If anyone remembers, the last paragraph of Chapter 6 refered to all the events the led up to the end of the world as "the good ol' days". Even with billions of people dying and modern society coming to an end, that was still all better than what happened next.

I think you're beginning to see why. And today's update really drives that message hope. Sloth VII is, arguably, one of the most emotionally violent bunch of pages I've ever written in my life. Hopefully, you'll all be pleased with them.

Unfortunately, Chapter 8 will not start next week, as I had hoped. I had a real hard time pulling that story out of my head and what should've taken 3 weeks to write down took 7. Not something I'm thrilled about, but it's the case, nonetheless. So, Part I will not be debuting on 2/24, instead it will spring to life next month on 3/2.

LASTLY, I had previously mentioned that Chapter 8 would be called Sobriety. This has changed. Every chapter in AKOD is obviously named after a new Word that is introduced and that the chapter revolves around. Why I decided to do something different for this chapter is beyond me. So, now, Chapter 8 will be called Heartlessness. Hopefully that fills you all with bizarre joy.

Ta ta for now, kids. See you in two weeks.

Haha, believe that and I'll tell you another one. Plus, this chapter ain't even over yet. Though our characters do get a little bit of info that'll change their lives for the worse, possibly forever. Because apparently I think that good news is evil. You'd think I grew up in a fucking Taiwanese prison camp or something.

Anywho, stay tuned next week of Sloth's epic conclusion. It'll be about as happy as getting fucked in the ass by God. Which I imagine is unpleasant. Though surprisingly fulfilling.

World's collide in today's update of AKOD. The formerly mentioned Beatrice goes on a journey to discover the magical land of talking bunnies. The adventures they have together are groundbreaking and utterly fantastic.

Remember all those old chapters before Despair and Delirium? Chapters that didn't introduce the Word they were named after until well into the second half of the chapter?

Well, if you haven't noticed yet, we're doing that little dance again. Sloth IV still does not have one reference to anything called Sloth in it.

One of these days I should let the other shoe drop and write a chapter where the content and the title just outright have nothing to do with each other. Really confuse the shit out of all of you.

God, I am such a poop-kazoo.

Every now and then, I put a little substance into AKOD. Something to try and help round out it's unusual plot. Put a little cake under the frosting, so to speak.

As you'll all soon discover, the next few chapters of AKOD are going to be a road trip of sorts. It's the slow, happy journey our narrator makes with his companions as he moves from upstate New York all the way down to central Florida. 

On the way, they meet and befriend a family of magical bunnies. And It's those bunnies that point our heroes the way of the gumdrop forest.

Nah, don't worry. There's still just lots of rape and death. Huzzah!

Back-Words. Get it? Like backwards? But saying that Words are back?

No? Not funny?

Well isn't that the honest to god truth.

Anyway, A Kind of Drug makes it's triumphant return today. Chapter 7 (Sloth) begins with our characters beginning to explore a new, ruined world. As like everything else I've ever written in my life, it's real fuck happy. Though it does setup the new story arc that will provide the moving engine for the next 3 chapters.

That's it for now, kids. See you all next week.

And, for Christmas, I give you all the rejected article I wrote two years ago for an Orlando nightlife zine. They said it was "too over the top". Which it really was. It's about how easy it is to have one-night stands during Christmas time. And it's very, very graphic.

Click on over to the Non-Fictions page and you'll see it right at the top. 

And children, cover your eyes. I don't want any parents sending me hate mail.

Or do I?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and all that crap to everyone out there. Cheers.

Around 2005, I was reading a whole lot of Philip K Dick and Kurt Vonnegut. Somewhere in the midst of all this, I came up with an idea for a short story that asked the very Dickian question of "What is reality?". In 2006, I took this story idea and crafted the tale of The Problem with Roger for one of my Creative Writing courses. The style of writing is VERY reflective of the Vonnegut books that I was reading at the time (very playful and detailed) and very dissimilar to my more current works (very serious and dickish).

But I never turned the story in to my professor. Why? Because I gave it to a friend to proofread and she immediately called me and asked if I was serious about the ending. I had no idea what she meant. She then proceeded to explain to me how the ending is the exact same as a very famous Stephen King novel. Not being a fan of King's work, I was blown away. I went online to research the book only to find out that she was completely correct.

The story has been in my scrap bin ever since. I release it now into the world simply because it's a fun story and it will hopefully keep some of you sated until A Kind of Drug returns in 2012.

It was over a year ago now that I told my family and friends about this idea that I had. The publishing industry was in trouble, I said, and so I'm gonna take the novel that I was starting and serialize it weekly on my website. I wrote and finished the first two chapters and, on February 4th, released the first few pages on my site.

In my head, I had always imagine that A Kind of Drug would finish out around 300 pages. That would make each of the 12 chapters that I mapped out for th novel about 25 pages each; a pretty reasonable length. But then, something happened.....

The book started getting longer. Much longer. As of this moment in time, AKOD is about 250 pages long and only halfway finished. I have been obsessing over this book for a year now. Working on it constantly. I even sit on the subway with printed pages and a red pen in my hand to do line edits. This book has become my existence. Which I'm not complainging about. But....

I did get exhausted. I decided I needed a short break before I lost what little was left of my sanity. And so, AKOD is taking a short break for the rest of 2011. It will be back in 2012 to complete the second half of the strange story that has really ran away with itself. And don't worry. This isn't some half-ass scheme where I say it'll be back in January, but maybe in won't. I already have 10 pages finished of Chapter 7 and plan on getting 5 to 10 more pages written tomorrow. 

In the meantime, because I don't want to this site to become a tomb while AKOD's on a break, I'm gonna post some other stories to keep you all entertained. Some back catalog material that I never originally put on my site, for one reason or another. I hope it will keep you all entertained until Words return on January 6th.

So, I hope you enjoy Despair VIII as the world finally crumbles. I sincerely hope you stick around till next year when things really start getting crazy. Because if you've read this much, so far, you're really gonna love what happens next.

Ta for now. See you all again soon.