Category: Writing

Amazing Stories Reviews A BLANKET OF STEEL: “It’s Prescient.”

Amazing Stories Reviews A Blanket of Steel:  “It’s prescient.”

This is a stellar review.  I am still processing it.  The reviewer, R. Graeme Cameron, has so far read and reviewed three of my books:

Unboxing Author Copies of A BLANKET OF STEEL

Unboxing Author Copies of A Blanket of Steel

The emotions are impossible to describe.  Do lifelong dreams come true?  A Blanket of Steel is my ninth book, but with each, that first moment when you realize that it actually exists … it’s just a feeling that is nearly overwhelming.

THE SHADOW OF WAR by TSJ is a 2023 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist

The Shadow of War is a 2023 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist

The underwater heist published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd. in 2022 is continuing to make waves!

TSJ Talks John Carpenter’s THE THING!

TSJ Talks John Carpenter’s THE THING!

Last week, I joined the guys from the Re-Creative Podcast and our topic of the evening was my second favorite film of all time, John Carpenter’s The Thing.

The Shadow of War by TSJ Shortlisted for the 2023 CYGNUS Award

The Shadow of War by TSJ Shortlisted for the 2023 CYGNUS Award

I’m thrilled to announce that my underwater heist and climate change adventure, The Shadow of War, has been shortlisted for this year’s Science Fiction Award in the Climate Fiction category. (Watch the exciting book trailer below.)

A BLANKET OF STEEL’s Temp Cover is Here

The Temp Cover for A Blanket of Steel!

You can see the direction this is headed.  The hull plating, the rivets, the color scheme.

Why Underwater?  Ten Important Reasons I wrote The Rise of Oceania, and a Message for the Future

Why Underwater?  Ten Important Reasons I wrote The Rise of Oceania, and a Message for the Future

(Note:  I watched the events involving the submersible Titan in the Atlantic closely over the past week.  It was a tragic and yet avoidable disaster.  James Cameron, on CNN, spoke about how similar it was to the Titanic sinking in 1912.  He couldn’t have been more correct.  Despite warnings, the captain pressed on to the inevitable end.  I am saddened by the loss of five lives and it is a sign to explorers everywhere that the ocean is merciless.  Pressure is inexorable.  Engineering needs to be perfect to descend to depth, and if problems appear, there is often very little time (or none at all) to solve problems on the spot.   Since I began writing The Rise of Oceania, events have tended to mirror my predictions.  The increasing tensions with China, for example, the growing climate crisis on the surface, and more.  I wrote the below article only days before Titan went silent.  I’ve added this note to acknowledge the dangers and the loss of life last Sunday.  — TSJ, 26 June 2023)

A Blanket of Steel is off to the Publisher!

TSJ’s A Blanket of Steel is off to the Publisher!

And it’s off!

This is the sixth and final book in my underwater colonization series, The Rise of Oceania from Fitzhenry & Whiteside LTD.  It’s also the largest, at about 127,000 words.  I promise a gripping spy vs. spy tale filled with excitement, action, technology, and emotion.  There’s a reason it’s called A Blanket of Steel, and it ties in with the ongoing Cold War between the US, Russia, and China and the thirst for new resources on the ocean floor.  But as with my other titles, there is more than one meaning here, but I will leave it for you to discover.  It’s a standalone thriller; all the books in The Rise of Oceania can be read in any order.  Together they tell an overall arc about the Second Cold War, the McClusky family, and the world’s quest to colonize the ocean floor during escalating climate change on the surface.  And, of course, the necessary gruesome violence that it all entails.  The book is coming …

TSJ’s New Bio

TSJ’s New Bio

The sixth — and final — book in my series, The Rise of Oceania, is due to publisher Fitzhenry and Whiteside at the end of the month.  I’ve been working hard on it for over a year now.  There’s a lot of story to wrap up, there are more graphics/schematics than in any of the previous installments, and I want this to be the most gripping conclusion possible.  Each book is written as a standalone thriller, but collectively they tell a complete arc from Book 1 to Book 6.  I’ve poured my energy into this for so many months now.  Here is—

2022 GLOBAL THRILLER Finalist, THE SHADOW OF WAR

2022 GLOBAL THRILLER FINALIST

I’m thrilled to announce that The Shadow of War is now a finalist in the 2022 CIBAs.

And not only that …