Showing posts with label Gemini Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gemini Man. Show all posts

Saturday, June 21, 2025

The Big Summer Booksale!

Find it Here!


It's that time of year again!

Get yourself 300 books, each for either a buck or free for one week only! Have your choice of some of the best NewPub has to offer from writers you already enjoy or maybe new ones you've never stumbled across before. There is no limit to what you might find.

It's a bit overwhelming with choice these days, but with the mainstream offering little of value you have more than enough choice in the independent NewPub space. With over 300 to choose from, you won't be bored anytime soon.

For myself, you can find the Gemini Man series on sale and, for the first time ever, The Pulp Mindset! I would jump on that one if I were you, because this is a one time thing. Amazon's parameter's for sales are getting more obtuse, which makes the time to be able to even do sales in the first place bizarre. Heck, sometimes you can only choose specific regional stores to do it. So be sure to jump on it for one of the few times I can guarantee it'll be there at all.

Aside from myself, there is quite the selection. Let me highlight a few to jump on, if you have yet to do so yet. I'm going to try more obscure books that even I might have missed on previous posts like this one. I myself haven't read (most) of these, it's just a chance to highlight a work or author that might become lost in the shuffle. See for yourself if it's for you.





Legends of Atlameria: Harbinger of Worlds End
Find it Here!

There exists a fine line between truth and legend, in the heart of Atlameria.

Following an encounter in a deadly forest, two unlikely souls must join as one—or perish alone. Outcast shape-changer, called Ursakar by his people; Thorn struggles to understand the mysteries of his shadowed past while bearing the burden of an even more uncertain future. Meanwhile, the huntress tasked with the execution of his kind, Keira is forced to question the nature of her mission and whether those of her ruling order are as noble as they appear. Past and present soon collide with the discovery of a relic both ancient and prophetic in design.

Drums of war resound from the north, yet the two find themselves beset by a far greater threat near at hand—the same darkness that prompted the downfall of those who dwelt amongst these lands long ago. Against an enemy all but forgotten to the sands of time, even the unlikeliest of allies will prove better than none. A harbinger of the end approaches, but only those with the eyes to see can forestall its inevitability.




The Kings of Corona
Find it Here!

Mauregal wants to marry his girlfriend, run his brewery, and enjoy his friends in sixth-century Britain; but the valley of Palavel is ruled by a series of capricious tyrants whose every whim is enforced by the mysterious Corona. Then a knight and his squire visit with news of a king named Arthur of a different sort, and things begin to change--but the power of the Corona must still be reckoned with. This is a young-adult Arthurian fantasy mystery tale, with a sprinkling of libertarian and Christian themes.




A Case of Lycans
Find it Here!

The central city of Cathedral is tumultuous at the best of times. These are not the best of times for the troublesome big city. Murderers masquerading as werewolves terrorized Cathedral. Corrupt law enforcement masquerading as justice seekers handicaps the city. False falling crimes statistics masquerading as actual facts haunts Cathedral. Bad intentions masquerading as good intentions intensifies the woes of the mega metropolis.

It is difficult to be a police detective in the twisted city of Cathedral at the best of times. Again, these are not the best of times. Cathedral homicide detectives, Lt. Eddie Knighton and Detective Emily Oftenmarch, known as the mud tusslers, diligently work to solve the ongoing homicides in the city of Cathedral while encountering the wrongdoings of killers dressed as werewolves. Those killers cloaked as werewolves leave a trail of unsolved murders. It becomes the pair of detectives' duty to sort werewolf themed homicidal maniacs from everyday homicidal maniacs.

To make the mud tusslers' job more difficult, private law enforcement companies focused on profitability disguise themselves as institutions for serving and protecting the public. Cathedral police policy disguised as departmental improvements impedes their progress. Malicious misdeeds camouflaged as madness complicates their investigations. Criminals are not as they appear to be, crimes are not what they seem to be, and the crimes of the evil are shrouded by the crimes of the wicked.

What a tangled web the citizens and employees of Cathedral weave when they practice to deceive. Emily and Eddie battle to untangle the devious deceptions of lycans, liars, and lunatics. The more they sleuth the more the dastardly duplicity in Cathedral becomes complicated. Crime begets crime, skullduggery begets skullduggery, and the masquerading murders continue to befuddle the police. Sin never ceases in a city that never sleeps. The sum of all this deception and macabre crime is enough to drive a detective in the urban supercenter to insanity. Or are they insane?

Where will the werewolves strike next? What is their motive? Wait, was that a werewolf over there?




Holding the Line: Book One of The Long Watch
Find it Here!

𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝟏𝟖-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫.

His mother had died so long ago, he could barely remember her. Now he lives with his alcoholic janitor father in the basement of the 150-year-old New Territorial Military Institute. Growing up at the prestigious, low-profile military academy, Danny had watched as the Territorial discretely provided a college education for the sons and daughters of politicians and royal families across the world, as well as the children of the rich and dysfunctional.

Beginning his freshman year at the Territorial on a “child of an employee” scholarship, Danny has a simple plan: graduate, leave behind his widowed drunk of a dad, and get the hell out of Wyoming.

That was before his home exploded. Before he met the sickly, spooky Tatiana who could See. Before the whispers in the night.

And that was before things got really weird.




Star Core: Wild Space
Find it Here!

