A bit belated, but I was busy yesterday doing what I do every Valentine’s Day since a couple years ago: deliver flowers! My brother does contract IT work for a local shop, and during certain holidays it becomes an “all hands on deck” situation to make sure all the orders go out. Retirees and interns get brought in to help make arrangements, and the ones who work in the office (whether every day or once a week) get sent out to make deliveries. Well, except for one person…That one’s never allowed in a van, not unless it’s getting entered into a demolition derby.

Some people just shouldn’t ever get behind the wheel of a vehicle!

The last couple of days were busy, but the husband and wife who run that little flower shop have always been good to my brother, so I’m glad I can pay them back for that.

Driving a van stuffed with flowers all around town and down the backroads did no favors for my sinuses, but it did give me time to work on some story ideas. I’m approaching the midpoint of Shield of Souls, the first of my Necrolopolis novels. While I’m looking forward to finishing the draft, I’m enjoying the journey. For those of you who’ve read my short stories or been following along in the Necrolopolis subchannel of the Three Ravens Discord server, I believe you’re going to enjoy it!

I’ve been using Bing’s AI art generator for the purpose of reference images, “storyboarding” if you will. It’s helped me visualize some of the settings and characters I’ve had in my mind for a long time but couldn’t quite get a firm grasp on. In particular, the ashling class of undead that I have, the risen remains of cremated people. Meet Pyria, one of the undead that the main necromancer protagonist (Adelvell Brightmere) is bonded to. In life, she was a plague doctor (or doctress in my world, to use an archaic term). When the plague claimed her and she was cremated, her ashes rose and she took up her doctor’s bag again. She now serves in Necrolopolis as a first responder, a front line healer who stabilizes the wounded until a magical healer can arrive.

But, enough talk about ghostly women and their bags of Victorian medical equipment! You’ll see more about Pyria on the Discord server!

Let me use this Sunday to highlight an anthology centered on hope. This may sound strange, but Necrolopolis is a world of hope, as well. The hero may be a necromancer haunted by his past. The main and supporting characters may largely be undead, bound here for some reason or another. But, what drives them is hope for tomorrow. Hope to reach their journey’s end.

Hope Among the Storm

When winter winds rise and the holiday lights flicker, hope shines brightest in the hearts that refuse to let go.

Hope Among the Storm gathers a collection of original, winter-themed short stories that celebrate the magic found in family, second chances, and the quiet miracles that take root when life feels most chaotic. From unexpected visitors and long-buried memories to whimsical wonders that blur the line between the everyday and the extraordinary, these tales capture the timeless spirit of the season.

Inspired by classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Scrooged, The Snowman, and A Christmas Story, this anthology blends heartfelt emotion with enchanting mystery. Within these pages, snow becomes a storyteller, traditions mend broken hearts, and love cuts through even the fiercest winter storm.

Whether you’re seeking nostalgia, laughter, magic, or a reminder that hope is never out of reach, these holiday stories invite you to gather close, warm your hands, and believe in the extraordinary once more.

Discover the light waiting just beyond the snow—one story at a time.

B.E.N.T. Universe Pre-Orders!

The latest B.E.N.T. Universe novel (Hunters Hunted by Gustavo Bondoni) released recently, but there are two more on its way!

Vernon’s powers are only skin deep.

Fortunately, when you have skin like Vernon’s, whose BENT-powered epidermis can feed him, allow him to breathe underwater and shrug off bullets—among other innumerable wonders—you don’t really need to go much deeper.

But Vernon is a man on a mission, and that mission is revenge. He wants to hit the Triads, the masters of Chinese organized crime, hard enough to end their reign of terror, and his skin, no matter how powerful it makes him, simply isn’t built for speed. He can’t work fast enough; as soon as he destroys a Triad installation, they build it back up.

So he needs help. Maia’s BENT is teleportation, and that completely changes the entire ballgame. If only he can convince her to come out of retirement.

When he finds her, however, they’re both roped into an operation that promises to give them what they want most… But at a price.

Someone is going to get BENT. The only question remaining is who… And how badly.

Null Pointer Exception — 02/27/26

It’s all or nothing.

Billy Pointer is but one of the trainees sent to Camp Peary, a CIA facility known as “The Farm,” to participate in a new initiative aimed at responding to potential BENT threats internationally. As he learns the art of espionage, he struggles to reconcile his morals and ethics against the nature of the career he has chosen.

Things only get more complicated when he is injured on his first assignment, revealing that he has a Bend of his own. Now, the major powers in the BENT world are interested in using his newfound ability to aid them in realizing their own purposes and goals.

Everyone wants him on their side. Everyone has a point to make. Nobody is willing to work with anyone who is not on their side. Billy’s loyalties to his country, friends, employer, and what he thinks is right are tested. It doesn’t help at all that, in his naivety, he wants to believe everyone at face value — that everyone wants to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, reality has a way of making itself known.

As Billy learns some hard lessons, he realizes that he has some equally hard choices to make.

On the Wings of a Weeping Angel — 03/27/26

TBlaze doesn’t just kill.
It turns its victims into Weeping Angels.
When it takes Robbie’s daughter, his life ends—and his war begins.

Backed by outlaw bikers, street-level vigilantes, and a barely controlled Bend, Robbie storms Chicago’s criminal underworld. From the Sisters of Midnight to the Violet Syndicate’s brutal super-powered cage fights, he hunts the monsters who built an empire on suffering.

Outgunned. Outmatched. Fueled by rage.
Every fight pushes him closer to his limits… and closer to vengeance.

Step into a gritty, high-octane superhero revenge thriller where pain is power, mercy is weakness, and justice is written in blood.