The Forged Man

A human being is the only creature that can be less or more than its base nature.

A man can resign himself to his whims. He may become nothing more than an ape with mindless urges. Though he revels in his antics and fornication he is never satisfied. His soul yawns in weariness and cynicism. In the pain and sorrow of his vanity he may be inclined to drown himself with alcohol or asphyxiate himself with the smoke of cigarettes. He finds worse things and desperately tries them. He may find religion but it is just another drug. Such a man swirls and staggers in his own emptiness. He is a ghost before his time.

A man may set a course and stay that course unto fruition. He may prosper but if his every achievement is worldly then his gains are doomed to perish. Ultimately, the pride of his life shall prove dust and ashes. It shall be as if he never were.

A man may gaze within himself but only if he truly means to. Should he not flinch he shall judge himself for his very gaze is a scrutiny of all that he is. He shall be ashamed of his shame for pride cannot endure honesty. The man so bold as to peer within shall find strength in his sincerity and comfort in his courage. He who dares the horrors within rises against them for he proves dauntless already. The darkness within is burned away by the light of his honesty. The cold within is burned away by the fiery warmth of his compassion. Such a man is made new. He shall henceforth be beyond his nature for he is now a man of spirit. Forged in the flames of Freedom and Justice he is incorruptible and indomitable. Such a man is innocent and justified. He shall know peace even as the world burns around him.

  

What My Art and Literature Are Made Of

Imagination is that wonderful ability to consider possibilities and to fashion impossibilities. It empowers us to give names, form and context to the silent, invisible, chaotic forces that move us. It allows us to channel the swirling within us into momentum in whatever direction we choose.

Sex and violence. Freedom and justice. Cause and effect. I know what my art and fiction are made of: SEX: comely females..., VIOLENCE: being raped and slaughtered..., FREEDOM: by people who who shall not be exploited. JUSTICE: the females being raped and slaughtered are minions of an ambitious evil. CAUSE: evil is thieving and murderous. In the grand scheme of things, its underlings are typically normal people who do the stealing and killing for them. EFFECT: the evil is thwarted and the groveling, callous masses are shamed.

I am not single-minded. My sincerity has broadened my perspective, not limited it. Not everything I write or draw involves rape or slaughter. My artistic endeavors, however, are always made of sex and violence inspired by freedom and justice and mindful of cause and effect.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ShawnOToole

Justice is Unfair

Most people are stupid. Even the intelligent among us are typically fools. Why? Evil. People are stupid because they are indifferent. They are too lazy to pay attention or appreciate. They act on whim or out of pride and they seldom act at all. They are dissuaded by fear and encouraged by lust. Even their minds are mindless. Who and what they are dims and dulls as they degenerate into living dead things. When their bodies finally perish, the world is blessed to be cleansed of them.

Most people are worthless. Their lives are irrelevant and their deaths inconsequential. None of these people are fated to be meaningless. They simply choose not to choose or they choose poorly. Their problems may not be of their own doing but they do nothing to solve them. They need a reason to care because they do not care. The fools wonder what they have done to deserve their sorrow. They never ask what they have done not to. Only those who live as a blessing deserve a life without curses. Fairness is the lie that shall not avail the wicked.

I do have a point to make. I denounce evil so as to make mockery of its shameful pride. The real issue is never what is wrong with most people but rather what is right with the bold, caring few. Sad, indeed, that such are few. Regardless, good people are those unassuming men, women and children who care when they would rather not. They may decide not to help but they do so anyway. More often than not, good people are those warm, glowing entities who take their own warmth and light for granted. They burn away the cold and darkness just by being there. Anyone and everyone can be such a person. Theirs is the one and only talent of their own making. Ultimately, it is the only one that matters.

Unreality Made Real

I am a writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. I often mix them together. I prefer them to other genres because they allow me to imagine uninhibited. They allow me to make even the common surreal and interesting. In fantasy, horror and science fiction, anything is possible.

Strangeness without reason is nonsense, even in genre fiction. Ideas are meaningless if they are not taken seriously. The weird and fantastic must be finely crafted if they are not to be ridiculous. My mind wanders as it processes fancies and notions. I focus the swirling materials and refine them as I express them. The vibrant chaos is articulated into worlds, things and personalities. I begin with as much as possible and finish with as little as I may. My dreams are boundless but my art is minimalist. I see the truth in "the least is the greatest and the greatest is least."

Nonfiction is useful for study... but it is only a telling of what already is. It can only predict within the limits of what is already known. It is detrimental if fraudulent or inaccurate. Even good nonfiction can become outdated. Fiction grounded in reality is innately limited. Only quality genre fiction can broaden our minds beyond what is truly known. Only by imagining beyond our confines can we transcend beyond them.

fantasy: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/356617
horror: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/361280
science fiction: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/375781