The Phillip Drayer Duncan Newsletter - January 2026

So in your time, as you’re reading this, I’m probably still in bed and hungover, you know, starting the new year off properly.

All right, buckle in, it’s time to recap 2025 and talk about the future… My future. Your present? But also my later future? Uh… Whatever. Let’s do this.

Side Note: Apparently, I went overboard with this newsletter. Especially with my rant toward the end. I’m getting a warning that Gmail might clip it, so, hopefully you’ll be able to read the entire thing. Shrugs.

What am I working on?

Music Change: The song finished. Couldn’t keep in with rhythm. I’m too slow. Now it’s Tupac “Holla At Me.” I definitely can’t type in rhythm with this one. Sheesh. He sounds so mad. I feel like I’m getting screamed at by a ghost. What? Too soon?

Anywhistle…

Fun with Friends! (Blade Mage book 8): It’s done, y’all! The first draft is complete!

What about the 2^nd draft, you ask?

That’s done, too!

Working on the 3^rd draft now!

The Bed and Breakfast Between Worlds by J.H. Fleming: I am also currently editing this one for J.H. I’m only a few chapters in but I’m really excited about this one. It’s her first dive into the world of LitRPG, but of the cozy variety. It’s been a lot of fun so far.

Where are we going to be?

Who can say? I don’t even know. It’s a new year. It’s all on the table!

Well, actually… We are scheduled to go to Colorado Springs in February for Superstars Writing Seminars. It’s a great conference for authors which we try to attend every year.

What's going on in life?

Who cares? Let’s get to the fun stuff!

2025 in the Rearview / 2026 in my Headlights

I think it’s important to have goals. Or objectives.

When I worked in the soul-crushing world of corporate, I interacted with a lot of different project and program managers, most of whom had taken some form of Six Sigma. They’d get so hot and bothered about goals/objectives. One would say you must have goals and then objectives to meet those goals. Others would flip it and say you must have an objective for the year and goals to reach them. I told them all the same thing…

I don’t give a shit what language you use, so long as we clearly define WHAT we’re trying to achieve and HOW we’re going to achieve it. There is value in writing it down. There is even more value in dicing it up into manageable bite-sized chunks. And of course, having simple ways to measure and track.

I’ve been setting personal and writing goals for myself for years. 2025 was no different and I’ve gotten 2026 scribbled up and ready to go. I have goals for writing. Goals for fitness. Goals for how many books I want to read and how many games I want to play.

I’m not going to bore you to death with all the details, but I’ve realized this silly newsletter is one of the main things in my life I hold myself accountable to. Like, when I’m struggling with the words and thinking about slacking off, I remind myself that I’m going to have to update you on the book’s progress at the end of the month, and that usually gets my butt in gear. I don’t want to let you down. You’re the reason I’ve gotten the opportunity to turn my dreams into a real career. So, even though we’ve likely never met, I hold you in the highest regard. You’re the last person I want to disappoint.

I think it’s important to evaluate the year without emotional attachment.

For example, to start off with…

Writing. The number one priority. Always.  

In 2025, I fell short of my overall writing goal. It was pretty lofty. I could beat myself up about that, but it’s also worth noting that while I fell short, I did write more words than any previous year. That part is good. But at the same time, it was my first full year as a full-time author, so it’s sort of a minimum expectation. In 2026, I want to do better. I want to blow that number out of the water. I want to write so much that people accuse me of using AI. Well, no, I don’t want that to happen, but you get what I mean. I want to write ALL the books.

In addition to tracking how many words I write and books I complete, I also track how many words I edit as well as how many books I edit. Those go hand in hand, and having equivalent editing goals serves as a guard rail. A few years back, I wrote a ton, but ended up with a bazillion books to edit, which completely de-railed me. So, for editing, 2025 looks to have been my 2^nd best year on record, but it, too, will have to rise as I write more.

I also track how many books I submit and/or publish. That kind of rounds the entirety of the writing goals, right? More guard rails. What good is writing and editing a bunch of books if I don’t do anything with them? I released two Blade Mage novels in 2025. I would have liked to have gotten more out, but when I look at that goal, I realize that I also got the two audiobooks out, and submitted a couple of other novels to publishers for consideration. So, actually, that’s pretty damned solid.

Biggest failure?

The obvious standout is my fitness goals. I fell well short on those in 2025. I could use the drama with my leg as an excuse, but that would be weak. The way I figure it, being in better shape will give me more energy and greater mental capacity to get more work done, and since it was a flop in 2025, my fitness goals have to be the highest priority behind writing.

Biggest winner?

