Want to get the book early and for free? I’m looking for 17 more Advanced Review Copy (ARC) readers. Basically, you let me know you want a copy by commenting below or shooting me an email and I’ll send you a copy in exchange for an honest review (yes even if you hate it).
The second piece of news is that me and my good friend Matt Wellstrom are launching a brand new podcast called, Resistance Reads. The podcast will explore the concepts of power and resistances through literature. Our inaugural episode will cover George Orwell’s classic novel 1984.
You can join us at the livestream here on April 19th at 11am MDT out of Denver. https://youtube.com/live/AqlLzQvCBBU?feature=share You can also watch the replay at the same link. Come join our discussion and ask your questions!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Indiegogo Campaign for my new dark fantasy horror novel, Shades &Shapes in the Dark! I am forever grateful and I will have your perks out to you as soon as humanly possible.
With the conclusion of the campaign, I’m happy to announce, that the book will hit the stores on May 17th 2025 in both paperback and ebook! You can join us over at Prodigy Coffee on the 17th at 1pm for the official release party where I will be reading and signing copies of Shades & Shapes in the Dark! I’ve also created an event over on Facebook if you are on that platform.
The audiobook is currently being recorded and though I have no doubt it will be completed by the 17th, the processing time for audiobook distribution seems to take an extra chunk of time.
A few other incredible writers will be sharing their amazing work in addition to a short reading of Shades & Shapes in the Dark. Including:
It’s down to the wire! Only a little over 24 hours to go and my Indiegogo campaign for Shades and Shapes in the Dark is only 49% funded. I need help crossing the finish line! I need help crossing the finish line!
Don’t forget, the first two chapters are already up on YouTube in audiobook format, which I’ve linked below.
I just uploaded the second chapter of Shades & Shapes of the Dark on YouTube in an audiobook format. In the second chapter, a thief steals Clarissa’s skateboard and she chases him into the woods, only to stumble on something sinister. If you’re just seeing this, you can also listen to Chapter 1 on YouTube here.
If you enjoyed the first two chapters of the book so far, definitely head over to Indiegogo and see how you can support it’s final creation. There are lots of perks for contributors! Help me make this book a reality!
Here it is, Chapter 2: The Meadow at the Edge of the World
Paperback mock up of Shades and Shapes in the Dark
Only a few years ago, before the pandemic, I was able to successfully publish my books by getting a second job. But these days, I need a second job just to pay the bills. So I need your help to publish Shades & Shapes in the Dark.
I’ve just launched a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo, a website like Kickstarter where you can contribute to the campaign and get all kinds of perks. At the most basic level your name will be immortalized in the acknowledgements section of the book. But you can also get things like like signed copies of the book, coffee mugs, bookmarks, the audiobook edition and more.
You read that right. Everything I’ve published since 2018 is free for the next seven days on Smashwords. Trying to kick your amazon habit lately? Well, you can buy all of my books on Smashwords instead… or rather, just add them to your library because they are totally free. Even if you already have copies elsewhere, why not pick them up on a different service?
I’m so very happy to release Chapter 1 of my dark fantasy, horror novel, Shades & Shapes in the Dark. You can listen to the audiobook edition of the first chapter over on YouTube at the video below. Chapter 1 is titled, The Crossroads of Life and Death.
Synopsis:
How do you fight a Shadow? How do you survive 40 years of darkness?
When 9 year old Clarissa Lamont stumbles upon something sinister in the forest, she didn’t know it was the beginning of a 40 year long nightmare strewn with the bodies of many she loved. In her journey to fight back, she will need to discover ancient hidden secrets of occult magic, and find others who understand her struggles. But the story begins where it ends, with her final confrontation with something as old as humanity itself. Shades & Shapes in the Dark is the first of four novels about Clarissa’s struggle to learn to harness her own power and magic, and fight a Shadow. Book 1 covers Clarissa’s very first encounter and battles with the creature she calls Demon.
Good News! I’m almost finished Shades & Shapes in the Dark, the first novel in my dark fantasy/horror series. The first book is getting one final readthrough before it goes to the editor. Expect a release date and preorder launch soon.
But as I am wrapping up that one, I’m already almost finished the first draft of the second book, and I have written a large portion of books 3, and 4.
Sometimes when I’m working on something, the image of the cover is so clear to me, that I just have to sit down and bring it to life. But first, I thought it might be good to tell you a little more about the forthcoming series.
The four book series, Shades and Shapes in the Dark is the story of 9 year old Clarissa Lamont accidently unleashing something sinister from an ancient ritualistic site in the middle of a forest in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and her four decade long struggle to first understand the nature of this shadow monster, and then find ways to fight it.
The first book, Shades & Shapes in the Dark focuses on her first encounter with the shadow monster, she names Demon, and her early attempts to defend herself from it’s relentless hunger.
Book 2, Through An Endless Darkness Gleaming focuses on Clarissa’s teenager years and her attempts to forge a weapon and find new tools and knowledge to combat the shadow.
Book 3, An Illumination of Extraordinary Madness, focuses on Clarissa’s 20’s as she finds new knowledge and skills to protect the people she loves.
Finally, Book 4 titled, The Nature of Twilight At Dawn, deals with Clarissa’ growing into herself in her 30s, and her final confrontation with the monster in her 40s.
I’ve already released the cover for Shades & Shapes in the Dark, but today, I’m excited to release to you the cover and cover art, for book 2, Through and Endless Darkness Gleaming. Each chapter of each book contains a poem that tells a truth about Clarissa’s world.
Here is the opening poem for Book 2:
Through and endless darkness gleaming, Where time ceases flowing and streaming, And the wicked things are dreaming, In the sea of the infinite more.
The white raven’s feathers flutter, Over a child’s head who has no rudder, Lost in despair so utter, As she walks across the bone strewn shore.
For Whosoever shall borrow a favor, Will forever savor, the flavor Of the first science’s power of darkest, blackest lore.
For that power always has a price, In contracts made with language precise, Made with the devils forged in the fires of the forgotten before
But perhaps a bargain made can be broken, For her power, is only a token, Of the loss she suffered, and the pain she made others endure
Unbound is that magic that came with the pact, Another hidden clause in the contract, For power seeps from the very cracks, The cracks hidden in the earth’s deepest core
Oh friend, Be careful what you say, Or what you give away, Because reader, The danger is greater than before.
The Ebook Cover for Through an Endless Darkness Gleaming
Despite the long processing delay on the distribution end, my short horror story, Eye of the Wood is now Live! As of the time of this post, it’s only available on a few platforms, but, if you have Spotify you can listen to it as a premium member using your monthly audiobook quota. It will be up on every major audiobook service in the coming days.
Recently, I completed a short narrative lyrical poem titled Falk’s Karma. This was recently submitted to a publisher so I can’t publish the thing out in the world on my website. However, I can provided an advance review copy for my wonderful paid subscribers, all of whom I treasure.
As to that, It seems likely this year I will have a lot of finished works. I’ve been writing 1000 words a day for almost two full years now without missing a single day, and what it’s yielded is a large chunk of a book series and quite a few shorts, essays and poems. So I am going to do my best to get as much up here first to paid subscribers and then out into the world later. I’m excited for you to read some of my latest shorts and the forthcoming novel, Shades and Shapes in the Dark and it’s sequel, Through an Endless Darkness Gleaming.
Blurb for Falk’s Karma:
Shipwrecked and trapped on an island full of hungry banshees, Falk stumbles upon a cabin and takes refugee. But once he arrives, two mysterious strangers appear at his door and compel him to make a choice that will change his life forever.
Loridian's Laboratory 