The Phillip Drayer Duncan Newsletter - December 2025

As an FYI, it looks like Audible is running a pretty sweet sale as I’m writing this. I’ve had a long running tradition of doing my Black Friday shopping from the comfort of my couch, and, well, shopping for myself. I usually hit up Audible, Steam, the Playstation Store, and a few others on the hunt for goodies. Since I switched to writing full-time, I don’t have the disposable income for buying myself toys, but it’s still nice to window shop. Anyway, I checked Audible on Black Friday and was a little disappointed by the offerings. Then, today, I got on there for something and saw a banner for a weeklong sitewide sale. Some of the deals were legit.

If you don’t have a copy of The Blade Mage on audio, I’m sure it’s on sale, too. I’m not sure what they have it marked at because I can’t see it for some reason. Ah, well. If you happen on there, I’d love to know what price they put it at.

What am I working on?

Fun with Friends! (Blade Mage book 8): Almost to the end! I’m on the home stretch, just finishing up the climax. I expect I’ll have my first draft knocked out this week. Then it’ll be time for editing. I’m super excited about this one. Might be my favorite yet.

That’s it for the moment. I finished editing J.H.’s latest novel, The Blackbriar Coven, and I’m excited for her to get it closer to publication. It rocked. The further I got into it, the more I kept forgetting I was supposed to be editing. Oops. Don’t tell her I said that.

Once I finish Fun with Friends, I’m going to work on a non-Blade Mage project for a minute because I have something really exciting planned for book 9 that requires some preparation and planning. Super excited about this idea. I think you’re going to dig it.

Where are we going to be?

Nowhere! It’s hermit time! We’re staying our butts at home. You’ll have to catch us out in the wild in 2026.  

What's going on in life?

Turkey Day

I just learned I no longer hate pecan pie.

That’s weird.

We made our annual pilgrimage to have Turkey Day lunch with J.H.’s extended family. She has, like, 8 million aunts, a couple million uncles, and like, 42 million cousins, so there were quite a few people there. I mean… That might have been a slight exaggeration. Anyway, it’s always nice to see all of them. At least the ones who remember my name and stuff. Even after all these years, there’re still a few strangers in the bunch.

After that, we made the long car ride to my mom’s house and had second dinner with her and my uncle. Ah, the holidays, where we get to spend 4 hours in the car to make good on our familial obligations. Funny I say this, considering my rant at the end… You’ll see.

Saturday, we had dinner number three, but fortunately, I only had to travel from my bedroom to the kitchen. Win!

Physical Therapy Final Boss = Completed!

Boom. I’ve had my last session, and I think they may have fixed my leg. Woohoo. They thought the problem was in my upper hamstring or my IT band, and the exercises and stuff have definitely improved it. So, I’m all done with the nuisance of going to PT twice a week and I’m able to run again. Wee. So, if you happen to be a deer hunter in rural Missouri, and you happen to see a chunker plunking along through the field, don’t shoot… That’s me.  

What have I been reading?

But sometimes, as authors, we learn more from books that disappoint us than the ones we loved. And I guess that’s why I wanted to rant about it. I mean, I realize there’re plenty of readers who enjoyed it and weren’t bummed by the thing I was, and felt the ending was fine. I’m just not one of them. I don’t mind if characters are morally gray. I don’t even mind if they’re downright wicked. Others can write however they please. But… I’m trying to think of what to say without giving spoilers. Effectively, one of our main viewpoint characters does something out of character and absolutely wrecks our favorite viewpoint character. The rest of the internal conflict hinges around this act of betrayal. And all our viewpoint characters respond poorly. And it’s never really resolved. By the end, the hurt party is just like, meh, these things happen. Fuck that. Justice for Dug, damn it!

Anyway, my point is… This book served as a reminder that I don’t want to let my readers down. I never want my readers to invest their time, money, and emotions into my work, only for my characters (and me) to leave them bummed and disappointed. Or even worse, I don’t want my readers to feel betrayed by the characters’ actions. At the critical moments, when they’re on the edge of their seats, I want my readers to say, “Fuck yeah!” Not, oh, that, uh… Well, that was a bummer.

