The moment I finished penning Stormbound Ambush, I turned my attention to the second image selected for the month’s image-based story, seen below. The vibrant purple gears caught my attention, bringing the scrolling to a stop. Instantly, I had a flashback to a series where magic and engineering collided. While this particular series segregated the abilities between the mages and the engineers, the image made me wonder what would happen if a tinkerer could wield some amount of magic.

It didn’t take long for me to take that spawned idea and craft a fun tale. Tucked between a tanner’s shed and an old apothecary, a pair of places where most people would never bother to look, lies a hastily constructed workshop sitting unacknowledged...

In Questions, a quiet evening between a professor and his long-time girlfriend turns unexpectedly emotional. What begins as a routine end to Shawn’s workday quickly reveals deeper questions. When Elizabeth arrives ready to confront the state of their relationship, a simple clay cookie jar becomes the unlikely place where long-awaited questions are found. This heartfelt contemporary drama blends tenderness, conflict, and a moment that changes everything.

As their conversation unfolds in the quiet stillness of an empty lecture hall, Shawn must finally confront the reality Elizabeth has carried alone for years. The emotional weight of the moment builds toward a reveal hidden in plain sight. It’s a gesture that speaks louder than all his delays...

When I finished penning Hollow Trail, my attention snapped to the next genre selected by my patrons, a crime caper. The moment I saw this request for this month’s work, my mind began searching for inspiration for Jessica Calhoun’s newest heist. With a little digging and sifting, I uncovered the perfect spark for her latest job. It started with a simple question. What makes the perfect crime? As I thought about that, it didn’t take long to shape that core idea into a fully fledged seed.

A grand alabaster hall gleams with chandeliers and polished marble while the hum of a thousand hushed voices fills the night...

With Soaked in Fear done, I turned my attention to the origionally scheduled first piece of micro-fiction for the month, the latest entry in my Tattoo series. Some choices are loud. They are made in the heat of passion or defiance. However, there are others that arrive quietly, their gravity felt in the stillness between the words. This story lives in that silence, where the line between art and magic blurs. It’s a story about trust, consent, and the unseen cost of creation.

In Lucas’s workshop, every tool tells a story. Each glass vial shimmers with its unique purpose, and the air itself hums with something that feels alive...

Every month, I sift through countless images in search of those that spark the right kind of fire. I am looking for an image that doesn’t just look interesting, but whispers a story waiting underneath. Sometimes that spark is subtle. Other times it hits like a hammer. This time, it was the latter. I found a figure wreathed in lightning, standing alone against gathering a group of would be assailants, and instantly Amelia, from Downpour, stepped back into my thoughts as if she’d been waiting for the right moment to return.

There’s something about a quiet day under a wide, blue sky that lulls the world into believing it’s safe. Sunlight smooths the rough edges, the breeze carries away old worries, and even the cautious let their guard slip...

In Devastating Loss, an unexpected alarm tears through the night, pulling Tarian from restless sleep into a fight for survival. When he sees the lights bathing the compound, he rushes out to meet the unknown. But as the smoke clears, he learns that bravery and loss often walk hand in hand. Every act of courage demands its price.

As the siren fades and silence returns, Tarian is left to count what remains...

After pulling the results from the genre poll, I knew exactly how I’d satisfy my patrons’ choice, a horror tale. Solomon is my go-to character when my patrons want horror, and I’m in the middle of an arc, so I was thrilled to see this genre waiting for me to explore. After a couple of days, I sat down, and the story poured out as if I were watching it unfold in my mind.

Beneath a shining moon, a forest never sleeps. There is a constant din spreading through the trees...

As another month began, I turned my attention to the new lineup. Up first were the micro-fiction tales. Fortunately, I was able to mostly stick to the original plan. In my first draft, the second story was going to be a followup to Solomon’s recent escapades, but after seeing how my Patron genre poll turned out, I rearranged the order. As a result the first piece of micro-fiction will feature Solomon and his race through his compound.

