Trey Stone's Blog, page 3

Book Review by Amisha Goel & The Reading Palette – The Consequence of Loyalty

Amisha Goel over at The Reading Palette has just written a fantastic review of my first thriller, The Consequence of Loyalty. You’ll check it out,  won’t you?

The Consequence of Loyalty – Book Review, by The Reading Palette

When Amisha first reached out to me, I was mesmerized by the beautiful blog she keeps over on her site (almost a little bit jealous), and I all but jumped at the chance to be featured. She doesn’t only do reviews, she also has author interviews, articles about books, literature and movies, and she writes opinion pieces. You should definitely go check it out, and while you’re over there, don’t forget to subscribe!

Oh, and if Amisha’s review swayed you, or if you’re interested in any of my other works, please check them all out below. I really appreciate  every single reader – you’re worth your weight in gold to any indie author!

Find all my books and stories here

Have you read anything exciting, recently? Got a new favorite book? Drop me a comment below! I love it when people get in touch

Trey Stone’s Books

Exciting News – I’ll Be Curating An Anthology!

Yeah, you read that right – I’m a curator now!

Writing short stories has always been one of the best things about being an author. Sure, writing a novel is fun and exciting, but writing short stories is fun and exciting! Get what I mean? Probably not. It’s just that there’s something special with short stories, flash and micro fiction. You get to bend the rules, to experiment, to take a break from your massive magnus opus 5-book fantasy novel series that you’ve been planning since you were twelve, and just live a little. Also, couple that with that fact that short stories – at least if you submit them to anthologies or online – often come with a prompt that asks for something specific, you’ve got a whole new exciting way of writing, right there.

I’ve been doing this for a while now, writing short stories, I mean. I’ve been writing for anthologies, magazines, websites, webzines, collections, podcasts – you name it! Some of them have actually sold as well! I’ve landed one fantasy short in Lost Boys Press’ Empire of Beasts. It’s called The Hunt, and it’s freakin’ awesome, if I dare say so my self. I’ve also published with Black Hare Press, a story called They Came From Nowhere, in their 500-series CONTACT, and I’ve sold a story to a podcast currently in production by Inked In Gray and sold a short story called Time of Death to Dark Recesses Press. Recently, I even won an award for my contribution to the 42 Stories Anthology!

My point is – I love short stories! I submit more than I can count (that’s a lie, I have a very detailed spreadsheet), and I love doing it, even if only a fraction of them are accepted and sold. But even when they’re not selling, they sometimes lead to opportunities.

After submitting to a contest – I can’t even remember what the theme was or which story I ended up sending in – but I found myself sitting there, waiting for a response. Usually, it can take a few months before you hear back (but don’t worry, I was doing other things in the meantime, like eating and sleeping). Eventually, I got the familiar rejection. Fine, alright, it happens, actually, it’s what almost always happens, so it’s no biggie. But then, months again after that, I got a new email.

The publisher reached out to me, because they needed a judge. Someone to read through short stories, submitted to the same contest I had taken part in (by now, that was a year earlier), and they needed someone to handle the thriller and horror genre. I thought about it for maybe a day, then I immediately said yes.

It was great fun! Who doesn’t want to sit and read cool, unique short stories, and measure them up against each other. Sure, it’s a difficult job (because honestly, there are a lot of good writers out there), but it’s a valuable skill! I did it again the year after, by now we’re in 2024, and although there were fewer entries, it was still really fun.

Then, came another email.

The publisher reached out, because they were looking for another collaboration. This time, it was for something different, however. They were putting together a collection – a thriller/horror anthology – and they were looking for a curator. I actually had to think about it for a little while. Being a judge is one thing – it’s fun and exciting, and opportunity to develop myself while at the same time getting to read some cool stories. But it’s also a one time deal. When it’s over, it’s over, and you can step back. You hand off your evaluation to the people in charge, bid them good bye, and hope you’ve done a good job.

Being a curator is something completely different.

