy comes a gasp of utter disbelief, that carries across the space between them and the creature, Philip buries his head in his hands at the sight of it.

 

Standing in the moon light, looking directly at the chicken houses, seeming to look right at them is a man, a man with the head of a hyena, it growls low in its throat, and slowly starts to make its way across the yard towards the chicken houses, its eyes glowing and it snarls, exposing wicked fangs.  The breeze picks up, and the creature halts, lifts its head to the night air, looks again in the direction of the chicken houses, turns in the direction of the mule, and shatters the night with a howl, before making off into the bush in the direction of the terror stricken cry that fills the night.

Blood Spoor in the Dark

TBT BSitD Release clip

The figure starts to claw at Lam’s face like a leopard, but rather than claws raking the body, Piet catches the glint of steel claws in the moonlight.  The killer had returned to complete the cult ritual of sacrifice.

Piet, clutching his .38 moves out from the cover of the forest and advances towards the Leopard Man.  All his anger at the atrocities that have been committed by these things against innocent people starts to boil over.

“Hey you sick fuck, I’ve got something here for you.”

The Leopard Man looks up at Piet, from his crouched position over Lam’s body, and snarls at Piet as if he were truly a big cat, then he springs towards Piet, his steel claws seeking the big man’s throat.

Piet side steps the man’s charge, and as the Leopard Man’s momentum carries him past Piet, Piet’s size 10 boots catches the man in the small of the back, sending him crashing to the ground.  Snarling and spitting like the leopard.

Piet looks down at the man, and places a heavy foot behind his neck, pinning him to the ground.

The Leopard Man squirms beneath the weight of Piet’s foot, and growls out a warning.

“You whites are fools, you cannot kill us for our magic is too strong, you do not realise our power.”

Piet drops onto the back of the struggling man.  Pinning him down with his full weight, the barrel of his .38 pressed against the back of the man’s head.

“It’s all mind over matter you sick fuck, I don’t mind, and you don’t matter.”

The report from the .38 in Piet’s hand echoes over the forest, and the face of the Leopard Man disintegrates from the force of the bullet.

“Ja, now go tell the people your fucking muti works.”

Blood Demon-Revenge

TBT BDR Release clip

 

The interior of the warehouse is gloomy, with only the lunar light from the moon breaking through the skylight windows and the scattering of black candles that burn at intervals along the path leading up towards the front of the building where a crude altar has been erected.

Around the warehouse are people huddled together waiting for the arrival of the Lion Man, and to worship the demons of the dark in an orgy of blood.

The frightened whimpers of a young boy carry across the silence as they wait for their master to arrive.  The parents of the child have bound his hands and feet, for has not great glory been bestowed upon them by his being chosen by the great master as the one to feel the power of the claws.  His innocent blood is to be spilt to enable the master to speak to the ones from the dark side.

Movement from the front of the warehouse brings silence down on all that are gathered, and then before them, held by a chain appears a lioness.  The chain is padlocked to a steel bolt in the floor and the handlers move off to join those already waiting.

The low growls from the big cat fill the area, and then she lies down to wait, for she has been here before, and knows that before tonight is over, she will feed.

A figure appears before the assembled crowd, and a murmur ripples through them.  The Lion Man now stands before them.

Amos, now naked except for the skin of a lion, draped over his body, the head of the beast placed over his head looks out at the people below him.  The steel claws attached to his hands glint in the light from the candles.

His voice reverberates across the silent warehouse.

“Who brings the chosen sacrifice; stand so that I may see you.”

The couple stands with their bound son between them.

“Bring the boy forward so that we may please the elders, and they will open the doorway to the underworld.”

The Devil in Eden.

Logo 2

The village is made up of thatch and mud huts.  Half naked children run around in the dirt playing, while chickens scatter in front of them.  The women busy themselves around the cooking fires, while the men folk sit under the great tree smoking, and drinking homemade beer.

On the horizon, the massive storm clouds gather, the wind whipping the corn fields into frenzy and sending up dust devils into the darkening sky.  The villagers hurry to the shelter of their huts, and huddle together to wait for the storm to pass.

The night is dark as the thunder rolls across the sky, flashes of lightning turn night to day and the heavy rain pelts down through the canopy of trees as the killer moves silently towards the village.

