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2025 SciFi & Fantasy Recap

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Year in Review: 2025

Another year bites the dust. It wasn't too bad, all things considered. Didn't write as much as I would have liked, but I accomplished what I set out to do, and I tried a few new things along the way. 

The first half of the year was all about wrapping up the Dome City Investigations trilogy. I'd already written 35K of Angels & Androids and had another 55K to go. The process was slow, but I got there eventually. Around the same time, the rights to Madame Antic's Hotel Grotesque reverted, and I proceeded to quick-release the Interdimensionals trilogy over the summer months. By the time school started, I was halfway through drafting Less Than Meets The Eye, and by the end of November, it was ready to greet the world.

When I wasn't writing or formatting, I figured out how to sell my books directly to readers. No billion-dollar mega-corporation necessary. I decided to keep my short story collections in Kindle Unlimited for the time being, but I went wide with everything else. In so doing, I tried out Kobo Writing Life to see how their promotions work, but the jury's still deliberating. I'll give it some more time. 

I sampled Substack for a few months, but it was too much like social media, so I called it quits. I also experimented with Amazon ads and learned a lot in the process—and managed to recoup my losses after pausing the campaign. I may have participated in too many Bookfunnel promos to count, but I'm planning to scale back on those since returns have diminished. 

My goals for next year: Stop checking sales numbers every day and just let the royalties trickle in. Find ways to free up more head space. Enjoy writing, and enjoy God's blessings.

Novels Written: 

Angels & Androids (55K of 90K total)

Less Than Meets The Eye (55K)

Vic Boyo, Book 3 (4K and counting...)

Books Published:

Madame Antic's Hotel Grotesque

Monsieur Moule's Subterranean Casino

Peter Gideon's Aeroship Extraordinaire

Angels & Androids

Less Than Meets The Eye

Blog Posts: 40

Book Review: Angel Down

This year, I have been keeping track of what I read; and as a slow reader, I'm pleased to see that I've averaged a book a month. Whether I enjoyed it or not, I've posted a blurb and brief review. Today, as we wrap up 2025, it's the WWI supernatural horror story Angel Down by Daniel Kraus.

Private Cyril Bagger has managed to survive the unspeakable horrors of the Great War through his wits and deception. But his instincts are put to the test when he and four other grunts are given a deadly mission: venture into the perilous No Man’s Land to euthanize a wounded comrade. What they find, however, is not a man in need of mercy but a fallen angel, seemingly struck down by artillery fire. This celestial being may hold the key to ending the brutal conflict, but only if the soldiers can suppress their individual desires and work together. As jealousy, greed, and paranoia take hold, the group is torn apart by their inner demons, threatening to turn their angelic encounter into a descent into hell.

Drawing from Faust, Dante's Inferno, and the "one-take" epic 1917, Kraus weaves a war novel unlike any other. In many ways, it's more stream-of-conscious prose poetry than standard fiction; the entire book is one run-on sentence broken into manageable chunks—but what a well-written sentence it is. The descriptions and characterization are top-notch, granting the reader a visceral experience on every page. Nightmarish violence, gore, and filth abound in the trenches, yet they're nothing compared to the inner turmoil these characters go through, and Bagger's anti-heroic first-person narrative is as compelling as it gets. Has he found an angel? A demon? If war is a hell of our own making, then who are we to demand supernatural intervention? One star deducted for the convoluted ending, but otherwise, a solid 4 out of 5. Definitely a favorite read of the year.

What Are We To Do With This Jesus?

"You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." 

- C.S. Lewis

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Release Party

Detective Vic Boyo returns

in the sequel nobody asked for!

1932, New York City: When a good pal needs help rescuing his kid sister from a speakeasy run by a psychotic mobster, Boyo knows he's up to the challenge. What he doesn't know is by agreeing to lend a hand, he's placed a big red target on his back. The mobster in question is a dangerous predator who likes to play with his prey, and what follows is an unhinged cat-and-mouse game unlike anything Boyo has ever encountered. 

Only one thing stands between Vic Boyo and saving the day. Well, maybe a few things. But with a little luck and a whole lot of gumption, anything is possible—even for him.

eBook       Paperback

The big release day was officially this past Tuesday, but it's never too late to celebrate, right? Now's a great time to grab your copy while the low $2.99 introductory price is in effect. Next month, I'll be raising it to $4.99, the same as the sequels in my other series.  

