Let me be the first to say I'm impressed the Promptly Written Podcast is two seasons old. When my friend and fellow author Matt Sugerik set out with the idea of short fiction based on crowd-sourced writing prompts, I wasn't sure if we'd have enough in the tank from month to month. But here we are, and Promptly Written Volume 2 is now available for your reading pleasure!

It was another great year of unexpected stories and good conversation. My favorite stories are "The Mouse King" (my veiled rant about how Disney ruined Star Wars) and "The Truth Might Be Out There" (a fun little tale quite literally laden with conspiracy theories) Give the show a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or the Promptly Written website. Or if you'd like to read the stories instead, the book is available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited. Paperback copies will follow shortly.

On another note, I did something I've never done before, and that was re-work a prior novel. I'm not going to lie; I hate admitting that. But it was a combination of having read Blood Meridian this summer (and subsequently feeling inspired and invigorated as a writer) and recognizing a cadence issue in hindsight that prompted me to take another look at From Legend, which is the first book in what will be a Gothic Western series with philosophical underpinnings.

I'm a lot happier with the result--and fear not if you've already read the book. The story did not change, only the sentence structure in some cases or in others, the addition of more descriptive prose. And if you haven't read the book, give it a whirl if you think a Batman-inspired western that takes place in an alternate version of North America sounds like fun. I'm working on book 2 right now, and it's shaping up to be better than the first.