The Composer grows weary.
But fret not, my deary!
For in his dreams and slumbers
Come his greatest scores and numbers…
Meet A Friend Of Mine
Let me introduce a lad that I know. He’s really quite nice, though it may not show. His face and attire could give you a start; with spider leg hair – his name is Art.
No doubt he’ll be showing up on this site every now and then…. What better time for you to meet him?
A Poem – In The Forest With No Light
Reading over a few scraps from years ago I stumbled across this poem. I realise now that this poem must have been an early prototype for the ideas behind Tenebrae Manor. This was a dream I had that was so vivid it became what you see below. The best ideas come in sleep, a place where anything can come from nothing.
Inside and under these dark canopies
No light can hope to penetrate.
The air is dry and the call of crows
Echoes through sombre shadowed leaves.
My boots disrupt with a crunching sound
The pine needles long since fallen.
The emaciated branches reach forth
For a reply that will never be found.
Staggering blindly, the air is hot.
Could I hope for a fire to pierce the dark?
One could tell that the sun shone somewhere,
But its warmth on my face I’ve long since forgot.
A being has taken up residence here
In an old and elegant house.
But shattered windows and doors left ajar,
Long abandoned it is, I must fear.
Can I hope to escape the eternal night?
With silence so loud
And darkness so bleak
In the trees that have exiled light?
-2009
A Poem – Child
Tree bark, dagger sharp,
Tri-pointed shape.
Cutting out the jigsaw sky
To other-worldly drape
Scattered fallen wooden tokens
Sudden star-struck floor.
Rounded, fragile floating leaves
Of green and verdant lure.
Life alone or death surrounding
Dancing, closing in.
Glassy shimmer, distant bay,
Renegade of sin.
Aimless ribald vagabond
Skipping all the while.
Indifferent to what will come,
I wander as a child.
Arachnids – hairy, gaunt, producing
Moribund dreamy prose.
Maudlin reminiscing mind
Blooms hypnagogic rose.
-2011
Editorial Review – Tenebrae Manor
I am elated to have received my first editorial review for Tenebrae Manor. To receive a 5 star review is incredibly humbling; I am very thankful for the kind words. See below:
“This was one of the loveliest books I have read in a long time. My review cannot do it justice.”
“Deep within a twisted forest, far beyond the roads of man, there lies a mansion. It is an ancient, rotting edifice, pulsing with secrets and shrouded in the gloom of everlasting night. This is not a place for the fainthearted mortal; rather, it serves as a refuge for the insane, the malicious, the grotesque. But soon it may be a refuge no longer. The forest is encroaching. The wood golems are killing. The mansion’s ruler is ignoring her duties in favor of eating. Welcome to Patrick Clinen’s Tenebrae Manor.
The first thing which hits you about Patrick Clinen’s novel is how utterly, sweepingly beautiful his writing is. The story of Tenebrae Manor flows like a poetic, otherworldly song; macabre and mysterious, it is akin to Lovecraftian Gothic horror at its finest. And yet, it eschews the omnipotent, inhuman malignancy of true Lovecraftian monsters. Though the eldritch creatures which form its cast of characters are horrifying in mien, one cannot help but sympathize with and root for them as they struggle to cope with the torturous burden of immortality. Though Clinen deftly weaves in many a moment of comedy – the gluttonous Lady Libra, in particular, cuts a figure of tragic, pitiful hilarity – the overall tone of Tenebrae Manor is one of somber, wistful melancholia. The demon Bordeaux is a fine protagonist who embodies this tone; his world-weariness, his loyalty to the manor, and desperation to do right by his friends is touching. It is definitely a book which will have an impact upon you, and leave you thinking about it for days to come. I highly, really highly, recommend this to you.”
★★★★★
– Si Ning Yeoh from Reader’s Favourite
You can also see the review at the link below:
P.S.Clinen 