No-one will hear the screams tonight as the thunder drums out across the sky, and the killer moves steadily through the forest in the direction of the sleeping village.  He pauses as he breaks through the thick foliage that surrounds the village.

Slowly he surveys the area, his eye moves over the mud huts, he smells the wood fires that burn inside, and hears the sound of people sleeping as he steadily moves across the muddy open area towards a hut closest to the edge of the forest.

He pauses at the door to the hut, his sense of smell tells him that the people inside are sickly and weak.  He tries the door, but it is wedged shut firmly from the inside, so he moves around to the back of the hut, and standing, tests the mud walls.

He applies his weight, and the wall starts to crumble.  Terrified voices ring out from within, that the Devil is here, and the sound of their fear drives him on, and with a lunge the killer enters the dark interior of the hut.isppp

Now for something totally different…leave Africa behind and join the Masked Carnival in Venice…Meet Juliana, a young woman who has everything to live for…or does she?

Mask of Deceit

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The eyes looking out from behind the mask are green, but that is all the man can see for her form is hidden in the folds of the flowing gown that she is wearing.  The mask itself is stunning, handcrafted and if she is anything like the beauty of the mask, then she is definitely a catch.

Her voice is husky and sexy at the same time; it sends shivers of delight at the thought of what is to come through his body, as she takes his hand in her gloved hand and leads him along the cobblestone walkway, almost as if leading a lamb to the slaughter.

The sounds of the masked ball not far away filters across the square, laughter fills the air as revellers soak up the atmosphere, the colours are bright, and there is a feel of gay abandonment as couples, groups move to and fro, their masks hiding their true features, and their costumes blend in with the crowds that swarm along the roads.

She leads him along the canal, the sounds from the square falling behind them as they cross the bridge, and he can’t believe his luck on his first night in Venice, to be chosen by such a beauty, and he tries to imagine what she looks like behind that mask.

They come to an alleyway and she pauses for a second, looks into the dark recess of the alley, then turning quickly, takes his hand again and leads him on.  He could have sworn that he heard her mutter softly into her mask.

“This one is for you Paul, my darling.”

“My Lady, did you say something?”

“No, I am just thinking about what is ahead of us tonight, you must have imagined it.”

She leads him into a room with a four poster bed in the centre, the light is dim and in the distance he can hear the sound of music, and her heavy breathing, which he takes as passion, and a sign that he is in for a good time tonight with a masked stranger.

The sound of falling cloth behind him, he turns and gasps at the beauty before him.  She is naked, but still wears the mask, and he feels the heat rush through his body, and desire for the masked stranger before him fills him, and he sheds his clothing.

“Do you like what you see Sir?”

“Yes My Lady, you are magnificent, but I wish to gaze upon your face, please remove your mask so that I might drink in your true beauty.venice 2

“I am sorry, you may have me, but the mask stays on.  Lie down, and I will come to you.”

He lies back onto the soft mattress, and she straddles him, moving up his chest and offering herself to him. His eyes close in ecstasy, and he feels her take his hand, and the soft feel of silk wraps around his wrist, then the other, and he is bound to the posts of the bed.   His eyes fly open in alarm. He sees her sitting on his chest, her weight holding him down, and in her hand, she is holding a dagger, and he hears sobs coming from behind the mask.

“My Lady, what are you doing?”

Without a word she brings the dagger down, the dim light flashes off the blade as it cuts deep into his chest.  His body arches as he tries to throw her off, he pulls at the silk holding his hands in place, but she rides him, gripping his body with her strong legs, and plunges the blade in again and again, the blood splatter being thrown across the whiteness of the bed.

His body shudders in its final gasp to hold onto life, and then with a death rattle in his throat, she slashes the sharp blade deeply across his throat, his body goes limp beneath her, the air in his lungs escaping through the deep wounds, as his blood soaks into the bed cover, dripping off the bed, to form a puddle on the carpet.

“There Paul my darling, I showed mercy, just like you taught me, I cut the throat of the animal.”

Without another word, she pulls the gown over her head, covering the blood on her body, slips the dagger into the folds of her dress, and without looking back at the dead man on the bed, leaves him, to be discovered when the occupants of the room returned.

She mingles once more with the groups, just another mask in the crowd.ULOSTd

 

If those teasers caught your attention, and you would like to sit back and enjoy a journey into the darkness, you can find them all on my Authors Page @ http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00Q8L4NZ8

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The Re-Tweet Train

I know that I stand a chance of stepping on some toes or denting an ego or two but ego’s have nothing to do with what I have written about…it is just home truth…some are plan lazy, don’t give a damn while others believe in themselves and there ability and are not scared of joining the Re-Tweet Train.

