This is the one hundred and seventh installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season. So close!

Hello everyone! It’s been a while, but the last time I posted it was because of a special day, and today is pretty special for a number of reasons! 🐉

Image copyright The Pokémon Company

That’s right, today is not only Pokémon Day, but the 30th such! On this day in 1996, the first two Pokémon games were released in Japan on the original Game Boy. It took another two years for them to come to America, likely since no one knew what to do with such a strange concept. But it was a good thing they did.

I wasn't into Pokémon at all when I was a kid, despite having a Game Boy and being the perfect target audience. Instead, I got into the world of Monster Rancher, which has a completely different vibe than the creature-taming game that everyone knows so much better.

My nephew came to live with us for a little while, and he brought his collection of Pokémon cards. He wanted to play with his cousins, who didn’t have any, but that was a pretty easy thing to fix! Rather than buy a bunch of booster packs and hope for the best, I invested in some pre-constructed decks that brought a lot of fun to all. I also began studying Pokémon more closely, learning about the thousands of creatures that had been created since I was a kid. I didn’t know yet that it would be for research into the competition.

Vivi & the All-Lands Tournament draws heavily from Pokémon lore, since it came out of my daughter’s imaginary adventures with her stuffed animals, right around the same time that we began our Trainer journey as a family. Mysterious creatures bonded to young children in some unexplained way, and those kids venturing out on their own to seek fun and adventure, form the major components of the story.

While there are only four categories of creature in the Rary-verse (Animal, Plant, Robot, and Stuffed), there are endless varieties of each, most of which are inspired or taken directly from other monsters in different media, both the pocket variety and the ranched ones. I had intended to add explanations for all the jokes and references to the World Anvil version as footnotes, but… I forgot. Maybe when V-ALT is up for its next anniversary.

Coming up with activities for creatures to engage in other than battling was a fun challenge, too. Racing is always a good non-contact sport, so that ended up in the final story twice. I came up with several other events that will have to wait for next year's tournament, like maze-running, singing, and a spelling bee. I don’t think Rary would do very good in that one...

My fascination with creature taming didn’t end there, with Pokémon providing a huge inspiration to your favorite Wild West monster-planting adventure, Frontier Flora. A lot of the early design for the world was done in contrast to Pokémon: “they won’t be compressed, they’ll follow their people around all the time”, “since they don’t have energy attacks, they can’t all battle against one another, some will have to avoid the ring altogether", “the rooting system means that people wouldn't travel around as much, they would form closer bonds to a specific place."

The best Pokémon

We don’t play a whole lot of the physical TCG anymore, since the kids are busy with school and we’ve found some other fun games to play. One that my daughter and I have kept up with pretty regularly, though, is Pokémon TCG Pocket. An attempt by the Pokémon Company to recapture the fun of card collection, it relies much less on battling, and more on sharing. Every action you do that involves another player provides the opportunity to Thank them, which grants them in-game currency. Even if you duel another player and lose, they will probably give you some Thanks, making the experience worthwhile.

If you play TCGP and want some of my extra Dachsbun cards, let me know! My Friend ID is 3603604478785656

I’ve got more I want to share, but I’m going to keep it short, partly as an incentive for me to post more often! The very rectangular month of February comes to an end soon, and this newsletter ends right now. Enjoy the weekend and remember, all is well.

Photo by the author

This is the one hundred and sixth installment of West Wind, your weekly semi-regular drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

It’s NOT Friday! In fact, it’s Wednesday, and a super-special Wednesday too! Today is the 28th of January, which is the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas, a major philosopher, thinker, and all-around cool guy. He’s also the patron saint of our family, and who I picked to be my confirmation saint when I came into the church all those (13) years ago.

We’re celebrating around the house by wearing black and white and reading large books, and you can celebrate too by listening and/or reading to my hagiographical fanfiction rendition of the most exciting parts of his life.

The Bellowing of the Ox

“We cannot have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.”

www.worldanvil.com/w/torchmouth-saga-zmthomas/a/the-bellowing-of-the-ox-prose

Hey, why is the story on World Anvil, and not on Substack or here on Beehiiv like before? Because everything will be on World Anvil eventually! Since it is so flexible and allows me to set things up and format as I please, and people actually read what I put up there. Which is pretty cool. Speaking of what I put up there…

Octave of Stars

A colorful retro-modern YA adventure!

www.worldanvil.com/community/manuscripts/read/3179409981-zmthomas-octave-of-stars

Octave of Stars turns three years old today, and to celebrate… it’s on World Anvil too! It’s been removed from Substack entirely, so don’t go looking for it there anymore. I don’t think anyone actually was, but now you really can’t. The WA version retains all of the jokes, footnotes, and memes from the Substack version, as well as the “inspired by” music tracks. About the only thing that isn’t there is narration, but that is definitely planned. Just as soon as my other voice projects are wrapped up!

Octave is important to me, as it is not only my first published book, but also my top seller! There are more copies of it out in the world than any of my other works, and people have been enjoying it, at least as far as I can tell. There are only a handful of reviews on major review sites, but after hearing that one of the young recipients at the summer camp sale spent the entire car ride home reading it, I knew that I had done exactly what the Holy Spirit had wanted me to do.

See, Octave wasn’t supposed to be my first book. That honor was supposed to go to Paper & Feathers, which was (I thought) rapidly nearing completion, and Octave wasn’t even on my radar as a project. But in 2021, I got the massive inspiration I needed to develop the fragments of the story that I had lying around, and push it to the top of the queue. That turned out to be a good thing, since P&F needed just a bit more time marinating and getting through some tricky parts that I had been holding on to for a while.

And now it’s all done and out there. It’s been three years since this whole self-publishing thing got started, which is kind of unbelievable sometimes. I know there are some of you out there reading this that have been here since the very beginning, three newsletter providers ago, and for that, I am deeply grateful. For those who have just signed on recently, welcome, and I hope you’ll stick around for all the fun that’s coming up.

Stay safe and warm, and remember, all is well.

Photo by the author

This is the one hundred and fifth installment of West Wind, your weekly semi-regular drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

It’s Friday! Did you remember that it’s Friday? I sure didn’t! But it’s here nonetheless! It’s also the first Frontier Friday of the new year. Hard to believe, since January is nearly over, and with so much else going on it’s nice to have an old-fashioned rootin’ tootin’ lore drop once again!

This week’s Florabeast can be found gobbling around all corners of the New World, even to this very day! It may look a little funky, and be somewhat aggressive, but it still is a fine choice for planters everywhere. And, as will probably be the case going forward, Michelle has provided have some fantastic illustrations to go along with them. I’ll drop the link and then let you gaze on the loveliness.

But wait, there’s more! In between steadily chugging away at the Reach audiobook, I’ve gotten a few more goodies ready. The Paper & Feathers audiobook is no longer confined to the digital realm, it has crossed over and is now available as a physical, hold-in-your hand CD. Only one? Yes, it’s an MP3 data disc, but some AAA audiobooks are being published that way, so I thought I would give it a go. Also, if you order now (or anytime, really), I will dedicate the production to you.

Does that mean I’ll just sign the disc or the liner? Sure, I’ll do that, but I will also record a small clip just for you and include it in the track list. That means each CD will be completely unique, and will give you different Monsters when you put them in your Playstation. Wow, that’s an old reference!

Paper & Feathers SIGNED Audiobook CD

SIGNED Audiobook CD!

store.zmthomas.com/b/pf-audio-cd

I announced a while ago that my Substack presence is going to go away, and with it the stories that were hosted there. That of course meant that I needed to host them somewhere else, and until Laterpress allows image uploads, World Anvil will be the place for all new stories going forward. The scrappy underdog of the group has debuted in a new tournament circuit, so welcome Vivi & the All-Lands Tournament to the world of easy online reading!

Vivi & the All-Lands Tournament

Griffons, dragons, danger and French fries. Sounds like fun!

www.worldanvil.com/community/manuscripts/read/3081202777-zmthomas-vivi-26-the-all-lands-tournament

If you’re near where we are, you’ve probably been hearing about the coming Winter storm. It’s probably going to be a doozy, so stay sharp and get some extra cans of soup on your way home from work. I’ll be bundled into my recording studio working on some neat things, unless the power goes out, in which case I’ll be writing Counterbalance! Stay sharp out there, and remember that no matter what storms may come, all is well.

