James Pyles's Blog, page 9

Book Review of “Ascension, The Ymir Trinity” (2023)

Last night I finished A.M. Leishman’s short novel Ascension, The Ymir Trinity (2023). It’s supposed to be book one in a series, but so far, no other books have been published. I first encountered Leishman on twitter/X but he’s also on bluesky. We indie authors have to stick together. I won’t lie. For me, it […]

Not Just Another Job

Elizabeth left the dorm room letting her eyes adjust to the daylight past the bicycle and gate. At thirty, it was a stretch for her to play the role of a co-ed at the university, but that’s what it took this time. She’d been a professional for ten years. This was the first job where […]

Bubbe’s Tchatchkes

“What’s a tchotchke?” Jessica was the youngest of the cousins exploring Bubbe’s house. The grownups were either in the kitchen or watching the game on TV. “Just a bunch of junk I think,” answered Michael. He was the oldest and annoyed because his Mom told him to watch the rest of the kids. “You mean […]

Review of “Blood Rites” (2004), Book Six in “The Dresden Files” series

Yesterday, I finished Jim Butcher’s novel Blood Rites, the sixth book in The Dresden Files series. Harry Dresden is the world’s only publicly advertised investigative wizard. He operates out of Chicago and is on contract with the Special Investigations unit of the Chicago P.D. to help solve the really weird crimes that sometimes happen thanks […]

“Shoot the Devil 3: Militia of Martyrs” is Available Now!

It’s out. It’s here. It’s available for your Kindle device. Shoot the Devil 3: Militia of Martyrs is now on sale at Amazon. As I previously mentioned, I have stories featured in the first two volumes of this anthology and am proud to have made it into the pages of this one as well. “Militia” […]

“The Book of Names” Soon to be Published

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. I have stories published in the anthologies Shoot the Devil and Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter. Coming soon (I’m not sure exactly when, but ideally right around Thanksgiving which is tomorrow), my short story “The Book of Names” will appear […]

Seven

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. Elisa Sebourne watched a boy she knew sail past her riding a motorized scooter on his way to school. He didn’t notice her for which she was grateful. So much had changed since she used to think of herself as a […]

Review of “Death Masks” (2003), Book Five in “The Dresden Files” Series

Jim Butcher’s Death Masks, the fifth in his “The Dresden Files” series is the darkest and most intense story yet. The Shroud of Turin is missing and a Catholic Priest from Rome hires wizard/investigator Harry Dresden to find it, believing the Shroud is now somewhere in Chicago. At the same time, the feud between the […]

Junk and Memories

Gary said, “Grandpa, why did you have to be such a mess? Why did I have to inherit it?” The eighteen-year-old looked back at his longing to escape the rigidity of his Dad’s rule over their house. Now it didn’t seem so bad, especially when compared to the chores involved in emancipation. “You’re not in […]

Review of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (2024)

I found the Blu-Ray of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) at the public library yesterday and thought it would make for fun Saturday night viewing. I’ve seen all of the Ghostbusters films at least once, apart from the 2016 gender-flip which died in the reviews, so I figured I owed myself a look at the latest […]