Hi Everyone,images (87)

The re-tweet train…what is that?

Simple really…it falls under the banner called NETWORKING.

Now how is this achieved?

Simple really…you re-tweet the people who take the time and effort to tweet you. That way you are able to spread your net wider across twitter land. It is all about supporting each other, and what is so hard about that? Nothing but a few minutes each day, helping to get the word out there. The ones that support you, deserve to get your support in return

One think that I have noticed since I have become an active member of Twitter Land is that a lot of people simply follow you in order to get a follow back to make up numbers behind their name…you tweet them as religiously as possible…and what do you get in return…a big fat zero. So what is the point in them following you unless they are there to support you?

These people are a dead weight, they know nothing about networking, and are only along for the ride. Quote:” Look at me I got 1.2mil followers..I don’t need your support..yawn.”

The same can be said about Face book…I mean come on…how much effort does it take to share another authors post with your followers. It all boils down to the same thing at the end of the day…NETWORKING, and why else are you on Face book as an Author unless you want to get noticed and get your work out there, so NETWORK people…share those posts of Authors that are friends on your page…and you will find that they return the favour.

Your ability to reach a wider audience regarding your books all rests on you. Share the posts, re-tweet the tweets and the ripple will get bigger.imagesl7 (56) Ignore it and you will end up stagnant…tweeting the same old thing to the same old people…posting your posts to the same old people.

Come on…WAKE UP…Support each other.images (32)

To those valuable people out there in Twitter Land and Face book that do take the time and effort to re-tweet and share…you guys are ROCK STARS and deserve all the support that you can get, but to the rest out there that sit on the fence and just accept the re-tweets and shares as your right, without bothering to return the favour…be careful…one day you will wake up and find that you are all alone.

Keep in mind, social media is all about networking, and although there is strength in numbers…it only works if everyone plays ball…so basically sitting on the fence will work against you in the long run. stop hanging aroundimages (34)..support those who support you and you will reap the rewards.

I have been very lucky…I have ROCK STARS dwho follow me and support me…and to you all…my heartfelt thanks for your time, your effort and most of all your awesome support.

To everyone who is following me, I thank you for your interest and hope you enjoy the ride…oh yes and don’t forget…I thank you for your support.

Remember, take care and stay safe, you never know what is watching from the shadows, or for that matter, what is hidden behind the Mask.CYVK2hpU0AAvZ4R

Snail Mail

Good Day to you all,m

Now as you know by now, I live in Africa…to narrow it down a bit, South Africa, the so called Rainbow Nation, and apart from all the hiccups, stumbling around and bad decision that go on in this wonderful country…it is still home, and as they say, home is where the heart is. It is also where I find my inspiration for the stories that I write.

This is a land that is filled with wonder, beauty, teaming with wildlife and filled with superstition, ancient beliefs, myths…still struggling to  enter the 21st Century…but who am I to complain, as it fills my head with wild and strange images and my imagination just takes on a life of its own.

Now, I used the word complain. Well I do have one complaint that I wish to share with you, and no…it is not political…it is incompetence. The incompetence of our wonderful Postal Service to do the job they are paid for.

My awesome publishers, Vanilla Heart Publishing VHP logo left bannersent me two parcels last year… (now that sounds great). These two parcels contained my Author Copies of four of my books, namely, Blood Moon over Africa, Blood Spoor in the Dark, Blood Demon-Revenge and The Devil in Eden.

These parcels were posted on the 3/12/2015…The first was collect by myself on the 28/12/2015, and with much excitement was opened…great joy…but there was a small hitch. Somewhere along the line I have a fan in the Post Office service as they helped themselves to five of my books, which can only mean that free enterprise is alive and well in this country of ours. The downside of the theft is that I very much doubt if I will ever get a review from the fan…oh well…win some…lose some, maybe they will buy my next book…Mask of Deceit.CYVK2hpU0AAvZ4R

The ridiculous thing that really boggles my mind is that parcel number two…sent at the same time is yet to reach its destination. So far it has been sitting at the Post Office hub, and not moved at all…the funny thing is, they have a so called Customer Service phone number, but what a waste of time calling it…all you get is a recording telling you how important your call is to them, and to be patient…heck I sat on that line for twenty minutes and not once did I get to talk to a human being…I guess I was just not important enough. Reckon they were just hanging around, passing the time of day.images (34)

Today is the 12/01/2016…fifteen days have passed since my parcel arrived in sunny South Africa…the service we get is awesome…they really know how to make you wait in anticipation, and don’t even try tracking the parcel on their system…it is offline more than on.

