Daryl Devore's Blog

Daryl Devore's Blog

Thursday 31 October 2019

A little Halloween story - The Darker Side of Light #horror #Halloween #artist #writer

A Little Halloween Story
Early this year, my local writers’ group and an artists’ group combined forces for an event entitled – Pen and Paint. The writers visited the art studio and chose a number then discovered which painting they were to write a flash fiction for. We did not know who our artist was, nor what the painting was called or what it was about. We could ask questions like – is this an oil painting? or - was this done with a brush or palette knife?, but no specific questions about the work.
Reveal Day was at the local library. The paintings were set up and artist and writer met. A fabulous lady, Carole Jeghers was the artist I had been paired with. My first impression when I saw her painting was joy. I knew I could write something delicious.
The writers were to create a 750-word piece inspired by the painting. We did not have to interpret the painting, just let our creativity free.



If interested in more of Carole’s work - CaroleJeghers.com

The Darker Side of Light

He haunts my dreams. The black sunken eyes. They follow me.
I see them at work. In my reflection. Lifelessly staring at me.
The look of shock. Lips pulled back. Teeth bared.
Wanting to scream.
Can’t.
Blood spattered on his cheek. The mirror. Its trails leaving artistic images on the glass. A work of art. Created by… us. My beginning. His ending.
It was wrong. I am wrong. He is not here. I shouldn’t be here. Why does he stare? He can’t stare. He doesn’t exist.
Yet — he stares at me.
A laugh builds inside. It threatens to bubble out in a maniacal scream. I mustn’t let it. This is my secret.
I know how to make him disappear.
Grabbing a canvas. My brush. Tubes of paint.  Scarlet Red. Ultra Blue. Yellow Ochre.
Mix it. Mix it. Mix it all.
A dab of blue. Yellow. Red. Colour’s not right. More red.
Red.
More red.
Why does it look like blood?
With my palette knife, I scrape and smear paint against the canvas. The oily smell of the paint mixing with the thoughts running through my mind.
My nerves are jumbled. A voice speaks. You are bad. He was bad. He needed to die.
More red.
More blood.
My knife clatters to the floor. I grab the sponge and smear it across the canvas. The red bleeds into the black. The white trails across the grey.
Black. Carbon black. His eyes. Round circles with small pupils. They see me. They see into my soul. They know the truth.
I try to hide. Frenzy overwhelms me.
White paint.
Brushstroke.
Grey smear scratched with the knife. Paint splashes on me. Blue dribbles down my arm. Like the blood on his face.
I wipe my arm. My thumb slides on the splotch of paint, pressing a trail of Indigo down my flesh.
Stepping back, I pause. The mirror. His face. My face looking away. Ignoring his existence. My mouth is wrong. Clawing at the paint, I scrape it away.
Open.
Wide. As if I were screaming.
I want to.
Should I?
No. Others will hear it. This is my secret.
My little secret.
I draw a bubble. That is my scream escaping. Letting the world hear my terror. A silent scream that only I know how loud it is.
My gaze is caught by the eye. My blue eye glaring outward. Burning into my soul. I want to dig it out. Wrench it from my face. Swaths of black smeared over the canvas, burying the eye. Blinding it to see.
More black.
Unseeing eye.
I don’t want to see what I have done.
One final touch. Two red slashes. They mark me. They speak the truth. Will the world be able to read it? Will anyone?
I am alone.
My jaw lowers. My red lips peel back. My scream releases.  I laugh.
Scream.
Cry.
Hiccup. And scream again.
My laughter eats at my soul. I can’t stop.
Can’t stop.
Silence.
Release.

Detective Connors stood before the painting, rocking on her heels. Art hadn’t been her strongest subject in school. A bowl with fruit had been her finest effort, and that only granted her a B minus. A painting with sunshine, a tree and grass, maybe a red and white checkered blanket, that she could understand. But this?
This was dark.
The colours muted.
The hatred palatable.
Sanity questioned.
The face jeered at her. The eyes trying to speak. What was she supposed to understand?
She stepped back.
The mirror covered with spatters and ribbons of paint, like blood trails. The two faces in a book, one looking at her, the other turned away blinded. Two mouths. The first with lips open as if it wanted to speak. Wanting to tell her what happened. But couldn’t.
The other mouth, opened wide, bellowing - raging out the truth. Only she could not hear the words.
The detective held back the urge to shout, “Speak to me!” Instead, she stared at the dead eyes that glared back at her.
Minutes pass, but she still she stood before the painting. Impatient feet shuffled behind her. She ignored them. She needed to hear what this painting had to say.
The red X. It marked only one face. Red X in school meant another wrong answer.
Wrong.
Was this person wrong?
Incorrect?
Bad?
Or was it simply X marks the spot?
Darkness and confusion transformed into light.
The detective turned. “Arrest her. And take the painting. The confession is all there.”

Happy Halloween everyone.