Photo by the author

Hot dog, here it is at last! The latest and greatest audio production from ZMT books is not a Frontier Flora story, nor is it a re-release of a short story, it is a full-length audiobook. And not just any audiobook, but Paper & Feathers, the quietly contemplative tale of a fussy librarian who’s moved very thoroughly out of his comfort zone by a series of chance encounters, and has to struggle to keep up the balance of his life, work, and expectations.

As to be expected, it is fully narrated and produced by the author, along with some special guest accompaniments during certain key chapters. But rest assured, it is 100% human-made, with absolutely no AI-generated content of any kind.

It’s also live and ready for download or streaming! You can get it at the main story page on zmthomas.com, or at the storefront, whichever works best for you. In keeping with the spirit of independent publishing, it is not available on Audible, Spotify, or any other third-party services. There’s just too much compromise involved to justify that.

But wait, you might say. I enjoy being able to stream my audiobooks with an app or something, and not have to download anything. I want to just click play, then sit back and relax. Well don’t fret, because we have a pretty darn good solution in place!

When you buy your copy of the audiobook (or a signed paperback), you will get access to a special section of the website where you can use this nifty streaming gadget. All 20 sections are uploaded and ready, backed by the best DigitalOcean servers that an independently published author can manage. It’s fast, too, we tested it on Wi-Fi and 4G mobile data and it loaded in less than a second each time.

Completing this project is a big one for me, since audio has always been an important part of what I want to offer to my readers and listeners. The first time I ever read the book out loud to anyone, other than my family, was at the LegendHaven conference way back in 2023! I don’t think the book had actually even come out yet, but it was still fun to share it with the few people who were willing to stick around in the afternoon and listen to me.

It also marks an important shift in how we’re going to be handling audio for stories that already exist in print. If you’ve listened to any of the Frontier Flora stories, and read along to find out how to spell the names of the beasts, you’ve seen that I read exactly what’s on the screen, word for word, including mechanical components like dialogue tags. For Paper & Feathers, I decided to change things up a bit.

The amazing audio epic 1232 was adapted from a novel that the narrator and producer wrote, and she reads it directly as it was written. This allows for character asides and internal dialogue that wouldn’t be possible in a traditional “radio drama” where the only things you hear are what characters are speaking aloud. That is the model in the audio productions of the Merry Beggars, with no narrator, just dialogue.

P&F follows a hybrid model of sorts. Before recording I went through the original text and edited it a bit, removing dialogue tags (Ahlden said, Reya said) and a few of the indicative clauses that I had added to make it clear who was actually speaking in a given line. Since each character has such a distinctive voice, I thought it would slow things down and clutter the flow if the narrator was always indicating who had just said something. After all, when Ahlden is talking with Curator Bosna over a compass conference, there’s no mistaking which line belongs to which character! The rest of the narrator’s descriptions of the characters’ thoughts and feelings all remain.

I still can’t believe today is actually here. If you listen to the audiobook, let me know what you think! You can leave a comment here or send me an email. Even better, tell someone you know who enjoys low-stakes stories with a slow pace and uniquely detailed fantasy worlds. That’s how everything works best around here. Enjoy the rest of your day!

This is the one hundred and fourth installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season. It’s also the beginning of 2026, which is pretty neat!

The beginning of the new year is a common time for authors to reflect on everything they did over the last 365 days, and I will not disappoint in that regard. But I also like to look ahead to the future, and what we have in store. Let’s start from the top!

• January

  • To celebrate the 800th anniversary of St. Thomas Aquinas’ death, I recorded a narrated version of The Bellowing of the Ox, my unstuck-in-time fanfiction take on his life.

The Bellowing of the Ox- Narrated

St. Thomas Aquinas Fanfiction, now with audio!

dispatch.zmthomas.com/p/bellowing-narrated

• February

  • It snowed a lot, and I mean a LOT, at the beginning of the year. We got stranded at home for a little while, but everything got sorted out in the end.

  • Fellow author Allison Ramirez and I sat down for a chat about lots of things, like Catholicism, creativity, and of course gardening. You can find it below.

Seeds of the gardener - the simple life of the creative

My latest podcast episode with author Zephyr Thomas released today. Have a listen!

authorallisonramirez.substack.com/p/seeds-of-the-gardener-the-simple

• March

  • When I first started this whole author newsletter thing, I began by using Mailerlite, but stopped after only a few posts and moved to Zoho Campaigns instead. I kept up a bi-monthly schedule with the usual topics being life outside at our wild property, the indoor writing life, and the group author promotions that became the staple of my new subscribers for quite a while. I didn’t really post much on my Substack site, using it instead for stories and collaborating with other authors. Around this time last year, I got the crazy idea of posting something new on Substack every single day. And I did, naming it West Wind, after myself, and by extension the hope that I have been tasked to bring into the world. And it went well! We’re now 104 posts in, so very close now! I’m still working on a way to get the content from the old newsletter in a form for new readers to peruse through, so stay tuned for that if you’re interested.

• April

  • End Quote Save Lives earned itself an audio version too, letting fans who weren’t there at the LegendHaven reading find out how to pronounce the names of the characters!

  • The Avalon Lost audiobook was released! This was a fun project to work on, and I came away with a great appreciation for the Welsh dialect, and Northern Scottish too.

Avalon Lost: A YA Fantasy Adventure Novel (Audible Audio Edition)

Amazon.com: Avalon Lost: A YA Fantasy Adventure Novel (Audible Audio Edition): Mary Rose Kreger, Zephyr Thomas, Mary Rose Kreger: Books

www.amazon.com/Avalon-Lost-Fantasy-Adventure-Novel/dp/B0F2R1L94X

• May

  • The wild world of Frontier Flora got a new installment, the first to be enhanced with not only narration, but also music and sounds too! A wacky little tale about borrowed cocoa and spoiled food, Salty & Sweet Don’t Mix joined the rodeo last Spring.

Salty & Sweet Don't Mix

Postal carrier, Gastrologer, and detective, Jenie Davenport wears quite a few hats, but with her faithful Turnipig, there's not much she can't handle out there on the Frontier.

www.worldanvil.com/w/frontier-flora-zmthomas/a/salty-26-sweet-don-t-mix-prose

• June

  • The West Wind changed direction, as it is like to do, and the publication moved from Substack to right here, part of the Beehiiv newsletter service. While there are benefits and drawbacks to both platforms, so far the change has been a beneficial one.

  • Despite the accordion being my favorite instrument, I never knew that June is actually Accordion Awareness month! In order to raise more awareness about the fabulous squeezebox, I featured one of my favorite tracks most of the days in the month. You can check out all of them below, too.

Accordion Awareness Month 2025

Implying it will happen again?

dispatch.zmthomas.com/p/accordion-awareness-month-2025

• July

  • ZMT Books had its first private sales event! It wasn’t public, since it was the summer camp for my son’s school, and it was really just ZT books since Michelle wasn’t there. But it was still wildly successful, as I sold every single copy I carried across the country to Kansas with me, and even a few more that I didn’t even exist yet and had to be printed and mailed. Wow!

  • We also moved away from our wild patch of grass and trees and into a different patch of grass and trees, but one much closer to the places we need to be, like church and town. Our family put in three years of our lives there, which made it hard to leave, but ultimately it was for the best.

• August, September, October

  • These months were a bit slower. Creatively, I focused on getting Florabeasts regularly posted every week, along with a West Wind article of some kind. The daily posts from earlier in the year just weren’t working out, so things got a bit more relaxed.

• November

  • Then they ramped back up again! In November I took a month-long vacation from work and focused almost exclusively on writing and recording, which was a lot of fun. I participated in the November writing challenges for ProWritingAid, World Anvil, and Inkwells & Anvils, which sounds like it would be overwhelming, but the goals largely overlapped.

  • Counterbalance had a strong showing this month, with 15,000 words written. I attempted to lure readers to my fledgling supporter membership by promising early access to those who signed up, but that just doesn’t seem to be what my readers want. So, I’ll need to come up with a different way to get it to my devoted readers. Stay tuned to find out what that is!

