2023 Year in Review

A Hell of a Year

2023 is almost over.

Thank God.

My father died. I moved what’s left of my family down to Texas.

Texas is going well. There's no snow, thank God. I’ve seen footage from the East Coast lately. All I have to say is: SUCKERS!

The Books have not yet been fully unpacked. But we're getting there. A few more months should do it. We're almost done unpacking fiction. Next is nonfiction. The rest is my fathers "To be read" boxes—which were packed before he died.

My mother (who we're taking care of) has decided she wants to move into the master bedroom upstairs, especially now that it's emptier of books. Which is odd, since she hates stairs. She insists it’s exercise. So, we’re keeping busy.

Also, I’m buying Texas toys.

No, I will not explain that here. IYKYK.

And right now, I am, for the first time, watching something called Stargate: SG-1, and a spin-off series called Atlantis. They’re fun, but I’m not sure how people track some of the story elements. I had some trouble with Babylon 5 spread out over time. Ten years of TV? Yikes.

In between all that, I managed to get some work done this year.

Let’s start with before the deluge.

Before we start, I should mention that there are three Saint Tommy NYPD audiobooks that came out this year. If you prefer those, they’re out there.

• https://books2read.com/stnypd1

• https://books2read.com/st2

• https://books2read.com/st3

  Now, let’s go into what I worked on.

  Fire For Effect Anthology

I had forgotten this came out in January. Can you believe it? I’m not sure I can.

Anyway, I have space SpecOps versus alien Jihadis.

Timing, huh?

As with all books, I will ask that when / if you buy this book, you please leave a review wherever you can, be it Amazon or Goodreads, or anywhere. Thank you.

Swords and Maidens

Gathering Storm (White Ops #4)

This book came out in February. In face, it came out four days before my father died. It’s not much of a surprise that this didn’t get much press from me. I was a little busy with the move and the funeral.

Hell, I still haven’t buried him yet, and we have an empty grave back in New York City. I may even have to go back to bury him. Dang it…

Sorry, getting off topic.

The premise of Gathering Storm.

When Earth First terrorists threaten to assassinate the Pope, the Rangers of White Ops are called in to protect him.

After the hostage situation at Yesdin planet, Sean Patrick Ryan is still bothered by the Renar weapons the terrorists used. When Earth First has the same weaponry, it's clear that something Is wrong on Renar.

Dark forces stalk White Ops. but who will be the prey?

You may not know this—I may not have mentioned it—but White Ops started as a series of vignettes. Book 3? Where I have a hostage taking of “Yesdin”? That was a short story.

This might be the book that sticks closest to the original format. But it’s still one overarching story. In fact, this book examines elements of plot that goes back to book two. And Gathering Storm splits off into two main plots throughout the series.

Remember in book two? Two different leaders get assassinated on the planet of the Rangers? This and book five will confront them directly.

Remember also in book two, Sean Ryan is kidnapped by something dark and unholy? They’re briefly touched on, but they’re a factor down the road.

In retrospect, I’m quite happy with everything I did here.

Granted, the next book involved some seriously heavy lifting. And I mean power lifting.

As with all books, I will ask that when / if you buy this book, you please leave a review wherever you can, be it Amazon or Goodreads, or anywhere. Thank you.

Eye of the Storm (White Ops #5)

This book came out in April. We moved into our Texas house just after Easter.

Yeah. Again, it was hard to market a book when you’re buried under a hundred tons of “stuff.”

You may remember that White Ops started life as Babylon 5 fan fiction. Obviously, a lot of things have been ripped out and renovated. Nothing from the original remains. And my books stop overlapping the series with book 2. By book three, everything went off the rails, and I was certain I wanted to be a writer when I grew up.

Whether or not I’ve grown up is a different conversation.

However, one Babylon 5 footnote remains.

If you saw the pilot movie, the assassin from that film was from “a rogue alien clan.” There was no follow-up. It was barely referred back to. All I could think was “This could have been a story arc.”

So, I’d develop it myself.

Those of the planet Renar have one rule regarding the local mafia:

They do not exist.

When White Ops leader Sean Patrick Ryan uncovers its existence, he finds a world of political intrigue and corruption that stretches back years. The Mafia has cast a shadow that has touched every member of his team.

Now, the Mafia wants to emerge from the shadows.

Their first target: Sean Ryan.

Despite Sean being held back by local politics and diplomatic niceties, he's still the most dangerous man in the universe.

