Michael C. Bailey's Blog

What’s it About?

Rose Booker remembers how she died. Both times.

Rose’s pursuit of the truth behind those memories leads her to discover that she was in a past life the legendary pirate queen Mary Read — and that she’s not the only infamous historical figure who has returned from the dead.

Who is this Series For?

Well-Behaved Women is an urban fantasy trilogy featuring a predominantly female cast. I wrote it for everyone looking for an action-packed adventure tale driven by complex heroic (and villainous, and somewhere in-between) LGBTQ women.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

No. The series contains violence, language, and sexual content that make it inappropriate for younger readers.

What are the Books in the Series?

Awakening: Nearly a year after being shot and left for dead, Sergeant Rose Booker returns to active duty with the Worcester Police Department, hoping to put the past behind her — except she’s not sure it’s her past that’s haunting her.

When hard-drinking hellraiser Julie d’Aubigny enters Rose’s life, she promises to reveal the truth behind Rose’s nightmares — or are they memories? — of her death at the end of a hangman’s noose.

But first Rose must stop the mysterious madman waging a bloody campaign of vengeance that threatens to turn the city’s streets red. All she has to do is uncover his identity — and his own dark secret.

Transition: The adventure continues as Rose and her friends deal with the aftermath of the events in Awakening and face off against a new, deadlier enemy hellbent on revenge.

Endtimes: Rose, Anna, and Julie face the fight of their lives in the conclusion of the Well-Behaved Women trilogy.

All three titles are available to read for free through Kindle Unlimited, and are available as audiobooks on Audible, narrated by Darci Cole (Target) and Heather Auden.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Awakening, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com

The year is winding down, so I think I’m going to make this the last blog entry for the year (aside from the usual Thursday promo posts, which won’t be sent by email). It’s a hectic time of year for everyone, and since I don’t foresee anything major coming up between now and then, I’m going to help keep your inboxes a little less stuffed by holding off on any posts until January.

Before I go, I’d like to let people in the Worcester/Central Massachusetts area know that Studio Theatre Worcester, a group I work with in my capacity as a PT fight director, is holding a fundraiser next month to support local playwrights.

There’s going to be a silent auction along with the pizza, bowling, and general socializing, and I will be donating signed copies of several of my books to help the cause. Come on out to support a great local theater company, and by extension, emerging playwrights from underrepresented communities.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies 2 – Finished, waiting on cover art. Tentative release date: early 2026.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Edited, awaiting cover art. Tentatively set for early 2026 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

If you’d like to keep on top of my projects and whatever nonsense I post here, you can follow the blog and receive notification emails whenever something goes up.

What’s it About?

Derek Strongarm and Felix Lightfoot are a pair of hard-luck adventurers for hire with an unfortunate knack for landing jobs that pay too little and threaten their lives too much. Erika Racewind is a hardened elven warrior who doesn’t like people, except maybe when she’s killing them. Winifred Graceword is a kindhearted elven priestess skilled in the healing arts. David is a young sorcerer on a path to discover who he really is — and whether that person has a last name, because going by just “David” is getting old fast.

Together these companions travel across the land of Asaches looking for adventure and the glory and riches that come with it. Mostly the riches, though, because you can’t buy food and beer with glory.

Who is this Series For?

Sword-and-sorcery fantasy fans looking for something a little lighter than most of the fare currently on the shelves. If you want heavy, dark, serious stories with lots of death, destruction, torture, rape, and political intrigue, go read something else because you won’t find it here.

What you will find is a fast-paced adventure filled with colorful characters, rip-roaring action, humor, and gentle jabs at the classic elements of fantasy fiction.

Which is not to say this series is a comedy or parody. There is still drama aplenty, but as a rule I don’t take things too seriously. You can read these books and not feel like you need a hug and a room full of puppies afterward.

Basically, if you like fare like The Legend of Vox Machina and Dungeons and Dragons – Honor Among Thieves, this is the series for you.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

Not really. The series is a hard PG-13/light R for violence, language, and sexual content. It is suitable for older teens, but not for the YA crowd.

What are the Books in the Series?

Scratching a Lich: Derek and Felix find themselves entangled in an urgent quest to slay a legendary lich before he can trigger a world-ending apocalypse – as insane undead sorcerers are wont to do. Together with Erika Racewind, bodyguard for a mysterious young wizard named David, and Winifred Graceword, they head out to discover lost cities, recover long lost magical artifacts, and slay great evils in order to fulfill curiously specific prophecies – as mismatched, ragtag groups of adventurers are wont to do.