There’s much more responsibility. I have to decide which stories make the cut and which don’t, and I have to get the authors onboard. I have to advise on revisions, edits, formatting, illustrations – of course I have the backing of a whole publishing house to help me out, I’m not doing this all by myself – but still… It’s a lot.

Of course, I said yes!

I’m already looking through entries, we’ve discussed a working title, and I’m imagining the cover. We’re a long way away from seeing this thing to life, but I’m really excited for the road ahead. As an author, a writer, a person with a creative outlet that sometimes seem to be bursting at the seams, this is a very exciting opportunity for me.

I can’t wait to share more about it with all of you.

As always – find all my books and stories by following the link below. I appreciate all my readers a lot, and I love it when you get in touch to talk about mine, yours, or others’ books. So leave a comment!

Find all my books and stories here

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Book Review: Cocaine by Pascal Engman

Corruption, corruption, corruption… What people won’t do for a taste of power.

Cocaine by Pascal Engman starts off like any good crime thriller: with a dead body found under mysterious circumstances—in this case, an unidentiable man off the coast of Sweden. Shortly thereafter, the police find a downed cessna, the local community is flooded with cheap cocaine, and the violent gang crime skyrocket. What the hell is going?

Engman’s writing got me hooked from the beginning. It’s fast-paced, hard-hitting and captivating, and never boring. It reminds me a lot of Don Winslow in how he keeps the action and intriguing constantly rolling. Engman will make you turn pages like it’s nobody’s business. Honestly, it’s been ages since I read a book this fast. Hooked, hardly begins to describe it.

Also, even coming into this Vanessa Frank series completely blind (this is the fourth book to follow the lead police detective, I think), I never felt like I missed out or was confused about anything. All the necessary backstory is there, and everything else that is hinted at just makes me want to read the previous installments! The book is super realistic and clearly very well-researched. It’s divided into parts that are prefaced with quotes from real-life police and crime reports  from Sweden, and reading the acknowledgments at the end, you’ll get some insight into who has contributed to the book and in which capacity.

Only problem is – I don’t think this book is translated into English yet. I got it for Christmas, as a secret Santa gift (guess my friends and family know I like books, weird, huh? I’m still really curious who actually bought it for me), and I actually read it in Norwegian. It’s the first book I’ve read in Norwegian in a long while, and I assumed that a thriller of this caliber would be translated to at least English, but also maybe German and Spanish, consider it’s available in the Scandinavian languages already. But I can’t find a cover that has an English title on it. Then again, no one loves crime as much as us, I guess. Nordic noir, and all that…

Anyway! A great book and an amazing crime thriller. If you can find a language to read it in, I highly recommend it.

As always – I’d love it if you would check out my books! If you’re into crime thrillers, you’ll definitely want to check out The Columbus Archives.

Find all my books and stories here

Trey Stone’s Books

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Book Review: Cocaine by Pascal Engman

Corruption, corruption, corruption… What people won’t do for a taste of power.

Cocaine by Pascal Engman starts off like any good crime thriller: with a dead body found under mysterious circumstances—in this case, an unidentiable man off the coast of Sweden. Shortly thereafter, the police find a downed cessna, the local community is flooded with cheap cocaine, and the violent gang crime skyrocket. What the hell is going?

Engman’s writing got me hooked from the beginning. It’s fast-paced, hard-hitting and captivating, and never boring. It reminds me a lot of Don Winslow in how he keeps the action and intriguing constantly rolling. Engman will make you turn pages like it’s nobody’s business. Honestly, it’s been ages since I read a book this fast. Hooked, hardly begins to describe it.

Also, even coming into this Vanessa Frank series completely blind (this is the fourth book to follow the lead police detective, I think), I never felt like I missed out or was confused about anything. All the necessary backstory is there, and everything else that is hinted at just makes me want to read the previous installments! The book is super realistic and clearly very well-researched. It’s divided into parts that are prefaced with quotes from real-life police and crime reports  from Sweden, and reading the acknowledgments at the end, you’ll get some insight into who has contributed to the book and in which capacity.

