TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s update:

• I couldn’t resist the Millennium Falcon by UGears!

• Accountability report

I couldn’t resist the Millennium Falcon by UGears!

Some of you who’ve followed me for some time will be aware of how much I love building model kits from UGears and Metal Earth. Well, you’re not alone. Amazon keeps me up to date on the latest releases, and this one had been on my radar for a couple of weeks.

My wife very generously allowed me to buy it as an early birthday present to myself. And it’s a beast of a kit!

• 1,235 pieces (16 panels of wood pieces, 5 panels of cardboard pieces)

• 13.4in wide x 18.1in long x 5.7in high

• It has opening panels on the top, landing gear that lowers, a loading ramp, rotating laser turrets and a radar dish, and a massive amount of interior details.

• There is also an LED strip behind the engines, powered by a couple of watch batteries.

This is how the kit comes (click the image to enlarge)…

These are shots at various stages of the build (click the image to enlarge):

I’m extremely impressed with the level of detail that UGears has built into this kit. It’s easily the biggest kit I’ve tackled, and it looks beautiful, even when only partially completed. You can open the panels on the top and peek in on the engines, lounge, corridors and storage areas, and peek through the cockpit windows for even more detail.

Almost every piece pops out of the panels easily, with a few exceptions that require a thin blade to help break them free. After hours of work, I’m mere minutes away from completing the build. Unfortunately, due to carelessness, I broke a couple of the pieces needed to hold the final cardboard panel in place.

Thankfully, UGears has an amazing dedication to its customers and replaces broken or missing pieces at no cost. So, I have replacement parts on order, and should see them in the next few days.

Check out the model for yourself!

Audio Book Update!

I spent a lot of this month helping my wife apply for college courses starting in the fall, and working overtime at work. That left me with a lot less time to listen to the audio files than I had hoped, but I did make some progress.

I’m in the final stages of the audio file review, with two stories to go. But I’ve completed many of the corrections I was looking at last month, so with luck, I’ll finalize the audio work this month.

Writing/Editing Update

Things are very much where we left them at the end of last month.

• I’m still about 6500 words into the story, and working on Chapter 2.

TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s update:

• Review time - thanks to Kaia Robinson!

• Accountability report

I love it when I can share reviews of my work!

On the 25th of April, a review of “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6” dropped. It was written by Kaia Robinson, an Instagram book reviewer, and posted on her feed. I was blown away by what she had to say, and she was kind enough to let me share it.

I didn’t expect a short story collection set in Seattle’s supernatural underbelly to feel this cohesive, but Shadows Over Seattle really pulled me in.

I finished it yesterday, and what stood out most was how each of the six interconnected stories adds another layer to this hidden paranormal world. I especially liked the wolf shifter storylines with Richard Parsons—his struggles with his past, the gang history, and his personal demons made him feel more like a flawed person than just a supernatural archetype. The museum break-in angle in “Under a Hunter’s Moon” had a nice mix of tension and emotional weight.

Then there’s the tonal shift across stories, like going from shifter drama to military operations in Iraq in “Wolves in the Desert,” which sounds like it shouldn’t fit in the same collection, but surprisingly does because of the underlying supernatural thread. That one in particular had a more grounded, gritty feel that reminded me of military thrillers I’ve read, just with an added layer of something not quite human lurking beneath it all.

I also enjoyed the bar setting in “April Fool”—the Devils Own feels like one of those places where everything can go wrong in the best possible way. The fae chaos and shifting reality gave it a playful but still unsettling edge.

If I had one small critique, a few transitions between stories felt a bit abrupt since they were originally written over different years, even though they’ve been updated for consistency.

Still, this is a strong urban fantasy sampler with variety, atmosphere, and a genuinely interesting shared universe. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy supernatural short stories, shapeshifters, vampires, and darker urban fantasy with a gritty, interconnected world.

Kaia reads across a wide range of genres and is really good at getting to the heart of the story and putting it into words. This is a skill that many reviewers don’t have.

