DreadVerse, Past and Future
What goes out, what stays in-house
Big announcement at the end, stay for that.
Me and Carter Reid in 2014. He was my cover artist for this trilogy.
I started self-publishing over ten years ago. In fact this July will mark a decade since I ended my first trilogy. Since then I’ve managed to publish at least one thing per year, even if it was just a short story.
This year I got back on the the wagon of sending things out to publishers. As I focus more on doing this, I find myself examining the projects I want to tackle at large, and I’m deciding what to keep as self-pub projects versus tradpubbed.
Since I’ve operated for years under the moniker of “DreadPennies” (a play on old penny-dreadful stories), I’ve referred to my in-house projects as “the DreadVerse,” but this name isn’t necessarily set in stone. The main thing is that there’s a continuity line through my properties, that it’s going somewhere, and that it matters.
Here’s a look back at the titles I’ve already published, where they’re going, and how they’ll connect together. Over the next indeterminate number of years, I’ll work on these projects to get them out and advance toward the ultimate goal of an extended literary universe. It’d be a lot to ask a publisher to take that on unless I had a huge readership, which I don’t, but I’m going to write it anyway.
The Spartan
THE HERO NEXT DOOR was my attempt at a YA romance/coming-of-age/paranormal type story with a male protagonist. It was a very personal piece, even if Nick Stavros wasn’t meant to be a stand-in for me. He just had a lot of my experiences, or rather, I poured those into the book because I had something meaningful to say with him.
It’s been eight years since that book came out and I’ve always entertained the idea of a sequel or two. I think, ideally, I would just do one sequel, perhaps similar in length to the first book, called THE HERO UPSTAIRS. It would follow Nick in college, teaming up with the valkyrie he met at Kansas State, and it would involve closure with what happened between him and Penny Tarkanian.
Sheriff Porter
I’ve always maintained that if I wrote a direct sequel to SHERIFF PORTER, it would focus on Agent Reed. That story isn’t really eating at me so I haven’t bothered with it, but I have plans for side characters, namely Andre Gomez and Elizabeth Porter. In a future DreadVerse crossover, they’ll end up married and living in a duplex next to Nick Stavros and his wife. They’ll have…some interesting interactions.
Ghost Wars
Yes, there will be a sequel to SLEEPLESS HOLLOW, one that focuses on Josie as an apprentice ghost hunter, and it’ll also give us more insights into Kay. I don’t have a title for this sequel, but I know where it’ll go. SIC SEMPER TYRANNOSAURUS also features in this setting, as does my eventual rewrite of THE GUILD OF ELDRITCH ADVENTURERS. Silas Proctor has a huge role to play as a time-traveling ghost in the DreadVerse at large.
Swampwater
I haven’t written any of these. I haven’t told much of anyone about them. But I have brainstormed them and I know where they’re going to fit in the larger DreadVerse narrative. What’s the pitch? Imagine if I wrote an urban fantasy with a “magic system” related to old analog American muscle cars, driven by esoteric practitioners who fight demonic cryptids in the remote wilds of North America. We need more muscle car fiction.
The Intrepids
Much like Swampwater, these aren’t written yet, though I’ve had several false starts. Intrepids is my version of a superhero story, and I’ve saved some ideas for it that I’m VERY excited to share with you.
I’ve been cooking up this setting and refining it since 2013. It’s gone through numerous iterations and processes of rebirth en route to becoming—in my head—my powerhouse series, even more important than Engines in the grand scheme of things. How many books it’ll be remains to be seen, but I think you’re going to love it.
The Engines Timeline
This is perhaps the trickiest one to address, only because at first I was worried about going this route, but this week I finally decided on a way to get there: I am going to softly rewrite the Engines of Liberty trilogy.
I hesitated to do anything like this because out of all my books, it’s been read by the most people, and I’m probably best-known for it. I don’t want to sweep the leg on anyone who’s bought it, and I also think my “first draft” or “rookie year” should stand forever. My solution? I’ll publish an omnibus edition, with all three books in one, and there will be some noticeable details added, or minor changes made, all in the name of bringing this story more into alignment with the DreadVerse.
I’d only do this if I thought the idea I had and the direction for these characters was too good not to tackle. I can’t give details here, obviously, but I’m so excited to get here that sometimes I can’t even think straight.
I can’t wait to share it. In addition to Engines of Liberty, there will be a prequel trilogy Engines of Piracy, and a sequel trilogy, Engines of Justice. I had at one time considered a concluding trilogy, Engines of Tyranny, but the idea for that one isn’t really going to work. Not with my plans for the….
Crossover Trilogy
This name isn’t final, I think I can come up with one better, but ultimately these books will be the main convergence event for everything else that’s happened in the DreadVerse. All of the above properties and characters will come together in an epic event to fight the most potent, ambitious, and dedicated antagonists who have been pulling the strings all along.
I planted a seed for this at the end of HOWLING WILDERNESS, when Graveheart and Trench got orders from Harrison Adler to visit Josie Penninger in New York—a seer woman who might be married to a ghost. This bridges SLEEPLESS HOLLOW and Engines, which are separate timelines, but that’ll be…rectified. No, this is not a multiverse story. I don’t do multiverses. It’s time-travel correction, and I’ve established that Silas can time-travel.
Remember Nick Stavros’ brother Clark, the medical doctor? Turns out he works for the Intrepids. The Dodge Demon that Nick wrecked will be rebuilt into a Swampwater muscle car. And I already mentioned that he and his wife are neighbors to Dre and Betsy Gomez, who…know some things.
The Big Announcement
With all of this established, here’s the big reveal: I’m going to do audio versions of all of this. No, I’m not going to distribute it to Audible, no I’m not going to put it on Spotify. I’m not big enough to get traction on either and I hate Spotify on principle. No, I have a YouTube presence so I’m going to stick it out there. BUT. I’m also going to post them right here on Substack, which has an audio portal.
On both platforms I’ll post chapter-by-chapter audio bits, along with a full version at the end, which will be paywalled. I have followers, I will reward them.
I can’t announce a timeline for this yet. 2026 is already going to be an insanely busy year. But I have a road map now, and I can lay it out and start tackling things.
Thank you all for reading and buying my books. There’s still time to buy FOSSIL FORCE for Christmas if you have a young reader on your list!