Looking Back at 2025 - and ahead to 2026

Man, what a year 2025 turned out to be. It is tempting to go into politics here, but I struggle and strive to keep my blog and my website as free of politics as I can. I'll just say, the nightmare I feared coming into control of this country ended up being worse than I dared think.

Despite the politics, for me, 2025 became a very interesting year for my fiction writing. I shifted a lot, and then shifted again, and have now fallen down into a rabbit hole I thought would be temporary, but now I am not sure I want to climb out.

Let's dive in.

Stopping the Horror Novel Train

I wrote one more horror novel. I wrote one called Reunion, and I am hoping that will be published by Baynam Press where much of my recent work has been published. It is a not a terribly long novel, but for some reason, when I was done I felt - exhausted.

My brain felt tired. If you have ever endeavored to do something creative, you know that tired feeling. Sometimes your brain just gets exhausted.

I realized that in the last, roughly, four years, written something like six novels, and dozens of novellas and short stories. I was just...pooped.

I took two weeks off, something I had always tried to do before when I finished a novel, but had never accomplished. This time, it worked.

After the two weeks, I had a few ideas, sat down at the computer here, and started writing, but I was surprised...

Starting the Short Story Train

I began writing short stories. It seemed like every idea that came to me was creepy and scary and...short. It was disturbing at first, but then I got into it and it was fun.

The best part was, I was suddenly flooded with people putting together anthologies and I started submitting them. One by one, I got accepted. I found Kevin J. Kennedy, and got a bunch of stories accepted. I soon found others, and then Baynam Press started to publish my short stories as little ebooks.

Heck, I went on a summer book tour - a first for me. I sold a lot of books directly to the public. I attended something called FanFest with fellow horror authors. What an amazing summer.

I basically found a home for all of my stories. It was great, but as I was writing them, and summer began to vanish, I had an idea for a novel...only it wasn't horror.

The Detective Comes Back

I have a hard-boiled detective series featuring private eye Deklan Falls. I love visiting Deklan's world. It is like taking a nice hot shower, or a warm bath. His world is so complete, so full, in my mind.

A couple years back, I tried to start a new novel for him, but something about it didn't work. This story, though, I knew would work.

And it was wonderful. I had so much fun writing the story. When I was done, I knew I was going to try and find a literary agent using this new story. I thought, if I could find an agent and get my Deklan Falls series published by a big time publisher, I would be very happy just writing more Deklan Falls stories for them.

This new novel was hard-boiled, but had a definite pulp fiction edge, which led me to the final surprise.

The Rise of Pulp Fiction

I had been a fan of pulp fiction for a while. I had fallen in love with the Shadow through comics, and one day stumbled across a book featuring the pulp hero The Spider. I discovered I loved him and his stories even more. So, as I was writing Deklan Falls, I began listening to old time radio shows featuring pulp heroes...like the Shadow.

Years ago, I had started to create a pulp hero I called The Wraith. He wore all white, but could phase in and out of our dimension, and appear like a ghost. He carried twin automatics like the pulp heroes always did. His face as covered in a skull-like mask, and he had a team of allies helping him.

I decided to flesh him out more. I invented storylines, enemies, and more allies for him and then came up with an ambitious plan. Then I gave him a new name, after a term for a vengeful spirit - The Revenant.

I would publish 10 novella length Revenant stories. One story a month the way the old pulp magazines had been published. If I were being paid by the word, the way the old pulp authors had been, I'd have gone for novel length, but for just working for myself, novella was good.

I created Pulp21, my little pulp publishing brand, and started writing. Again, I had never had so much fun.

The Pulp World Grows

I soon realized, a comic book hero I had created when I was a teen might be turned into a new modern pulp hero with some tweaking. I used to doodle his adventures during class. I was always a terrible artist, but if I did pulp novels for him, I didn't need an artist.

Darkshadow was created, and I am close to finishing the first novel in his series.

Then I came up with a character called The Void, and another called The Raven.

All of them pulp-like.

And I began devouring pulp novels. The Shadow, the Spider, Doc Savage, the Black Bat, the Green Lama. And more and more.

So What's to Come in 2026?

So, where am I going in 2026? Well, there is at least one more anthology due out with a story of mine in it. I also have two unpublished horror novels with Baynam Press. I hope to get one out this year, with another out in 2027.

And if you love pulp, my Revenant series is ongoing. Two novels are out now. I just started writing issue 8. I think I might really make it to 10.

Then? Who knows? Maybe a Revenant Omnibus. Plus, the Darkshadow novel.

I still hope to get a literary agent for Deklan Falls, and then those will hopefully come out from a big deal publisher. And I already have an idea for a new novel for him, too.

As for horror, well, I am still a fan. I still read it. I still watch it. Sometime, maybe, I will write another.

I'd love to write a comic book series. Either for a public domain character like the Spider, or one of my own creations. I have an idea to turn something that appeared in my novels The Man From Taured and The Wraith into a comic book, too, but I am not an artist and indie comic publishers was complete drafts including artwork.

So, there are challenges, but I think I might achieve some great things this year.

Here's hoping. For myself, and for you too.

Be sure to visit my Amazon page and read my entire Deklan Falls series so far.

And you really should get the ebooks of my Revenant novellas now!