Craig Schaefer's Blog

Happy November, all! October may be behind us, but remember: Halloween isn’t over until we say it’s over.

Just touching base to let you know we’ve got a rare double-release month (sort of) coming up! While Rats, the third book of the Castaways saga, has been out for a bit, it’s finally coming to the audiobook format on November 17, courtesy of Podium Audio! Susannah Jones is narrating; I’ve had the chance to listen to an advance copy and she’s awesome as always. Many readers have already had the pleasure(?) of meeting Riva and Marcie, and now I’m eager to inflict— I mean, introduce them to my audiobook listeners. It’s available for preorder on Audible now.

Then, on November 18, we’ve got a brand-new release in all formats on the same day: it’s The Glitter Machine, the second book of the Neon Meridian series, from my friends at Aethon Publishing! The final blurb’s been approved so I can tell you what it’s all about:

“It’s been seventy years since magic returned to the world, monsters emerged from the shadows, and Hell opened its first embassy in New York City. Today, the occult underground and high-tech crime go hand in hand: to even the odds, corporate giants hire specialists like Emily Yeats, a blue-collar witch from Brooklyn, to guard their assets from mundane and magical threats alike.

“Discretion is part of the job. Emily and her crew of misfits try to keep a low profile, but this time, they’ll have to face the spotlight — literally — when they’re dispatched to protect an up-and-coming pop diva from a deranged stalker. A stalker who could be anyone, and passes through security like a shadow. Meanwhile, the diva’s manager is a demon wearing human skin, a celebrity tabloid smells blood in the water and no one, including the victim, seems to be telling the truth. Saving the day means digging into the past and unearthing secrets that Emily’s own clients would kill to keep buried.

“The music industry can be hell. And as Emily and her crew are learning, once you enter the world of the glitter machine, you only leave one of three ways: rich, broken, or dead.”

The whole crew from Catch and Kill is back for a brand-new adventure…and yes, that includes the Kitsune of Misfortune, who finds entirely new ways to be awful. Book three is finished and currently in editing, so there’s more to come.

Meanwhile, here in the lab, I’m working hard on Rivals (Castaways book four, and the penultimate story in the series), and after that we’ll most likely see the return of Harmony Black. Lots of stuff cooking, lots of plates spinning. Talk to you soon, and remember: don’t eat all the leftover Halloween candy today. You gotta save some of that stuff for mid-week snacks.

I'm pleased to announce that (finally, sorry for the wait), the new Daniel Faust novel, Triple World Score, is available now! Here's the quick overview:

As a professional thief and a wand for hire, Daniel Faust has taken on plenty of heists. From ancient relics to cold hard cash, there’s never been a prize too dangerous to steal…until now. The Enemy’s book is more than a trove of ancient secrets: it’s linked to the Enemy himself, a direct conduit to the living incarnation of entropy, and might offer the best way to take him down.

But doomsday is coming, and the book has a few advantages: it’s sentient, it nearly killed Daniel once before, and it’s ready for a rematch. Oh, and there isn’t just one copy. There are three, scattered across three different worlds. Armed with sorcery, weird science and a little help from their friends, Daniel and his infernal lover Caitlin will have to take this heist on the road and dive into some of the strangest — and most deadly — corners of the multiverse.

A gangster and a demon might be the least likely pair to try and stop the apocalypse, but they’re the best options we’ve got.

The book is currently available in ebook format, and paperbacks will be available later this week (James, my cover artist, is finishing up a well-earned vacation and has to do one last bit of resizing the spine to fit the pages.) I've also spoken to Adam Verner, voice of the series, and he'll be recording the audiobook version in November.

I'm so excited to be bringing Daniel and his crew back for another adventure, and I hope that you enjoy it!

So the World Cup is underway, and Providence is all in on the fandom scene, holding parties all over town. (Yes, the matches are being held in Boston, another state and a two-hour drive away. I’m just rolling with it.) While I normally enjoy living adjacent to three neighborhood bars, last night taught me that I should not expect to get any sleep this weekend.

(Seriously, y’all, when Scotland fans get piss-drunk, they apparently NEVER run out of songs to sing. At top volume, at two in the morning.)

