release – Page 3 – Prose Poetry Code

Release: Fortress of Steel, part 1 (Modern Minds 4)

It’s time for a new Modern Minds short story. This time around, it’s Part 1 of “Fortress of Steel”. As always, we’ll start with the blurb:

Dirk is a young man looking for his future. His mind holds a secret strength, a defense few can understand, let alone break. Yet that very power will lead him further into the hidden world he has only just glimpsed, a world of mystery, wonder, and danger.

Head on over to my Patreon (at least until it gets shut down!) to pick this one up. All you need is to subscribe at my Serious Reader level, which only costs you $3/month. That’s not much at all. And you’ll get the conclusion of this one when it comes out in August.

Release: Alignment Adjustment (Return to the Otherworld 2)

And here we go again. Return to the Otherworld continues with its second installment, Alignment Adjustment.

Things have changed.

The other world isn’t the same, nor are those whose lives have been touched by it. To truly understand how best to live in this new land, those who came from another must accept that first impressions are not everything. Only by recognizing their mistakes will they have the chance to avoid them in the future.

For the second expedition, readjustment is a necessity. Now that they have begun to dive deeper into the cultural waters of this world, they can no longer deny their place in it. Some may not like that place. Some may struggle with the preconceived notions of their new neighbors, their friends and lovers. But even that forces them into the mold they so desperately wish to escape.

Not a lot happens in this one, I’ll admit. It’s more getting things set up, moving people around, and a lot of character interaction. The expedition was gone for nearly a year, after all. It’ll take time to get back in the saddle.

As ever, Otherworld stories are Patreon exclusives for the time being. That means you can head on over to my Patreon and pick up Alignment Adjustment for a pledge of $3/month. And the list of things you can get for that low price keeps on growing.

Coming up next is Part 3 of the series, Waters Rising. Look for it soon, and remember to keep reading!

Release: The Second Crossing (Return to the Otherworld 1)

It’s a new year, and that means it’s time for a new season in the Otherworld. 2019 brings Return to the Otherworld, a new eight-part series following the further adventures of those who have visited this strange land, those who stayed behind a year ago, and the new faces seeking their first opportunity to glimpse the alien world for themselves.

Opening up this time is The Second Crossing:

A year ago, eleven college students stumbled into another world by virtue of an accident. An unforeseen, yet ultimately beneficial, accident. Now, they plan to return, this time with purpose.

New faces will join them. Old friends will welcome them. Enemies will show themselves. And the second crossing will test this expedition in ways they never anticipated. What new discoveries await? What new dangers lurk on the other side of the strange, inexplicable portal between worlds?

None can say, but the students and their companions know one thing for sure: they must return to the other world.

It’s going to be a fun ride, and you can see it all through the year over at my Patreon. All I ask is a simple pledge of $3/month, which gets you access to Return to the Otherworld and the previous series, as well as much more. How can you go wrong?

Look for Alignment Adjustment in six weeks. Until then, have fun and keep reading!

Release: Beyond the Horizon (Orphans of the Stars 2)

Let’s get back to space. Back to the future, even.

They were lost, but they found themselves. Now, they will find a piece of their past that brings about a new chapter in humanity’s future.

Seventeen children inherited a ship, a mission, a legacy. Few among them truly understand what it means to be an officer, an engineer, or a medic. Youth is bold, however, bold and adventurous. Thus, the immature crew of the Innocence yet believe they know what they are doing. They believe they can navigate not only the endless void of space, but also the turbulent waters of life, a life marked by their shared history.

Something lurks out among the stars. Something turned these young people into orphans, into the last survivors of Marshall Colony. Only they have seen the truth and lived to speak of it. Only they are prepared to find what lies beyond the horizon.

I was really excited when I released Innocence Reborn last year. Rarely have I ever felt so good about a book, like it had so much promise. Maybe I consider Nocturne my best work, but Innocence Reborn was by far the most fun.

That’s all I ask from the Orphans of the Stars series. It’s my chance to have fun, to show that space opera and science fiction can still be fun. Whatever you think about our future, the one I’ve created in these books is bright. In my darker times, it’s one of the few lights that shines through. In better days, it outshines the sun.

You can head on over to my Patreon if you want to check this one out. It’s currently in the Serious Reader tier, which requires only a monthly pledge of $3. A cup of coffee, a small meal, or the future. It’s your choice.

And, in case you’re wondering, I’m already planning out Part 3 of Orphans of the Stars, tentatively titled Time in the Sun. Keep watching this space for more info on that.

Release: Smoke and Mirrors (Modern Minds 3)

Another four months have passed since the last release in the Modern Minds series, so now it’s time for the third entry. Here’s “Smoke and Mirrors” for you:

In her old life, Tabitha had nothing. Now, she possesses a secret weapon, a talent to protect her mind from the invasion of others. And she has friends, friends with talents of their own. By exploring their minds, she hopes to unlock the full potential of her own.

Release: The Candle’s Flame (A Bridge Between Worlds 6)

And so we come to journey’s end.

In the entire history of her people, Etanya was the first to travel to another world. Her new friends, including one who had become somewhat more, all came from theirs to hers, but she went the other way. No story, no tale, could prepare her for what she saw. Surrounded by unfamiliar faces, strange machines, and things she can only describe as magic, she wants nothing more than to find her place. That place, she well knows, is at Ramon’s side, but can he take that final step?

This is the end of A Bridge Between Worlds, but it’s far from the last you’ll see of the Otherworld setting. No, I have greater things in store for it. Season 2 of the main story, titled Return to the Otherworld, will debut in early 2019. Until that time, you can get all of my novels and novellas in this setting, plus the many other works I’ve written, at my Patreon. All it takes is a pledge of a few dollars a month. You can cancel anytime, and you get to keep anything you’ve downloaded. No DRM, no fuss. It’s almost too easy.

Whatever you do, I’d like to thank you for traveling with me down this strange and wonderful road. I’ll see you again soon, so keep reading!

Release: The Beast Within (Endless Forms 2)

October means it’s time for scary stuff. Halloween, my birthday, anything that strikes fear into your heart. So how about more monsters?

Fame is fleeting, but fear lives on forever.

The monsters are real. Cam Weir knows this. He’s seen them in the flesh, in all their naked, hideous glory. Yet he remains skeptical. Perhaps two monsters were enough for one man, for one life. Surely all those other things people see, those shadows lurking in the night, were merely products of overactive imaginations.

In most cases, they are nothing more, but not every call Cam receives can be so easily explained as a hoax. As he struggles to come to terms with his new status as a celebrity, a famous hunter of the paranormal, Cam finds that the world is strange, and it’s only becoming stranger. Now, in addition to Bigfoot, he must hunt a werewolf.

The Beast Within is the second in my paranormal thriller series titled Endless Forms. As of today, you can pick it up on my Patreon if you’re in the Serious Reader tier, which only costs $3 a month. I’ll see you there!

Free release: Fallen

It’s not often I release a full story for free. The last one was “Miracles”, which I put right here on PPC back in 2015. But it was unfinished, unedited, and really not all that great. This time, however, I have something far better. Or worse, considering which story it is.

That’s right. It’s “Fallen”, probably my strangest novella. First off, here’s the blurb:

Out of work and down on his luck, an atheist spots a shooting star as it falls to earth. What he finds, though, is not a meteorite, but something entirely unexpected, something that will test his resolve and his lack of faith, even as it changes his life forever.

Originally, I had the idea of “nonbeliever meets a fallen angel” and intended it to be a kind of theological deconstruction, a way to explain my own beliefs and defend them by way of a story. Many fantasy and science fiction authors have done exactly that, whether in religion or politics, so why not give it a shot myself?

It…didn’t turn out that way. In a sense, “Fallen” is my biggest mistake. I aimed for allegory and wound up with paranormal romance. How, I couldn’t tell you, but that was just the way the story went. At some point, I couldn’t steer it away from the inevitable, so I went with it.

The story isn’t bad, just very, very different from what I normally write. So that’s the main reason I’m releasing it for free now. In addition, it’s of the wrong length to publish on its own. Worse, I’m a man. A straight, white male. I doubt I’d get the time of day from a publisher of romance fiction even before I offered the story.

Anyway, you can pick up “Fallen” over at my Patreon or right here on PPC. It’s absolutely free, the story’s only about 60 pages, and there’s really nothing to lose. So go ahead. Read it. You might be disappointed, but you won’t waste anything but your own time. And if you do like it, consider giving me a dollar or two a month over at Patreon. It helps me make more quality (ha!) fiction like “Fallen”.

Whatever you do, remember to keep reading!

Release: The Lessons Learned (A Bridge Between Worlds 5)

We’re almost done. Here’s Part 5 of 6 in A Bridge Between Worlds.

Summer vacation has to end sometime, even in the other world. Jeff understood that, and he accepted it. The coming of fall brings him a new sort of college experience, something he never could have imagined. Together with the woman he loves, he hopes to find first his feet in this new life, then answers to the greatest mysteries of all. Yet even in this place, he learns that some judge solely by appearance, never considering actions.

Remember, you can download this story, as well as the rest of those in the Otherworld setting, exclusively from my Patreon. It’s only a few dollars a month, and you get access to far more than just a single novella.

On November 20, this series comes to a close with the release of Part 6, “The Candle’s Flame”. Stay tuned for future plans, because the Otherworld endures. Until then, keep reading!

Release: The Eye’s Mind, Part 2 (Modern Minds 2)

Back in April, I posted the first in a new series of short stories set in the 1920s. Called “Modern Minds”, it deals with psychic abilities of a lower key than is common in television and movies. This is the continuation of that story.

Cast out of her home, Jessie seeks answers to the mystery of her mind, her sight. To find them, she travels farther than she has ever gone, far away from all she knows. What she discovers will open her eyes to a world she never knew existed.

Head on over to my Patreon to pick it up. All it takes is a pledge of $3 a month. That’s not too much, is it? If you like it, check out my other stories, and keep watching for future entries in Modern Minds.