When I stumbled upon my first Rift, I had to carve my way through two dozen aliens in order to infiltrate the breach. What I found inside was much, much worse. Not because of the Rift itself. But because of the methods used to mine it.
Jeremiah Braddock III
The next morning, I woke up still groggy from my fitful night. However, it was only a few moments before that listlessness was replaced by excitement. Finally, at long last, I was on the verge...
2022-12-18 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Objectively speaking, I have been on plenty of adventures. To me, though, most of them consisted of a parade death and loss. I don’t recommend it to anyone, least of all someone I care about. But our world doesn’t care what I want, and adventure, with all its horror, will find you, whether you like it or not.
Jeremiah Braddock III
Armed with all the confidence I’d earned through my copious training, I returned to t...
2022-12-17 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Talia blazed her way through the spacious hallways, the speed of her passage sending a wake of air to rock the expensive paintings on the wall. She paid them no heed, panic flooding her mind. The moment she’d felt the energy shackles closing in, fear of capture drove her nearly to madness. She wouldn’t be taken again. She wouldn’t end up as she had, once before. No matter what, she would avoid that fate. It was all she could think about as she raced down the hall.
It wasn’t unti...
2022-12-16 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Zeke swung his mace with all his might. The weapon hissed as it cut through the air before colliding with the translucent, blue barrier. It hit with enough force to crush Jariq’s wall to dust, but the encircling shield barely rippled at the application of titanic force. A sound like the world’s largest gong echoed through the council chambers, but the shield remained intact. On its heels followed maniacal laughter.
“Such a brute!” cackled Desmond White, the Sultan of Jariq. He s...
2022-12-15 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Good, trustworthy help is almost impossible to find. When you do, cling to it.
Jeremiah Braddock III
I let out a little squeal when I opened the inn’s front door to see Nora sitting across from a couple of amigos. She was just as garishly dressed as ever, and if anything, her wardrobe had grown even more provocative. There was more skin on display than what was actually covered by the stretchy fabric of her leggings, which bore a serie...
2022-12-14 14:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Zeke had never set foot inside the Seat of the Sultanate, so when he and his companions mounted the steps and saw the lobby of the grand building, he was unsurprised to see that it was just as poorly designed as the rest of the structure. He ignored it, though, just like he ignored all the people – most looked like government functionaries – who fled before the group.
It might’ve made sense to just kill them. After all, they were part of the problem, weren’t they? Even if they w...
2022-12-13 14:00:07 +0000 UTC
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The imposing building loomed over the rest of the city, looking precisely like the ruling seat it was. On his approach, Zeke studied it. During his time in Jariq, he had seen the building from a distance, so many of its features were familiar enough. The domed roof, the aggressive spires, the carved columns out front – it looked like a blend of Indian and neo-Roman architecture, as if someone had taken the Taj Mahal and smashed it together with the U.S. Capitol building, then blew everythin...
2022-12-12 14:00:11 +0000 UTC
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I have to apologize to you all. It was recently brought to my attention that I'd missed a chapter (39), and after looking at it(on my phone, because I was out and about), I thought I'd just mis-numbered things. That was not the case. Basically, the reader who pointed it out (thanks!) was right, and I'd somehow completely skipped over Chapter 39 while posting. So, this morning, I fixed it. Doing so means that, instead of getting 3 chapters this week, you're ge...
2022-12-11 14:06:01 +0000 UTC
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Since the Intialization, I have killed thousands of people, but even before our planet was inundated by the nano-cloud we call Mist, I was a killer. I think I always had it in me, even going back to childhood. Back then, I knew I wouldn’t hesitate to do what was necessary. And I only grew more certain as the years went by.
Jeremiah Braddock III
I slipped through the crowd, focusing equally on my abilities and my surroundings. I had bee...
2022-12-11 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
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There’s a skill for every situation. That, as much as anything, is a source of hope. However, it is a shallow thing, mired in so much dread that it’s barely even relevant. Still, I’ve tried to lace my natural cynicism with a thread of optimism, no matter how thin.
Jeremiah Braddock III
“Is there a story behind the new haircut?” asked my uncle, looking me up and down as I plopped down beside him. I shifted uncomfortably, glancin...
