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Darlene N. Böcek, Author

📜 🧛‍♀️ The Problem with Stories 🤷‍♀️

Published 4 days ago • 3 min read

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From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek

Faith-building Fantasy, Sci-fi & Speculative Stories
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Your Weekly DNB Newsletter

🎄The Monster stories of Darlene N. Böcek

Stories of freedom, redemption, and second chances

Over the years, I've been writing short stories for the Ye Olde Dragons Anthologies. My Vampire story, Fit to Kill, was just published a couple weeks ago! Here's the premise:

  • 🧛 Fit to Kill (Vampire short story) When he wakes up in a crypt as a vampire, a scientist discovers that his great experiment in immortality has been successful. But then he realizes what the sounds outside the crypt are--and perhaps it is not such a good day after all. (Can be found here).

The other stories from previous years' anthologies are now available as ebooks, linked to below. I wanted to tell you a bit about them.

Monster Short Stories (Sci-fi | Dystopia | Mystery | Speculative | Ghost stories):

  • 🐺 Silver and Sawdust (Werewolf short story) Cursed to roam between man and beast, John Andrew returns home under a blood moon—where love, faith, and the hunger within collide in one haunting choice.
  • 🤿 Escape from the Black Lagoon (Creature from the Black Lagoon short story) They thought the world was poisoned--that they were the only family alive on earth. But when their robot returns from the surface with a bullet wound and their son disappears, the last family on Earth must rise from their bunker in the watery depths to discover what happened to Earth and to decide humanity’s fate.
  • 🏠 The House of Hidden Faces or The Invisible Landlord (Invisible Man novella): A battered woman, Grace, and her children are welcomed into a living, breathing house by its enigmatic but invisible landlord. Now, she must unravel the landlord's secrets and decipher the mysterious house to ensure her family's safety. And then her abusive husband discovers her location.
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Why do I write monster stories? I think it can be summarized by this quote.

"The clearest sensation that a human being has when he experiences the holy is an overpowering and overwhelming sense of creatureliness. That is, when we are in the presence of God, we are humbled and become most aware of ourselves as creatures." R.C. Sproul

Seeing this world through fantastical stories can help us appreciate and embrace the invisible Truths beyond the veil!

Until next time

Darlene

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BOOK

🚌 MOBILE! 🚌

Welcome to your mobile book delivery service... November 2025

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The Passenger by Carter Norman Phillips

Tilman picks up a mysterious passenger on a last-minute voyage across the sea before the winter solstice. Now, being hunted by man and beast alike, he must find out who—or what—he is transporting before it’s too late. (Medieval Christian Fantasy) FREE NOVEL & 🎧 AUDIOBOOK

Check out these Kickstarters--

🎯 Secret Reward: 🎁

YOU FOUND THE EASTER EGG! I have secret rewards 🤫 I will be giving to ScrollKeepers (members of this newsletter community/list) who are also backing the Kickstarter.

Click below to become a backer--your rewards will be announced at the end of the Kickstarter on November 21st. (Always pays to read to the end!)

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Darlene N. Böcek, Author

Faith-building Sci-fi /Fantasy & Historical

Come be part of the ScrollKeepers community, where over 3,000 readers get weekly encouragement, uplifting stories, and faith-focused encouragement. Can't wait to meet you!

Read more from Darlene N. Böcek, Author

Hi Reader-- WONDERFUL NEWS: The Return to Me Kickstarter has met the funding threshold. We FUNDED on Day One!! Now we are working on "stretch goals" which is a way to get more bonuses and freebies to all Backers. A Kickstarter is a way to sell preorders in order for a small business to fund a publication project. The Box Set is only ever available here on this Kickstarter. If you've delayed backing, now's a good time to take a look--early backers always get more freebies and bonuses. 🎁 (I've...

5 days ago • 1 min read

Dear Reader-- A faith-building thought for the day: Death reminds us that we are creatures. Yet as fearsome as death is, it is nothing compared with meeting a holy God. When we encounter him, the totality of our creatureliness breaks upon us and shatters the myth that we have believed about ourselves, the myth that we are demigods, junior-grade deities who will try to live forever. RC Sproul My prayer for you is that you will be overwhelmed by the holiness of God. Lord, you have been our...

5 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader-- In case you were thinking the Return to Me novels are simple paranormal stories--let me share with you two quotes that underlie the heart of the series. “There are only two ways of dying. We can die in faith or we can die in our sins.” RC Sproul The Return to Me series explores this aspect of life and death. 👈 "The clearest sensation that a human being has when he experiences the holy is an overpowering and overwhelming sense of creatureliness. That is, when we are in the presence...

7 days ago • 1 min read