  • Frontier Flora closed out the year with a new short story, not to mention seventy total articles in the Floradex! Nearly all of those wacky little critters have been revealed, which is just fabulous.

Squall on the Prairie Sea

One family's journey across the vast empty plain, the storms they weather, and the hopes they hold on to.

www.worldanvil.com/w/frontier-flora-zmthomas/a/squall-on-the-prairie-sea-prose

• December

  • ZMT Books had its first public sales event! Everyone was in attendance this time, including the cover artist of Vivi and the All-Lands Tournament, and we sold seven books and one CD. Quite the accomplishment.

Let’s go over the numbers next! That’s always fun.

zmthomas.com enjoyed 1,432 views, among 861 unique visitors. I hope you enjoyed your stay while you were there!

store.zmthomas.com had 5,236 window shoppers. Thanks for taking the time to look around!

 zmthomas.substack.com, the old Extraordinary Seasons, was viewed 12,958 times. That’s significantly more than the main website!

World Anvil doesn’t give my tier of user very good stats, and since there are WAY more articles now than there were at the end of last year, I can only confidently say that I am blown away by the 27,000 pageviews that my author profile reports. That seems to be the place to be!

Beehiiv also doesn’t give me very good reporting info, but I can say that if you’re reading this, you’re one of the 718 amazing people who have shown your interest in our work as of this day, and for that I am incredibly grateful.

This year, 21 paperback copies of Octave of Stars found their way into the hands of readers across the country. Paper & Feathers made a strong showing with 13 hardcover volumes redistributed, and we can’t forget our 9 younger readers who are now proud owners of Vivi & the All-Lands Tournament.

In a strange twist, absolutely zero ebook copies of any of those three were sold this year. Readers seem to want hard copies, and I am more than ready to provide those. At least 246 ebook copies were distributed through BookFunnel author promotions, and since I didn’t record any data after August of this year and have already shut down my account with the service, there were probably a few more.

I would also like to point out that absolutely none of these books were sold on or through Amazon. 11 were sold through the Payhip storefront, and 3 were through catholiclights.com. While that certainly isn’t the same volume as a new Amazon release, keep in mind that all three books are now entering their third year of publication, so that’s pretty darn good!

That’s the year behind, so what about the year ahead? Some big changes are coming, let me tell you. First of all, the old Substack site has been shut down as far as I can without removing it entirely. The only things still on there are the old serial releases of Octave and V-ALT. And, to commemorate Octave’s third birthday this month, it’s going to be re-published on World Anvil, in the same format with embedded music and memes! V-ALT will follow shortly afterwards. But they aren’t set in the same world, are they?

World Anvil organizes content into different worlds, which makes perfect sense. Right now, Frontier Flora is the only world under my profile, but the Torchmouth Saga is going to go live very soon. That will bring Octave to the fore, along with Dreadful Evening. The Euphony of Seasons world will appear shortly afterwards, with Paper & Feathers finally getting a web release again since it was taken down from Campfire last year.

So where does V-ALT end up? I could do a Girl and Her Griffon world, but there aren’t really enough stories in the Raryverse to warrant such a thing. Not to mention, where would I put EQSL, Nestled, and any other one-off tale I come up with?

The fourth world to round out the balance of my World Anvil presence will be called Extraordinary Seasons. Wait, isn’t that the name of this newsletter, inherited from Substack? Not any more. With stories actually being posted to World Anvil instead of on this site, the only things I’ve been posting here are the weekly West Wind entries and the monthly ZMT Dispatch summaries. So, it makes sense to just call this publication West Wind from now on, and do away with the monthly summary newsletters. I’ll still post cool books and soundtrack albums as I encounter them, but the flow of the newsletter will change somewhat as we move actual story content to a different platform.

As always, there’s even more that I want to share, but this is plenty for today. If you’ve read this far, what are some of your plans or goals for this next year? 

Enjoy the weekend, and remember that all is well.

This is the one hundred and third installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season. It’s also six days away from Christmas!

Hey I know those people!

Candy gets people’s attention! Last weekend Michelle and I were successful in running a small booth where we sold copies of each of our three published books, plus a little CD containing the six narrated short stories. And it went well! I got to meet many people from the community and outside of it. Welcome to all those who agreed to sign up for this mailing list newsletter thing.

But, it was almost not so. I said earlier that the story of why was for another post, and this is the one. First, though, let’s explore a different kind of story.

Speaking of amazing stories, have you heard of the Wingless Cycle by Catherine Witzaney? It's an award-winning epic fantasy series for readers aged 9-14 about tiny warrior sprites and all the antics they get up to. When wingless sprite Asher Songfeather realizes the only way to save his sister is to face his greatest fears, he learns what true bravery looks like. But is he brave enough to save himself?

The first book Wingless won the 2025 Realm Award in the Early Reader to Middle Grade category, along with an Award of Merit from the Word Awards. Fancy! The sequel, Clanless is now available, and books 3 and 4 of the series are currently in the works. While I haven’t yet had the opportunity to read them myself, I have heard great things about the books from both adult and younger readers, and you can’t beat that kind of approval. You can find out more info about the series by visiting Catherine's website at catherinewitzaney.com

So, this tale starts all the way back in Dispatch #59. After selling all of his books, plus some he didn’t even have on hand, our intrepid author found himself in need of replenishment. However, he could handle any subsequent orders through print-on-demand fulfillment, so it wasn’t completely necessary to get more right away.

August turned into October, and the email came in confirming that we would have a booth at the Christmas Market at our church. Hooray! Only thing was, no books. I wanted to make a few changes to the front and end-matter in each title, and after ordering proof copies to make sure the changes looked good, I realized that the changes hadn’t changed at all.

Each of the three books were the same as the previous versions that I had ordered. In fact, they were the same as the original versions, that I had originally printed almost two years prior. None of the updates or tweaks (or typo fixes) that I had been submitting had actually occurred in the copies we’d been getting. I had been immediately turning around and selling them, so didn’t scrutinize each copy, and the only person who would have noticed in the first place was me, so I just let it go. Time was ticking, so I placed an order on November 22, thinking that would be plenty of time to get some copies on hand and sell a few at the market. Satisfied, I forgot about it.

Cut ahead to December 7, when I realized that the books hadn’t actually shipped out yet. Whoops. I contacted customer service for the printer, no response. Each day I say to Michelle: “If they ship out today, we’ll be fine, they’ll get here in time.” Each day, no luck.

Tuesday was panic day. We started going through other options, like printing copies at home and spiral binding them at the local print shop, and calling around to the few companies in the area that claim to do book printing. One had a minimum order of 50, one would take three weeks, another went out of business completely and didn’t update their website. One I couldn’t even reach, the phone just rang. No voicemail or anything. Michelle pointed out it was lunchtime, so they were probably away from the phone. Fair enough.

Nothing seemed like it was working. We were out of options. I was sitting down to type out the email to the market coordinators to regretfully tell them that we weren’t able to attend, when my phone buzzed because it was done charging. I picked it up to unplug it, and remembered that I hadn’t actually reached one of the printers on the list. It was the middle of the afternoon at this point, so, I went ahead and gave them a call.

I was floored to find out that not only could they print a small run of 21 books, but also have them done in two days. Totally shocked. Sure, their facility was an hour and a half drive away and I would need to take time off work to go get them, but that was nothing compared to actually being able to attend the event after all! I closed that email draft and started working on a quote and sending them files. What an absolute God moment, coming through for us when I had resigned ourselves to a less than favorable outcome. Juan Diego was pulling for us, as it was his feast day.

But the story isn’t over yet. The very next day I got an email that the first order of books had finally shipped. Kind of good, but the market was in three days and there was no way it would make it to us in time. The local printer was printing away, and I was supposed to go get them on Friday, the day before the market. No matter the snow that had just fallen on Thursday, they do a good job of clearing roads around here. Everything was going great.

Friday morning, I got an email that the books would be delivered that day. No way. If we had just waited, we would have had books to sell without having to do a second order. Well, that’s the kind of thinking I like to put in the Bitcoin folder. If I had just mined some more Bitcoin on my old laptop in 2012 (for free), I could have sold it for $80,000 today and been rich. But how could I have possibly known it would ever get that out of hand high?

