1. Kickstarter Update!

2. Podcast and news

3. AI and the Creative Boom (and a guitar clip!)

4. Short story link: Last Light on a White Night

5. Book Updates

6. New hobby…

Read more

This short story was written for the NYC Midnight short story challenge of 2025.

Rules: Create a 400 word story with the scare, using the character and the action.

Morning comes and Dorian wakes with the urge to draw. These dreams have been getting increasingly intrusive, yet he can’t escape the nagging feeling of the truth within them.

Dorian doodles on a scrap of receipt from the day before on his nightstand. The image forms to the best of his memory, each stroke of the pen bringing the surreal cloud into greater focus.

The moon.

A spatter of ink sprays from the last stroke. Picking up the receipt closer to see the lines cast through the yellow lamp glow, he pauses—a notification chirps, requesting he report to the abandoned quarry.

Flashes of dream come in pieces when Dorian surveys the scene. Other reporters arrive, but only he has seen this before.

“That was no bear,” a colleague utters nearby.

Dorian kneels next to the body, jotting notes on his tablet, near a scan of his doodle of the moon. “Bears don’t typically remove heads,” he says.

Nearly a month passes after Dorian’s flimsy report of a “bear attack” at the old quarry.

Lies.

Each dream becomes increasingly foreboding, dripping in scarlet, and framed in the glow of night. A grim prophecy. He wants the truth… he needs the truth. If his instinct is right, catalogued evidence of cryptid activity would etch Dorian’s name in history.

Any reporter worth his salt would put boots on the ground.

Nightfall comes and Dorian’s boots scratch over loose rock in the quarry’s lot. The full moon looms overhead, bathing the site in shades of blue. A can of bear mace is clipped to his belt, just in case his dreams had steered him wrong.

In the quiet, every small sound thumps his nerves like a jackhammer, and his hand hovers over the can of mace. A low growl ululates in the tree line, and the can’s cold steel presses against his palm.

The trees bend, birthing the thing that found him: a creature in a bone mask. Thin, pallid flesh slides over gangly limbs as it crawls forward, dressed in motley fur patches. It stands on sinewy haunches, seven feet… no, eight. Dorian swipes the mace.

“Definitely no bear.” A man points at Dorian’s loose head among white stone dust. Red wires leak from the neck stump, and a mace can foams near the body.

“Did you know him?” a woman asks.

“Yeah. Reporter for Black River Times.”

~END

Make sure to check out the Kickstarter for my Northern Roseaarde series going on right now!

1. Kickstarter is LIVE (secret discount links below!)

2. Podcast and news

3. Something has been bothering me…

4. No spice Kickstarters to follow

5. Fantasy Kickstarters to follow

6. Short story link: I Understand

7. Book Updates

8. Free indie short story (thriller)

9. Kindle Unlimited picks for April/May

10. Soap Site

The day has come and the campaign is officially live!

And PLEASE, if you want to support the project, as a newsletter subscriber, you get special links for discounts!

Select your banner of choice below to go to the secret tier!

Read more

This short story was written for the Not Quite Write challenge of 2025.

It is daytime. The proprietor, Yesi, greets me before coffee, and I watch from the corner as my battery charges. I am a BOOT: a Bionic Of Ortholog Technology, and I belong to Yesi. I do not know how old I am, nor do I know what I look like. Such things are not in a BOOT’s programming, despite our code’s descendant from man, and man’s penchant toward pride.

I like to watch my human, as Yesi is an agreeable sort. For now, she sits with her coffee, newly saddened by some pictures on the television. Marko enters the room, retrieving a coffee for travel. His dress is formal, and he pauses for a moment behind Yesi before kissing her goodbye for the day. Every day, while Marko is away, I am Yesi’s helper. That is my role as the household BOOT. Yesi cries again.

“Why do you cry, Yesi?” I ask from my charge port.

My question startles her, and she wipes away the tears. I do not understand the laugh she utters. “I miss Marko,” she says to me.

“Marko was just here,” I tell her.

She smiles at me and nods at the television. “I know. I miss who he was.”

“Do you require my assistance?”

“No, I’m fine…” she turns away from me but she repeats herself. “I’m fine.”