Friday 25 October 2019

The Amazing things that can be seen from space. #space #FridaysinSpace


  • NASA ID: PIA23460
  • Center: JPL
  • Secondary Creator Credit: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
  • Date Created: 2019-09-19
  • Visit JPL Website
The Mozu Tombs are a group of megalithic tombs in Sakai, Japan, in the Osaka Plain. The largest tomb, the Daisenryo Kofun, was thought to have been built in the 5th century for the Emperor Nintoku. It is keyhole-shaped, surrounded by a moat, and is 840 meters long. Nineteen other tombs are marked on the image. It was acquired October 27, 2011, covers an area of 7.8 by 13.9 km, and is located at 34.6 degrees north, 135.5 degrees east. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23460
What's happening in October on Romance -  Sweet to Heat
26 – SPOTLIGHT –
27 – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
28 - Author Spotlight – Dahlia Donovon – Pure Dumb Luck
29 – Critters on Tour –Amber Daulton - A Hero's Heart
30 – Author Spotlight -  Brandi Evans – His For the Taking
31 - Thursday #Yoga



Thursday 24 October 2019

It is my art. My book is my art. MY art. Something writers struggle with. #writers #writingcommunity


Writing a book is hard. Even if it is a playful fun book. The product is art. Like a painting is art. We used our creativity and created the piece. It doesn't get to hang on a gallery wall, but the lucky ones go into libraries - either public ones or private ones.

If my heart and my soul like what I have created that is beautiful. If someone else likes it - that is bonus.

What's happening in October on Romance -  Sweet to Heat
25 – Fridays in Space
26 – SPOTLIGHT –
27 – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
28 - Author Spotlight – Dahlia Donovon – Pure Dumb Luck
29 – Critters on Tour –Amber Daulton - A Hero's Heart
30 – Author Spotlight -  Brandi Evans – His For the Taking
31 - Thursday #Yoga



Friday 18 October 2019

Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit and Orion, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. #space #FridaysinSpace

  • NASA ID: MAF_20190912_P_CS1 ES Breakover-325
  • Center: MAF
  • Date Created: 2019-09-12
  • Visit MAF Website
Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans rotated the engine section for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from a vertical to horizontal position to prepare it for joining to the rest of the rocket’s core stage on Sept. 13. The engine section, which comprises the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall stage, is the last major component to be horizontally integrated to the core stage. Michoud crews completed assembly on the flight hardware that will be used for Artemis I, the first lunar mission of SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, on Aug. 29. The core stage’s two liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send the SLS rocket and Orion on the Artemis lunar missions. The engine section houses the four RS-25 engines and includes vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel form the propellant tanks to the rocket’s engines. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit and Orion, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.


What's happening in October on Romance -  Sweet to Heat
19 – SPOTLIGHT – Caroline Warfield – Christmas Hope
20 - Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
21 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – Brandi Evans – His for the Taking
22 – Critters on Tour – Liza O’Connor -
23 - Cover and Title reveal for my latest book
24 - Thursday #Yoga
25 – Fridays in Space
26 – SPOTLIGHT –
27 – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
28 - Author Spotlight – Dahlia Donovon – Pure Dumb Luck
29 – Critters on Tour –Amber Daulton - A Hero's Heart
30 – Author Spotlight -  Brandi Evans – His For the Taking
31 - Thursday #Yoga



Thursday 17 October 2019

The tough choice of life's hard decisions. #yoga #yogathoughts


Basically it comes down to fight or flight. Neither is wrong. Neither is bad. It is what you - YOU - choose at that moment. You must choose what is good for you.

What's happening in October on Romance -  Sweet to Heat
18 – Fridays in Space
19 – SPOTLIGHT – Caroline Warfield – Christmas Hope
20 - Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
21 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – Brandi Evans – His for the Taking
22 – Critters on Tour – Liza O’Connor -
23 - Cover and Title reveal for my latest book
24 - Thursday #Yoga
25 – Fridays in Space
26 – SPOTLIGHT –
27 – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
28 - Author Spotlight – Dahlia Donovon – Pure Dumb Luck
29 – Critters on Tour –Amber Daulton - A Hero's Heart
30 – Author Spotlight -  Brandi Evans – His For the Taking
31 - Thursday #Yoga



Friday 11 October 2019

Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Christina Koch photographed the Soyuz MS-15 crew ship ascending into space after its launch from Kazakhstan. #space #FridaysinSpace


iss060e080405 (Sept. 25, 2019) --- Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Christina Koch photographed the Soyuz MS-15 crew ship ascending into space after its launch from Kazakhstan. The Soyuz would dock a few hours later to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates.

