In Today’s Journal
* A New Short Story
* TNDJ Contests Reminder
* A Few Folks Have…
* A Review Yesterday
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
A New Short Story
“The Dunlap-Denman Hit” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free.
I write across the genres. This story is the last one for at least awhile set in the Blackwell Ops world.
If you enjoy the story, please click Like. Comments are welcome too. Both help with my Substack algorithms. Then tell Everyone else. Gracias.
TNDJ Contests Reminder
Today is Saturday. Just a reminder to get info about your various TNDJ Challenges in to me before the Journal goes live on Monday.
Of course, there is no cost and you can jump into any challenge at any time. The only requirement is that you intend to keep going. You can find the “rules,” including prizes, here.
Having a place to report really does help with your writing.
I’ll report the week’s results from the Bradbury Challenge first, then the Stephen King Challenge, then the Run With Harvey Challenge.
To my surprise, all three challenges are on-going. Feel free to jump into any of them, or into Bradbury and either of the others.
Remember, if you finish a story earlier in the week, you can send the info to me early too. It never hurts to avoid pushing the deadline.
A Few Folks Have…
taken me up on the offer of a free SF novel and a short story. Each time I mention this, I get a few more downloads.
In the novel—The 13-Month Turn—my characters have designed and are living and working in a lunar colony, complete with some specs. You can compare it with NASA’s plan for a lunar colony.
It’s an interesting comparison, though I honestly think my characters’ plan is more realistic.
You can download the novel, free, by clicking The 13-Month Turn. Then add the book to your cart, then enter coupon code RRKV66BOWU when you’re prompted for a coupon.
In the short story—”The Stipplesuit”—there are also specs for an advanced protective ‘space’ suit. If you download The 13-Month Turn, Payhip will send me a notification and I’ll email you a PDF and .epub copy of “The Stipplesuit.”
And I don’t ‘collect’ or ‘capture’ your email or any of that nonsense. I probably should, but that’s just not what I do.
Of course, I wouldn’t mind if anyone else wanted to use my characters’ lunar colony (or aspects of it) or my characters’ stipplesuit in their own fiction. A complimentary note in the end matter of your fiction would be nice, but even that isn’t a requirement.
A Review Yesterday
In an unsolicited review yesterday of Blackwell Ops 48: Razor Edge and the Blackwell Ops series in general, a reviewer wrote
I admire how your Blackwell Ops series merges precision with psychological depth, that rare combination of procedural realism and human vulnerability. Across the books, TJ Blackwell’s network has become less about contract killing and more about the hidden moral architectures that shape those who live in the dark. Your upcoming Razor Edge seems to extend that thread beautifully.
The premise of a new operative who insists on anonymity caught my attention, not just as a thriller device, but as an exploration of identity itself. That line, “one name is as good as another,” lingers, it feels like both a warning and a confession. The way you frame secrecy as both protection and exposure says so much about the fragility of those who live unseen.
Well faith and begorrah! Who knew I was writing such deep stuff? On this end, I was just conveying my characters’ stories.
But the writer only begins the work. The reader, and however he interprets the story, finishes it.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………… 640
Writing of Blackwell Ops 49: Wesley Stark
Day 1…… 2381 words. To date…… 2381
Day 2…… 3283 words. To date…… 5664
Fiction for October………………… 29219
Fiction for 2025…………………… 607757
Nonfiction for October.…………… 6400
Nonfiction for 2025……………….. 216530
2025 consumable words………… 816698
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 15
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 32
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 119
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 306
Short story collections……………………. 29