Closing Out 2025 & Ringing in Fresh Chaos
January 2026 edition of the Boopish Newsletter
Topics (click the link to go directly to the thing):
Podcast and news
2025 Movies and Reads
5th Annual Self Published Sci-Fi Contest (SPSFC-5)
Short story link: The Lamb and the Wolf
New horror novel title reveal!
1. Podcast
I haven’t posted anything recently, so sorry about that! I’ve been spinning a lot of plates and need to chill out for a little bit. I’d like to make this a monthly thing, so hopefully 2026 is a better year for me to accomplish a schedule like that.
2. Other News
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Firstly, the stars decided to ring in the New Year in our area by dropping meteors. One of them was in my specific area, and it broke the sound barrier, sonic booming its vibrations through our floor. Kinda neat, but a little scary.
Today happens to be my 16-year Anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Boo.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to a fruitful 2026! I’m not much of a goal setter in my personal life because my life usually flows in chaotic patterns that aren’t conducive to structure.
HOWEVER, I have a few things I’d like to get out there, including a potential Kickstarter for the Northern Roseaarde Omnibus (more info below), and a new horror novel (title reveal below)! I’m also working on another horror comedy novella, with the supernatural elements similar to Hillbilly Vamp. More to come on that one.
I’ve enrolled in several short story contests through Writing Battle and Not Quite Write, but I’m also thinking about Elegant Literature. I think that’s about all my little brain can take for now.
To end the year, we watched a bunch of movies and shows in the last week of December. I’ve listed them below and put my rating in parentheses before the title:
(5/5) David
(5/5) The Beatles: Get Back Rooftop Concert
(5/5) Fallout Series
(4/5) Fantastic Planet
(4/5) A Dark Song
(4/5) Saint Maud
(4/5) 12 Angry Men
(4/5) Strawberry Mansion
(3.5/5) The Thing from Another World
(3/5) Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
(3/5) Gretel and Hansel
(3/5) Willow
We also bought Bugonia on 4K and will probably re-watch that soon.
I’ve read a bunch of books in 2025, but there’s a running joke in some of my circles that I don’t like anything that I read. While that’s not necessarily true, I will admit, I am rather picky. Some of my stand-out reads for 2025 (I read a lot more than this, these are just the good ones):
(5/5) Exquisite Corpses Vol. 1 (James Tynion, Thriller Comic)
(5/5) Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (Stephen King, Drama Novella)
(4/5) I’m Glad My Mom Died (Jenette McCurdy, Memoir)
(4/5) Toward Eternity (Anton Hur, Sci-Fi Novel)
(4/5) Midstate Vol. 1 (Lee Loughridge, Thriller Comic)
(3/5) Perdido Street Station (China Miéville, Horror Fantasy)
(3/5) We Used to Live Here (Marcus Kliewer, Horror Novel)
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is another one I’ve read, and I did NOT like it. It was another Mark Whatney, but with aliens. I’ll probably watch the movie though.
I also read Mickey 7 and watched the movie when it came out, and both were just… not executed well. I loved the premise, but hated every character.
What do you have planned for 2026?
3. The Self Published Science Fiction Contest
I volunteered as a judge in the 5th SPSFC and we are currently still in round 1 of the process. It’s been a very unique experience getting to read other aspiring authors and their creative worlds. For more information on the competition and to keep up to date with future competitions, click the link or the logo.
Our team’s fearless judges:
Jake Morrison (leader)
Jimiflan
Ida
Champ Rockwell
4. Short Stories
I’ve recently posted a short story called The Lamb and the Wolf, which I submitted to a Writing Battle competition about a year ago. Check it out here:
Concerto Memento Mori earned 5 points in the last Writing Battle competition of 2025, which I’ll release here sometime this year. Keep a lookout!
A Misplaced Justice did poorly in the pro judged competition for Writing Battle, and I’m not sure why. I earned a rare character trophy for it, but based on the new format of this particular competition, apparently that means nothing. Keep an eye out here for that post!
I Understand, which was submitted for Not Quite Write’s final competition of 2025, also got nothing, but you’ll get to read it here sometime this year as well.
Last Light on a White Night: This was submitted to NYC Midnight, and I’ll know more on January 7th.
I originally said I’d post these stories through my website, but due to the only engagement being spam, I’m going to wait on this until I can figure out how to block them. Any tips are welcome.
Coming to Substack this month: Digital Reverie
5. Book Updates
The Northern Roseaarde Series Omnibus
First, I’m still holding out for one agent on book 1 of the Northern Roseaarde series. When I checked the query status, this is what it looked like for me:
It’s been a little over 5 months since I queried this agent, and the current timeline is about 5 months. I’m confident to say that I’m in their “maybe” pile.
However, this is only the first tiny step into the traditional publishing world. Even if they do request a full manuscript, there’s a high chance the agent will change their mind and still reject it. If they decide to offer representation, there’s another chance it may die on submission.
Therefore, I’ve been doing a lot behind the scenes to prepare this series for an omnibus Kickstarter!
If/when that happens, I’ll be sure to share the link. I’ve hired 2 artists, one for case cover art and jacket art, and the other for 2-page spreads inside the book to separate each volume. I’ve also renamed each book, and I’ll reveal those names in next month’s newsletter.
So I don’t have those reveals now, BUT! I do have a different title reveal for you today, and that is…
New Horror Novel Title Reveal
If you’ve been keeping up with my homepage progress counter on Cliff Cave Books, you’ll see that I’m wrapping up my latest horror novel. It’s literally at the finish line, and I’m thinking another day or two and it’ll be done!
And now that I have most of it done, I have a much better title than I had before:
I’ve started querying this one as well, so we’ll see how it goes! I’m going to give it about 5 months before I pull the querying plug and release it on my own. I’ve already scheduled the editor for February.
6. 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.
7. $0.99 Indie Book Deal
Anyway, that’s all for now, thanks for being awesome! If you've made it this far, write "Goals" in the comments and tell me what your goals are!LINKTREE | YOUTUBE | BOOKS | RED BUBBLE
The maybe pile is epic—I'm rooting for ya! Go get 'em