Time for an Update
There are so many stories trying to get out...
(Book cover by Vivid Covers. Check out Rebekah Haskell’s work here.)
Yesterday, yard mowing season began.
I usually listen to audiobooks via a relatively cheap pair of sound-canceling work headphones I bought at Menards. (They’re called Worktunes by 3M. Their primary function is hearing protection, but the blue tooth function works perfectly, and they hold a charge for hours.
Now, that’s well and good because I don’t have nearly as much time for audiobooks since I no longer drive to work each day or patrol the wee hours of the night.
For a couple of years, I used the “read screen” function on my iPhone to proofread/listen to my stories because I was annoyed with Speechify. Well, I made up with Speechify because I can paste a chapter (from Scrivner iOS) into the text-to-speech app and listen while I mow. When I used the read screen, the act of sliding the phone into my pocket turned off (sometimes) what I was listening to.
Yes! I am getting to the point!
With Speechify and my Worktunes, I can listen to chapters of my stories for overall flow and whatnot.
I dropped in a book I wrote most of in 2015… and loved it so much. As an artist, there are times you feel like you are making progress like you are approaching your vision for a story, a picture, a song, and so on.
The idea for The Route Ship Legacy was originally based on the fact that most societies were centered around access to waterways. Rivers and coastlines were the highways of ancient times. So, what if an ancient civilization had left behind technology that functioned in the same way?
In this story, I built civilizations that are not capable of star travel but can board route ships and go places they shouldn’t. There is a lot more to the story than the basic premise, and I really want to share it with all of you.
Here’s the Plan, Stan
First, I will finish uploading Enemy of Man (the entire book for premium subscribers). I will continue to work on my Homeworld Lost books, which are published by Variant Books and not available here (though they are in Kindle Unlimited if you have a subscription to that.) And I will continue to work on the Tall Boys trilogy and the “read it first here” novella in the Tall Boys universe called Salvager.
Salvager is really taking off an will be a fairly long novella. Stay tuned for a cover reveal. I hope to start serializing this super cool mech warrior story with a twist (he’s not a warrior) by the end of April. The trilogy could come soon after that, depending on a few logistical things I really need to think about. (Should I pitch it to my publishers or release it myself? Curse you, Substack, for barging into my life and tempting me with new and exciting options!)
The Route Ship Legacy is coming. I’ll be working on it when I should be doing other things because I can’t help myself. Please hang around long enough to check it out.
I must say…
Thank you for your support. There are days, and this is one of them, when I can’t believe I am able to support myself by writing fiction. I couldn’t do it without you.
Stay awesome because you totally rock.




For a really cool series based around ancient technology left behind by an ancient race to access interplanetary travel without starships, you should check out John DeChancie's Star rigger series. Interstellar truckers on roads that traverse planetary Stargates set up by an ancient race It's a fun read.
The Route Ship Legacy, I’m already intrigued by the title and the small description you have supplied. A Space Opera with no Starships? I want to read this!