I took my demo kit to the Castle Con Preview event yesterday. It was just a one-day event where people could come and see games from all over. The people who run Castle Con brought a wall-full of games and I brought some of my own as I normally do when Castle Con runs a show. They gave me another awesome place and I showed off Alpha Strike and other BattleTech games to any who walked by. It was a good day.
After some days in rice, I managed to get two of the three wet devices powered on again. The old Nokia Music Express would not work with the knockoff battery I got a few months ago, but the OEM battery works fine. Interesting bit there.
The old Samsung S5 booted up without a problem. Just plug in and start and it booted up without a problem. Of course that one is so old that it can’t even get onto google play anymore. It is really only useful as an alarm clock now.
The third phone is a rather more complicated case. It won’t power on, but after some deep alcohol cleaning, plugging it into a computer USB port gets a device plugged in alert. So something about it is working. One of the four battery prongs is loose and will not generate a solid connection with the battery. That may be the culprit. The screen will not turn on or do anything at all. No flicker nothing. There is a slight vibration when plugged in that suggests something is trying to work. I wonder if the screen is shorted out. Or if it is just refusing to do anything because the one prong is loose. It is an interesting situation. It is an old phone that is not worth money to fix. But I don’t want to lose a phone that could be fixed. I have not yet decided what to do but am still testing.
The good news is that careful care of electronics has kept them capable of surviving a situation that should have killed them. For at least 2 of them and possibly the 3rd if I can get it responding. I find that to be very good news so far, with the one point of bad news to be… intriguing.
Yes, my House of Sand story is now out in the wild for you to read. It was selected as part of Sand and Storm by Opal Kingdom Press and was published just last week while I was enjoying the Fourth of July with family.
It is another short story about Captain William Carter and his team. Joanna who has been published multiple times. First published story with Red. Second published story for another character that showed up in an earlier Opal Kingdom Press anthology. It was a fun story to write, and had a number of different versions over time. The final one that made print is by far the best of them, and the one I am most proud of. It took a while to get it right from inspiration to final. And that process made it better.
You can find it in Sand and Storm by Opal Kingdom Press.
Captain William Carter and his faery companions drive across the Syrian desert with a cargo of Armenian religious relics recently rescued from the Young Turks of Constantinople in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. The desert is hot and harsh, but the weather is the least of their worries. The spirits of the desert do not long abide the intrusion of men they do not like, and some relics stir the Desert Nights more than others.
They will soon find that the “House of Sand” does not welcome all travelers who come within its walls.
You may find the “House of Sand” within the covers of “Sand and Storm” in a digital market near you.
In Sand and Storm, beneath the relentless sun, the desert lives.
Ancient powers stir beneath shifting dunes. Serpents coil in forgotten ruins. Djinn bargain in the shadows of crumbling cities while monsters from old legends stalk the sands beneath burning skies. Travelers, treasure hunters, warriors, and wanderers discover that the desert does not forgive the weak—and some creatures were never meant to be found.
From scorching wastelands and haunted tombs to storm-wracked caravans, Sand and Storm gathers a thrilling collection of fantastical tales filled with deadly beasts, ancient magic, and the mysteries buried beneath the sands.
Featuring stories of fiery serpents, cursed creatures, mythic horrors, and the brave souls who dare to face them, this anthology invites you into a world where every grain of sand may hide danger… and every storm may awaken something ancient.
Enter the desert—if you dare.
Sand and Storm awaits you.
Forge of War on Amazon
Angel Flight on Amazon
Angel Strike on Amazon
Angel War on Amazon
Wolfenheim Rising on Amazon
Wolfenheim Emergent on Amazon