Abby came to a skidding stop, kicking up a spray of sand and gravel as she reached the circle of illumination around the campsite. Carlos emerged from a shadow next to her, twisting around to watch for the zombie horde. All around them, the refugees sprang to attention, briefly brandishing their low-quality weapons until hey recognized their pair of protectors. Geraldine and Alex rushed around ...
2022-11-25 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostFrom atop a sizable hill, Abby watched the horde’s progress. The zombies and other assorted undead looked like a dark patch on the horizon, but with the increased visual acuity that came with her racial evolution, she could just make out enough details that the scene all but set itself. The undead were on the move, and at least part of the horde had begun the long trek from the more temperate...
2022-11-24 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostSome people need goals. A destination that keeps them trudging toward the horizon. For me, that goal has always wavered between revenge, survival, and, in the end, giving Mirabelle the means to escape the Earth’s inevitable destiny.
Jeremiah Braddock III
The next morning, I awoke to see rays of sunlight peeking between t...
2022-11-23 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostTalia jogged through the desert, her course parallel to the group of refugees Abby and Carlos were leading back to Jariq. As she did, her normally placid mind roiled with frustration. She felt forgotten. Discarded. Tossed aside because she didn’t fit in. The refugees, she understood. They’d lost so much at the hands of the undead army, and in their traumatized minds, Talia was no different ...
2022-11-22 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe going was a lot rougher than Zeke had expected, but in his defense, he’d never really paddled a boat before, much less a giant turtle shell that felt like it was going to tip over every time he moved. However, as he slowly but surely guided his makeshift raft through the burning and acidic lake, he started to get the hang of it. Still, progress was glacial, and it took him hours to make i...
2022-11-21 14:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe bare necessities – food, shelter, medical care – should be the last things we have to worry about. Even before the Initialization, humanity had the capability to provide the basics to each and every person in the world. The only excuse for not doing so is abject greed, laziness, and a misguided belief that we should all make our way alone. It’s only gotten worse i... 2022-11-20 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Before the Initialization, there were means to keep the power-hungry in check. Most people were content to survive, to ensure that their loved ones were taken care of. However, there will always be those who see what someone else has and decide that it would be better off in their hands. After the Initialization gave these people the means to take what they wanted, warlords... 2022-11-19 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Not really much to talk about today. The release date for Volume One of Death: Genesis is approaching very quickly, and I hope everybody will give the audiobook or the edited Kindle version a shot on the 29th.
As to the story's current progress, I'm excited about the coming mini-arc, and I think you'll all really enjoy it.
In Mistrunner news, I'm still plugging a...
2022-11-19 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostPatreon doesn't let me convert this to a GIF (like Reddit does), so just hit play. I admit that I wasn't quite as happy with this as I'd hoped to be, but I think it still turned out well enough. Remember, the first book of Death: Genesis is coming out on 11/29!
2022-11-19 00:19:25 +0000 UTC View PostZeke awoke to a world of pain, fatigue, and regret. Groaning, he tried to sit up, but even that minor movement took a monumental effort. Still, he persisted, and when he finally managed to drag himself upright, he looked around. His head was pounding, he was starving, and it felt like he hadn’t had anything to drink in a week. All of this told him that more than a single night of unconsciousn...
2022-11-18 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostI meant to announce this when the change went through, but it kind of slipped my mind. I've been super busy lately, what with the upcoming release of the first book in Death: Genesis and the new release of Mistrunner (as well as my day job).
Anyway, a month (or so) ago, Patreon gave us (as creators) the option of altering the billing cycle for our Patrons. The old way b...
2022-11-17 21:25:24 +0000 UTC View PostZeke trudged back to the tower, pointedly avoiding the area surrounding the hermit’s hovel. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Fiona – or rather, it wasn’t just that. Rather, it was that he didn’t want to go back to her empty-handed. Now that he had a quest, he had every intention of discovering her sister’s fate, and the next time he saw the woman, he wanted to go back with ans...
2022-11-17 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostI recently got access to an audio sample for Volume One of Death: Genesis, and I thought I'd pass it on to you all! It sounds really great, and I hope you all like it, too.
2022-11-16 21:29:47 +0000 UTC View PostThere are more skills out there than you can imagine. Some are specialized. Others are broad. Learning to counter each and every one of them is folly. Instead, we must lean into our own strengths, lest we get lost in the weeds.
Jeremiah Braddock III
For all that it was outwardly silent, the incessant beeping of my alarm wa...
2022-11-16 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostZeke endured another gout of flame as he sprinted toward the turtle’s beak. His footsteps thundered into the blackened turf, leaving small craters behind. Taking a two-handed grip, he reared back, and with a move that he’d practiced millions of times, took a baseball swing at his foe. The mace whistled through the air, and just before it connected, Zeke activated [Unleash Momentum].
T...
2022-11-15 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostZeke’s chest heaved, and his shoulders slumped in exhaustion, but he’d finally finished his task. All around him, there were salamander corpses, each sporting various fatal wounds. Some had crushed skulls, others looked like four-legged bags of rubbery skin, distorted by crushed bones and liquified entrails, and still others had obviously been killed by Pudge. Those last were the most grisl...
