It’s been a good month for my upcoming novel

Revenge of the Phantom Press book cover

Revenge of the Phantom Press

November is turning out to be a very good for my upcoming novel, Revenge of the Phantom Press: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story. It received its first Advance Reader Copy review on Goodreads. The reviewer gave it a four star rating.

Finding books that fall in my absolute favorite genre is getting harder and harder to find, but I requested this for that reason. I knew it was not the first book in the series, but I thought it might work anyway. Generally, I didn’t notice much being the fourth book in the series. Yes, I could tell at places, but it really wasn’t too bad. I did feel a little confused in places, but that could be overlooked as stuff I should already have known. However, I really liked getting to know Tom, and I am interested enough to read more books in the series. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Today I found out that ROTPP was short listed for the 2025 American Writing Awards in the Fantasy category. (It’s listed in the PDF.) It’s not the Hugos, but it’s nice to be recognized for the work I put into this books.

It comes out January 31, but you can preorder it now at Amazon and most other vendors. It will be out in eBook and paperback editions. Check it out if you want to find out what happened to Tom after the events in The Rift, or if you’d like an Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Mystery with a humanistic twist.

ICE and Border Patrol brace for ‘Antifa weather attack’ (Fiction)

Sources within ICE and the Border Patrol are accusing Antifa of unleashing a powerful snowstorm against their officers in the Chicago area.

One source said, “We don’t care what the liberal media says. A lake can’t cause snowfall like this. Therefore, it must be an Antifa weather attack!”

The sources agree that ICE and Border Patrol officers are scrambling to find heavy coats and heaters. While some officers are accustomed to Washington DC’s winter weather, officers from warmer climates are panicking.

A store owner in Chicago, who asked not to be identified, claimed agents raided his clothing store. “They were screaming about ‘solid water falling from the sky,’ and the ‘refrigerator air’ outside. When they demanded I give them coats and gloves, I told them the Third Amendment was still valid. They accused me of protesting. Next thing I knew, I was pelted with pepper balls, and they randomly tossed tear gas grenades. I ended up losing about a thousand dollars with of merchandise. On the bright side, they didn’t put me into a secret detention facility.

While Antifa doesn’t have official press contacts, Bolingbrook Antifa denies Antifa is responsible for the snowstorm. Part of their message read, “If we controlled the weather, it would be raining milkshakes over every fascist in America!”

Russia is the only country suspected of owning a weather control machine. Allegedly, the machine, based on Nikola Tesla’s designs, was built by the USSR. After the fall of the Soviet Union, communist scientists captured the machine and hoped to use it to bring down the West. Despite inflicting severe weather on the United States, capitalism didn’t collapse, and the Russian government seized the machine from the Communist Party. Putin allegedly then launched weather attacks against the United States during the Obama administration. 

Sources connected to the Russian government deny responsibility for the coming snowstorm. One source said, “Why would we want to attack your wonderful President? Maybe George Soros is behind this violent attack? Maybe your wonderful President should use a nuclear weapon against it? We’re just asking questions.”

During a phone call to the White House Office of the Press Secretary, a staffer unleashed insults directed towards the media and refused to answer questions.

In the background, a man who sounded like US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, “Jared thinks he can take NASA away from me because he flew in space once. What he doesn’t know is that to get to space, you have to fly through FAA-controlled airspace. In other words, he has to get my permission to reach space.” Duffy laughed. “Jared came here to make friends, but I didn’t. I came here to win the Trump Administration.”

Also in the Babbler:

Wereskunks raise money for DuPage Township Food Bank.
Doctors without Planets sets up covert clinics in Bolingbrook
JB Pritzker promises not to have his face on emergency Illinois currency
God to smite Bolingbrook on 11/12/25 

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

My upcoming Urban Fantasy novel, Revenge of the Phantom Press, is available for preorder. If you like Urban Fantasy novels, like the Dresden Files and Welcome to Night Vale, you’ll like Revenge. It’s part of the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories books, which are available through most retailers. 

Space Force Marines release BP Commander Greg Bovino (Fiction)

By Reporter X

US Space Force Marines detained Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino after an AI app mistakenly identified him as a communist space alien. After four hours, he was released at Palatine’s Rob Sherman UFO Base. Bovino is the commander in charge of Operation Midway Blitz. 

“I forgive them,” Bovino told members of the interstellar press corps. “We come from different branches of the government, but we both want to prevent inferior beings from replacing real Americans!” He extended his arm straight out at an angle towards the gathered Space Force personnel, then said, “Hi Zeek. I’ll—” Some of the Marines responded by chanting “Sieg Heil.” Their commanding officers ordered them to stop. 

A masked commander from Space Force blamed Antifa for the “accidental detention.” He said, “Obviously, Antifa hackers altered our Starview Database to list Commander Bovino as a space alien. Just like the hacked Grok to make it think the commander was Cindy Sherman. Antifa is evil, but we are eviler! I mean greater!”

While Bovino refused to describe the conditions inside his prison ship, sources say he was kept in a pen with 20 other aliens. They also confirmed that he protested about the quality of his meals. At one point, he allegedly yelled, “I want white bread. Wheat bread is DEI!”

The press conference ended early as alien visitors and human staffers started jeering at Bovino and the gathered Marines. Palatine police officers used tear gas and sonic weapons to drive the protesters away.

An officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “I know we’re not supposed to help Space Force, but it was that or let them shoot up the base.” When asked if the Palatine police would arrest Space Force personnel who attacked innocent visitors, the officer replied, “Why would we do that? We’re all part of the same blue line. Us liners have to stick together!”

Also in the Babbler:

Trump threatens to sue Village over ‘mean livestream’
Local weredogs clash with ICE weredogs
NFL questions local wizards following Bears surprise win
God to smite Bolingbrook on 11/7/25

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer. 

My upcoming Urban Fantasy novel, Revenge of the Phantom Press, is available for preorder. If you like Urban Fantasy novels, like the Dresden Files and Welcome to Night Vale, you’ll like Revenge. It’s part of the Bolingbrook Babbler Stories books, which are available through most retailers.