Fiction on Og Maciel's Journal

What We Carry

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What We Carry

I ran my fingers across the table’s surface, gathering a thick crust of ash that crumbled and slipped off once I reached the edge. I wiped the residue on my trousers, adding one more stain to an eclectic collection that already included blood— not mine —snot, rust, and worse. Hard to believe the fires had been burning for nine straight months with no respite in sight—judging by the cloudless sky and the air’s almost nonexistent humidity.

Murder Hornet: Chapter Seven

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Murder Hornet: Chapter Seven

Photo byTatiana Tochilova on Unsplash

💡 This story is part of my ongoing series,Murder Hornet, a novel-in-progress unfolding one imperfect chapter at a time.

Chapter VII

I’d known Derrick all my life, best friends since I could remember. Come to think of it, there’s no single memory of my childhood without him in it. Derrick and Allen; Allen and Derrick, we were always together, inseparable friends.

Murder Hornet: Chapter Six

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Murder Hornet: Chapter Six

Photo byTatiana Tochilova on Unsplash

💡 This story is part of my ongoing series,Murder Hornet, a novel-in-progress unfolding one imperfect chapter at a time.

Chapter VI

“So, it was already close to the very end of the second half–”

“How many halves are there again?”

I gave her a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me you don’t know how many halves there are in a game?”

Murder Hornet: Chapter Five

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Photo by Tatiana Tochilova on Unsplash

If you’re new here, this is part of my ongoing experiment where I’m publishing raw, completely unedited chapters of a novel I’ve been writing (and rewriting… deleting… swearing at… and rewriting again) for the past couple of years.

If you’d like to catch up first:

This week, I’m sharing Chapter 5. As always, your feedback keeps this little experiment alive—so if you’re still enjoying the story, please let me know.

October Reading Wrap-Up: A Month of Chaos, Comics & Quiet Pages

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Photo by Thalia Ruiz on Unsplash

This month of October has been… a very busy one at work, and as a result, I didn’t spend nearly as much time reading as I usually do. Between all the additional stress and prep work required to handle some unexpected complications, I also managed to do a fair amount of writing, so something had to give.

When I wrapped up September, I said I wanted to read some scary books, maybe lean more into sci-fi and less into non-fiction, mostly because I felt like I needed a break from the real world. And if that was true in September, oh boy was it even more true in October.

Murder Hornet: Chapter Three

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re new here, this is part of an ongoing experiment where I’m publishing raw, completely unedited chapters of a novel I’ve been writing (and rewriting… and doubting… and rewriting again) for the past couple of years.

If you’d like to catch up first:

Prelude + Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:

This week, I’m sharing Chapter 3. As before, I’d really like to hear what you think—should I keep posting new chapters every week? Drop a comment and let me know what’s working, what isn’t, and whether I should keep going or retire quietly into a cave somewhere with coffee and doubt.

Back to the Page: Finding My Way Into the ICQ Sequel

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A couple of days ago, I wrote about getting back into the writing swing of things and adding a few paragraphs to a novel I want to write—a sequel to my book ICQ. It’s kind of funny because when I went to save what I’d written, I started looking for a place to put it and discovered that I had already put something together, probably earlier this year. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that I had already captured some ideas, but it also shows just how much is going on in my life lately that I couldn’t even remember starting it.

Murder Hornet: Chapter Two

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This post continues from the previous installment, where I shared the Prelude and Chapter 1 of Murder Hornet. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d recommend starting there to get the full story so far. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts — let me know in the comments if you’d like me to keep posting more of the unpublished chapters.

Chapter II

“Hey, what’s up, Roddy?” I said nonchalantly, trying to hide the fact that he scared the crap out of me.

Introducing Murder Hornet: Prelude + Chapter One

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Author’s Note: This is a work in progress that I’ve been writing sporadically over the past couple of years. I’m sharing it unedited and unfinished. The story follows Thomas Conrad, a new student in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and his encounter with a mysterious girl on a yellow Vespa.

Prelude

I knew I was going to regret what I was about to do. The certainty of it sat heavy in my chest, a weight I couldn’t shake. But knowing didn’t stop me. It never does.