I didn’t get anywhere near as much written in 2025 as I normally do. Part of it was the lack of opportunity, and part of it was that I prioritized other things over the writing. I mentioned my original fantasy novel, and I need to stress that I am giving it time to do it right.
It doesn’t mean I have been entirely idle.
I also wrote an essay about The Phantom, who is about to celebrate his 90th anniversary. It’s for Pulp Storytelling Across Media: Insights from Critics, Historians, and Creators. Edited by Jason D. DeHart, the book seems to be an examination of pulp’s enduring influence over pop culture. To me, the Phantom, especially as Lee Falk originally envisioned him, is the character who bridges the pulps to the comic books. Initially, the character was Jimmy Wells, a costumed vigilante who fought crime, but everything quickly shifted to the now-familiar African setting, and Wells was a pseudonym for Kit Walker, aka the Ghost Who Walks. And while Falk imagined the costume to be gray, the first Sunday pages had it rendered in purple, a color he hated for over a decade. But the colorful costume presaged Superman by two years.
It’s a pricey paperback from McFarland Books, and I don’t know the full line-up of topics or authors or even when it’s being released.
On the other hand, I can tell that a new edition of Above the Ground is coming out on June 2. The first edition was released while co-author Matthew Medney was transitioning from Heavy Metal, which affected his distribution deals with Aethon Books and Simon & Schuster. He founded Gungnir Books and recently signed a major distribution deal with McMillan, which includes a re-release of the book, ahead of the next two finally seeing the light of day. He even had the cover modified to make it different than the original, but this time we’re debuting in hardcover. It would be nice to finally have that come out.
I have an article at Back Issue and another at RetroWorld that have yet to see print, but both will be in 2026.
Next week, I assemble the final manuscript for Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2026, which is scheduled to debut at Shore Leave in July.
So, what’s next?
In the spring, I will be writing another Sherlock Holmes story for Cases by Candlelight Vol. 5. I will be joined by the team from book four: Hildy Silverman, Aaron Rosenberg, and Christopher D. Abbott. It’s inspired by real-world figures who operated during Holmes’ time, but only one of whom he has previously met, in Nicholas Meyer’s The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. I’ve got it plotted out and look forward to getting started.
After that, there will be a story in a brand-new shared world conceived by my pal Richard C. White. He came to Crazy 8 Press about partnering to produce the book, so I’ll be helping him with the forthcoming Kickstarter campaign and then writing my 10,000-word story. When he read the outline, he said it was likely to be the darkest in the collection, which I find interesting, since I tend not to write dark, but maybe I’m exploring new angles.
The summer is reserved for the original book unless someone comes calling, although that hasn’t happened in quite a while.
What We’re Watching
We continue to work our way through streaming series, currently enjoying season one of Bookish (PBS), The Pitt, The Rookie, The Night Manager, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, The Lincoln Lawyer, Family Law, and Grey’s Anatomy.
What I’m Reading
I recently devoured the latest Harry Dresden novel, Twelve Months, and loved revisiting that world. I am now listening to The Viper, Brad Meltzer’s latest, and finishing Project Hail Mary, which I am enjoying more than I expected.
#Tags: Aaron Rosenberg, Above the Ground, Bookish, Brad Meltzer, Cases by Candlelight, Christopher D. Abbott, Grey's Anatomy, Gungnir Books, Harry Dresden, Hildy Silverman, Jason DeHart, Jim Butcher, McFarland Books, McMillan, Project Hail Mary, Pulp Storytelling Across Media, Richard White, Starfleet Academy, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Night Manager, The Phantom, The Pitt, The Rookie, The vIPER, Twelve Months