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chrisakins.bsky.social
MechaniChris
@chrisakins.bsky.social
1.9K followers 310 following 3.7K posts
Writer, illustrator, comic book reader, movie enjoyer

Author of the novel: GRIM PORTENTS (available now on my website or anywhere books are sold)

Website: ChristianAkins.com
Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/FfI1
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chrisakins.bsky.social
Been a while since I posted one so how about a longer one today

Buy the book: christianakins.com/grimportents

#WIPSnips #writingcommunity #writesky #booksky #indiebooks
All this excitement was a bit much for Maya and she started to look as though she might faint. I opened the car door in case I needed to help catch her, but she snapped out of it as soon as I did. She then aimed the can of pepper spray in my direction. "Who is he?" she asked Sonny. "Why doesn't he look like the rest of you?" "Oh, that's Bill. He's not a reaper, he's just a twice resurrected mortal who's been helping me out. Don't worry about him, he's harmless." She glanced back at me with a great deal of doubt. "So, if I'm not dead, and you aren't here to kill me-what do you two want with me?" Sonny and I exchanged dreary looks and I decided to be the one to break the news. "We think someone else might be looking for you. Someone who might actually want to-uh-hurt you." Maya muttered something in a language I didn't understand and proceeded to faint. I lurched forward and managed to catch her just before she hit the pavement. Immediately, her eyes snapped open to find me holding her like a kidnap victim. She yelped in surprise and squeezed her can of pepper spray. The blast struck me in the face prompting me to yell in agony, as well as drop her to the ground. Worse yet, the spray ricocheted off of me directly downward onto her. As the two of us rolled in the parking lot, wailing in pain, Sonny stood over us shaking his head.
November 21, 2025 at 2:03 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Nice, thanks for the heads up!
November 20, 2025 at 3:50 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
CW: implied torture & bodily mutilation

Bill manages to break his ribs three separate times, but they’re all in different bodies so at least it’s a fresh set each time

#writingprompt #writingcommunity #indiebooks
I fired at the demon's head, but only managed to put a few pellets in its shoulder. Its eyes snapped wide open and before I could get another shot off, it lunged with lightning speed, thrusting its arm into my chest and propelling me through a surprisingly thin wall, into the kitchen. The force of the blow had knocked the shotgun from my hands, and may have broken a couple of my ribs for good measure. The demon strolled casually through the hole in the wall, reaching into its shoulder to pull out the bloody pellets. "That hurts, Bill," it said. "Not the gunshot, I don't really feel pain, but the betrayal. I thought we were bonding. I was just going to fillet your fiancée a bit, maybe press hot coals to her eyes-you know, classic demon stuff. But now I'm thinking it might be more fun to make you do it yourself. You think you won't of course, but you'd be surprised by what you're willing to do to make the pain stop." Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
November 15, 2025 at 9:50 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Post the last 4 games you played
Original God of War Metroid Prime Remastered Pokémon Legends ZA on switch 2 Metroid Prime 2 Echoes
November 15, 2025 at 3:37 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Bill doesn’t live under a rock, but he also can’t be expected to know the names of ancillary Sonic characters

Check out the book here: ChristianAkins.com/GrimPortents

#writingcommunity #Wipsnips #writesky #booksky #indiebooks #sonic #goku
We were down the stairs and back in Maya's minivan within seconds. I was about to pull out of the parking lot when I saw those kids playing with their Super Soakers again. "Hey, kids!" I shouted out my window, pulling up to the two boys. Sonny looked at me like I was crazy, but kept quiet. "We're not getting in that car, weirdo," said the boy in the T-shirt featuring a black Sonic the Hedgehog wielding a handgun. He and his friend lifted their plastic weapons, ready to fire if I tried anything suspicious. "No, I was just admiring your water guns. What would you say if I gave you twenty bucks for both of them?" "Man, one of these costs more than that," the other boy in the Dragon Ball Z shirt said. "That can't be true," I protested. I looked at Maya in the backseat who just nodded to confirm the validity of their claim. "Fine. How much do you want for them?" "Fifty." "Fifty bucks?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Each." Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
November 12, 2025 at 1:19 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Somehow… you returned
November 10, 2025 at 6:02 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
It’s actually illegal to make a movie look this good today
November 9, 2025 at 2:15 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Prepping for Badlands
Predator on VHS on a big CRT TV
November 9, 2025 at 2:06 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Being flooded with the knowledge of an infinitely expanding library is enough to make anyone a little strange

