The Writings on the Wall #42
Murder mystery plans and more
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Hey! Look at that! This is my 42nd newsletter… And I still have no idea what the question is, hahahaha!
Okay. More seriously.
March was a slow burner. Didn’t do much work at first, but then I picked up speed in the last couple of weeks. Got two short stories completed and started working on a third (the one for Baen).
I’ve also been rethinking my murder mystery project. Ended up scratching my original idea (well, not completely, still want to write that one someday, but it’ll have to wait) to go with something simpler (in structure, I mean) that would allow me to dive right in rather than spend weeks—if not months—developing the plot and characters. I’m fine-tuning a format now that I could use for every book in the series (yes, it’ll be a series) and that would allow me to write more organically, like I’m used to—ie I’d go in with only a plot outline and flesh it out as I write, while developing characters along the way.
Very experimental, all this, but it’s an interesting process.
The next short stories I plan to write include a Reikk adventure and a new installment in the Silius Chronicles. There are also a couple of standalone concepts that have been swirling in my head for a while that I need to put into writing.
Well, that’s all for now.
Hope you all have a lovely day!
Recently published stories
In December, I released my first collection of short stories. To Worlds of Wonder contains 15 science-fiction tales, two of which are brand new (the others were all originally published on Substack). If you’d like to support me, buying a copy is a great way to do that! The two originals are:
“Down a Dark Road” (a man is caught in a time loop—how will he break out?)
“Confessions of an Artificial Intelligence” (the future from the perspective of an AI)
And here’s a list of the stories I published in 2024 outside of Substack:
“The Waystation” in Tome of Terrors (horror anthology)
“The Battle of Braxia” in Laser Cannons & First Contact (space opera anthology)
“Strength of the Gwich’in,” “The Scales of Death,” and “Under Siege” (as Steffen Larken) in Time of the Champions (epic fantasy anthology in the “Dragon Dice” game setting)
If you like my writing, please consider buying a copy of my novel, upgrading to a paid subscription, or making a Paypal or Ko-fi donation. As an independent author, any of these would help a lot!
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Copyright (c) 2025 by Alex S. Garcia.