2015 in Review

Another year is now ending, and I'm excited for the next year and all it brings! 2015 was great, but 2016 looks like it could be even better! But before we jump headfirst into 2016, I'll talk about what I did in 2015.

2015 was the Year of New Avalon. It was the year I launched the city of New Avalon for the setting of a few of my book series, and every book I released in 2015 was set in that town. It's a modern American city with various elements of urban fantasy and scifi - from monsters to magic to mad science, New Avalon has a bit of it all. And keeping with my style, often it's often ridiculous and outlandishly over the top.

First out of the gate this year was the original Nowak Brothers book, I KILL MONSTERS. It introduced you all to Szandor and Mikkel, twenty-something monster hunters who explore the sewers and tunnels below New Avalon to fight ghouls, zombies, and other creatures. Their first adventure had them fighting more than monsters as Szandor narrated their encounters with the corporation Minerva Technics.

The second book set in New Avalon was the first Dane Monday book, MANIC MONDAY. This story introduced you all to Dane Monday, a man who has dealt with weird stuff all his life. Mad science, robots, magic, strange occurrences, and even stranger adventures. In this book he meets Abby Connors and in between running, explosions, and homicidal robot attacks, they stumble on a plot that threatens the entire city. It's not long before it all ends in a climactic fight and a section of the city being destroyed.

The third New Avalon book was THE CASE OF THE DEAD GIRL IN MY APARTMENT. This mouthful of a title was the book that introduced you to a number of college friends trying to clear the name of their friend Jake of the murder of a woman in his bedroom. But it's no mere mystery, as the murderer is a monster, the stakes are higher than one life, and it becomes apparent that there's a secret war going on in New Avalon for the fate of the city and possibly the world.

The fourth New Avalon book of the year was the second Nowak Brothers novel, JABBERWOCK JACK. In this sequel, Mikkel takes the narrating reigns from his brother. There's no conspiracy of corporations in this one. Instead, the two brothers join a team of elite hunters going deep under the city to hunt a massive serpent that has been part of New Avalon's folklore for centuries. It's also the first crossover, as Dane and Abby of MANIC MONDAY guest star.

The final bit of New Avalon for the year was just a short story, the New Avalon Holiday Special, DANE MONDAY SAVES CHRISTMAS (WITH HELP). In this story, Dane Monday and Szandor Nowak team up to stop mysterious Santas that are threatening the city. It's both a story of robots and Christmas spirit, as Szandor struggles with his faith in the holiday (and also a plasma rifle).

But New Avalon wasn't the only focus of 2015! I also published a pair of other short stories! The first was THE LAST GHOST, a Victorian ghost story. In this, a young man is in his old ancestral home, organizing his family's affairs while he is haunted by the ticking of a clock. Amidst his efforts, he is visited by a single ghost. But that's not all, as next comes a second, and then a third. There are most ghosts to come, as they are all leading up to the last ghost... For the rest of today, you can get the LAST GHOST for free on Amazon!

The other story was A HOMEOWNER'S GUIDE TO INTERDIMENSIONAL PORTALS. Rather than being an instructional guide, it is the testimony of a house owner who discovers something neither the previous owner nor the house inspector told him about: a portal to another dimension in the back yard. How does one deal with an unwanted interdimensional portal? Who do you call? What do you do?

And with that, we close out 2015. What will 2016 bring? More New Avalon novels and more fun stories! Look for an announcement in the next month for more Dane Monday! And more New Avalon Case Files! And of course more Nowak Brothers!

Happy End of 2015 and I will see you in 2016! Thanks for reading!