I’m leery about tie-ins. I’ve read too many that had all the energy of a pet rock, only to pick up something else by the author and be blown away. Why bother having an author do the work if you’re going to turn their chocolate cake into a stale cracker? I guess just to churn out cash with no care for the IP. That’s the obvious answer. But hey, before long they’ll probably just have AI shit together half-baked soggy mess novels of our favorite franchises. Who needs writers, am I right? Ahem… Anyway, this book was pretty good. If you’re a Dragon Age fan, I’d recommend it.

What games have I been playing?

So, I switched to playing it on the Steam Deck. And then it continued crashing on me.

So, I said screw it, I’ll switch to 4 now.

And then it was broken as hell.

Sorry. Correction. IS broken as hell.

It won’t run correctly with my monitor, so I was like, well, screw it, pretty sure I have it on the Playstation. Yup. Sure do. The original version without any DLC. Well, it’s 10 years old, so surely the DLC won’t cost… $35??? $35 for a 10-year-old DLC????

Screw it, I’ll run it on my Steam Deck. Oh, joy, the color scheme is all screwy and I can’t seem to fix it.

So, I did a clean re-install on my computer and that…

Did nothing.

It runs fine—or at least reasonably okay—on my laptop so long as I disconnect my monitor and lean my old-ass eyes over the built-in laptop screen. So, that’s that. That’s what we’re doing currently. We’ll see how far I make it, although, all of this reminded me that last time, I didn’t get bored and stop playing. It kept crashing and I finally gave up. So, we’ll see how it works out this time around. Sigh.

It is a great game, though, when it runs.

What have we been watching?

I’m poking fun, but it was a pretty decent show. If you’re not familiar, it’s set in a fantasy world but in, like, a Victorian type of era. Humans and fairies both live in this world, but the fairies aren’t super magical. Most of them are just people with wings, or like, the pucks are just folks with horny heads and hooves. Anyway, this one nation of dickholes, which we don’t see much of, have driven most the fay off their own lands. So, many of them have fled to this city where the people are SLIGHTLY less dickish, but only by the margin of not committing genocide. The fay are treated worse than second-class citizens and mostly jammed into one neighborhood called, you guessed it, Carnival Row. There’s a bunch of drama, blah, blah, blah, and just watch it. You’ll like it or you won’t. Shrugs.

We’ve finished the first season, which was pretty good. It was interesting to see how they pulled all the storylines together by the end, though it was pretty obvious who the real villain was by the time we got there. And this is from someone who actively tries not to figure it out so I can be surprised. We’ve started season 2, but we had to stop because…

In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the trailer for season 1. For realz, though, I’d find it hard to believe you’re a Blade Mage fan but not on the Stranger Things train, so this is probably pointless. But just in case you aren’t familiar, don’t watch the second trailer which is for season 5. Or do. I’m not here to tell you how to live your life.

In case you haven’t caught it, here’s the one for the new season…

Damn, those kids do look old now, though…

Final Thoughts

As I was thinking about what I wanted to say to close out, it occurred to me we’re in holiday season…

So, I was just going to wish you happy holidays and then shut up…

But then I remembered what irritates me the most about the holidays...

At which point, I realized this is MY bloody newsletter and I can rant if I want to. So, here goes. Two important points about the holidays from yours truly. Well, maybe more than two if I really get going.

I know the holidays are a big pain in the ass. I know a lot of people just roll their eyes every year. Many people are lamenting the cost. Or dealing with their dick-hole uncle or their crazy cat lady aunt who won’t shut up about politics. Trying to get time off from their shithead of a boss. Whatever. I get it. But lemme tell you a story…

For the first 12ish years of my adult life, I had to work every Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve. Non-negotiable. In that role, they were the toughest, most miserable days of the year. I hated them.

Usually I’d go in around noon or so, and I wouldn’t get to go home until 6 the following morning, whereupon I’d be too wired to sleep, and would inevitably pull out a bottle of Wild Turkey, drink myself silly, and then nod off for 3 or 4 hours before I’d have to get back up to go back to work. In the hour before I went to work, I summoned a smile to my voice and called all of my family and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas.

Otherwise, it was just a shit-show. Something I was too damned grown-up and stressed about to give even a moment of joy.

And then J.H. and I got together.

Our first Christmas, I was a bit like the Grinch. Phillbenzer Scrooge, even. When she insisted on getting a Christmas tree, I groaned. But sure, whatever. As we were going through the store, she was picking out stuff, and I was still being surly. Then I spotted something.

A Boba Fett tree ornament.

