After finishing Marked Map and Undying Legacy, I turned my attention to my patron’s final story for the month, a mystery. At first, I didn’t know who would take center stage. But as I thought about it, I realized highlighting Marcus and Benjamin would be a fun spin for my readers. Even without the next installment of their larger investigation fully fleshed out, this episodic tale came together without much thought, and crafting every word was such fun.

Sometimes the most telling discoveries aren’t loud or obvious. They whisper in the rain, scratch at the wall, or strike a chord that says something isn’t quite right...

As the month draws to a close, I’m reminded of how much this kind of story has become the bright spot of my month. Not long ago, I did everything I could to avoid writing in this genre, but somewhere along the way the script flipped. Now, these are the stories bring me great joy. They don’t always end up as my favorite pick in my newsletter, but they never fail to put a smile on my face. Part of the fun comes from watching them unfold in my head. Those raw and messy moments are magical before they’re refined for the general public. Trust me, no first draft is ever ready for publication.

Some jobs look simple enough, such as move item X to location Y. Others require a little more interpretation...

There are moments at the end of every journey when words fall away, leaving only the quiet press of a place and its time. After the cruise, I stood there above the docks, taking everything in. My camera didn’t linger for spectacle, but settled upon the truth of that moment. It was unhurried, understated, yet overflowing with a fullness you never expected to stumble upon.

The air was still, the colors softened by distance, and the land itself seemed to fold inward, as if drawing a curtain on the day...

In Fluttering Shadows, a king reels from the surrender of his army. Torn between rage and doubt, his advisor turns to the kingdom’s spymaster, whose network of uncanny informants reveals more than anyone wished to hear. Whispers become warnings, and secrets flutter on wings both fragile and foreboding.

What begins as the fallout of defeat deepens into a tale of espionage and looming catastrophe. As unique spies carry secrets across the land, the kingdom must reckon with truths that even victory cannot silence...

When I wrapped up Marked Map, my attention shifted to the next tale for my patrons, a horror. Naturally, my thoughts turned to Solomon, my relentless monster hunter. I wanted to continue his journey after Defiant Tests and began shaping an idea that could stretch into a long, evolving arc. Where it will ultimately lead, I can’t yet say, but I’ sure it’ll be a thrilling ride to write and share.

Some battles are fought in the open, under the clear light of day...

After finishing Verdant Breathes, I headed over to DeviantArt and began thumbing through images. I’m glad I didn’t start with my backlog of prompt material, because I stumbled upon Autumns Ghastly Ghouls of Haunting Visions by jeffdoute, check out below. While it seemed more unsettling than the images I normally gravitate toward, the scene called out to me. From the windswept leaves to the drifting ghost, everything compelled me to write a story. Though the artwork might look like it would spark a horrifying tale, that’s not where my mind went, and I hope you enjoy the results.

Art is always more than color and canvas. It’s a way of capturing what hides beneath the surface...

Just before the month started, I opened my digital notebook and reviewed the ChatGPT ideas for Magic Forest by postapodcast. However when I pulled up the list, it was surprising to find a single option left to me. Despite knowing the last generated seed would eventually come, I thought there were enough generated prompts to last through December. The lack wasn’t devastating, but it left me stunned. Not for a negative reason, but because working through this list has been pure joy

At first the following prompt left me searching for the right words...

After delving into the story of Discovery, check out the latest episode here, I turned my attention to the second Wattpad story for the month. With this tale, I wanted to explore Darren’s education. When I went to my notes, I had a brief description to use for the tale. This story centers around Wayne as he interrupts a study session with Darren and Lia. He pulls Darren aside and tries to enlist him in a special job to help position him with their family. Granted, it’s been some time since I last visited this blurb, but it was enough to give me some ideas on how to take the story.

Throughout the previous tales, I’ve highlighted that Darren wants nothing to do with the portion of his family represented by Wayne...

Despite the cruise being finished, there were still wonderful sights to capture. A stillness settles in when the memories remain fresh, and it becomes important to etch those moments into your mind before they begin to fade. Aside from the pictures, all that remains are glimpses of water and land speaking in their own unhurried language. The first image leans into that quiet with softened distance, shifting colors, and the surface of the water gathering what light is left. It’s the kind of view that feels discovered rather than staged, carrying a sense of pause that lingers in the body long after the eyes move on.

The second image deepens that mood, turning attention toward an opening between branches and bay...

In Shifting Form, Tarian’s grief and guilt leave him brooding in the meeting hall, hunched over a cracked table with dagger in hand. His friend Keldon tries to pull him back from despair, but their exchange takes a sinister turn when a monstrous impostor invades their bond. What begins as self-recrimination erupts into suspicion, steel, and the chilling revelation that trust is more fragile than ever.

Every strike of Tarian’s dagger echoes his fractured alliances, and when the shapeshifter reveals itself, the cost of vulnerability becomes undeniable...

When I sat down to write the first story for my patrons, I turned once more to the prompts I created for my new Card Draw shorts. Instead of drawing on something unpublished, I chose to expand a piece I had already released. At its core, the story follows this prompt: A down on his luck mercenary is seeking to get back onto his feet, by finding a lost detention camp. Yet if he’s able to discover this site, he’ll be forced to fight his enemy’s battle for him. Building on that seed, I brought Marcus to life with a depth you wouldn’t expect from the seed alone.

Every scar tells a story, but not every story has the power to change a man’s future...

Storytelling has always been my compass, from my first novel, Dead Man’s Hand, originally published in 2015, to Drawing Thin, the second installment in the Forger’s series, which followed in 2019. But between those milestones, I discovered the power of flash fiction. The format limits you to one thousand words or fewer. These short, consumable stories let me explore new ideas and go through the writing/editing process with great immediacy.

That shift planted seeds for bigger things, including bringing my fiction to YouTube...

The moment I finished Radiant Offer, I turned my attention to the next piece of micro-fiction, an entry for my Monster Hunter, Solomon. While the core of this story was done behind Patreon and you can read that sample here, this picks up after the climax and is self-contained for those who enjoy reading my micro-tales. The reason I wanted to leverage that story was simply because of the setup it left me with. There was plenty of room for me to explore the aftermath of the story. With the loose threads flapping before me, I took hold of them and wrote a little scene for those who want to buy me a croissant.

Sometimes silence hides the loudest dangers. When alarms pierce the air and shadows dance across steel walls, every step forward carries its own weight. In these moments, trust is fragile, and hesitation can prove fatal...

As another month continues to churn, I looked over my Wattpad stories. While I have two planned, I pulled out an older draft in the Discovery storyline and began preparing it for release. After several rounds of revisions, I’m ready to bring it to the world.

Beneath the canopy of Morven’s vast forests, the search for new allies carries both hope and peril. In this chapter, the crew of Discovery Squadron ventures into unfamiliar skies, their instruments crackling with signs of life. Yet their struggling technology offers no guarantees of answers...

When people talk about a sunset cruise, I’m sure you picture a boat slicing through the waters beneath a sky streaked with vibrant hues of red, orange, pink, and gold. I was hoping for that kind of spectacle, but the reality turned into something quieter. Because of timing, the trip became more of a late afternoon jaunt across the water. While I missed the blaze of color, there was something else for me to seize. The following shots aren’t portraits of grandeur but of subtler truths. The kind that reveal themselves only when you stop asking for spectacle and start noticing what lingers in its absence.

As the trip drew to a close, I wasn’t disappointed...