My books go wandering by, by, by…

So I went on vacation recently, bringing with me collections of my recently published material.

I visited the Burrito and her family, and my niece immediately glommed onto the book filled with stories I’d literally written for her, so that was gratifying. 

Some of my family had attempted to order the Dr. Seuss comic, but they inexplicably ran into difficulties, so I ordered a few additional copies myself, and then I published a few more things, and just started piling them up for the trip, which ended up proving more convenient since both interested parties in the family would be in the same home for a few days. This filled up my luggage (balanced out upon return with new acquisitions…), and felt like better “visiting gifts” than I thought I’d managed previously.

I also recently brought copies of various books to work, and somehow they were all snatched up. In fact today I found out who took one of them, and while she says she isn’t much of a reader herself, there are family members who are, and…hopefully they’ll like it! 

(I include this last paragraph because while it’s not the first time I’ve tried this, it’s the first time my coworkers were curious enough to not only take one but all of them.)

Still a complete unknown, but some readers know me. 

New Book Releases!

https://a.co/d/03jcTdJQ

Here’s the latest in the Danab Cycle, the title story previously serialized on the Cycle blog during this year’s A to Z Challenge, giving readers insight into the central Danab conflict of the Cycle, what happened in the aftermath of the war that followed humanity’s invasion by the Danab…Packed with footnotes as well as a few additional stories, some that appeared elsewhere and some that are new to this volume. 

https://a.co/d/0f6htVNu

Here’s somehow an even more personal book, a collection of stories I previously had written for family (including a few new ones), a sort of Oz/Winnie the Pooh combination of colorful characters in a whimsical landscape in which they engage in the kind of life-affirming tales I think are still relevant. Hilariously, I packed this edition with footnotes that in large part will be somewhat impenetrable to readers unfamiliar with the details of family lore, so that, somehow, some future edition will actually require footnotes for the footnotes…

https://a.co/d/03v5xItH

Finally, here’s a guide for the Star Trek franchise in its first sixty years (1966-2026) that seeks to find the good throughout every series and film, the perspective I’ve very much had as a fan but one I’ve never seen in one place. Each series has spotlight episodes from throughout their runs (through the first season of Starfleet Academy), both the classics acknowledged by others and stories I think reflect brilliantly both on the series itself and the franchise in general. Previously I attempted to provide such a resource in a blog, but gosh, did that become sprawling, and of course there was never a guarantee that someone, say, interested in The Next Generation would also give a write-up for Discovery a second (let alone first) thought…Includes recommendations for essential viewing, a top ten, from throughout their runs franchise.

Books in the pipeline…

…I don’t already have a tag for footnotes? I literally published whole books last year because of footnotes. I got really, really obsessed with them…

And that brings us to this year!

I’m about to publish a slew of additional books. One is the direct result of a few additional rejections I just found out about, so there will be a new collection entitled The Rattlin’ Bog, and I love that title story alone, so I’m excited about that.

I have The Complete Wendale, which will definitely be packed with footnotes, taking material previously intended only for family into a slightly more accessible volume, assuming you love footnotes as much as I do…

To Go Boldly, a survey of my thoughts on the essential Star Trek of the past sixty years, and also a guide to all of it, because I love every incarnation…

And Contessina’s Collection of Human Treasures, a Danab Cycle thing I did last month on the new blog, for the A to Z challenge…also to be packed with footnotes.

Sometimes I really do think merely making this stuff available is the best I can do. Well!

Announcing the Kindle edition release of Collider

 

https://a.co/d/04Jy51KV

The Kindle edition of Collider is now available!

This has literally been thirty years in the making. I’ve been developing the Danab Cycle this whole time, too, but the first story, the oldest story, had the humblest origins and as a result, had a complex journey to become a reality last year, in the process possibly becoming itself the most complex and ambitious story in the space opera saga…

The core Galactic Alliance world of Omox explodes, and it’s a loss akin to Krypton’s destruction, Vulcan’s loss in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek…It’s a story that in part allowed me to explore the ramifications of those famous stories, taking them into the heart of the story, rather than backdrop. 

In Collider, the mystery unfolds across the complex lives of the Benson brothers, one of whom seems to be the classic hero, one the classic victim, and one caught somewhere in between. Their attempts to unravel the mystery of the planet’s destruction are complicated by a colleague who has become unstuck in time…

Hardcover and paperback editions will follow shortly.

Launched a Danab Cycle blog

Hey!  So I kind of finally figured I ought to put an actual spotlight on the Danab Cycle, so I've launched a blog specifically dedicated to it, which is itself named Danab Cycle.  There's a page with cover images and links to all the publications featuring stories to date, and a post with a video trailer, as I gear up to hitting a new level with the project.  

I got a copy of Tribute: Dr. Seuss!

 Couldn’t possibly be more proud of this thing. Just got my copy in the mail, and it’s truly a thing of beauty. It’s the best by far of the three comic book biographies (and three comic book scripts in general) I’ve had the privilege to see published to date, and was very, very much worth the decade-plus wait to see become a reality. A great way to start the creative year!

Releasing Tribute: Dr. Seuss

https://a.co/d/0PmHFaE

A dozen or so years ago, I had two comic book biographies published, and wrote a third, and for whatever reason, that third script was never published…until this Wednesday!

The request was simple: write a Dr. Seuss comic. I crafted a rhyming biography of Seuss, a deep dive into his career, not just his famous books but his creative origins, a complete look at the man who was so easy to overlook behind all the silly creatures and abstract storytelling, the icon behind the icons…

When it went nowhere I honestly thought I had misunderstood the assignment. Was I meant to tell a new story in his style? I had a concept up my sleeve, the Goat in the Tote, that showed up later in my works. Last year I found out it was happening completely by random, just searching around Google. It was a very welcome surprise.