Only problem is – I don’t think this book is translated into English yet. I got it for Christmas, as a secret Santa gift (guess my friends and family know I like books, weird, huh? I’m still really curious who actually bought it for me), and I actually read it in Norwegian. It’s the first book I’ve read in Norwegian in a long while, and I assumed that a thriller of this caliber would be translated to at least English, but also maybe German and Spanish, consider it’s available in the Scandinavian languages already. But I can’t find a cover that has an English title on it. Then again, no one loves crime as much as us, I guess. Nordic noir, and all that…

Anyway! A great book and an amazing crime thriller. If you can find a language to read it in, I highly recommend it.

As always – I’d love it if you would check out my books! If you’re into crime thrillers, you’ll definitely want to check out The Columbus Archives.

Find all my books and stories here

Trey Stone’s Books

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My Norwegian Young Adult Novel Is Almost Here!

Exciting news everyone! The cover for my next book is here – and my Norwegian YA debut is close to release!

For some reason, it took me seven years to start writing anything in Norwegian, even thought I’m from Norway and Norwegian is my native language, and it took me another three years for the book to finally be published. I don’t know why, really. I think it has something to do with growing up and consuming so many stories in English, in TV, movies and video games, and also reading quite a lot of book in English, and then actually going to England when I was 19 to study archaeology, that made me feel like English lent itself much better to story telling than Norwegian did.

But anyway – I’m past that now – and now FJORDBEIST is right around the corner!

FJORDBEIST translates to Fjord Beast and is a young adult fantasy novel about a young boy named Marius, who while on summer vacation in his family cabin near the Lysefjorden fjord, almost drowns and ends up being saved by a beast. Of course, he and this beast – after the initial shock has passed – goes off into the wilds and has a lot of adventures together (aaand might end up in a lot of trouble as well). Honestly, it’s one of the most fun and exciting books I’ve ever written, and it’s surprisingly sad, honest and heart-warming too. I’ve put a lot of myself in it, and I can’t wait to share it with the world. The book will be released this spring, some time around May/June 2025.

Of course, having been written in Norwegian, it means you won’t understand a word of it if you don’t read Norwegian yourself – but if you do, or if you’re interested in learning, or if you just want to pick up the book to support me, you can pre-order it right now!

Just head on over to http://www.fjordbeist.no and add your details.

However, at the moment we only ship to Scandinavia – that is Norway, Denmark and Sweden, but if you’re outside of there, just send me a message, any message – a comment to this blog post, a Twitter DM, use the contact form here on my site, or find me on Threads, Facebook or Tiktok, and I’ll get a book to you, one way or other! The pre-orders are currently priced at around $38 / £30 + shipping. We’ll sort something out, don’t worry.

Otherwise, please do follow along, help me share my news and the word, and who knows – maybe you’ll be able to pick up a translated version some time soon? Thanks for tagging along, anyway. I really appreciate all my readers here on the blog, and I love the support I’m getting.

As usual, you can find all my English books, my crime thrillers, my psychological horror At The Gate and my sci-fi and fantasy short stories right here on my page or on Amazon.

Find all my books here

Trey Stone’s Books

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Book Review: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Finally a new King book – and what a book it is!

When I say new, I don’t mean new new, but new for me (though I honestly thought this was his most recent one). But it’s been a while since I read something by Stephen King, and I heard great things about this, so I threw myself over it as soon as I renewed my Audible subscription after New Year’s .

The plot, in short: Teenager Charlie Reade decides to take care of an old neighbor and his ailing dog when he finds the old man lying outside in the cold with a broken leg. What follows is the start of a beautiful friendship and an absolutely incredible adventure full of mysteries, magic and mayhem.