Assassins Brawl: The companions are hired to safeguard a spoiled brat of a princess targeted for death by the assassin Ruined Isys, but as is often the case, there’s more going on here than meets the eye. Now all they have to do is determine who is behind the plot before they get caught in the crossfire.

Blades of Glory: Derek, Felix, and company are up for a job that seems a little too simple for a payday that seems a little too generous – but unfortunately, so are the famed adventurers of fortune known as the Noble Blades. Which of them will be the first to find a stolen ceremonial mask that is absolutely positively completely normal and not at all some lost artifact possessed of dark power?

Sworded Affairs: The company takes a job to dispose of a potentially dangerous magical artifact only to become snowbound in an isolated city besieged by flesh-hungry beasts — and under assault from within by a dark conspiracy.

Elfish Motives: Winifred Graceword is called home under mysterious circumstances, which lead to the company revisiting the lost even city of Wihend. But what do the four clans want with their long-abandoned ancestral home?

Twins and Losses: The company finally returns home to Ambride, only to become immediately embroiled in a scandal threatening to consume the Ambride Academy of Magic.

Draconian Measures: David is charged with a diplomatic mission that could unite Asaches’s fractured magical academies, but first he has to contend with a maniacal warden, political upheaval, and an enormous dragon terrorizing the coastal city of Atebo.

A Wanton Criminal: The companions find themselves in the middle of a power struggle that threatens to tear apart their adopted home of Ambride. Tentatively set for a 2025 release.

The Final Summons – An Anthology of the New England Speculative Writers: Featuring The Going Rate For Penance, a short story set in the Strongarm & Lightfoot world. Mercenaries Jessica and Samantha Summerland receive an assignment from their least favorite client, and one way or another, this will be their last job.

How Long Will the Series Run?

Unknown, but tentatively ten books.

Are They Available As Audiobooks?

The first five books, narrated by Heather S. Auden, are currently available on Audible.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Scratching a Lich, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com

This happens a lot, but I’ve had to push back the planned release date for The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal until next year. My goal is to have it available in the first quarter of 2026 so I don’t keep readers waiting too long.

You might wonder why these scheduling shifts happen, especially if you’re an aspiring indie author yourself who might one day deal with such issues. Very simply, the two things that lead to these delays are the result of time and money — or, more precisely, the lack thereof.

I refuse to use generative AI in any part of my process, including cover art. I insist on supporting fellow creatives and paying them for their labor, but that requires having the money to pay them. If I don’t have the financial resources on-hand at a given time, I have to wait until I do before contacting my editor, Julie, and my cover artist, Tricia, and then — because they’re employed and have families, they has to find the time to do their work.

Once the whole process gets underway, I usually have a finished book in-hand quickly, but getting the ball rolling is where things usually bog down.

These are unfortunate realities for any indie author. We almost always have full-time day jobs and the entailing financial constraints, and our book sales are rarely enough of a revenue generator that our writing self-funds related expenses like editing, cover art, marketing, etc. That’s an unfortunate reality of our corner of the industry.

BTW, anyone who claims otherwise is not being completely honest. The percentage of authors who make a living solely off their writing is very small, and a lot of indie authors engage in wholesale puffery to make themselves sound more financially successful that they really are. Take their claims with a generous grain of salt, and don’t let them undermine your own confidence. Chances are, they’re not doing any better than you are, but their egos won’t let them admit that.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies 2 – Finished, waiting on cover art. Tentative release date: early 2026.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Edited, awaiting cover art. Tentatively set for early 2026 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

If you’d like to keep on top of my projects and whatever nonsense I post here, you can follow the blog and receive notification emails whenever something goes up.

What’s it About?

The series focuses on Carrie Hauser, a 15-year-old girl who one summer experiences two life-changing events: her parents announce they’re getting divorced, and she gains superhuman abilities after encountering a dying extraterrestrial after he falls to Earth.

Her adventure begins after Carrie and her mother Christina move back to Christina’s childhood home town of Kingsport, Massachusetts, and Carrie meets four teens with powers of their own: superhero fanboy Matt Steiger, who owns a pair of magic gloves that can produce any object he can envision out of thin air, like a living cartoon character; Sara Danvers, a telepath and telekinetic who is afraid of her own abilities; the easygoing Stuart Lumley, who possesses superhuman strength; and Missy Hamill, an adorable motormouth with enhanced strength and reflexes.

