Frequently Asked Questions
People ask me questions. A lot of questions. Sometimes the same question gets asked frequently. So here’s the answers to a lot of those, updated as of September 2026. Now when folks ask me one of those questions, I can just point at this page.
Which, y’know, some of you could’ve just looked at in the first place. I mean, if you hit the Contact link up at the top, you had to see the FAQ link right there next to it, right?
No, no, not you. You’re cool. I’m giving that guy a hard time. He just doesn’t pay attention at all…
When are we going to see something new?
As of this writing the next thing you’re going to see is the paperback edition of God’s Junk Drawer, which is out November 3rd.
After that, I’ve got The Off Season coming out April 20th in hardcover, ebook, and an audiobook performed by the always wonderful Ray Porter.
And then… well, I’m already pretty far into my next book. And a bit into the book that comes after that. And there’s something else on the horizon, too. So we’ll see what happens.
Are there ever going to be paper version of Terminus
or Dead Moon?
Alas, at this moment, probably not. There’s a few reasons for it that involve different business and PR things. I went over a lot of it a while back on the ranty writing blog, if you’re really interested. There’s still a chance both books (and a few of my other older books) could become available in print if there’s a big demand for them, but for the moment it looks like these are only going to be ebook and audio. Sorry.
Is Ex-Isle the end of the Ex books?
Yeah, most likely. Simple truth is pretty much every series has a limited life. Book one usually sells the best, not as many folks are interested in book two, a few less show up for book three, and so on. Not a lot of people decide to start a series on book four, y’know? Sure, something can always happen to give that first book a boost (and then all the other books after it) but the series will still be on the same downward slope, heading for the red line where things aren’t profitable for the publisher. None of the Ex-Heroes books ever lost money (thank you all), but when the folks at Broadway Paperbacks looked ahead to book six (tentatively titled Ex-Tension), well, the math on the walls was pretty clear and they made their decision.
Have you ever thought about a Kickstarter or a GoFundMe for any of this?
Yeah, I have. Look, I love the Ex books. I was thrilled I got to write them and I had tons of fun doing it. They’re probably tied with -14- as the thing that seriously started my career as a fiction writer. I’m still amazed there are so many fans who love them so much. But the math here is pretty simple—if enough people were willing to buy another book, the publisher would’ve been more than willing to put out another book. But all the numbers said that’s just not the case. Yeah, I know some of you might be willing to pay twice as much to see one more book, but I think we can all agree there’s at least as many people (probably more) who wouldn’t pay anything. And that’s the math again—it just doesn’t work out for this.
Plus, doing a crowdfunded project like this means I have to schedule my time under the assumption it’s going to succeed. Which means telling any publishers those other “something new” projects I mentioned above need to be put off and scheduled accordingly. And that leaves a six or seven month hole in my schedule when the Kickstarter flops. Which—again—all the math says is what’ll happen.
And look, Kickstarters are a ton of work to run. They’re even more work if they succeed. It essentially means I have to be writer and publisher and distributor and publicist and more. And to be terribly, brutally honest… I don’t want to do any of that. Some folks do well with it, but me… I just want to tell stories. That’s all.
TL;DR—Yeah, I have thought about it. A lot. And the answer’s no. Sorry.
Do you get more money if I buy books in one format rather than another?
This sounds like a simple question, I know, but any answer I give is going to have a bunch of conditionals attached to it. A huge chunk of each and every book contract is just all the different terms and conditions for when and if and how people get paid. Lots of “ifs” and “excepts” and “unlesses.”
For example… format matters, sure, but so does where you bought the book. And when. And how many people bought it before you (seriously). And if it was on sale. And who actually had the sale (publisher or distributor). And all of this changes in every contract. What’s true for, say, God’s Junk Drawer isn’t true for Paradox Bound. Sometimes.
Again, TL;DR—just buy the format you like.
When are we going to see a movie/ TV series/ graphic novel/ video game of your books?
First off, I hope you understand I have almost no say in Sony deciding to do a Broken Room film or Shudder making a Threshold series. When we see a movie, a television series, or a streaming adaptation, it means the studio went to the writer, not the other way around. If it was just about authors going to filmmakers, believe me, everything would be adapted by now. John Carpenter’s adaptation of -14- would be winning piles of awards.
There are some things going on right now—to be honest, there’s almost always something going on with at least one or two of my books—but I tend not to talk about it much. After years of working in Hollywood and reporting on Hollywood, I know what terms like “option” and “attachment” mean and how much weight they really have. I don’t want to toss things out there that’ll get misunderstood or give everyone (including me) a lot of false hope. Believe me, if there’s something actually worth telling you, I’ll tell you. You won’t get me to shut up about it.
Well, is there anything we can do to help?
Buying books is always the best step. Talking about them is a close second. Hollywood likes to see big sales numbers and interest. Producers/ directors/ actors all hear about this stuff the same way you do—online reviews, bestseller lists, and social media. If #GodsJunkDrawer started trending on TikTok tomorrow, there’d probably be a film in pre-production by the end of the year. No, I’m serious.
