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)!
Updates 08/26/21
Hello everyone!
I anticipated releasing the conclusion of Lurker at the Threshold today, but due to a WordPress blip, half of the essay was gone when I logged on this morning. So that essay will be coming to you next week while I re-write it, followed by an essay on some final thoughts of H.P. Lovecraft. What I want to spend the rest of this update doing is letting you know what’s coming after that!
Blind Read Series:
I’m going to transition directly from H.P. Lovecraft to J.R.R. Tolkien (I didn’t think there were enough initials in my titles!). I read The Hobbit as a child and loved it, but when I started to read The Lord of the Rings, I was stuck at Tom Bombadil. I eventually read that massive tome in three sections, but I’ve always been interested in Tolkien’s lost tales and histories. I know many people are, but the text itself is daunting, so I intent on continuing the Blind Read series and reading, analyzing, demystifying, and connecting all of Tolkien’s side tales and histories of Middle Earth. In three weeks from today I’ll release the first section of the Silmarillion!
Short Stories:
The weather is cooling and the spooky season is coming. I intend to write a number of short shorts (somewhere in the ballpark of 1000 words) to release periodically in the fall months. These are going to be similar to the Universal Monster shorts I did last year, but Halloween will be the connecting factor this year. This is a call back to all those terribly awesome 80’s horror/schlock films such as The Monster Squad, Fright Night, and Hocus Pocus (I know, I know, that one is the 90’s). So come join me for some kinda, maybe not so scary fun!
Elsie Jones Adventures:
Get ready for a new look of Elsie Jones! I’ve been passively looking for a new Illustrator to take over the series, but this fall I’ll continue in earnest. Get ready for a new authors edition of Elsie Jones and the Book Pirates, and a cleaner Elsie Jones and the Captain’s Guard. Twelve of the 15 books are written, so I anticipate a good release schedule! If you’re curious you can purchase any of the first three books here!
The Legacy:
Currently in it’s fourth edit. This is my adventure novel I finished last October. Think if Dan Brown partnered with Indiana Jones this is what you’d get! I’ve always loved the intrigue and the adventure of following the clues to discover and uncover a mystery! Inspired by the incredible Oak Island (research it if you don’t know about it). I’m hoping to have this published in some fashion in 2022.
The Monster in the Woods:
This is the first book in my Revolution Cycle. I’ve been stewing on this series for 20 years or so, and I’m finally getting it to where I want it. I’ve already written two novels that’s I’ve been unhappy with and consider exploratory novels into the world, but I’ve been spending quite a bit of time outlining everything that will go into this 10 book series. The first book is very heavily inspired by The Goonies (I’m catching a 80’s inspiration thread here), but the larger story is told with the backdrop of impending war, and how the group from the first book will deal with it. The Monster in the Woods is a Heist/Gooniesesque adventure, with a few twists along the way.
That’s all for now, with much more on the way!
Sean McBride 
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