Backstage at the Calamity, Vol. I No. VI: Showdown at Sunrise moves to Preorder, New Stories on the Horizon, the Groundskeeper Part VI

Exciting progress and ideation has occurred between the last issue and this one! First of all, Showdown at Sunrise sees its debut on Apple Books. Second, two new stories are outlined and ready to be written. Third, yet another chapter in the upcoming vampire novel has been reviewed, bringing this closer to fruition. Read on for the deets.

Author

M A D A L E X
January 31st, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Table of Contents

Showdown at Sunrise on Preorder?!

Cover of Showdown at Sunrise, depicting a cowboy riding a horse in silhouette overlaying a farmhouse as a background. The author's name, "Mad Alex" is displayed boldly over the title, with the heading "A Tale from the Odds 'n' Endings Boutique" splashed in the lower half of the cover.

Howdy y’all! Here lies the next installment from the Odds ‘n’ Endings universe, a story taking you on a romp through a small western town where the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique makes a brief appearance, just when our hero finds himself eyeball deep in the most dire of straits.

The story will be available for your consumption on the 13th of February, a very appropriate date for a tale as strange as this one. Don’t miss the absurd antics and sinister closure to the protagonist’s narrative, as his serves a warning to all of the danger in distraction.

What the F*CK did I Work On This Week?

Two Serials

First and foremost, another chapter of the Groundskeeper has been written. We are ahead, and we are moving full steam ahead. Feel free to add some innuendo about “ahead” here, because I got nothin’.

Second, a new chapter in Vampire’s Vengeance is written and ready. No, there are no previews, despite my overwhelming excitement in wanting to share it with you. You’ll have to see The Groundskeeper to its completion before you can divulge in Vampire’s Vengeance.

Unholy Requiem (Children of the Damned, Book I)

Chapter four of this rather interesting vampire historical is complete in its review! This brings the tale a little bit closer to completion, a little bit closer to advanced reader feedback, a little bit closer to publishing. Stay tuned!

A Bit of Flash: The Groundskeeper, Part VI

First time tuning in? Start here.

Continued from Part V

There is a shambling figure at the edge of my periphery. I turn my head, expecting it to disappear as nothing more than another figment of my imagination, and I am disappointed to find this is not the case. There is, indeed, a shambling figure making its way in my direction over the grassy knoll littered with flat granite grave markers. The figure appears, well, incomplete. I'm not really sure how else to describe it. A tattered dress is draped over its shoulders, which aren't whole, but there does remain some tissue to round them out. The flesh on its arms are blotchy, spotty, and eaten away to reveal decaying tissue and bone in some places. The face ... well, I'd rather not discuss it. That face will haunt my dreams for years to come.

I don't know if I can categorize this as a zombie, or simply an animated corpse. Is there a difference? I ponder this for a moment, unsure of how to qualify this shambling mass. The figure is moving pretty slow, and I'm not exactly in a rush to check on the gates, and given my recent experience in the employee hall, my resistance to terror has been raised somewhat. I should probably run and grab the shotgun, but it's not a forefront concern. Unless this figure takes off sprinting toward me, I could, in all likelihood, just walk to the big mausoleum and grab the weapon. If it did start sprinting however, I doubt it would make it very far, given the state of decay of its lower extremities. Its feet look fucking terrible. Those will haunt my dreams too.

Is it a zombie? Zombies are zombies because of some outbreak, right? If this is a corpse rising from the dead, then it's not technically a zombie, right? Are there guidelines for this? I start to pull out my phone to DuckDuckGo this nonsense, when another point on the checklist comes to mind: "All residents are to remain in their graves or tombs at all times."

Oh. Oh shit. That's what this is.

To be continued …

What’s Published and Where You Can Find It

These are the top stories currently in circulation.

Final Encounter Cover

Final Encounter

A parent searches frantically for their daughter who has disappeared in their house.

The Artist’s Spell

A visit to a popular artist’s exhibit takes an interesting turn.

The Artist’s Spell cover

Odds ‘n’ Endings Stories

These stories share a single connective thread through them all: the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique. The Proprietor—a timeless individual of many faces, few scruples, and a whole lot of character—deals in artifacts, each containing peculiar traits. These are the stories of the Boutique’s patrons.

Vegas Rift

A woman searches for her long lost husband. This is currently the most popular Mad Alex short story.

A merchant finds themselves in trouble after surviving a shootout. Their outlook is dim, but a visit to a strange boutique changes their outlook. Perhaps the ending of this story won’t be as predictable as they expected …

Postscript

Wow this week has been interesting. I am beside myself in finally bringing Showdown at Sunrise to fruition, and equally excited to experience your experience of it. If you order the damn thing, please reply and let me know so I can follow up with you. I would love to hear all about your reading of it. Also, if you are on the butterfly app, come follow me! You can find me on Bluesky here.

Acknowledgements

Reply

or to participate.