I reckon we work on African time in this country…hurry up slowly.

Well that is my rant for today…in a couple of word…Our South African Post Office Service Sucks.images (6)

Now onto something really awesome…just to bring you up to date. Vanilla Heart Publishing have just released the Cover Reveal for my latest novel, titled Mask of Deceit.

Here is the link…www.vhpbooktours.com…have a look at what is in store for you.

One more thing, and then I am out of here.

I received an awesome review for Blood Demon-Revenge…The credit for the cover goes to Vanilla Heart Publishing…High Five Guys….Below is the review.Demon

“Moving on to the second novel that I found in my Twitter feed, I see Blood Demon: Revenge by Paul Zunckel. Now whereas I saw nothing appealing about the cover of The Screen Conspiracy, Blood Demon: Revenge has some good stuff going for it off the bat. First of all, there’s that title–very pulp horror-ish. And it’s written in red on a mostly black cover. It’s dramatic. The cover image itself is dramatic, too. You’ve got a dark scene in which some costumed men are standing around in some kind of circle–it reminds me of some occult ritual that I’m peeking in on. And the scene is illuminated by a shower of sparks. I can’t tell you exactly what I’m looking at, but it’s evocative–and evocative is a quality that eluded what I saw of The Screen Conspiracy.

The cover by itself gives me hope that I’m going to get a good first scene out of this story. I  encountered no Huh?s in the first paragraph, and Mr. Zunckel wrote a line in that paragraph that intrigues me–it’s an effective hook to keep a reader engaged with the story. He wrote, “It’s been two weeks since she last helped herself to a passenger’s luggage, and she didn’t want to get caught now.”

The opening paragraph hooked me.

The first scene break arrives just six paragraphs in, and I wanted to keep reading. So I did. I made it all the way through the prologue, and the only thing that made me even half-Huh? was when he didn’t use a hyphen for a compound adjective where I would have. By itself, that’s not even worth mentioning, because I don’t even know for sure that his choice was wrong and mine is right. And that’s not the point of a Huh?, anyway. The Huh? isn’t for things that stop you cold. It’s for things that really don’t matter until they’ve piled up.

Paul Zunckel writes a great first scene, and in his prologue…

***SPOILERS!!!***

…he uses a snake to kill a luggage thief! Out-fucking-standing as far as I’m concerned.

Zunckel hits his first scene out of the park.”

 

That is me, done and dusted…Take care out there…you never know what is watching from the shadows…sleep tight.ima

Kick off 2016 With a Scream

Hi, welcome to a taste of things to come.Lion 9 (3)

Step into the darkness of Africa with me…Don’t be afraid…after all, it is just my imagination.

Or is it?

Blood Moon over Africa.     TBT BMOA Release clip

A growl shatters the stillness around them, and into the moonlight walks a creature that only nightmares are made off, Veronica stiffens as she sees what has invaded the yard, she feels Pastor Steve jerk next to her, and from Peggy comes a gasp of utter disbelief, that carries across the space between them and the creature, Philip buries his head in his hands at the sight of it.

 

Standing in the moon light, looking directly at the chicken houses, seeming to look right at them is a man, a man with the head of a hyena, it growls low in its throat, and slowly starts to make its way across the yard towards the chicken houses, its eyes glowing and it snarls, exposing wicked fangs.  The breeze picks up, and the creature halts, lifts its head to the night air, looks again in the direction of the chicken houses, turns in the direction of the mule, and shatters the night with a howl, before making off into the bush in the direction of the terror stricken cry that fills the night.

 

Blood Spoor in the DarkTBT BSitD Release clip

The figure starts to claw at Lam’s face like a leopard, but rather than claws raking the body, Piet catches the glint of steel claws in the moonlight.  The killer had returned to complete the cult ritual of sacrifice.

Piet, clutching his .38 moves out from the cover of the forest and advances towards the Leopard Man.  All his anger at the atrocities that have been committed by these things against innocent people starts to boil over.

