A pivotal year of my career will soon come to an end. But as I look back on the promises I made at the beginning of the year in my previous “2022 In Review, 2023 In Theory” blog post, I am left disappointed in myself. But that’s nothing new.

But I can take some comfort in the fact that I simply couldn’t have foreseen a great deal of what came to pass this year. I could have changed things. I could have handled some creative problems I encountered differently. But the past needs to stay in the past. So with this post, I fully intend to put 2023 behind me and focus on what I pray will be a busy and prosperous 2024.

But if I don’t remember the past, I am doomed to repeat it. And that’s what this post is about: Remembering our mistakes and, bizarrely enough, celebrating them. Learning is hard, and it only comes with failure. So, I treat each and every one of my mistakes with the reverence and respect they deserve. Each taught me a valuable lesson, and that can’t be ignored.

That said, I can not forget the good things that happened and the progress I made toward my goal of a lifetime author career in 2023. Although this can be hard for me, I need to celebrate the good and the bad things that happened in equal measure. If all I do is look back on my mistakes, I’ll feel like all I do is make mistakes. And the hardest part is that, while some dreams came crashing down, others flourished despite my creative and personal tribulations. I would not say the distribution was equal, but the seeds have been planted to tip the scales. I just have to keep my head on straight long enough to tend to those seeds and watch them flourish.

I am in a far better place mentally than I was even a couple months ago, and the creative work has begun again. So, let’s dive into what went wrong, what went right, and what we can expect from the future.

But this year, I will make only one promise. More on that later.

Anyway, let’s get into it.

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Failures

Last year, I started the post with my accomplishments and saved failures for later in the article. This year, I want to end things on more positive terms. Plus, I enjoy getting the hardest part of anything I do out of the way first. So, with that in mind, let’s dive in.

I promised at the beginning of the year that I would try to publish six novels in 2023. As you can see, only one book made it into your hands. The reasons for this are two-fold:

One: Life just got away from me. I tried to make more happen than I could, and I crashed. I got a lot done, but not enough to make that ambitious goal happen. I was doomed from the start, and I’ve learned a great deal from this mistake. But, strangely, it was a blessing in disguise because…

Two: The Beast of Big Timber needed room to breathe. That little book did far better than I thought it would, and even early in the year I knew I had something special on my hands when pre-order numbers shot past any book I’d published before it. And, when it just kept doing better and better, I gave it some breathing room. That room gave me time to evaluate exactly what I did right and contemplate how I might repeat it. Plus, I knew that putting out a new book when my latest was getting all the attention might swing the almighty algorithms in a direction that would take readers’ eyes off Beast. That new book might be just as good, if not better, but as Jason Long would no-doubt say, “don’t leave fish to find fish.” As in, don’t put out a new book when the one you have is still doing very well. So I waited at first, and then I found myself in a position where I couldn’t write or edit a new book even if I wanted to.

But, all that said, I’ll give a brief update on some of those projects I announced in the previous post:

One of these novels I shelved indefinitely, that being The Anubis Contingency. That novel was part of a trilogy that I still love, but that I want to dedicate more significant research and world-building time to. So, for now, that whole trilogy is on the back burner.

Asher Bryant 2 is still in the works, and I would love it if I could pencil it in as my next project. But for the last year I’ve taken a step back from that sequel because, to be honest, the first book sold well but didn’t receive as many reviews as I had hoped. Feedback on that novel was minimal, which was surprising because a lot of readers picked it up. When the book finally got reviewed, though, the response was positive. The novel currently boasts a solid 5 stars on Amazon, but that’s only with 2 ratings. I really don’t know what happened here, and it’s made me nervous to continue the series when initial sales were good, but feedback has been slow. It makes me think something is wrong, and it could be a lot of things. It could be my marketing, the characters, the cover, the ending, and literally anything in-between. I just don’t know, so I’ve only chipped away at the second novel and shelved my original plan for writing 5 of them until I know for sure what readers like and don’t like about the series.

Feedback is so important to writers, and readers should never belittle how much good an honest review can do for a writer’s career, and for that reader’s future enjoyment should they return to that author’s work. Authors need to know what readers want, and if readers don’t tell them, all we can do is give it our best shot. Sometimes, that’s not enough. Without further input on the series from readers, I’m worried I was just “nose blind” after that year of writing the novel and couldn’t see my own flaws. When no one tells me anything, I can’t get better. Maybe the series is fine, but I just don’t know and want to give it more time before I write another book.

But I have written a new Asher Bryant Adventure. It’s just not a novel.