What really impresses me about Kaia’s reviews is that they always seem fair and well-balanced. She highlights the things she liked, the writing style, or anything else that stood out in a positive way. But she also points out potential stumbling blocks for some readers, offering a balanced view.

I’ve even picked up a couple of books from her list, just based on the reviews. So, if you’re looking for a good read, you should definitely check out her feed.

Check out Kaia's other reviews

Audio Book Update!

I’ve finished creating the audio files, and downloaded them for listening. I’m on the third story (“Wolves In The Desert”), and have a lot of notes on things I’d like to fix.

The plan is to finish listening to the recordings, then start editing. I want to add in appropriate pauses, and fix anything I didn’t like about way some of the sentences sounded with the digital voices.

On a side note: I really love the sound design of a couple of the digital voices I created; others not as much. But I’m committed to the voices I have, because I want to get this project finished, instead of beating myself up over choices I made when picking aspects of the voices.

Writing/Editing Update

Things are very much where we left them at the end of last month.

• I’ve started writing Chapter 2 of “Shadows Over Seattle: Book 1 - Of Wolves & Men”

• I’m about 6500 words into the story (so, 2500 more than last month).

Here’s what to expect from this month’s update:

• Why is this update late?

• An exciting experiment in video & audio (spoiler: it uses AI)

• Accountability report

Okay, cards on the table, this update is late for medical reasons!

Yep, you read that right, I had medical issues. Thankfully, nothing that’s going to cost more than I can currently afford, so that’s the good news.

The bad news is that two separate medical issues have cut into my writing time, for different reasons.

Zip-ties, utility knives, extreme toothache, and fingers do not mix!

At the end of last month, I had a workplace accident with a utility knife, the end of my left ring finger, and a trip to urgent care. My boss was amazing, and surprised at how calm I managed to stay despite slicing a pretty big gash into my finger.

• Four stitches later, instructions to keep it clean, covered, and washed frequently, and I can honestly say it could have turned out a lot worse.

• However, it did cut into my writing time, since I touch-type, and had to learn to adjust to a finger that was suddenly double it’s normal size.

• The irony being that now I’ve got used to working around the problem, I’ll be getting the stitches out after the weekend.

At the end of the day, I’m blaming the toothache for having me tired and distracted. But I’ve promised my boss I’ll use scissors to cut zip ties from now on.

Extracting the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth!

The second incident wasn’t as sudden or unexpected, but came courtesy of a tooth that my dentist had warned me might have to be pulled. It started hurting a couple of days before the finger incident, so I booked an appointment with my usual dentist.

1. The appointment was scheduled for a couple of days after the finger incident, and I was hopeful it would be something easy, like an infection... But no…

2. The dentist I usually see is very aware of my extreme anxiety about all things dental. We took one full mouth X-ray and made several valiant attempts to take close-up shots, but my gag reflex wouldn’t behave long enough.

3. So, after reviewing the one X-ray we had, we both concluded that the root was pressing into my sinuses, which explained the tooth pain, sinus pressure, and headaches. And with that in mind, we agree to just remove the tooth.

4. The dentist wanted to make the extraction as easy and painless as possible, and since I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough for the X-rays, we decided sedation would be needed. Unfortunately, his facility doesn’t offer that option.

5. That meant a referral to an oral surgeon and booking an appointment around my wife’s availability to act as the designated adult for the day.

6. Now came the nine-day wait!

7. Thankfully, the oral surgeon’s team had me sedated, and the extraction was complete in less time than they’d estimated. So, now I’m at home, recovering and looking forward to the first real night’s sleep in nearly two weeks.

Experiments in video!

Many of you are probably aware that I’ve been playing with ElevenLabs, and I’ve been using a few more of the new features. They’ve recently released updates that allow image and video creation in easy-to-follow steps, including lip-syncing from an uploaded image, and using a saved audio file.

I’m pretty pleased with the results, so far… But it might need some work:

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Leave a comment

The lip-sync portion of this video was created in ElevenLabs.

• I uploaded the image of Richard from some samples I’d created in Midjourney, but never used.

• I created a script in Elevenlabs and used the audio tools to create the voice-over.

