JCM Berne; author of Wistful Ascending

OK hear me out on this one:
In my world, they are the same.
Deep space is filled with oceans.

Why, you ask? Why the hell would you need oceans that size?
What is populating your setting, vampiric planet-sized cephalopods?

Yes.
Yes, exactly that.

That was part of my thought process at the time, but for omnibuses and audio purposes 3 makes more sense. The plotlines aren't really strongly grouped regardless.

I've decided to undo that. Makes more sense to group then into trilogies

The photo references my artist uses are taken with a real person - an actor named Gerrard Lobo - and he follows me on Instagram, which is pretty cool.

Hybrid Helix opening trilogy Enter The Griffin will be free next week.

February 15th.
A sale is coming.

Enter The Griffin.

The plan is 25. Give or take.

I am not in favor of non-differentiated public bathrooms.
I just don't think they should be separated by gender, but MAGA/non-MAGA.
Given the number of pedophiles in the movement this seems like a reasonable way to ensure my kids' safety.

I think she'd say you're gatekeeping actual craft rules just by asking what it means!
Demanding coherence or even meaning from a person's public statements is definitely the worst kind of gatekeeping.

LOL was this a joke about joining the other Nazis at their secret base there?

There's a tagline where they give out contact info and say, 'if you want to tell us how cute we are...' and I'm always like . . . but how would I know???

What's hilarious (to me) is that I've listened to every episode of their podcast but I've never seen what they look like before now.

I'm sure this varies by author. I know people who were absolutely thrilled to hold a physical copy of their book - that was nice but not amazing for me.
My greatest joys are length reviews, I think.

Thank you Sean!!!

FIRST PUBLIC REVIEW!!!
Will book 8 disappoint?
Find out if AJ thinks so!

If you enjoyed Shield of The Mothership, you want this book.
If you didn't, you probably don't.
If you haven't read it, you should do that first.

How's that for marketing?

You should! Stuff happens.

I DMed Lord TBR (who is a friend) and asked him and HC to reveal it; everything else sort of cascaded from there.

LOL he did it himself. Robs a pal. I sadly did very little organizing.

That is really cool.

YouTube video by Raf Blutaxt Weekly Navel-Gazing 02.02.2026

The Monday thing. youtu.be/N4CJdGTDcLw

My pleasure!

Sweet!

Terry the Pterosaur!
I dare another fantasy writer to use a name like that.

COVER REVEAL

Prey of Angels (Hybrid Helix Turn Eight) by @jcmberne.bsky.social

Cover art by Chris McGrath

Graphic design by @jcalebdesign.bsky.social

Release Date: February 17, 2026

Check the thread for more deets!

Cover Reveal: Prey of Angels (Hybrid Helix Turn Eight) by JCM Berne | FanFiAddict Rohan has been building alliances and solidifying his abilities, all to keep his friends, his family, his homeworld, and the Empire safe from anything that...

COVER REVEAL!
Prey of Angels.
Coming Feb 17.

fanfiaddict.com/cover-reveal...

Super powers and sympathetic characters  - D.N. Schmidt Writing a super hero story? Learn how to create sympathetic characters readers will love, whether they're born with powers or earn them the hard way.

Unstoppable Man may have witty dialogue and original powers, but if he doesn’t feel like a real person, readers just won’t care. Learn how to keep your hero’s supernatural abilities from making them an unsympathetic character.

#writingcommunity #writesky

dnschmidt.com/writing-advi...

Top Reads of 2025 A fantastic reading year yields a plentiful bounty of awesome books

And at long last, my Top Books of 2025 list is done. It pretty much confirms that 2025 was a fantastic year for books and I couldnt stick to a top 15, let alone top 10.

Featuring books across 3 main categories- SERIES STARTERS/ STANDALONES, SEQUELS & FINALES. Also has BoTY
Link - shorturl.at/3ErUG

I'm full of ideas!
I wrote a horror story yesterday called Tentacle Guy (or The Vessel, I'm flip flopping).

Absolutely you can. There can be dozens of versions across the multiverse. Mech piloting Tashue. Half-Dragon Tashue with a cybernetic tail. Warlock Tashue making bargains with infernal creatures to save his love.