Early this year, I was asked to take part in the Desert Writers Guild’s 2023 anthology. The theme was History: Past and Future, and I could think of no one better than Asher Bryant to take on a short historical adventure out here in the desert. Plus, I’d been looking for an outlet to experiment more with him as a protagonist and see what I could improve, so I took the plunge. I got to work crafting a story about a lost Mohave artifact supposedly hidden in Wonder Valley, California that climaxes on a hill I hiked on and lived in the shadow of in 2020. Just as I was about to complete the story, I found out that I had been told the wrong guidelines for the collection. I swear I had originally been told the story needed to be under 5,000 words, which I was already struggling to achieve. But the limit was actually 1,500 words, if I recall correctly. So, I put that story aside, not sure if I’d ever return since there wasn’t an obvious outlet for it. But recently, Asher started calling out once again, so I completed Draft 1 of the story at nearly 9,000 words, which I feel serves the story better, as 5,000 words would have been far too short as it was. So, there is a new story I need to revise, during which time it will probably accordion into and out of the 10,000 word range repeatedly, but I don’t know what to do with it yet. Maybe I’ll publish it on its own, or pair it with the previously published Asher Bryant story The Golden Key and another story or two I could write, creating a collection.

Anyway, that’s what Asher is up to. We’ll see how things change and evolve as the year begins.

Last year, I also announced that I would write Swim 2. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you a lot about the plans for that novel as negotiations are ongoing. However, I can give a reason for the delay: Faryl, the co-author of the first novel, has taken an extended break from their creative life. Before they made this decision, we completed a thorough outline for Book 2 that I am thrilled with and a rough outline for book 3, but the future of the series remains unclear. They would like to see the book written and the series continue through, and possibly beyond, our 4 book plan. But negotiations on that front are ongoing. When I know more, I will pass any updates along just as soon as I can.

Lastly, the DenCom stories have flipped in publication order. The Benedict prequel will now come out first, and the DenCom cryptid spinoff will come later. Continuity wise, it changes nothing since the prequel takes place so far in the past and already had almost nothing to do with the cryptid story anyway, so no worries there. But neither story will be ready this year. The prequel could have been if I’d done my job, though. The editor came back with fantastic (and thorough) notes after their first pass, but I just couldn’t bring myself to get back to work until far later in the year. But now, it’s back with the editor for the final round, albeit a few months later than expected. We’ll talk more about the future of this book later in this post.

The books themselves aside, I feel like I’ve failed to connect with my audience this year. Social media has been a tough beast to tackle for me, but I’m doing what I can to get over it. That said, I still feel like I’m just screaming into the void sometimes with no hope of being heard beyond a few loyal followers the algorithm thinks deserve to see what I have to say. I appreciate everyone who follows my page, not just the high-engagement crowd, and I want to make sure everyone gets to see what I post regardless of how often they engage. And this is coming from someone who rarely engages with his favorite artists and is frequently punished by Facebook for this himself. No joke, my favorite band put out a new album this year, and I totally missed the news because I wasn’t liking their posts! I think liking the page should be enough to let these sites know you want to see someone’s content, but I guess I’m in the minority.

But all that said, I’ve tried to diversify how readers can find me and interact with me, but that also proved to be fraught with failures this year.

One such failure that may (or may not) be apparent is that Publisher’s Cluttered House, a podcast which I co-hosted, didn’t release an episode all year. This stems from the same issue that has held up production of Swim 2. My co-host (and co-author of Swim) is taking an extended break from their creative life, and that meant Publisher’s Cluttered House went on hold. This was particularly hard for me, as I really enjoyed hosting the show, but thankfully it’s not dead.

Just like with Swim 2, Faryl wants to see the show continue, and so do I. But they are not interested in staying on for the time being, and officially left the show earlier this year, leaving the podcast firmly in my hands. However, I’m not confident in my abilities as a lone host, and while I might experiment with that option in the coming months, I’m currently on the hunt for a co-host. Maybe more than one if the chemistry is there in practice recordings. So, if you are a creator that knows me (or doesn’t) shoot me a DM and maybe we can schedule a call or a “pilot” episode to see how things go.

Once I know the future of the show is solid, I’ll update everyone once we’ve decided on a release model.

Another failure, which admittedly fits in more with connecting with fellow authors rather than readers, was that I had to cancel my trip to 20BooksVegas at the last minute. For those that don’t know, 20BooksVegas is one of if not the largest self-publishing conferences in the USA. I’m lumping this in here because, as I’ve said before, I’m not confident in my ability to communicate with readers. I was looking forward to learning a great deal about the industry and new ways I could reach new and current readers alike. Sadly, a few days before, I found out my house sitter wouldn’t be able to make it, and with only days to find someone else to watch my animals here in the desert, I knew it was a lost cause. However, I’m told there will be a new convention in 2024, and I will see if I can’t make it this year depending on how things go.

And I guess the last semi-failure of the year was YouTube. I preface it with “semi” because I didn’t really try to be active on that platform on purpose. I love making YouTube videos, but they’re just to time consuming. I’d like to give it another shot in 2024, but uploads will probably be sparse, and that’s if I post anything at all. But I do plan on doing a release party/livestream for whatever my 10th book happens to be. I just don’t know if it’ll be on YouTube. But if it goes well, maybe we’ll make it a tradition.

And that is all the failures I can recall at the moment. But now that I’m good and depressed, it should make the next section of this post far more enjoyable.

Let’s dive in.

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Accomplishments

The Beast of Big Timber killed it this year.