“Hey you sick fuck, I’ve got something here for you.”

The Leopard Man looks up at Piet, from his crouched position over Lam’s body, and snarls at Piet as if he were truly a big cat, then he springs towards Piet, his steel claws seeking the big man’s throat.

Piet side steps the man’s charge, and as the Leopard Man’s momentum carries him past Piet, Piet’s size 10 boots catches the man in the small of the back, sending him crashing to the ground.  Snarling and spitting like the leopard.

Piet looks down at the man, and places a heavy foot behind his neck, pinning him to the ground.

The Leopard Man squirms beneath the weight of Piet’s foot, and growls out a warning.

“You whites are fools, you cannot kill us for our magic is too strong, you do not realise our power.”

Piet drops onto the back of the struggling man.  Pinning him down with his full weight, the barrel of his .38 pressed against the back of the man’s head.

“It’s all mind over matter you sick fuck, I don’t mind, and you don’t matter.”

The report from the .38 in Piet’s hand echoes over the forest, and the face of the Leopard Man disintegrates from the force of the bullet.

“Ja, now go tell the people your fucking muti works.”

 

Blood Demon-Revenge TBT BDR Release clip

The interior of the warehouse is gloomy, with only the lunar light from the moon breaking through the skylight windows and the scattering of black candles that burn at intervals along the path leading up towards the front of the building where a crude altar has been erected.

Around the warehouse are people huddled together waiting for the arrival of the Lion Man, and to worship the demons of the dark in an orgy of blood.

The frightened whimpers of a young boy carry across the silence as they wait for their master to arrive.  The parents of the child have bound his hands and feet, for has not great glory been bestowed upon them by his being chosen by the great master as the one to feel the power of the claws.  His innocent blood is to be spilt to enable the master to speak to the ones from the dark side.

Movement from the front of the warehouse brings silence down on all that are gathered, and then before them, held by a chain appears a lioness.  The chain is padlocked to a steel bolt in the floor and the handlers move off to join those already waiting.

The low growls from the big cat fill the area, and then she lies down to wait, for she has been here before, and knows that before tonight is over, she will feed.

A figure appears before the assembled crowd, and a murmur ripples through them.  The Lion Man now stands before them.

Amos, now naked except for the skin of a lion, draped over his body, the head of the beast placed over his head looks out at the people below him.  The steel claws attached to his hands glint in the light from the candles.

His voice reverberates across the silent warehouse.

“Who brings the chosen sacrifice; stand so that I may see you.”

The couple stands with their bound son between them.

“Bring the boy forward so that we may please the elders, and they will open the doorway to the underworld.”

 

The Devil in Eden.Logo 2

The village is made up of thatch and mud huts.  Half naked children run around in the dirt playing, while chickens scatter in front of them.  The women busy themselves around the cooking fires, while the men folk sit under the great tree smoking, and drinking homemade beer.

On the horizon, the massive storm clouds gather, the wind whipping the corn fields into frenzy and sending up dust devils into the darkening sky.  The villagers hurry to the shelter of their huts, and huddle together to wait for the storm to pass.

The night is dark as the thunder rolls across the sky, flashes of lightning turn night to day and the heavy rain pelts down through the canopy of trees as the killer moves silently towards the village.

No-one will hear the screams tonight as the thunder drums out across the sky, and the killer moves steadily through the forest in the direction of the sleeping village.  He pauses as he breaks through the thick foliage that surrounds the village.

Slowly he surveys the area, his eye moves over the mud huts, he smells the wood fires that burn inside, and hears the sound of people sleeping as he steadily moves across the muddy open area towards a hut closest to the edge of the forest.

He pauses at the door to the hut, his sense of smell tells him that the people inside are sickly and weak.  He tries the door, but it is wedged shut firmly from the inside, so he moves around to the back of the hut, and standing, tests the mud walls.

He applies his weight, and the wall starts to crumble.  Terrified voices ring out from within, that the Devil is here, and the sound of their fear drives him on, and with a lunge the killer enters the dark interior of the hut.

If those teasers caught your attention, and you would like to sit back and enjoy a journey into the darkness, you can find them all on my Authors Page @ http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00Q8L4NZ8

Take Care out there, you never know what is watching from the shadows…Sleep Tight.Lion10 (3)