2022-11-14 14:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostEvery problem can’t be solved at the end of a gun. Sometimes, solutions require finesse. I have never been very good at those kinds of things.
Jeremiah Braddock III
The family resumed gathering mushrooms and other edibles, leaving me mostly to my own devices. The youngest member, whose name I learned was Ethan, kept sneaking glances at me, but I pretended not to notice. A...
2022-11-13 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostAnother week in the books, and things are looking great! We're just getting into the fun stuff with Death: Genesis, and Mistrunner is taking off as well (it's been really well-received over on Royal Road, too, so that's gratifying). I also decided to go ahead and implement a new release schedule for Mistrunner (by adding an extra chapter each week). I hope you'll all enjoy the...
2022-11-12 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe term “survival of the fittest” is often misinterpreted. It doesn’t mean that the strongest will inevitably emerge victorious. Rather, it favors the cunning. The adaptable. The intuitive. That is the spirit which humanity must embody if we wish to survive what’s coming.
Jeremiah Braddock III
I looked in the mirror, hating the reflection staring back at me. Reachi...
2022-11-12 13:55:01 +0000 UTC View PostI've had this for a bit, but I didn't want to take away from the upcoming release of the first Death: Genesis book too much. I can't keep it locked away any longer, though, so here's the rough sketch of the cover for book two. I hope you all like it!
I think it looks pretty awesome (e...
2022-11-12 00:21:41 +0000 UTC View Post“That is not a turtle,” Zeke muttered, gaping in awe at the creature cutting a path through the fiery lake. “It’s a freaking dinosaur.”
Half a mile away, the monster was at the edge of his range, but Zeke could still inspect it. The results made his heart pound a bit faster.
Fireback Turtle – Level 25 (M)
A monarch-tier creature. The pinnacle of po...
2022-11-11 14:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe burning lake loomed in Zeke’s peripheral vision as he studied the small hovel a quarter of a mile away. It was far enough from the Flaming Lake itself that its owner wouldn’t be constantly inundated by the heat, toxic atmosphere, and monsters that characterized the body of water, but close enough that it was still easily accessible for the hermit.
Zeke had been on watch for two da...
2022-11-10 14:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostOur world, even before the Initialization, had a long history of slavery. Whether it was the African slave trade, the Jewish people being enslaved by the Egyptians, or the more modern example of slavery-via-incarceration, it has been a part of humanity since the very beginning. However, the wider universe’s version of enslavement is far more insidious. It is the tyranny of the strong, whe...
2022-11-09 14:12:29 +0000 UTC View PostPutting his feet up on the table, Zeke leaned back in his chair and said, “This is so much better now. It actually feels like a home.”
And it was true. He and the rest of his companions were sitting in what they’d dubbed the conference room of the tower. Located on the second floor, which ostensibly belonged to Talia, the sizable room was furnished with a half-dozen cushy chairs and...
2022-11-08 14:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“Do you think it’s weird that there are no horses in the Radiant Isles?” asked Abby, walking beside Zeke. “Like, we have other animals from Earth, but for some reason, the line was drawn at horses?”
Zeke glanced at her. He was wearing his full armor, save for the horned helmet, which he’d left off because he claimed it was hot. Abby knew he could don it in a matter of seconds,...
2022-11-07 14:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostDeath is a natural part of survival. Resources are finite. Everyone can’t win. Sacrifices must be made at the altar of self-interest.
Jeremiah Braddock III
I didn’t sleep for long. Just a couple of hours before I jerked awake to a banging at the bunker’s front door. I rolled out of bed, ignoring the pain of my many wounds as I summoned my rifle. Opening the door to th...
2022-11-06 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAlright - big week. We're just getting finished with the set-up/recovery for the fourth book on Death: Genesis, and I'm eager to see how you'll all like the coming bits. I should note that this book will probably be a tad longer than the others (closer to 200k words than 160k) because there's a lot that needs to get done with the conclusion of this major arc.
In Mistrunner new...
2022-11-05 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostZeke strode through the street, armored and carrying his mace. After his previous battle – if it could even be called that – he’d only taken a few minutes to recover from his usage of [Heart of the Berserker]. So, he was at full-strength. More, he was furious, as angry as he’d been in quite some time.
Behind him, Abby followed. Armed with her bow and armored in brand-new leather a...
2022-11-04 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostZeke hefted the armor, inspecting it with his eyes as well as the metaphysical senses that had come with his artisan path. If his plans didn’t work, the worst that could happen was that the armor would fall apart. But if it did work, it could be a turning point for him.
Ever since being reborn in the troll caves, Zeke’s life had been one of conflict, and his equipment had been forced ...
2022-11-03 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostPlease don't forget - if you've enjoyed my work (either Death: Genesis or Mistrunner, but mostly the latter, because it's a fresh release), it would help me out a lot if you'd head over to Royal Road and throw a review down. You can click the following links to be redirected to the appropriate page: