WHAT ARE "THE BALLADS"?

The Ballads (or Der Balladen) is the name given to the pentalogy of stories I've slowly built up over the years. My dream is to be a novelist, and, ideally, to win a Pulitzer Prize. The five stories all take place within the same universe and focus on the religion I created called Anaism, though they can all be enjoyed as standalone works. My main goal with these is to write about the sublime and yet make it just believable enough. There is a major focus on worldbuilding in the books, and I also utilize detailed description (similar to Donna Tartt) to emphasize what I feel is necessary. These are all dark stories with themes of death, absurdism, and-- of course-- grave religious adherence. Each of the five books revolves around a protagonist who cannot be trusted, and their relationship with forces greater than they could ever possibly comprehend. Everyone has, at some point, dreamt of being a god. What would happen if they could?

WHO ARE YOU?

I enjoy free-verse poetry. I enjoy philosphy. I enjoy old films. I enjoy theology. I enjoy cultural history. I enjoy vintage photography. I enjoy criminology and forensics. I enjoy riddles and puzzles. There are many things I take interest in, but nothing more so than literature. I am not a new-age messenger of the divine. I only store knowledge I've gathered in cryptic forms.
I am learning German and Russian, but I hope to learn Latin and classical Greek to read some of my favorite works in their original languages.



I also love slugs, which is why my persona is one (kind of). You can find me on just about any social media under the name 'Slugmik'!