Stephen A. Roddewig's Blog

Six months after A Bloody Business first hit shelves/trash bins, I’m back with my next book The Opening Salvo. This time, it’s the start of a full-blown trilogy centering on title character Dick Winchester, a man of action who lives by his own rules, drinks to excess, and never strays far from his gun.

For those who enjoyed Martin Williams from my original novel, you’ll be glad to know that Dick shares a lot in common with his historical counterpart, including kill count. Plus humor. No shortage of humor in this book.

60-second pitch: The chain-smoking private eye of 1940’s noir is teleported to the 2020’s.

One moment, Dick Winchester is delivering Pad Thai while his app-based delivery rivals take potshots at him. The next, he’s onboard the Metro train when it’s hijacked by teenagers armed with Uzis.

All in a day’s work for Arlington, Virginia’s most-wanted small business owner as he works to build up his fledgling Winchester Delivery Services and sets his sights on the “Big Three” food delivery services.

Follow Dick as he fights for life, limb, and, most important of all, market share in this modern gangland comedy set just across the river from Washington, D.C. Along the way, Dick will expose conspiracies, compromise national security, and make out with a cop. All while running afoul of the military-industrial complex and local bar owners alike.

Convinced? Head on over to the Amazon page!

The Opening Salvo

Still on the fence? No worries. I have a much more in-depth breakdown of the novel!

The Opening Salvo—The Landing Page

And, to be completely clear, I’d rather you like what you end up with, so if this isn’t your genre, this isn’t the best time, or any other reason, I totally get it. It’s better for everyone you like what you get: you save your money for more important things, I don’t suffer the consequences of a poor reading experience like refunds and negative reviews, and together we keep a little more money out of ol’ Jeffy Bezos’s hands.

Come March 2025, I wouldn’t be surprised if another announcement appears here for Dick Winchester Book 2. It’ll be darker, grittier, and full of intrigue. Will Dick survive the coming storm as his many enemies conspire to check the growing power of Winchester Delivery Services? Will the author finally run out of ways to make light of violence?

Let’s just say Dick and I are both full of surprises.

Want a sneak peak at the coming conflict? I’ve got you, my friend: the final section of The Opening Salvo is a bonus section. And what is that bonus, you ask? Why, it’s Chapter 1 of The Counterattack: Dick Winchester Book 2. I know, I shouldn’t have ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Until next time!

If you like any of the artwork you’ve seen here, Brigitte is taking clients! You can see more of her amazing work at designedbybrigitte.com

As those who have been on the author site in recent days may already know, I’ve had a book in the works. It’d be kind of hard to come here and miss the banners, promos, and landing page.

Well, if you’ve been waiting for the print version to become available with bated breath, I’ve got great news: it’s here! A new book has been born into the world this day.

60-second pitch: If you like history, comedy, or action, then A Bloody Business has something for you. Even a light sprinkling of romance!

Join street-thug-turned-high-end-hitman Martin Williams as he must navigate the first half of the 20th century, remaining unharmed no matter the history-making calamity he faces. All while ensuring his targets do not share in his good fortune.

Starting aboard a sinking RMS Titanic and concluding in the fire of the Korean War, follow this “James Bond but working for the wrong people and for the wrong reasons” as he eliminates greedy businessmen, war criminals, Communist agents, corrupt officials, and more on behalf of his criminal paymasters the Firm.

Convinced? Head on over to the Amazon page then, champ!

Still on the fence? No worries. I have a much more in-depth breakdown of the book on my author site

A Bloody Business

And, to be completely clear, I’d rather you like what you end up with, so if this isn’t your genre, this isn’t the best time, or any other reason, I totally get it. It’s better for everyone you like what you get: you save your money for more important things, I don’t suffer the consequences of a poor reading experience like refunds and negative reviews, and together we keep a little more money out of ol’ Jeffy Bezos’s hands.

Come September 2024, I wouldn’t be surprised if another announcement appears here for another book. I’m taking a break from the historical stuff to write a modern gangland saga set in my current city of residence right across the river from Washington, D.C. But don’t worry, the humor isn’t going anywhere.

After all, this is Dick Winchester’s tale. Yes, Dick Winchester, a man of action who lives by his own rules, drinks to excess, and never strays far from his gun. A character that shares a lot in common with his historical counterpart Martin Williams, including kill count.

Want a sneak peak at the coming action? I’ve got you, my friend: the final section of A Bloody Business is a bonus section. And what is that bonus, you ask? Why, it’s Chapter 1 of The Opening Salvo: Book 1 of the Dick Winchester Adventures. I know, I shouldn’t have (✦ ‿ ✦)

That’s right, Book 1. Not only am I now in the book game, but I’m about to dive headfirst into the trilogy game.

Lots more to come!

