A couple of weeks ago, I heard the news that a sequel to the Constantine movie, which starred Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weiss, was in the works. I have no idea what the sequel’s plot is and haven't looked it up, but I did start sketching out what I wanted to see in a sequel for fun and as a creative writing exercise.

Before I get to my speculative plot, I wanted to share a couple of updates with you. At the moment, my schedule is bananapants through the end of the summer, so if you're looking to hire me or send me leads? September would be a great time to do that.

I mentioned yesterday, for #NationalWritingDay, I'm wrapping up a dystopian SF novella! A young water abuse investigator tumbles into a justice system-gone-wrong, and discovers what happens to the ppl she's helped convict the hard way. Will she survive long enough to save herself? Undo the damage she's caused? Find out... An excerpt of the novella is now available on my BooksOfM Patreon. I've also delivered photos of a recent field trip to House on the Rock and created a Patreon bundle for non-subscribers of historic rewards, too. Check it out!

I also wanted to mention I am attending WorldCon in Seattle, Washington in August as well. At present, I'm pretty sure I'm on programming. That's all I know.

In more mundane concerns, lavender is blooming on my porch for the first time and I'm researching tips for harvesting it. My currant tomatoes are behind, a bit, but I've got strawberries popping up along with green onions, sweet peppers, and tiny pumpkins for the first time. I managed to successfully propagate a monstera cutting, repotted a silver dollar begonia, nurtured an aloe plant, and am trying to decide how to address my leggy succulents, too. Everything is green, but needs a little gardening help.

Art-wise? I just can't stop making stuff and playing with color courtesy of Posca markers—which I F’ing LOVE. I'm excited to branch out into art journalling and start knocking projects off my wish list. Woooo! Celebrating, too, because I just finished a major apartment therapy reorganization. Now I'm down to scheduling all the adult things, going through storage, and then (gasp) getting a grip on my filing. Which I hate. Filing blows. Would love an assistant, but I'm just a rank-and-file creator at present with the dregs of 20+ years of conventions and whatnot. I'll be so, so, so happy when this mass decluttering is done.

Books? Still reading a lot! If you have cozy recommendations—any genre is fine—send ‘em my way. I need a palate cleanser. I have not been able to escape the news and it's depressing AF.

Okay, now back to the fun stuff! I'll even throw in a catchy title for you.

Constantine 2: Escape to Hell

Fade in. “Constantine.” John Constantine, a lone soldier battling the forces of darkness in New York City, has suffered many losses. The people he’s fought to save have moved on from this world. No ghosts remain to whisper in his ear. Even the demons have fallen silent. Now, the mysterious voice taunting him from the shadows belongs to a different kind of threat—a forgotten god of warriors who refuses to give John his true name.

Constantine visits Papa Midnight to ask for his help once again only to discover the unnamed god is three steps ahead of him. Not only has the god kidnapped Midnight, he’s given John an ultimatum: free all the pagan gods trapped in the Otherworld—which John interprets is Lucifer’s Hell—and his friend will be freed. Desperate, praying to God doesn’t help and Satan is too busy to respond to his summons. John is all alone. Or is he?

As a last resort, John visits the fallen angel Gabriel—now Gabby—who now runs an occult book store. Showing him an ancient book, covered in animal furs and runes, Gabby cannot identify the threat—but does confirm the warrior god is Celtic. Gabby then admits the only way to rescue Papa Midnight and defeat the deity is to return to Hell, just as Constantine planned, for answers.

Desperate, John tries to return to Hell, but his ritual fails. Stopped by Satan masquerading as the archangel, Michael, the Devil lies to Constantine: God and Lucifer locked up all of the pagan gods and stashed them in Hell. (The truth is that God forged a contract with other deities, and allowed them to take sanctuary. As long as they did not cause trouble for His followers, they would be left alone.) Then, “Michael” gives him a choice: go through with his plan to convince a pagan god for help or work with the unnamed god and potentially be damned for it.

Exhausted from playing by anyone else's rules, Constantine continues the ritual, but is stopped again by Papa Midnight projecting himself from the astral plane. Midnight tells John there are more mysteries in the world than he could possibly know. It is possible, Midnight tells Constantine, that the Otherworld does exist—and it isn't Hell. Why would God punish ancient deities—especially benevolent gods? Think about it, Midnight says. Imagine how their battles against the forces of darkness would be helped if they had more god power.

With the advice of his friend, Constantine confronts the unnamed god, and agrees to help him—provided Papa Midnight accompanies him. Together, the two open a door to the Otherworld, and free the Tuatha de Danann—including the battle goddess, the Morrigan. Once emptied, the original "god" reveals his true nature; he is the shade of a long-dead mortal, Cú Chulainn. The spirit then steps into the Otherworld for his final rest and closes the door behind him.

Freed to walk the earth once again, a red-haired nature goddess steps up and crowns both of them with flowers to signify the boons Papa Midnight and John Constantine have earned. Then all the gods, save for the black-haired Morrigan, disappears. The Morrigan pauses, shoots John a knowing smile, and transforms into a hill of crows that take to the skies.

Thinking he's won, John quips: “Well, this’ll be interesting. Feels good to change the rules.” Midnight simply laughs, lights a cigar, and walks away. Brushing a crow's feather from his trenchcoat, Constantine hails a cab and hops in. After giving the cabbie an address, he’s shocked to see the driver is Satan. The Devil grins and says: “More than you know, John. More than you know.” Then, the Devil drives John down, down, down into Hell. Setting us up for Constantine 3!

Hope you enjoyed a little plotting on my part. What about you? Do you have any narrative expectations for the sequel to Constantine?