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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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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

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Does anyone actually read screenplays?


This is the question I’ve been asking myself over the past year. So, a little backstory on me. I actually began my writing journey as a screenplay writer back in 2016. Of course I’ve written things before then, being short stories and stuff, but my first REAL work was in writing for the silver screen. Or the little screen you hold in your hand everyday, and are most likely using to read this very post. Anyway, I wrote several screenplays to ship around to film festivals, and some of them actually did quite well. In fact, some of my readers might be familiar with The Ruse. I loved that story so much that I produced a print edition with added extras like commentary and an exclusive short story for it.

So, I was going over my website the other day, and a question materialized in my head. The exact same question I proposed at the beginning of this post. Does anyone actually read screenplays? The answer, come to find out, is like 95% no. Now, this isn’t to discourage any would be screenplay writer, because that is absolutely NOT why I’m here. It all has to do with the target audience, right?

Who would you say is the target audience for your screenplay?

1) Actors looking for practice.
2) Producers that you’ve pitched the script to.
3) Other screenplay writers.
4) Film festival judges.

That’s it.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. If you have a love and a passion for screenwriting, then you already know that your future belongs in the hands of the festival circuit. Submitting my work to a film festival is truly some of my most exhilarating and exciting memories as a writer, and it’s going to be something I look forward to more in the future. However, the common reader or follower of your work more than likely isn’t into such a format. AND THAT”S OKAY. We write depending on the people who we wish to share our work with, and I’ve found over the years that leaving screenplays sitting dormant on my website is just a waste of space. Every bit of writing has its place and its proper location!

I’ve recently redone my website to accommodate this transition to a more traditional format. If I do get lucky enough to get something produced, or produce it myself, I’m going to 100% publish the script alongside the produced product. I’m a huge fan of reading scripts after I listen to an entrancing audio drama, so it would be quite the shame if I didn’t follow that same release format. Did I just admit to working on audio plays? Maybe…

Regardless of who your chosen audience is, go out there and follow your dream no matter what. Write that screenplay you’ve had an idea for, and send it out to every festival imaginable! Those are your people!

– John McCool

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Current Novel WIP Update

Hey Reader!

This is just a little update on my current work in progress. I have been writing “There Came A Knocking” every day since the beginning of January of this year. It’s been such an incredible experience, and I can’t wait to talk more about it in the near future! However, while being in such a sensitive phase in the novel writing process, it becomes a little hard to talk about it with so many story pieces being moved around the board.

I’m currently almost finished with my second draft of the novel which is a huge accomplishment. When I finished the first draft, I made one of the biggest mistakes an author can make after wrapping up that phase of the process. I immediately started working on the next draft as soon as I typed the final period on the sentence. For those of you who do not know, drafting your manuscript is nothing more than going over your work from top to bottom and editing. It’s to make sure you have a consistent story with no plot holes or continuity errors.

Most authors recommend taking a few weeks off after you finish your first draft to get rid of the book eyes, as it’s called, then hop into the second draft with the eyes as a self editor. So, I didn’t do that. I hopped in straight into the deep end of the pool which led to a wee bit of burn out. Rookie mistake, but we live and learn. The burn out didn’t last long, so as soon as I took a breather, I hopped back into it, and now I’m knocking on the door of a finished second draft.

My wife, of course, will be my alpha reader, but as soon as it’s ready to go I’ll begin the recruitment of my beta readers. After that, it’s go time for my editor, then my proofreader who I’ve yet to hire. Only then will I start to assemble a solid group of ARC readers to begin the long awaited day of November 10th! I’m very excited for this piece of literature I’ve worked so hard on, and I hope all of you enjoy the gripping, terrifying story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Until next time!

John McCool

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Writing With Limited Time

One thing that seems to turn off would be authors is a lack of time, or at least a perception that they have no time to write. This couldn’t be farther from the truth in my opinion. There is always time to write, but it’s up to the writer to find where that time is hidden.

Now, I understand that it gets difficult sometimes to carve out the time to put those stories on paper. Trust me, I get that. I have two young kids, work a full time job at a prominent coffee company in my area, and own my own house with the issue that comes with that. I find the time to write. It’s not a lot of time, but I do have it.

I have a very brief moment of peace in between the kid’s bed times, and headed off to the land of dreams myself. This is only about a 30 minute window, but the way I see it is that a little time to write is better than no time at all. With such a small time for daily writing, I’ve set a daily goal for myself that is achievable for this limited availability. I set out to write 500 words a day on my focused work which, in theory, will see me having a finished first draft in about three months. If I write 500 words minimum a day, that’s 3,500 words a week, and 15,000 a month. My target for the first draft is between 40,000-50,000 words, so as long as I keep to my commitment that manuscript will be done in no time. Of course, this doesn’t include multiple drafts and edits, but the point is to just knock out that first draft which is, in my opinion, the hardest part of the process. Beyond the act of sitting down at my laptop to write, I also have to find the time to do one of the most important tools in a writer’s utility belt.

Write an outline.

Outlining is the greatest tool I use, as well as what I recommend to most aspiring authors out there. I’ve found that keeping my outlining time and writing time separate. This ensures I can have continuous progress on my work in progress, as well as progress on the next project I have lined up. It’s actually kind of funny as I type this out, because my current project I’m also STILL writing the outline as I’m currently writing it. The outline goes a few chapters ahead of the actual work which keeps me on track, but my outlining time is spent on the same WIP I’m in the process of writing. Don’t reccomend this method…Finish that outline first.

Anyway, so separating your outlining time from your writing time will ensure progress is being made on multiple fronts. For me, as most of you know, I manage a coffee company, so I have the luxury of a little bit of downtime during some more time consuming, and methodical tasks. My biggest task I do while outlining is making Cold Brew. For anyone in the coffee industry, you know it can be quite tedious just standing around waiting to pour over your next gallon of water on the grounds. Lucky, I use and awesome app called Writer Plus. It’s a neat little app that allows me to keep all my chapter outlines organized, and various story notes together in It’s own folder. It’s pretty neat.

Life can be difficult sometimes. Trust me, I’ve been there. However, we are writers. We have to write. Making the excuse that you don’t have the time is just that. It’s an excuse. You can take the 15 minutes you would normally take to mindlessly scroll social media to write 100 words or maybe more! You just need to have faith that you can get this done, and tell that story that’s been consuming your thoughts for so long.

Tell the story!

– John McCool

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Book Announcement: The Ruse

I’m pleased to announce my new release: The Ruse!

So, what is this piece of fiction? The Ruse is actually a print version of my most successful screenplay to date in the festival circuit. It’s a coming of age tale about a lone girl in a post apocalyptic world that seeks to find a home for this first time in her life. When she does find that home, she’ll do whatever she must to protect it.

Readers will get and introduction from yours truly, the full festival screenplay, a analysis of why I wrote what I did, and am exclusive short story of what happens after the events. This print collection is a passion project of mine, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

The Ruse will be available March 31st on Amazon and Kindle!