Ross McDermott
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beyondtheonions.bsky.social
Ross McDermott
@beyondtheonions.bsky.social
800 followers 470 following 1.2K 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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beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #dedicated (vibe) #writing #amwriting #horror #western #genre-bending #wip Sunsetter - ancient evil in the wilds of the west.
*Noah plants the seeds of doubt in the weakened mind of Francis - damaging his dedication to his task.
“You’re tasked with hunting death corrupted. But tell me Sunsetter, tell me with your spoken words, who corrupted death?” He paused for a moment, tilting his head and blinking slowly his long, boyish lashes, waiting for my response. Stunned, I gave none. “Say his name, Sunsetter.” Noah taunted, folding his arms and tapping his toe, quickly growing impatient with my stubborn silence. Suddenly he sprang forward toward the bars, his eyes gleaming with an intensity, glaring down at mine. I lay frozen, suspended in time, it seemed, as my mind filled with his words, the words of the vampir, and he told again the tale of his making, the same tale he told to that man Pitt. from the #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 29, 2025 at 12:03 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#vss365 #health #poem #poetry #writing #amwriting #vsshorror
~ house call ~ 👨‍⚕️
I could see him through the window just half a face, peering in one-eyed frown, half mouth turned down My fear congealed within "It's just the doctor," mother said. "Why don't you let him in?" 'Why don't I let him in?' Where do I begin? I'd seen him once before, not like regular folk. He only made his calls at night, he moved too fast, his smile was tight, and people said he feared the light. This guy, he ain't no joke. In town folks aren’t healthy – dying strangely in the night. Their bodies found on hallowed ground, pale and ghostly white; all blood mysteriously drained, a grim and ghastly sight. "The doctor's not to blame," mom said. "This plague is not his fault." Yet in the city morgue, bodies gather in the vault. A pounding on the door. His voice drifts through the pine. "Let me in," he whispers. I did. I lost my mind. ~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~
November 28, 2025 at 1:20 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #zigzag vibes with the word #dart, courtesy of Mr. Andrews #writing #amwriting #horror #western #fiction #wip Sunsetter
*Back to an early chapter and the second appearance of that crazy Appaloosa! 🐎🐴
#HappyFriday #books #comingsoon
“There! Do you see it, Maddie? That’s him!” I saw Maddie stand up and track McTavish’s pointing finger with her gaze. I propped myself up on my elbows and caught the fleeting apparition of that crazy Appaloosa that had assaulted me just yesterday. The horse darted through the small stand of trees, fading in the early morning grey of the day, then flashing bold, a charging mass of spotted muscle, nostrils flaring and lips flapping in his fury. from the #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 28, 2025 at 12:44 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#2wordprompt #tomorrow #champion #poem #poetry #writing
No eyes see her depart just the empty slip she leaves behind We whisper of her passage; a ghostly ship we'll never find resting in a port, far beyond horizon's line We board her sister ship, Today While dry-dock stores the Yesterday. May fair winds champion us on our way, as we search for our Tomorrow. ~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~
November 26, 2025 at 12:46 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #impede (vibe) #writing #horror #western #genre-bending #fiction #wip Sunsetter - an ancient evil in the wilds of the west.
*Short snippet today. Francis takes a fall. ⬇️
I crossed the dry creek and tripped, stumbling on winter’s deadfall buried in the snow, then stumbled again up the opposite bank. I took refuge behind the widow’s willow, foolishly feeling better with its bark at my back. #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 26, 2025 at 12:26 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #writing #amwriting #wip
No #system in current #wip but found one example in my #historical/fantasy #novel TUSK: a Beringia Story
*This snippet from TUSK comes from the end of the #prologue - archeologists debate the mysterious markings on a newly discovered mammoth tusk- #books
The Russian laughed softly. "Perhaps," he conceded. "But again, unprecedented. That would mean we have evidence of three ancient human species residing in a single cave system, perhaps at the same time, perhaps not, over hundreds of thousands of years. An interesting development that will require further study." "Mon Dieu! Pourquoi? Why etch a tusk?" a French caver moved forward to photograph the tusk's mysterious marks. “Why the telling of a story of course,” replied the Russian, his glasses slipping down his nose as he peered bright-eyed at the Frenchman. “Humanity has always loved the story. We love to hear them, and we love to tell them. This,” he continued, glancing around at the faces, “is such a story, told around an ancient fire but not unlike the campfires we gather around today. What tale does it tell? I can not say.” He shrugged, then his eyes sparkled as he concluded, “But I’ll bet it's a good one.” excerpt from the #novel TUSK: a Beringia Story by Ross McDermott
November 25, 2025 at 11:54 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #debut (vibe) #writing #amwriting #horror/western #genre-bending #fiction #wip Sunsetter - continuing the tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west. #Sequel to the #novel Weathervane.
