Gunpowder and Ink!

Next month I start a new job with a long commute.

That will be interesting.

Once upon a time I drove an hour and a half each way up and down the mountains to drive a fork truck for 12 hours shifts for several months. (With a fresh four year degree in my pocket.)

That was nuts, but we’d just gotten married and the construction industry was dead. We were living in this God awful duplex, with walls so thin we could hear the neighbors hitting bongs at 4am when I was leaving for work. In the winter it got down to 36 degrees inside. Oh, and thanks to some unscrupulous housing rental agency, we had our kerosene tank locked during a snow storm. (Pay $500 now or do not survive the winter.)

However, because I was such a work stud, I picked up a few promotions and job changes and Forrest Gump’ed my way into a new career field.

And now we don’t gotta share walls with nobody. Except our kids. And there’s not much I can do about that…

So – I said all that to say, an hour drive each way on a highway will be fine.

(I hope.)

I plan listening to lots of audibles. As well as finally finishing all of the 200+ episodes of the Writer Dojo Podcast (Highly recommended for anyone interested in the writing industry and craft.)

But it’s gonna be a time suck.

And I still want to finish Eat the Survivors by this fall. I’m around 25% finished. A little behind my original schedule for where I want to be, but still winnable for my goal of releasing this fall. Which would be the first time I’ve ever released two books in one year. (Woop!)

So it’s time to tighten some screws, buckle down, and get writing and work done.

Yeehaw.

Here we go.

Trample the Weak has been out for nine months. Leap the Dead, for about two weeks. They both have good, strong looking sales, category rankings, and reviews.

So…

I’ll admit to it now since I already let it slip online…

There’s going to be a third book.

Eat the Survivors.

I’m about 15,000 words into it. (It’s got Nazi’s.)

Originally Trample the Weak and Leap the Dead was going to be one book… Named Operation Something Er Other. Then I signed a contract with a now defunct publishing house who requested it be turned into two books. Then, as I was writing, I had a wild idea of potential turning it into a longer series if the interest was there.

Which it appears to be.

So, there will be a third book. And possibly an as yet unnamed fourth. If this series goes on long enough, maybe we will even get around to slaying some Soviets as well. We will just go around the whole globe, killing bad people everywhere. It’ll be a gas!

In other news, I’m getting back in shape. As close as I can get to my 2019 body before I ruined it with concussions, depression, and eating my feelings. There’s a Spartan Race in South Carolina that I plan on doing this Nov. Giving me about 9 months to drop a ton of weight and learn how to run again.

I can’t wait to not be a giant slug anymore.

And I need more tattoos… But my Tat Guy is in jail for murder right now… so…. that’s a first world hardship to overcome…

But I’m rambling now.

I hope you all have a magnificent month.

Read muchly.

Shoot often.

Live free.

Erik.

So in the back of my books, I always try to shout out to a few forums that have been immensely helpful to me getting started actually selling books.

I owe them a LOT.

And as I was spreading the news on them that Trample the Weak is $0.99/EBOOK for this week…. (hinthint)

I wanted to do a quick math problem.

When I finished my first book, I posted the exact same new thread in each of their General Forums. That was on October 2nd, 2020.

Which is such a long time ago.

(My very first book, West of Prehistoric, came out on Sept 18th, 2020.)

Here’s the thread, which was posted here as well.

Fast forward a few years to Feb 2026… And these are the stats on those forums/thread.

NC4x4.com – 288 Replies, 34,000ish views.

CarolinaFirearmsForum.com – 345 replies, 13,000ish views.

FalFiles.com – 121 replies, 9,000ish views.

Total of: 754 replies and 56,000ish views.

That’s just nuts. Granted, a lot of those replies were me giving updates on my writing journey and release information. But still, that’s a LOT of participation.

And I certainly wouldn’t be doing as well as I am now without them.

Many thanks amigos!

Pre-order HERE!

Comes out Feb 27th!

***

After their greatest defeat in the 170 year history of the United States Marine Corps, 1st Marine Division is shipping out to retake Yeuhan Island.

Their objective?

Fight through a large scale assault on the beach defended by thousands of monstrous kaiju, retake the airfield, and work through the cavernous tunnels and underground infrastructure of the island to root out the Emperor’s evil and sadistic Unit Thirty-Five.

And, supposedly, not die in the process.

Sergeant Beau Henry doesn’t want to survive though.

He wants to die.

But unknown to either America or Japan, Unit Thirty-Five has new plans for their biochemical weapons and technological advancements.

And the task of ending them will push Henry to the breaking point.

It will take all his willpower, his beliefs, his weapons, and his men to defeat those who would challenge the world.

Because if he fails, Unit Thirty-Five will be unstoppable.

Can a man who wants to die live long enough to do what is asked?

Will duty and honor overcome selfish desire?

Henry is about to find out.