The teens form a superhero team almost on a whim, but soon find themselves fighting for their lives against very real super-villains – much to the dismay of Kingsport’s hometown hero Concorde, leader of the super-team The Protectorate.

Who is this Series For?

Fans of superhero comics, TV shows, and movies in general, but particularly of titles featuring teen heroes such as Young Justice, Teen Titans, Young Avengers, and Champions.

The tone is generally lighter than a lot of YA books out there now. While there is drama and conflict, and some later stories deal with darker issues, I try to keep the series fun, upbeat, and optimistic.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

Action Figures is a PG-13 series that contains mild to moderate profanity, non-graphic violence, some mature themes, and later on in the series mild sexual content.

An added word about the violent content: while the violence is not graphic, the consequences are not downplayed. This isn’t sanitized Hollywood violence. People get hurt just as they would in real life and do not easily shrug off injuries, and in some cases the characters have to deal with the emotional trauma of their experiences.

What are the Books in the Series?

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins – Carrie and her new friends in the Hero Squad (yes, they know their team name is awful) find themselves caught in the crossfire as the deadly mercenary Manticore comes to Kingsport, on the hunt for the rogue artificial intelligence known as Archimedes. Soon to be available through Audible!

Action Figures – Issue Two: Black Magic Women – The sorceress Black Betty threatens to raise hell – maybe literally – as she pursues her vendetta against the Protectorate’s resident paranormal expert Dr. Enigma.

Action Figures – Issue Three: Pasts Imperfect – Missy’s life is turned upside-down when she learns the truth about the source of her powers, and her connection to the bloodthirsty killer Buzzkill Joy.

Action Figures – Issue Four: Cruel Summer – Sara finds herself in the crosshairs of the mysterious hero killer the King of Pain, but to save herself, she might have to sacrifice everything she holds dear.

Action Figures – Issue Five: Team-Ups – The Hero Squad, still reeling from their devastating encounter with the King of Pain, get a little help picking up the pieces from their friends in the Protectorate and the Quantum Quintet.

Action Figures – Issue Six: Power Play – The Squad finds itself outnumbered and under-powered after one of their members goes missing – and at the worst possible time as foes from their past reappear, more dangerous than ever and ready to exact revenge.

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War – On Earth, Carrie Hauser is a hero, but on the far side of the galaxy, she’s just another soldier on the front lines of an interplanetary war against the terrorists in the Black End.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage – Carrie returns to Earth to reclaim her life, but life has moved on without her. Does she have a place with her team, her friends, or her family anymore?

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Hell Hath No Fury – Black Betty is back, and ready to unleash Hell — literally, but can the Hero Squad trust Dr. Enigma to have their backs? Or does she have her own dark agenda?

Action Figures – Issue Ten: Unintended Consequences – The Hero Squad learns that hard way that no good deed goes unpunished and the sins of their past have not been forgotten.

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Zero Day – It’s the final showdown between the Hero Squad and ShadoWorks, in this, the epic conclusion to the Action Figures core series.

Action Figures: Legacies – In the wake of Zero Day, Aja Pershing, daughter of the murderous Manticore, finds herself on a collision course with the latest young woman to adopt the mantle of the vigilante known as the Silhouette. The first sequel to the core Action Figures series.

The Action Figures Omnibus – Volume One: Stepping Up – Collects the first three books in the series (Secret Origins, Black Magic Women, Pasts Imperfect) and features a new foreward by Patrick Hodges and a new introduction by the author.

Beneath the Mask: A Superhero Romance Anthology – Features the superhero noir tale Like a Knife in the Heart featuring the Sapphire Silhouette. Set in the Action Figures universe. Currently out of print.

How Long Will the Series Run?

The core series has finished its run, ending with issue eleven. The first spinoff/sequel book, Legacies, was released in 2025.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Secret Origins, short stories set in the Action Figures world, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com

Time is a’flyin’, and before you know it, it’ll be [insert festive gift-giving holiday of choice here], so this post is coming to you from the perspective of a small business owner.

First of all, you should definitely consider buying gifts from small businesses and artists. The economy is tough on everyone, sure, but you know who doesn’t need your money? Amazon. Target. Walmart. All the major corporations. The people who live in your community, however, those who run small mom-and-pop businesses in your town or out of their homes, could really benefit from you spending with them this year, more than ever.