Honestly, this hooked me from the beginning (as Stephen King often does), and for the first time ever, I was struck with a sense of awe as I realized that I was reading Stephen King in the present. If that doesn’t make sense, let me explain – before this book, the most recent King book I’d read was the last in the Dark Tower series, and before that I’ve read mainly his big classics, the best sellers, like The Stand, IT, The Shining and Carrie, to name a few. So to me, King has never been a contemporary author per se, he’s been this sort of mysterious, almost mythological super-author who everyone just knows about and have read and loves. But now, with Fairy Tale, I was suddenly reading something… recent. And a thought struck me: is this what it was like to pick up The Stand or The Shining back in the day? There was this feeling of being part of something big, part of something that you just know is going to be great, because it’s been so great before, back in the day, and here’s my chance to take part of it as it happens.

Anyway.

King’s writing is always captivating, but I particularly love his ability (or should I say tendency) to write much about the small stuff, and little about the big important scenes. I think I mention it every time I review one of his books, because often they seem so long and daunting, and then you realize it flows and reads so easily, and it just sweeps you away. And I think that’s because of all those small scenes that make up so much of King’s books. The long conversations after the big fight or the scary reveal, the drawn out moments that almost seem like they don’t matter, but somehow end up becoming the tear-jerking, pivotal scenes. It’s difficult to explain, but it’s those things that make King’s books so unique to me. I remember noticing it for the first time in The Dark Tower, I think, then again in The Stand. Fairy Tale is no exception, and I just love this type of writing.

Following Charlie’s adventure is incredible, and delightfully magical (the book is called fairy tale after all) and I love how King has drawn in so many references to stories we might know from other stories (some of his own included, but we’ll let that slide). At first, I thought I was picking up on some small, unimportant reference, but by the end I realized that that was his whole point all along. By the end, I was mesmerized by how he managed to pull in so many other stories, stories that I almost don’t know why I recognize or remember. In a way, this book is a fairy tale about fairy tales, a story about stories, and it’s lovely.

A fairy tale about fairy tales. A story about stories.

I particularly liked the first third of the book, the build-up and the anticipation. It is incredibly exciting, and I almost wouldn’t mind if it never progressed. King could have just built it up to a peak, and left me hanging right there at the top, the end, finito, done, and I’d be happy. Bu of course, the show must go on. The middle part dipped a bit, for a moment I found it a bit too silly, I think is the closest word to how I experienced it, but luckily, that passed quickly and the ending is as incredible as the rest of it. Honestly, the whole book is as incredible as the rest of them.

For anyone still wondering, Fairy Tale is a terrific book and right at the top there with King’s best. I’m very happy I decided to pick up a new King book this year, and I’m glad it was this one. I’d probably recommended it a little extra if you’re an fan of The Dark Tower especially, but I think you’ll like this no matter what. In fact, if you haven’t read any of King’s stuff before, and you’re not fussed about starting with the old big ones, this might be a good place to start.

Have you read Fairy Tale? Any other King books that caught your attention lately? Let me know in the comments! I love hearing your thoughts and I’d love to strike up a conversation!

And as always, I’d love it if you checked out my books. If you’re into crime thrillers, psychological horror, or fantasy and science-fiction short stories, I’ve got you covered.

Check out all my books here.

Trey Stone’s Books

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Last Chance! – Pick Up ‘They Came From Nowhere’ Before It’s Too Late

I’ve just had the most saddest news! After nearly four years in print, my short story They Came From Nowhere will be taken off the shelves at the end of February, 2025.

They Came From Nowhere was first published back in 2021, in an anthology titled CONTACT, released by Black Hare Press. CONTACT was part of their 500 words series, an anthology series featuring many different themes and genres, where all the stories included are 500 words long.

The reason CONTACT, and as such, my story They Came From Nowhere, is now being unpublished is that Black Hare Press is discontinuing their 500 words series.

Which means that if you want to get your hands on the book, read some amazing science-fiction stories, my own included, this is your last chance! You’ve got till the end of February, of course,  but after that it’s gone! I, luckily ordered my first physical copy of the book late last year, when I noticed it was missing from my shelf. make the story available online in the future, or maybe have it republished somewhere else, but the anthology as it exists today will be gone.

