Christmas Lists Weihnachtsmann. Pére Nöel. Sinterklaas. Shèngdàn lǎorén. Babbo Natale. Father Christmas. Saint Nicholas. Regardless of what you call him, Santa Claus will soon be coming to a chimney near you. The question is, of course, have you been naughty or nice? If you are like me, the answer is probably a little bit of both. I put a lot of effort into being a nice guy, but, sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. What we really want to…
“Two hours of writing fiction leaves this writer completely drained. For those two hours he has been in a different place with totally different people.”–Roald Dahl
On this Thanksgiving Day, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the past year. Things started out strong with the old Downjotter, but, eventually, life intervened . My intentions were noble, but my writing schedule suffered from a bad case of reality. I am thankful for the few of you who continually check in looking for new content. I apologize for letting you down. Despite my failings, I truly do appreciate all of you who take time to…
“A Halloween Warning” By E. Lee Ball Forgive me, dear reader, for this intrusion into your time of solitude, but I fear the consequences would be dire if I did not do so. Although you are reading this in a place where you feel safe, the fact of the matter is much the opposite. In truth, your life is in peril, and to survive what is about to occur, you must place your trust in me and heed every word…
“It is, alas, chiefly the evil emotions that are able to leave their photograph on surrounding scenes and objects and whoever heard of a place haunted by a noble deed, or of beautiful and lovely ghosts revisiting the glimpses of the moon?”–Algernon H. Blackwood
“We shall see that at which dogs howl in the dark, and that at which cats prick up their ears after midnight.”–H.P. Lovecraft