If you plan to do that, you need to do it immediately. Like, today. Right now. Especially if you’re planning to buy something from an independent artist’s website or Etsy shop.

Most folks who handmake stuff need time to produce their inventory; they don’t keep stock on-hand but make it to order. Then they need to ship it, and after Thanksgiving, mail service bogs down due to the increase in activity — and that’s without factoring in air freight delays caused by the shutdown, which has led to a reduction in air traffic at 40 major airports.

Long story short, if you wait to order, you might not get your purchase in time for gift giving — and if that happens, that’s on you. Don’t wait until December to order something and then freak out on the vendor when they can’t get it to you in time. Always read the crafter’s website/Etsy page for production time and shipping info, and plan accordingly.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies 2 – Finished, waiting on cover art. Tentative release date: early 2026.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Edited, awaiting cover art. Tentatively set for late 2025 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

If you’d like to keep on top of my projects and whatever nonsense I post here, you can follow the blog and receive notification emails whenever something goes up.

First, a quick plug. The Kindle edition of my novella The Great Rock & Roll Time Trip Tour will be on sale for 99 cents one day only, November 6 — my wedding anniversary, so consider it a gift to you.

In past years I’d say welcome to National Novel Writing Month, but the organization behind that initiative is gone, which is for the better IMO. The people behind NaNoWriMo had been cozying up to the generative AI pushers, which rightfully angered a lot of writers, and rather than drop its support of the controversial tech, the organization simply took its ball and went home, leaving aspiring authors with no guiding light.

A less official initiative has surfaced this year, going by variations on “Novel November,” but the core objective is similar to NaNoWriMo in that people who’ve long thought about tackling a novel project are being encouraged to do so. There’s no word count goal this time around, or a firm “finish your project by the end of November” deadline, or a purely symbolic prize/participation trophy at the end, which are all good things.

There’s also no organized guidance for writers struggling with their projects, which isn’t good. That was one of the big pluses of NaNoWriMo, having mentors available to cheerlead and offer advice when needed, and several experienced writers have stepped in to fill the gap by making themselves available on their social media platforms.

You may have guessed where this is all leading, but to make it clear: I am one such writer. If you’re taking part in this new Novel November (or whatever it’s called now) and you’re looking for someone to coach and encourage you, I’m available. The best place to touch base with me is on my Bluesky account, or, if you’re not on that platform, by commenting on this post.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies 2 – Finished, waiting on cover art. Tentative release date: early 2026.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Edited, awaiting cover art. Tentatively set for late 2025 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

If you’d like to keep on top of my projects and whatever nonsense I post here, you can follow the blog and receive notification emails whenever something goes up.

What’s it About?

Rose Booker remembers how she died. Both times.

Rose’s pursuit of the truth behind those memories leads her to discover that she was in a past life the legendary pirate queen Mary Read — and that she’s not the only infamous historical figure who has returned from the dead.

Who is this Series For?

Well-Behaved Women is an urban fantasy trilogy featuring a predominantly female cast. I wrote it for everyone looking for an action-packed adventure tale driven by complex heroic (and villainous, and somewhere in-between) LGBTQ women.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

No. The series contains violence, language, and sexual content that make it inappropriate for younger readers.

What are the Books in the Series?

Awakening: Nearly a year after being shot and left for dead, Sergeant Rose Booker returns to active duty with the Worcester Police Department, hoping to put the past behind her — except she’s not sure it’s her past that’s haunting her.

When hard-drinking hellraiser Julie d’Aubigny enters Rose’s life, she promises to reveal the truth behind Rose’s nightmares — or are they memories? — of her death at the end of a hangman’s noose.

But first Rose must stop the mysterious madman waging a bloody campaign of vengeance that threatens to turn the city’s streets red. All she has to do is uncover his identity — and his own dark secret.

Transition: The adventure continues as Rose and her friends deal with the aftermath of the events in Awakening and face off against a new, deadlier enemy hellbent on revenge.

Endtimes: Rose, Anna, and Julie face the fight of their lives in the conclusion of the Well-Behaved Women trilogy.