• I combined the two using ElevenLab’s access to lip-syncing video generators, some guidelines on what I wanted in terms of performance.

• Then I ran a few iterations until I got something I was reasonably happy with.

Once I had the character video, I added the splash-screen and transition in OpenShot.

Want to know more? Check it out @ https://try.elevenlabs.io/text_to_video

Writing/Editing Update

Things are very much where we left them at the end of last month.

• I’ve finalized the outline for “Shadows Over Seattle: Book 1 - Of Wolves & Men”.

• I’ve started writing Chapter 1, and am about 4000 words in (so, 2000 more than last month).

• I’m running a listen-through pass on the “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6” audiobook. There are still a few things I need to fix before publishing it.

Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• Resetting my online store to fix payment issues.

• T-shirt designs available.

• Accountability report

I hit reset on my online store in order to fix it.

I had a couple of people tell me that my online store looked great, but we had a major problem. It wasn’t accepting payments.

I did a little digging and found that something had gone wrong with an update to the plugins that run the store. It took me hours of research to figure out that the best solution was:

1. Delete the store items

2. Uninstall everything that ran it

3. Edit the database by hand

4. Install everything from scratch

5. Format the store pages

6. Add the store items back in

I’ve completed steps 1 through 4 and am formatting the store and adding all the items back.

Please excuse the dust as I play with the design of the product page layouts. I still have a few things to fix, but the store can accept purchases. And I’ll be adding items back to the store as time allows.

T-Shirt Designs Available Now!

Currently, there are three t-shirt designs in the store, available in a range of colors and sizes S to 3XL (links below).

• “Last Leaf On The Tree”

• “Shadows Over Seattle”

• “Cute Book Dragon”

These are just three of the product themes I’ve been working on, and I’ll add more once I’m happy with them.

Writing/Editing Update

Things are very much where we left them at the end of last month.

• I’ve finalized the outline for “Shadows Over Seattle: Book 1 - Of Wolves & Men”.

• I’ve started writing Chapter 1, and am about 2000 words in.

• I’m running a read-through pass on the “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6” audiobook. There are still a few things I need to fix before publishing it.

Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• I spent some time hanging out with cats.

• Outline completed, and looking forward to getting writing.

• Accountability report

I discovered a great place to hang out with cats.

January was a very different month from December. Instead of power outages, high winds, and snow problems, we had a much milder few weeks. Yes, there was still snow, but a lot less of it.

So, I had a lot more free time. Instead of digging cars out of the snow, changing dead batteries, or dealing with power cuts, I was hanging out with cats.

Wasilla has this wonderful place called the Alaska Cat Cafe, where you can hang out with a whole bunch of cats, for a reasonable price. In their own words:

The Alaska Cat Café is a full-service coffee shop with delicious food and drinks that bridges local rescue groups and cat lovers, creating a welcoming space to enjoy coffee, meet adoptable cats and kittens, and support community adoptions.

I’d been meaning to take Sandi there for months, but either didn’t have time or forgot to check into where they’re located. Then, I was doing some banking while Sandi was doing her physical therapy, and I happened to spot them across the street.

Needless to say, when I picked Sandi up, we rushed over there and spent an amazing hour just hanging out with some of their cats. The cafe is at the front of the venue, and there’s a back room where you can hang out with the cats. Some of them are residents, while others are available for adoption.

I’d forgotten how relaxing it was just being around cats, and we had so much fun that we went back a few days later. The interesting thing is that it got my creative juices flowing, and each time we visited, I went home and worked on some writing.

An outline completed

That writing time, and the cat-induced boost to my creativity, have definitely paid off over the last month.

I’m pleased to announce that I have finally completed the outline for “Shadows Over Seattle: Book 1 - Of Wolves & Men.” I think it’s very solid in terms of plot and character development, and I can’t wait to get started on Chapter One!

That outline currently sits in a Word document and is a very meaty 38 pages in length. Some of the chapter notes are meatier than others, so I’m not sure what my target page count is going to look like. But that’s how it usually ends up being for my short stories, so I’m not surprised to see it going the same way for the first novel.