2022-12-10 14:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Yet another week in the books, and I can't tell you all how pleased I am with how both stories are going.
With Death: Genesis, I'm rapidly approaching the end of the fourth book (still probably 20 chapters left to write), which will, in turn, be the end of the the first major arc. After that, things are going to be a bit different, which I'm very much looking forward to. When I first conceived the story, the scene I started with was at the end of the second arc, so in ...
2022-12-10 13:55:00 +0000 UTC
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I just wanted to let everyone know that Death: Genesis 2 is now available for pre-order on both Kindle and Audible. It comes out on March 28, 2023, so there's plenty of time to pre-order your copy!
You can get it at:
Audible
2022-12-09 22:12:53 +0000 UTC
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Zeke’s pounding feet left cracks in the roof’s surface as he bounded toward the archer. His shoulder and a good portion of his left side had been shredded from the inside out by the archer’s exploding arrow, an issue that was exacerbated when the shards couldn’t penetrate through his armor. With nowhere else to go, their momentum sent them back into his flesh, where they had continued to rip him apart.
It hurt, but with the pain resistance that had come with his racial transform...
2022-12-09 14:00:12 +0000 UTC
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Zeke and Pudge marched down the center of the street, boldly daring anyone to get in their way. Nearby, Carlos flitted from shadow to shadow, ignored and largely forgotten. Zeke didn’t have the time nor the inclination to devote to the man. Instead, he only had eyes for his destination – the headquarters of the Crystal Spiders at the center of the Nest. Already, he and Pudge had covered most of the distance, but still, Zeke was impatient to rescue Abby and Talia.
In the best-case-sc...
2022-12-08 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Training is like building a pyramid. First, you need a wide, sturdy base of general competence. Then, you must narrow your focus, concentrating on the most important skills. And finally, you must choose a specialty. For me, I was always a rifleman first, everything else second.
Jeremiah Braddock
I looked in the mirror, my fingers snaking through the soft curls of my hair. I had no idea what the stylist had actually done, but when she’d...
2022-12-07 14:00:17 +0000 UTC
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Zeke sat on the bed, shirtless and his hands digging into the mattress as frustration and worry clouded his thoughts. On the other side of the expansive room, Pudge’s hulking, furry form lay in the corner where he slept peacefully. Zeke couldn’t read his companion’s mind, but he got the sense that the bear’s dreams were pleasant enough. For his part, Zeke couldn’t say as much.
His friends were long overdue.
Not for the first time, he found himself wishing he had some mea...
2022-12-06 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Talia knelt atop the roof, entirely still and barely visible in the moonlight. The guards atop the wall across the street were completely unaware of her presence, which was precisely how she liked it.
After spending most of the previous day eavesdropping on various Spiders throughout the Nest, she had learned her friends’ fate. When the pair, along with the refugees, had entered Jariq, they’d been stopped near the gate, where they were quickly surrounded by evolved Spiders. That’s...
2022-12-05 14:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Sometimes, I wonder how long I’ll live. From my contacts within The Bazaar, I’ve learned that some of the most powerful people in the universe are effectively immortal. That has always seemed like a special kind of hell to me.
Jeremiah Braddock III
I returned to my room at the Dewdrop Inn and went straight to the shower, where I spent far longer than normal just standing under the soothing cascade of hot water. Even ...
2022-12-04 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
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It's a sad day in Alabama. For only the sixth time in the past fifteen years, the University of Alabama isn't in the SEC championship game. And only the third time in that same span since the state isn't going to be represented. I know. It's a horrible thing. Okay - so, it's not THAT horrible, especially if you don't follow football (or live in the South), but I certainly hate it. Either way, a good portion of the state is probably going to be moping around...
2022-12-03 14:05:01 +0000 UTC
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So often, I went from one emergency to another, pausing only long enough to heal so that I could jump right back into the fire. It affected me more than I can say, and I regret not slowing down and living my life. After all, none of what I did mattered anyway. The bad guys are still there. The world is still ending. And there’s nothing I can do about it.
Jeremiah Braddock III
Contrary to Kimiko’s instructions, I didn...
2022-12-03 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Abby glared at her cellmate. “How are you so calm?” she demanded.