Read more: ChristianAkins.com/grimportents

#writingcommunity #writesky #WIPSnips #Booksky #indiebooks
Widdick was silent again, so I continued. "Yeah, I guess, but he didn't even flinch at you. I mean, no offense, but you scared the ever-living shit out of me when you first showed up." "I do have that effect." "And why can he see spirits anyway? Don't you have to be dead for that?" "Not necessarily," Sonny said. "Once you open your mind to what's really out there in the world, you can see just about anything." "I guess. I mean, I did see the demon that attacked me." "Right. As for old Widdick here, the knowledge of the lost books must have made him wise, seeing-" "And crazy." "Yeah, and a little crazy" Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
November 8, 2025 at 4:06 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
I actually found another one for 5 bucks at a different estate sale (we go to a lot) that I keep in my office with my old game consoles too!
November 7, 2025 at 5:21 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Yep! I posted it on another comment but we got this for FREE at an estate sale. Weighs an absolute ton but it looks fantastic
November 7, 2025 at 5:09 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Thanks! Next to all this we found a big CRT at an estate sale and of course a VCR hooked up
Big chunky crt tv on a white tv corner stand
November 7, 2025 at 4:26 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Our VHS collection was starting to get a little out of hand, but rather than scale back, we just got new bookcases
Three white bookcases filled to the brim with VHS tapes
November 7, 2025 at 3:50 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
GRIM PORTENTS

HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE X CONSTANTINE

A man is murdered by a hell-beast on his wedding day. Now, with the help of the reaper who collected his soul, he must uncover who is releasing monsters from Hell if he wants to return to the life he was robbed of.

#P #F #H #PR #Hu #OWN #questpit
Grim Portents cover featuring a skeleton hand holding a feather and emerging from an open book. The title is on a burning banner that envelops the feather and a large beast looms over it all. At the top, the tagline reads: Welcome to the first day of the end of your life… Black and white sketch of characters Bill and Sonny. Bill is a dark featured man in a suit and kind of a Mark Ruffalo vibe. Sonny is a rotting corpse man with a cardigan. "I HAD ALWAYS TOLD MYSELF IT WAS A FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION, THE MIND PLAYING TRICKS. IT WAS JUST A SHADOW. BUT NOW THE MONSTER HAD BEEN GIVEN A NAME, AN IDENTITY. IT WAS REAL." Bill Baker wants nothing more than to marry the woman he loves, but when his wedding is interrupted by a rampaging hell-beast, his life is thrown into disarray. Desperate for a second chance, he will do anything to set his future back on track. Now, with the help of a soul-collecting reaper named Sonny, he must uncover who is releasing monsters from Hell, in order to earn back the life that was stolen from him and prevent the oncoming end of days. Faced with the choice between what is right and what is easy, Bill may have to sacrifice all he holds dear for one last shot at life. Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
November 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Remember remember the 5th of November… to check out a copy of Grim Portents!

Get it here: www.christianakins.com/grimportents

#writingcommunity #wipsnips #writesky #Booksky #indiebooks
I rushed through the front door, immediately reminded of the difference between uncomfortable heat, and unsurvivable heat. Thankfully, I was already dead, as the smoke would likely kill me in minutes. "Professor!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, but the fire raged so loudly, that any reply would be lost in the noise. I ran through the house, straining to see through the smoke for any sign of life. When I reached the bathroom-hoping to find Widdick huddled in the tub-I instead spotted a thin trail of blood on the tile, leading away as if someone had been dragged out. This fire was no candle accident. Someone else had been here. Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
November 5, 2025 at 2:54 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Imagine getting to the afterlife and still having to deal with capitalism

Book link: www.christianakins.com/grimportents

#writingcommunity #booksky #writesky #wipsnips #indiebooks
"Food?" I asked. "Do spirits need to eat?" "We don't need to, but you can't imagine how gratifying it is to have a sandwich after years of no taste at all. It's all imported from upstairs, and it's the only thing us spirits can actually eat. Of course, it's not free. Every purchase could add weeks or months to our service" My eyes went wide. "Weeks or months? Who would do something like that? I mean it's not like spirits need new clothes." "Bill, look at me. I died in 1847. Do you think I was wearing this?" He gestured to his cardigan and tight-fitting khakis. He wore slip-on shoes and had colorful patterns on his socks. "But why?" I asked him. Sonny removed one of his gloves to display his rotting hand. "After looking the way I have for so long, it's nice to feel like a human being every once in a while." His gaze lingered on his fingers for a few more seconds before he pulled the glove back on. Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
November 3, 2025 at 4:08 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Played through each one at least a dozen times
Halo CE Crackdown Star Wars Battlefront II 2005 Super Mario 64
November 2, 2025 at 4:45 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Trust nobody, not even yourself
October 31, 2025 at 7:35 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Oh I’ve been waiting for this word. My time to shine

Today is also the perfect day to read about monsters and ghosts, so get your copy now: www.christianakins.com/grimportents

Happy Halloween!