*Noah's fledglings make their #debut under the light of a slivered moon.
#books #booksky #read
Crumbs, a trail left to follow? I caught the glistening humps of horses, dead and prone on their sides, skinned and glaring white beneath the intermittent light of the slivered moon. Noah had left a trail – his disturbing calling-card, and again was sending a strong warning with each of the seven dead horses we passed. Seven mounts, seven men, all lost to the dead of the night. The shadows that were swallowed by the depths of the snow were new to my Sunsetter’s eyes – no shadows such as this had ever been mentioned over all the years of my training. Though winter’s bite caused tears to pool, it was shadows my eyes caught now. As intermittent as the flash of the moon, they stood among the trees, still, dark and foreboding – hooded cloaks blacker than the sky, sentinels in the night. They did not move, but populated the dark forest, back among the trees, seeming to line the path I followed, watching my flight, their numbers appearing as too many to count. excerpt from #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #global (world) #writing #amwriting #western/horror #fiction #wip Sunsetter - continuing the tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west
*The OG - Percival teaches the fledgling Sunsetters the true origins of Noah - the #original #vampir
#sequel to the #novel Weathervane - available now!
“He knew not then what he had done,” Percival again took up the telling. “The blood of fallen angels had been passed to one not meant to feel the pulse of that power. No ha had become the vessel of that tainted blood, the accidental ark of an unholy covenant. “He was now , like his creator, immortal and driven with an incessant hunger to feed on the blood of humans.” Percival moved closer to our line of desks, catching each of our eyes and emphasizing the importance of his words. “He was now, Noah, the child fiend who would slaughter his clan, his own mother, and carry on to spread the plague around the world as death corrupted. This he continues to do today, feeding indiscriminate, seeking the hearts of innocence. This, Sunsetters, is your foe. This, Sunsetters, is the true destroyer of all flesh.” excerpt from #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 23, 2025 at 11:49 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #writing #amwriting #horror/western #fiction #wip
No #crystal in current #wip Sunsetter, so today's snippet comes from the #preqel, the #novel Weathervane.
*Rosco receives assurances from the fallen one, V'ar kielius (Arakiel).
#books #booksky
“The mountains you hold so dearly were of my making. Even the silver with which you now hunt was delivered to your kind by me. Your world has been my dominion since before it was your world. No ha is my folly, god of the steppe I was then, but I am to be sure, Earth of God, and my folly is now my lot. I tell you this, Mr. Pitt…” Again he spoke my name, and though it wrang as crystal in the air, I did not like the sound. “I tell you this so you will know, down there,” Arakiel pointed, “in the dark. That you are not alone.” The ghost vanished. The stable erupted in the utter silence that followed and the flame of the torch in my hand bent sharply, as if blown or sucked, so it seemed, by a sudden draft where none had been, where Arakiel, the fallen, had just stood. excerpt from the #novel Weathervane - prequel to current wip Sunsetter - coming soon.
November 22, 2025 at 10:57 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #writing #amwriting #horror/western #wip excerpt from Sunsetter...sequel to #novel Weathervane and continuing the tale of an ancient evil in the wilds of the west.
*Francis consults the weathervane for #direction
#books #comingsoon
I had not drawn it in some time and now felt a dire need to know if Noah lurked near. The weathervane answered ‘yes.’ The star spun wildly in its frame against the backdrop of a sparkling black of the sky. The etchings flared, ending with the horns of the ram, as it always did. The weathervane pointed northwest, towards the meadow of the Widow’s Weeping Willow. Though them cattle-company boys didn’t know it, they were riding headlong towards ‘the destroyer of all flesh.’ I tapped my heels on the underbelly of Mr. Andrews and her response was immediate. She knows this game well. We left Randy River behind us, galloping at pace, catching up to the posse, that now tempted fate in the dead of the night. ~from wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott Weathervane cover design by Emma McDermott
November 21, 2025 at 11:53 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#PoemsAbout #DogTags #poem #poetry #writing #writingcommunity #amwriting @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
Composed this piece in July - but it fits well. #HappyFriday #BlueskyPoetry
~ Broken Wings ~
They found him on the sand where waves lapped the land and foamy surf told fables only they could understand. They thought perhaps he'd fallen a god from lofty heights or perhaps emerged from inky black that always ruled the night. They knew he fell in battle the metal was the tell its silver-chain; the tarnished tag and broken wings on his lapel ~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~
November 21, 2025 at 10:37 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#2wordprompt #winter #wear #poem #poetry #rhymetime #amwriting #writingcommunity #blueskypoetry
She sleeps to the tones of winter's whispered drawl She weeps and she groans wearing winter's shall From jagged cliffs she clings tenacious in her wonder and sings an unheard song of winter's chilling thunder finally taking wing to break the spell she's under so in spring her frigid tears spill sweet. ~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott
November 20, 2025 at 11:52 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #writing #amwriting #horror #western #wip Sunsetter - a tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west
*Nothing #special in my #wip... but I do have plenty of "particular"
*Noah breaks the illusion. Francis sees the fiend.
