I’ve been giving FREDRIKUS a bunch of thought and his world is certainly one I want to get back to. I have other pressing committments like THE BATTLE OF POWER TRILOGY for THE AXIOM-MAN SAGA and I committed this year to superhero fiction as the priority. However, the artist in me wants to draw something too.
A lot has changed in my life since the last FREDRIKUS strip and, as is the spirit of the strip about a down-and-out anthropomorphic dog in a dystopian sci-fi world, there are some things I need to say and the webcomic is a good place to say it.
So, that said, my plan is to create new strips at a leisurely, non-deadline pace then share them with you. I’m not saying they’ll be anytime soon. Just saying it’ll be an unseen side project while I work on other things so my hand’s itch to draw is satisfied.
In the meantime, there is a special plan for the current strips available but I will reveal that in due time.
For now, start at the beginning and read a couple issues’ worth of free comics. The Fredrikus webcomic is waiting for you.
Realm of Heroes and Monsters YouTube Playlist Index
As you might have guessed–because I’ve been blatantly obvious–I spent a good chunk of 2023 beefing up my YouTube channel in an effort to 1) Play in another medium 2) Put some eyeballs on my books and comics 3) Entertain or inform you as best as I am able.
We did not bad and had growing stats week by week. Sure, there were some dips in the analytics but you can’t hit the ball out of the park every time.
Below is a newly-curated list of my playlists on YouTube. It’d be really great if you subscribed to one that strikes your fancy. Part of the goal with this whole YouTube thing is to use it as a funding channel–which costs my viewers nothing other than 2 seconds to click subscribe–so I can more easily bring you more books and comics and other entertainment. If you haven’t already subscribed to the channel, please do so. It really does help out an independent creator like me make ends meet.
Here are the playlists on my channel in no particular order as we embark into 2024.
Enjoy!
Realm of Heroes and Monsters YouTube Playlist Index:
Realm of Heroes and Monsters YouTube Playlist Curation
As my YouTube channel begins to grow, at this present stage I’ve come to a point where I had to adjust my playlists to keep things more ogranized for those who view and/or follow playlists.
There are the news ones I created and organized. I have plans to tweak and adjust some more, but this is my start:
So as you can see, 5 lists were created to better sort the channel which makes for easier navigation.
Feel free to explore the above and don’t forget to subscribe to the Realm of Heroes and Monsters on YouTube. Helps keep the book and comic machine going.
Welcome to Patreon 2.0, my second effort on the platform. I made sure to load it full of patron-exclusive goodies plus a bunch of stuff that’s available to everyone as I don’t want to put all my work behind a paywall.
As a patron of my page, you get the following:
$1 – Tip Jar. That’s all it is. Your reward is my gratitude.
$5 – Full monthly access to all public content that I put on the Web PLUS PATRON EXCLUSIVE content not found anywhere else except via Patreon. Thus far, they are:
$1 – Tip Jar. That’s all it is. Your reward is my gratitude.
$5 – Full monthly access to all public content that I put on the Web PLUS PATRON EXCLUSIVE content not found anywhere else except via Patreon. Thus far, they are:
Patron Exclusive Photography
Patron Exclusive Essays
Patron Exclusive Behind the Scenes
Patron Exclusive Artwork
Patron Exclusive Videos
Patron Exclusive Blog Posts
Patron Exclusive Quick Notes
Any other features you’d like to see? Drop me a note here and let me know.
The Way of the Fog and Still About a Girl Returning to Life
A long time ago I wrote an epic fantasy (253k words) called THE WAY OF THE FOG: VOLUME ONE OF THE ARK OF LIGHT. It came out in hardcover only. That hardcover is returning. As for paperback and eBook versions, I’ll have to figure something out because the core files were lost in The Great Computer Crash of 2010. I have some ideas on how to recover the files, but it’ll take some time.
As well, my poetry book, STILL A ABOUT A GIRL, is returning to print. It was my third poetry collection and came out early in my career. No reason to not have it out there again. It’s a collection of poems about love and loss and how it changes you.
