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Future Project

Hey Readers!

I hope everyone has been keeping up with their reading goals this year! I haven’t… but that’s okay! Those books aren’t going anywhere, and will always be around when the time is finally right. It seems like the only thing I have time for these days is listening to a chapter of an audio book during my commute to work, or taking in a few pages at 4am before heading out the door. It’s at least something so I can’t complain.

Life has kept me on my toes recently for sure. Between juggling 3 kids, becoming an owner at Mad Goat Coffee, and just the day to day challenges that come with life, it’s easy for hobbies like reading (writing for me) to fall to the side for a brief time. There’s an old gamer saying: Real life always comes first. That’s something that remains true no matter what your hobbies may be. There’s nothing more in this world that I love more than spending time with my family, even if it takes away from writing. Those two things just don’t compare. But I’m still a writer at the end of the day!

Of course, those of you who may know a writer will know that writing simply isn’t just the act of putting words on paper. No, it’s SO much more than that. Between brainstorming story ideas, world building, fleshing out characters, the entire process goes far beyond sitting at the computer. The process of writing a novel is just as many hours thinking about the damn thing as it is actually writing which I feel like is a part of the process not many people talk about. However, I pride myself on being a present father, and I will actively avoid any thought of anything outside of that moment with my kids. It’s all about balance, right?

Now that my youngest is growing like a weed, and actually letting my wife sleep a little bit, I feel the stories creep back into my thoughts. This is a great sign for me. I listen pretty closely to myself, and when the characters start wanting their stories heard, that means I’m almost ready to start putting words down on paper, starting the journey anew. Even though I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from writing, I couldn’t help myself from dabbling in some outlining on a few projects that I’ve put on hold. Do I have three novels fully outlined? Maybe… Will I have time to write them all? Absolutely not. But that’s okay! Those stories will be told one day, and find themselves tucked nice in cozy on your bookshelves some day.

Now, what to expect in the future from this small time author living in the midwest? Nothing any time soon, but the time has almost come to expand upon the Starbound Ascension series! I’m torn between pushing the story of Locilette into his next phase or touching on the various other happenings across the galaxy. The possibilities are seemingly endless of what Starbound Ascension can offer, which was my biggest reason for spending several months world building it. From hunting down galactic serial killers to protecting a farm on a colonial world, to even dealing with a plague arriving from another distant galaxy, the stories I have shaping up for this series keeps me plenty distracted while I’m at work.

That being said, I was certain that my next novel wasn’t going to be a SBA book, but I was wrong. I have an overwhelming desire to push the narrative of that universe forward any way I can, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going to announce what the novel is anytime soon, but the next novel I release WILL be a new Starbound Ascension novel. I’m super excited to continue on with this series that has captured my imagination like nothing else has up to this point, and I’m very thankful for all of your dedicated readers who has followed me on this incredible journey. I hope you enjoy these dark and mysterious tales, because more are on the way!

Follow along here at the Dark and Mysterious blog for the latest writing shenanigans and more on your favorite novels!

–John McCool

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Life Update April 2025

Hey Readers!

Just a real quick update.

Me and my wife welcomed our third child into the world, prompting me to take a bit of a break from the writing world. To be honest, I still kind of consider myself on that break. Giving my family my full attention is the most important thing to me at all times, but especially now that a third little buddy joined the party.

It’s so much fun knowing that one day all my kids will read my books, and hopefully many generations down the line will as well. That’s something that I think about quite often these days. The memory of me will be contained within those pages for decades to come. Isn’t that so strange to think about? You go into an old used book store and you pick up an old fantasy novel from the 70s, knowing that the old author that wrote that probably isn’t with us today. However, a piece of them truly lives on within the world that they created.

This leads me to think about my own books and the time I put into them! I’m not currently* writing anything full time yet. Like I said, spending time with that new baby is waaaaaay more important. Buuuuuut, I do have a few outlines of novels pretty much ready to go. Stories full of adventures and thrills just desperate to leave the prison of my phone’s notebook app, and get out into the hands of an eager reader. They’re gonna have to wait though. I plan on starting my next piece full time soon!

I recently looked at the sales for my two current novels, and I must say that I’ve been blown away by the amount of e-books Echoes From A Distant Star has sold. I appreciate all of you who have taken the time to give this thrilling sci-fi adventure a chance, and the only thing I ask of you is to PLEASE leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. It truly means the world!

