Back.

So much time has passed. So much has happened. I have a new book coming out from Blue Jade Press. Here are the details that were posted on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/1700060000078857/posts/3798520583566111/?d=n

Please consider buying it. Thank you. (And, yes, I will post more later.) ~Ryan

An Invitation From Upstairs

Alison pulled into the driveway and sighed. 

“I can’t believe how busy the grocery store was,” she said.

“Yeah…” said Larry. “I can’t believe that Christmas decorations are already on display. It’s still October, dammit.”

Alison climbed out the driver’s seat and walked to the back of the SUV. She opened the hatch and was greeted by an army of brown paper bags. 

“I’m gonna go unlock the front door and say “Hi” to the girls,” Larry said. 

The “girls” were their two dogs, Ripley and Rose. Rose was just a puppy and she was being crate trained. He wanted to get inside and let her out the crate right away. 

Larry fished out his keys as he walked down the flagstone path next to their old house and stepped onto the porch. He readied it as he opened the screen door, but stopped in his tracks. The front door was ajar. 

Now, there were times when his wife would, absentmindedly, leave the front door unlocked by accident, but nothing this severe. Perhaps it was Ripley. Yesterday she had grabbed one of the small goblin egg gourds off of the coffee table and ate it; leaving only the stem and a few pieces of the outer shell. Maybe the door was left unlocked and the dog jumped up and pulled the handle. 

The more probable answer then crossed his mind and gave him chills. 

Larry placed the palm if his right hand on the door and gave it a push. It whined its way open. Ripley wasn’t sitting on the other side of it. Nor did she come running to him. Something was wrong.

Larry stepped into the foyer and looked up the staircase to the second floor. He could see that the bathroom and guest room doors were also opened. 

He didn’t hear anything. 

Looking left, he glanced into the living room and saw that none of their belongings had been taken. There were, however, a few things out of place. The puppy’s crate door was open. And the dog was gone. He could also see that the windows in the living room were open. Which made it quite chilly in the house. The kitchen door, which he could see from where he was standing, as well as the basement door had been opened as well. 

All of these doors and windows had been shut prior to the couple leaving for the grocery store. 

Larry was horrified. Someone had broken into the house and something had happened to his dogs. As he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, he heard Alison calling for him. Her voice was but a whispered hush that seemed to snake out of her throat. 

“Babe?” she hissed. “Could you come up here please? There’s something I need to show you.”

Why was her voice coming from the second floor? 

Larry’s heart began to race at the sound of the voice. Instead of accepting the invitation, he began to back up towards the screen door. As he took a step, he heard footsteps from above begin to make their way towards the second floor landing. 

Larry pushed the screen door open and backed up onto the porch. As he did, he heard something next to him.

With a jolt, he turned to face whatever approached. It was Alison. Her arms were full of grocery bags. 

“Are you going to help me with this stuff or not?” she said.

Around Dusk

Suzy had gotten home late from work. Sunset was closing in, but her dog Rocko was anxious. He wanted to go for a walk. Thankfully, the park was right down the road from her house, and she knew that she could get in a quick stroll before it got dark. So, she leashed the dog and away they went.

It was only a mile walk around the man-made lake at Coleman Park. One that could be completed in 10 minutes or so. The sun was already dropping towards the horizon. 

Rocko tugged a bit as they began to walk, but after he found an appropriate spot to pee, he began to calm down. The autumn day felt good, and the orange leaves that scattered across the walkways danced with the October wind. When the wind died down, that’s when Suzy saw someone on the path in the distance. 

There was a man walking a husky. The Husky was gorgeous, and surprisingly calm despite its nature. The man was well dressed for a just a stroll in the park. He had on black boots, dark jeans, a wool blazer, black vest, leather gloves, and a burgundy dress shirt. He was bearded and wore a newsboy cap. 

As Suzy and the man got closer to one another, Suzy noticed that the man had a wide grin on his face. He was glancing around him as if the sights of the autumn day were almost too much to handle. As if his surroundings were bringing him an almost untamable ecstasy. 

“Good evening, madam,” said the man as he soon as he locked eyes with Suzy. Their two dogs began sniff each other cordially. 

“H-hello,” said Suzy. She noticed that his eyes were like milk chocolate. They began to relax under flirtatious, bedroom lids as he spoke further. 

“Do you know when dusk is expected?” he said.

What a strange question, she thought to herself. It was already getting dark. Couldn’t he have just guessed?

“Soon,” she answered. “A little after six-thirty.” 

She then checked her watch. It was six-eighteen. 

“Thank you,” he said. “Say...would you mind walking together? We have a little ways to go and walking in the park after dark makes me uncomfortable” 

Suzy was taken aback by the question. It made her uncomfortable. She didn’t know this man, no matter how charming he was.

“Um...no,” she said. “No, thank you. We are almost done with our walk and will be heading back home soon.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “Have a wonderful evening.”

That was when he turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. 

Instead of traveling in the same direction as he did, she too turned around and headed back from whence she came. She no longer wanted to continue tonight’s walk.

As she moved further and further away, she heard the same man strike up another conversation with a woman who was walking a small white dog at the other end of the path.

Suzy heard him ask her what time he could expect the dusk. 

Suzy and Rocko disappeared around the bend as she heard him extended another invitation to walk with the woman.

It was just after sunset when Suzy and the her dog got back to her car and drove home. 

A few days later, Suzy was sitting at her kitchen counter, checking the news on her phone and drinking coffee. That was when a headline caught her eye. Police discovered the dead body of a woman in the park. She had been beaten and strangled in a copse of trees by the lake. Her white dog was unharmed, and had been leashed to one of the nearby oaks. Police have no suspects and little evidence, but the coroner report stated that the murder happened right around dusk. 

A Message From a Humble Poet

Hey all, just an FYI...

When you buy from indie publishers, like Red Dashboard, Jeff Bezos doesn't get 60% of the profits from MY art and RD's hard work. Put the money in the pockets of the artists. Not the corporations, which are run by men who FAIL at the creative process.

http://cms.reddashboard.com/ryan-torres/.

And, while we are on the subject, I know that many of you have reached out and asked where your books were after you ordered them. "Blessed are the Snakes" was finalized on Friday (9/21), so most of you bought it during it's "pre-sale" stage (which I elaborated upon in a previous social media post). It will get to you this week. Thanks again for your patience.

Lasty, regardless of where you purchased the book, thanks for taking the time to read, review, and critique. Your support makes my art better and gives me another reason to keep doing it. I mean...I wrote three books in a year and a half. And I loved every minute of it. You're all a big part of that.

Cheers.

New Book News

Hey everyone,

My latest book has just been released by Red Dashboard LLC. It's called Blessed are the Snakes. You can find at the link below. As always, thank you for all the love and support.

http://cms.reddashboard.com/ryan-torres/

Interview with Vox Poetica

If you get a moment, check it out:


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/voxpoetica/2018/08/19/vox-poeticas-15-minutes-of-poetry-with-poet-ryan-j-torres#.W3nhqpKaaEs.facebook

To the Gorgeous Woman in Traffic

Dear gorgeous lady,
in your brand new convertible.
With your blonde hair and makeup
and expensive purse.

You had a little dog
on the seat next to you.
It had a pink ribbon
on its collar.

Dear gorgeous lady,
the world can not touch you.
Not even in traffic.

Dear gorgeous lady,
I wanted to thank you
for taking the time
to pick your nose
at the red light.

Right index finger
two knuckles deep
in your nostril.

Searching to buy another coach bag
with the gold contained within?

I wanted to thank you
for the reassurance
that none of us
are above
being
human.