All three titles are available to read for free through Kindle Unlimited, and are available as audiobooks on Audible, narrated by Darci Cole (Target) and Heather Auden.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Awakening, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com

There’s nothing much to report this week, except that there will be even less to report next week as Veronica and I are taking a well-deserved vacation to celebrate our 20th anniversary a few weeks ahead of the actual occasion. The regular blog post will be on hiatus next week and will return the following week.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies 2 – Finished, waiting on cover art. Tentative release date: early 2026.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Edited, awaiting cover art. Tentatively set for late 2025 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

MISC.

I am having issues with my newsletter service provider, so if you want to keep tabs on my projects, your best bet is to simply follow this blog and have its posts delivered directly to your inbox.

What’s it About?

Derek Strongarm and Felix Lightfoot are a pair of hard-luck adventurers for hire with an unfortunate knack for landing jobs that pay too little and threaten their lives too much. Erika Racewind is a hardened elven warrior who doesn’t like people, except maybe when she’s killing them. Winifred Graceword is a kindhearted elven priestess skilled in the healing arts. David is a young sorcerer on a path to discover who he really is — and whether that person has a last name, because going by just “David” is getting old fast.

Together these companions travel across the land of Asaches looking for adventure and the glory and riches that come with it. Mostly the riches, though, because you can’t buy food and beer with glory.

Who is this Series For?

Sword-and-sorcery fantasy fans looking for something a little lighter than most of the fare currently on the shelves. If you want heavy, dark, serious stories with lots of death, destruction, torture, rape, and political intrigue, go read something else because you won’t find it here.

What you will find is a fast-paced adventure filled with colorful characters, rip-roaring action, humor, and gentle jabs at the classic elements of fantasy fiction.

Which is not to say this series is a comedy or parody. There is still drama aplenty, but as a rule I don’t take things too seriously. You can read these books and not feel like you need a hug and a room full of puppies afterward.

Basically, if you like fare like The Legend of Vox Machina and Dungeons and Dragons – Honor Among Thieves, this is the series for you.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

Not really. The series is a hard PG-13/light R for violence, language, and sexual content. It is suitable for older teens, but not for the YA crowd.

What are the Books in the Series?

Scratching a Lich: Derek and Felix find themselves entangled in an urgent quest to slay a legendary lich before he can trigger a world-ending apocalypse – as insane undead sorcerers are wont to do. Together with Erika Racewind, bodyguard for a mysterious young wizard named David, and Winifred Graceword, they head out to discover lost cities, recover long lost magical artifacts, and slay great evils in order to fulfill curiously specific prophecies – as mismatched, ragtag groups of adventurers are wont to do.

Assassins Brawl: The companions are hired to safeguard a spoiled brat of a princess targeted for death by the assassin Ruined Isys, but as is often the case, there’s more going on here than meets the eye. Now all they have to do is determine who is behind the plot before they get caught in the crossfire.

Blades of Glory: Derek, Felix, and company are up for a job that seems a little too simple for a payday that seems a little too generous – but unfortunately, so are the famed adventurers of fortune known as the Noble Blades. Which of them will be the first to find a stolen ceremonial mask that is absolutely positively completely normal and not at all some lost artifact possessed of dark power?

Sworded Affairs: The company takes a job to dispose of a potentially dangerous magical artifact only to become snowbound in an isolated city besieged by flesh-hungry beasts — and under assault from within by a dark conspiracy.

Elfish Motives: Winifred Graceword is called home under mysterious circumstances, which lead to the company revisiting the lost even city of Wihend. But what do the four clans want with their long-abandoned ancestral home?

Twins and Losses: The company finally returns home to Ambride, only to become immediately embroiled in a scandal threatening to consume the Ambride Academy of Magic.

Draconian Measures: David is charged with a diplomatic mission that could unite Asaches’s fractured magical academies, but first he has to contend with a maniacal warden, political upheaval, and an enormous dragon terrorizing the coastal city of Atebo.

A Wanton Criminal: The companions find themselves in the middle of a power struggle that threatens to tear apart their adopted home of Ambride. Tentatively set for a 2025 release.

The Final Summons – An Anthology of the New England Speculative Writers: Featuring The Going Rate For Penance, a short story set in the Strongarm & Lightfoot world. Mercenaries Jessica and Samantha Summerland receive an assignment from their least favorite client, and one way or another, this will be their last job.

How Long Will the Series Run?

Unknown, but tentatively ten books.

Are They Available As Audiobooks?

The first five books, narrated by Heather S. Auden, are currently available on Audible.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Scratching a Lich, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com