What's happening in October on Romance -  Sweet to Heat
12 – SPOTLIGHT – Several Authors – A Darker Shade of Evil
13-  Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
14 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – D.S. Dehel – The Irish Gods
15 – Author Spotlight
16 – Book Hooks #MFRWhooks #MFRWAuthor
17 - Thursday #Yoga
18 – Fridays in Space
19 – SPOTLIGHT – Caroline Warfield – Christmas Hope
20 - Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
21 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – Brandi Evans – His for the Taking
22 – Critters on Tour – Liza O’Connor -
23 - Cover and Title reveal for my latest book
24 - Thursday #Yoga
25 – Fridays in Space
26 – SPOTLIGHT –
27 – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
28 - Author Spotlight – Dahlia Donovon – Pure Dumb Luck
29 – Critters on Tour –Amber Daulton - A Hero's Heart
30 – Author Spotlight -  Brandi Evans – His For the Taking
31 - Thursday #Yoga



Thursday 10 October 2019

Sometimes the truth is enlightening - sometimes - not so much #yoga #reality #thoughts


What's happening in October on Romance -  Sweet to Heat
11 – Fridays in Space
12 – SPOTLIGHT – Several Authors – A Darker Shade of Evil
13-  Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
14 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – D.S. Dehel – The Irish Gods
15 – Author Spotlight
16 – Book Hooks #MFRWhooks #MFRWAuthor
17 - Thursday #Yoga
18 – Fridays in Space
19 – SPOTLIGHT – Caroline Warfield – Christmas Hope
20 - Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
21 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – Brandi Evans – His for the Taking
22 – Critters on Tour – Liza O’Connor -
23 - Cover and Title reveal for my latest book
24 - Thursday #Yoga
25 – Fridays in Space
26 – SPOTLIGHT –
27 – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
28 - Author Spotlight – Dahlia Donovon – Pure Dumb Luck
29 – Critters on Tour –Amber Daulton - A Hero's Heart
30 – Author Spotlight -  Brandi Evans – His For the Taking
31 - Thursday #Yoga



Friday 4 October 2019

NASA's Pegasus Barge makes its way along the intercoastal waterway to its destination at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 #space #FridaysinSpace #SLS #Artemis


NASA's Pegasus Barge makes its way along the intercoastal waterway to its destination at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf, to make its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived Sept. 27, 2019, ferrying the 212-foot-long Space Launch System rocket core stage pathfinder. The pathfinder is a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. The pathfinder will be used by the Exploration Ground Systems Program and their contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one month before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.


What's happening in October on Romance -  Sweet to Heat
5 - SPOTLIGHT –Alice Renaud – The Sweetest magic of All
6- Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
7- NEBT - Author Spotlight – Kryssie Fortune – His Innocent Bride
8 - Author Spotlight
9 - Book Hooks #MFRWhooks #MFRWAuthor
10- Thursday #Yoga
11 – Fridays in Space
12 – SPOTLIGHT – Several Authors – A Darker Shade of Evil
13-  Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
14 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – D.S. Dehel – The Irish Gods
15 – Author Spotlight
16 – Book Hooks #MFRWhooks #MFRWAuthor
17 - Thursday #Yoga
18 – Fridays in Space
19 – SPOTLIGHT – Caroline Warfield – Christmas Hope
20 - Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
21 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – Brandi Evans – His for the Taking
22 – Critters on Tour – Liza O’Connor -
23 - Book Hooks #MFRWhooks #MFRWAuthor
24 - Thursday #Yoga
25 – Fridays in Space
26 – SPOTLIGHT –
27 – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
28 - Author Spotlight – Dahlia Donovon – Pure Dumb Luck
29 – Critters on Tour –Amber Daulton - A Hero's Heart
30 – Author Spotlight -  Brandi Evans – His For the Taking
31 - Thursday #Yoga



Thursday 3 October 2019

This saying is mine and it freed me from a lot of inner turmoil. #yoga #yogathoughts


Yes, I know there is a spelling mistake. That's part of it. If there was no mistake then it would be perfect. I no longer need to be perfect. My cake might not be iced like a pro. My tree pose might be wobbly. But that does not make me a failure.



What's happening in October on Romance -  Sweet to Heat
4 - Fridays in Space
5 - SPOTLIGHT –Alice Renaud – The Sweetest magic of All
6- Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
7- NEBT - Author Spotlight – Kryssie Fortune – His Innocent Bride
8 - Author Spotlight
9 - Book Hooks #MFRWhooks #MFRWAuthor
10- Thursday #Yoga
11 – Fridays in Space
12 – SPOTLIGHT – Several Authors – A Darker Shade of Evil
13-  Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
14 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – D.S. Dehel – The Irish Gods
15 – Author Spotlight
16 – Book Hooks #MFRWhooks #MFRWAuthor
17 - Thursday #Yoga
18 – Fridays in Space
19 – SPOTLIGHT – Caroline Warfield – Christmas Hope
20 - Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
21 – NEBT - Author Spotlight – Brandi Evans – His for the Taking
22 – Critters on Tour – Liza O’Connor -
23 - Book Hooks #MFRWhooks #MFRWAuthor
24 - Thursday #Yoga
25 – Fridays in Space
26 – SPOTLIGHT –
27 – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday
28 - Author Spotlight – Dahlia Donovon – Pure Dumb Luck
29 – Critters on Tour –Amber Daulton - A Hero's Heart
30 – Author Spotlight -  Brandi Evans – His For the Taking
31 - Thursday #Yoga