Ryan M. Patrick

After a trip to my old stomping grounds at Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral at the beginning of the month, it was actually a pretty laid-back one! Other than the usual activities of course. I had some small setbacks but for the most part it was a positive 31 days for me.

Writing

The small press I queried The Europan Deception to didn’t pan out. And so it goes. The good news is that I have a 133,000 word sci-fi novel that is awesome and that I sent out to my beta readers on the first of October, with a deadline of 31 Dec. Feedback coming in aligns with my own thoughts, which is good, because that wasn’t the case with the last draft.

As soon as the new year hits, I’ll start editing, and send it to the Pentagon by the end of March. While it’s under review, I’ll keep editing (can never be too perfect!) and get a cover. When it gets back, I’ll send it to my editor and select a launch date, then start planning the launch. More to come.

Crush Depth is 35,000 words in and I’m loving how it’s turned out. Just need to get a bit more in and then I can start reusing parts from the last draft. The plan is to be done with it by the end of February and then out to my beta readers. I’m targeting a 2026 launch at the moment but it could be 2025 as well depending on how the Pentagon review goes and how many edits I need to make.

I finished my “Pentagon Pizza” short story and submitted it to a mag, and started work on my “Gargoyles” one. I also am starting to sort through my backlog of shorts – some are trunked permanently, others are going to be in a collection (once I get 12-15 or so done), while yet more I’ll continue to submit and find a home for. I do need to plan out my 2025 in short stories but I will finish 4 in 2024, which was my goal!

And, of course, I came up with yet another idea – an urban fantasy set in the mid-2000s in the Philadelphia suburbs where I grew up. I’m currently outlining it and am close to being half done.

Reading

This month, I read:

• Antarctica Station by A.G. Riddle. A fun book, but not his best. 4 stars.
• The Didymus Contingency. A little rough around the edges but I loved the core concept. 4 stars.
• Press Reset by Jason Schreier. Not as good as his first book on the gaming industry. 3 stars.
• Angel of Vengeance by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. An amazing book from start to finish. 5 stars.
• Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Not a bad book, but not as good as Children of Time. 4 stars.
• Fifty Degrees South by M. M. Holt. A great book, a bit short, but I had a blast. 5 stars.
• A Dance of Devils by Mark Sibley. Just as good as the first. 5 stars.

Video Games

I beat Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb. Really fun, but like Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, very unforgiving. I’m working on Prey (the 2017 one) at the moment.

For multiplayer, my friends and I voted on our next MP game and came up with Black Ops 6. Just got it over the last weekend and it’s really good, probably my favorite COD since Cold War. Zombies is a blast.

Thanks and I hope you all had as good of an October as I did!