Speaking of series, I'm in the process of outlining the third and final installment in the Vic Boyo, Doofus Detective trilogy. That's right. Unlike the seven-year gap between Books 1 and 2, Book 3 should be out sometime next year. I've got multiple sources of conflict I'll be tossing Vic's way, loose ends from the series in need of resolution, which should make for an entertaining ride along. After a bit more plotting, I'll be able to devote some time to drafting. Who knows, maybe by the end of Christmas break, I'll have a few thousand words typed up. 5K? 10K? We shall see.

How to Gift an eBook

Ever wondered how to send a friend or family member an eBook as a gift? Look no further. Here's the easiest way to go about it on Amazon:

Let's say you wanted to gift a copy of Double Murders Are Twice As Bad because your pal or loved one is sorely in need of chuckles. Once you've clicked the book link, scroll down on the right side until you see the "Buy for Others" or "Gift Kindle Edition" option (located an inch or so under the orange Buy now with 1-click button).

Once you've selected "Buy for Others" or "Gift Kindle Edition", you'll have two options: 1. Amazon will email the redemption link directly to your recipient. 2. Amazon will email you the redemption link, which you can then send to the recipient yourself.

Next, enter the recipient's email address. Type a personal message like "Hope you enjoy this hilarious book!" Pick a delivery date. Then place your order. You'll be charged for the eBook, and your recipient will be able to read it on any device, thanks to the free Kindle app.

Easy, right? The process on Barnes & Noble and Apple is a similar one, but as far as I know, Apple eBooks can only be read on Apple devices, while B&N's Nook app, like the Kindle one, can be installed on any device. As of now, there is no way to gift eBooks on Kobo, but gift cards are available.

I hope you found this to be informative and helpful. Let the eBook gifting commence!

Series Starter Sale

The first installment in each series is only 99¢ this month. How's that for a super sale? 

Click the covers for details:

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Novel #25

Detective Vic Boyo returns in the sequel nobody asked for!

1932, New York City: When a good pal needs help rescuing his kid sister from a speakeasy run by a psychotic mobster, Boyo knows he's up to the challenge. What he doesn't know is by agreeing to lend a hand, he's placed a big red target on his back. The mobster in question is a dangerous predator who likes to play with his prey, and what follows is an unhinged cat-and-mouse game unlike anything Boyo has ever encountered. 

Only one thing stands between Vic Boyo and saving the day. Well, maybe a few things. But with a little luck and a whole lot of gumption, anything is possible—even for him.

Buy Direct  or  Pre-Order

I'm trying something new with this one. While the pre-order option is available for folks who like to buy their books via the regular sales channels and can wait until the December 16 release date, I'm also making it available right now for readers interested in buying direct. Order it today from my author storefront, get it today. No wait. Cool beans, right?

Book Review: Ender's Shadow

This year, I'm keeping track of what I read. Whether I enjoy the book or not, I'll post a blurb and brief review. Most will be speculative fiction in some form—genres I gravitate toward in my own writing. Today, it's the YA sci-fi spinoff Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card.

Bean's past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone else's. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a children's gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older. Bean's desperate struggle to live, and his success, brought him to the attention of the Battle School's recruiters, those people scouring the planet for leaders, tacticians, and generals to save Earth from the threat of alien invasion. Bean was sent into orbit, to the Battle School. And there he met Ender...

When this book came out in 1999, I was reading my way through the Ender Quartet for the first time, and I really wasn't all that interested in plodding through a rehashing of Ender's Game from the POV of one of its most annoying characters. But I stumbled across Ender's Shadow last month while taking my students to our school library, and I figured enough time had passed. I was willing to give Bean a chance. And I'm glad I did. Sure, there's plenty of rehashing, but that's only a quarter of the book. The rest is Bean's riveting story, and I've got to give Card credit for making him an extremely likeable character. One star deducted for a few slog-sections, but overall an enjoyable and deeply moving read (with twenty years' distance from Ender's Quartet.) 4 out of 5 stars.

First Draft Done

Mission accomplished: I managed to finish the first draft of the Vic Boyo, Doofus Detective sequel before the end of the year. Feeling pretty good about that. The last two chapters are still rough, but I'll polish them up next week. Then I'll give the whole manuscript a once or twice over before I start the formatting process. As long as all goes according to plan, a mid-December release date should be doable. Just in time for Christmas.

Stay tuned for the cover reveal, blurb, pre-order window via the usual retailers, and pre-release availability, which I'll be trying out on my author storefront. I'm planning to make the book available to buy direct (at a reduced price) a week before it releases wide. And unlike a traditional pre-order, where you have to wait until the official release date to get your copy, when you buy direct, you'll get it the same day you order it. Spiffy, right?