#Writingcommunity #WIPSnips #indiebooks #booksky #writesky #Halloween
It is only in these moments, in which all doubts and assumptions about the supernatural are set aside, that our brains can process the complete bat-shit lunacy that exists in the world. We may catch a glimpse when we have our guard down, but to see one in its entirety is rare. The reason our minds do not process these images is for our own protection. If everyone could see into alternate planes of existence, they would gouge their own eyes out to stop their brains from exploding in their skulls. Perhaps not literally, but you understand my meaning. Regardless, my mental barriers were down just long enough for me to perceive something more horrible than I could ever imagine. Standing before me was a beast of pure malice. It had deep purple skin and a thin spattering of coarse red fur. Its jaw jutted out, revealing a row of yellowed teeth coated in some kind of decaying meat. Black, beady eyes sunk into a head with no neck. Its arms were hulking and loomed forward with its fists planted firmly on the ground, like a gorilla. The monster, even on all fours, towered over me-and it was only inches from my face. Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
October 31, 2025 at 1:55 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Well I’m sure they didn’t expect this from the priest either
“I was about to turn away from the screen when a miracle happened; our officiant tried to kill me.”
October 31, 2025 at 2:03 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
LOOK WHAT FINALLY CAME IN THE MAIL

One of those will go right on my shelf, and I will have officially completed one of my life goals

#writingcommunity #booksky #halloween #ghostpit #indiebooks
Box filled with copies of MY BOOK Grim Portents!
October 30, 2025 at 9:39 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
GRIM PORTENTS

HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE X CONSTANTINE

A man is murdered by a hell-beast on his wedding day. Now, with the help of the reaper who collected his soul, he must uncover who is releasing monsters from Hell if he wants to return to the life he was robbed of.

👻 #SP #F #H #PN #OWN #GhostPit
Grim Portents cover featuring a skeleton hand holding a feather and emerging from an open book. The title is on a burning banner that envelops the feather and a large beast looms over it all. At the top, the tagline reads: Welcome to the first day of the end of your life… "I HAD ALWAYS TOLD MYSELF IT WAS A FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION, THE MIND PLAYING TRICKS. IT WAS JUST A SHADOW. BUT NOW THE MONSTER HAD BEEN GIVEN A NAME, AN IDENTITY. IT WAS REAL." Bill Baker wants nothing more than to marry the woman he loves, but when his wedding is interrupted by a rampaging hell-beast, his life is thrown into disarray. Desperate for a second chance, he will do anything to set his future back on track. Now, with the help of a soul-collecting reaper named Sonny, he must uncover who is releasing monsters from Hell, in order to earn back the life that was stolen from him and prevent the oncoming end of days. Faced with the choice between what is right and what is easy, Bill may have to sacrifice all he holds dear for one last shot at life. Black and white sketch of characters Bill and Sonny. Bill is a dark featured man in a suit and kind of a Mark Ruffalo vibe. Sonny is a rotting corpse man with a cardigan. Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
October 30, 2025 at 4:10 AM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Threw in an extra couple lines for context but otherwise I think this is the first snippet I’ve shared of my current WIP…

#writingcommunity #writingprompt
October 29, 2025 at 4:25 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
This feels insane because we literally were there just a couple weeks ago
October 27, 2025 at 7:25 PM
chrisakins.bsky.social
Kind of shocked that I have exactly one instance of this word, even if it does sound like nonsense out of context.

Book link: www.christianakins.com/grimportents

#writingcommunity #wipsnips #writesky #booksky #indiebooks #halloween
Demon One shrieked and I closed my eyes in anticipation of death. When the shrieking continued, I realized it wasn't a blood curdling war cry, but a shriek of pain. Maya had returned with her own super soaker, nearly half her size—with a second one strapped around her back. She unleashed a torrent of water at the demon, giving us ample time to grab our new weapons and crawl over the counter to join her. Sonny and I held up the shotguns and opened fire, blasting Demon One apart while the steady stream of water kept it solid. After three shots, each at point blank range, the shrieking stopped. The monster's skin began to bubble, and the whole thing disappeared into steam, leaving only a puddle of ectoplasmic goo and white paint. Ad for Grim Portents, featuring a print copy of the book and an ebook on an iPhone. A QR code that takes you to my website and the words “Scan to learn more about debut paranormal fantasy novel Grim Portents” below it. Under that, it says “Available online anywhere books are sold!” And above it all is the tagline “Welcome to the first day of the end of your life”
October 27, 2025 at 2:11 PM