CONTACT is a science fiction anthology, full of stories of first contact with alien and inhuman creatures. They Came From Nowhere tells the tale of the first glimpses of an invasion.

Check out CONTACT here

Contact by Black Hare Press

And as always, you can find my complete collection of written works here. If you prefer crime thrillers or psychological horror over short story science-fiction, I’ve got you covered.

Check out all my books and stories

Trey Stone’s Books

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Re-read & Second Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

One of the creepiest horror books I’ve ever read – still!

This one is a bit different for me, a rare treat actually, because this is, in fact, a re-read. I, for some reason, very seldom read books more than once. It’s not that I don’t want to, and I often find myself thinking I should pick up an old favorite and have another go at it, but I also find that I always have tons of new things I want to read. I have difficulties finding time for all of it, and more often than not, I end up prioritizing the new, shiny books at the top of my ever-growing To-Be-Read pile.

Weirdly enough, I’m the complete opposite when it comes to video games. I’d very often rather re-play an old classic than start something new. With movies and TV however, it’s the same as books. I can’t think of a single movie I’ve seen more than maybe 3-5 times (and that’s usually just because it’s some kind of holiday movie or something, looking at you, Home Alone).

Anyway – The Haunting Of Hill House! – I figured I’d re-read this one for the two simple reasons that: 1) it’s an excellent horror novel that I remember enjoying very much, and 2) this is by far my most read book review, ever! Just last year it had over 3600 hits. Clearly it’s a fan favorite, and I thought I’d give my readers another reason to come visit the blog and serve them up a little treat in the form of this second read & review.

So, what is it that makes The Haunting of Hill House so great? What is it with this book that so efficiently pulls the reader in? Because it is great – I concluded that already, when I first read the book back in April of 2021. I went in blind, only having heard of and being intrigued to read it after watching the hit Netflix show. I actually knew next to nothing about the book, and don’t think I’d hardly even heard about Shirley Jackson.

First things first: the story. The book follows a group of four: Doctor Montague, who intends to study the paranormal phenomenon that are said to take place in Hill House, and the three people he invites to take part in his study: Luke, Theodora, and Eleanor. Luke is the heir to the house, and Theodora and Eleanor both have previous experience with paranormal events. The book is told through the perspective of Eleanor, a shy and careful young woman, who struggles with anxiety, low self-esteem and night terrors, and she is an excellent choice of narrator. Her timid, scared demeanor makes the house appear even creepier than it is and the way Eleanor reflects over what she sees, hears and experiences in the house will make it go cold down your back in no time.

The brilliance of the book lies in the anticipation. You know as soon as you look at the front cover what to expect: it’s in the title, it’s in the way the book introduces the story, it’s in the way the characters talk to each other and in what they do: there’s something evil about to happen, we just don’t know what it is yet. And the book – while serving you hints as we go along and begin to familiarize ourselves with the house – will keep this from you for as long as it can. Honestly, even when I’ve read it before (though I can’t say I remember all (or actually very much) of it) this book is delightfully creepy, and brilliantly haunting.

The first time I read this, I commented that some of the way Shirley Jackson writes shows how dated this book is. I didn’t notice any of that this time around, and other than the fact that the book uses some old-timey language – a characteristic that could easily be explained as a way to give the story a more gothic feel – there’s really nothing that gives away the age of this book. It has aged incredibly well, and I still agree with my original conclusion that I love Jackson’s writing: it’s concise and to the point, and a perfect mix of creepily descriptive and beautifully lavish.

Last time, I said I didn’t like the ending. I don’t know why I said that. In fact, I don’t understand that at all, because the ending is perfect. I love the ending. I’m not going to give it away, obviously, so if you’re interested in knowing how my opinion could have done a 180 in four short years, you’ll have to pick up the book for yourself and give it a read. Honestly, it’s well worth your time.

Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is in many ways a short and simple book. It does exactly what is says on the tin. You get exactly what you pay for. And that’s the beauty of it, I think. This is how – and why! – it’s still the créme de la créme of horror, 65 years after its release.

Have you read The Haunting of Hill House? Seen the show? Do you have another favorite horror book, or maybe a favorite among Shirley Jackson’s books? Let me know in the comments! I love reading what you write to me, I love discussing books, and I love hearing what you think!

As always – if you like fast-paced thrillers or horrifying psychological twists, I’d love it you checked out my books! You’ll probably be particularly interested in my horror novella about a man who check into a hotel to end it all, only to find that he’s not able to. Check out At The Gate.

You can find all my books and stories here

Trey Stone’s Books

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Book Review: A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin

How great it is to be back in Westeros!

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms is a very different books to those in the Song Of Ice And Fire series (that’s Game of Thrones, by the way), and Fire & Blood (House of the Dragon). Whereas both those book series are massive epics that tell complex, interwoven tales from a myriad of perspectives and often from different, unreliable narrators’ points of view, A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms is simple. It’s just about a knight and a squire.

And oh my, is it refreshing!

A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms follows the adventure of sir Duncan “Dunk” the Tall, a former squire, now hedge-knight, and the boy he happens upon and takes on as his own squire: Egg. Dunk is seven foot tall and strong as an ox, eager to make a name for himself as a knight, and Egg is clever and mysterious, and full of secrets. Together they set out in the wide world of Westeros, looking to find their place in it. The book is a collection of three novellas, collectively named Tales of Dunk and Egg, and include The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight.

Martin writes the way he always does. Lavish, detailed, and occasionally over the top when it comes to colors, clothes and food, but still the story is surprisingly easy to grasp, and pulls you in immediately. I remember being impressed with how easy it was to get into A Song Of Ice and Fire when I first read that (’cause honestly, those books are massive).

One thing that occasionally gets a bit confusing are the names of people and places. It’s difficult to keep track of who’s who and what’s what, perhaps especially for me, because I read mostly on audiobook these days. But it’s a good thing then that A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms is much smaller in scale than for example A Song Of Ice and Fire. There’s not so many interwoven plot lines, and many fewer characters. It’s all about Dunk and Egg, really, and therein lies the beauty of it, because the whole thing read like a buddy-cop procedural show… except it’s set in the middle ages and there’s magic and dragons.

Like I said above, it’s a refreshing breath of fresh air to get down on the ground level and just focus on a handful of characters, but still be able to come back to Westeros. I’ve grown to love the world Martin has created over the years, and I am eager to see more of it (looking at you, Winds of Winter and Fire & Blood II!), but this is a very good alternative to those massive stories in those thick tomes. So if you’re looking for a fun little, bite-sized piece of Westeros to nibble on, I can highly recommend this! If you start now, you’ll be finished just in time for the new TV-series.

Have you read A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms? Do you have plans to? Did you like it, or are you just holding on hope that Winds of Winter will be published in our lifetime? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear about it!

As always, I’d love it if you checked out my books! If you’re into crime thrillers or psychological horror, you’ll love The Columbus Archives or At The Gate. If you’re into short stories, I’ve also written fantasy, science fiction and speculative stories in anthologies and online. Check it out!

Find all my books and stories here

Trey Stone’s Books

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What A Fantastic Year! – 2024 In Review

Well, there you have it, 2024, come and gone. It’s strange how a year can pass by so quickly while at the same time feel like it’s lasted a lifetime. For me, tons of things happened last year, so I figured I’d write up a quick run-down of what’s what. If not for you, then for me – I know for one I’m horrible at convincing myself that nothing ever goes my way and that I’m constantly at a standstill, so it’s important to look back and appreciate the small successes!

Writing: While I purposely tried not to write many new things in 2024, I’ve made some incredible headway in my writing career this past year. I focused on shaping up and shipping out old projects, first drafts I had lying around and things I’d written a long time ago, and it resulted in: two contracts for new books, both signed, sealed and delivered; and three verbal agreements for three other books, two of which I’m hoping to sign contracts for any day now.