In a war-ravaged solar system where Earth clings to the remnants of its fractured colonies, the only thing more dangerous than venturing into the unknown is what lies within it.

The elite Star Core have been tasked with an impossible mission: to infiltrate the uncharted territories beyond the Kuiper Belt—known as Wild Space—and neutralize a threat that could plunge the entire system into chaos. But Wild Space is no ordinary frontier. It’s a lawless expanse filled with rogue warlords, ruthless pirates, and remnants of humanity’s darkest secrets.

The Star Core’s mission will push them to their limits, testing their courage, loyalty, and their very humanity.

When the team uncovers the shocking truth about a legendary war criminal thought long dead, the stakes are raised higher than they ever imagined. With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, the Core must navigate a deadly game of cat and mouse, where every decision could mean the difference between survival and oblivion.

Filled with heart-pounding action, relentless suspense, and deep space intrigue, Star Core: Into Wild Space is a thrilling ride that will leave you breathless. In the farthest reaches of space, where the lines between friend and foe blur, how far will they go to protect the future of mankind?

Prepare for a journey like no other, into the heart of darkness, and beyond.




The Arid Lands
Find it Here!

The Tyrhennians struggle to survive in the dried out basin of an ancient ocean. Inez knows no other world than this endless cycle of heat and brine, but listens to the stories of a distant land of great cities and endless seas.

She never believed them, until the day her brother is injured by a strange craft crossing the desolate plains. So she discovers that the stories are true. But as she tries to find her brother in a strange city she realises that she is not the only person from the salt plains here. Others from the Arid Lands have infiltrated the city - and they have a plan.



Coming to Power
Find it Here!

There’s another Earth, just a few steps away from ours, and it’s under siege by a dark, hungry god. It’s a planet where ancient enchantments still rule, where human society is built on the ruins of something greater. It’s calling for a hero.

An angelic guardian finds Jon on the run for killing his best friend’s murderer in defense. The spirit gives him a way out - travel to this other Earth and fight.

It brings him into the battle, praising him for being the first to answer the call in ages. Blessed with magic he could never have imagined, Jon begins his quest for the bloody shadow.

But the mad god knows he’s coming, and he’s got a legion of monsters ready and waiting.




The Mousetrap Murders
Find it Here!

A man wakes up in his car, unaware of how he got there...

Shaken by his loss of memory, he drives home, not knowing that in twenty-four hours he will be in jail, arrested for the kidnapping and murder of a missing college student. Though a mountain of evidence points to his guilt, this man, Julian Gutierrez, maintains his innocence. He is sentenced to Death Row, set to be executed for a crime he knows he did not commit, yet having no way of escaping his deadly and unjust fate.

That is, until the day a postcard arrives.

It claims to be from a witness that knows he is innocent. It is now up to Julian's sister and her husband to find out the truth before his time runs out. What they uncover is a mystery bigger than any of them could possibly imagine.

And in the shadows is a foe, calling himself The Fulcrum, waiting for the day that someone comes knocking, knocking at the door of the mousetrap he has constructed.




Shadow Hand Blues
Find it Here!

In 1954 budding blues virtuoso Waymon "Tornado" Fuller is executed for the murder of a North Carolina woman.

In 1994 nomadic hot-rodder, moonlighting private investigator and blues aficionado Deke Jones stumbles upon Fuller's guitar, triggering a mudslide of buried truths. Fuller's innocence is one revelation. Another is “Shadow Hand Blues”--the last song he recorded, which Jones has never heard of.

An impromptu search for the studio where the recording session took place leads Jones to a small hippie town seemingly still enjoying the Summer of Love, where the psychedelic atmosphere turns from surreal to hostile when he begins asking questions.

Vintage Fender Telecaster in one hand, steering wheel of his radical Cyclone Spoiler II in the other, Deke Jones launches a one-man crusade to exonerate the infamous musician and find the obscure recording. The blood trails are 40 years cold, but neither corrupt good ol' boy cops, sex industry sadists, nor fanatical pyramid-schemers can throw Deacon Jones off this case. This investigative pilgrimage propels Jones right into the bloodstained fingers of a clandestine power elite Tornado Fuller called the Shadow Hand.





Cayote Cal: Tales from the Weird West
Find it Here!

There's Trouble on the Range

In these thrilling tales from yesteryear, Coyote Cal and his trusty sidekick Big Yap encounter a wizard able to change his shape at will, a scheming witch, a confused zombie, la chupacabra grande, bloodthirsty vampyres, and other sordid fiends. Our heroes will have to rely on their wits, skills, and loads of hot lead to ensure justice prevails.

This volume collects all 9 weird western stories in the Coyote Cal Adventure Series, including:

"Fool's Gold" - Coyote Cal and Big Yap encounter their most challenging adversary yet: a Portuguese wizard able to change his shape at will. Our heroes will have to rely on their wits, skills, and loads of hot lead if they hope to foil this shape-shifter's evil schemes before he ends them, once and for all.

"Coyote Cal's Guide to the Weird, Wild West" - Coyote Cal must match wits with Donna "the Witch" Jamison, a master of the dark arts intent on planting him in the ground. Cal has stood toe to toe with his fair share of villains in the past--but this time, he's up against something altogether different in the form of a metal-mouthed gunslinger named Sleepy Rider and his dead brother, Easy.