More eyes are on my work than ever before. New readers are finding my work thanks to Beast, and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s done. And now that the amazing audiobook hit shelves, listeners are loving the book just as much as readers are! This has been the little book that could, and it’s done so well that…

The Batsquatch of Yellowstone, the sequel to The Beast of Big Timber, is almost done! This is the first thing I’ve written almost entirely after my creative funk, and I think it’s a worthy follow-up that readers will love! My plan was to get it to Alpha and Beta readers before Christmas, but I decided to hold off on that until the new year since everyone is so busy right now. This book will probably come out after the DenCom prequel novella, but it could always snag that 10th slot. We’ll just have to wait and see on that one.

Speaking of which, that DenCom novella (almost novel length now) is due back from the editor in January. I really think readers will love what I’ve done here. It’s my first time telling a first-person story in The Opus, and I could think of no better character to attempt in first-person than Benedict. This first story about his past takes us to a haunted house on the beaches of northern California during a pivotal point in Benedict’s life. It’s an emotional journey that finally gives fans more of the supernatural side of DenCom they have been craving.

And, speaking of more DenCom, we’re finally getting that Hail to the King audiobook! Keegan Reese, who narrated The Beast of Big Timber, has signed on to narrate Hail. I approved the first 15 minutes a few weeks ago and I couldn’t be happier! We’re hoping to have it ready sometime in the summer of 2024!

On the anthology front, I appeared in 2 new collections, one of which I had the honor of organizing.

In Conclusion was the third and final in a series I worked on with the Write Stuff Authors Group of Canton, Ohio. The theme this time around was one I am still proud of: Write from your deathbed. If you were dying, what would be the last thing you ever wrote?

We presented the concept long before Covid, but the pandemic lead to some truly moving and raw submissions that were left largely un-edited on purpose. Sadly, I will admit that everything that happened this year, coupled with communications issues with the group that I’m now 2000+ miles removed from, lead to a far more time-consuming and frustrating venture than I was ready to take on at the time. Had I known what was coming, I never would have taken this on, and doubt I will again anytime soon. But, with this already being planned as the final anthology in the series, I did all I could to get it out, and while I failed many times along the way, I am still proud of the collection.

Mr. Ridding, We Collapse is a loosely DenCom-adjacent story I wrote that was published within In Conclusion. I wanted to tell a story about how I would feel if I could never finish The Opus. I then paired that concept with my thoughts and reflections on something that is often overlooked about Covid: the friendships and connections that it, and our opinions of it, took from us. The collection is print exclusive, but I do plan to re-publish my story later, as all authors kept immediate re-print rights. Where it will go, I do not know yet. But I do plan on making it more widely available, perhaps in a collection of DenCom stories later on. It could also possibly appear in an upcoming horror collection, but I’m not sold on that idea yet. We’ll see what feels right at the time.

Shortly after In Conclusion came out, the Desert Writers Guild released History: Past and Future, which my story The Hangman’s Tears appears within. As you read earlier in this post, I originally started an Asher Bryant story for this collection, but when I learned the true word limit, it forced me to change my plans. Luckily, I once again found inspiration in the desert.

Early this year, our car broke down in Las Vegas while we were in town for a wedding. Since we had no way home and a hotel was out of the question since we had dogs waiting for us (we lived close to Vegas, but not Uber close (trust me, we tried)), we rented a car and drove back. However, over the course of the following two weeks, we had to make two additional trips to Vegas, and during each visit we’d stop at the Kelso Depot, an old train-station turned visitors’ center for the Mojave Preserve. It was between some of these trips that I wanted to learn more about the building. It wasn’t long before its haunted past came up and I started reading about the supposed “ghost zombie” that haunts the halls. After some additional research, I knew I had to write about it, and the resulting story made it into the anthology.

The Hangman’s Tears is currently available in paperback form within the Desert Writers Guild’s 2023 anthology listed above, but I will republish it in time. There are 2 collections I’m currently preparing that it could appear in.

And, for my final accomplishment of the year, I made my first public appearance since Covid-19!

As a member of the Desert Writers Guild, they invited me to join them and sell my books at the 29 Palms Book Festival. It went incredibly well, better than any first show I’ve had the honor of attending before! And, to top it off, I shockingly made the cover of the local paper’s article talking about the event! I joked that it was the first time I’ve been in the newspaper without “Wanted: Dead or Alive” written under my name, but I was truly shocked and honored that it happened. Fun fact: I didn’t even know about it until my grandparents called to tell me they got the paper that morning and saw my face in it!

Oh, and I almost forgot: I also made a guest appearance on the Atomic Shaman Sweatlodge podcast! Although I could tell my podcast skills were a little rusty (and that’s assuming I ever had any) I had a great time and I hope that I can join them again someday. And Keegan Reese, the narrator of The Beast of Big Timber and the upcoming Hail to the King audiobook, also was a guest pretty recently, so go check both episodes out if you haven’t already!

And that’s all that’s coming to mind right now. I can’t thank everyone enough for supporting me this year!

Now, let’s dive into our last topic of the post…

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What’s Next?

Since Christmas just came and went, I’ll start off by saying I’m trying to figure out how to release the DenCom Christmas story I’ve worked on for a few years.