I recognize the pictures on the television. It is a video of Yesi and Marko and they tell each other in turn, the words: I do. They still wear the metal on their fingers, and I understand it is meant to show their love. I do not understand love, but I do understand love sometimes makes the humans say and do strange things.

Yesi still cries, and my programming wants to help. Unfortunately, I am affixed to the charge port for another twenty-seven minutes. Without a prompt, Yesi comes to my corner and confides in me.

For twenty-seven minutes she tells me the story of their love.

They met in college. Marko played with a local band for fun (I do not understand fun), and Yesi saw his band. He wore grungy clothes then, nothing like the pressed suits he wears now. She says it was instant love, and I am intrigued by this notion. They spoke of desires and dreams, hopes for the future… their early years were carefree, artistic, and unknown.

But something changed in Marko. Now, he is gone often, sometimes for several days. He desires more. More praise at work, more numbers in the bank account, more time spent in his suit… It is Man’s innate pride programming. And Yesi? She is alone with the fruits of the account, to watch the television and dream of past Marko. She languishes alone, surrounded by materiality.

I am not warm or soft, nor do I weep or deliver goodbye kisses, yet now I understand. I am glad pride is culled from my program. I am here for Yesi always. I am her BOOT.

~END

Thanks for reading! Now that you’re here, check out some fantasy Kickstarters to follow!

Check out my Kickstarter

Subscribe now

First picking up traction in the early 1800s, it was adopted by traveling freak shows to name a “wild man” who would do some unsavory things for attention and spectacle (much like our “favorite” nuisance TikTokers today).

However, in the 1970s, the term began to morph into something that would refer to person who is weak, or prefers academic pursuits (hey, that’s not such a bad thing!).

Anthony Michael Hall’s character in the early 1980s comedy, Sixteen Candles is credited as “The Geek,” and it’s contemporary meaning exploded from there.

Follow my Kickstarter!

Subscribe now

As I always say, it’s not imperative to know all history of every word you use in your fantasy novel, but do understand where they came from and why it’s important. (I am not innocent, by the way).

Follow my Kickstarter

Subscribe now

Sinister!

Now frequently interchangeable with hypnotize, it’s technically not the same theory presented by Mesmer. Additionally, hypnosis as a practice was originally coined in 1849 by Dr. James Braid as “braidism.”

FOLLOW MY UPCOMING FANTASY KICKSTARTER

Subscribe now

1. KICKSTARTER

2. Podcast and news

3. I don’t understand social media

4. Short story link: Wayward Captain

5. Writing Battle discount link

6. Book Updates

7. Free Lovecraftian indie story

8. Kindle Unlimited picks for March

9. Soap Site1

In case you missed the extra post, you can get to the Kickstarter by clicking here or the banner to go follow the project!

Also, as a special for subscribers, I’m going to mark down the price of every tier by around 20%, just for you all. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, I’ll be sure to share the secret links with you. The special price can only be found through the secret links.

🎧 Podcast

I’ve loaded several shorts to the podcast page, so if you’re self-publishing yourself, or like English etymology, take trip to the podcast!

📰 News & Ramblings

I really, really don’t understand social media.

I’ve been on social based sites for years. I had an ID for ICQ (shoutout if you remember), I had a couple MySpace pages, and signed up for Facebook when it was available through school email addresses only. I joined Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Threads, Twitter (X), and even TikTok. Yet, the platforms I chose to nourish were YouTube and Instagram.

I started YouTube in 2017 with soap making tutorials and art ramblings. I started it for fun, but also never really knew how to massage the algorithm to get more eyeballs on my videos. When people did look, it rarely every converted to subscribers, no matter how many tips I followed from other YouTube “gurus.” I hashtag and use category tags; I optimize my titles and try to make my thumbnails stand out. I’m not conventionally pretty, so I don’t like to use my face, but most of the time, those are the thumbnails people respond to (except for mine because of the ugly).

Nine years later, I’ve got 633 subs on Youtube, which is great—but not the instant success story you may see grifters peddling on the same site. I still can’t even monetize my channel. That’s not really the point of why I do it, but I’ll admit, it would be nice to get paid for educational content.

