| Hey, all! LOTS of news this month, so I’m going to jump right in with the style of a 90s-era Marvel Bullpen Bulletin that they’d use as in-house newsletters. I loved seeing the all-caps ITEM subheadings in the middle of a random Spider-Man or New Warriors comic, so I shall shamelessly copy that format now. |
| ITEM: The Breakers is Available for Pre Order on Kindle Now! |
| That’s right! The Breakers is releasing on Thursday, September 4, 2025. And if you’re so inclined, you can pre-order it on Kindle now with the button below. Do you prefer paperbacks or another ebook service besides Amazon? Fear not! The Breakers will be available for paperback purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. And other ebook versions will be available on Apple, BN, Kobo, and many others. They will go live on the actual 9/4/2025 date. But if you are a Kindle reader, go right ahead and use the button below to get in line. |
| ITEM: The Breakers Paperback Proof |
| Here’s a proof copy of The Breakers. It clocks in at 586 pages. It. Is. Epic. You should totally grab a copy of your own in a month. All the Players of the Game goodness! None of the “Not for Resale” stripes. |
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| ITEM: Advanced Praise of The Breakers |
| “An electrifying blend of high fantasy and futuristic warfare…” -The Prairies Book Review I hope to have more editorial reviews to share with you in the coming months. In the meantime, check out the full review with the button below: |
| ITEM: I’ve Embraced Goodreads |
| In the past, I had a paltry presence on Goodreads, as I found its user interface too annoying. I’ve changed my stance. Its UI is… fine. And more importantly, it’s one of the best places to learn what actual readers think about their favorite books. I’ve also linked my blog from Stelfire.com to it, so it already has a robust selection of entries. Many of which will be familiar to long-time reader group members. So, if Goodreads is your bag, please follow me on that platform with the link below. |
| ITEM: Check out the Stelfire.com Recaps Tab |
| New to the Players of the Game Saga or need a refresh before you jump into The Breakers? I’ve got you covered! Check out the Recaps tab on Stelfire.com with the link below or the tab above. Want to know the score fast? Select Quick Recap, and Corsis will detail all his jerky skullduggery in just a few minutes. Want to know the nitty gritty? Select Detailed Recaps to jump in with both feet and learn all the big events and character moments of the Players of the Game saga. |
| ITEM: I’m All Out of Items |
| Well, that’s not true at all, as the rest of the post below will confirm. But we shall now return to the typical topics I cover in these reader group emails. Translation: I gots ta share my usual artwork, WIP status reports, and geeky things I like. Starting with an image of Ashe Stelfire above that many of you have seen, but I wanted to share anew. |
| Players of the Game Works in Progress |
| I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this earlier. But The Breakers is available on September 4th, 2025. I could have sworn I had talked about that topic somewhere. Kidding aside, I’m excited to get it out in the world. But I shan’t be resting on my laurels. I’m creeping toward the end of the first drafts for Book 5.5: Unseen Scars and Book 5.7: Secret Fronts. The initial combined draft sits at 137,600 words with 482 pages. That’s 14,000 words with 46 pages this time around. It didn’t feel like I did better this month, but that’s double last month’s so-so output, so I take the W. Once I’m done with the combined draft, I’ll take a look at The Game War’s edits from my editor, and run it through ProWritingAid again. Then on to slicing and dicing books 5.5 and 5.7. And maybe make use of Eleven Labs to see how AI narration sounds. I’ve been kicking around using that where I’d direct the performance of a virtual voice. Sadly, I cannot afford a voice actor for an audio book. So it’s either AI-narrated audio or no audio. I’m still determining what I want to do there. A quandary for a later time. Players of the Game Out of Context Quote of the Month Corsis and Frulgrath: Corsis considered Frulgrath, maybe with an eyebrow raised from behind his mask, maybe not. Finally, he said, “Self-delusion sneaks up on the best of us.” Frulgrath stood away from the wall, still unsure if Corsis leveraged only intuition or something more invasive. He supposed it didn’t matter either way. “Hrh. You gotta be you. And I gotta be me.” |
| Recommendation Corner |
| Superman (2025) I adored this movie. Superman is so easy to get wrong. But this felt like picking up a random issue and jumping in with both feet. Some folks won’t like the “toss into the deep end” approach to reintroducing him. I am not among them. It’s the best comic book movie I’ve seen in years. The pacing is fantastic. There was no part of this movie that felt slow. Luckily I had an empty bladder, as there were no slow-pace expository/transitional scenes where it felt like a good time to step out. I’ve seen it twice, and I remained impressed by its story structure. Mr. Terrific, Lex, Lois, and of course, Krypto, were the other standouts. I teared up at the father-son scene between Clark and Pa Kent. Its take on the original John Williams score was very hummable, which is job one of any movie score in my reckoning. A very positive and earnest movie. Highest possible recommendation. Fantastic Four: First Steps The best cinematic adaptation of Fantastic Four. Not as good as Superman. But the more I pondered the movie, the more I liked it. I was initially on the fence with whether I’d be on board (pun partially intended) with the Silver Surfer swap from Norrin Radd to Shalla Bal. But the angle they took with it worked for me. This interpretation of the Surfer made her and Johnny Storm sort of love interests. They sort of flirted with tentative curiosity about each other. It turned tragic as Johnny figured out a cipher for her language while Reed, Sue, and Ben were busy with figuring out a way to beat Galactus. Speaking of which, I love how they leveraged Reed’s brains and Sue and Ben’s hearts as part of their drive to not sacrifice Franklin to Galactus’s designs. Dare I say it? I thought it worked better than the comics’ Ultimate Nullifier macguffin in the original story. Sue’s drive to keep Franklin safe was very relatable. Vanessa Kirby really excelled in showing her strength when she confronted a crowd of haters. The Invisible Woman is rightly up there with Storm and Wonder Woman as an exemplar of a female super hero. And Pedro Pascal did a good portrayal of Reed Richards, but (nerd quibble alert) he wasn’t stretchy enough. All the others’ powers were spot on. Some people had an issue with Ben Grimm not having a gravelly voice. But I liked his soft-spoken, understated, pensive demeanor. I also like that they dialed into his Jewish background. Herbie and the Fantasticar were also spot on with the retro-future aesthetic. And this score is up there with Superman and the Avengers. Especially the verbal part. I’ve been singing “FANTASTIC FOUR!!!!” to my wife for days. It’s a fun earworm and I get to tease her. A true double threat. Also recommended. Like I said earlier, Superman is better. But FF: FS is totally worth seeing in the theater too. |
| That’s all for this time. Stay smart. Stay safe. Jim |