I’ve pretty much decided that my next novel is NOT going to be within the Starbound Ascension series, but something stand alone, and on the shorter side if possible. I’ve been finding it damn near impossible these days to write short fiction. I’ll have more information in the coming months, so subscribe to the newsletter and follow me on Instagram for the latest Dark and Mysterious fun!

You’re all amazing.

–John McCool

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Starbound Ascension Lore: Money

The Universe of Starbound Ascension Lore

Money, money, money.

With the universe of Starbound Ascension in its publication infancy, I think it would be cool to showcase some of the lore touched on in the current novel and ones in the future as well. See, I’m a bit of a lore nerd. I remember a few years back staying up a full night studying the expansive and deep lore of Warhammer 40,000, and my God is that deep. That and the intoxicating lore of the Elder Scrolls just sent me down a deep rabbit hole that I simply couldn’t get enough of. The weird thing about lore in a sci-fi universe or a fantasy world is that it’s hidden under the surface most of the time. Unless you want, more times than not you’re never going to know. That’s what makes it so intriguing.

Perhaps it’s just with bigger franchises like the ones I previously mentioned, but for me I like to know the smallest details of the worlds I’m stepping into. Especially ones that I fall in love with. Starbound Ascension is only one novel deep at the time of this post, but goodness do I have lore written up enough to fill three to four. Any author or DM/GM of sci-fi and fantasy can relate. Building a complete world from the ground up is truly one of the best parts about the process, and for me, becomes a bit of an addiction.

Anyway, to kick off this lore we’re going to dive a bit into one of my favorite discussions. Economics! Nahh, I’m not going to bore you. We’re just going to talk about the main currency of the expansive Arkaan Empire: Astrids.

Astrids are paper notes with holographic designs printed on them detailing their stated worth. Each note is infused with trace amounts of asteroids with the specific compound mixture only found in the home Arkaan system. This currency system not only lessens the ability of creating forgeries, but maintains the value of each note by the limited resource of asteroids in the home Arkaan System. A simple, yet effective way to manage the economic flow of an inter-galactic civilization.

With a free market system such as one present in the Arkaan Empire, Astrids exchange hands for endless amounts of reasons that mimic our own. Work salary, paying for dinner, even as gifts, everyone loves money- everyone loves Astrids. Having a solid currency for the exchange of goods and services is the foundation to any state throughout history, and even more so in the universe of Starbound Ascension. Acquiring wealth has pushed society to bigger and better for thousands of years, and that will forever remain true. With a proper moral compass and endless opportunity there’s always the ability for a rags to riches story within the Arkaan Empire.

Now, there’s other species and factions within the galaxy where our stories take place, but they haven’t made themselves known yet on paper. Each one has their own system of value and “currency” that pushes them like any other. Only future adventures within the Starbound Ascension universe will reveal that!

Be sure to subscribe to the Dark and Mysterious blog as well as follow along on Instagram for book giveaways and other cool stories!

–John McCool

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How To Avoid Writer’s Block

There’s nothing worse than sitting down at your laptop after a long day at work expecting to write down all the great ideas that swirled in your head all day, and it happens. You just sit there staring at the screen. Your fingertips are on your keyboard, but there’s no movement. Your hands turn to stone as your eyes glaze over at the white digital paper illuminated on your screen. Trust me, I’ve been there. However, over my short author career (4 years as of this post), I’ve developed a system that keeps me on track and pushes my narrative forward.

It’s nothing too crazy, and is designed to accommodate my EXTREMELY busy life. With all the craziness and chaos that comes with it, there’s very little room in my day to get my writing done. But I’ve done it. I’ve published a book a year for the past 4 years, and I’ve maintained the same system throughout. It may seem small and simple, but I promise you if you stick to it, you will have your dream novel finished in no time at all. You just have to stay to it and maintain discipline. You ready?

500 words a day.

That’s it. That’s all it takes to be an author. You can get that story on paper with just 500 words a day. Now, I know what you’re thinking: John, that isn’t very much. This is the way I see it. 500 words a day – 3,500 a week – 14,000 a month – 56,000 in four months. That’s a manuscript. Every young author that reaches out to me on Instagram asking what their word target should be, I always tell them 50,000. By most standards, that is considered a novel. Now, I’m not saying that your final draft should be that amount, but having a short first draft manuscripts gives you time to build on your story during further drafts. Trust me, your 50k first draft with turn into an 80k-90k in no time. After that first draft is finished, it is far easier to sit down and expand on what you’ve already written instead of trying to craft something from thoughts alone.