For those that don’t know, I spent roughly six Christmas seasons chipping away at a fun, non-cannon story about Benedict visiting Michael and Aron for Christmas. He gets into some corny Hallmark-movie style fun along the way, and Santa Claus even shows up!

Not really…

Maybe.

But a year or two back, that tradition came to an end with the completion of the one and only DenCom Christmas story, tentatively titled A DenCom Christmas.

Or so I thought…

This year, some of our friends at DenCom started calling out, and I took time out of Christmas Eve to write two more short DenCom Christmas stories. One centers around Michael Ridding stopping a terrorist attack in Palm Springs and is appropriately titled Michael Ridding Saves Christmas, while the other is a currently untitled story about the DenCom Knights being sent off on a special Christmas Eve mission. And there’s still one more story about the cryptid hunters in the upcoming spinoff novel I want to write, but it’s hard finding anything Christmas related that could be considered a cryptid that isn’t copyrighted. Once I figure out what that cryptid story will be, I think I’ll compile all of them into a collection.

However, I wanted to figure out a way to sell it with all the proceeds going directly to charity. I’m currently still searching for a platform that has this option built-in. Sure, I could list it on Amazon and send the funds myself like some authors do, but I would rather the money just go directly where it needs to go. Plus, Amazon takes a while to pay out, so I’d rather find an alternative that would avoid lengthy processing times. Oh, and Amazon would likely take a large cut of the earnings. I know there will always be processing fees to contend with, but I want to be sure I can donate as much of the proceeds as possible, and I’m not convinced working with Amazon is the way to go here. But I doubt they’ll make all these changes anytime soon, if ever, so I’m still looking for the right platform. And once I know that platform exists, I’ll start revising the stories and see if I can publish them the following Christmas!

But in the more immediate future, The DenCom prequel story about Benedict will probably come next, then The Batsquatch of Yellowstone. The cover for the prequel still needs work, but I did receive the final version of the Batsquatch cover recently. It honestly blew me away. A.A. Medina, the designer, went above and beyond to make this cover pop right off the screen! Keep your eyes pealed for that reveal sometime following the launch of the Benedict prequel novella. Unless Batsquatch gets bumped up, of course.

After those two, I think it’ll either be that horror short story collection, or a standalone creature-feature I’ve been working on. But I’ve been toying with sending the latter off to a publisher. I have 2 publishers in mind it could work for, and I’d like more of my work to reach small presses so that I don’t keep all my eggs in one basket, so to speak. But if need be, I have a cover ready, so I might just put it out myself and try to submit a different book if this one isn’t what they are looking for.

Admittedly, the DenCom cryptid story could be next after the prequel novella or Batsquatch. I completed work on it and plan to send it to the editor right after they’re finished with the Benedict novella, but the cryptid story is quite a bit longer than my typical novel and will likely require far more time to edit.

There’s also a chance I could finish the final novel in the Godqueen Trilogy and publish that, since Primal Publishing has officially asked me to write it. But they haven’t given me a deadline. Primal Publishing is really laid back, which is the reason I really like working with them. So it’ll get done when it’s ready. But that said, I’d like to get the bulk of the work on that finale done this year so I can be sure I’m putting a bow on it before readers forget what the first two books were about (lol).

But I’m not promising that any of those books will come out next year.
Yes, the DenCom prequel should be ready. So should the Batsquatch book. But I’d like to think I’ve finally learned my lesson about making promises. I can have all my ducks in a row, but that’s not enough anymore. It never was.

So, here’s what I’m promising:

More books.

Sometime.

Someday.

Maybe this year, maybe not.

But there will be more books unless I drop dead first. I just don’t know when anymore, and I don’t want to say when I think they’ll come out because that’s almost always doomed the book to being late, or just getting shelved all together.

So, that’s what we’re looking at as far as new books are concerned.

When it comes to previous releases, there’s going to be some re-branding taking place. I recently had the cover of Siron re-done and it’s gained some visibility from this change, so I plan to rebrand Michael Ridding and Hail to the King next. This is partially out of desperation, since I lost the original files I need to create the new audiobook cover for Hail, and I’ve tried to use the old style for the Cryptid book and the Benedict novella to no avail, so I’m changing things up.

I’d also like to dive into some more short stories this year. I’ve got a cover secured for that new horror collection, and a few of the stories are ready. The title story still needs to be finished, but I’m only a few days of hard work away from completing it, and I’m thrilled with what’s on the page so far. I think it’ll be a fun addition to my backlist.

I also have another monster-themed collection in the works that will (hopefully) include a sequel to the first Sheriff Riker story, T-REX. There are actually two stories about him that I want to write, but I don’t know which one would be the better first choice. But a few other monster stories are almost ready to publish alongside it. I just need to decide which novella will act as the tent-pole for that particular circus.

Stand-alone stories in other anthologies and magazines are always a possibility. However, I like to keep my re-print rights, and that’s not always an option. I don’t mind signing away exclusivity rights for a few years, but I eventually want the story to fall back under my control.

