This is the time of year when folks look back to what they’ve accomplished over the last twelve months, and for writers that typically means listing the works they published during the year. From that perspective, 2025 was a pretty slow year. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t busy.
Let’s look back, first, then we’ll gaze forward.
The first work of mine was more than just a short story–it was my second time editing an anthology, and my first time editing an anthology for a publisher–Silverado Press–that I co-founded (along with pal Howard Weinstein). Silverado Press Presents: Western Stories by Today’s Top Writers, Volume 1 was what we hope will be the first in a series of anthologies. Putting it together was a ton of work, but we got to publish some fantastic stories by some of the best writers in the western field, and make some new friends in the bargain. Awards season for 2025 publications isn’t upon us yet, so I don’t know if any of the stories will be recognized in that way, but some of them certainly should be. It was nicely reviewed in Roundup–the official publication of the Western Writers of America organization–and in True West Magazine, and can be found here, or wherever books are sold online.
My story in the book was “Roy Earll’s Debt,” in which a new widow learns much more about her late husband than she ever wanted to know.
I also had a short story published in Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2025, a collection of new pulp fiction edited by Robert Greenberger and published by Crazy 8 Press (the “parent company” of Silverado Press). Again, it’s available here and wherever books are sold online. Never mind that I’m credited on the sales page as “Jeffrey A. Mariotte”–I did point out the error, but apparently too late to have it fixed. The book is divided up into genres, and my story, “The Thing in the Crate,” is pure sword and sorcery, and introduces a character named Castian D’Amicor, a lover and a fighter, who I expect to write more about in 2026.
In other publication news, Thorndike Press, the main supplier of large-print books to libraries and retail stores, is reissuing my Cody Cavanaugh traditional western trilogy in large print, starting with the award-winning first novel O’Meara’s Gold. As a longtime bookseller I’m well aware of the value of large-print books for readers with poor vision, and thrilled to be partnered with Thorndike in this way. I hope to have time, in 2026, to reissue all three books through Silverado Press in a special edition with new material.
My pals at Monster Forge Productions made my original graphic novel Zombie Cop available again, after many years, this time digitally at Global Comix. The art’s by Szymon Kudranski and it’s a terrific horror story, if I do say so myself.
I had a short piece about one of my memories of Stephen King in the Stephen King 2025 Annual, Stephen King on Tour, from pal David Hinchberger’s stephenkingcatalog.com.
I also started a Substack this year. I’ll never write an autobiography, but I’d like to leave something behind for family and friends recounting some of my adventures and travels and life experiences, so that’s what “A Life in Pages” is–stories about how my life led me first to bookselling, then to writing and publishing and editing. Follow along as I travel through some pretty unusual experiences on my life’s journey.
And a significant event occurred in September 2025. For the first time in my career, I was a Guest of Honor. It occurred at the Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship (ECOF) Gathering in Willcox, AZ. I was genuinely moved to be asked, and to be able to see old friends like the gathering’s organizer Frank Puncer and the team from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. I also met members of the Burroughs family, and made new friends galore. I signed previews of my forthcoming book Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn, an authorized sequel to an early ERB novel called Beyond Thirty. I’ve seen an early version of the cover, which is gorgeous, and which I’ll share as soon as I can, along with a projected publication date. The whole weekend was a fantastic time full of fellowship and kindness, and one I’ll long remember.
For 2025 publications, that’s about it. This was a building year, a restructuring of priorities. I was laid off from my job in April and spent a lot of time looking–unsuccessfully–for a new one. But I also did a lot of writing and planning. In 2026 we’ll see a dark thriller called Flesh of All Sorrows from Crystal Lake Publishing. I co-wrote a graphic novel with pal Shannon Eric Denton called Sword of the War-Monster–sword & sorcery with humor and lots of monsters, beautifully illustrated by David Hartman, for Shannon’s transmedia company Monster Forge Productions. It was successsfully Kickstarted and will be shipping soon to backers, then made available through other retail channels. As part of the Kickstarter I wrote a War-Monster novella called “The Stones of Khora-Ghan,” which will also be offered in various formats after the backers get their copies.
Also for Monster Forge, I wrote a horror novel–monster-oriented, of course–which will be the first in what we hope will be a new line of horror fiction. I’m withholding the title for now so it’ll be a surprise when it’s announced, because it kind of gives away the brand-new, never-before-seen monster that I created for the book.
I’m currently in the midst of a short novel about Billy the Kid, the most famous outlaw of the old West, as part of a series called the America 250 Project from Dusty Saddle Publishing, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Twelve authors are writing fictional tales of real-life giants of western history, from Buffalo Bill Cody to Jim Bridger to Teddy Roosevelt. In early December, I made a trip out to Fort Sumner, NM, where Billy spent the last months of his life, to see his landscape for myself.
In comics, I’m negotiating for the return of a popular property I created almost 30 years ago. I’m doing a lot of editing for Monster Forge and may write more stuff for them as well. And I’m in the process of cogitating over a science fiction project that addresses one of the major issue confronting today’s world.
I’m also mulling over other projects, including a new one for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., and a return to print of my Major Crimes Squad: Phoenix series, again with new material added. I’ve got some short stories out on submission as well, so maybe there’ll be news on those.
Thank you to all my readers. You’re the ones who keep me energized and creative, and it’s deeply appreciated.
#Tags: books, comic books, horror, mystery, Westerns, writing