The facility lies in ruin, choked by smoke and the scent of scorched metal. Echoes fill the empty corridors, but Solomon knows his marks on the walls. Each step is a deliberate, steady, practiced, and far too quiet for normal men...

In Running Leap, courage and recklessness go head-to-head on the edge of a cliff. Daniel bears a constant reminder of his past failure, but he’s ready to try again. He’s convinced that a little pain can’t stop his next stunt, but his friend Ethan isn’t so sure. As one man seeks personal glory while the other braces for disaster, only gravity knows who’s about to win.

Daniel’s unstoppable energy collides with Ethan’s exasperated logic in this dramatic short about courage, chaos, and the thrill of ignoring better judgment. Running Leap reminds us that sometimes, the line between bravery and foolishness is narrower than we’d prefer to admit...

In Undulating Confinement, tensions rise as Tarian and Keldon confront the ethical and tactical limits of science. When a captured shapeshifter surrenders the secrets to its abilities, the fragile trust between command and research begins to fracture. Secrets, ambition, and fear twist through the laboratory walls as containment becomes more illusion than reality.

In this chapter of Colonization, discovery takes a dangerous turn. The boundaries between safety and arrogance blur as Tarian pushes the scientists toward results, no matter the cost. But when the creature mirrors familiar faces, the experiment turns into a confrontation with the unknown...

The moment I finished Reflected Reset and Sealed Departure, I turned my attention to the political satire my patrons requested. Though I often blend my tales with science fiction, coming fresh off a follow-up to Tumultuous Beginning, I realized I had the perfect vessel for a political satire. The opportunity to explore the Council, an institution that will come to dominate this world was far too compelling to ignore.

I’ve hinted at their power many times across my stories, but this marks the first occasion the Council steps out of the shadows. Within their vaulted chamber of power, conviction often masquerades as wisdom...

As the month comes to a close, I turned to the last story for my blog, a Sebastian and Jimmy tale. As the months pass and I’ve added new chapters to their ongoing antics, writing comedies has become a joyful experience. It’s also a nice palette cleanser after writing more emotionally heavy entries such as Frozen Storm and Reflected Sanctuary. But enough of other tales; let’s talk about the spark that ignited this one. Despite knowing I wanted to craft a comedy, I didn’t know what shape it would take, so I turned to an old standby. Or rather, I intended to, but finding my story cubes was a little tricky. So instead of hunting those dice, I grabbed a digital set through ChatGPT and was rewarded with the following trio of items: a Snake 🐍, the Full Moon 🌕, and a Candle 🕯️.

As always, the cubes sat idle until inspiration struck...

With Defenders’ Flame complete, I devoted the remainder of my time set aside for my Wattpad writing to the next installment of Mounting Tensions. With the series roadmap in place, this entry became a natural pivot that was designed to anchor Rylan’s recent actions to explore the ripples of his growing agenda.

Beneath the shimmer of a city settling into evening, a layer of shifting lights amplifies the conspiratorial exchange between Rylan and his father-in-law. Within that glow, their conversation unfolds behind closed doors...

After finishing Frozen Storm, I turned my attention to the second image I’d selected for the month, Hall by kiklopp. Like the previous piece, this one called to me in a way I couldn’t quite explain. Yet the longer I stared, the more a rough idea began to take shape. I latched onto that small kernel of inspiration and built the story below.

Some places are not built, they are remembered. The hall in this image feels like one of those places. Despite the artistic style, its depth radiates an ancient power...

In Tumultuous Beginning, a powerful mage disagrees with the ruling council. He rushes to flee from their mandate. When Thobin’s tower comes under siege, his power becomes both a shield and sentence. What starts as a confrontation quickly escalates and promises to linger for centuries.

Thobin’s mastery over magic is vast. In fact, his existence threatens the absolute rule of the ruling council. Faced with those tasked with binding his will, he answers not with surrender, but with a spell that shows his true mastery...