So talk about books you like (anybody’s books, not just mine). Mention them to friends, write reviews, make videos, tag streaming networks if you want to talk about how this or that should be a movie. Word of mouth is the best (and easiest) thing to do.
Wait, I saw you say online you don’t like people talking about your books. Which is it?
I’m thrilled and amazed when people talk about anything I wrote. Really. I think most writers are. What I can’t stand, personally, are people who blurt out spoilers that ruin these stories for other people. It’s why I avoid those questions in interviews and on social media, and why—where I can—I delete (or block) posts or comments that reveal key things from a book. Especially if I’m tagged in said post.
And not just my stories! You shouldn’t mess up other stories, either. Books, movies, TV—I’m just saying, if you enjoyed it spoiler-free, why not try to give other people a chance to enjoy it the same way? Especially these days when release dates/air dates aren’t the ironclad things they used to be. There’s a markedly different experience, narratively and psychologically, between going into a work blind and going in knowing what’s coming—and part of that is you only have one chance to go in blind. So don’t ruin that one chance.
Would you be willing to read my book for a blurb?
I’m very willing to help writers out as best I can, especially new writers… with a couple provisos. One is that you may feel like I may have slightly more shelf presence than you, but that doesn’t mean my name carries a lot of cross-genre weight. I’m probably not the best person to blurb your cozy mystery, military thriller, or mind flayer romantasy novel. Okay, maybe that last one, but you get what I’m saying.
Second is that I pretty much always have three or four books in my “read for blurbs” pile. Some of them come directly from writers I’ve known for years. The rest come through my agent, my editors, or publicists who know me. And that has to be how your book finds me so I don’t get buried in more books than I could ever possibly read.
Well, okay, would you just read my story and maybe offer some feedback?
Short answer… no.
Long answer… look, I don’t mean to sound mercenary, but writing is how I pay for electricity and food. And I really like food. So when someone asks me to read stuff, they’re asking me to give up a few hours of work. How many people that you know, that you’re really good friends with, would you give up six or seven hours of paid work for? And I mean, there is also this ranty writing blog sitting right here with over (gasp) two decades of advice and tips.
Also, hate to say it, but some folks are not too bright and lawsuit-crazy and they ruin it for everyone. Some random stranger sends me a piece of bland, generic genre fiction, then a few years later they sue me for stealing their idea of… dinosaurs. Yeah, I know how stupid that sounds, believe me, but I’ve actually been subpoenaed and deposed for lawsuits with less behind them than that. That’s why I’m verrrry leery when I get a long message from strangers along the lines of “You know what you should do next with the characters from 14…” I delete those on sight. Heck, some writers respond with cease & desist orders when they get sent stuff like this.
So really the long answer also boils down to no. And again, if you send stuff without asking, I’ll delete it unread, just like spam mail. And probably block you or your email address.
Do you have any plans to attend #####-Con?
At the moment, the only cons currently on my schedule for the next twelve months are all in southern California (and a fairly solid chance I’ll be at DragonCon in 2027). I really love going to cons, but I just don’t have the resources to attend them all over the country (or in other countries!) especially once you consider travel and accommodations. And that’s before we even talk about trying to wiggle my way onto panels or signings. So. with rare exceptions, I only go places where I’ve been invited.
(I’d love to get invited to Emerald City or Denver or back to New England– just saying)
Which means if you’d like to see me at a con in your neighborhood, let said con’s organizers know. Email them, post on their social media accounts, let them hear what you want—whatever it is. And talk to them early! Most cons are usually planning things out at least six or seven months in advance. So if you’ve got a local con next spring or summer… maybe ask them about it now.
Speaking of social media, where are you these days? Are you more on one than another?
Ahhhhh, social media. Everyone’s favorite addictive substance.
I’m mostly posting on Bluesky these days. That’s the best places to find me if you’re looking for those sort of one-on-one interactions. I’m on Mastodon, but as far as I can tell the main use of Mastodon is folks telling everyone how much better Mastodon is than any other social media site. I still have an Instagram account, but I haven’t posted there in over a year because the algorithm’s made it pretty much useless for, well, everything and it’s Meta so, alas, it’s constantly finding ways to be more awful. Twitter/X… deleted it ages ago. Honestly don’t know why anyone’s still there. I’ve said it before, but I think social media as a concept is really crumbling as so many sites become even more algorithm dependent and manipulative.
Anyway, if Bluesky’s not your thing, you could always sign up for my newsletter– The Uncanny Cosmic Horror Zombie Almanac. Absolutely free, only once a month so it doesn’t pile up in your inbox, and I’ve been told it’s fun, engaging, and even semi-informative sometimes. It usually goes out on the 15th (more or less) with maybe one or two “special editions” each year when there’s something important and/ or timely to tell you about. Check it out.