I managed to snag a table at STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo on January 24, 2026, thus beginning three months of anxiety and ill-conceived plans to dye my hair, change my name, and flee to Mexico. It was going to be my first time ever selling my books in person,
In a world where we are judged by our results and not by what we learned along the way, AI-assisted coding seems like the perfect shortcut. But though we deliver our products faster, are we sure we're not losing something in the process? Something key to our own personal development?
The family and I took a little trip out to the Lost Pines Resort just east of Austin and capped off our weekend of farm animals, lazy rivers, and torrential downpours with an innocuous Easter brunch in what the resort calls their "Barn" but was more like their
I've been reading non-fiction by Henry Miller and AnaĆÆs Nin in the hopes of transporting myself back to a time I've romanticized as being the height of literary community. I love the little insights into their thinking, their processes, and their feelings. I also like seeing
House of Nepenthe by Daniel Verastiqui is now available for Kindle preorder. The eighth entry in the Vinestead Anthology releases June 2, 2026.
The driverās name was Kaz, and as the newest and youngest member of the crew, Cynthia had fully expected him to cut and run as soon as the job went south, which coincidentally, was the moment she hit the roof of the McCall Tower in downtown Houston. The localized
As a science fiction writer, I learned early on how to be comfortable being dead wrong about the future. I grew up in a time when books featured Evil Corporationsā¢ļøthat were trying to steal your data, spy on you, and influence your decision-making through well-placed propaganda. That's
If I could slip back to 1995, Iād tell Little Daniel two things. One: buy NFLX and never look back. Two: quoting Billy Madison does not, in fact, constitute a personality. I cannot overstate the death grip this movie had on me. It was peak comedy, the funniest, most
As far as user caps went, Tenchi Teikoku had one of the lowest in the area. The rumors went that its sysop, who went by the name of Kenoh, ran the board out of his basement with his own equipment and bundled T1 lines. That meant bandwidth into Tenchi was
The other night, Matador had trouble falling asleep. Something was plaguing his little eight-year-old mind, and he tossed and turned in his bed while I lay reading and crying beside him. Not openly, of course. I wasn't bawling. But tears ran down my cheeks, and the same low
I donāt know if itās because Iām a writer or because of the anxiety disorder thatās been quietly narrating my life since middle school, but I am always listening. People talk, and my brain justā¦ grabs it. Out in public, in movies, in books, in checkout
A friend messaged me the other day. Let's call him Bort. No, let's call him Steve. Steve is a normal and completely real person, just like me, and we share many of the same interests, such as staying healthy, trusting science, and acknowledging the basic human
For My Political Activists
āUhā¦ hi, this is Bob Newhart calling from, uh, theā¦ well, I guess youād call it the āPatriotic Apparel Compliance Office,ā if thatās still the name. Right. Good. āā¦Yes, yes, I got the memo. Thatās why Iām calling. I, uhā¦ well, it says here that starting
Gaming
Spoilers for Death Stranding 2 ahead.
Movies
Thereās a moment in Hackers when Dade Murphy, aka Crash Override, aka Zero Cool, is poking around Kate Libbyās laptop. He notices the specs and starts rattling them off to prove he's in the know: Dade: It has a killer refresh rate. Kate: P6 chip. Triple
Publishing
Iāve been trawling through literary agent websites lately, and Iāll tell you what: each one has their own quirky little rules. Some want a guaranteed happily-ever-after. Some will accept robots, but only if they're unattractive. And still others insist that the protagonists must be a lesbian
Movies
Last night, for maybe the thousandth time, I watched Hackers on my phone while delivering some packages in Death Stranding 2. Itās the cinematic equivalent of comfort food: dope-ass graphics, neon lighting, and dialogue that I was never cool enough to fully understand. If youāve spent any time
Mailbag
After more than twenty years in the (self-)publishing worldāand eight consecutive New York Times bestsellersāI still get a little thrill every time I open my inbox. Itās not the awards, not the movie deals, not the lavish praise from critics that keeps me going. No, itā
Travel
August 5th, 2025. Portland, Oregon. Portland is two hours behind Austin, so I woke about 3:45 a.m. ready to conquer the day. Unlike previous adventures where Dom has organized a precise, value-maximizing itinerary for us, this year, I was in charge. In classic Verastiqui style, that meant one
Travel
August 4, 2025. Portland, Oregon. When I told people we were headed to Portland for our 2025 Family Adventure, the common reaction was: Why? Even Dom, once we arrived, asked more than once: What were you expecting to see? Their skepticism made it seem like Portland was just a random
Essays
By the end of the 1980s, my dad's Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was starting to show signs of aging. As a kid, I knew nothing of the mechanical problems plaguing The Great Silver Beast, but something must have been wrong if we were borrowing my grandmother's car
Writing
I recently finished another revision pass on House of Nepenthe, a process that felt like trying to get a long sofa up a spiral staircase, and I didn't even have anyone screaming pivot at me the whole time to keep me motivated. For context, Vise Manor came out
Vise Manor
Author's Note: Here's an unused Robert Hargreaves chapter that didn't quite go in the direction I needed to. When you're dealing with multiple POVs driving towards a single devastating conclusion, you have to make sure none of them lag behind, and that
Vise Manor
The original prologue from Vise Manor, probably dropped because I don't know this character from the inside. I know how he speaks and behaves from the outside (see Hybrid Mechanics), but how he thinks is another story. I donāt know how long we waited in that room,