So today the street outside my window is blocked off for a street party and open-air bar, with speakers blasting music. A little tricky considering I usually work in silence, and I don’t get weekends off, but I’m making it work. Deadlines have a great way of focusing the mind, and it helps that they’re playing a really decent mix of tunes. So I’ve been plugging away all morning, getting this new chapter done.

It’s almost universal that people remember the music of their childhood as the Best Music Ever. I grew up in the 1980s, so if you ever see one of my older characters waxing nostalgic about ‘80s pop, that’s probably a case of author-brain leakage slipping through. (Also, the reason Caitlin collects original Nagel paintings.)

So there I am, vaguely hearing the music and wrestling with a line that just isn’t landing the way I want it to, when I find myself tearing up. It’s not a sad scene, though. And then it clicks: the song playing outside my window is Mary’s Prayer by Danny Wilson.

That song was inescapable back in 1988 (for good reason, it’s a banger), but it still took me a second to understand why I was suddenly so overwhelmed. It wasn’t the song itself, or the lyrics, but the memory. I was fourteen, and my life sucked in ways I’m not going to get into here. And I clearly remembered the radio on in my room, that song playing as I looked at my bookshelf. My one hope, my only dream, was that one day everything would be better.

And one day, I would be a writer.

And here I am, sitting in my downtown studio. Catch and Kill has been out for almost a month and is one of my best-selling books ever. The sequel, The Glitter Machine, is out in November and right in this moment I’m working on book three, catching an echo of my past and wishing so hard I could go back and hug that kid and tell them they’re going to fucking make it.

Each and every one of you has my gratitude. Your readership made this dream come true. And while the future is never certain, and everything could fall apart tomorrow, right now I’m just here, making some art, trying to weave some damn good stories for you to enjoy.

That said, these soccer fans are gonna keep me up all weekend long.

Good morning, all! I’m doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) over on r/fantasy today (https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1tjipvv/im_craig_schaefer_author_of_catch_and_kill_out/) to celebrate the release of CATCH AND KILL from Aethon Books. Drop by and, um, ask me anything! I’m pretty sure that’s how that works.

Good morning, all! I’m so pleased to announce that Catch and Kill, the first volume of the new Neon Meridian series, has been published by Aethon Books and is out today in ebook, paperback, and audiobook formats (voiced by Susannah Jones.) It’s a flash forward to the future of Daniel Faust and Harmony Black’s world, and here’s the publisher’s synopsis:

“Magic is no longer a mystery—it’s a corporate asset.

Seventy years ago, people turned on their televisions and saw magic on the streets of Manhattan. Real magic, and real monsters, in broad daylight.

Today, corporate sorcerers defend their employers’ interests with curses and bullets, street vendors sell cheap talismans to the masses, and the most popular late-night talk show host is a demon. It’s a world of wonders and terrors, but you still have to earn a living.

Emily Yeats is a blue-collar witch from Brooklyn, selling her services as a security auditor. For a price, she and her unconventional team will invade your business after hours, find every last loophole and flaw, and tell you how to fix it.

Until now, the challenges were all simulated.

Strapped for cash, Emily agrees to a dangerous job: an executive with the world’s biggest media conglomerate wants her boss out of the way, and she hires Emily to dig up a scandal that he took a bribe to bury.

Now bodies are dropping left and right, a supernatural assassin is on Emily’s trail, and everyone from the Mafia to the mayor’s office wants to silence her for good. It’s too late to back out now: the only way to survive is to finish the job, or the story she’s hunting won’t be the only thing getting killed.”

Book two, The Glitter Machine, is already finished and slated for release in November, with book three coming in 2027. Will there be more after that? As always, that depends on if folks buy ‘em or not.

For the readers who discovered my work through Castaways, please be advised that this is not that. The Neon Meridian series is more in line with my other urban fantasy novels: it contains graphic violence and strong language (nothing over the top, but to draw a movie parallel, I see Castaways as PG-13 while this is a solid R rating.) If you prefer my lighter stuff, the last two Castaways novels are in development and I look forward to sharing them with you in future!