"El Diablo de Paseo Grande" - Something's attacking the livestock outside the little town of Paseo Grande, and our heroes are hot on the monster's trail. But Coyote Cal, Big Yap, and Donna "the Witch" Jamison may have bitten off more than they can chew this time, and only one of them will be able to save the day -- or die trying.

"Harbinger of Arroyo Seco" - Like many heroes, Coyote Cal was once a boy... There's a storm brewing over the town of Arroyo Seco, and a sheriff with his uncanny eye on the future sees nothing but trouble for our hero-in-the-making. In love with an older woman and hunted by a gang of outlaws seeking retribution, young Calvin must walk a fine line between protecting the one he loves and becoming a ruthless killer.




The Rooster Rider
Find it Here!

On the borderlands of Wales, the newly knighted Sir Thomas of Barley Mill Cross, astride his mighty warhorse Rooster, recklessly challenges an evil Witch. Through her black arts, the Witch gets the better of Sir Thomas and Rooster. In the aftermath of the encounter, Rooster is an actual rooster, and Thomas is left size of a child’s doll. Torn from their own world and cast down among the small creatures of forest and farm, they are drawn into a savage conflict...the vicious weasel clans are conquering all the small creatures.

The small creatures need a hero. Desperately.

Thomas and Rooster’s only wish is to be restored, the witch magic broken, to return to their old lives. But Thomas is a knight who will live or die by his Oath, and he will not turn his back on those in need. Finding his way among the small creatures, knight and steed make friends willing to die by their side in battle, and make enemies willing to sacrifice themselves to send Thomas and Rooster to their doom.

In the chaos of war, Thomas and Rooster must find a way to stop the weasel clans and their wicked allies in time to have the spells binding them undone. This must happen before the witch is executed for her crimes. But will they make it? Or will they be forever cursed in their altered states, to follow the Oath along a path unlike any a knight has ever travelled?



Gods & Proxies
Find it Here!

WHEN THE GODS GO TO WAR, YOU HAD BETTER BE SURE THE ONE YOU SERVE WILL PREVAIL...

The invisible god, El Elyon, has promised the young nation of Yacov their own homeland. Trouble is, the land is full of giants, backed up by a pantheon of gods who would rather see Yacov slaughtered to a man.

And they are just men. The Yacovites are desert nomads without even enough swords for all their militia.

Salmon and Othniel are two of the young soldiers who must face the gigantic warriors in battle, starting at the fortress city of Bet-Yariq, with formidable walls that only giants empowered by gods could build.

Brave men's hearts melt with fear. The very planet reels to and fro as if ready to tear itself apart. But though El Elyon is outnumbered by the enemy gods, and his warriors are far outclassed, he has assured them that he himself will lead them into war, and together they will beat all the odds.




Living in Times of Dragons
Find it Here!

"...as with everything in my life, all this began with dreams..."

American ex-pat, father and widower, Roger Rommel, did not believe in dragons. Unfortunately, they did not return the sentiment.

After returning from a self-imposed exile to his adopted country of South Africa, Roger is confronted by these legendary fire-breathing reptiles who risked exposing their hidden world simply to hunt him. Gifted with the ability to create and enter dreams, as well as to see the future, he tries to survive and protect his son from enemies he does not understand. But the past is alive, and he finds himself linked to a conflict thousands of years old.

The world he knew is now stranger, more fantastic and terrifying than he truly knew, especially when everyone is out to get you.




That Axe Anciently Was Mine: Swords & Seventies
Find it Here!

What if the hero of a savage and ancient land returned from the deep mists of time?

Samuel Rider is a man out of time and place. A man with a destiny undreamed of.
Necromancers and demons, werewolves and the undead. The villains and monsters of legend lurk still in the night, unseen by most.

Samuel battles the strange, the deadly, and the unholy with a band of on-again-off-again allies in the Ancient Order of Chandlers.

Sword & Seventies – High adventure in the age of the birth of Heavy Metal!




Deathbringer
Find it Here!

Inga Alenir is a Swordbearer. She is the latest in a long line of women to inherit a magical weapon called Deathbringer. She's also dead, murdered on her wedding day by the ruthless and covetous noblewoman Yenda Avard, who steals the sword after killing Inga and her entire family.

And yet, some secrets won't stay buried. Deathbringer has a will and a consciousness of its own, and even has the power to raise Inga from the dead for a short time. It warns her that she has one week to find and retrieve the sword before death reclaims her—permanently. With each day bringing her doom and final demise ever closer, Inga will have to see just how far she's willing to go to achieve her vengeance.

DEATHBRINGER is a compositional mix between the violent, grisly hunt for revenge in the film THE NIGHTINGALE and the tale of Vasher and his talking sword Nightblood in Brandon Sanderson's WARBREAKER. Other inspiriations are Fred Saberhagen's BOOK OF SWORDS series and Michael Moorcock's ELRIC stories. Fans of dark fantasy, of tragic love stories and tales about seeking revenge against long odds will enjoy this debut novel by Blake Carpenter in the world of Agareth where a scorned, young widow fights back against the powerful elites that wronged her, and begins a journey that might turn the entire world against her.




Gun Magus
Find it Here!

Low on luck, but not ammo

The last thing Kenneth Jericho needed was a gunfight and car chase with human traffickers. What started as a bad morning only got worse.