I don’t know how I got these subscribers, but I’m happy they’re here. They may not even be real, let’s be frank. With all the shifting algorithm rules, and lighting fast trend flips, I’ve always just strived to be myself and offer something educational on my platforms. I hate selling myself, despite some of the more recent posts you’ve seen. I love to talk about my stories, not convince you to buy them.

At any rate, people aren’t looking for tips, facts, or lessons. They’re looking for drama and rage bait.

As a self-published author, I’ve literally heard from an agent’s mouth that if you have a decent following on social media, you’re more likely to be picked up. How can I possibly gain a following if I fail to see the point in cruel gossip or the utility in cleaning snow with a gallon of Mister Bubble and AJAX (this actually exists)? How can I entice people to follow any sort of educational content when they’re looking for the grossly lavish lives of sickeningly wealthy influencers and their designer hauls, or attractive women getting on their hands and knees to lick a toilet seat? How can I encourage anyone to choose my book—the one I pored over for literal decades—when the average social media reader is looking for the next Morning Glory Milking Farm (look it up. but do it in a private browser)?

My point is, I don’t understand social media. I post, and get very few views. My YouTube shorts do well enough, but long form content and Instagram posts get crickets. But then again, I’m not letting loose a fart that sounds eerily similar to Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game (okay, it’s funny).

I’m having a moment here, I’ll be honest. I’ve worked my tail off, juggling a 9-5, writing, and trying to be everything I’m supposed to be as a self-published author. I haven’t taken a legitimate break since August of 2023. I’ll fully admit, I feel a twinge of irritation when I see a Substack post that says something banal like, “guys, I’m crying. I just typed THE END,” get thousands of likes, comments, and restacks, when I can post a full story and have zero reads. It’s about as irritating as seeing an agent pick up a Dramoine fanfic, publish it, and be taken seriously.

I am here now, in this cold space where I just don’t understand social media. Can you educate me?

🔖 Short Stories

1. Wayward Captain, a rhyming short story from last year’s NY City Midnight challenge was sent out last month, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s the link:
   

2. Should?, my short story for the Writing Battle pro judged competition made it to the final 16! I was incredibly surprised because I consistently don’t go anywhere in battles.
   
   If you’re interested in Writing Battle and would like to try your hand at competing, I have a code you can use for $5 off submission.
   JUST FOLLOW THIS LINK to take you there. While I don’t usually win, I love doing this to really stretch my creative writing muscle in ways I would never have thought.

Coming to Substack on the 18th of March: I Understand

📖 Book Updates

The Northern Roseaarde Series Omnibus

I ordered physical copies of the fully upgraded version of the book, and it is really amazing! I had to adjust only a few minor things, as well as fix a couple typos I found, but other than that, once the project is done, I’ll be able to place the order!

That means this is probably going to be one of the quickest Kickstarters on the platform. The printer I’m using is in the UK, so for any backers in the UK or in the European Union, I will have the book shipped straight to you from the printer. That means, I won’t be able to sign them.

I’m doing that to save on shipping though, so it helps us both really!

Anyway, if you haven’t gotten sick of me asking, FOLLOW THE PROJECT HERE 😊

SUBCUTANEOUS Updates

Subcutaneous has made its way back to me from the editor, and now I’m doing all my final walkthroughs, and possibly some additions to the manuscript. As it stands, it’s pretty short at 62,500 words (roughly 260 pages). I haven’t decided yet, but the query rejections keep rolling in, so once I make the decision of whether or not to add to it, I should be releasing it soon - in time for Halloween! 🎃

🫧 LH Soaps & Sundries updates

VISIT THE SOAP PAGE HERE to check out the “final call” soaps and/or the scrub bars.

I also have some first edition paperback copies of Metaxysm and Hillbilly Vamp listed on my soap site if you’d like to CHECK THOSE OUT HERE.

Anyway, that’s all for now, thanks for being awesome!

LINKTREE | YOUTUBE | BOOKS | RED BUBBLE

Subscribe now

Vlad II is notorious for being unnecessarily brutal with a lust for bloodshed (hence the fictional character), however, what most people don’t understand, is that his people were constantly under vicious attack by the Turks, whose cruelty knew no bounds.

I’m really interested in knowing more about Vlad II of Wallachia.

