Merlaak

Hey everybody!

Several months ago, I posted about a horror themed cafe and bookstore that my wife and I were working on, and then I promptly went quiet about it. Well, I wanted to let y'all know that we are hoping to open later this year!

This year has been a bit crazy for us. We decided to retire our sweet tea truck after only three seasons, our five year old dachshund developed a severe case of IVDD (he's doing MUCH better now, thankfully), and we also, you know, decided to go for broke and p

My wife and I are working on setting up a horror-themed bookshop cafe in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This is a bootstrap operation that will be utilizing part of an existing space that we use for small batch food production (syrups, jams, etc.), so while we're taking it seriously, it's something that we're not going to be taking out a loan or anything for.

In my food production business, I've had some luck getting equipment from liquidation sales, which is why I thought to look around and see what kind of espresso equipment I might be able to find. This is where I'll throw out there that my very first business (when I was 23) was running an espresso counter inside of a larger business.

Anyway

Marked; or, A Modern Gothic Triptych.

By me

“Brush”

Blush
Smooth
Round and
Soft and
Warm
And 

Hitch

Rushing
Diving into
Scruff
Pulse and brine
Twist and climb
Tug and pull
Yank
Rip
Falling
Over and
Unto billowing
Hot
Beating
Slide and
Plunge and

Hitch

And soar
And drive
That
Crackles
And builds
And races
Toward
Freedom
But

Hitch

Falling apart
Together.

“Log”

Ceaseless
Pallid
Damp light
Above
And
Cold light
Before
Symbols
Squiggles
And shapes
And lines
And buttons
And
Relentless

Buzzing

All around
Click and clack
Pill and snack
And meet and
Greet
Stop and go and
Ring and

Earlier this year, I started submitting some of my short stories to literary magazines. Like anyone who has done so, I've been met with numerous rejections (or just no response).

A couple weeks ago I found out that one of my stories had been accepted for publication, which means that as of next month, I'll officially be a published author!

This particular story began it's life as a dream I had in college that stuck with me. When I started writing again few years ago, I jotted it down as an idea to come back to. When I finally did, the story was pretty much there, and I banged it out over the course of a couple days.

Anyway, I just wanted to encourage everybody that it's never too late to

[MF] O, Gloria

“Come on, shake your body baby. Do the conga!”

The lyrics to Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine’s 1985 smash hit “Conga” waft from my pocket, and I know who’s calling. It’s her favorite song, after all. I grit my teeth and take a deep breath as I stare intently at the vertical lines of shirts hanging on the rack in front of me. Finally, I answer the phone.

“Hey Gloria,” I say.

“Where the hell are you?” comes the reply. She’s been like this lately. Always upset. It’s not as if I don’t understand why. At least, I think I understand. One wonders.

“I’m at the store, picking out a suit.”

“I’m at the store, picking out a suit,” she responds in a mocking t

“Come on, shake your body baby. Do the conga!”
The lyrics to Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine’s 1985 smash hit “Conga” waft from my pocket, and I know who’s calling. It’s her favorite song, after all. I grit my teeth and take a deep breath as I stare intently at the vertical lines of shirts hanging on the rack in front of me. Finally, I answer the phone.
“Hey Gloria,” I say.
“Where the hell are you?” comes the reply. She’s been like this lately. Always upset. It’s not as if I don’t understand why. At least, I think I understand. One wonders.
“I’m at the store, picking out a suit.”
“I’m at the store, picking out a suit,” she responds in a mocking tone. “Why didn’t you

Hello friends and neighbors!

Some of you may know us from our other venture, the Front Porch Sweet Tea truck down at the Chattanooga Market. Well, my wife and I are in the process of launching something new that has been a dream of ours for years and years.

Like many of you, we are huge fans of horror in all its various forms. For years, we've had a dream of opening a horror/spooky-themed cafe and bookshop, but we started to think that we'd never get around to it.

Then we realized that, hey, we already have a commercial space that we can convert into just such a place!

Our place is about 15 minutes from downtown, about 1.4 miles up Highway 58.

I made a bigger post about it a few days

The name of my narrative world is Shivering Pines. It's a southern / Appalachian gothic setting based on the hills and hollows of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

This is just a bit of fun, but I'd be interested in y'all's feedback if you have any. At the end of it, you can download your results as an image with a southern gothic portrait based on your archetype and the information you give it about yourself. Feel free to post it in here if you'd like!

The test is free and consists of 50 questions. There are 90 possible results based on your primary and secondary archetype traits out of ten (Strategist, Brawler, Stoic, Enthusiast, Nomad, Scavenger, Hermit, Performer, Occultist, M

“Generate an image meme that makes no sense. It can be borderline offensive.”

This got posted a while back and the results were funny and random. It seems, however, as if ChatGPT no longer knows what “borderline” means.

Anyway, give it a try at your own peril.