Otherwise, I look forward to what my creative future has in store.

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Conclusions

A promise made is a promise broken. I’m tired of making promises to people I can’t keep, and vice versa. But I can only keep up my end of it, should I offer to in the first place. So, in the end, 2023 was the year I learned to be honest. I hope.

There are just some things I can’t do, and I know that now.

So, for now, I’m going with the flow. Books will come when they’re ready, and when it makes sense to publish them. I’ll continue to fight to expand the books I already have into new markets like audiobooks and physical bookstores, but I won’t let it dominate the time I have to create. I will do all I can to use my time wisely, and I will fail. But maybe along the way I’ll do something that makes every failure feel like a footnote.

Anyway, 2023 was a year. But it’s unfortunately, and thankfully, almost over. Good and bad are a seamless continuum, and I expect nothing more and nothing less out of 2024. I’ll see you there.

And, as always, I’ll see you in time,

-S.T. Hoover

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Recently, Prehistoric Magazine, the publication that spawned Primal Publishing, published an interview with me in their December 2022 issue. With their consent, I’ve reposted the interview in full below for those who did not get a chance to read the interview when it appeared.

Oh, and if you haven’t already, click here to subscribe to Prehistoric Magazine! Or click on the logo above.

Anyway, let’s dive in!

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Q: What kinds of creatures will we be seeing in this book?

A: Given the arctic setting, the book largely focuses on ice-age creatures. We do get our fair share of dinosaurs and mythical beasts as well. Our villain pulls out all the stops, sending everything he can at our main characters. From T-Rex to orcs and everything in between, there’s quite a menagerie on display.

Q: How have you upped the ante from Island to Tundra?

A: This time around, we kick things off with a massive reveal that I won’t spoil here, but I’ll give you the basics: A major character who died in Island of Legends isn’t dead! From there, the story is propelled forward after our main character’s infant son is kidnapped.

I wanted to tell a story that asks the question “How far is too far?”, even for the sake of saving your child. How much of you is left after you’ve given all of yourself to the fight? Questions like this drove the plot forward for me and continue to drive me forward as I work on the third book.

Q: What role do creatures play in your fiction?

A: With few exceptions, creatures can serve two roles in my fiction: First and foremost, creatures are a narrative device that drives the characters forward, forcing them to confront parts of the world and themselves they fear. Secondly, the creature itself must be a character, facing the same trials and tribulations as the human characters in its own way. It may be subtle in the best of cases, but the creature needs to be a character, and not a secondary character at that. Too many times, the monster gets top billing while the human characters end up stealing the show. Both need to be treated with equal respect when balancing the narrative flow, even if the creature is just there to fight the main character once to move the plot ahead. Even if it’s just there for a chapter, it can’t be window dressing. It needs to have a purpose and a voice in its own way.

Q: What are your favorite kinds of creatures to use?

A: I’m going to be selfish here and say Kaiju first and foremost, even though they don’t play a huge role in this story. I mainly wanted to stick to small-scale creatures in this novel that would help me build the foundation of the third entry in the trilogy, and possibly a sequel series if there’s enough demand. So, I stuck with some of my favorites: dinosaurs, ice-age beasts, and genetic monstrosities made in the likeness of famous fantasy and sci-fi creatures. All have their place in this story, even if it’s just to let you know they exist and plant seeds for more novels.

Q: This series is a departure from the usual Jurassic Park-style thriller, and it takes quite a few risks, both in content and in choice of creatures. In what ways do you feel this helps the series?

A: In the first book, I had a line of marketing that still holds true: “Island of Legends takes the work of Michael Crichton to a whole new level. Dinosaurs aren’t enough for Xmortem, and they aren’t enough for S.T. Hoover!” I always try and take the genre I’m writing in to cool and interesting places, and sometimes, that leads me to push the limits of what’s considered acceptable. Don’t get me wrong, I love the books that color inside the lines, so to speak, but that’s just not the creator I am. I can color within the lines and create a fun story, but why not doodle some cool stuff on the sidelines as well? It may not be better than the foundation of what these thrillers tend to present, but it adds interest and intrigue that my readers enjoy.

Q: Without going into too much detail, describe Mars as a protagonist. What makes readers want to root for her?

A: Everyone loves a mother trying to save her child, but I wanted Mars to be so much more than that. I wanted her to be likeable in her own right, as well as driven by more than just the desire to save her son. I wanted her to feel betrayed, abandoned, and above all else, limitless. I don’t like characters who say, “I can’t do that,” be they female or male. Even if they fail, they need to get back up again with that same attitude that got them so far already. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that just makes Mars an even more real character in my eyes. In addition, I also wanted to give her some flaws, both physical and mental. I can’t say much more about that without getting into spoilers, but suffice to say that in this book, Mars will have all her strengths put to the test.

Q: You write a wide variety of fiction, from the mysterious DenCom Thriller series to the ambitious Asher Bryant Adventure series to experimental standalones like Siron. How have you integrated the experience from writing these different genres into making the Godqueen Trilogy as unique as it is?