They underestimated him.

Yes, I made a mafia.

If you haven’t read book 4 yet, I recommend reading 4 and 5 together. You’ll thank me later.

Hell, come to think of it, if you haven’t read book 3 yet, you may want to read 3, 4, and 5 in a row. There’s a subplot in book 3 that left readers going “WTF?” It expanded in book 4. It resolves here.

Yes, I had a three-book subplot. It’s not so much that I planned ahead as much as I was rewriting all of this for nearly 20 years.

As with all books, I will ask that when / if you buy this book, you please leave a review wherever you can, be it Amazon or Goodreads, or anywhere. Thank you.

Fantastic Schools, Volume 6

So… what the heck am I doing in an anthology that’s basically “Let’s take Harry Potter and play with it?”

First, it’s not really Harry Potter variations. They are far more varied and colorful than that.

And me? My father was an academic, and I was trained to be one as well. So I had fun. And you know my definition of fun: It involves explosives. And there were.

Have you ever wanted to go to magic school? To cast spells and brew potions and fly on broomsticks and—perhaps—battle threats both common and supernatural? Come with us into worlds of magic, where students become magicians and teachers do everything in their power to ensure the kids survive long enough to graduate. Welcome to ... Fantastic Schools.

Meet a student who discovers the hard way what happens when he is transformed into a monster, another who mixes magic and music to remarkable effect, a student who wants to trigger a magical industrial revolution, an assassin posing as a tutor with a mission he cannot deny, two students who have to learn to work together – or else – and a student who starts her school newspaper and discovers a conspiracy that strikes at the heart of a proud institution …

… And many more.

You can probably guess which story is mine in that description.

Ready?

If you said “The assassin,” you’d be right.

As with all books, I will ask that when / if you buy this book, you please leave a review wherever you can, be it Amazon or Goodreads, or anywhere. Thank you.

Fantastic Schools Staff (Volume 7)

You’ve met the students of magic schools, but what about the staff? What is it like to work in a magic school, to teach students and serve as their mentors and disciplinarians and everything else young minds need? We know their types … the headmasters – kindly or unpleasant; the teachers – friendly or cruel; the matrons and assistants and inspectors and janitors, all of whom have their own role to play beyond being characters in a student-themed story. But what is it like to be them?

Come meet a teacher trying to set up a whole new school, in the face of heavy opposition, and another who has to deal with a fairy infestation; meet a teacher who has a mission of his own and another who must take a stand against his own headmaster, for fear of letting the school be plunged into darkness …

Yes, I’m in two of these. Why? Because I wanted to do something from a professor’s point of view, for the most part.

This was fun. I’m in three of these, actually. And I think they read like chapters of a book.

As with all books, I will ask that when / if you buy this book, you please leave a review wherever you can, be it Amazon or Goodreads, or anywhere. Thank you.

Shoot the Devil #2, Dark Matter

You’ve probably read this post. If you haven’t, well, here it is

This one? This one has a White Ops / Saint Tommy crossover in it.

As with all books, I will ask that when / if you buy this book, you please leave a review wherever you can, be it Amazon or Goodreads, or anywhere. Thank you.

13 Stories of Horror Anthology

I have a story in this. It’s an Alex Packard short story, a spinoff of Saint Tommy, NYPD.

Five anthologies and two novels.

Not to mention rereleases.

I almost feel like a slacker.

Oh, there are also the three Saint Tommy NYPD audiobooks.

Now, a new category.

Rereleases

I think making new posts about rereleases would be cheating.

However, here are posts about the rereleases.

Love at First Bite (Books 1-4).

Yes, my Dragon Award Nominated vampire books came back, all four of them.

The next FIVE are in the queue right now.

Yes, there are more books. And there are five of them.

As with all books, I will ask that when / if you buy this book, you please leave a review wherever you can, be it Amazon or Goodreads, or anywhere. Thank you.

Next…

The Planetary Anthologies

You may not remember these. They bounced around a lot. More details there.

Of interest to you if you

• Want a sample of White Ops before buying book 1 (Mercury)

• Are a White Ops fan and want to see some of the future (Venus & Mars)

• Want an original IP about space thieves (Pluto).

• Want more of Middle Earth’s Most Wanted Elven Assassin (Luna)

And… do I have to ask again about please leaving a review? Thanks.

So, my productivity hasn’t been as bad as I thought it was. Who knew?

See you all next year.