The moment I published Enticing Vision, I started looking through the headlines to come up with the basis for the Political Satire for June. This time I pushed past the big topics, diving deeper into the news, searching for a headline that spoke to me. During the search, I stumbled upon one that mentioned states were suing twenty-six drug makers for generic prescription price fixing, and I latched onto it.

With the political side of the tale locked in, I started thinking about the storyline that would frame the topic...

Wayne’s first lesson with Volodar arrives, and Maxwell and Roland are present. Darren initially hopes that Volodar tapped him to progress to the more advanced martial arts lessons. But Maxwell reminds him that Volodar is unlikely to promote Darren to those classes. The two advanced students quickly comment that they are present only to assist in Wayne’s assessment...

My first take on Micro fiction was a comedy entitled Apartment’s Tree, and when I finished, I read through the story and was proud of the two hundred and fifty word story. Fresh off that spin-off tale, I raced to create a couple more of these mini narratives. The first centered on a new character and his unique magical abilities. But for the second one, I wanted to explore the past of the Academy, the school where Darren Gilbert is learning to wield magic. And since I fled to this institution’s past, I had a blank canvass to work with...

Lucas is an interesting character. I’ve dropped him into the same world as Darren Gilbert, and roughly the same timeframe. Fortunately, that world is massive, and there are plenty of places where he can fit and not interact with Darren unless I want him to. I developed the character as a response to a Micro Fiction prompt for a Ghost Story. As the mini story developed, I was excited to delve into the history and unique skill set for my main character...

Shortly after a pair of shifters raided the Colony’s ordinance, a solitary figure stands on the field staring at the wall. It stands motionless beyond the range of the defenders’ weapons. At midday, the leadership climbs to the tallest rampart to discuss their options with the lone figure...

When I closed the polls, I smiled at the initial genre of a Fairy Tale. Origionally I decided to go and read some classic Fairy Tales for inspiration but I ended up heading over to DeviantArt and searched for fairy tale images and it didn’t take long before I stumbled onto Fairy tale nearby… by Nikolaj-Arndt. The moment I came across the image, my story snapped into my mind, and I knew exactly what I wanted to write. That clarity doesn’t always happen when I stumble upon interesting images, but I’m happy for this happy coincedence...

DeviantArt is loaded with fantastic artwork. Every so often while I’m thumbing through them, I discover pieces that plant a seed in my mind. Sometimes those saplings never take root, and the thoughts quickly fade from my memory, while other times, they take root and bloom. When I stumbled onto Ent by Ooki, I had a moment of clarity and jotted something down when I shared the image on Facebook...

After watching a warehouse burn in the main harbor of the Southern Region, Marcus returns to the train and hops onto the first train for the Central Region. He drops into his seat, gets some sleep as the train rumbles toward the central hub of the fledgling nation. When the conductor wakes Marcus up and, he hustles off the train and hurries to the tallest building. He gets off on Nathaniel’s floor and his secretary, Amelia, puts herself between him and his friend...

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...