Meanwhile, the next Daniel Faust novel is finally done and currently in the hands of my editor and cover designer. No idea on a release date, but the book exists and it’ll be on the way once we’ve got it fixed up just right.

One last thing: this Thursday (the 21st) I’ll be doing an “Ask Me Anything” over on Reddit’s r/fantasy forum where you can, as per the title, ask me anything. If you ask for spoilers, though, I’ll just make up some completely implausible nonsense. Or I’ll tell the truth but it’ll sound like implausible nonsense. You just never know. Anyway, time for me to get back to work. Have a great week!

Twelve years ago tonight, a little book called The Long Way Down came out and changed my life forever. Not overnight, nothing that dramatic…but I got there. It’s my anniversary and today I celebrated by getting up and going to work like every other day. Hey, it’s an important date for me, not necessarily an exciting one. I just finished a chapter so I figured this would be a great time to take a few minutes and go over the state of all the projects I’ve got cooking.

First up, Castaways! I’ve just been advised by my friends at Podium that the audiobook versions of Castaways and Firebreak have been added to the Audible Plus program, which is sort of like Kindle Unlimited for audio instead of e-books. So if you’re in the program, you’ve got ‘em! Susannah Jones is preparing to record book three, Rats, and that shouldn’t be too much longer. There are two books left in the series, and I’ll be getting to them later this year for a big finish. I have been asked to tell you that Riva will be back in book four because she is perfect and everyone loves her. No, she’s not standing behind me right now. No, she doesn’t have a knife. I am typing this of my own free will and am not under any duress whatsoever. blink. blink. But before that…

“Where’s Faust?” I keep getting asked. I kept you waiting, I know, and I’m sorry for that. A bunch of deadlines hit my desk and something had to get pushed back because I haven’t figured out how to add more hours to the day. Yet. The good news is, the wait is almost over. I’m deep in the final act and, if my estimates and the deadline hold, I should be finished with the new Faust adventure, Triple World Score, by the end of next week. Now, of course, that’s just the start of the process. It still has to go through my editor and cover designer, both of whom have pretty hefty workloads and good work takes a while, so don’t expect this thing to shadow-drop over the weekend. But it is coming, and it is (hopefully) fun.

And of course, I have to talk a little about Catch and Kill, the first novel in the new Neon Meridian series, coming your way from Aethon Books. It drops on May 19 and Susannah’s already recorded the audiobook version, so expect it in all formats on release day (I know, I never get those timed right, so this is a treat.) We don’t have a release date for book two yet, but I can tell you that it’s completely written and edited, so if you like book one you won’t be waiting too long for the sequel (or for book three, which I’ll be jumping back into just as soon as I finish the new Faust.) I’m incredibly excited for you to meet Emily Yeats and her crew of found-family misfits, and they’re eager to rob you. Don’t worry, they’re professionals.

On that note, I’ll be celebrating the launch by hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the r/fantasy subreddit on May 21. I’ll post a reminder as we get closer to the date, but essentially you can — as per the label — ask me anything. If you ask for spoilers for upcoming books, I reserve the right to lie entertainingly.

What else can I say, but thank you? It’s been a hell of a ride so far. The world is different than it was twelve years ago. Harder, in places. More dangerous. And writing…woof. This business has always been a breeding ground for scammers and leeches chasing a get-rich-quick high, but it’s never been worse thanks to AI getting involved in the mix. (Ask your favorite writer how many chatGPT-written scam emails they get DAILY now. I’m averaging five.) But, ya know what? Zero complaints, at the end of the day. This is the most challenging job I’ve ever had, the hardest I’ve ever loved, and I wouldn’t give it up for the world. It’s going to be a busy, busy year and I’m going to keep that pace for as long as I can, and keep entertaining you until I die at the keyboard.

(And I mean, I’m not OLD-old. Long as I eat right and exercise, odds are that I’ll get another twenty years or more out of this meat-sack I ride around in. That’s a lot of books. Thanks for another year, everybody: here’s to an even better one to come.)