Carlos looked up from where he was sitting on the floor. As he moved, the metallic shackles around his ankles and wrists clinked. With a tired sigh, he answered, “I’m sorry. What would you like me to do? Yell? Scream? Should I bang my fists against those bars over there, screaming about injustice and false imprisonment?”
“You should do something other than just sit there,” Abby spat.
It was all h...
2022-12-02 14:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Talia watched as the refugees stumbled through the gates of Jariq. She had chosen to remain outside, preferring solitude over the way the people in the city reacted to her. Usually, she could avoid them, but every now and then, someone would see beneath her hood and rightly determine that she wasn’t human. Sometimes, panic would ensue. And given the horde of undead only a day or so behind them, she thought it best if she didn’t give the citizens of Jariq more opportunities to hate her.
2022-12-01 14:09:55 +0000 UTC
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Once upon a time, being alone in the wilderness was a terrifying thing. But as civilization reared its ugly head, nature’s sharp edge was blunted. The onset of the Mist once again changed that, bringing it back to the natural order. Once again, we fear the world around us.
Jeremiah Braddock III
Fire coursed through my veins as every nerve in my body was set alight. The agony, heedless of my Pain Tolerance
2022-11-30 14:00:10 +0000 UTC
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I'm sure most of you are aware that the first book in this series is (as of today) now available on Kindle, Audible, and Paperback, and I'm extremely pleased with how everything turned out (the edit helped a ton and the narration by Eric Michael Summerer is amazing). I'm not deluded enough to expect it to be a best-seller or anything, but I do hope that it will be the first step towards me taking up writing as a full-time job (which would, hopefully, allow me spend more time and energy on my ...
2022-11-29 14:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Zeke swung his mace in a wide arc, but just before it connected, the hag disappeared in a puff of yellow smoke. The tree behind her exploded into splinters as the mace struck home. A moment later, the telltale sound of claws against metal announced that the hag had returned Zeke’s intended blow with one of her own. He spun around with a backhanded swing, narrowly missing the elusive hag. She dove backwards in a back flip just in time to avoid Pudge’s most recent pounce.
And all the ...
2022-11-29 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
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I just realized that my publisher already made a listing for the second book in the series (out 3/28/23), revealing the finished cover. So, I figured I'd go ahead and throw it out there for you all as well.
I think it turned out great, and I'm very happy with the artist's depiction of the scene. Anyway, let me know what you all think!
2022-11-29 05:53:46 +0000 UTC
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Zeke sat on the steps of his tower, staring at the crystal-encased figure before him. The girl was young, blonde, and very pretty – just like in the painting he’d seen in the hermit’s hovel. Just like Fiona once had been. It was a devastating reminder of what the old crone had given up to attempt to save her little sister from the demon. And it had been for nothing; the girl who’d been embedded in the crystal was clearly dead, her body preserved by the tree’s strange composition.
2022-11-28 14:01:00 +0000 UTC
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There are almost always an endless number of ways to solve any problem, but killing is usually the easiest.
Jeremiah Braddock III
I sank to the metal balcony, curling in on myself in an attempt to look as devastated as possible. It was a split-second decision built around my desire to leave some of the villagers alive. Even as I watched Burton’s hulking body tumbling over the edge to fall to the floor far beneath us, I...
2022-11-27 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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I have lived a long life. Far longer than I ever thought possible. Even when I learned about constitution’s affects on the aging process, I never dreamed I would make it past a century. Sometimes, I wonder if my longevity was a blessing or a curse. I’ve outlived friends. Family. Lovers. I’ve watched them grow old, feeble, and sick. And all the while, I’ve remained the same. Healthy. Hearty. Hale. And whole. There are days when I wish it were otherwise.
2022-11-26 14:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Another fun week in the books, and I'm super excited about where everything's going. This arc for Death: Genesis is just starting to heat up, and Mistrunner's getting its legs under it. So, I'm very happy with how both story's are progressing.
In Death: Genesis news, remember that the first book's going to be published on Nov. 29 (Tuesday) for both Kindle and Audible. So, if you have Kindle Unlimited or an Audible credit, I'd very much recommend checking them ou...
2022-11-26 13:55:00 +0000 UTC
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