It is already August, it’s hard to believe that we’re more than halfway through 2020. But I also have another set of stories to write for my patrons. The first Patreon exclusive is a Drama. So, I started toiling with some potential storylines, but I couldn’t lock onto a single coherent thought, until I visited NYC Midnight’s challenges of the past. These prompts have a way of focusing my creating juices and narrowing my scope. When I plucked one of the Drama posts, I didn’t know how I’d work a strawberry field and a tote bag into the tale, but I came up with a dramatic story...

When last we left off with the survivors of the Novus, Nathaniel was trying to enlist Marcus to assist the scientists’ recent request. Having obtained Marcus’s consent, Nathaniel pulled together the team to explore the ruins of the Novus and arranging their transportation. After securing his home and ranch, Marcus boarded a train and traveled to the Southern Region. Nathaniel greeted him at the station and introduced him to his team...

A couple months ago, the family decided to set aside thirty minutes every night for reading. And the only self-imposed restriction was that no one could choose an audiobook. So, I dusted off my Kindle and plugged it into the charging station and went about the rest of the evening. When the time to read came, I opened the Kindle and browsed, coming across Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven. I couldn’t say why the book captured my attention, it may have been the cover, the title, the blurb, or a combination of the three. But I needed to choose something, and before I knew it, I borrowed the book via the Kindle Lending Library and started reading it...

With Choices and Check Up having been published, I turned my attention to the last story for the month of July, my Political Satire. I scrubbed through the headlines, searching for an appropriate article to serve as the basis of my tale. After browsing the headlines on a bunch of sites, I focused on the arguments about the upcoming stimulus package that’s being discussed in Congress. With that nugget tucked into my brain, I thought about the story to tell...

Between the first entry into this year’s NYC Midnight and my 3D printers, this month’s Patreon flash fiction has been extremely tight. But I’m dedicated to delivering the unique content to my Patrons. So while I drafted this Fantasy early in the month, I had to search for the time needed to finish the Fantasy. With that said, I returned to Tainted, Darren Gilbert’s previous story, and continued the story...

“Didn’t you learn your lesson last time?”

The man peering down the chasm smiled, waving his arms over his head. He glanced down at a collection of stones, and knocked them off the ledge, watching them plummet toward the lake. When the rocks plunged into the tranquil water, ripples spread across the surface. He turned around and scampered to his friend, resting his cast on the guy’s back. “Ethan, why are you worried?”

“Daniel, you broke your arm the last time you tried making that jump!”

Daniel pulled Ethan closer, smirking as he nudged his friend’s shoulder. “You make it sound so unpleasant.”..

When I collected the results from July’s poll, I was excited to delve into the Fairy Tale, though I didn’t have a single idea what to write about. I thumbed through a search of DeviantArt and found an interesting picture of a woman dressed in white with a shadowy figure behind her left shoulder. By itself, there isn’t a lot to do with that, but I’d recently watched The Emperor’s New Groove, and Kronk’s devil and angel were fresh in my mind. So, despite this inspirational picture not having the moral creature behind the other shoulder, my mind latched upon that concept, and the story unfurled in my mind...

Sorry for the rant, but I’ve been a little preoccupied this month with my 3D Printers. I’ve been fascinated with these marvels of technology ever since I first discovered them. I mean, think about the reality of these devices. A machine melts a string of plastic and then deposits the molten material onto a surface in a specific pattern. The contraption does this layer after layer until the object that existed solely on your computer has taken physical form. This means anything anyone can create in a digital space can be manufactured in the actual world, without requiring a mold or a substantial loan, and it’s fantastic...

As Colonization‘s story comes to a close, I’m taking a step back and examining this story’s journey. Long before I wrote the first entry in this narrative, Landing on Morven, I crafted a history for another project. In the notebook dedicated to that world, I had a pair of throwaway lines about a colonization attempt. From those simple lines, I built a rough storyline that laid the foundation of this series. From that initial draft, the story grew, taking on a life of its own, and with several careful nudges, I explored the characters of this expedition...

After disrupting Nathaniel’s meeting with Kethra, Marcus returns to his family and resumes his work on his farm. But the interruption caused headaches for Nathaniel, spurring the leader of the new government to visit his old friend. Though Marcus believes that Nathaniel wouldn’t have traveled all the way to his home just to complain about a rough day...

With the inertial world already folded into the fledgling federation, Isaac and Jasmine are piloting the newly redesigned world ship to the next colony. Though Isaac is dissatisfied with the level of automation, the engineers stuffed into the newest vessel. The updated systems have relegated the pilot to a glorified chaperon...

Ever since I started writing, I have been building worlds and their characters. And while I love each of the ones I’ve created, it’s been the happy accidents that excite me the most. The first time I ran into this was when I crafted exclusive flash fiction stories for my patrons on Patreon. Early on, I pulled a prompt for a fantasy taking place in a shoe store and featuring pancakes. Initially, I didn’t know what kind of narrative I could string together and fulfill those requirements. Thankfully, the tale I developed resulted with a protagonist who quickly became one of my favorites...

While writing Fortunes, I came to enjoy learning about Rylan during his trials and journey to Laria. The character grew and stuck with me, and I knew that Rylan’s story was incomplete. Thankfully, with my various notes presented me with another opportunity to further delve into Rylan’s life. Towards the end of Fortunes, the crew of the ship had a fundamental split in ideology, and that split would take seed back on their homeworld and continue to grow. While I’m eager to delve into Rylan’s life, this new narrative picks up fifteen years after the events of Final Plans...

Fresh after giving Samantha her permanent home, Lucas heads out to collect more of the ingredient required to craft homes for his apparitions. While I’ve only introduced a pair of Lucas’s ghosts in Tattooed Home, with this installment I’m going to hint at the collection of shades and how they’re able to assist Lucas...

Thankfully, work has settled down to a regular workload, and I have enjoyed getting back into a normal groove with my blog. So far, I’ve published Enticing Vision and Cost of Living when I planned, and I could focus on my last piece of flash fiction for the month, a Thriller. Just like I did for my fairy tale, I searched DeviantArt for pictures that inspired a story the moment I found it. And on Saturday, I came across 348/365 The Ritual By snatti89 and my mind launched into motion, fleshing out the narrative...