A: In a lot of ways, the Godqueen Trilogy is a sandbox for me. I wanted to create a universe where anything goes, so far as creatures were concerned. I could bring in anything and everything I wanted, no matter where the creatures came from. The creatures I could feature in DenCom are limited due to the in-universe “magic system”—if it can even be called that—and Siron, while fun, was a standalone with limited sequel potential, if any. And Asher was a direct response to those few limitations the DenCom universe has.

I love being able to cut loose and not having to worry about any in-universe limitations governing the MacGuffin or monster of the story. And in Godqueen, I wanted to expand on that by creating a situation where any creature imaginable could be brought into existence. Mythical, supernatural, or extinct, it could be reconstructed in flesh and blood, and that got the creative juices flowing like never before. Literally any creature could show up, any monster could appear and serve a purpose in this series, where in my other series’ universes that are much narrower, crossing the streams—so to speak—could lead to a confused and even disgruntled reader base.

From the get-go, the existence of any creature is possible in the Godqueen Trilogy, and that’s why I love it so much!

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START READING!

NEED TO START FROM THE BEGINNING?

Hello again from beautiful Wonder Valley!

Well, it’s been a while since I posted on my blog. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come back, but since I plan to get rather in-depth about the recent survey I sent to my newsletter subscribers, I figured this would be a better place to discuss the results than in my newsletter itself, especially since it’s already pretty bloated with other commitments. I hope that’s OK with everyone.

Now, just to clarify, we are not going super-DUPER in depth here. We’re generally covering the first three or four major responses to the most important questions. In some cases, engagement wasn’t high enough to warrant major analysis, such as my questions relating to audiobooks. Apparently, not a lot my readers know I have audiobooks, but I will be changing that very soon! Hopefully, next year, we’ll see some more fleshed-out responses.

Lastly, I should point out the obvious: Less than 40 people filled out this survey, but in my mind, that’s pretty high engagement! The readers who care enough to take time out of their day to let me know what they want are absolutely the most engaged with my work. So while this doesn’t constitute the majority in terms of sheer numbers, this does speak volumes to me in terms of what my die-hard readers want! Though, if you read to the end of the post, you’ll see that I’m still taking some of the results with a grain of salt. Just thought I’d throw that in there for the analysts among you who may or may not have filled out the survey. Do you think this is the right thing to do? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and in case you found this post out in the wild and haven’t read my newsletter, you can sign up here to join the fun and get a free short story!

Anyway, I don’t want to ramble on for too long, so let’s get straight into the meat of it: Now I know what YOU want to see!

So, the first question I posed was: How did you discover my writing?

Here’s what you had to say!

By and large, most of you have subscribed to my newsletter via free giveaways! This makes sense as over the course of COVID, this was largely the only level of marketing I could afford, and it was quite effective!

“Recommended by another author” came in second place, which is amazing! I love seeing that so many of you have found my work because another author was impressed enough to share what I’d created with their audience. To those of my fellow authors who have done so, thank you so much!

In third place was “Amazon ads“. I’ve pulled back on Amazon ads recently because I wasn’t sure if they were drawing enough people in. I was seeing sales and some engagement, but until now, I didn’t know if any of my dedicated readers found me as a direct result of Amazon ads. I’ll have to look into running some more in the future!

Moving on, the second question I asked: What is your preferred way to read my (or anyone else’s) books?

Here’s what you had to say!

A staggering 59.5% of you prefer to read eBooks! Paperback also has a fair share of the rest of the margin, with one vote for “All of the above“, and one write-in for “computer“, which I’m assuming means eBooks.

I’ve got to admit, I’m pleasantly surprised to see paperbacks with such a high margin! I’ll have to consider pushing my paperback editions harder in the coming months, since it seems like there is still a solid audience for them among my most engaged readers!

Next up, I asked: Should I write shorter novels quicker (between 2 and 4+ a year) or longer novels slower (1 every year)?

With this question, I wanted to gauge my readers’ preference for longer and shorter books on realistic release schedules for each length.

Longer books slower has won out, but there is interest in more shorter works as well. Both parties are in luck! Although my next few books will be shorter, I do have some longer works nearing completion that I really think you’ll enjoy!

This, though, is one of the few results I have some problems with. We’ll get to that later…

Next up: What is your favorite genre(s)?

Quite a few surprises here!

Unsurprisingly, “Thriller” takes the lead in this multi-choice round! But “Action/Adventure” isn’t far behind, with only six fewer votes. Then, we’ve got “Sci-Fi“. Not a huge surprise, but it’s what came in fourth that surprised me the most!

I’ve been saying for a while that the Western genre is far from dead! While it didn’t get as many votes as the first two genres, it’s still amazing to see it rank so high! Ever since publishing T-REX, I’ve been wanting to get back into a Western, so that might just have to happen sooner rather than later!

Next up: If I posted more on my blog, what would you like to see?

What do you want from the blog? “Short stories” by quite a margin!

This I might try and make happen! I posted a few under the brand “Monday Morning Micro Monstrosities”, but in hindsight, that title might have done more harm than good from a marketing standpoint. For the time being, you can check out my short fiction on the blog under that name, but with so much interest in short fiction, I might rebrand those posts in the future!