In that moment, I was taken back in time to a little Phill, standing outside the Hallmark store in the mall. Not sure which. Could have been any mall, though I’d guess either the one in Fort Smith or Fayetteville, Arkansas. Anyway, I remember staring at the ornament and thinking it was the coolest shit ever. I desperately wanted it.

My mom shot me down. We were poor and there was no way she was paying some ridiculous price for a Hallmark ornament. Little Phillbert was devastated.

Fast forward, and that same child, still very much a part of me, poked his little Phillbert head out of his metaphorical Ninja Turtle shell. I still wanted a Boba Fett ornament.

Sheepishly, I glanced over at J.H. “Could we, uh, put this on our tree?”

She shrugged. “It’s our tree. We can put whatever we want on it.”

“So, just to clarify, I can buy this Boba Fett ornament, and, uh, put it on our tree?”

“Yeah, you can put whatever you want on the tree…”

“Like, this Spider-Man, too? And this Yoda? Optimus Prime? We can have a geek tree?”

“Yeah, of course. Let’s do it.”

Something in me clicked. Right then. In that very moment.

It wasn’t about a silly Boba Fett ornament.

It was something that I’d been missing. Something I hadn’t even realized I’d wanted.

Christmas.

Sitting around with my loved ones, wearing stupid pajamas, and drinking hot choco. Giving them gifts. Getting gifts. Like… Fucking celebrating something.

Ever since that moment, I’ve been all-in on most holidays. I mean, sometimes the work gets my mind clouded, and I don’t think about it until it’s too late. But overall, I try to make the most of every holiday. Why the fuck not? We only get one trip around this miserable rock. Might as well make the most of it.

Get out of your way and enjoy it. Let your inner kid come out. Go all out. Just to be clear, I’m not suggesting you empty your savings account, but fucking… Enjoy it, damn it! What’s it going to hurt?

Which brings me to point number 2…

Gift giving.

Fucking stop with the… Oh, such and such got me something, so I must get them something of equal value. And fuck right off with the whole… Oh, I need to make my gift even better than theirs. Quit it. It’s not healthy and it ruins the entire thing.

Here’s the deal…

If, and when, you can afford to do something for your family and friends, do it. But don’t make it about a dollar value. Make it about something special for them. Something that’ll make their eyes light up. Something that means something to them. Or at least something that will be useful. Something that will make their lives a little bit better. Or crazy thought… Spend some time with them. Your work emails are not that important. Your older sister isn’t that annoying. Your mom’s nagging is, well, yeah, that might be annoying, but whatever, fucking…power through! Let the old bag get it out of her system!

Anyway… It’s not about a dollar amount. It’s about showing your loved ones that you love them. That you were thinking about them.

That’s the point.

The ENTIRE fucking point.

And guess what? If you can’t afford to lavish them with gifts, then don’t. They won’t care. Not if they’re your real friends. Your real family. And if they do care, well, that’s their damned problem, isn’t it? Not yours.

I used to go out of my way, spending weeks finding great gifts for everyone. Back then, I could afford it. And often, some of my dearest friends would feel like assholes because they hadn’t gotten me anything. That was dumb on their part. It’s not about that. And nowadays, I’m a full-time author, so those mofos know I can’t afford to do it anymore. They aren’t messed up about it, either.

But what if they get something for me?

Well, this is where it gets challenging, isn’t it? It’s easy to be the gift-giver. Much tougher to receive a gift and have nothing to give back. But you know, what? THAT’S NOT WHAT IT’S FUCKING ABOUT.

When someone gives me a gift, and I didn’t get them anything, I thank them and show my utmost gratitude. And here’s the thing… It’s real gratitude. Honestly, this person thought enough of me to spend their hard-earned money and/or their limited time to get me something??? That’s fucking magical. So, I thank them and accept with grace. But I don’t grovel and apologize for not having something for them. THAT’S NOT WHAT IT’S FUCKING ABOUT.

Seriously… Gifting-giving and receiving is magical, if you let it be. So many people ruin it. So worried about making it a transactional process. I say to hell with that. Let’s bring the magic back.

All of it.

Make the most of your holidays, let your inner child come out to play, and bring back the magic of gift-giving and receiving.

That’s all.

Well, that and…

I hope you have the most magical holidays of your life thus far, a merry Christmas, if that’s your jam, and a badass New Year.

See you next year.

-Phill