…or something. I don’t know. Wild for me now would have been mild for twenty-something Jason.

That guy’s a jerk, with all that energy and no bad back or neck.

However, there is some exciting news, so I’ve got that going for me. Twenty-something Jason was an aimless shifter.

First, the very first anthology I’ve ever edited, CHICKS IN TANK TOPS (Baen Books), is available for over at the Baen website in eARC format. eARCs are great for those who simply cannot wait to get their hands on the print copy of the book when it comes out and instead are willing to buy the proofed but not final copy of the book months in advance. Not a lot changes in the story, but there will be misspellings and some minor editorial changes that will need to be fixed before it gets to print. Minor stuff, I’ll add. I usually buy these when some of my favorite authors have a new book come out and I can’t wait three months to get it. If you’re interested in reading the anthology before it gets to print, you can buy a copy here.

There’s also a look at the January monthly bundle from Baen, where you can buy the entire month’s releases without spending a fortune. That link is here and offers all 7 January books for a measly $18. That’s one hell of a deal if you ask me.

Next, the preorder for the first four books of the Kin Wars (German translation) is up and available. I’m pretty stoked about this one. WRAITH-KIN (note the different title!) is coming out October 13 (four days from now). VERDUNKELN (DARKLING) is coming out November 13, TODESFÜRTEN (DEATHLORDS) on December 13, and HAUSWACHE (HOMEGUARD) will be out on January 13, 2023.

Signed a contract for my next short story set in John Ringo’s new upcoming Black Tide Rising anthology, UNITED WE STAND. I don’t think I’m getting to cover again (but you never know!) and the story is just about wrapped up. A little long again, but continues the story of the girls of St. Dominic’s Prep and their struggle to build after the Fall. The tentative title right now for the story is Skirts & Shamblers, but that might change.

Some progress on the two novels I’m coauthoring with Kevin Ikenberry. ON A CLOUDY DAY is somewhere in the neighborhood of 100K words already and we still have a massive battle to write (ugh), while THE MISFITS is already at something like 15K. If all goes well after Factorycon next week, both of those will be done before too long.

I have two more short stories due before the end of the year. One of them finishes off my Last Brigade Universe story I wrote for STANDING FAST ON FOREIGN SHORES. This story is titled Tears for the Sons and is really, really grim. I hate when my brain goes all grimdark. If I do that, I should just go and write some Warhammer 40K books or something.

The other short story is for Jamie Ibson’s WE DARE 5 (not the official title, but that’s where it is in the order). I’ve been in them all except for the third one, and this short is going to feature a Kin Wars short story (the first Kin Wars short fiction I’ll have written since 2018). Not set on the title of it yet but right now it’s tentatively titled Blood, Sand, and Betrayal. It’s going to cover the Battle of Hariri Bay (which is mentioned in the Kin Wars a few times; it was one of the decisive battles which guaranteed the freedom of the Dominion from Earth). That title will probably change, though. There’s other stuff in the works I can’t talk about yet but I think everyone’s going to be excited about.

(side note: I just looked up and spotted a massive wolf spider crawling along the wall. Though you’d want to know)

THE EXECUTIONERS (coauthored with Matt Novotny) hit 200 reviews and ratings on Amazon this week. It’s the first novel I’ve written to do this. That’s super exciting. Thank you to everyone who took the time out to either leave a review or give it a 5-star rating. On the German translation front, I heard a little birdy say that SONS OF THE LION will be translated into the language soon and be up sometime early 2023, with GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY coming out like a week or two later.

All this writing, and nothing personal. We’ve survived our first summer in North Carolina (well, my first, not hers). I hate the heat and humidity, so I naturally moved to the South. It’s kind of become a running joke that I like being miserable. The cats are fine. Casper is his usual grumpy self and Curly has taken to hiding beneath any blanket he can find. It’s not because he’s skittish or anything. He just likes the dark.

After Factorycon in two weeks, everything around here settles down until January. In January I’ll probably be down in Orlando, FL for some signings and a trip to Universal. Then convention season winds back up again at FantaSci in March.

Staying busy.