Darren, Maxwell, and Roland leave the Academy for a night of relaxation. They head for a local restaurant for a meal, camaraderie, and recreation. The three intend to stay until the restaurant closes. And Darren wants to find out the truth about a rumor floating around the school...

With the ever looming danger the world possesses and no allies, Tarian shifts his focus to the dead creature that attacked him. He arranged for the brightest people to delve into the mysteries the body can illuminate. Over the course of a week, the colony’s scientists are unable to discover anything. Tarian unwilling to wait any longer barges in and demands what they have...

With February’s polls complete, I turned my focus to the first story for the month, a Drama. This time instead of heading to NYC Midnight, I turned to a different source for a prompt, a first line generator. The text message said, very clever… I stared at that line for a while as I let the ideas percolate. Thoughts rushed into my mind but I kept knocking them away. None of those thoughts seemed like a good foundation for a story...

When dealing with fantasy, the words full moon invokes a particular image. They prepare the reader to encounter werewolves. So before starting to listen to this story, I expect the heroes to deal with some shape-shifting menace. Or if such a being isn’t the central antagonist, it would play a significant part in this case file. Much to my delight, the opening pages of this novel live up to the expectation.

In Tombyards & Butterflies, Orlando Sanchez paints a typical word picture of these creatures only to upend that image in the initial chapter of the book. In this scene, a werewolf is seeking help from the detectives. During that meeting, he informs the duo he’s sick, and before much else can happen something forces him to transform, without the full moon. Oh, and as a bonus, the creature is immune to all of its weaknesses. The result is a rampaging monster that the detectives kill in self-defense...

Three months after promising the railroad, Nathaniel examines the latest report of destruction by the wildlife. Once more, he’s having to balance the requirement for weaponry or repairing the damaged tracks. While eating a meal, Marcus barges in to discuss the status of the tracks and latest from Kethra ploy...

After the alliance with the Dwarves and Elves shattered, Tarian spends his time sulking in the former meeting hall. As the days and weeks march on, only Keldon can disturb his solitude. Though those meetings continue growing briefer...

With two Patreon stories down, I focused on the last tale for January, a Political Satire. Getting these stories always is a mixed bag, because I’m not a political person. In fact I try to avoid the news altogether. But there are times when I can let some of my personal beliefs bleed through and takle particular issues...

With both teams back on the boat, the Captain plots a course back home. The entire crew is somber with the destruction of everything they have ever known. While some members can cope with this enormous loss, others become ill-mannered with short tempers...

With my first Patreon tale completed, I turned my attention to working on my second story, a Historical Fiction. I’ve gotten this genre a few times and they are always fun. They require a lot of work, but they’re enjoyable to craft. The last one I wrote in this genre was Letters for the NYC Midnight competition. Just like with Letters, I dug into the history of the period to graft clues to ground the piece in its place in history...

“Why do we need the escort?” The navigator asked while she referenced her map.

The pilot’s fingers tightened around the steering yoke as he inquired, “Aside from us being at war?”

“Their aircraft aren’t as advanced as ours, Erik,” she said, leaning into her seat. The young woman pulled her legs onto the edge of the chair, wrapping them up with her arms.

“True,” Erik hedged. “Unfortunately, that’s not the only aspect of warfare. Their sorcery far outstrips ours.”

“What can five witches do for us?”

Erik covered his mouth, stifling a yawn, then snatched the microphone from the console and switched channels..

I hope everyone is enjoying the New Year. When I collected the votes from the Patreon Poll for January, I was excited to work on the Crime Caper. I’ve gotten a few of those recently, so I count on everybody being ready to revisit Jessica in her latest transgression...

With the colony of Nova beginning to thrive, Nathaniel has to diffuse another volatile situation with the leader of the Eastern Region. Kethra complains about her region’s inability to meet their quota, citing that she doesn’t have the people she needs to achieve the desired results. He saddles up his trusty mount and heads to Marcus’s ranch to speak with his friend...

While the triumvirs of Aurora are orchestrating their fledgling colonization effort, they await the return of their ships. With most of the scans of the solar system’s planets and moons in hand, the leaders are waiting for the completion of the last steps for starting their first colony...

Darren is falling into a grove with his studies, but his most taxing field is not martial arts with Volodar. Instead, it’s defensive magic, something Darren assumed would be easy. The instructor, Imryll, is a fair yet demanding teacher who wants Darren to stop relying upon his raw physical power...

Ever since February 2nd, 2019, when I posted my first Patreon post, Harrison & Sylvia Part One, I’ve had a Discord server. Unfortunately, like so many things, it got lost in the shuffle between my day job, my writing, and my family. But with the new year on the horizon, I buckled down and fleshed out what I wanted the server to look like. I borrowed some concepts from other servers, while I tinkered with a couple on my own. For the moment, I’m happy with what I’ve prepared...