It’s that time of year again.
Been a wild summer.
Without really planning it—thanks to day-job drama, summer childcare, and overly ambitious house projects—I’ve managed to be entirely offline for almost half of the year.
The past six months of Touching Grass (and giant rocks, large chunks of wood, and literal tons of dirt) has given me a lot of time to think, and some big ideas about where I want to take this publication in the coming year.
I also had a low-grade dissociative episode and spent about a week ranting to my Very Patient Wife about the future of storytelling in the era of A.I.
Lots to share, in other words, and lots of new projects I’m excited about. Some updates and announcements:
Prophecy of the Living Dead Livestream Event
After a few false starts, I’ve found the right format for the zombie material I’ve been working on. Rather than publishing it as a three-volume “Das Kapital of Metaphysics,” which is what it was turning into, I’ll be teaming up with
to present it as a livestream discussion. While it might turn into something vaguely book-shaped down the road, I’m stoked to be tackling the material as a conversation first, and building on it from there.The event will be hosted by Weirdosphere on Saturday, November 1 (All Saints’ Day) starting at 8PM EST.
More details coming soon.
Moving away from long–form essays
If you’re here because you’re a fan of 3,000-word screeds against the state of the world, I have sad news.
While I’m always struggling to get that particular monkey off my back, I’m hoping that this time—this time, Doc, I swear—I’ll be able to kick the habit for good.
Or at least find a better outlet for it.
I’ll be shifting my output toward more collaborative work: recorded conversations; co-authored articles; guest posts on other publications. Apart from shorter essays and solo audio here and there (which will always be free for my subscribers) most of my nonfiction work will be moving to new spaces.
Because I’ve got a much bigger project in the works.
Interactive storytelling (and a Patreon campaign)
Although I’m not ready to share the details yet, I think I’ve finally hit on a way to approach storytelling and virtual publishing in the A.I. era.
This will be a collaborative project requiring some real resources. I’ve kept my Substack free because I’m fundamentally opposed to the Overpriced Coffeeshop Art approach to making money. (“Would you like to buy this crude oil painting of my cross-eyed cat for $2,000?”) But I genuinely feel good about offering this new project as a paid-subscription model: not to fund my own bohemian dreams of being a Very Important Author, but as a way of pooling resources for something ambitious.
Not just writing a book, but building a world.
If everything goes according to plan, I’ll be launching that project on Patreon in January 2026.
Keep an eye out for announcements and more specific details on the other side of the holidays, along with some essays about the whys and wherefores of the whole thing.
And in the meantime—if you’re interested in collaborative storytelling, interactive fiction, and the future of media, drop me a line.
Stay tuned for more soon.
Welcome back!