Second in line was “book reviews“, which I will also try and make happen in the future.

Now, obviously, a large portion of my audience isn’t interested in blog posts, which I’ll admit isn’t a huge surprise. I didn’t see a lot of engagement at the time, and I still don’t. However, I may give the blog one more shot in 2023, now that I know what my readers really want to see!

Next up: Which of these upcoming novels/series are you most excited for?

WOW!

Another round with a very clear winner! Readers love Asher Bryant, and I will absolutely be giving you more! Based on this response, I’ve moved the second book up in my schedule and will continue working on that over December and January!

In the meantime, read the first Asher Bryant novel here!

Second in line, to my surprise, was Rise of Egypt, a trilogy (it could be longer, but I know I want to write three books, so I’ll call it a trilogy for now) about the Ancient Egyptian gods returning to modern-day Earth. And, of course, they’re bringing dinosaurs with them because someone’s got to do their dirty work!

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect that to come in second place! Don’t get me wrong, I love the book and the characters, and I knew it would get votes, but second in line was really surprising to me. I’ve also bumped this book up for obvious reasons and will resume work on it early next year!

Third in line, The Beast of Big Timber, my upcoming book about a disgraced police officer who must save his dog from Sasquatch! I am in the final stages of this novel now and am thrilled to see it rank so highly! With how well creature-features have done for me in recent years, I think this will be a hit with readers! I mean, who doesn’t want to save a puppy?

And there it is!

That’s the bulk of the questions! I had some write-in ones where people left me some very nice messages, but we don’t need to go over those publicly. Just know that I truly appreciated every single one of your comments!

And I know, I didn’t go over some questions. For some of them, the answer was obvious enough, like for YouTube: Almost no one wants more YouTube content from me, and I’m happy to put that to bed for now. I enjoy the process of creating YouTube videos, but editing takes so long and just isn’t worth the time when I need to be writing more great novels!

Want me to go into even MORE detail? We discussed all this and more on a recent episode of Publisher’s Cluttered House, the podcast I co-host with my wife and fellow author, Faryl! Check it out here if you want to go super-DUPER in depth!

So it looks like the answer is clear! People want more fiction above all else! Not too surprising, if I’m being honest. Some of the books that ranked highly surprised me, though! It’s also clear that while readers would like me to publish longer books less often, there’s also a place for my shorter books I can finish quicker! With all this in mind, I plan to serve both markets in 2023!

For the moment, 2023 was already stacked before I sent out this newsletter. A LOT of projects are finally getting the time they deserve, so before sending the newsletter, I made the schedule you can see below. While I plan to serve the longer-novel market with a couple of these titles, the facts are that for the moment, a few shorter novels are almost ready. They’ve been patiently waiting their turn for a while, so once they are out the door, I might re-focus my efforts on longer work.

But that said, let’s address one more elephant in the room. I can see this one, but most of my readers probably can’t: My shorter fiction is outperforming my longer novels.

This is a bit of a look behind the curtain, but a fun one for those of you who care about the ins and outs of publishing. The facts are that the shorter a book is, the better it’s sold for me. I’ve written a few longer books, one exceeding 100k words, but those just haven’t done as well, even though there appears to be demand for them. However, most of my books that are selling well have a word count of around 40K-50K. This is one of those times where I’m not sure if I agree with the results of the survey, simply because it doesn’t reflect what’s been happening to my career as of late. So, for now, I’m going to take those responses into consideration in the coming year, but with my shorter novels doing far better than my longer ones, writing longer novels just doesn’t make financial sense right now. They cost more to write and make less money, at least for the moment. So if I want to keep doing this as a career, shorter novels it is!

Quite a lot to take in, I know!

Anyway, as of now, we have a rough release schedule to work off of!

February: Beast of Big Timber

April: DenCom Cryptid Spinoff 1

June: Rise of Egypt Book 1

Auguest: Asher Bryant Book 2

October: TBD Benedict Origins Story (DenCom Novella)

December: Swim 2

BONUS DECEMBER: A DenCom Christmas (non-canon short story for charity!)

That’s the plan right now, obviously subject to change! COVID taught us all that plans can change on a dime, which is why you won’t see these preorders go up for a while!

I have what I like to call an “Emergency Button” book in the works as well, just in case something isn’t done on time. But almost everything you’re looking at is in a near if not fully complete state. The only thing that is nowhere near complete right now is Swim 2, but I’ll be starting work on that fairly soon!

Also, on the Godqueen Trilogy: It’s not impossible that I’ll add the third book to the schedule and wrap up that series in 2023, but that’s largely up to the publisher! If I do this, one of those titles may need to be pushed back so that the series finale (for now, anyway) can have the space it needs, marketing-wise. We’ll see what happens!

Also, on that bonus story: A DenCom Christmas should have been out this year, but with so much on my plate, I just couldn’t make it happen. Plus, I’m trying to find a platform where I can sell the eBook that will send all the proceeds directly to charity, and that hasn’t been as easy as I would have hoped. I could just list it on Amazon and do the math myself, but I don’t even want to risk screwing it up. So if anyone knows a service that offers something like this, please let me know! It’s a little late for DenCom Christmas this year, but hopefully next year, we can make that happen!