I got back from my adventure with a fresh box of books, and not two hours later the UPS driver arrived with another one. Joy! Double the books to sell at the event the next day. But wait, what about all of those issues where all of my changes didn’t get implemented? What manner of books are these? Is the blurb from Katie Bogner prominently on the back cover of Octave?

You don’t have to wait til next week to find out, reader, I’ll tell you right now. They were all correct. We had twice as many books as we had originally ordered, plus a few extras that the local printer threw in because of cutting and trimming and such. So… wow. God provided so much for us in so many ways, and now the warehouse (storage box) is fully stocked and ready to send out signed copies to readers for the next year, and then some.

Sorry, no more room for a Florabeast this week, but you can browse the Floradex anytime you please, and maybe find one you’ve never heard of before. Winter is almost here, so enjoy the new Season, and the weekend, and remember that all is well.

This is the one hundred and second installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe! I feel especially connected to this celebration because it is what eventually led to me being here writing for you today! As someone with Mexican ancestry, I am directly impacted by the actions of St. Juan Diego (whose feast day was on Tuesday) and what he did to solidify Catholicism in the area where he lived.

One of the primary miracles of Our Lady of Guadalupe was causing roses to grow in the middle of Winter, and not only that but a variety that was only found in Spain at the time. We could use some of that right now, as we just got another load of snow dumped on us.

I’m off to the printer to get the books to sell at an event tomorrow, so I’ll leave you with a thematically appropriate Florabeast! No one knows who first decided to get on the backs of these these thorny creatures and try to ride them, but I’m sure the pioneers are glad they did. Let’s ride off into the snowy sunset, and no matter what your weather is like, be sure to enjoy your weekend.

Photo by the author

This happens every year. It isn’t Winter yet, but it sure feels like it. A recent blast of snow has left us out in the cold, as it were, with no end in sight. But like with all things, there is always hope. This is the ZMT Dispatch for December, your monthly recap of everything that’s been going lately with this crazy self-publishing journey of ours. This post is only visible on the web if you’re logged in, but don’t worry, it’s free.

The biggest and most exciting news that I have to share is that the Paper & Feathers audiobook is rapidly nearing completion! This is the first audiobook that I’ve produced for myself, not the first one overall, having already done Avalon Lost for Mary Rose Kreger. Narrating that book felt like a training exercise for this one, since I learned so much about narrating and recording, mixing and mastering, and all those skills will carry over into my future productions. Like this one!

The store page is currently active with a preorder, so you can get signed up to be one of the first to get it when it’s all done and ready. You can even listen to the first section right there on the page, how neat?

Currently you’ll be getting a digital download, and I have plans for some fun physical editions too, so keep an eye out for something fun to put on your CD shelf. Do people still have CD shelves? I have drawers, which are pretty close.

Outside- Gardening, nature, life

We are officially in the dark place. School was canceled for both of my kids during the recent storm, which was a little odd. Instead of just having the day off for fun, they make the kids do all their online coursework from home instead of from a school building. Since they were both homeschooled/schooled at home for many years, it wasn’t too difficult, but still odd.

Photo by the author

Photo by the author

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There are no author promotions in this issue. There will not be any more, in the future, either. After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to end the BookFunnel service that has been the backbone of my author journey for almost three years. While I got a lot of exposure through the group promo system and added almost all of you to my mailing list through it, there just hasn’t been the amount of engagement and retention that I was hoping for. So, let’s remember those that came before.

The other primary function of BookFunnel was delivery of ebooks to readers when they buy a copy at the main store. The idea was great; provide downloadable copies plus a cloud reader, very nice and easy to use. The problem is, no one is buying any (of my) ebooks. The majority of my business for the past several years has been physical book sales, which BookFunnel doesn’t really contribute anything to.

But wait, you may say, BookFunnel also distributes audiobooks, so why aren’t you using that feature too? Because the additional cost doesn’t justify the benefit, especially when I can do most of it myself.

Throughout my entire author journey, I’ve walked a line between using other companies and website’s services, or hosting it on my own. As a software developer by trade, I have the skills to set up nearly everything that’s required for publishing and sharing my books, but often choose to use another service because it’s easier and faster. But not always cheaper.

Going forward, all ebooks and audiobooks will be hosted and delivered by me. If you need help reading them or loading them onto your device, let me know, and I will help. Considering the volume of ebooks I sell, this will not be a hard promise to keep.

If you have a copy of Octave of Stars, Paper & Feathers, or Vivi & the All-Lands Tournament in your BookFunnel library, don’t worry, as they will all remain there. If you decide to support our mission and buy a deluxe ebook, you’ll get links for the files to download them directly.

Inside- Writing, reading, other stuff

The beginning of November seems so far away, but it has finally come to an end. Four weeks of vacation was something I haven’t ever been able to do, so it was a welcome addition to this Season. And how did it go?

The final word count for Counterbalance in the Novel November 50,000 word challenge was:

15,718. That is significantly more than I had written before the beginning of the month, but a lot less than I had hoped to get. When drafting Octave of Stars, I was able to crank out 3,000 words in a couple of hours before the kids woke up, but this time I was usually hitting 1,500 for the whole day. One of the biggest reasons, I think, is because people in Euphony of Seasons just can’t say no.

One of my favorite features of the stories is the way people talk. I don’t have the time or energy to come up with a whole new fantasy language, so I just make people talk funny instead. If you’ve read Paper & Feathers, you’ll remember Miss Iedori’s Irish lilting cowboy slang, and Marlius’ very odd way of speaking. Even the kindly kitchenmaster Yurahn has a distinct dialect. Each of those characters hail from a different region, so their differences in dialect are reflected in the way they talk. Characters like Ahlden and Reya are local, from the country of Alcabast, but they aren’t considered “normal” by any means.

The Alcabasian language doesn’t include the word “no” or “not.” The simplest way to write Ahlden’s response would have been like this:

Oh, did I mention the other rule about no contractions? That makes it even more fun. Instead of sounding very stiff and LOTR, I have to come up with ways to make dialogue sound natural and like I’m not just un-contracting words whenever I see them. And, people don’t ask yes-or-no questions, they either ask something open-ended or give two or more possibilities for the respondent to choose from, thereby eliminating the need to say no. All of those rules make it so I have to think a lot about each line before I write it. Fortunately the narrator isn’t bound by the rules, that would be absolutely nuts.

There are 10 chapters of Counterbalance released on the CSL membership portal, and if you sign up you can still read them. Unfortunately, the membership is something else that will soon be left by the wayside, as there just hasn’t been the response or interest that I was hoping for. But don’t fret, CB and many other stories will still find their way to you.

If your inbox was too flooded with Black Friday emails and you missed this one, the latest and greatest Frontier Flora story has been unleashed! Squall on the Prairie Sea is the tale of one family's journey across the vast empty plain, the storms they weather, and the hopes they hold on to. It’s narrated and ready for your listening ears, and it also came along with a whole host of new Floradex entries. The Sasquash, Foxalis, Wheatzel, Broccoleap, Peachtridge, Yarrowl, and Wolfwood all made their debuts, plus one un-savory sandwich monster, the Croc Monsieur. Add that to the pirifom Pearakeet, and last month was a bumper crop of Florabeasts to be sure.

I have even more to share with you all, but as Reya would say (and did), we lack the time. Winter is almost here for real, so make the most of these last dreamy days of Autumn before we enter into the Long Sleep. Is it naptime yet? Almost, but all is certainly well.

Photo by the author

This is the one hundred and first installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

Happy post-Thanksgiving, everyone! I’m sure you’ve been inundated with Black Friday for the past several weeks now, and are probably sick of anything to do with spending money right now. The reality is that businesses can make anywhere from 25-40% of their sales for the entire year in just these next few days, so it’s understandable that they want to make sure they get it right and and be heard over all the other noise. As an independent creator and small business owner, I get where they’re coming from.

But I’m not going to offer you any huge discounts, mind-blowing sales, or anything like that. Since I make all of my stories freely available, it’s very hard to convince people to pay for them unless they are on board with the mission of clean, family-friendly entertainment. About the only things that I sell regularly are paper books, and because of some confusion with my printing service, I will be completely out of stock for this yearly retail event.

Another product that I’ve always wanted to make available are audiobooks. I’ve done many narrated stories of my own and one full audiobook for another author, but narrating my own novel-length stories is one of the most exciting projects I get to work on. And now, we are one step closer to that reality.