Now, here’s the real key. As you’re going about your day at work or school, I want you to think about EXACTLY what you’re going to write before you write it. Imagine the scene over and over again like a never ending loop until the only way to make it stop is to put it on paper when you get home. This exercise allows you to do the hard part of writing before you even have an opportunity to develop the dreaded writer’s block. While I’m at work I will obsess over the minor details I want to include in the current scene I’m writing. This allows me to mentally get myself ready to fire away on that keyboard before I even walk into my house. More times than not, that 500 words turns into 1,000 easy. When you know what you’re writing before you do it, it’s like copying from one paper to the other. Just one is in your mind.

The hardest part of this process is maintaining strict discipline. No matter what, you have got to find a way to get your 500 words done. Laziness is infectious, and if you fall under its spell, it’s so damn hard to break out of it. You have to be strong and imagine the feeling of pressing that publish button on KDP and releasing that story into the wild like a caged animal returning to its home. Dedication, discipline, and self motivation are foundational principles for being a hobbyist indie author. We write because we love it, not for a tiny paycheck.

Discipline = Results.

If you would like to chat about this topic, send me a message! I would love to go over it with you!

–John McCool

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New Year, New Writing

“Echoes From A Distant Star” was officially released a few weeks ago, and it’s been a long, crazy ride! It’s been one of my biggest projects to date, and the most expensive for that matter. A lot of people don’t really know this, but being an independent author comes with a lot of financial cost. In contrast to a signed authors to a publishing company, I have to fork over the entire cost out of my pocket to bring my work to life. This is mainly why I consider myself a hobbyist instead of a “professional” author.

Now, that may be a tad bit misleading. I do consider myself to have professional quality, but I’m not aiming to be a full time writer and make a living off of it. I write fiction because I absolutely LOVE it. I have thousands of stories swirling in my head every single day, fighting for the gift to be placed on paper to become a portal to the real world. However, that’s of course not a realistic thing. I have tons of obligations in my life, so I have to be very selective of the time I allow myself to write, and what I write with that limited time.

For those of you amazing readers who still don’t know me, I’m a busy dude. I manage one of the BEST coffee companies in central Illinois and I’m a Dad of two kids with one on the way. Nothing is more important to me than spending time with my kids, which is why I have such limited time to write, and honestly, I’m cool with that. I’m very proud of the books I’ve written to date, and I’m so excited to share what I have coming up next! It’s still cooking, so you’re gonna have to just wait…

This is a bit of a weird blog post, but things are going great for these little fiction worlds I’ve created, and so many more are coming soon.

Thank you to all you amazing readers that have come along on the ride so far! There’s so many more stories and worlds to share with you in time!

Check out my new novel “Echoes From a Distant Star” on Amazon or Kindle now! Also, don’t forget to leave me a review whether you loved it or hated it. Reviews are the driving forces behind ALL independent authors.

– John McCool

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Chapter Titles Archaic?

Hey Readers!

Been a while since I posted here on the Dark and Mysterious blog. Life has been super crazy for me raising two kids and running the BEST coffee company in the midwest. Anyway, I had a thought this morning during my early morning commute that’s been rattling away in my head all day.

Is there a need for chapter titles?

As I’m finishing post production of my next novel, Echoes From A Distant Star, my mind is starting to shift to the book design, specifically the table of contents. As every novel should have one, I was thinking about if adding chapter titles is a route I wanted to take, or is it even necessary for a modern fiction novel?

So, historically chapter titles were used for signposts in a way to signal important events, plot twists, and character development, but looking at it from a mystery novel sense, is there another purpose it could be used for? A thought I even had was trying to integrate the chapter titles into the narrative of the novel itself, creating an interesting immersion for a murder mystery of sorts set in space.

Every novel I’ve had the pleasure of reading by my fellow indie authors seems to shy away from using chapter titles. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even read a book with chapter titles that wasn’t written in the early-mid 2000’s. I’m wondering if somewhere along the way they became a bit archaic or deemed too insignificant to add much to the novel. I mean, your chapters are already organized numerically with page numbers to go along with them, so is it actually necessary to have each one titled?

I’m curious about what my fellow authors think on this subject.