So how do you feel about the survey results? Do you agree? Disagree? I want to know!

If you’ve read this far, thanks for your support, and have a great holiday season!

-S.T. Hoover

Monday Morning Micro Madness Presents:

I inched closer to the ledge and caught sight of the target at two o’clock. Fifth row, thirty-two feet away. I didn’t think anyone would notice me above the box; not even the sportscasters seemed to hear me inch closer. 

Just one clean shot at the son of a bitch. That’s all I could ask for.

I pulled the rifle from its leather case, timing the loud zipping with yet another point buzzer. The Lakers were playing well tonight. Between another point and the silencer, no one would notice Ricky Talon drop at first. At least, not more than a few people around him. It would leave me more than enough time to escape. It’s all I could ask for.

My smirk was like the one that had haunted my client’s daughter since she lost her fight against the son of a bitch in bed. And in court.

That smirk.

Just one more point. Just one more point.

The Lakers took the rock up court, and a player whose name I couldn’t place went to dunk it. He did.

The buzzer sounded.

I pulled the trigger.

That smirk was gone.

That’s all I could ask for. 

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Enjoying the short fiction? Interested in something a little longer?

I’ve got you covered!

THE BOOKS

THE AUDIOBOOKS

Monday Morning Micro Madness Presents:

He stood at the side of the road in tie-dye boxers and a black bikini top. In one hand, he held an outstretched thumb. In the other, a sign hastily slapped together from pieces of trash he’d found along the desert highway:

I’m a genie! Two wishes left! Get them while they’re hot!

It was enough to convince Augustus to pull off California 62, although he was still twenty miles away from town. He’d seen a few odd hitchhikers in his day, but never one so odd as this. Careful not to pull too far into the soft shoulder, Augustus brought the semi to a halt and unlocked the door.

The man hopped in, leaving his sign behind in the heat. He extended a hand.
“Name’s Fartboy. Just Fartboy.”

Augustus cocked an eyebrow.

“Some seven-year-old’s idea,” Fartboy clarified. “Kid came out swinging, first wish! Musta had that saved up. Next two wishes…” He gestured to the bikini top and boxers. “I’m a genie. Ya saw the sign, I’m guessing.”

Augustus nodded, and they pulled back onto the road.

“What made you believe it?” Fartboy asked.

Augustus shrugged.

“So where we heading? 29 or thereabouts?”

Augustus nodded.

“Good, good. I could use a drink. Last guy who rubbed me out asked to die. Nothin’ more! Poof, dead as dead gets, to dust he did return and whatnot. Anyway, you wanna use these last two wishes? Free game, my man!”

Augustus said nothing.

“Gotta think about it, I see. No problemo. Everyone needs a few extra minutes to think it over. Just let me know when. It’s the least I can do to thank you for giving me a ride into town.”

Silence followed them into the city of 29 Palms and Augustus’s stop, the local supermarket. There, he left Fartboy in the front seat of the cab for three hours while he slept in the rear.

That night, they drove on.

At midnight, Fartboy asked, “You done any more thinking about those wishes?”

Augustus shrugged, and that was their night.

The next day, he picked up an order in San Francisco and headed for Denver.

“Any plans for those wishes yet, boss?”

Augustus shook his head.

Two nights later, they arrived in Denver and made the drop. From there, the goal was San Antonio.

“So, about those wishes…”

Augustus held up a hand.

A day later, they dropped off their order and set course for New York City.

“Come on, man. You’ve got to know what you want by now!”

Augustus held out his palm and jostled it. Still not sure, but closer than ever.

Two nights came and went, as did New York. And yet, the open road lay ahead.

“By now, you have to know what you want! Out with it, man! What do you wish for?”

With a sigh, Augustus reached across the cab to the glovebox and retrieved a small notepad and pen on which he scribbled a short message.

He tossed it to Fartboy:

I wish I wasn’t mute, and I wish you’d shut up.

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Enjoying the short fiction? Interested in something a little longer?

I’ve got you covered!

THE BOOKS

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THE AUDIOBOOKS

An intriguing pseudo-supernatural thriller I quite enjoyed.

The show addresses a question that I think any religious person, or even someone with a casual interest in religion, has asked themselves time and time again: How would we react, in the modern day, if Jesus Christ returned?

Now, I don’t believe the main character is ever directly referred to as the J-Man, but the point is clear. Over the course of the show, he repeats miracles and even comes up with some new ones, but people seemingly debunk him at every turn. Over the course of the show, you really don’t know if he’s the hero or the villain, and I loved that back-and-forth that would no doubt occur today.

Notably, the show was cancelled, possibly for political correctness reasons that we don’t need to go into. However, you do get an ending to the story. At least, in my opinion. Honestly, when the show ended, I didn’t want to see any more. They ended it perfectly.

There are a few slow episodes, but overall, I enjoyed the show and would highly recommend it.