The Woe Queen

Wind swept hair, obsidian eyes,
beguiling pools, a thousand lies.
Honeyed words, from caressing lips,
bloody allure, mesmeric hips.

Adorned in snow, blooming in rain,
each step taken, another's pain.
Ancient in age, a delicate primrose,
a seductress, a temptress, a Queen of all woes.

A silken dress, the cocoon of a moth,
hue of her eyes, the onyx cloth.
It moves with the rain, the breeze and snow,
an ebony stream, that continuously flows.

A drifting feather, in silence she comes,
a voice of the past, is what she's become.
The harbinger of death, the charming black widow,
an exquisite spectre, a disguised minnow.

Hypnotic gaze, a pandora's box,
to be enamored, to be mocked.
Barefoot she ventures, she walks this earth,
to avenge, revenge, an antique birth.

Not a drop reaches her, as the skies well up,
her face never seen, unless all time is up.
When the skies calm, she is not here,
but the Lady in Black will always be near.

Title #8 of Short Horror Story Anthology: Candlelight

Candlelight
     Aurora is a freshman at her local college. She soon meets Mindy, a fellow freshman and soon they're both inseparable friends. As time goes on, strange things occur that leave Aurora in fear. With time running out she soon learns- words have double meanings. Never traverse the darkness by candlelight, for when the flame disappears- you're never alone.


Lady in Black Updates
     The novel is progressing at a brisk pace. I am able to reveal more about how the story will be seen. As I said before the story is primarily seen through the eyes of Skrill, a 22 year old reporter. To less of an extent the perspectives of three other characters will be used, to make a total of four perspectives (two male and two female). Each perspective is unique and important to the story. Skrill's perspective will be the more used perspective, but he is not the main protagonist of the story.
     I'm going to summarize the story in one small phrase: "It's raining," - Lady in Black

Title #5 of Short Horror Story Anthology: Forever and Ever

     This is one of my personal favourites because of the unexpected ending to the story.

Forever and Ever

     Drake is an undergraduate university student in his 4th and final year of his business program. Besides his parents he has 4 younger siblings- 8 year old quadruplets (Liz, Katie, Sheila and Trent). Still grieving over his girlfriend's disappearance 2 years ago, he meets someone who lightens up his world. But soon he realizes that there are two types of love- one of them can imprison you forever. 

Lady in Black Updates

     Continuing from my previous post, I will introduce one more character, 26 year old Inna. Inna's role in the book is fascinating. Although he is not the main protagonist of the novel, he is a pivotal character and helps develop the overall plot.

Title #4 of Short Horror Story Anthology: Loréllei

     This is the 4th title in my anthology. I'm not posting the titles in the order that they will be in my anthology, rather I'm posting in a random order. Today I will post TWO titles.

Loréllei
     In a town far, far away lives a woman named Loréllei. She was beautiful and enchanting; even animals found her alluring. The town's forest was her favourite place; she often sang as she explored its many paths. As much as she was pined for by many, they could not have her for she was in love with a man who loved her back passionately- yet love can be a dangerous thing, especially if it lurks in the forest ... and what lurks in the forest can make the hunter, become the hunted.

Lady in Black Updates
     The main protagonist is a man named Mask. Sometimes the novel will be seen through his perspective but for the most part it will be seen through Skrill's eyes. Another important character in the book is Esme, a 22 year old dancer and student.

Title #3 of Short Horror Story Anthology: Time Limit

     The story synopsis posted below strays away from conventional horror as do most of my stories in my anthology. This is an odd story and I'm very excited to finally write out the full version of the story, soon.

Time Contract
     Desmond is a 22 year old university student in his final year and a track runner. A mediocre sprinter at best, he strives for the top and when he gets there ... he must remember: words can be binding.


The Lady in Black updates
     The novel is progressing at a rapid pace. The novel is primarily seen through the eyes of a 22 year old man named Skrill, a budding reporter/photographer. From his perspective we see how the events unfold. The strange events in his city lead him on a path filled with puzzles and photos that don't make sense.

     Skrill is a main character but he is not the main protagonist/antagonist. I am choosing not to reveal which character has the most importance as of now but in the coming weeks I will.

Title #2 of Short Horror Story Anthology: Teaser for I See You

My intention was to release a title per week from my short story anthology, however I am planning to post a short horror story that I wrote, from a collection that I'm writing to use in my anthology, by the end of this week. It will be the only short story from that collection that I release- sort of a sneak preview of the types of stories you can expect from my book. In anticipation of that, I will release the title and a brief synopsis as a teaser for what is to come. My short story anthology comprises of stories of a different nature. They are stories with twists and turns and will hopefully leave the reader with a sense of anticipation.

I See You 
     23 year old Rix is in the best relationship of his life. His girlfriend Jasmine is the woman that he's always dreamed of having. His life is in order and and he feels happy- he has no complaints about his life. It is the day of the summer solstice, when the sun stays out longer than usual- but even on days like this darkness can come faster than imagined. For when the lights go out ... anything can happen. drip.. drip.. drip..



The Lady in Black Updates
     The character who's point of view I'm writing from works for a newspaper. He is a main character but he is not the only one. There are other characters that have as great a depth as he does. Everything around isn't what it seems anymore. He has to figure out what's going on and determine how it all connects to him.

The Lady in Black

 I was in the midst of working on a short story anthology-- one of my few maiden projects. It was to be a horror anthology and I had come up with plot lines, titles and even had written almost four of my projected 21 stories. Due to a problem with my laptop my work got wiped out, but luckily I had all the titles recorded in my journal and two of my four stories were stored elsewhere. Of the many short stories that I had narrated to one or two other people, The Lady in Black, stood out as a short story that really intrigued them. When the short story, The Lady in Black (it wasn't fully complete), was wiped out, I decided I did not want to rewrite it. Instead I decided I would make it a full length novel and introduced new plot lines. The original story is still very much there but it is now a part of a much bigger plot. It is an exciting project and I hope the main character of The Lady in Black can be as polarizing as Brom Stoker's Dracula was. Despite my resolve to turn  The Lady in Black into a full length novel I did not abandon my short story anthology project. I am attempting to complete both simultaneously. I will post updates on my novel as often as possible.  As of now I am prepared to say that The Lady in Black takes place primarily in Toronto, Canada but there are settings in France and England as well and for the most part the story takes place in the present.

What genre would this book be classified as? It's hard to pinpoint anything specific. It is a blend of horror, romance, fantasy, mystery and thriller but that is a broad definition. If I really had to narrow it down, it would be equal parts horror-romance-mystery, which is still too broad but I still haven't really decided which category it falls under the most. Hopefully it'll reveal itself as my words keep coming.

*I will release a short story from my upcoming short story horror anthology. I will also release small excerpts from my novel as the weeks go on. Every week I will release a title and a synopsis of one of my short stories in my anthology.


Stay tuned for more information!

- Mango E (Mango is just a nickname, my actual name is quite a bit longer)