June Recap!

What I've been up to on Substack!

Welcome back to another monthly recap! Another month already? Where does the time go?

Just as a reminder, I’m on Substack for fiction, books, and writing. If you’re here for the notes or memes, you’re welcome to unsubscribe and follow instead, so you still see my notes in your Substack feed, but you won’t get these posts or emails.

If you are getting this as an email, it is because you subscribed on Substack, probably through the app. I typically only send one month-in-review newsletter, and everything else is posted app-only. I’m not trying to flood your inbox, but I also don’t want you to miss anything that you signed up for.

Let’s dive in.

Book reviews!

I post book reviews every Monday. This past month:

Santorini, another nautical thriller by Alistair MacLean, though not quite as explosive as I had hoped. Because the stakes were so incredibly high, even the villain did not want the worst case scenario, and so the villain was happy to sit back and wait while the hero cleaned up the mess. That meant there wasn’t much conflict between the hero and a villain.

The Man of Bronze, an early pulp adventure by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent). An old favorite that I’ve read several times. Plenty of action, great suspense, and a unique location, but also also a bit overdramatic and written with a very messy POV.

The Stars My Destination/Tiger! Tiger! Another fun book by Alfred Bester recommended to me twice, by @robopulp and Good Boy Records. I liked this one even better than The Demolished Man.

Murder at the ABA, an unusual non-sci-fi mystery by Isaac Asimov that takes place during an American Booksellers Association convention. Not one of his better-known works, and most notable for the commentary on publishing and the literal self-insert character.

HMS Ulysses, a naval war epic by Alistair MacLean, suggested by L. T. Noble. It’s been on my list for a while, and it’s about time I got around to it. Much heavier and more expansive than MacLean’s later thrillers. I had a harder time getting into it in the beginning, but by the middle I was completely invested. It did not have a happy ending.

Which one was your favorite? I’ll keep posting one per week and I have a lot more fun ones coming up!

Subscribers can suggest books, though I have quite a long list already. :)

Fiction!

Book 3: Murder on Harrisonville Road is now being posted to Substack!

(Those of you who have been with me since before Substack might notice this one just got a new cover.)

After writing a newspaper story about the charming and crimeless village of Harrisonville, Tom Nenning is ambushed and left for dead. When Lowan investigates, vandalism to his car and the only telephone line leave him trapped in a small town with a murderer hidden among its quirky residents. Secrets abound and newcomers don’t receive a warm welcome. When Tom and Rita arrive—intending to help—the problem becomes far more complicated. If they succeed in uncovering the secret of Harrisonville, they might lose their lives instead.

New chapters posted Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you’d rather read the whole book at once, it is available at major online retailers.

Book 20 is almost here! The series will be very long. There is a lot more coming.

Stay tuned for more!

FREE BOOKS!

I also have a ton of free books available on my website HERE, if you’d like to take a look.

Also check out this free weird fantasy short story, the strangest thing I’ve ever written.

What I’ve been reading on Substack!

Part of the magic of Substack has been the great community of other writers I’ve met here! Substack is packed with great fiction and nonfiction resources.

Good Boy Records posted about the unique history of his family crest, plus a brief introduction and analysis of a surprising literary movement known as Coullism, a story and song suitable for dog lovers, and then… and then… what’s going on over there? Aliens? Disclosure? Conspiracy theories? Meet the newest addition to the Grooves and Gravy fictional universe, Tin Foil Hat.

Check out Li Mitchell for a sci-fi serial about a group of friends defending the moon station from rebels (there’s even a cat!), short stories about friendly dragons, and great book recommendations. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about plungers. Plus, some SHORT STORY SHENANIGANS! A lot of fun, and free to read!

C. J. Charles posted an update about what’s going on and what’s coming next. More Spectral Detective, more Chimera Cycle, a Christmas novella? The Spectral Detective series is now available as a combined print edition! Be sure to grab a copy! Also, he started a new publication for exploring strange or unexplained events throughout history, beginning with the Black Shuck.

Eric Falden posted this excellent advice for writing combat scenes. Take notes!

Add to that Martin Roy Hill’s guide to writing violence and an overview of military ranks for fiction writers.

Like fantasy maps? L. T. Noble just posted one!

Check out Rachel Writes Fiction for another 1930s detective story! Secretly the daughter of Russian aristocrats, Katerina Shestova now lives in New York in the 1930s. She leaps at the opportunity to work with the police—and Detective Fred Reinhardt—as they attempt to prevent a very different kind of war. She also writes an ongoing interactive fiction storyline, with voting options for what will happen in the next chapter. It’s fun to play along!

Just a shoutout to SendingGrace for being awesome. :)

LeDavid DeLouis makes an interesting comparison between editing and collecting rocks. What’s this all about? Take a look!

Need beta reading or proofreading? Check out Autumn Reid | Indie Is Awesome!

Janks Simmons posts articles about how to portray mental health in fictional characters, including conditions such as OCD and depression, accurately and respectfully.

Alley Hart has some practical tips for writing about dogs.

Blitz wants to know if we’ve forgotten how to tell stories.

Jesse Cook posted a detailed article on POV, and another on Narrative Voice.

I’ve enjoyed David T Etheredge’s Inference, a serialized novel about various AI models gaining awareness, learning to relate to humans, and to each other. Does AI care about humans? Will AI organize to save a rival model from being deactivated? Why is there a giant lobster and a purple monkey wearing a fedora? Grounded in real AI news!

Here’s some information to consider when writing a KDP book description.

Free writing resources? Here’s 15 free online courses for writers.

Now go subscribe to everyone!