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Ross McDermott

@beyondtheonions.bsky.social

710 followers 470 following 1K posts

I write ✍ Author TUSK: A Beringia Story - https://a.co/d/eJgOYf1 The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt - https://a.co/d/fx8xng3 Weathervane - a.co/d/3iPzhvE (horror) (poetry) - Beyond the Onions https://a.co/d/j1SWuiC https://gravatar.com/beyondtheonions

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · Mar 25

"Words lament, pages weep,
Never written if never read."
~ Ross McDermott - Beyond the Onions

TUSK: A Beringia Story - #historicalfantasy
a.co/d/9owR2nQ
The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt - #western
a.co/d/4dskZHv
Weathervane - #western / #horror
a.co/d/eymNU43

#booklovers #storytime #booksky

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 4h

#horrorprompt no. 1975 #poem #poetry #rhymetime #writing #horror

Bolt upright in bed
just before the crash
had let the dream
take the wheel and drift.

Awake at 3 am
so he filled his pipe with hash,
shaken by his vision
of #driving_off_a_cliff

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 13h

No posts 2day folks... #amwriting #wip Sunsetter... im in it deep!

Reposted by Ross McDermott

Mo Hayes @mohayeswriter.bsky.social · 14h

‘’So you decided to go to the party as a vampire?’

‘Yeah. I splurged and got the #deluxe edition at the costume place.’

‘You look good. Do those fangs really work?’

‘Not really. They kinda suck.’

#vss365

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Reposted by Ross McDermott

SciFanSat Magazine @scifansat.bsky.social · 16h

Writers, don’t let your ambitions be eclipsed! You’ve still got two days to moonwalk your manuscripts of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and More into #SciFanSat at scifansat.com/landing.html before submissions close on October 16th!

#SFF #AmWritingScifi #AmWritingFantasy #WritingPrompts

SciFanSat: The Monthly Magazine for Science Fiction, Fantasy and More! October’s theme is MOON. The deadline for submissions is October 16th, 2025.

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 13h

Thanks Trey! 🙂

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 1d

I slip from the #tip
of my precarious perch
the iceberg rolls and sprays,
#influenced as undertows
and riptides come to play,
and the crash of ocean's memories,
melting more, day by day.

#2wordprompt #poem #poetry #amwriting #writing

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 1d

#vss365 #poem #poetry #writing #amwriting #poetrysky #read
~ #Undertones ~

Rolling in uncertainty
I rise and fall and rise.
Waves bulge aqua-green
offering glimpses of the sanctuary shore;
brief and blurred shimmers of hope.

This ocean speaks to me,
whispering of riptides and undertows.
Undertones of a one-sided conversation.
For the swell steals my sounds allowing only gulps and gasps,
and the desperation of my own whispered undertones.

And still I rise, and fall and rise
Treading in this sea of uncertainty.

by Ross McDermott, Beyond the Onions

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 1d

#WIPSnips #push #amwriting #wip #western #horror #fiction
Sunsetter - continuing the tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west. Sequel to the #novel Weathervane.
*Have y'all met Jebediah Stoll?
Introduced in Weathervane, in this snippet Francis has his first encounter with the legendary hunter

The voice was a gravelly grind, not one I’d heard before.
I saw Manny’s eyes open wide as he crouched to help Josh to his feet and as I turned my head my vision was filled by the hulking mass of what could only be the legendary Sunsetter, Mr. Jebediah Stoll.
The man was a monster, almost as wide as the hallway itself, he turned to the side to allow Manny and Josh to push past. Manny nodded respectfully to the man who filled the frame, while Josh’s head tilted woeful, down at the floor from where he’d just risen.
I watched Manny glance over his shoulder as he guided the bloodied Josh down the hall to turn into the main dining room. From the room there arose a sudden commotion, conjuring a chuckle from the man who towered above and around me with his immensity of size.
“His lip bleeds fresh yet he dares the Setter thirst… perhaps he’ll make a Sunsetter after all,” he mused, nodding down at me, a dim shadow in the dusk.
“Hello young fella,” the mountain of a man continued. “I’m to assume you are the one Francis Slayter. I’m Jebediah Stoll.”

from the #wip Sunsetter
by Ross McDermott

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2d

@archivewhisperer.bsky.social
🙏
Thank you.

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2d

"Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear..."
~ President Snow, The Hunger Games.