A flash of light sends Ken to a strange world filled with magic, hideous monsters, beautiful women,
and seemingly unlimited ammo.

With pistol in hand, Ken is thrown into a race against time to stop a local ganglord's reign of terror. But is the thug the brains behind the violence, or is someone - or something - else pulling his strings?




Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter
Find it Here!

Welcome back to a world filled with horrors beyond count. A world where madmen fly across galaxies chasing forbidden power and ancient evil seeks to infect and eradicate all life. A world filled with heroes ready and willing to fight the darkness. To raise the crucifix and the blaster rifle to send the evil straight back to hell.




The Dragon Hand
Find it Here!

An ancient evil is returning to threaten the world—at least, that’s what one of voices in Serivak’s head is telling him.

As the only dragon in the kingdom and technically a prisoner of war, Serivak’s position as the King’s Hand via his friendship with the young king is precarious enough before the voice of one of his ancestors warned of the new threat. With the help of two young foreigners, Serivak endeavors to avert disaster—but as evidence of a conspiracy grows, his political enemies close to home may be even more dangerous.




Three Rivers Plague
Find it Here!

The unleashing of a biological weapon across the United States forces the government to begin rounding up high-profile individuals, in hopes of preserving American society. Famous rockstar Thomas Wylde, fresh off the catastrophe at his latest concert, is taken to a shelter in the sky. That is, until a member of his band falls victim to the weapon's infection, convincing him to escape into the post-apocalyptic city of Pittsburgh, now plagued by undead horrors, cults, cocaine junkies, and even the mafia. Their only hope is to find a cure to this disease before the transformation occurs. But not everyone is convinced of this new bioweapons' origins -- like Boston police detective Dick Kennedy.

It's up to Thomas and his band of survivors to discover the truth, not only about this new world, but about his government, his friends, and himself, all the while trying to carve out a slab of life for everyone and everything he cares about.




Stellar Stories: Volume 1
Find it Here!

Eight stories of rockets and robots, monsters and Martians, fistfights and beauties, wonders and awe...

A young man's blind date is kidnapped by Martians and he is drawn into her secrets. A brotherhood outside of time seeks to mend a Solar System devastated by lunatic machines. Men from a Plutonian research base confront metaphysical chaos on Charon. Two runaway sisters resolve to rescue the implanted helper-sentience of a deceased warrior. And more!




The Operators: Monster Makers
Find it Here!

The Department of SuperHuman Activities observes and polices the superpowered community in the United States. Though cooperation and open dialogue, the DSHA ensures the safety of superhumans and the public in general. Only during emergencies that regular law enforcement aren't equipped or trained to handle do they send in their emergency response team, the Operators. Led by Major Peter Hicks, the Hunter, and composed of superhumans from all over America, the Operators handle threats that others can't.

When people are killed in a series of strange animal attacks, the Operators are called to New Mexico to investigate. There, they discover a factory where monsters are made by an underground society of scientists and terrorists bent on world domination. The Operators are hard pressed to stop these monster makers in a war where safety is an illusion and not everyone will come out alive. Still, facing threats like this is their job, and it's time to get to work.




Chronologues: Tales on the Theme of Time
Find it Here!

“Time marches on...”

But in what direction? Whoever said that never clarified whether time had to always go forward, or backward, or in a straight line. In this collection, we invite you to delve into five tales that explore the beautiful, bendable, breakable nature of time itself.

“The Camera” by D.L. White
A haunting portrait of a young man who is stuck in his grief over the sudden loss of one of his best friends. A story of frozen moments in time, it is a supernatural snapshot of what happens when past regrets turn into an obsession.

“The Ladies Three” by Chad Olson
Want safe passage for your ship and crew? You can have it. The price the Ladies Three require is but an hour of one sailor’s time. An hour, and perhaps something more. But what happens when the sailor selected has plans of his own?

“The Annuity Squad” by James Kenneth Rogers
Divorced and down-on-his-luck, Ralph receives an unexpected windfall, and the promise of even more money in seven years’ time. Should he sign on the dotted line, or is it all too good to be true?

“The Theatrica Mechanica” by Eric Nilles
Discover a world of wizards, kingdoms and unusual beasts during a time of great upheaval. The peaceful and the wicked are destined to clash, a peace-loving king will discover he has been granted little time to prepare, and only by enlisting the most cunning members of his court does his kingdom have a chance to endure.

“What If?” by Debra Robic
Sylvia and Alan have lived long enough to be involuntarily housed in the State old folks’ home. Dispossessed and disempowered, they find a strange book that suggests the path out of this dystopian future might lie in changing the past — if they are brave enough.




Life Support: Secret Operations
Find it Here!

Father Tanner treats the sick and injured on a dusty backwater planet. Desperate for supplies, he takes a job to treat a visiting alien official, teaming up with Damien Rogers, an out-of-work smuggler, to get him there. The problem? They’re on the wrong side of enemy lines in the middle of a cold war.

Forced to hide their identities, Father Tanner and his team are stumped by the bizarre patient, whose condition steadily worsens. To make matters worse, the alien crew catches onto the ruse, and the missionary is forced to turn to kidnapping. Can they find the diagnosis before their only bargaining chip dies on the operating table?