So this year sees me publishing my first Norwegian book, a young adult fantasy novel called Fjordbeist (Fjord beast, for those of you who don’t read Norwegian), and I’m publishing a new speculative novella with Inked In Gray! Honestly, I can’t wait!

While all of this was happening, I was also published in 42 Stories Anthology – a super cool project full of flash fiction, all 42 word long, and I even won an award for the best story in my category! You should definitely check it out if you like reading different, creative kinds of projects. And though I say I didn’t write much new stuff, I submitted tons of short stories to various magazines, webzines, podcasts, and other online publishers, so here’s to hoping some of those will be picked up and published!

Reading: I’ve read a lot and widely. The second book in the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson was probably the highlight of my year, but I also loved Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, and The Couple at No. 9 by Claire Douglas. I’ve started War and Peace by Tolstoy which I just know is going to put 2025 to a test for me, but I discovered The Magnus Archives podcast, which I HIGHLY recommend, so that will keep me sane (hopefully).

The blog: The absolute highlight of my year has been running this blog. I’ve had a massive increase in readers, over 15 000 of you dropped by last year, and I love that we managed to move so much of the dialogue and interaction off social media and that we can meet right here on my page. I love interacting with all of you, reading your comments, and hearing what you think about what I’m up to, what I’m reading and reviewing, and what’s going on in my life. So thank you so much for tagging along! It’s been incredible, and I hope I keep seeing you around in 2025.

Music: When I don’t write books or stories, I write music and lyrics, and I play guitar and sing in two different bands: Death metal in Dark Delirium and acoustic pop-rock in Maryon. We’ve played tons of gigs, released a bunch of music, and we have a lot of exciting plans for the new year. If you’re interested in either of those genres (and yes, I realize that they’re at two very separate ends of the spectrum), then I would love it if you gave them a listen! You can find both bands wherever you stream music.

Personal life and day job: I feel like I also got to point out how things are going on the home front, just because it all seems to have come together in a way in 2024 that I hope I can keep up in this coming year. When I’m not sitting at home being creative, I work as an archaeologist in Norway, doing commercial archaeology, and though the job isn’t always as exciting as people think (it isn’t all gold and skeletons, honestly), things are looking up. I’m being given more responsibility, taking on cooler projects, and people appreciate my hard work, my attention to detail, and the fact that I deliver on my promises. (Weirdly enough, that isn’t always a given in today’s modern work environment).

On a side note, I somehow also find time to lift weights and exercise and I’m in the shape of my life, running faster and longer than ever, and I’ve managed to lean down some. To put in shorter terms: I’m happy. We’ve also found time to travel a lot in 2024, and my wife and I made it to the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Romania, Ireland, and England. It’s been great to be able to see so much of the world, and I hope we’ll have the time and opportunity to see more cool places in 2025.

But I’m not going to pretend 2024 hasn’t also had its downsides. This post focuses on all the positives and highlights, but there’s a bunch of things I’m leaving out (very deliberately). For example, I had to pay $600 to fix my car after trying to save $45 on changing my own tires… Yeah, let’s not think about that.

Anyway… I think that’s it? 2024 was good to me, and I think I do well to try and remember that. It’s not that there hasn’t been ups and downs, and I’m not going to lie and say I don’t expect some humps and bumps come my way in 2025, but I’m eager to take on new year and give it all my best! I’m looking forward to another 365 days of writing more books, telling new stories, and becoming a better version of myself!

How was your 2024? Great? Amazing? Not as good as you hoped? Let me know in the comments! You know I’d love to hear all about it.

As always, I’d love it if you checked out my books! If you’re into crime thrillers or psychological horror, you’ll love The Columbus Archives or At The Gate. If you’re into short stories, I’ve also written fantasy, science fiction and speculative stories in anthologies and online. Check it out!

You can find all my stories right here

Trey Stone’s Books

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