Okay, this is going out a little later than planed. Or announced.

Well, the past few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster, haven’t they? Not that long ago most folks were seriously wondering if World War III was about to start, and then European fascism got a big punch in the nose. I know it’s not a phenomenal thing, I know it doesn’t directly tie to the United States but... it was kind of nice.

I had a couple “deep thoughts” to start this newsletter off with, but the more I looked at them the more they all felt a little like... well, like me yammering on and on again. I’m very aware that I have, as my fellow kids say, a platform, but I’m also very aware that I’m not particularly smarter or wiser than most people. I can maybe claim a tiny bit more awareness of human nature—just because I spend a lot of my time thinking about “how would X person react to Y situation” —but overall I don’t think I can address a lot of issues better than a lot of other folks. I can maybe put a slightly new spin on things and... that’s it.

So then I thought, well hey—I’d like your thoughts on something.

As a lot of you know, I haven’t done anything with my Instagram account in... I guess it’s coming up on sixteen months? Meta slapped down some new rules and guidelines that were, to put it mildly, racist, sexist, and queerphobic. Essentially, if you’re not a straight, white, English-speaking man... don’t expect a lot of moderation issues to go your way. No matter what the issue is. I had a problem with this, for a bunch of reasons, and I haven’t really done anything there since. The only reason I’ve kept the account is for a few folks I need to message there, and also on the off chance I decided to delete it and someone snatched up the “Peter Clines” handle to use for... whatever.

It’s not much of a protest, I admit, but as someone with “a platform” (see above) I felt like it was important to take a stand. And... well, it hasn’t really had any affect on anything, as far as I can tell. Either way. Heck, I even had a book come out and, well, not being on Instagram didn’t seem to have any real effect on it, one way or another. The algorithm’s such a mess there you can’t use it for anything timely or important anyway. I’d probably get better results spinning a big picture of the book on a street corner.

All that said, I’m now about a year out from the new book coming out. The folks at St. Martin’s asked about Instagram, I explained my stance, and they just kind of nodded. I know they’d prefer if I was using it (even though they’d probably agree it’s pretty pointless), but they’re not pushing me to do it just for that .03% boost in sales numbers.

And yet... I find myself wondering if I should be doing it. It’s a new publisher, and I don’t want to look stubborn or difficult by saying “I’m sticking to my morals, screw your tiny sales numbers.” I also don’t think it’ll make a real difference, like I said before. Although it could give me a lot of goodwill from the publicists, which could matter when there is something that could make a difference. But I also don’t want to be the person who backtracks on their stance as soon as money is involved, especially since I’m in a better position to take that hit than some folks.

It’s nothing urgent or pressing or even all that important, but I’d love to know... what do you think? Does it matter to you one way or another? Are most of you still on Instagram? Have you gone to Bluesky? Given up on social media altogether? Do you think it’s worth going back, on any level? Even if I just did it for a book release?

Let me know. You can just reply to this newsletter and I’ll get it. If you even want to. No pressure. It’s not that kind of newsletter.

Anyway... in writing and publishing updates...

In case you missed it, TOS has been revealed. My next book is The Off Season. If all goes well it’s going to be out one year from, well, right now. Seriously. They’re aiming for April 20th, 2027. Which is some ways seems very far away and in other ways already feels like it’s creeping up fast.

I spent last week doing some last tweaks. My editor pointed out a few things that might need just a tiny bit more “ummpphhh” and I gave different chapters and paragraphs and sentences a hard look. This is the point when you really debate every word and try to judge just how they’re all going to hit. Is this too much? Is that not enough? I was glued to my computer all week, but I probably tweaked/ added maaaaaaaaaybe 400 words? It’s that final polish when you’re trying to decide if the diamond needs just one more cut or if it’s done.

We also have a fairly solid cover for the book, but we’re not sharing it quite yet. It’s cool. I like it. I think the publisher would like to have a blurb or three on it before anyone sees it soooo maybe later this summer? Again, I’ll try to make sure all of you see it first. That’s the kind of premium treatment you get when you subscribe to the Uncanny Cosmic Horror Zombie Almanac!

(I just realized I hadn’t said the name in a while. Sorry)

And I got to talk with my editor about the next-next book. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but St. Martin’s had a kind of specific direction they wanted me to go with the second book in this contract. So I played around with my idea for a bit, reshaped a few things, and ended up with something I felt was still pretty solid. Honestly, it was a lot more solid than my original version of it. So we talked about it, I explained a few plot points and the feel I was going for. There was a just-long-enough-to-cause-panic pause and then he said “That sounds cool as hell.”

So hey... I guess I need to start referencing ATCS.

And some of you might know what that means.

What else can I tell you about...

Cool Stuff I’ve Been Watching
A few people nudged us so we say down and watched the first season of Paradise and it was fantastic (thank you, Disney+). Alas, season two is locked up behind a Hulu subscription (damn you, Disney+). My beloved and I also watched the two old Kolchak tv movies (The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler) which we’d somehow never seen. They’re dated, absolutely (they’re over fifty years old) but they also hold up surprisingly well. Easy to see how they inspired so many creators. And just this week we started watching From. We’re only a few episodes in but so far it’s creepy as hell and definitely has us forming theories.

Cool Stuff I’ve Been Reading
I got an early look at Jason Hough’s new one Throw Away The Key which comes out in a few months. It’s a freakin’ great espionage thriller about a semi-retired CIA lockpicker. Also picked up Dark Future by J.M. DeMatteis, a wonderful retro time-travel story (dipping its toes in a bit of cosmic horror) that reminds me a bit of Jack Finney’s Time and Again. And I just dove into Django Wexler’s soon-to-be-latest, The Only Way Out is Up, which is about class struggles and robot arena fights soooooo... I’m in.

Cool New Toys
My Plunderfrogs showed up. They’re ridiculously cute, but I haven’t had a chance to actually open them yet. I also had a ton of preorders arrive, so there’s already another BBTS box waiting for me to press the “ship all” button. Really, at this point I just need to spend a weekend or two opening things (which is probably what next month will bring). This month’s photo, therefore, is a very silly thing. I found an old Ghost Rider villain, The Orb, marked way down, and also a Marvel Legends motorcycle, and I just said... what the hell. He’s so gloriously 70s, isn’t he? Seriously, this guy was a recurring villain.

And I think that’s everything. Many thanks to you, as always, for reading and also for forcing all your friends and family members to subscribe. See you again in May.