Way back at the beginning of November I hinted that Counterbalance might not be the only project that I was working on, and that was perfectly true. The audiobook edition of Paper & Feathers is nearing completion, and is slated to be released in the next two weeks! You’ll be able to finally enjoy all of the slow-paced awkward contemplation of a fussy librarian, and hear how to pronounce the names of all the things!

You won’t be able to find it on Audible, Apple, Spotify, or any of the other major platforms, it will only be available on the ZMT Bookstore, which means it will have no DRM and be downloadable to your phone, computer, or offline listening device. Great for car trips!

And, because I am thankful for all of my readers and subscribers, of which there are now many more than I had ever dreamed of, I am giving you all a gift this BFCMSBSGT or whatever. The first chapter of the audio version of Paper & Feathers, for your listening pleasure. Is it thrilling and exciting? Will it grab your attention in the first five sentences?

Nope. It’s “a still pool with shafts of sunlight lazily penetrating deeper and deeper… yet not reaching the bottom.” This isn’t literary fast food, it’s a thoughtful meal. And the main course will be served up very soon.¹

Yeehaw! It’s that time again, buckaroos and buckarettes, for the latest and greatest in Frontier technology: a new short story!

I’ve mentioned it a few times here and there, but it is finally ready for you all to feast your senses on.

🎧HEAR: the full 35+ minute narration with music, sound effects, harmonicas, and rabbit squeaks!

👀SEE: the full-color illustrations provided by the fantastically talented Michelle Thomas. The four critters you see above, plus more!

📑READ: the expertly-crafted text, with quick link references to any and all Florabeasts, Gasts, or whatever you want to learn more about. This world is just too big to relate in 6,000 words!

And, you can have it all in just one click!

Squall on the Prairie Sea

One family’s journey across the vast empty plain, the storms they weather, and the hopes they hold on to.

www.worldanvil.com/w/frontier-flora-zmthomas/a/squall-on-the-prairie-sea-prose

The text and audio will be available exclusively on World Anvil, because that’s just the best way to do it. Trying to keep things in sync between here, there, and everywhere is just too much. I can link to the beasts here, but it isn’t the same experience. Besides, you have to click on a link in your email to hear the audio anyway, so why not have you go to the story article instead?

This piece was my entry into the Inkwells & Anvils Sore Must Be The Storm anthology, and as you would know if you owned it, Squall didn’t make the cut this year. I was disappointed, not only because getting into anthologies is a great way to share my work with new people, but also because it is just so on-brand with what I am trying to do.

One of the main themes of the anthology was hope, which is built right into my name! It’s also a major theme in the Wild Arms series, which Frontier Flora derives much of its existence from. I was hoping it would make it in, since it would have been an excellent follow-up from A Christmas Corral last year, but sadly I only gave myself a couple of weeks to work on Squall instead of the months that were provided.

Never fear, though, the beauty of self-publishing is that I can release whatever I like however I like it. And this is how we like it. Michelle and I have spent the past several weeks drawing out all the critters in great detail, and recording, mixing and mastering the audio to make this a true multimedia experience. When including all of the extra lore and articles that go into a single story, there’s a whole lot more work than just copy and pasting it into a newsletter client, picking a stock photo for the header and sending it on its way.

Speaking of lore, this release marks 70 (!) total Florabeast articles that have been published in just the past year. That’s nearly all of Generation 1 out there in the world, which is just so very exciting. It also means it’s time to rotate the pasture and let the garden rest for a while. This will be the last short story for at least a few seasons, and not just until another anthology comes along.

So please take some time and check it out! Listen to the story as you read, or just close your eyes and lift the curtain on the theater of the mind. Learn more about whatever Florabeasts tickle your fancy, too. However your experience, I’m hopeful that you’ll enjoy it.

This is the one hundredth installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season. Today is also not Friday the 13th, which is great! Not that I’m superstitious or anything…

It’s that time of the week again for a lore drop from that wacky wild-west world Frontier Flora! This week is pretty special, since I don’t normally share beasts that are featured in upcoming stories, to keep the effect of the mega-drop when the new story comes out. But this one is just too good to keep in the corral.

A little sour but still adorable, this week’s beast is up and ready for the hunt. Plus, it stood still long enough for our talented camp artist to make a gorgeous portrait of it. You know you want to check it out now, right?

But that’s not all! The next FF short story still needs more work to be fully ready, so it won’t be coming out today as you might have guessed from last post. Turns out trying to do three different creative projects at once isn’t feasible, even when I have “all day” to work on them!

The wind blows where it wills, though, so I’ve put up a special preview of Squall on the Prairie Sea on World Anvil. You might have read it before, but it’s better than ever. Check it out and enjoy!

The primary project this month is still Counterbalance, and it’s still happening! Six posts are up now, with two more on the way.

I wanted to use the fancy counter from ProWritingAid, but it turns out I wasn’t counting my words right and the meter wouldn’t have moved between last post and now. We’re up to 10,200 words total, and going strong. Find out what all the fun is about by pledging your support today.

That’s all for today! Enjoy the weekend and stay in touch.

This is the ninety-ninth installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season. Today is also Veteran’s Day, so take a minute to thank anyone you know who has made that honorable and unenviable sacrifice to serve their country.

I’m not going to discuss Veteran’s Day today, but rather that most difficult of November events, Black Friday. You’ve probably been getting emails from all your favorite stores and marketers promising unbelievable deals and savings, and you might be a little worn out by now. But it hasn’t even started yet!

This cavalcade of commerce only begins with Black Friday, transitioning into Small Business Saturday, where you are supposed to spend money on independent products instead of the major megastores you visited the previous day. Then there’s Sunday, when no one spends money (right?), and the next week starts off with Cyber Monday, when you spend money online, as though you haven’t been doing that the whole time.

Next is Giving Tuesday, when you feel bad about all the money you just spent on yourself, and should then spend more by donating it to charities instead of getting more stuff. And then you have to start on Christmas shopping right afterward!

It’s rough, I understand. Now is the time when independent authors and creators like myself are supposed to be planning holiday sales and promotions as well. The problem is, though, I have a hard time running sales since all of my stories are available for free. I have fair luck selling paper copies of my books every few months, but margins on them are so thin I can’t really discount them a whole lot. I can give away ebooks for free, but I do that all the time anyway. What I can do, though, is offer my loyal readers a gift.

I want you to be able to read fresh new chapters of Counterbalance, right off the vine as they ripen. So far, I haven’t had many takers on this offer, so I’m prepared to open the gates of the garden a little wider for a short while.

By filling out the form below, you can claim a coupon code that will get you one (1) month of access to the ZMT Books Community Supported Literature membership portal¹  absolutely free. You’ll be able to download DRM-free copies of every published story, including MP3 audio files for narrated stories, which aren’t downloadable at their story pages. As of this writing, there are four chapters of Counterbalance to read, with three more on the way. Oh, and the ranch boss says there’ll be a new Frontier Flora story very soon too.

There are ten of these complimentary slots available, and only for readers who are already subscribed as of the time this email goes out. If you’re brand new, welcome! You can get your seat through the regular means.

So, if you’re interested in reading the newest Euphony of Seasons story as it’s written, or just want some free books, click buttons and make it happen. I’ll see you in the garden!

If the button isn’t working, click here instead

Fancy counter provided by ProWritingAid’s Novel November

The story is coming right along! The good parts are just about to begin, too. Pick it up today and have less reading to catch up on!

This is the ninety-eighth installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

Photo by the author

That’s the moon, alright! Though the full moon was officially on Wednesday, it’s still 94% illuminated, which is a pretty good percentage. It’s been huge and orange every day here for the past few days, and because of our schedule I get to see it when taking the kids to school in the morning and when we’re out in the evening too.

Photo by the author, without the spooky tree in the way

My primary, best camera is a Canon Powershot SX720HS. It takes pretty good pictures of the moon, but only at its full 40x optical zoom and with a tripod. I have to be quick, too, since the darn thing moves so quickly. I’ll have it centered for the first shot and tighten down the tripod’s knobs, then by the third or fourth shot it’s moved out of center, like you see above. I think the alignment is aesthetically pleasing, though I can see how it might drive some people crazy.