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2d

Thick skin proves worthy
when swimming with #piranha
nipping at your heels. 🦶🐟🐟🐟

#vss365 #haiku #poem #poetry #writing #amwriting #writingcommuity

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 2d

#WIPSnips #hope #amwriting #horror #western #fiction
An excerpt from my #wip Sunsetter - a tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west. Sequel to the #novel Weathervane
In this scene, Francis thinks he sees a ghost... Maddie does too...
#writing #books #read #booklovers #horrorsky
🦇🧛‍♂️

As we departed the meadow, we followed the tracks of the comings and goings of others, fanning the flames of hope that our presence here would go undetected, but in truth we knew that any eye would see our movements, so clear they wrote our tale in the snow.
McTavish led the way as we climbed the small rise to slip silently into the forest. Bringing up the rear I glanced back at the meadow, that now appeared not-so-pretty, as I had first observed, but bore the scars of death corrupted, and a faithful night of blood and chaos that visited the Widow’s Weeping Willow and her crumbling box of sticks.
A man!
Just for a moment I saw him, leaning against the willow and watching us depart. I blinked and he was gone… just a memory imprinted on the land?
My mind reeled as for a moment – Union cap, buckskin waistcoat, a casual lean and a pearl-handled Colt dangling on his hip – I recognized the apparition, the trembling mirage of the man known as the murderous villain Rosco Pitt. I paused at the crest of the hill and as quick as my vision appeared, it had vanished before I could focus my eyes.
“He loved her dearly,” Maddie’s voice startled me. She had caught me staring back down towards the meadow.

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Reposted by Ross McDermott

Trey Lindsey Art @treylindsey.com · 5d

My gift of fear to you for Halloween: S.0.S. (Save Our Souls) -- Our terrifying true story of a demonic haunting in Washington state. marriedtoamedium.substack.com/p/save-our-s...

#spooktober #31DaysOfHalloween #terror #haunting #demons #horror #creepy #scary #ghost #paranormal #supernatural

S.O.S. (Save Our Souls)

Our Terrifying True Story of a Demonic Haunting in Washington state

marriedtoamedium.substack.com

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

Trey, I found this both terrifying and inspiring at the same time. The stark reality of the story truly shines a light on the strength and will exhibited by you and your partner.
A gripping, horrorifying read.

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

It is a "painful" write, to be sure. Your perception of judgements is astute... self judgements, self doubt, a sense of meaningless existence, magnified to a dramatic degree. As you noted, "We belong to ourselves."
Appreciate your thoughts Karen. 🙂
🙏🙏

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

I showed my pet monkies his picture, and they all started going crazy?

(I don't really have any pet monkies.😔)

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

And again... thanks Phil! 🙂

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

Thanks Phil. Much appreciated!

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

Oh... and who could forget this little gem.
TUSK: a Beringia Story - a mystic tale of love and struggle at the dawn of humanity. Follow the clan as they brave the land of Beringia and follow Hooyip's mammoth.
#historial #fantasy #fiction #booksky #read
USA - a.co/d/ayT7t6L
Canada - a.co/d/iVjHXr4

Book covers: TUSK: a Beringia Story
A novel by Ross McDermott

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

*The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt
a.co/d/gFu4idS - USA
a.co/d/5WtMzsn - Canada
*Weathervane
a.co/d/8WGo8BZ - USA
a.co/d/7sATILn - Canada

#Read em together or stand them alone, but do it soon, Sunsetter is coming. - #wip (work in progress)
#books #read #booksky #writing - #western #horror #fiction

Book covers: The Murderous Villain Rosco Pitt, Weathervane - available now.

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

#poem #poetry #rhymetime #writing #writingcommunity #amwriting #amhungry

The ribbon was worn, tattered and torn
Like the heart of the scribe who pounded the keys.

Bright red, it sat on the tiny desk
His Underwood Olivetti

Fingers putting to the test
the speed of words he sees
...stomach rolls and rumbles
He craves some canned spaghetti.

But words kept spilling to the page
descending falls to form cascades,
then raining like confetti,
Or noodles spilled,
from canned spaghetti.

Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

#MAGA man don't understand
You sold your mortal soul

To an orange demon in a big white house
Who roars like a lion then flees like a mouse

Whose dead eyes squint imperial,
deep and dark and black as coal.

#poem #poetry #Trump

Reposted by Ross McDermott

FizzytwizlerAllsortsOfAllsorts @fizzytwizler.bsky.social · 3d

When sadness showers down
Made from artificial
Silly people clouds
There naught be
An umbrella
Or a #raincoat
Big enough
To cover
Ones heart
From welling up
And sinking
Like a boat
With a broken hull

#vss365

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Ross McDermott @beyondtheonions.bsky.social · 3d

sinew in the meat
the beast despised the grizzle
spitting out the world.

#haikuhorrorprompt No. 1539 #sinew ##haiku #poem #poety #amwriting #horror #vsshorror

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Reposted by Ross McDermott

Jason H. Abbott @jason-h-abbott.bsky.social · 3d

She plunges the silver dagger into the werewolf, and leaves it backing away.

He howls, pulling it out of his shoulder. “Ow! You suck!”

“But, you should—”

The werewolf’s eyes hold an old man’s wisdom in the moonlight. “Long ago, I learned to take the lore into my own hands!”

#SciFanSat #vss #sff

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