Faith and Empire
Find it Here!

One Faith. One Galactic Empire. A Thousand Worlds To Convert!

In the 51st century, man has spread throughout a great swath of the galaxy without having found any sign of alien life or another habitable world. Instead, mankind has splintered into a score of bio-engineered sub-species spread out across more than a thousand terraformed worlds. The Holy Terran Empire rules over three hundred of these man-made planets. Earth, the One, True World is the Empire’s Capital. The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Rome governs the Empire, hand-in-hand, with the Imperial Family.

Not everyone is pleased with this arrangement.

Zephyrinus Zapatas, a dutiful citizen of the Empire and loyal son of the Church is more than happy with the Co-Dominion of Emperor and Pope. At sixteen, Zeph leaves home, seeking a life of service to the two crowns, hoping to find his opportunity by earning an invitation to join the Emperor’s Own, the elite Corps of Imperial Marines.

The Corps’ training will be arduous; its moral code, exacting, but; Zeph looks forward to the trials and the strictures. The Corps will demand sacrifices. In return, the Imperial Marines offer its recruits little more than a career fraught with peril to life and limb. Zeph is eager to accept the life, however short it might prove to be, because it comes with the chance of achieving his greatest ambition: reaching the rank of Knight Defender of the Faith and Empire.

The Holy Terran Empire is a new space opera series for anyone who can't get enough sword & blaster action.




Spengler's Future: An Outline of the Next 7 Centuries of Western History
Find it Here!

This projection of the future into the 27th century uses a simple computer program and even simpler interpretations of the Oswald Spengler's Decline of the West and Arnold Toynbee's Study of History. No, this is not a serious exercise, but it does suggest what the future would look like if the modern age really is analogous to the Hellenistic Age. Important years include 2080, 2309, and 2603.



So there you have it, 25 books out of over 300 in this year's sale, all for a buck or free. Check them out for yourself to see if they are for your liking, or maybe you might find something else that strikes your fancy instead!

I tried to focus on works that fall short of the review threshold on amazon (20 reviews) and works that have descriptions a bit out of the ordinary, of that would interest myself and any readers that share my interests. There is a lot to go through, so enjoy yourself and make some author's day by giving them a shot.

Also, as a reminder both my Gemini Man books and The Pulp Mindset are both included! Now is the chance to grab them.

As a reminder, the sale runs through Tuesday next week, so be sure to check on it before it's too late! Find yourself a new favorite NewPub writer!

That's all for this week! Have yourself a fun summer, enjoy the upcoming holiday, and I will see you again soon.







Thursday, December 28, 2023

2023 Year End Review

Where most of my effort was put towards


Well, we did it. 2023 is just about over. We somehow got through another year. It's a bit hard to believe, because 2023 felt rather long to me.

Though the blog was surprisingly active this year, it didn't actually take up a lot of my time. As mentioned above, most of my focus was on both my successful Kickstarter campaign which tied into releasing four books to readers, as well as fulfilling reward tiers. I am proud to say now that as 2023 wraps up, every backer has been fulfilled and the campaign has been completed. I also sent out quite a lot of books, which was nice. If you missed it, you can still get the eBook versions of the Gemini Man series on amazon, as well as a physical omnibus version of all four in one package. Writer Ben Espen even wrote an excellent review of the third book recently that you can check out here. He plans on covering all four eventually, but they are all worth reading.

Speaking of the Gemini Man series, I should remind readers that Book 4 will no longer be $0.99 when January rolls around. Its price will return to matching the other books in the series. So you better jump on it now!

But there are other things to discuss.

What I wanted to do today was look back at the previous year and see if any of my hopes or predictions came true. Unlike some of the previous years, however, I wanted to look at the scene more generally. Going point by point would not only be boring but very repetitive. So let's go back to January and see my very first post of the year and give it the once over. What ended up coming true, and what ended up never happening?

Well, right off the bat I can say that our Cannon Cruisers podcast did not end like I predicted, but it is still ending . . . kind of.

You see, since 2017, we've done Cannon Cruisers almost weekly on a pretty tight schedule. For over half a decade we recorded 300 episodes and covered about as many movies, both Cannon Films and not, but also mostly centered on that specific time period when they were around. In my opinion, we successfully captured and analyzed an entire era unlike any other in the film world. Once we finish our final run this month, the fifth episode of five is due out this New Years Eve, we will then continue into January and February with our big blowout final episodes as we finally hit episode 300 between our Cannon and Non-Cannon episodes. Then the original series will come to an end.

The reason for this is that being mainly about Cannon Films, we've more or less run out of movies to cover on a consistent basis. At the same time, there are other types of similar films we want to go over, so after our 300th episode, we will combine our two subseries and episode counts into one and start over with episode 1 instead of episode 301. This way we can cover just about anything we want to and take the series at a more leisurely pace. That said, we will still focus more on older films and probably still from around the same era. Neither of us really watches much that is new anymore, so our interests won't stray too afield of what we are doing now. Regardless, Cannon Cruisers is ending, but it also isn't. Please enjoy our last batch of normal episodes coming soon. They're all already recorded and in the queue.

As far as writing, I'm sure everyone reading this knows that what I publish is rarely ever my most recent writings. This year I wrote a good bit of stories, some of which will hopefully be published in 2024. If not, then hopefully sooner than later. In fact, as I'm writing this, last night I lost my internet for about an hour and spent the time writing a short story. When I finished, the internet returned. Needless to say, I've got quite a lot of material still left to publish.