– John McCool

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There Came A Knocking Post Launch Update

Man, what a thrilling adventure it is being an indie author. When I conceived the idea to make the jump from being a short story anthology author to a full fledged novelist, I was a little intimidated not going to lie. The support I’ve received post launch has been more than I seriously thought I was going to get. I always try to shoot for the moon with everything I do, but keeping a low expectation on reader feedback is a self defense mechanism that I believe most authors have to develop in their journey. That wasn’t the case with my debut novel There Came A Knocking.

I’m not going to sit here and claim it’s a bestseller, cause it certainly isn’t. As of this post it has 16 reviews on Amazon and 52 on Goodreads which I love and appreciate more than anything! Review, either good or bad, are seriously gold for independent authors such as myself. Anyone of my readers that have received a book directly from me will recognize that line. In every book I personally send out, I ALWAYS write a personal letter with that line somewhere in there. I can not stress the importance of reviews for books. Even if you hate it, please review and let me know that! It helps me evolve into the best author I can be.

Reviews go such a long way, but what I enjoy more than anything is when you wonderful readers send me a DM on any of my social media. I love having deep conversations with y’all about the story devices used in my work, and why characters developed the way they did. Of course, those are things that can’t be made public because of spoilers, but after you read it, please send me a message and let’s discuss it and how it made you feel. I’m really interested in that sort of thing.

Anyway, There Came A Knocking is in a great place four months post launch. I’m very happy with its progress, and I’m more than pleased with the reviews all you incredible readers have given it. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, please go give it a read! If you want to hold off, I occasionally do free giveaways to my followers on Instagram, so if you aren’t keeping an eye on that, be sure to give a quick little follow!

What does the future hold?

A writer gonna write. I’m not in a position to announce anything quite yet, but my next novel is deep in the process and it’s…out of this world. Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Remember to read indie and stay creepy! 🤡🔪🩸

–John McCool

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Get “There Came A Knocking” FREE!

Merry Christmas everyone one! From now until December 26th my book There Came A Knocking is FREE on Kindle! Spook up your holiday with this 80s inspired slasher tale that will have you wondering if you actually remembered to lock your door at night.

Grab There Came A Knocking FREE now!

Synopsis: When Fear Knocks at Your Door, Will You Dare to Answer?

Best friends, Jessica and Danielle, are in for the fight of their lives as they fall victim to a home invader. However, this intruder isn’t there to rob them of the little they have. A simple game is all he’s after, and they have no choice but to play.
This horror/thriller calls back to the clown epidemic of 2016, where clown sightings became a regular occurrence for reasons that still remain a mystery.

Get ready to unlock a door to your worst nightmares. Get your copy of There Came A Knocking now and be among the first to experience the spine-tingling horror that will have you checking your locks twice.

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There Came A Knocking Publishes Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is publication day for my new novel “There Came A Knocking”!

I’m so excited to finally get this awesome work out to all of you incredible readers. I’ve put so much love into this, and painstakingly brought the retro feel of 1980’s slasher thrillers back to the literary world. The campy slasher genre has disappeared as of late leaving, what I would argue, a void that hasn’t been filled by much of anything substantial. My hope is that this novel can revive some peoples’ interest, and reignite the silliness that comes with it.

Now, what do I mean by silliness? It’s all about the gimmicks and the HORRIBLE decisions that our poor unsuspecting character make within the horrorscape that we as authors create. Think about some of the best slashers out there! The combination of an interesting gimmick and the complete absurdity of characters’ choices to go into the dark basement when you as the reader KNOW there’s something fishy going on down there. It’s almost satisfying to see a clearly dumb move be punished by something you’re mentally telling the character not to do. That’s party of the joy of the genre!

Think of some of your favorite movie slashers and really think of their gimmicks. Ghostface has the ghost mask and hunting knife, Jason has the hockey mask and giant machete, Freddy Krueger has the burned body with the finger blades, and Jeepers Creepers has his hate and coat to cover his demon body. The gimmicks are the key to creating a memorable antagonist in these stories, and it’s something I find so much fun in creating. The best part is coming up with something so absurd, give it to someone with murderous intent, and let them loose into the worlds of the page.