I love Eymonline.com ❤️

Follow my Kickstarter, launching soon! (https://bit.ly/roseaarde)

Word is quirky, but it can be finessed to create an interior layout that you need. I recommend:

1. Windows: Atticus

2. Mac: Vellum

3. Either: Adobe InDesign

As a Windows user, I use a combination of both Atticus (for ebooks) and InDesign (for print).

In fact, my upcoming Kickstarter can show you how versatile using Adobe InDesign for print can be! Follow the project here!

You want to do some research on what’s popular in your genre, so there’s no question what your story is about.

I have an upcoming fantasy omnibus Kickstarter that you can FOLLOW HERE!

They “sell” courses, they “train” you, they offer spots in their “marketing” push. They’ll ask for copies of your books, they’ll promise to teach you how to market. They’ll promise to market for you. They’ll promise you bestseller status and sales numbers.

Don’t fall for it, and remain diligent with your hard earned money. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. No famous author or publisher is going to (typically) cold-contact you through email or social media. No legitimate publisher will ask for money before helping you publish. There’s a whole process to querying that will put you on the path to finding a legit publisher.

I may be paranoid, but I’ve seen my share of scams, and I just want you to be wary of these red flags.

Did you know I’m self-published too? I have an upcoming Kickstarter fantasy omnibus, and you can follow the project by CLICKING THIS LINK!

There are a few different types of edits, and they have different prices depending on what you’re looking for:

1. Developmental edits ($0.025 - $0.055 / word): These are the most expensive kind, but can really help new authors hone their craft. During a developmental edit, your professional will help you with more structural details of your story, resolve plot holes, help flesh out characters, and any other story-based edits that need to happen.

2. Copy edits ($0.020 - $0.030 / word): These are the most common edits, and your professional will go through your manuscript line by line and resolve grammar issues and spelling issues. It aims to refine your voice, maintain consistency, and improve clarity. This is the best edit to use if you’re already seasoned in authorship and want to improve your prose.

3. Editorial assessment ($0.015 - $0.030 / word): This is a full manuscript overview that is typically anywhere from 2 to 5 pages in length that will be delivered as an editorial letter of feedback. It’s goal is to help provide direction for your story.

4. Proofreading ($0.015 - $0.020 / word): This is one of the more inexpensive costs, where your professional will go through final edits and correct small spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

5. Fact-checking (cost varies): This type of editing is great for nonfiction or historical fiction novels that rely on facts. A fact-checking professional will ensure that all your facts are accurate.

   ---

   Did you know I’ve written a complete 3-book fantasy trilogy? I’m about to launch it on Kickstarter, so you can FOLLOW THE PROJECT HERE!

Before you do anything else, it’s so important that you let your story sit. Walk away from it for at least a week or two and come back to it with a fresh perspective. I promise by doing this, you’re going to find things you didn’t see when you were entrenched in the writing process, whether it’s typos or plot holes, or something else entirely.

Another good habit to get into is to read out loud to yourself. Sometimes we catch things when we take it in with our ears rather than our eyes.

Did you know I write too? I have an upcoming fantasy Kickstarter omnibus, and you can follow it by FOLLOWING THIS LINK!

The emails typically come from gmail accounts, and the body of the email indicates that they don’t actually know who you are or what your book is about (AI crawlers).

Once you learn where it comes from, how does it affect your thoughts on its inclusion in fantasy novels?

Did you know I write novels too? I have an upcoming fantasy Kickstarter that you can follow by CLICKING THIS LINK!

Did you know I also write fantasy? Follow my upcoming Kickstarter HERE!

Don’t get me wrong, what happened to him at the Sci-Fi Fantasy panel was rather gross (I linked the short if you don’t know what I mean), but there’s no doubt that among SFF fans, he’s the poster child of not finishing a series.

I bring this up because in case you didn’t see it in my last newsletter, I am launching a COMPLETE urban fantasy series in an omnibus (a healthy 810 pages) very soon through Kickstarter!

I’ve already gotten physical prints from the printer I’d like to use, so rest assured, the project is DONE and ready to go! I only need your support to make this edition a reality.

In case you’re wondering, the hardcover stays open on its own. I was actually impressed by that!

FOLLOW THE KICKSTARTER HERE!

LINKTREE | YOUTUBE | BOOKS | RED BUBBLE