Six of my books in Pocket Paperback format!


One of the big things coming in 2024 is going to be Cirsova publishing my next book, Star Wanderers. This is a collection of stories, some of which you might have read, but most definitely not all. You'll learn more about it as the year goes on. I'm really proud of this one. I think these are some of the best stories I've written so far.

Speaking of Cirsova, I also have another story coming in issue #20 of the magazine. It is called "Mirage Carousal", and is a wild one. This will be my second appearance in the magazine, which is very exciting to me. I also have other stories ready to submit to other publications, but nothing is open for submissions right now so they will have to wait.

Since January is usually incredibly slow, that is when I tend to spend the time writing a project that I wouldn't have the opportunity to in the busier times of the year. I have just the sort of project in mind ready to so. Once that one is done, it is time to finally move on into my next proper series. It's been a while, and I really want to get to it. Problem is, the muse is telling me other things must be done first. I can't just ignore that.

For those who don't know, before Silver Empire went under and handed me back Gemini Man, I had already began the work on my next series. I had even written the first book. However, after putting out the entire previous project via crowdfunding, I am now a year older and wiser and now have solidified more things about it that I was unsure about before. The vision for the series is clear, and I am excited to finally get to it.

Therefore, I will go on to write the second book and then return to the first for appropriate rewrites. Luckily enough, the changes do not really affect the first book very much, just the rest going forward. Like Gemini Man, this series will also be four books long. Unlike Gemini Man, however, it is being planned that way from the beginning.

If all goes according to plan, Book One of this new series should hopefully be ready before the end of 2024. As long as nothing else goes wrong, that is! I can't say I expected to have to put out an entire series over the course of 2023, after all.

Now, returning to my first post from 2023, there were some premonitions made that are quite interesting reading them over again today. Let's go over them right now.


"The mainstream's obsession with reboots and subversive relaunches has more or less run out of gas. Trying to pretend the newest Ferngully remake is going to have any sort of cultural impact today when it didn't over a decade ago is a cope to the fact that the old era is already over. The wider culture has moved past that era, even if those in charge want to continue to pretend it hasn't. We are in the position to build something new, and a lot of us are doing just that, but the overall energy is shifting. I can't say if it'll be this year, if 2023 is finally going to be the year it starts, but I feel like we are on the cusp of something really breaking out big to shake up the status quo. A lot of things were put to bed in 2022, the 25th anniversary of Cultural Ground Zero, and new avenues are opening up ahead of us. There is an excitement building, pointing us in new directions."


Boy, was this right on the money. The Ferngully remake made money, yes, but it had, again, absolutely no cultural impact and disappeared as quickly as it came. In video games, the same thing happened with the newest Bethesda game. You will have a cadre of consumers and paid shills try to rile up discussion and insist the newest corpo slop is actually Great and Important, but every single time it falls to the wayside and is forgotten within a month.

Thankfully it seems that most people realized what the Geek Culture Consumer Crowd hasn't, and that's that this stuff is ultimately empty.

2023 was also the year Hollywood utterly collapsed. No new hits, no cultural shakeups, and no trends. Just bomb after tired bomb. That's not even putting into account the strike itself that was never really resolved, just put off like everyone said it would be. Next year they will have even less as a result of this.

It turns out that my prediction was right--25 years after Cultural Ground Zero appears to be the limit we can sustain ourselves on the fumes. The old spell no longer enchants, and the so-called rubes see how the trick is played.

And they don't like it.

However, there has been signs of positive change recently.


"For too long we've put up with and excused blandness and emptiness because wanting more is considered novelty or childish, but that has never been true no matter how much it has been asserted or pushed in the media that has long since turned against us. It isn't silly to want a chain restaurant to look good because it's a corporate product, everything should look its best, especially when customers are involved. Why should you put up with less just because a corporation made it? That is silly. We should want to live in a society where trying to be good needs several qualifiers and asterisks beside them, not one that excuses decay."


This ended up being prescient, especially as my own local Pizza Hut did this exact thing, using the pandemic (of course) as an excuse. Now almost every restaurant in my area is like this, a characterless brutalist box that ships product to consumers, usually with increasingly worse delivery drivers. The human experience was stripped, and now it is little more than a product beltline with none of the charm or flavor that used to exist.

It is much the same with stores like Walmart which used the turbulent times as an excuse to push forth automatic cashes . . . which is now backfiring on them years later.


What happened in 3 years that turned them around so fast?


Needless to say, this change was more of a hope than an expectation, but it appears as though the customers themselves have realized this, too. People aren't as dumb as the nihilists think they are, even if they can't always express their displeasure. Sometimes certain people just happen to notice shifts before they happen.

That is pretty much the case here. This is a change that was more necessary than you might think, even amid a culture that worships dead corporations from yesteryear.

As I went on here:


"I suppose I should expand on the above example. You've probably seen more than a few jokes centered around how anyone thinking that chain restaurants like Pizza Hut or McDonalds should look good are silly or something, but that misses the point of the complaint. Why shouldn't they look their best? Why shouldn't everything? The fact is that if things can be better than they are, then they should be better. Why should you, why should anyone, be trained into wanting less? Why should you be made to expect less because it is easier for a corporation to not bother? It isn't about the things themselves, but about the lack of any ambition at all."


