Updates 01/05/23
Wow, what a year that was! I did not get anywhere near where I wanted to go in a writing sense, as work and life stuff enveloped much of my time, but it’s time for a new year, and it’s time for new resolutions. I received a typewriter and a new notebook for Christmas, which has invigorated my creative juices, so it’s time to get to work and get to some of these books I’ve been sitting on!
Elsie Jones Adventures:
The first three of these were already published traditionally, but the contract is up, and the rights have reverted back to me. So I’m going to self-publish and finally get this series out. So expect the first two in the series this year.
If you didn’t know, The Elsie Jones Adventures is a Chapter Book series suitable for kids 5-12. They follow Elsie Jones as she discovers a mysterious library and each book in the secret library pulls her into the plotline of that book, and she goes on the adventure with the characters! The series is filled with action and humor, but it also has lessons to learn along the way.
Book 1: Elsie Jones and the Book Pirates
In this first book, Elsie finds a mysterious library and enters “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson. She meets some new friends and goes on a Pirating adventure, but also discovers there is a strange group trying to destroy the special books in the library. Follow along with her on an adventure to stop them!
Book 2: Elsie Jones and the Revolutionary Rebels
In Elsie’s second adventure, she finds an old book named “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine, which transports her to Revolutionary Boston. She meets Ben Franklin and goes on a famous horse ride with Paul Revere, leading to a showdown at the house of a literary giant.
Book 3: Elsie Jones and The Captain’s Guard
In Elsie’s Third adventure, she comes across “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas and goes on an adventure with The famous French Musketeers. This book is filled with mystery, adventure, and swashbuckling fun, but it is on this adventure that Elsie realizes more is going on in these adventurous worlds.
You can find and purchase all three of these stories here or wherever books are sold. What will be released this year are “Author Editions” of these first three books. I wasn’t very happy with the end result when the publisher edited these books, so what you’ll get this coming year will be more extended and much more cohesive. The published books are still outstanding, don’t get me wrong, but since the rights have reverted back to me, I wanted to get the whole series out and make them as good as I possibly could. The originals still hold a place near and dear to my heart and will still be available.
Now onto other projects! As always, my first book of short stories is also available on this website or wherever books are sold. It is a group of short stories heavily influenced by the original “Twilight Zone” television show with Rod Serling. The title is “A View of the Edge of the World.”
The Legacy:
I read an article back in 2001 in Rolling Stone magazine about an island off the coast of Nova Scotia. I started writing an adventure novel back then but never got around to finishing it; then a History Channel show called “The Curse of Oak Island” came out, and it reinvigorated my love for this strange, mysterious island. I finished writing the novel in 2021 and meant to edit it in 2022 and get it out, but other things got in the way. I hope to finish editing it this year, get an agent and a publisher, and get it out early next year.
This book is based on Oak Island, but it is very much an “Indiana Jones” type story with heavy historical references which push the story forward as the characters look to uncover the mystery. It reads as half Dan Brown and half-pulp adventure novel. I absolutely love this book and can’t wait for people to read this one (and probably it’s sequels, wink, wink)!
The Revolution Cycle:
This is an expansive Fantasy/Adventure story. It follows a revolution from start to finish and will do so over a proposed 10 books. I’ve written the outline for the first novel and will be diving into it this year. I don t think it will be finished, but I hope to get enough done this year so it can be released by the end of next year.
Book 1. The Monster in the Woods
This first book of the cycle will focus on a group of young protagonists in a school in a secluded Duchy. They question the propaganda fed to them, and they drift apart until one of them finds a mysterious clue left by their strange uncle after he goes off to fight a monster roaming the woods outside the Duchy walls.
This book will have heavy Goonies vibes framed as a fantasy novel Joe Abercrombie would be proud to write. Each successive novel will expand the world and bring the characters further into the fight until they are inextricably involved with the revolution.
Future Works:
Elsie Jones and The Westward Adventurers: The fourth book in the Elsie Jones series. Elsie enters the world of James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Pathfinder.”
Elsie Jones and the Transylvania Twist: The fifth book in the Elsie Jones series. Elsie enters the world of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”
Elsie Jones and the London Fog: The sixth book in the Elsie Jones series. Elsie enters the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.”
Elsie Jones and the Dark Samurai: The seventh book in the Elsie Jones series. Elsie enters the world of Basho’s Haiku.
Elsie Jones and The Last Knight: The eighth book in the Elsie Jones series. Elsie enters the world of Cervantes “Don Quixote.”
Elsie Jones and the Treasure of Tut: The ninth book in the Elsie Jones series. Elsie enters the world of Virgil’s “The Aeneid”
I have written through the twelfth book in the series, but I’m keeping the remaining books under wraps!
I will continue publishing my weekly blog, which currently covers the histories of J.R.R. Tolkien. Each Thursday, I break down the verbiage and story to make the difficult language more accessible for the everyday reader. Check out my previous Blogs on The Silmarillion and all of H.P. Lovecraft’s work here!
You can also find other essays, short stories, and poetry here on my website for free, so I encourage you to read them! There is a good chance I will compile much of them for a future book of short stories, so get them while they are free!
The too far in the future projects:
The remaining books in the Revolution Cycle
A Sequel to The Legacy
Elsinore: A Graphic Novel about a town on the border of Hell
A future Elsie Jones spin-off
Thank you to everyone who follows and for your support for all who have purchased my books! Please continue to do so, and I hope the content I put out brings you joy, wonder, and happiness! Here is to a wonderful and prosperous New Year (with quite a bit of content coming your way)!
Blind Read Through: H.P. Lovecraft; In the Walls of Eryx
This was such a spectacular escape from the classic Lovecraftian stories. This is a Science Fiction/Horror story, that deals all together with the concepts of despair, fear and claustrophobia. This is also the first story in which the narrator actually dies in the story. There is very little to connect with the cannon in the narrative, but it is totally worth it. The only possible connection would be the main residents of Venus (where the story takes place), which are reptilian creatures with tentacles. These could be a form of a descendant of one of the Elder Gods.
The story follows our narrator, Kenton Stanfield, as he is on a quest to find a crystal on the surface of Venus. He travels through a jungle and eventually gets through it, and in a big open marsh he sees a body with the crystal he is looking for. When he approaches the body he finds an invisible wall. Eventually he finds his way past the wall and gets the crystal from the body, only to find that it wasn’t a wall at all, but an invisible labyrinth.
The rest of the story is a psychological profile in fear, and a brilliant one at that. If you have no interest in Lovecraft, this is the story for you to read, and if you love Lovecraft, then you must devour it!
Sean McBride 
You must be logged in to post a comment.