I’m grateful that I have a camera that can handle the task, too, since my older secondary camera, a Powershot SX260, just can’t. This is what it looked like from the side of the road before I got home:

Photo by the author

Admittedly, that was without a tripod, just leaning up against the side of the car, but the SX260 only has 20x optical zoom, and let’s face it, the moon is just really really far away! The higher the zoom, the better the pictures. Unless of course you have the newest Samsung phone…

Samsung responds to fake moon photo accusations, says it 'does not apply any image overlaying'

Samsung weighs in on Moongate

www.tomsguide.com/news/samsung-responds-to-fake-moon-photo-accusations-says-it-does-not-apply-any-image-overlaying

There was a controversy a few years ago where a photographer claimed that if you took a picture of the moon using a special photo setting on your Samsung phone, it would use AI to improve the image and make it sharper and neater. This logically makes sense, since while the moon may be far away, it doesn’t change a whole lot, so any picture taken of it anywhere in the world should be the same, right?

The problem was that people were expecting their phones to capture an accurate image of the celestial orb, and they just can’t do that very well. The claims were true, Samsung admitted to doing just that. Of course, you can turn off that setting or whatever, but most people don’t dig that deeply into the settings on their devices and just take their results at face value. Which leads to an unrealistic view of the world in general.

Florabeasts are pretty unrealistic, too, but at least you know that going into it. The fruit this week’s beast derives from isn’t very Autumnal, but it can be enjoyed year-round. Especially if you make it into a cider. The fruit, not the Florabeast.

Yesterday I officially announced Counterbalance, and wouldn’t you know it, I already thought of another FAQ to add to the list. I’ve updated the main article and I’ll put it here too.

Do I need to have read Paper & Feathers before this story?

No, but. Each Euphony story is self-contained, with separate characters and plotlines. This is why I keep saying that Counterbalance is the second book in the series, NOT Book 2. However, if you have read P&F, you’ll pick up on some interesting details that you might miss otherwise…

There are currently three posts available through the CSL supporter portal, over 4000 words of the monthly goal, and lots more on the way. It’s not too late to join, so check it out and be among the first to read the story!

In the country of Alcabast, magic is neither deep nor mysterious, in fact it’s quite useful for daily life. Terrible creatures do roam the forests, but a sharp blade and a cool head will see you through. Steam-powered skycraft transport people and goods through the clouds, provided they remain current on their permits. Neighboring countries cooperate for trade and peace. Well, mostly...

Sel spent her life hunting for meat, but now she hunts for the perfect street corner to bring in a crowd. Life as a traveling minstrel is different, but the alternative is far worse. What she’s really hunting for is a place where she can finally be free.

Lierza has never had trouble making decisions, but following through with them is always much harder. When she runs away from her only home, she has no idea what sort of consequences she'll bring on herself, or on those around her.

A fateful encounter will tangle them both together and propel them onwards and downwards, into a brilliant mess of danger and intrigue, pursuit and escapes. One is guided by Fate, the other by her Celestial Queen. What path will they find themselves on?

Enter a rich, vibrant world where technology and nature are integrated, benevolent spirits walk among mortals, and all life is important. Experience everyday, slice-of-life fantasy in the second book of the Euphony of Seasons series.

Counterbalance is the newest story in the Euphony of Seasons series, set on the charming noblebright world of Laviere, where the technology to recycle nearly any matter into its basic elemental components has all but eliminated the competition for resources. Another hallmark of the series is the low-stakes (personal stakes) nature of the conflict, so no world-spanning quests to defeat ancient evil here. Just the struggles of everyday people, despite their natures being very extraordinary.

One of my favorite parts of Euphony is how each story examines a different aspect of the world, slowly revealing more and more of the bigger picture as you go. I’ve likened it to a tapestry, where every thread works together to make up the whole. In one story you get to see a little bit of life over here, and in another, a completely different angle.

Paper & Feathers was a quiet, melancholy reflection on life and the effects that sudden change can have on a person. Scarlet Cavaliers will be a raucous comedy about a troupe of traveling performers and all the zany antics they get into along the way.

That leaves Counterbalance to even the scales as a tragedy, but not in the traditional sense. It deals with themes like the purpose of death, living with disabilities, and moving from adolescence to adulthood. All set against a backdrop of mystery and mistaken identities, decorated with action and excitement.

That’s not to say it will be all serious, though. Sel is the grumpy half of the pair, but she has a sardonic wit and doesn’t hesitate to use it. Once Lierza feels a little more comfortable with her new situation, she starts trading barbs in kind. Humor is an important part of every story, this one included.

And now for some details about the writing and publishing process, formatted in an entertaining FAQ format! I’m trying something different with this story, releasing an early access version to supporters as I write it, and taking their feedback into consideration when needed. Early access posts began November 1st, 2025, and will continue until it’s done.

How long is this thing supposed to be, anyway?

The last draft of the story that I finished in 2020 (!) is 33,000 words in length, so about 2/3 the length of Paper & Feathers. By the outline I have mapped out, it should end up at about 50-60K words again. At 2K words per chapter, and 5 days per week, the alpha version should run for about six weeks. So definitely not a 1000 page epic novel.

What formats will it be released in when it’s done?

While I really wanted this story to have a triple-deluxe release (paper, audio, and digital), it’s more likely that it will be double-super instead. My audio pipeline will be full for most of next year, so trying to get even a standard audio version probably won’t happen. But, paper copies will be ready right out of the chute, unlike the last three books!

• If you buy a paper copy (most likely hardcover) you’ll get the audio version (when it’s ready) and ebook for free.

• If you buy the audiobook, you’ll get both the “immersive” edition with music and sound effects alongside the narration, and a “vanilla” edition with just the narration. Some people prefer one over the other, so both will be included as DRM-free music files. You’ll also get the ebook.

• If you buy the ebook, you can download it DRM-free to any device you like, or read it online. You’ll also get the bonus material, which will likely include the completed 2020 draft as well….

Every option will be available at store.zmthomas.com, since other marketplaces like Kobo and B&N don’t really seem to work out. Of course, if you remain a supporter until publishing time, you’ll get all the digital content included as part of your plan. AND, if you become a supporter during the early access period, you’ll get an ebook of the final version, even if you cancel later. How’s that for a deal?

Will I get the early version in my email inbox or do I have to open a tab to read it?

The full text of each chapter should be included in your email when it’s released. Your email client may truncate the message, but there will be a link to read the full version in the supporter portal.

Why are you using Payhip Memberships for supporters? I prefer Patreon/Ko-Fi/Subscribestar/Substack (etc).

I understand this concern. Some authors and creators try to cast as wide a net as possible when it comes to paid support, but the time involved in maintaining multiple platforms and making sure every one is in sync is outside of what I can commit to at this time. The Payhip store is already set up and all previous stories are already there.

Substack is a popular choice, but I moved away from that service a while ago and want to stick with this one, Beehiiv. I also didn’t choose to set up a paid subscription here on this newsletter because I can’t. Subscriber support is a premium feature for the Beehiiv platform, so it isn’t an option.

Will this story be family-friendly and safe for children like your other works?

Absolutely. Euphony of Seasons is designed for adults and older readers, since the style is purposefully dense and florid, and the themes require more life experience to fully appreciate, but it will still lack any excessive violence, real-world swearing, or inappropriate intimacy or relations.

Will there be illustrations in the book like with Paper & Feathers?

At this point, maybe. Both Michelle and I have to balance a full load of salaried and/or domestic work, school, social, and family life. She wants to provide more snapshot-style illustrations of various scenes in the book, and the more support we can get, paid and otherwise, the more likely we will be able to make it happen.

Do I need to have read Paper & Feathers before this story?

No, but. Each Euphony story is self-contained, with separate characters and plotlines. This is why I keep saying that Counterbalance is the second book in the series, NOT Book 2. However, if you have read P&F, you’ll pick up on some interesting details that you might miss otherwise…

So there you have it! I’m so excited to be working on this goofy yet tragic story, and I’m glad to have you all along for the journey. If you have more questions that I haven’t covered above, please reply or comment. Keep an eye out for free preview posts as well. Cheers!