I have to admit I didn't think there would be any turnaround on this one for years. Thankfully, however, my estimation was wrong. More people have noticed this decline than you'd think.

If you're on social media then you might have seen the following news making the rounds recently. Believe it or not, this is a bigger deal than you might believe, because this is the first time any of these companies have even attempted an about-face on a bad decision.


The archive is here


Can't say anyone would have expected this a year ago when I wrote my post. It really did feel like this sort of simple thing was gone forever.

Of course one can be cynical about this, but remember what I said a year ago. Everyone knew how sterile and corporate things have been getting over the last few years. This has been a complaint for a long time and yet nothing about it had changed or even had an attempt at improvement. Aesthetics getting uglier, spiteful anti-corporate people gleefully welcoming the pro-corporate changes to own the chuds, prices only going up as quality went down, and the same miserable anti-social atmosphere in all of these establishments.

This isn't to say the above picture is a sign of victory, but it is a sign that there has been an attitude shift since I wrote the original above paragraph. Such a thing was unthinkable then. One can even read the original twitter thread to see that there is a lot more to this than originally thought. They aren't doing this test for no reason.

So what does this mean going forward? Maybe not much, but it does show that not only is the problem real--but more people know it exists than we were led to believe.

As I said a year ago:


"And it feels as if most people understand this by now. The bare minimum of effort is not only not respectful to yourself or others, but it's also boring. The biggest problem to come from Cultural Ground Zero was how everything melted into a pile of bland goo and no one appeared to care if they even noticed in the first place. You can look at photos from 2006 and then from 2018 and you won't find much different between them, even though you'll also never find anyone who thinks what was produced during that time being ideal either. Now, however? It's not enough anymore. People have decided they deserve more, even as those in charge decided they should have nothing instead. We are hitting a low, even as we are beginning to aim high."


Even in 2022, it was obvious that people were reaching their limit with this sort of unambitious laziness we've allowed to foster since the 1990s. Especially after about three years of a global pandemic and the disastrous fallout from said event, we are realizing we can't let the realization of how far things have crumbled get in our way forever. We can't lay down in bed depressed forever. We're eventually going to have to get up again.

As a reminder, Coronavirus started at the tail end of 2019, but it became a worldwide issue as early as January 2020. We are only now leaving 2023. This effectively means the '20s has been molded and shaped by the pandemic and the reaction to it. We've still yet to fully shake it off, and it seems like many want more than mere status quo from a few years ago to return. But at the same time, the '10s were awful, and everyone knows it. People want more than the sterile pit of dead ends that was the 2010s, and to get it we're going to have to start aiming higher again.

We're going to have to stop accepting the bare minimum in everything. Eventually there won't even be a bare minimum to accept--we'll just be accepting whatever is shoveled out to us. That's not going to lead to better things.

Thankfully, as noted above, there are signs that a better direction is being sought out. But is that going to be enough to pull us out of the post-pandemic rut?

As I went on:


"So what exactly will the legacy of the 2020s be? From what we've seen so far, it appears to be a transitional era between the death of modernity, Cultural Ground Zero, and the first step towards something grander to come later. We are on the precipice of change, but what that change will be is still up in the air. Where it'll all end up is anyone's guess, but those paying attention have seen attitudes shift, especially over the last three years, desiring more than the bare minimum and reaching out to higher places. Ambition is what they want to see again. I think we all do."


I still hold this to be true. Cultural Ground Zero is fading away with the death of modernity. It's going to take some time and some effort, but there are plenty of signs that where we were going is no longer the road we want to go down. The 2020s, in my mind, is an era of changing course. We can't sustain ourselves on our current trajectory, we all know that, so it is time to finally make the big decisions on where to head next.

That's pretty much what 2023 was composed of: a lot of boiling off and a slow change finally beginning to show itself on the fringes of western cultural as a whole. Does this mean 2024 will be more of the same, or will we backslide? All we can do is wait and hope, and build.

And that's where we'll leave this year in review off.

2023 was a weird time. I managed to release 5 books this year, far more than I expected to, and also am ready to start off next year with motivation to spare. I didn't slow down for 2023, so here's hoping I don't need to do so for 2024. I've got plenty of things yet to do. I'm also putting my books up in pocket paperback format over on Lulu. There's something for everyone!

There are also plenty of surprises ahead, so be sure to keep your head up. You never know just what might happen next.

Either way, I hope 2023 was fruitful for you and yours, and that the next year is even more so. We're finally entering an era of real change. Let us all turn this ship around together.

Because slowly and surely, it is beginning to do just that.






Two adventures of high action and creeping terror for only a dollar!

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Too Many Books, So Little Time!



I recently mentioned the Based Book Sale going on, and how there are so many books in it. The total is easily over 200, which is quite crazy to think about. What I haven't mentioned is just how do you sift through so many books for something to read without scanning the entire list multiple times? After all, that is a lot of books! More than anyone could possibly decide between before the sale ends, especially when you have other things to do.

Well, author TJ Marquis has done exactly that. In the above video, he goes through the over 200(!) books on sale chooses some of his highlights. Glance through it yourself and see what you can spot. Mr. Marquis has great taste, and I'm not just saying that because he recommends my work. He has a keen eye for out there and exciting stories.

