I recently stepped out of my comfort zone and entered the Global Book Awards contest. Unlike contests aimed at promoting indie authors, this had massive cash prizes, Amazon promotions, and attracted authors with trad publishing deals, best sellers, as well as indies like me. I was hoping for an honorable mention or something like that. But, out of the thousands of entries in the Science Fiction – Dystopian category, I placed third. Even my publisher was surprised and pleased. You know who wasn’t surprised? My wife. Ever since we sat on my old porch and I told her about the characters living in my head, with whom I have conversations, she has believed my writing has value. And, when times get dark around the edges, her light leads me out.

Some of you have asked if we’re still giving away a free PDF of Book 1 of The Brittle Riders. The answer is yes. Just CLICK HERE and download to your heart’s content. Remember, if you spend more than $50.00 per year on Amazon, you can leave a review even if you didn’t buy the book from them. Or you can wander over to my Good Reads Page and share your divine thoughts with the masses.

Oh, allow me to share a polite warning for those of you who wish to view my creations in public.

I saw today’s newsletter and really wanted to see these beasts. I brought up the links on the large screen in the conference room and closed the door. What I did not know was that my boss had synced this TV with his so he could do a presentation later. Now I just left HR after getting a demerit for sharing your boobs and monsters on my boss’s TV during a full board meeting. Totally worth it. Great stuff, dude. Can’t wait to see your demons on the silver screen.

That said, with the proper precautions, you can MEET THE CHIMERAS BY NAME, or you can SEE THEM IN ACTION, or you can grab a scuba tank and take a dive deep into SCENES FROM THE BOOK which feature detailed looks at what happened during the gen-O-pod (TM) war a/k/a Armageddon.

One thing I glossed over in The Brittle Riders was what the gen-O-pod (TM) was truly like. After all, at some point, there had to be one human, the last human, who realizes there is no one coming to rescue them, that this is truly the end. I had too much story to tell to go off on that tangent in The Brittle Riders; however, in Goptri of the Mists, I not only had room, it made sense to the story. Goptri is split into two parallel tales. One is set in their past, the other in that universe’s present. It may sound confusing, but readers seem to understand and enjoy it. Obviously, as long as I was noodling about in their past, sharing a diary written by the last human made complete sense. I never clarify if anyone ever reads it.

One question I get asked pretty regularly is, “Why did you kill everyone?” The answer is trust. In the main, humans have shown, time and time again, that the majority will do whatever they can to oppress a minority, and having the slave labor Rohta provided was like open season on being an asshole. There may have been a nice human here or there, but why take that chance if your whole life has been one of terror and persecution? That was the choice the chimeras had to make.

Lastly, I have joined the crew at The Wrath of the Chicago Demon. It will be a new horror compilation aimed directly at streaming services. If you have a terrifying tale in you, reach back to me and I’ll send you the details. The whole thing is based on a story written by Carlos Zapata a/k/a C -LOZ Yohunshi. Just the preamble is scarier than anything on BLACK MIRROR, so you know it’s going to be fun to work on.

Until next time, a quick welcome to you newbies. This is a safe place to be yourself. As for everyone else, thank you for sticking around. You’re the greatest!