Writing/Editing Update

Things are very much where we left them at the end of last month.

• I’ve finalized the outline for “Shadows Over Seattle: Book 1 - Of Wolves & Men”.

• I’m running a read-through pass on the “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6” audiobook. There are still a few things I need to fix before publishing it.

Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• December was a rough month!

• What I managed to achieve, despite everything

• Coming in 2026

• Accountability report

December was a month of natural and electrical chaos!

Winter is the time of year when temperatures in my part of Alaska drop to well below freezing. And usually, at this time, the weathe…

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Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• Where did November go?

• Love a hot drink while reading? Check out these mugs

• Accountability report

Where did November go?

So, another month has passed, and

I have finally completed an hour of audio recordings and am in the process of editing them. This is in no small part due to the new microphon…

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Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• Our first significant snowfall of the year

• Book recommendation of the month: Essence of Magic (Ruby Morgan Book 1)

• My review of this amazing series starter

• Accountability report

Extreme weather has arrived in Alaska

I woke up yesterday morning to a car covered in snow and slippery roads, so my pr…

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• A much-needed night out

• Alaska’s weather is changing!

• Accountability report

A night of much-needed laughter

Last month, I recounted how my wife had torn her ACL, undergone surgery, and was on the slow path to recovery. It’s been a strain on both of us, as it’s limited her mobility and our opport…

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• Why I didn’t get much done last month

• Accountability report

Torn ACLs

Just after the release of my last newsletter, my wife (Sandi) tore her ACL while at work. If you’re not familiar with what that entails it’s one of the most common sporting injuries, and can be excruciating. Full recovery fro…

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• An update on the audio recording of “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6”

• Accountability report

Audio Adventures

Provisional recording for “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6'“ is now completed.

I’ve been using ElevenLabs to generate customized voices for each of the characters in the stories, an…

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• A super quick update

• My newly organized writing space

• June 2025 Accountability

A super quick update!

I’m making really good progress on getting the audio recordings for “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6”. I’ve currently completed, “Under A Hunter’s Moon”, “The Lupine’s Call”, and “Wolves In T…

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s very short update:

• I suddenly feel like my writing is an actual business!

• Where’s my audio book?

• There’s a new reader app on the block - listen to text/pdf files/websites & more.

• Newsletter changes

• May 2025 Accountability

I’m lucky Alaska doesn’t require license plates on the front.

Firstly, you probably noticed tha…

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s update:

• “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6” is out!

• Is It Audio Book Time? (Have your say!)

• Writer’s Groups Are A Blast

• The Fight For A Local Library

• Bookish Events For May 2025

• April 2025 Accountability

Read more

Here’s what to expect from this update:

• What went wrong?

• The character sheets individually

Here’s what went wrong!

Earlier I tried to share some character profile sheets as an image gallery. This was a mistake, as certain email readers apparently display the gallery as a single image, cutting off huge amounts of the individual images.

So, here they are …

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Here’s what to expect from this update:

• How character sheets help writers keep the facts straight

• Meet some of the cast

• Pre-order your copy of “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6”

• Become a subscriber

Character Profiles help with keeping details of characters consistent

Have you ever wondered how writers are able to keep details about plot, setting, and …

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s update:

• Here’s what to expect from my upcoming release!

• 25 “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6” ARC Copies Available!

• Book-Related Events For April 2025

• March 2025 Accountability

You’ve been hearing a lot about “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6”, but what should you expect?

If you’re a fan of urban fantasy, there…

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Well, that’s changing!

I just opened the chat feature for ALL subscribers, not just the paid subscribers.

Subscribe now

That’s right, now you’ll be able to drop questions or thoughts into the chat bo…

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this month’s update:

• Release Date Announcement for “Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6”

• Book Recommendations For The Month

• Ebook Week Reminder

• January 2025 Accountability

“Shadows Over Seattle: Prequels 1-6” has an official release date!!!

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TLDR!

Here’s what to expect from this update:

• Read An Ebook Week is coming to Smashwords

• Which of my stories are included?

I’ve entered my entire catalog into “Read An Ebook Week” on Smashwords.

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