Stay tuned for more news as these projects return.
In the meantime, lots of books to choose from both here and at Amazon to keep you reading company. Thanks.
Project Rebirth: Final Update and Announcement given this sixth day of the twelfth month in the year 2019 AD.
It’s been a long, busy journey, but Project Rebirth is complete up to the point where I can transfer out parts of the project into the “things I need to finish” category, in other words, what’s left to do is the “more” part that I’ve mentioned in previous updates.
So, as always, a recap of what’s complete and what that strange “more” is all about.
The following list is taken from the last update on Project Rebirth.
Resumption of my newsletter, The Canister X Transmission: Goes out every Saturday and has been for a while now. Please subscribe here and get yourself a free thriller e-novelette as a thank you for joining me.
A Patreon account with special content just for patrons: All systems have been in go mode for a while now, too. By becoming a patron, you get access to an ongoing serial novel, essays on the creative life, a look behind-the-scenes, and other fun stuff. Joining the journey supports what I do and keeps the projects alive. Please join my patrons and I on my Patreon journey here.
Order fulfillment of the Axiom-man/Auroraman: Frozen Storm Kickstarter: All the books are printed up. Special piece of exclusive art to the Frozen Storm lettered edition needs a final touch, printing, then into the books.
Publication of projects that were temporarily put on hold: See the “more” section below.
Bigtime expansion and growth of The Axiom-man Saga and associated products: Transferring this portion of the project into the “things I need to finish” category. Keep an eye on this blog for news and updates as we bring the Cobalt Crusader into 2020. I really want to get that long-awaited Battle of Power Trilogy storyline done and published.
Revving up public appearances and media again: Best place to keep up to date with these is via the Convention and Book Signing Schedule page on this site. Please go there to check out what’s booked so far. Regarding interviews and whatnot, those will be announced on the blog when they happen and will also be listed under the Interviews section of this site.
New YouTube channel: Been running for a short while now. New videos uploaded regularly. Please subscribe here so you don’t miss the latest video.
More . . . : A Web presence redesign along with a retooling of the social media pages was part of this and is complete. There is more SEO stuff to do to properly bring the blog into the New Year, but that is a pick-at project for when I have the time and there’s no real deadline other than, say, by spring or something.
The big part of “more” is this: Book redesigns!
A good chunk of my book covers are dated and need an upgrade so many are getting one. I also need to adjust the distribution system for a pile of titles to keep them available and searchable at various retailers. Presently, all first editions are still available so if you’re a first-edition collector, please head over to my Book and Comic Shop and stock up. If you’d like a signed copy, please email me directly and we’ll make arrangements.
As the titles begin to transfer over to their new form, I will post notices here as to which books are being redone and when so you can keep current with what’s what. This book redesigning effort is a large project and is going to take time because there are so many titles. My aim is to do them in chunks. At the time of this writing, my plan is to update my backlist before releasing anything new (despite new titles already being complete behind the scenes). It’s better for my books’ overall quality that I stay in one kind of headspace (re-releasing the backlist) before switching into another (releasing new titles).
But have no fear for new comic book releases are scheduled! I will announce these in a separate blog post when the time comes.
So there you have it. This is my winter and what’s coming down the pike. I’m not joking when I say I’m busy.
Thank you for your patience as I got the media machine up and running again. Thank you for your support reading this blog and watching my videos. Thank you for grabbing the first editions of my monster and superhero books.
While I was ill a lot of stuff fell by the wayside. Some projects were done, others unfinished. It’s taken a while to figure out where things are at but today I came up with a publishing plan that I’m comfortable with, especially since I’m still on the mend.
So that said, here’s the plan:
While I’m doing the “more” of Project Rebirth, I will be publishing comics until the “more” is complete. I will talk about the “more” soon enough on the blog so stay tuned for that. Regarding comics, I have two projects on the go and they are such that I can maintain both without killing myself. They are Project Jackass and Project Cobalt.