#books #comingsoon - #sequel to the #novel Weathervane.
#booksky
I shifted in the corner but remained quiet on the floor. I was horrified yet gripped by the tale he was telling, and while fantastical it was, after all I had seen, heard and felt in recent days, I was inclined to believe him. Besides, as I looked at him deep in his contemplation, the physical boy Noah was in every other way a man. At least, that’s how he struck me at this particular moment. “No. No, Sunsetter” he laughed softly, his lips parting from that usual straight-lipped smile, he drew them back and showed his fangs. “I am no man.” excerpt from Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 20, 2025 at 11:30 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#vss365 #option (choice) #poem #poetry - I may have posted this piece previously... not sure... but I chose to repost, as that is my #option. 😉
#writing #amwriting #writingcommunity
~ The Chamber ~ Beyond the Onions, Ross McDermott I know not of the wind's caress. Although I've heard its whispered words I know not of its touch. Within these walls, forged not by the hands of men but by those of gods I am held captive. Though it seems safe, so safe it seems, to try and dwell among the dreams what choice have I? These walls of flesh dictate to me the feelings that I feel. The feelings that they judge unfit it seems they choose to steal. Deep within these confines there is a place where passage starts, but for now, it seems, I dwell in dreams a prisoner of the heart.
November 19, 2025 at 1:41 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #third #writing #amwriting #horror/western #genre-bending #wip Sunsetter - the continuing tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west. Sequel to the #novel Weathervane.
*A tense moment for Francis and the Triple C posse.
#books #read #booksky
“Who are you?” Sandy said, stepping forward and flipping back his coat to show me the iron. He was a formidable shadow in the night, but not one to cause me, a Sunsetter, any worry. “That’s the man who claimed the Pitt bounty,” another man answered. “I seen him in the mercantile earlier today. ‘Slayter,’ Joe had called him.” I looked at the man, who’s name I did not know, then turned my eyes to Sandy. “My name is Frank. Frank Slayter,” I nodded at the four men collectively, still looking over my shoulder, then stood to face them, meeting all their eyes in a sweeping glance. “But you boys can call me Frank.” I let the ashes fall from my hand, flipping my own coat back to show off my iron, matching metal dangling ready on each opposing hip. I eyed Sandy’s pistol, and watched his hand descend to rest calmly on the buckle of his belt. I relaxed my stance a measure, sensing the immediate threat had passed. “You’re a bounty hunter,” a third man declared. “Why yes, yes I am,” I smiled. excerpt from #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 19, 2025 at 1:09 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #run #writing #amwriting #horror #western #genre-bending #fiction #wip Sunsetter - ancient evil in the wilds of the west.
*Francis here's the name -- Vampir 🧛‍♀️
Mihai hummed and hawed, I could see his struggle. “Where are you,” I pointed, “you, where are you from?” Mihai nodded again, prideful he patted his chest. “Romania. “You,” he pointed at me. “Your death corrupted – my Strijoi mort… in English, hmm, English … vampir.” He pointed again and his eyes widened in triumph. Vampir. The word snarled at me as it bounced inside my mind. It drew back its lips and showed me the fangs. V’ar kielius had once whispered the word in disdain. “Vampir – Death corrupted – Strijoi mort.” Mihai concluded, slicing the air with a bladed hand as he stated each name. “All the same.” I looked at him shocked, but just for a moment. The sounds from the clearing out front were distracting me but I could not pull myself away from this man. “You,” I mimicked his method. “Your Strijoi – you kill them?” I drew my finger across my throat: a universal sign. Mihai shook his head vigorously as he moved into the stall where a saddled horse awaited. “No!” he said, stepping into the stirrup and pulling himself up into the saddle. “They do not die – so I run. You would be wise to do the same, yah.” from the #wip Sunsetter - sequel to the #novel Weathervane - a continuing tale of evil in the wilds of the west.
November 16, 2025 at 12:36 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#ShamelessSelfpromoSaturday #writerslift
Excerpt from the #novel Weathervane - a tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west. Currently working on #sequel - #wip Sunsetter #comingsoon.

a.co/d/cXDq5LM - Weathervane available now!

