Dear Reader,

I’ve chosen Saturday as the day I release fiction for several reasons. I like having time to prep stories before they go live, and it reminds me of watching a movie on the weekend growing up. Plus, I get to share time with you all after I publish the story. Reading your comments and connecting with you is the highlight of the whole process for me.

Also, if you ever feel alone, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m always willing to talk. You can email me at storyletter@proton.me. If you’re seeking professional help, text MHA to 741741. You will be linked to someone who can guide you through a crisis or just provide information.

The point of this post/email is that I don’t actually have a story to share with you today. I mean I do, but I unscheduled it at the last minute because deep down I don’t feel like it’s ready. Instead, I’ll share what I’m working on and maybe it’ll drum up a bit more excitement anyway.

If you are looking for something new to read, Lamp Post in the Marsh released a revised edition of “The Lamp-Bearer of Konya”.

Project Biotica: A Survey of the Island

I’m unveiling the next experimental series set in the Raptor universe (or “Raptorverse”, as I’m calling it). The original poems were met (somewhat surprisingly) with positive reactions. I’d set up a poll at the end of that trilogy to ask whether you all wanted more Raptor and the answer was a resounding ‘yes’.

So here we are: Project Biotica is the next stage of our story. It chronicles a return to the island by the lead scientist who ran the Natus laboratory which designed and created our genetically-engineered, artificially-intelligent super dino.

His name is Charles Gharib and he’s not your typical scientist. He didn’t intend for any of this to happen. Naïve? Very likely. Quirky? For sure. A big grump? Oh yeah! But he’s definitely not evil.

The story itself is written in a journalistic, epistolary fashion accompanied with photographic representations of what our scientist is observing. I think readers will find it really engaging, to say the least.

I know this whole concept is ridiculous, so I’m leaning into it. I want it to be fun, to be wild, to be cool, and especially to entertain. That’s why I decided to hold off on releasing the first part since I haven’t polished it enough to feel proud of it yet. But it’s on the way!

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The “and More” Section

Other stories I’m working on are as follows:

• A Crooked Cane Comes a Knockin’ - This is a final rendition of the community writing prompt we hosted several months back. I’m about 1/3 of the way done. I’m attempting to weave in all of the details that we came up with together. I’ll send the participants a draft once I’ve finished to get the final seal of approval before releasing it sometime in late October/November.

• The Angel of War - A fantasy war story set in the world of Havek. It follows two young men as they enter into a world war from opposing sides, but also the relationships they have with their mothers leading up to the fateful event. I’ve been meaning to release this for Mother’s Day for about 3 years. I hope to have the first draft finished in the coming weeks.

• The Storyletter Anthology - I now have an editor and I’ve gotten permission by all of the contributors to use their submissions to publish our first volume of The Storyletter in both physical and ebook editions. I still need to purchase ISBNs and get the formatting done. I’m working on the exclusive content that will be included in this version of The Storyletter.

• M.S Arthadian’s Submission - I’ve accepted a novella from M.S. Arthadian. I’m not going to reveal any plot yet, but it’s a science fiction, action-thriller. Think Mass Effect + Bladerunner.

• Winter Wonderland - I really want to focus on this for a Christmas release. I can’t reveal too much yet, but it’s a futuristic comedy about an automation engineer at a theme park who is on the verge of being replaced due to his job being, well, automated!

That’s the fiction line-up so far. Is there anything listed above that piqued your interest? What are you reading or writing at the moment?

I’m so impressed by all of the creative and talented people publishing on Substack. It’s really forced me to grow as a writer and as a person. Thank you for your attention and for being interested enough to subscribe. It means so much.

Have a great Saturday and Labor Day weekend!

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