Status of each:
Project Jackass: In the writing phase along with release and publication planning. Some design done. Publication planning mostly complete. This is a project that will be executed in an unusual way compared to what you’re used to from me.
Project Cobalt: New phase just started but still in the writing phase overall. Publishing plan mostly pinned down.
These are scheduled to debut next year.
There is a tiny chance Project Jackass will arrive before 2019 is out but don’t hold your breath. There are a lot of things that need to come together for this and my schedule is quite packed at the moment because apparently doing 101 things at once is how I roll.
One thing is certain, however: My days as just being a writer are over. I’m in a new era in my personal life and the old chapter is closed, including how I handled my creative career during that time. Going forward, I’m a writer/artist so my energies will be spent making both books and comics. Comics are what started me in this business all those years ago and it’s fitting that things have come full circle.
I can’t wait to reveal what these project code-names really are.
Lots of comics on the brain these days, both the creation of them and the publishing of them (the latter being the most difficult in the context of distribution; publishing them in general is a non-issue). I’m basically living in my head on the matter and have written notes where and when needed. An overall plan is starting to congeal but there are still a few missing elements which will no doubt present themselves the further I get into the process.
I’m still waiting to hear back from some people on something that will dictate the winter schedule. I expect I’ll be hearing something soon thus helping things on my end.
A good chunk of Project Rebirth is in the can, here is the update, lifting the list from this previous blog entry:
Resumption of my newsletter, The Canister X Transmission: This has been back up and running for a while now and is just as enjoyable now and it was all the years I’ve been doing it. Please subscribe by going here. You get a free novelette as a thank you.
A Patreon account with special content just for patrons: This has also been running for a bit now. It’s a lot of fun and I’m thrilled to provide exclusive content to my patrons. Please join the Patreon journey and get access to an ongoing serial novel (plus other things, depending on the tier you select), by going here.
Order fulfillment of the Axiom-man/Auroraman: Frozen Storm Kickstarter: The paperback is coming off the line at the printer’s right now so a pick up is in the near future. I will sign the books then send them to Jeff Burton for his signature before they go out to backers. The lettered edition is printed and signed on my end. I’m in the process of inserting a piece of exclusive art into the book. Once this is done, these will also go to Jeff Burton for signature then to backers. If you missed the kickstarter but want a copy of the book to complete your Axiom-man and/or Auroraman collection, please go here.
Publication of projects that were temporarily put on hold: A list is made, but this is tied into the “more” below, so as it stands right now, I’m not moving on them just yet.
Bigtime expansion and growth of The Axiom-man Saga and associated products: In process.
Revving up public appearances and media again: To be looked at over the winter.
New YouTube channel: The channel has been up for a short while with more videos being added as time goes on. Please subscribe here.
More . . . : This “more” is tied into the “hearing back from some people” statement above. This step is a big part of my winter so I’m in a holding pattern until I know what’s going on. Watch this space for more info once I have it. I think a Web presence redesign was part of my original plan for “more” so that’s also complete both here on the blog and on social media.
And that pretty much sums up where things are at with Project Rebirth. More news to come as things progress along.
Reminder: A Tip Jar was set up yesterday on Patreon and on Ko-fi. The tips are meant to help fuel the free stuff I put on the Web (daily blogging, YouTube videos, a weekly newsletter, and artwork). Thank you in advance for any beans you throw my way.
Caught in Black Headlights is a poetry book I’ve been picking at for a long while now. It’s meant as a depository of musings for when a thought or moment consumes me and I have something to say about it.
I am no stranger to the poetry world, having thus far published three books in the genre: The Hand I’ve Been Dealt, Haunted Melodies and Other Dark Poems, and Still About a Girl. These books are out of print, but I’m thinking of bringing them back at some point so my readers have a chance to complete their A.P. Fuchs collection.
Caught in Black Headlights is low-priority on the project list. Again, it’s there for when I have something I need to say and a poem is the only way to say it. Eventually, the notebook will be filled enough for it to merit a published book. Until then, I’ll just be ruminating and writing it down.