#books #booksky #horror #western #genre-bending #fiction👇
November 15, 2025 at 3:34 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#vss365 #transport #2wordprompt #with #room #poem #poetry #amwriting #writing #rhyme #astral_plane #writingcommunity
no friction in the astral plane silver skies do not refrain the universe-the massive brain side-by-side; one and the same transport thoughts on neuron trains through solar winds & cosmic rains through mountains high cross vast-wide plains no friction in the astral plane a ride with room to spare ~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~
November 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#PoemsAbout #desire #poetry #poem #writing #amwriting #writingcommunity
Thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk & @thebrokenspine.co.uk
~wet whisper~ I used to think I loved her in moments of intimacy Memories of a dreamscape, a scene-scape, caught in lust's reality. That was back then, back when lust and love seemed one and the same, part of the game. Now she is just the dust of lust that taints my dreams. She is a flash of flesh, a wet whisper; she is eyes dark with sensuous fire; She is lust, not love; a memory of desire. ~Beyond the Onions~ Ross McDermott ~
November 15, 2025 at 1:32 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #writing #amwriting #western/#horror #fiction #wip
Very little #progress in my #wip Sunsetter, so instead here's a snippet from it's #prequel, the #novel Weathervane.
*Awakening to loud banging, Rosco & Marjorie explore the empty house.
#books #booksky #creepy
We did a quick check of the house, never leaving one another’s side. Though the house was expansive as frontier homes go, it had few rooms, all large, hollow chambers. The main floor was quiet, only stretching shadows yawned long and followed our progress as we moved down the hall. The parlour was empty; the dining room dark, cold; and the kitchen spoke of order, cleanliness and a woman’s flow. ‘She wore a scarlet crown…’ Rebecca’s face, dead and staring up from the snow flashed in my mind. There was a door in the floor of the kitchen. Heavy bolts and hinges gleamed black and an iron ring, embedded and flush with the surface of the heavy wood, beckoned the hand to pull. It would not open. My eyes scanned the wood, seeking out the lock, the bolt to slide. There was none. This door had been locked from the other side, from beneath the floor, from beneath the house. I stomped hard on the door and listened to my pounding echo. The sound seemed to bounce around beneath us, then strangely reverberate throughout the entire structure, racing along the floor boards and vibrating through the walls and cross beams, rattling the very bones of the house. excerpt from the #novel Weathervane - a tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west. by Ross McDermott
November 15, 2025 at 1:14 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #amwriting #writing #horror/western #fiction #wip
Sunsetter #comingsoon

*"We live life by the hour." Francis Morgan Slayter, Sunsetter

- A #week is rarely measured when living in the saddle, but I found the word appearing way back in Chapter 3. Just a short snippet today. #HappyFriday
Chasing the night, seems all I’ve done since I left the Setters’ Manner. I’d been on the trail about a week and I must confess I was saddle-weary and bleary-eyed by the time I’d made a foothill’s mile from my camp of the night before. excerpt from #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
One is a boy; two is a boy; three is a girl one and two are her toys. Four is a woman Five is her man Six carries secrets five won't understand. Seven is a beast-an arrogant man. Eight swings freely, they'll go either way Nine is quite happy to simply be gay Ten is their queen, she rules them all Eleven, her guard, he follows her call.
November 13, 2025 at 12:43 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #build #writing #amwriting #western #horror #fiction #wip Sunsetter - a tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west, sequel to the #novel Weathervane.
*Charlie bears witness to death corrupted. 🧛‍♂️
“They was running cross the clearing,” he gazed in the direction pointing, wincing as his mind showed it all to him again. “It just came down and flung them one by one into the trees. It didn’t even touch the ground… “It flung them, all three, one right after the other. I could hear them cracking low-hung branches as they landed, somewhere.” Charlie suddenly moved closer to me, placing a hand on my crouching shoulder. I paused my fire-building, and looked up to see a tale of conflict being told by his wincing expression. “There were shadows in those trees, Slayter; pointy shadows about yay high,” Charlie leveled a hand where his belly bulged. “But Slayter, and I swear Slayter -- I swear! The shadows in them trees, I know it was dark and all, but they moved. I swear to God, they moved. And them boys, well… I guess they never came back out… serves ‘em right, leaving me sleeping in a wagon.” from #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 13, 2025 at 11:39 AM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
That line keeps flashing
a cursor calling for words
the white screams nothing

#vssdaily #block (vibe) #writer's_block #amtryingtowrite #writing
November 12, 2025 at 1:18 PM
beyondtheonions.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #shirt #writing #amwriting #western #horror #fiction #wip Sunsetter - continuing the tale of ancient evil in the wilds of the west. Sequel to #novel Weathervane
*McTavish prepares for a 'formal affair'
P.S. writer's block is real - presently in a holding pattern at the start of Chapter 13🤔
He had no fancy collar on the plain, linen shirt that he kept as a spare to his heavy, woolen one. He retrieved it from one of his saddle bags and unrolled the ball of material, wrinkled worse than a sun-dried tomato, it was rusty red but clean, and smelled only of the saddle and not the man’s lather. from #wip Sunsetter by Ross McDermott
November 12, 2025 at 1:02 PM