The world has tried to finish me, but here I still stand. I’ve been beaten, broken, and put back together again both physically and emotionally. I have weathered the storm and now I have left my cave and I am ready to face the world again.

While I was away, Phrenic Press released my tale, “The Testimony of H.J. Pembrooke”, as a Kindle Single over at Amazon. It is something completely different from anything I have ever written and came out of a dare.

“If you like Poe so much, write something like him,” a person dared me.

What came out of the exchange between drunk friends became the story. I’m happy it was picked up. Honestly, it was better off being a loner. So if you want to step back to the turn of the twentieth century, to a dark and dreary Baltimore, and to the testimony of the cities most revered detectives in a school teacher’s disappearance; pick it up now and enjoy a quick read on the beach.

From Amazon…

It’s the turn of the 20th century in Baltimore, MD, and as the gas lamps burn brightly, madness lurks in the shadows…

When school teacher, Melisa Jameson, mysteriously disappears, famed detective H.J. Pembrooke is called in to investigate. As he sits before the local Constable to give his testimony concerning the events that transpired, what unravels is a twisting account of transcending love, loss, and insanity that intertwines to deepen the mystery of Melisa’s disappearance.

What happened to her on that fateful day and why is Melisa so familiar to our detective? Delve into The Testimony of H.J. Pembrooke to find out where fact ends and the lines of reality begin to blur…

And Now A Final Goodbye…

…to my laptop’s hard drive and everything I’d written over the past year. I got lucky with a few projects and still have the WIPs in hand. In the graveyard now is the work completed on: The Red Veil, Dragonflies, and the untitled White Creek novel. I am now way behind on everything.

The laptop had been my trusted partner for the entire span of my career so far and her loss makes me sad. She went to cons with me, shared in the joy of those first sales, and caught my tears when the walls closed in on me. I will miss her.

If there is a silver-lining, I am now more aware of remembering to back my shit up. Overall, I estimate over 65,000 words of material was lost for the projects listed above and for a slate of short stories in various states of completion. Hell, I’m not even sure what all I lost title-wise.

Now, if anything take a lesson from my situation and back that work up every day!

I will leave you now to prepare for the upcoming summer and I’m going to get back to the new desktop and try to play catch-up.

Goodnight,

Brent