First up, the links!
The Arkham Institutions Kickstarter is live! After one day we are already 1/3 of the way to our goal. Click here to check it out and get some amazing backer rewards.
I am currently third in my bracket for the Face of Horror contest. With just over a day left, there is still plenty of time to vote. Remember you can vote once a day! Click here.
We are slowly getting back to what passes for normal here after our brief vacation. We were only home for a few days before The Mrs left for the weekend to return the dog-sitting favor. She spent the weekend at her brother’s taking care of their dog and two cats, something which Tesla was not at all fond of. More on that below.
The biggest project, and one that is still ongoing as we speak, is getting the outside of the house back into shape. Between the downed line and not being able to turn everything on before we left, the pool and hot tub went for a week without their filters on. I’ve been playing junior chemist getting everything back to where it should be.
I’m also prepping the lawn for the big month of not doing a damn thing to it. I’ve mowed once this week and hope to do so again in another week or two. I need to get the grass at an acceptable level and as many leaves and walnuts removed before I start putting up the Halloween display because I do not to try to drive the lawnmower between everything once it’s up.
I should note that I am not really a fan of the idea of lawn. Get me in my cups and I will go on an hour long rant about how growing a crop that you can’t eat is the worst kind of conspicuous consumption.
Listening To: Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima. I just started this title this morning, so look for more info in an upcoming post
Currently Reading: Sadly, I haven’t been doing much reading, as all of my “reading glasses time” has been spent editing and formatting.
Current Obsession: Trying not to doomscroll with regards to the upcoming election.
Dragon’s Roost Press News
Obviously, the big news is that we launched the Kickstarter campaign for Arkham Institutions this week. Even if you can not afford to back it financially, we would really appreciate it if you could share the link on your various social media platforms. Every little bit helps.
Contracts are starting to roll back in for the stories in the anthology and that means the authors are getting paid (YAY!). There are some amazing stories in this book. We can’t wait for you to read them.
It was a cold and occasionally windy day at Wicked Bizarre, but we had a great turn out. Thank you to everyone who braved the unseasonable weather to visit us.
We have one more outdoor show coming up: Frankenfest at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit. There will be a slew of horror themed vendors, food trucks, entertainment, lectures, and you will have the chance to roam this amazing site. Come out this Saturday (14 September) from 11 - 6.
This Week’s Rambling: Yes, Dogs Can Tell Time

I should probably note that Tesla has always been particular about various things (can dogs have OCD?). This used to manifest in bossing her brother around, but since Titus’ passing it has become more and more evident by her letting us know how things should be done. This is especially true when it comes to timetables. She tells us when it is time for dinner, when I need to get to work, and most importantly when it is time to go to bed.
Fortunately for us, this most often takes the form of getting up and moving into the appropriate room. For example, if I lollygag too long in front of the TV in the morning, she will get up and move to where I have a workstation set up in the dining room. If I don’t follow she will return and stare at me until I get up and join her. The same goes for bedtime, although there is usually a lot more grumbling involved. Tesla will walk around doing the canine version of muttering under her breath until we turn out the lights and head down the hallway.
The heartbreaking example is when it is time for The Mrs to come home. Depending on where she is working, The Mrs’ travel times vary from 10 minutes to 50. As her expected arrival time (expected by Tesla, that is), Tesla will leave my side and walk over to the short stairway that separates the TV room from the rest of the house (the garage entrance is in the TV room). As time passes, she will move to the top of the stairs, then the bottom of the stairs, and so on, finally positioning herself right in front of the door so she can see her mom as soon as she walks in.
Last Friday The Mrs went right from work to her brother’s house. It got progressively darker and still no mom, leading Tesla to get more than a little antsy. She finally accepted the fact that The Mrs wouldn’t be coming home when I started eating dinner. The rest of the weekend was spent glued to my side (with the exception of when I was gone on Saturday).
I don’t want to end on such a sad note, so let me tell you that this has amusing consequences on days when The Mrs doesn’t have to work. A prime example occurs around 8am on bank holidays. Tesla starts pacing around, looking at The Mrs with what I can only assume is the thought “Lady, you have to get up. You are going to be late!”