Photo by the author

Can you believe the year is almost over? It’s hard to really wrap my head around sometimes, but here we are. There is also a lot of stuff to cover this issue, so let’s jump right into it. This is the ZMT Dispatch for October, your monthly recap of everything that’s been going in this crazy self-publishing journey. This post is only visible on the web if you’re logged in, but don’t worry, it’s free.

It’s been exactly one month since the previous newsletter came out, from the 3rd of October to the 3rd of November. And I will always remember the 3rd of November because it is an important day for many reasons. First of all, it’s the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, who was a Peruvian Dominican who lived around the year 1600. He’s become one of my personal patrons because of his mixed heritage, which I have as well, and because of his connection to animals, which led me to making him the patron saint of the entire Euphony of Seasons saga. The people in that world have many animal-like qualities, though I try hard to distinguish them from the “animal-people” that are prevalent in so many stories.

So, since Catholic authors roll with their feast days so closely, today is the second anniversary of Paper & Feathers! I can still remember staying up late at night to finish the bonus material the night before it was supposed to be released, and forgetting large portions of what I wanted to include. But now it’s out there for everyone to experience, that quirky, non-traditional tale of dinners and deadlines, which takes readers a while to get used to, and as soon as they do, they agree it’s worth the time to get to know it.

If you haven’t had a chance to read this slow-paced, slice-of-life fantasy misadventure, now is a great time to do so. And, if you have read it, please take a minute to share your opinions about the story on a public review site. It’s not on Amazon, but you can leave a note on Goodreads, BookBub, LibraryThing, or Storygraph.

I don’t normally ask for reviews because I’m not trying to master the algorithm and get my books to display higher in the search results or something. For my brand and self-publishing journey, reviews are really more of a way for me to get feedback on what I’m doing and what people think of it. Even just a quick star-rating is enough for me to know that someone has actually taken the time to read the story that I spent over 15 years developing and working on, and every reaction is valuable. Even if you didn’t really like it, I want to hear about it. Really.

Outside- Gardening, nature, life

It’s Autumn! It took a little while for the trees to really start turning because of the warmer weather from all the hurricanes, but that’s finally blown through and it’s getting chilly. That means the trees are putting on a fine display for all. I’ll just let the pictures say the rest.

Photo by the author

Photo by the author

Inside- Writing, reading, other stuff

This is it, the big one. I was able to secure time off work for the entire month of November, technically starting today. I had read somewhere that taking a sabbatical could be useful for creative types, and had wanted for a while to give it a try. The company that I work for assigns me to different projects with external companies as a sub-contractor, so when my previous project ended I knew it was my chance. And here we are! What am I going to do with basically the entire day to write and create? Glad you asked.

I’ve mentioned it before, and I’ll keep doing it, so don’t worry. Counterbalance is the next tale in the Euphony of Seasons series, set around the same time as Paper & Feathers, so you might pick up on a few little clues if you’ve read P&F already. I’ll have an official announcement post go out shortly, but until then, here’s the TL:DR-

• Low-stakes, personal-conflict based thriller adventure set in the garden fantasy world of Laviere. The two main characters are as different as can be, but when united by a common goal, they find a way to work together and maybe overcome some of their own struggles along the way.

• Alpha serial posts will go out every weekday starting very soon, but only for CSL supporters. There’s still plenty of time to get in on the daily feeds even after it’s begun.

• Paper, digital, and audio will all be available sometime during Summer of 2026.

• The story will be interesting enough for adults but safe for children, just like every work so far.

Is that the only thing I’m going to work on this month? Probably not, but you’ll have to wait until later to find out what else is on tap. There is a Frontier Flora story that’s still waiting in the chute, after all…

Speaking of Frontier Flora (speak for me, Ranger Doug), last month had a bumper crop of Florabeasts unveiled, including the royal Basil’isk, the wintry Medlark, the spicy Peppard, and the grinning Cucurbite. Check out any that you’ve missed!

What I’ve been reading I was privileged to be able to take part in the beta read for the next book in the Avalon Lost series, which will be seeing a full release next month on December 8th (which is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, I told you us Catholic authors stick to our feasts for release days). If you were a fan of the first book, either from reading it or listening to my one-man multi-cast recording, you’ll definitely enjoy this one too. There are currently no plans for an audiobook, but who knows what will happen in the future. It would be a gas to record this book, too, since besides the existing multi-ethnic cast, I would have to do the voice of a cursed dragon…

What I’ve been listening to Let’s face it, it’s always really, really hard to pick just one album for this month, but the award has to go to the soundtrack for Gravity Circuit. If Mega Man was part of your childhood, you’ll be right at home here, with modern chiptunes that sound both old and new at the same time. Check it out for some old-school fun.

That’s it for today! Gotta get back to writing, recording, and creating. Thank you all for being a part of this journey, and I hope to have much more to share with you soon. Enjoy the changing weather wherever you are, and as always, remember that all is well.

Photo by the author

This is the ninety-seventh installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

Photo from Pixabay, but with no user info. Uploaded by a ghost?

It’s also All Hallow’s Eve! This is the beginning of the triduum that makes up today, All Saints Day tomorrow and All Souls Day on Sunday. Tomorrow and Sunday are also Día(s) de Muertos in Mexico and other parts of the world, and since I claim Mexican heritage, it will be celebrated in our house too.

We set up an ofrenda somewhere prominent in our house, but don’t set out food or candy because our cats would re-create the scene from Coco where Dante gets up on the table and starts eating the offerings. Plus we don’t have a GF/DF/EF recipe for pan de muerto, so there you go.

It’s also time for our yearly rewatch of Coco, which is one of the best Día de Muertos movies out there. It’s also one of the only ones, the other being The Book of Life, both of which excel for entirely different reasons.

For most of my wife and I’s marriage, though, we didn’t celebrate it at all, mostly because the ofrenda would have only held one or two pictures. Almost all of my extended family was still alive, and on her side there weren’t many pictures of those that had passed. Then came a period of a few years where it seemed like death caught up to us, and more pictures were added every time it was set up. But, that is life, or rather, death, and that is why these few days are so important.

Tonight is also Halloween night, which is something else we haven’t done much in our family, mainly because candy has so many allergens that it just isn’t worth the effort of going out in the cold and dark.

Knowing that, though, helped us find the Teal Pumpkin Project, an initiative to hand out allergen-free treats and/or non-food tricks to visitors. We’ve chosen to do the latter for our All Saints Trunk-or-Treat at our church tomorrow, where a teal pumpkin container will be available for any child that needs something special. I know it’s a bit late for tonight, but consider doing something similar for your house or neighborhood, to give kids with allergies an opportunity to celebrate too.

And on top of all that, it’s Friday, too! I thought about writing up another Gast for today, since they’re very scary, but I decided to go with the quintessential Halloween vegetable for today’s Florabeast. No, not candy corn. Something much sweeter.

Very finally, it is almost NovNovemberEmberWords November, which means Counterbalance α will begin very very soon. I will be writing every day, to keep up that ideal 1,667 word pace, but will only release chapters five days a week. I also plan to let the West Wind blow at least three times per week too, which means you’ll be reading a lot more from me in the next little while.

The first two chapters will be free and posted here, each probably about 2-3K words. The third chapter will be a newsletter exclusive, meaning you’ll get it in your inbox but it won’t be posted publicly. And after that, you will need to be a CSL supporter to read the rest. You can join in anytime, and I hope you will! This project is going to be a lot of fun.

Have a fun and save evening, no matter what you’re up to. Enjoy the rest of your day!

This is the ninety-sixth installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

Alright! It is nearly the end of October, and you know what happens after October, right? November! In addition to being the month that begins with All Saints Day and ends with Thanksgiving, it is also traditionally the month that people write novels. Or at least, it has been for the last 26 years…

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) was started that long ago to help motivate people to write as a community during a normally slow month for outdoor activities (also probably because of the alliteration with novel and November). I’d known about it for a while, but never really found the motivation or reason to accept the challenge. Even after I started writing and publishing regularly, it just wasn’t something I made the time for. Then at the beginning of this year, and somewhat suddenly, the organization that managed and promoted NaNoWriMo disbanded.

