Ian Price's Blog

The game is afoot! I've just published three new mysteries in my Sherlock Holmes pastiche series. Click here to read HERE.

I've found that releasing stories as a series of novellas allows me to publish at a much steadier pace than writing a single, lengthy novel. While most authors don't begin their careers with 170k-word doorstoppers, I'm glad to have learned this lesson now. Better late than never!

Anyhoo, enjoy the new adventures!

Huzzah!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share some news with you about my book "Red Clay & Concrete." I'll be pulling it from KDP soon and I thought you deserved to know why.

Writing this book was an incredible journey for me. I found myself completely immersed in rap music following the Drake versus Kendrick feud, and that passion became the catalyst for exploring something deeply personal—my grandfather's hidden Indigenous heritage, stories he never shared openly.

However, since publication, I've had time to reflect, and I've come to some important realizations. The subject matter I chose to explore isn't really my story to tell. Additionally, I rushed certain sections to a degree that doesn't meet my own standards as a writer.

I don't believe I caused any harm with the content, but as an author, I have a responsibility to be thoughtful about the stories I choose to share, especially when they touch on cultural experiences that aren't fully my own. Given that this was such a personal project and it hasn't found much traction in the alogrithim, I feel this is the right decision and a non-issue.

I appreciate your understanding.

-Ian

This baby is up for preorder in eBook form.

I’m tired. Goodnight. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Mother of God. I’ve been revising Fire and Fools like there’s no tomorrow. I’d dug it out of my old college drive, thinking it just needed a few tweaks. Nope.

Instead of playing Cyberpunk 2077 for the third time after my daughter goes to bed, I’ve been buried in the manuscript — refining prose, tightening punchlines, and sharpening dialogue to better match the characters as I see them now. And every time I think I’m finally done, something else pops up. But the good news is, those somethings are getting smaller. So glad the public Beta Read on ScribbleHub gave me a chance to sharpen things.

It’s starting to feel like I’ve got a tight, 60k-word fantasy comedy on my hands. Let’s talk about what happens after the book drops (shooting for August, I think). Fire and Fools is a standalone story with sequel potential—if it sells well enough, I can absolutely take it in that direction. But if not, no worries. That’s the way of the KDP author.

In the meantime, I’ve got a few horizontal prequels in mind to expand the world. I’ve already written about 7k words on one of them, so we’ll see which way I lean once I put on the marketing hat and see how things shake out.

The next Sherlock Holmes pastiche novella is done—at least the first draft. It just needs some polishing now. It’s a collection of three short mystery stories, all tied together. Pretty happy with how it’s shaping up so far. We’ll see if I still feel that way when I get into editing.

Late-night update: I actually decided to continue that Warhammer 40k story I started a few months back. Been diving back into the grimdark, and I’m pretty excited to share what I’ve been working on.

You can check out the latest chapters on AO3, Reddit, and the usual spots—links are below. Thanks for reading!

Click for A03

Click for Reddit

Click for SpaceBattles

Click for Fanfiction.net

Red Clay & Concrete is now available for pre-order! I’m genuinely pleased with how the cover art for this one turned out. As I’ve mentioned before, this project holds a personal place in my heart, inspired by my grandfather. I wrote it mostly for myself, not as a product to sell. Because of that, I don’t plan to push it too hard across social media. Still, I’m proud of what I’ve created—and if the description speaks to you, I encourage you to check it out.

I’m also moving up the release schedule for Fire and Fools on ScribbleHub, posting every weekday instead of just Tuesdays and Thursdays. Much of the prep work was already in place from when I unearthed the old files from my college Google Drive. Even so, I’ve been refining the story ever since wrapping up Red Clay & Concrete. Now, I feel it’s ready to be released more aggressively—giving readers a chance to engage, offer early feedback, and beta-read before I assemble it into an eBook.

While ScribbleHub tends to favor LitRPG these days, this story leans more into dark comedy within a classic medieval fantasy setting. Still, it’s picked up a few readers there, and I’m excited for them to enjoy the unfolding story.

Yesterday, I released a brand-new novella—and just for fun, I decided to run one of KDP’s promotional giveaways on my earlier novel, Dystopia’s Edge. I’ve done these promos before and never saw anything earth-shattering, so I didn’t think much of it.

But today, Dystopia’s Edge hit #22 in Cyberpunk Science Fiction on the Kindle Store.

Yes, I brought receipts.

So, I guess it’s official. I can now add “Top 25 Cyberpunk Novelist” to my bio.

That Basterd Homes & The New England Affair is officially live. I’ve just finished blasting it out to every Facebook group and subreddit that would have me. I'm pushing 40, but I even re-downloaded TikTok just to drop a #BookTok pitch (midlife crisis or marketing genius—you decide).

At around 35k words, it’s a tight little novella featuring two standalone mysteries. So, you guessed it. A sequel is on the table.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about Red Clay & Concrete. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s more of a personal piece—contemporary slice-of-life, not exactly written with the algorithm in mind. I’ve been serializing it on Wattpad for beta feedback, and predictably, it’s flown under the radar. No surprise there—Wattpad is a jungle of steamy romance, and anything outside that genre gets buried (No shade because the grind is real and I respect it). Still, I’ve decided to accelerate the update schedule and drop the rest of the first draft this week. That way, anyone still following along can share first impressions before I lock in the final cut.

Meanwhile, Fire and Fools continues its beta run on ScribbleHub. It’s a comedic spin on medieval fantasy, which puts it a little out of step with the LitRPG-heavy crowd over there (again, no shade—just different vibes). It’s still in the early stages, though, so I’m letting it ride for now without any major changes to the twice-a-week updates.

It’s almost here! That Basterd Holmes & The New England Affair is set to release next Tuesday (5/13).

The eBook is already available for pre-order at just $0.99, and it’s included with Kindle Unlimited if you're a subscriber. The paperback is still working its way through the KDP system, but it should be live soon as well.

You’ll find the link below—thanks for checking it out!