When Larry Correia’s initial story featuring Tom Stranger finished, I was eager to start the next entry in the series, A Murder of Manatees, so I downloaded that installment of my favorite Interdimensional Insurance Agent and listened to the tale. Thankfully, the humor of the previous installment is in full force in this aquatic investigation, and it starts with Tom Stranger leading a convention about the audio recording of his preceding adventure.

From the onset, we are reminded there are multiple incarnations of Larry Correia. The first is the writer who later “publishes” an audiobook of Tom Stranger’s activities...

I love winter. I especially love it when the snow comes down, blanketing the world. But when I stumbled upon the picture prompt for today’s narrative, it made me think would I love the snow if I truly was in the middle of a blizzard. Now while I’ve lived through a couple of serious snowstorms, they don’t have the same resonance as this prompt brings to mind. In this image we see a single man wandering about a town at the onset of a blizzard...

With the deal Olyver arranged with the other triumvirs, he’s excited about the coming completion of the colonization ships. Though he worries about his constituents disapproval about the delay, so he tries avoiding them while the vessels are being constructed. Unfortunately, for the triumvir, he has a routine. As the docks frantically work to finish construction, Olyver goes to his favorite restaurant and Ursula arranges a meeting to discuss the constant delays...

Having completed both Spining Portals and Tainted, I turned my fracturing attention to the last story for May, a Political Satire. I spent some time trolling headlines, and after seeing the deluge of articles that focused on COVID-19, an idea popped into my mind. With the barest of concepts floating in my mind, I reached out to NYC Midnight to select a prompt to flesh out the storyline. When my cursor landed on this entry, I cringed...

With Spinning Portals finished, I focused on the next piece. When my patrons included a Fantasy in May, I knew Darren Gilbert would make another Patreon appearance. Over on Wattpad, I’m detailing Darren’s early life with a collection of flash fiction pieces entitled Journeys. But my favorite mage’s creation was right here on Patreon with Act of Heroism. I enjoyed the character so much despite the limited scope of that tale, that I yearned to continue his story and delve into his personal history...

As Fortunes comes to a close, I have to stop and examine the journey this tale has taken from a seed to the fully fleshed out story of Rylan the technician. Looking back at the entire series, I’m amazed at how the tale changed from the initial ideas. The story grew and took on a life of its own. As the tale twisted away from the path I originally envisioned, a careful nudge and edit kept it in place while allowing the narrative to grow and develop...

While I don’t remember how The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent came into my Audible library, I’m fairly sure I can thank Audible Originals. This relatively new service rewards members with free programs every month. Having read some of Larry Correia’s works, notably his Monster Hunter series and the Grimnoir Chronicles, I gave it a whirl.

Both of the aforementioned series possess some similar aspects, but they generate an enjoyable narrative. But when I started listening to Tom Stranger’s adventure, it quickly became clear that he upended the familiar recipe...

Deadlines can wreak havoc on your life, be they personal or professional. Ever since I closed the poll for May’s genres, I’ve been toiling with the three storylines. After a few days, I turned my attention to the first genre and started delving into the idea for my latest fairy tale. Having done a few recently, I wanted to alter my regular formula for the style. With my latest structure in place, I headed to NYC Midnight to fill out the meat of the story...

Wayne’s personality has not softened since his first meeting with the students of the Academy. And the only student to interact with the arrogant boy is Darren, who hopes for something about his mother’s past. As time passed the students reclaimed their regular life, and Darren received a letter from his childhood friend, Randall. The letter talks about how Randall has leaned upon Darren’s actions when he humbled Dolmen...

With the scientists discovering a way to defend the settlement from the newest menace, Tarian directs Lloyd to perfect their defenses. The quartermaster diligently works to ensure their safety, and he believes he’s successfully improved their perimeter. With the recent threat neutralized, Lloyd throws himself back into the construction of munitions to preserve the colony from the ever-present horde. As Lloyd adds to the colony’s stock, shape shifting bandits attempting to penetrate the updated defenses...

Running low on supplies, Marcus collected Bret and Wayne and dragged them to the train station. When it arrived, he ushered the farmhands onto the steam-powered locomotive and dropped into the first seat he found. Throughout the trip, the pair talked about the recent dangers. The occasional tidbit floated into Marcus’s mind, and he slumped over the back of the chair and dismissed their worries, professing that the Southern Region didn’t have any problems aside from not catching enough fish...

With April coming to a close, I turned my attention toward the last piece of flash fiction for my patrons, a Political Satire. As I thumbed through headline after headline, I kept coming back to COVID-19. So, just like last month, I tackled a story concerning the virus, though this time, the headlines about states reopening were the inspiration. But I needed a seed so the tale could flourish. When I found that kernel, the story flowed through my fingers on the page...

Fresh off a meeting with his constituents, Olyver works with Caitlin on a way to ramp up the colonization efforts. After multiple edits, the two produce a draft of the orders that will catapult them to the rest of the system. Now they need to get Quinn’s consent, but he’s steadfast in his belief that they have to expand at a snail’s pace...

After the Captain locked down every member of the crew who attended Rylan’s gathering, they all wait for Rylan’s plan to unfold. Unfortunately, with each passing day, the ship gets closer to their home, and the tensions begin to mount. Annabelle constantly attempts to pry more information from Rylan, but he refuses to disseminate more information. The day the ship arrives in their home system, the former technician has Darvan pass out data crystals with all the information each of the escapees need...

Between the long workdays and the hectic time during this quarantine, I grabbed my second prompt and thought about what kind of tale I wanted to tell. I knew it needed to be a fairy tale, but beyond that, everything was blank. This time the prompt I retrieved from NYC Midnight didn’t generate a buzz in my mind. After dismissing about a dozen false starts, the story finally unfolded into a basic narrative. As my fingers found a groove, I plucked some elements from The Noodle Trap, primarily the aspect of nature mingling with an everyday location. The main difference between the two is what the wild intermingles with, and in this piece of flash fiction it’s a retirement home like the one from the Psych episode, The Old and the Restless ...