When March ended, I went to bed feeling proud of the month’s writing. After waking up very refreshed, I worked my day job. However, after I got off from the job that pays the bills, I pulled up my writing schedule and realized I was going to miss a couple of deadlines. Without missing a beat, I shuffled the deadlines around to ensure those posts would be released.

Luckily, after a quick peek into my notebook, I realized today’s micro-fiction deadline was an easy one to manage, since the broad strokes held told me to write a comedy in an episodic series of The Academy...

Normally, I don’t write very many comedies. I find them too difficult to write. However, whenever my patrons choose for me to write one, I do as I’m told. Fortunately, last November I had an epiphany. I love Abbott & Costello. When I wrote Hidden Treasure for my patrons, I took my love of Abbott & Costello and married it with a roll of my story dice and piped it into ChatGPT for some inspiration. After reading the resulting the brief screenplay, I quickly made a unique story introducing my pair of friends, Sebastian and Jimmy. While I haven’t given them last names yet, I’ve returned to this pair on two other occasions in Buried Treasure and Who’s Leading...

It’s interesting how certain visuals can transport you to another time and place. There was something undeniably beautiful about the juxtaposition between the long blades of grass and the sandy shore. It was like nature’s own brushstrokes on the canvas of life. Beyond appreciating the beauty, I’ve always enjoyed observing nature. However, capturing it through a lens is still something I’m learning. And whenever I’m recording the sights I see, I’m experimenting with zoom, focus, and composition...

A routine bombing mission. A heavily escorted flight. And a secret so dangerous it could end the war. In Bombing Run, what starts as a standard bombing run quickly unravels into a high-stakes mission filled with unexpected dangers, military strategy, and powerful magic. However, as they draw close to their target, details emerge that change everything.

Why were they assigned five master witches as escorts? What makes this target so critical? And will they escape once the mission is complete? Strap in for an action-packed military fantasy thriller filled with suspense, high-altitude danger, and a powerful secret that will change the tide of war forever...

With the completion of Curious Wilds and Fraught Wait, I turned my attention to the final piece of the month for my patrons, a spy story. While espionage isn’t a genre I typically explore, I’ve found myself thoroughly enjoying both this entry and the previous one. The biggest realization that made this genre exciting for me was its simplicity. When I first think of spy stories, my mind immediately jumps to 007. But while you can craft a spy tale with a suave agent like James Bond, you can also take a different approach, one that leans into atmosphere, tension, and the power of subtlety.

For both this installment and the last, I revisited a character I developed in Fortunes and Mounting Tensions, Darvin, the Living Mountain...

Of all the worlds I’ve created, Morven has been the one I’ve spent the most time exploring. And while Thobin originally appeared in Tumultuous Beginning, it was a later picture prompt, Rebuke that fleshed out some of my more exciting aspects of the character. So, when it came time to craft a story based on the image below, it didn’t take long to realize Thobin would be the perfect protagonist. But as I delved deeper into the plot, I realized I had the opportunity to weave in some richer worldbuilding for Morven. Once that idea took root, the path ahead for this story became clear. While some sharp-eyed readers may recognize the twist I’m introducing, I’m confident this tale will captivate everyone...

Despite rebuffing several assaults, Jarvis knows his people need more than just resilience, they need better tools to survive. And whenever he requires such an innovation, he has a single person to turn to Cecile. Every invention starts as an idea, a flicker of inspiration, that demands perseverance to be forced into reality. Fortunately, Cecile has a knack for transforming ambitious concepts into working machines. Instead of praise, each success only leads to more difficult requests, each one a test of her ingenuity, endurance, and resolve...

While not all beaches are created equally, I cannot think of a single beach that I’ve been to that made me think that sandy shorelines were a bad thing. That said, I’ve never seen so many patches of lengthy grass errupting from the sandy dunes. So the juxtaposition of the sight was an amazing view during this trip. For a moment, I thought I was a giant striding through a desert and pausign over the oases peppering the endless expanse of desolate sands. However, the salty air constantly chased that momentary image from my mind...

First, I want to apologize for the delay in publishing this video. Last week was a hectic for me and my body was acting on autopilot. Which is a fancy way to say that the video I originally uploaded was not fully edited. The moment I realized my mistake I scrambled to complete the editing to upload the video.

In Draconic Bargain, a powerful wizard faces a life-altering decision. With an external threat looming over his land, he embarks on a dangerous ritual that could shatter his world. Abandoning the very teachings he’s passed to his apprentice, the wizard dives into a risky deal with a mythical creature. Magic, summoning, and powerful forces collide in this high-stakes fantasy adventure. Will the wizard’s plan succeed, or will he bring chaos to his doorstep? Join the journey now to witness the thrilling consequences of this perilous bargain...

The moment I finished penning Curious Wilds, I turned my attention to my patrons’ next tale, a science fiction. While I had a couple of crews, I could have used to explore the unforgiving expanse of space. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to choosing between them. Ultimately, I chose the crew of the Drifter II. Yet, an actual story eluded me. That is until I remembered the last time I visited this crew during the events of Derelict Ship. And with that recollection, a fresh narrative flooded into my mind. Sometimes, someone’s survival hinges not just on skill, but on the delicate balance between a trio of ideals: duty, loyalty, and the weight of responsibility...

When I set out to craft this tale, I knew Tiatha would take center stage. But rather than simply showcasing another showing her power, I wanted to explore the world she now moves through, the shifter’s territory. While I’ve hinted at this being a land teeming with both primal energy and political fractures, it’s been mostly unexplored. Now it’s time to step into that world and see it through Tiatha’s eyes. Despite being among allies, how secure Tiatha is amidst these unstable neighbors? What unspoken tensions simmer beneath the surface? These were the questions I hadn’t yet explored, and they offered a rich well of inspiration...

First, I’d like to apologize for both the delay in the releasing of this month’s genre poll and by extension writing this first story. That said, as soon as I posted the results, I started thinking about the first story for my patrons, an action/adventure tale. Despite the immediate jump into the work, there was nothing but an empty void as I thought about what I wanted to write about. However, failure to write these stories is unacceptable to me. As a result, I grabbed a set of story cubes and gave them a toss. Once all nine of the fantasy inspired set were staring up at me, it took me a few minutes to find three cubes that tickled my fancy. The results were an imp or a goblin, a hooded woman, and a pair of winged shoes. And in that singular moment, a scene flooded through my mind...

As the initial shots of the first morning are winding to a close, I’m happy to share another view of the diminutive tree and a shot of the morning fog. While I captured some shots of the colorful clouds, none of those shots turned out well once they were converted into a watercolor painting. However, I’m constantly looking for those kinds of shots. One day I’ll get an amazing result with those kinds of images...

Having received a cryptic warning about a hidden bomb, the police are running out of time. As the time ticks away, the threat of utter devastation intensifies. Enter Detective Graves, who’s no stranger to high pressure moments or investigations. Somewhere in the shadows of his city, a deadly countdown has begun, and one wrong move could mean disaster for everyone. With the weight of an entire city on his shoulders, will this stoic detective uncover the truth before it’s too late? Or will the clock hit zero and devastate the city? This frantic search is more than a case. It’s a race against time. The danger is real. The choices are impossible. And the cost of failure is unthinkable...

Has anything ever completely consumed your time? If you aren’t single-minded, do you know anyone who is? Either way, I can’t speak for those reading this, but I’ll admit my work, whether my day job or writing, has consumed me a few times. That said, people wonder what you’re doing, especially if what you’re working on is a secret, or at least unknown. I speak from experience. When other team members are pulled aside for private conversations, my imagination inevitably fills in the blanks...