A Fire in the Shadows is the next Bolingbrook Babbler book (Non-fiction)

The book cover for A Fire in the Shadows: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story by William Brinkman

A Fire in the Shadows: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story

The next book in my Urban Fantasy series, The Bolingbrook Babbler Stories, is A Fire in the Shadows. in the story. It’s the direct sequel to Pathways to Bolingbrook and leads into The Rift.

Lydia is a vampire who has regained the ability to feel love and compassion. Her companions tease her for having feelings. Traditionalist vampires want to kill her for having soft feelings. Lydia is exceptional, and exceptionally lonely.

She wonders if Sara, the editor of the Babbler, could be the one who ends her loneliness. Lydia sees so much in Sara, yet fears Sara will reject her for being a monster.

When vampire enforcers from Chicago threaten to capture Sara, Lydia feels compelled to defend her. She’s a skilled fighter, but that might not be enough to defeat them. Will Lydia risk her immortality to protect Sara?

I will release a Fire in the Shadows on 3/7/23. Look for my preorder announcement later this month. I might also add a special preorder incentive.

In the meantime, if you want to get my updates about my books delivered to your inbox, you can subscribe to my newsletter. I update it at least once a month.

 

A sneak peak at what I’m working on for 2023 (Non-Fiction)

Part of a book cover

The next Bolingbrook Babbler Story. March 7, 2023.

I’ve got a new novelette coming out in March. It’s Book 1.5 of my Bolingbrook Babbler Stories and follows up on Miriam and Sara from Pathways to Bolingbrook. I’ll be posting more details later on, including how to get an advance review copy.

In the meantime, you can take advantage of the Smashwords End of the Year Sale, which includes my novel The Rift: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story for 50% off the retail price. You can also get a free copy of Pathways to Bolingbrook: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story. The sale ends after New Year’s Day.

If you like Urban Fantasy/Sci-Fi stories with a humanist twist, gives by books a try! You can learn more at my author site as well.

The Bolingbrook Babbler’s Shocking Predictions for 2023! (Fiction)

Elon Musk

Will 2023 be a worse year for Elon Musk than 2022? (“Elon Musk” by dmoberhaus is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

Our council of psychics nailed their predictions for 2022. Sen. Joe Manchin didn’t support the Build Back Better plan. Elon Musk suffered a disaster, and The Rift: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story was the top selling Urban Fantasy/Sci-Book set in Bolingbrook that didn’t mention Drew Peterson.

While Bolingbrook police officers didn’t stage a coup, we believe Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta read our psychics prediction and decided not to fly the Thin Bread Crust flag.

So armed with these successes, we’re proud to announce our council of psychics shocking predictions for 2023!

Mayor Alexander-Basta will announce that she will use an AI to “supplement” Bolingbrook’s current managers. Trustee Michael Carpanzano will hail the AI as an example of the “Bold, forward thinking that puts Bolingbrook first!” However, the AI will be shut down with no explanation. Anonymous sources will claim the AI’s advice amounted to “raising taxes and abolishing all villages services.”

J. K. Rowling will tweet, “Because the Y Chromosome is defective, all men should be imprisoned!” She will then release a 10,000-page novel in which the female protagonist discovers space aliens created men to stunt humanity’s progress. Professor Richard Dawkins will continue to defend her right to free speech, but add, “Yes, the Y Chromosome is a defective X Chromosome, but that doesn’t mean all men should be imprisoned. Only some men should be imprisoned, and I know I’m not one of them.” Her sales will plummet but then recover when she tweets that she’s being “canceled.”

Congress will debate a bill to ban TikTok in the United States become of the company’s connection to China. Supporters of the ban will claim it TikTok is being used to steal personal information from US Citizens.

An anonymous Chinese official will deny that the Chinese Government uses TikTok to spy on US Citizens.

“We wanted to create an app that would cause Americans to humiliate themselves willingly on the Internet. That’s the real goal of the algorithm. Though we’re pleasantly surprised by the success of #Booktok. When the time is right, we’ll use it to promote the Little Red Book 2.0.”

The Bolingbrook Village Board election will heat up when a First Party for Bolingbrook candidate is overheard praying for God to bring Bolingbrook Independent Party candidate Sheldon Watts “home.” When asked about the controversy, Alexander-Basta will reply, “I think Sheldon will need God to take him home after the voters declare their independence from him.”

Freethought Blogs member Abe Drayton will publish the best-selling Sci-Fi novel of 2023.