It is at this point I should give the reminder that all four Gemini Man books are on sale, as well. Book 1 and Book 4 are each a buck, on top of it! Book 4 will keep its lower price up until the end of the year, so you better jump on that one, because it ain't going this low again!

But enough about me. I'm going to highlight a five projects in the sale for the first time that you might have missed! Here are some interesting projects in the sale, not in any particular order:



Book of Seasons & Feasts
Find it Here!

"The Book of Feasts & Seasons is a beautifully mind-bending stroll with a grandmaster of science fiction through the annual Catholic calendar. Over the course of the year, from January to December, the author takes his inspiration from 10 different holidays and explores their meanings in a series of stories of marvelous imagination. The book begins with New Year's Day and "The Meaning of Life as Told Me by an Inebriated Science Fiction Writer in New Jersey".

"The Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin is represented by "A Random World of Delta Capricorni Aa, Called Scheddi", while "The Parliament of Beasts and Birds" is the story for the Feast of Pentecost. The calendar and the anthology culminate on Christmas Eve with "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus".

"John C. Wright is not only a deeply religious man, he is also a devout Catholic philosopher who regards reason as an intrinsic aspect of his faith. The Book of Feasts & Seasons is an imaginative embodiment of that faith, taking many different shapes and forms throughout the vast expanse of God's creation."


Wild Souls: A Werewolf Collection
Find it Here!

"Julie Frost is best known for her Pack Dynamics series. However, in this collection, she explores other aspects of lycanthropy, with stories running a gamut of timelines from the ancient Celts to American weird west to modern day—and even into the outer reaches of space. Ranging between humor and horror, with a cast of characters varying from witches to hunters to soldiers to angels and demons, there's something here for everyone. Stories of families lost and found, new packs and old, love and loathing and loneliness...

"And, above all, what makes us human, and who the real monsters are."


The Mighty Sons of Hercules: Volume 1
Find it Here!

"Long ago, in ages past...

"There were men who travelled the world, seeking adventure, fighting injustice, defending the weak and the helpless, looking to right wrongs wherever they are found:

"These were the Mighty Sons of Hercules!

"Cirsova Publishing invites you to join eight of the Mighty Sons of Hercules on their daring adventures!

"You’ll be amazed by their impressive feats of superhuman strength. You’ll be dazzled by the exotic and dangerous beauties who would seek their downfall. You’ll cheer as they save the innocent from peril and mete out justice to dastardly villains.

"Wherever righteousness must have a champion, there you will find the Mighty Sons of Hercules! Whenever there is need and no mortal man can suffice, a Mighty Son of Hercules shall appear!"


Gods in Darkness
Find it Here!

The Balance of Wonder and Terror 
"Learn the truth of the secret war in space with both the Soviets and dark technomancers bent on world domination in Gods in Darkness. Thrill to incredible truths buried in the sands of ages or in our own Area 51 in The Dig. Ride along with some crazed truckers dealing with Lovecraftian horrors in At the Highways of Madness. Know the stark terror of reading a forbidden book of the damned when the stars are not right. Love knows no bounds through time and space--especially for one of Lovecraft's Elder Things in The Queen in Shadow. And finally, go beyond the past and future in The Sleepers of Tartarus. All these and more lurk at the edge of reason waiting to pounce."


Jiao Tu’s Endeavour
Find it Here!

"Jiao Tu has been hired to rescue a young kidnapped mousling. A tip leads him to the Below, home to the engines that keep the world in motion. His mission has hardly begun when an encounter with a monstrous being plunges him into the midst of a struggle not only for control of the Below but for the world itself.

"Teamed with an untested ratling warrior and the ratling leader of a gang of thugs, Jiao Tu must stop the monster and save the mousling—and the world—before it is too late.

"Drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as Leigh Brackett’s planetary romances, Gene Wolfe’s Book of the Long Sun, Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane stories, Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D, Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo, and the wuxia tradition starting with Water Margins and Journey to the West, Uitvlugt has created a world all his own that promises a far-future adventure unlike any other.

"This volume contains the complete first story arc compiled from the web serial Jiao Tu’s Endeavour, as well as the bonus stories “The Festival of Sweets” and “The Last Oracle.”"


On top of this, there are a few books in the fan favorite section you might have missed. Cirsova's edition of three Julian Hawthorne books are on sale. That includes Sara Was Judith, Doris Dances & Fires Rekindled, and Absolute Evil and A Goth from Boston! Jacob Calta also has the first volume of his massive 365 Infantry project in the sale, as well. Lastly, all three of Alexander Hellene's Swordbringer books are a buck. Those are just some of what is available in the Fan Favorite section, there is plenty others I have missed.

There are even more books to browse through beyond these, but I thought I would give a bit of a boost to projects that might get lost in the flood otherwise. After all, as I said, it is over 200 books. Chances are you are going to miss some.

There's a lot of great stories out there, so it's always nice to be able to highlight them every now and then. NewPub has more than enough good stuff worth sharing. You can't built a tower without a foundation, after all. We're going to be building this puppy high into the clouds. Every now and then we just have to point out just how valuable the bricks themselves are.

That's all for this time! Have a great weekend and I will see you soon enough!