In some ways one could compare the slasher horror/thriller genre to that of romantic comedies. The stories are so full of absurdly exaggerated events that lead the characters to make choices that one would never do in real life. Do you think the hot cowboy billionaire is gonna choose the city girl that has nothing much to give him? Yeah, probably not. Do you think that rummaging around in a dark creepy shed behind your house while you’re being stalked by a serial killer is going to result in anything except you being stabbed? Yeah, you get my point.

This genre is so dear to me, and offers so many great stories that keep you looking over you shoulder as you walk through your house at night. did you check if your door is locked? Better go double check, who knows who could out there. “There Came A Knocking” has a slasher with a killer gimmick that would make you question if his motives blur the lines between what is morally right or wrong. Or maybe you will just see him as a monster that he is to so many unfortunate people. That conclusion is completely up to you! I look forward to hearing what all of you amazing readers have to share about it in the coming weeks post publication.

Thank you all so much for coming on this journey with me, and I look forward to all of you coming a knocking with me!

–John McCool

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Minneapolis’s Hidden Bookstore

Recently I undertook a journey to the land of a thousand lakes for a work trip to Cafe Imports and Mill City Roaster. Oh yes, I’m talking about the land of the Vikings in America. The lands of the far north that borders our friends and partners across the great lakes. I’m talking about the great state of Minnesota, land of a thousand lakes.

After my business things were taken care of, I decided to just strap on my backpack, pick a direction and just walk. I walked on for a while until I happened across this super cool book store hidden off the beaten path. Every time I go off adventuring in some new city, I make it a point to find a local coffee shop, and find a nice used bookstore to lose myself in for a few hours. So business trip or not, this trip was no different.

I stumbled upon a very interesting sign that just leaned up against the side of the building. It literally said “Books, Maps, and Prints”. What a way to pique my interest, right? I was immediately intrigued. I promptly crossed the street, and pushed my way into the old wooden door revealing the hall within. Now, what was really cool about this building was that it was actually connected to an art studio, which had their current exhibit up on full display as soon as you stepped in.

Their theme was a very relevant subject that we see quite frequently in the circles of the literary world. The theme was Banned Books. Displayed all through the exhibit was various forms of artistic representation of books being banned through society, whether for a good reason or bad, the intention was clear. However, the most impressive piece was four books that hung from the ceilings by chains. The dangled loosely to about chest level where upon further inspection, I discovered that there was a little lock mechanism that allowed someone to open them up and read the books. This was such a super cool feature, but it was the actual books themselves that interested me more. From the chains hung religious texts from four of the biggest religions in the world. It was fascinating to try and dive deep into the mind of the artist to understand what they were going for. Why were they hung from the ceilings by chains? Why were they locked, but easily unlocked for anyone to read? It was simply an incredible exhibit.


After that awesome surprise, I took a trip next door to the reason why I came. Before me was a low lit, dusty, old book store with books piled high to the ceiling. Literally my dream come true. This little hole in the wall is a small operation ran by an older man, that was just as awkward as you could imagine. He was the owner of this fine establishment, and wore the wrinkled face of a man who had seen a thing or two in his day. Each wall was lined with books from medieval reprints to maps of some of the strangest places in the world that one might not expect to find in such a place. It was quite the collection that could only be spawned in the dreams of a bibliophile.

I took my time to rummage through the seemingly endless shelves; most so over stocked that there were stacks piled up high on the floor. What I discovered is this book store was dedicated to the realms of knowledge and history. 85% of the tomes that lined those shelves held the chronicles of the world which the likes I’ve never seen. Memoirs, biographies, history texts, language books, How-to’s- and even a few cook books thrown in for good measure. I love the fact that places like this exist to preserve some of the forgotten lore from our history. In an age where reading certain things can be looked down upon, seeing this old man hold such tomes was a delight.

One section that quite interested me the most was his vast collection of art books. Each one was carefully categorized by the region which the art pieces were collected, making the seemingly endless books more manageable. The shelf that interested me the most was the Japanese art collection. I’m very interested in this subject at the moment as I am currently wrapping up a course in Japanese Scrolls and Manuscripts at Harvard University online. As I flipped through the pages, I found many of the works which I had learned about in my studies which gave me valuable insight.

Now, I don’t really collect non-fiction books, however, I can truly appreciate it. Even though there weren’t any books I walked out with, the memory of this place will forever be with me. If you ever find yourself in Minneapolis, MN, please go check out this incredible shop. Finding this little book store confirmed to me that the used book market isn’t going away any time soon.

–John McCool