Happy Monday, all (hopefully)! I’m very pleased to announce that Rats, the third book in the five-part Castaways saga, is available now! It’s out in ebook format and should be available in paperback shortly; meanwhile, Susannah Jones has the audiobook version on her schedule and will be recording that soon.

With their friends abducted by the hulking Mr. Shaddock and his rodent mercenaries, the Castaways have to mount a whirlwind (and highly unauthorized) rescue across the multiverse, from a derelect pirate colony to a shining city where magic and technology merge. And this time, Shaddock may be the least of their problems. His sister Riva, a cult priestess, has sinister designs on Dalton…and Elmer’s apprentice, an unhinged necromancer, is determined to make sure absolutely no one escapes this mess alive.

So yeah, we’re getting weird with it. I hope you enjoy the story! Meanwhile, I’m still hard at work on the next Daniel Faust novel, which will (finally!) be out later this year. And I would be remiss not to mention Catch and Kill, the first book in the Neon Meridian series, which is coming from my friends at Aethon Books in May. It’s going to be a busy year! Stay warm, stay safe, and I’ll be back with more news soon.

Anyone up for a new adventure? The awesome Rebecca Frank just finished her work on the cover for Rats, Castaways book three, and it's coming your way...Monday! I'll post a formal update when it's live. If all goes to plan, Monday should see the launch of the paperback and e-book formats, while the audiobook version (voiced as always by the amazing Susannah Jones) will be coming from my friends at Podium Books in a month or two.

Happy Thursday, all! Early last year I announced that Aethon Books had acquired my new upcoming series, Neon Meridian. I'm pleased to announce that we finally have a release date for book one! (Yep, publishing is a slooooooow business.) It's coming on May 19, and I can also announce that Susannah Jones will be narrating the audiobooks (which should be coming out on the same day.) I'll let the publisher tell you what it's about:

Magic is no longer a mystery—it’s a corporate asset.
Seventy years ago, people turned on their televisions and saw magic on the streets of Manhattan. Real magic, and real monsters, in broad daylight.

Today, corporate sorcerers defend their employers’ interests with curses and bullets, street vendors sell cheap talismans to the masses, and the most popular late-night talk show host is a demon. It’s a world of wonders and terrors, but you still have to earn a living.

Emily Yeats is a blue-collar witch from Brooklyn, selling her services as a security auditor. For a price, she and her unconventional team will invade your business after hours, find every last loophole and flaw, and tell you how to fix it.

Until now, the challenges were all simulated.

Strapped for cash, Emily agrees to a dangerous job: an executive with the world’s biggest media conglomerate wants her boss out of the way, and she hires Emily to dig up a scandal that he took a bribe to bury.

Now bodies are dropping left and right, a supernatural assassin is on Emily’s trail, and everyone from the Mafia to the mayor’s office wants to silence her for good. It’s too late to back out now: the only way to survive is to finish the job, or the story she’s hunting won’t be the only thing getting killed.

The good folks over at Aethon say it's “perfect for fans of Six of Crows, The Iron Druid Chronicles, and Shadowrun.” I haven't read Iron Druid but I can tell you that Shadowrun was definitely an influence (as were William Gibson's amazing novels and the various incarnations of Mike Pondsmith's Cyberpunk. I kinda grew up on this stuff.) So if you like those, you might like this!

Also, in the meantime, book three of Castaways is almost ready for you; the book is done and laid out, and Rebecca Frank is working on the cover (I've seen a draft and it's very nice.) And with that, I should get back to work. Stay warm and safe!

Sometimes I get a really dumb idea, and then I have to put that dumb idea down on paper. It’s a writer thing. Anyway, I took a break from working on the next Daniel Faust novel to write up Merry Christmas, Mari Lwyd, a very short story that acts as a semi-prequel to the upcoming book. It’s over on my Patreon, unlocked for everybody. The holidays can be pretty stressful for a lot of folks, so I wanted to whip something up in the hopes of giving you a little bit of a smile today.

As a consequence, this is easily the goofiest thing I’ve written since Hex the Moon. And like that story, this is 100% canon. It’s not all grim darkness, after all. Be safe, be warm. Better days are coming.