And, since I am perpetually behind the latest trends, this is the year that I actually have time to complete the challenge! I decided to take a long-overdue sabbatical and enjoy the entire month of November off of work, so I’ll definitely be able to write 50,000 words, and likely even more. But what about that sense of communal progress and solidarity that comes with working with others? Fortunately, the other communities and groups I belong to have that covered.

Twitter tweet

Inkwells & Anvils is busy promoting their newest anthology, but will kick off an event next month that is pretty much the same as NaNoWriMo. I’m looking forward to participating with those crazy funsters.

World Anvil, which is the site that lets me keep all those rascally Florabeasts nice and organized for your reading pleasure, is also putting on a November writing challenge. I’ll get a shiny badge for my profile, because badges are always valuable!

And to round out the fun for the month, I’ll also be participating in a third novel writing challenge, which actually isn’t any more difficult than two, since I’ll be doing the same amount of work and benefiting multiple times.

ProWritingAid is a tool I’ve used in the past, and intend to use again, and they’re partnering with Scrivener, which is also a tool I’ve used in the past and intend to use again this month. Isn’t it funny how that works out? They’re also hosting some webinars with other authors that I’ll actually be able to attend for once. What fun.

So, with all of that out of the way, what is this going to mean for you, my dear readers? The opportunity for something new and exciting, that’s what!

The (writing) project I’ll be focusing on this next month is Counterbalance, the next tale in the Euphony of Seasons series. It’s a different kind of story than Paper & Feathers, with more action and intrigue, and less awkward politeness and self-reflection. It’s set in the same world as P&F, and I’ve been waiting to write and share it for a long time.

And, rather than waiting even longer to let you read it, I’m going to try a little experiment. All throughout the month of November I will be posting a serial version of Counterbalance for early readers to enjoy. It will be released as I write it, so you’ll get to enjoy the fresh-pressed goodness way ahead of vintage time. I’ve seen several authors do this with degrees of success, so it’s time to conduct that experiment for myself.

How do I get in on this, you might ask? How can I be one of the first to read a garden fantasy chase thriller about a jaded Hunter turned minstrel who gets tangled up with an inexperienced though idealistic runaway, evading pursuit from bounty hunters through the towering city of Als Solare and beyond? You can put in for your share of the harvest.

I know I haven’t done much to promote my subscription service lately, so we’re gonna start watering that plant right away. The entire focus of my brand and writing journey has been to make my stories as widely available as possible, to the point of offering each and every one for free online. And while the costs for maintaining the story garden are minimal, they are non-zero. So, I’ve been offering DRM-free downloads of all of my works, both in text and audio format, to those who believe in the message of family-friendly, faith-focused stories for all to enjoy.

One of the benefits listed on the subscription page is “early drafts of upcoming stories,” a benefit which has gone unrealized, until now. Counterbalance will be published through the CSL site, and you can read them in your email or at the membership portal. The other half of the sentence promises “the chance to shape the world through polls and feedback.” This will be a part of the project too, I’m really interested to get reader’s feedback as the story unfolds.

That’s plenty for today! Check out the membership site if you’re excited about the promise of reading a serial as I write it, and stay tuned for more updates, for there will be many. Until then, enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!

This is the ninety-fifth installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

As a non-smartphone user, I carry a camera with me wherever I go. I encounter moments of beauty just about everywhere, and have made a good camera part of my daily kit. Unfortunately, the camera that I normally use to take pictures for this newsletter is having some technical difficulties, so I had to pull out the backup camera. And if that one ends up failing, I have a backup for the backup. A fourth? That would be ludicrous.

They’re all digital point-and-shoot cameras with no way to post photos to social media or anything. If I want to share something I get to take it home, pull out the SD card, plug it into the desktop, and go from there. It sounds annoying in this age of instant transfer, but you get used to it pretty quick.

Just because I can’t share a picture quickly doesn’t mean I can’t take one quickly. I have to be ready whenever a moment of beauty comes along, since they are everywhere. So when I was driving home from dropping my kids off, on a route I don’t normally take, I knew I had to capture this right away.

The cloud cover was positioned just so that it created this strange mixing of yellow and pink sky. If red sky in the morning is a sailor’s warning, what does it mean to have both?

I stopped at a cemetery to get out and get this wider-angled shot. I didn’t have my tripod, but leaning up against the car does the trick too.

And after waiting just a few minutes, it had all gone. The sky was back to a uniform gray, with just a hint of yellow around the edges. I saw another car stop at the edge of the cemetery and I hope they were enjoying the view too. And praying for the deceased buried there, that’s going to be very important in just a little while!

Don’t worry, I’ve got this! Temperatures around here have gotten lower than usual, so here’s a spicy little Florabeast to warm things up. Okay, it isn’t little, but the point remains.

There will be some very interesting things happening soon, which I hope to be able to share in the next issue. Thanks for reading and always look up!

This is the ninety-fourth installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season.

It’s Friday again! This seems to be a recurring thing. If you’re ready to relax after a long week and open your seed packet, then here it is. A perfect Florabeast for the cold weather that’s slowly creeping up on us!

At the bottom of every one of these emails is the Human Made icon. It’s part of my commitment to not only avoid using generative AI for any published work, but also be very clear and forthright about it. When I was in negotiations for my narration project coming up next year, I had to specify that I was going to record the audio myself, and not feed the book into an AI narrator and then charge a fee for the trouble. It had honestly never occurred to me to even do that, but that’s the world we’re in now.

The divide between authors used to be traditionally published or self-published, where self-publishing was viewed with disdain because they were the books that “weren’t good enough” for traditional publishing. That stigma has been largely erased, as the resources available for self-publishing have gotten so much better and more affordable. Some people even claim that trad-publishing itself is itself declining, since they aren’t able to keep up with the agile nature of independent authors.

I judge there will be a similar divide between AI authors and human-first (traditional?) authors. People are making the news for being able to convince an AI system to output a full-length novel with plots and characters and things, that doesn’t read like a poorly edited fanfiction. Which is funny, because that’s essentially what AI prose is.

Listen, I’ve got nothing against fanfiction. One of my first major works was a strange mash-up of Wild Arms, Dragonball Z, and Final Fantasy 7/8. My nephew is writing Undertale fanfic. It’s how authors learn their craft nowadays, just like how painters learn to paint by copying other paintings. My daughter meticulously copies Pokémon out of her field manual. This is how we absorb the stories of our ancestors and synthesize them into the new generations.

But fanfiction only exists because there are original stories for people to be fans of. Generative AI only knows one basic story: a humble, boring individual embarks on a journey of self-discovery and gathers allies to overcome evil and return home to live in peace. If you ask it to come up with a “new” story for you, it will just give you some decorated version of this. There’s no creativity, no unique experiences.

Those of us who refuse to accept the narrow mold of the hero’s journey will be the ones who create the stories that future AI systems will copy as their template. We’ll always be able to come up with new ideas, because we bring them out of ourselves, out of our unique creation, rather than dredging them up out of the slop. And that’s why I’m proud to have that little hand down there reminding you that I am in fact a real person, and not a sophisticated AI who tells a lot of really bad jokes and hopes people will read them.

What are your thoughts on AI fiction? The whole point of this newsletter is to help me connect with you, my readers, and with each other too. Reply or comment and let’s chat!

This is the ninety-third installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season. I realized after posting the previous West Wind that there was a great joke about it being the ninety-second post, but it might take longer than ninety seconds to read. Oh well, better to laugh late than not at all, right?

Wow, is it Friday already? Clearly, because we’re here! It’s also Frontier Friday, because that’s a fun thing to do.

Recently I watched the 2002 wire action movie Hero, wherein the title character played by Jet Li claims that he has no name, and is referred to in the credits and subtitles as “Nameless.” This is certainly a heroic device, a person who acts solely on their deeds and actions rather than relying on the recognition of their name. But then I realized that the Nameless Hero is actually a paradox.

In Hero, one character is named Broken Sword, and he fights with a… broken sword. Whatever he was named at birth, he’s chosen that self-descriptive title for himself. Jet Li’s Nameless character is called “Master Nameless” by several people, which then becomes his name. He’s no longer nameless, his name is now Nameless.

So, it isn’t really possible to not have a name. Even if you choose to abandon the one you were given, someone else will give you another. Even if it’s the Man With No Name…

Enjoy the weekend, and I’ll be back next week with more fun!