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!
September Updates
Whew! What a year it’s been! Through all the changes and challenges and fears of this year, there is really nothing else to do than to assess what is really important and get down to business.
Yesterday was my last day with Sur La Table (it’s a kitchenware store). I spent seven years there, from running my own store, to opening new stores to running multiple stores at once. Because of debt exacerbated by Covid, we were told to liquidate and shut our doors.
Writing has always been a passion for me, but it’s been a secondary passion because, well, I have to make a living. Because of that I’ve stayed up late, or woken up early every day so I can get my thoughts on to the page and hopefully turn it into some enjoyment for everyone.
I’m hoping only to be unemployed for a few weeks at the most, but during that time, just like during quarantine this past year, I want to get ahead of work so I can keep a steady stream of content coming to you! I mean come on! Priorities!
That being said, this is what’s in the pipeline. Much of this you can get right now if you head over to my Patreon.
Currently there are 3 books published of a 15 book series. The publisher is not working on them anymore, so I am taking them under my own hand and releasing “Author Editions” (new expansions and edits) of the first three, and then continuing on with the series until all 15 are published (12 of which are written). These will be published on Kindle, and more than likely in print from through Amazon and Barnes and Noble if I can make that work.
This is my Indiana Jones/Dan Brown inspired novel. I have recently finished my second draft and I’m hard at work on the third draft. It needs some work, but I’m hoping to be about finished with it, or at least get it ready for queries, by the holidays.
Short Shorts:
I’m going to start posting these every other week. The first selection of these have the Theme of “Universal Monsters”, meaning that each story is about the classic Universal Monster silver screen movies, I.E. “Dracula”, “The Wolf Man”, “The Creature From The Black Lagoon”, and so forth, done in my own spin. Expect the first story this coming Saturday 09/05/20 and a story every two weeks there after until I run out of stories, or decide to give some other type of content. You can catch many of these on the website Tone Poems and Nightmare Fuel.
I’ve had such a blast doing this series, and I’m going to continue doing it when I finish with Lovecraft. This series is built to not only make difficult reads more accessible to people, but to create an analysis for readers who love the stories. I have narrowed the list for the next author down to a few, and would love some feedback. The next authors taken into consideration are: J.R.R. Tolkien (I’ve read LOTR and the Hobbit, so this would be about his histories), Victor Hugo, Jack London, O. Henry, or Classic Adventures (everything from Pride and Prejudice to The Talisman). If you want to read along, or if you’d love to see more from one of these authors let me know!
The Revolution Cycle:
This is my magnum opus. I’ve been working on this series for nearly twenty years. I have written three books in the series that I’m not happy with, but each one of these has gotten me closer to the truth of what this series is going to be. I am currently working on an outline for the first book (in the now 10 book series) called “The Monster in the Woods”. This book is a heist/adventure/mystery/fantasy book. The feel will be “The Goonies” crossed with “Pan’s Labyrinth”, with just a dash of “Ocean’s Eleven”.
There are many other projects, but they are so far down the road, that they probably aren’t worth mentioning here. Thank you all. I appreciate the support, and if you want to purchase any of my existing books, go here! The Elsie Books are on sale through Monday 09/!
Thank you! Check back often for more!
Sean McBride 
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