If you like any of the artwork you’ve seen here, Brigitte is taking clients! You can see more of her amazing work at designedbybrigitte.com

Blue morning, blue day, won’t you see things my way?

– Foreigner, “Blue Morning, Blue Day”

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been ripping and replacing all across my website. Gone is the work portfolio with a Publications page grafted on top. Now the domain stephenaroddewig.com belongs solely to my books and other written works. And if that’s what you’ve been coming to the site looking for, then all I can say is: Welcome home, Walt.

(If your name isn’t Walt, then feel free to substitute your name in that statement. Or adopt Walt as your new nickname. Or change your legal name to Walt. All viable options.)

With the complete overhaul of the website comes a new blog dedicated to keeping all you Walts out there up to speed on my writing projects. If that does not describe you, I have some bad news (☉_☉)

But my philosophy is that I’d always rather give you the data up front so you can make an informed decision and we can both avoid wasting your time, money, or both. For example: even if it means less sales, I’d still rather you know exactly what you’re getting with one of my books rather than suffer the negative reviews and refund demands that could result from the other outcome.

That’s the thought behind the new author site as whole: gather everything together so you have one clear view into my writing world. Only care about full-length works? We have a page for you. More interested in short, bite-sized works? Say less. Not looking to spend money right now? You’re not gonna believe this.

Want a more in-depth look at my upcoming book A Bloody Business before committing to a purchase? You are truly speaking my language today. In fact, I like your style. You should come around here more often. Stay a while.

If there’s one thing I took to heart after listening to dozens of author bios through long-running horror podcast Horror Hill, it’s that the only chance to make a lasting impression is to have personality. Or boast about your publish credit in a magazine I’ve been trying to publish stories in forever, but I doubt that resonates as much with the general public ಠ‿↼

And this new site offers that in droves. After all, I think a lot of us authors assume that nobody really cares about the person behind the words. Formality and rigidity are the name of the game. Rather that than coming off like we don’t take any of this that seriously. Plus, most of us are trying to cram as many impressive items as we can into 50 words most of the time:

Stephen A. Roddewig is an award-winning storyteller and playwright from Virginia (USA). He won second place in the 2023 Vocal Painted Prose challenge, and his stories are featured in Abyss & Apex, Diet Milk Magazine, Struggle Magazine, and Wintermute Lit. When not writing, he enjoys collecting records and running races.

Golly, that’s boring but necessary. Point being, this post and the site it lives on are not a literary magazine or story anthology where we’re limited to 50-100 words. I have all the elbow room I want to spread out and really be me.

And, oh, do I plan to take full advantage. There’s already the About Me page, complete with pictures, pets, and (out of necessity) another boring writer bio. Stay tuned for future additions where I get into writing awards I’ve won (oh, so many awards), introduce myself live and in person (AKA this new-fangled technology known as “video”), and supplement the About Me page with another intro video. Think About Me… as told through hats.

But, please, keep the hat bit between us, okay? Don’t want to spoil it for everyone else not on the inside track like you, you star.

To be clear, just because I like to take a casual approach and make jokes doesn’t mean that I don’t put in effort. If anything, I’m trying very hard to make this amusing and fun to read. I took the same approach to my site. We deal with so many unamusing things in our life, why not take the opportunity to inject some mirth when we can?

Still, I don’t want to waste anyone’s time either, so a large part of this site rebuild was meant to make the CTAs clear. Now everything is organized around the central goal of putting my books into the hands of those who will enjoy them.

Plus secondary goals of helping you learn more about the man behind the words and learn more about my other writing pursuits/achievements to overcome the natural hesitation to take a chance on an unknown author. Look at all the editors and publishers who already have!

Maybe you find yourself vibing with my humor. Or maybe you find yourself impressed by my short story publication list. Or maybe 2023 Vocal Painted Prose Challenge 2nd Place Winner has a whole lot more weight than I think it does. Then your mind goes “If I like that, then I might just like his books, too.”

That’s all a theory, obviously. Who the hell knows why we humans do the things we do? Rational beings, my ass.

Or maybe you find yourself turned off by any or all of these things. Equally valid. Again, better you find out now than halfway through A Bloody Business or whichever book I’m on when you read this. All about helping you make informed decisions here.

Whether you’re a newcomer or a longtime fan, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to read this! Even if this turns out to be the first and last time our paths cross. Honestly impressed I even made it this far.

But if you’re sticking around, then keep an eye out for even more to come in the months ahead of us. More site enhancements. More project updates. Perhaps even another book before the year is out??

Sidenote: If you’re dying to know more about the next release, you can pick up a copy of A Bloody Business and skip to the last chapter. Consider that an insider tip. Just for you (⌐□_□)

It’s a new dawn. Time for me to seize the day!

Featured Image by Jakob Owens on Unsplash