It’s my birthday yet again, and as always this song comes to mind:

I’m a little less melancholy than usual this year (thought still with plenty of black bile to get along with), as this is the first time I’ve had a day job that I’m actually invested in (emotionally; financially I could use a little more investment if you catch my drift) and which seems to be a potentially long-term prospect. I’m very unsatisfied with the rate of my literary and other creative outputs, my rhythm of life, and my social situation.

In any case, this birthday sees me feeling a little better than I usually do on these days, but still with what feels like a long way to go before I’m happy with where I am in life.

In other news, the next issue of Cirsova Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense is coming out soon, and your humble servant is in it!

My story is called Black Eyes. Per the magazine blurb:
An errant knight and a daring thief clash, having both targeted the same gang of bandits! One seeks gold, the other justice, but can they overcome the gang’s strange leader?!

The story involves sword fights, death traps, daring acrobatic feats, treasure, demonic entities, and possibly a bit of romance.

It also introduces what I hope to be a recurring character, in Caradon, the last Sangual Knight, who is essentially my version of Conan, only (it being written by me) he’s more like the anti-Conan: a thoroughly civilized and chivalrous figure in a barbaric, post-civilized world of moral ambiguity.

(That’s not a slam on Conan, by the way, just that my mind works differently than Mr. Howard’s).

In any case, the soft-cover version goes life on 12/17. Mark your calendars or pre-order today for a Christmas bundle of pulpy goodness!