A judge in downstate Illinois will rule that the Democratic Party’s existence violates the state constitution and will order all elected Democratic officials to resign or face arrest.”

In his ruling, the judge will write: “Let’s be honest. There’s no way this ruling will survive an appeal. But it will secure lots of Republican votes when I’m up for reelection.”

The Edgar County Watchdogs will travel around Illinois demanding the resignation of all Democrats. An official will ask if a judge ordered the Edgar County Watchdogs to jump off a bridge, would they jump?

One member will say no because they know more about Illinois’s laws than any lawyer or judge in the state.

Elon Musk will insist on piloting Starship on its first orbital flight. At first, the mission goes so well, humanity will almost forgive him for bankrupting Twitter. Just before landing Starship, Musk will announce, “The technology that will guide my ship to a safe landing is the same auto-pilot technology used in Teslas.”

That turns out to be Musk’s final sentence. Starship will crash into the launch tower, killing Musk. An investigation will determine that the autopilot detected the ground but decided it didn’t need to stop because no one important would die in a crash.

Space X and Tesla stocks will plummet, and Musk’s fans will insist he faked his death to “trigger the libs.” Alleged photos of Musk alive and in hiding will circulate for centuries.

Also in the Babbler:

Happy New Year, from the Staff of the Babbler
Clow UFO Base bans high stakes dreidel games.
Bolingbrook resident revived from suspended animation to receive COVID treatment
God to smite Bolingbrook on 1/3/23

Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer.

 I am also the author of The Bolingbrook Babbler Stories. For book updates and a free ebook, sign up for my newsletter. Pathways to Bolingbrook, and The Rift are available at Amazon and elsewhere. You can support my work by buying one of my books.

Sample from the Audiobook version of Pathways to Bolingbrook (non-fiction)

The cover of Pathways to BolingbrookI finally figured out how to post an audio sample from my current audiobook, Pathways to Bolingbrook. It’s a collection of two paranormal/contemporary fantasy stories that kick off The Bolingbrook Babbler Stories series. Rachanee Lumayno narrates both stories. It features Sara, who also appears in The Rift, and Miriam, who will be featured in future works.

It’s also available in eBook and paperback. For a limited time, you can get a copy when you subscribe to my author newsletter.

 

 

 

Being an author this week (Non-fiction)

This week I’m working on an exclusive short story for my newsletter subscribers. Years after the events in Pathways to Bolingbrook, Miriam is now a vampire named Lydia. While investigating why an army of weredeer is gathering outside of Bolingbrook, Lydia crosses paths with Sara, now the editor of the Babbler. But she isn’t the only one who’s taken an interest in Sara. Can Lydia protect Sara from a threat that’s even more dangerous than the gathering weredeer?

I’m hoping to have it ready in October. If you want to make sure you catch the debut, subscribe to my newsletter. And the other books in the series, Pathways to Bolingbrook, and The Rift are on sale at Amazon and other vendors. Back to my other screen!

The first review for The Rift’s book cover! (Non-Fiction)

In between editing my upcoming novel, The Rift: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story, and learning about self-publishing, I submitted my eBook cover to Reedsy’s blog for a live cover critique. (Reedsy is basically a high-end site to hire contractors for publishing projects. You can hire people who used to work at the publishing houses, but you’ll pay for it.)

When I heard that over 600 people submitted their covers, I didn’t expect mine to be picked. So I was pleasantly surprised when they mentioned my book. The slide had the wrong author’s name, and I provided a short blurb. Other than that, I’m thrilled that the host and Caitlin B. Alexander, illustrator, liked it.

The Rift: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story, is coming soon. Cover designed by Astre Encre Covers.

Newsletter, free ebook, and novel update! (Non-fiction)

I’m in the final editing push to complete my novel, The Rift, and get it ready for publication. So no Babbler article this week, but I should have one next week.

In the meantime, I’ve set up an email list so I can send out book announcements, possible appearances, and general blog updates.  Sign up now, and you’ll get access to a free ebook, Pathways to Bolingbrook. It’s two short stories set in the Babbler Novel Universe, instead of the universe where the web articles are set.  Think of it as a taste of what to expect in the main novel.

The test readers enjoyed an earlier draft, and I’m making changes based on their feedback to improve it.  I’m still aiming to release The Rift before the middle of the year.  After so many years, it’s hard to believe I’m only a few months away from releasing it.

I will be distributing it on Amazon and other sites.  Still working out the details on that. Hopefully, I’ll have that sorted out in a month.

Until then, feel free to join the list, and enjoy the free ebook.