Reading. If I can finish The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the next few hours, I’ll have read 52 books in 2025, for an average of a book per week. 38 was my previous record, so I’m really happy with where I’ve come out on this one. I’m more happy with the habits I developed to achieve it. Every night, I read for 30 minutes to an hour before bed. That gets my eyes off screens and helps me fall asleep, in addition to getting more read. Also, I’ve made it a habit to always listen to audiobook while I’m choring or exercising, which I’ve found is way better for my mood and disposition, rather than listening to podcasts. Sure, there are some great podcasts, and I’d like to listen to more of those, but I’ve just found I’m much happier flinging spells, fighting dragons, or flying spaceships. The goal here will be to hit 52.

Speaking of all the books I read…

Wait. Wait. Wait. Getting ahead of myself.

If you have goals for yourself for 2026, I’d love to hear them. Seriously. Write me back and tell me what you’re trying to achieve. I would love to hear it.

Favorite Books I read in 2025

As of this furious typing, oh, which, by the way, we’re now listening to “Too Dumb for New York City” by Waylon Jennings. Yeah, we’ve switched to country. Keep up. It’s the end of the year, let’s get weird!

Okay, where was I?

Oh, right, as of this furious typing, I’ve finished reading or listening to 51 books this year. I’m desperately trying to get another finished before I get this sent out on the 1^st . We’ll see. I was clipping along in this one audiobook, but then I hit a weird part with some pedophilia and… Nah. Just…no. Fuck no. So, I kicked it to the curb and fired up The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Pretty sure there’s no… Anyway… If I can finish the whopping 6 hours before midnight, I’ll have read/listened to 52 books for an average of 1 book per week.

I’m not going to talk about all 51. Or 52. But I do want to touch on my favorite books I’ve read this year.

I considered trying to pick a number one favorite, but as soon as I saw the contenders, I realized that would be impossible. So, I’m just going to yap about the ones that stuck out the most and by sub-genre.

And the winners are…

Epic Fantasy:

LitRPG / Progression Fantasy:

We’ll do LitRPG next because I couldn’t seem to escape it this year. Even when I was trying to avoid it, I kept accidentally stumbling onto it. I ended up reading several, but these were by far the best. Unlike with epic fantasy, I couldn’t choose just one to talk about. All three of these were badass.

Music Change: Now, we’re on “Inkpot Gods” by The Amazing Devil. I don’t even know what genre this is, but I love this song.

And while I’ve only done the first book in this series so far, it might be my favorite of his. I’m not sure whether it technically counts as a LitRPG, or would be considered more of a progression fantasy, but like the Licanius trilogy, it scratched the epic fantasy itch for me.

And honestly… And even before I say this, I know you might think I’m off my rocker… But the book it reminded me of the most, at least vibe-wise, and maybe it’s just my weird brain, was Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind. And as much as I enjoyed The Name of the Wind, I think I liked Phil Tucker’s Bastion even more. It was incredible. If I HAD attempted to choose a favorite book of the year, this one would have definitely been a contender. It was brilliant. All I can say is I’m looking forward to reading more of Phil Tucker’s work next year because I’m a fan.

Music Change: Okay, now we’re jamming out to “Old Tom Bombadil” by Bear McCreary & Rufus Wainwright, you know, the song that was the only good thing to come out of Rings of Power. Fight me. I said I what I said. (J.H. here to say Sauron manipulating Celebrimbor was perfect and epic and those scenes are worth a re-watch. Also, Entwives).

Urban Fantasy:

It’s kind of funny, considering all the urban fantasy I’ve been writing, and you know, the fact The Blade Mage is probably why you’re here, but my urban fantasy reading pool wasn’t that strong this year. I wasn’t completely blown away by anything I picked up. Well, you know, unless I cheat and say John Pirhalla reading The Blade Mage, but that feels cheesy, so, no. Nothing I read hit me at the same level of the previously mentioned titles. However, there was one that stood out worth mentioning.

A funny note here: As I was writing this section, I was like, wait… I read two urban fantasy books which I enjoyed which were aimed at younger people but that I absolutely adored. NightBooks & GraveBooks by J.A. White. I looked up and down my list for them and got all excited, like… Wait, did I forget to add those two? That would put me over… Nope. Apparently I finished them at the end of last year. Damn.

Uh, apparently, my newsletter is too large. Hehe. That’s what she said. Anyway… I’m getting a warning that’s it’s too big, so, uh, I guess that’s it for cover images. Bummer.

Sci-FI:

Skippy books! Or…

Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson

Another I’m sure you aren’t surprised to see listed. I only made it through a few of them this year, since I’ve been making a point of spreading them out, but damn I love these books. It’s funny, too, because every once in a while, I’ll start to feel bored, like… This is just the same thing over and over, and then… BAM! Something crazy happens that blows my mind. I probably will catch up in 2026, but I’ve got to say, what an incredible journey. Hats off to Craig Alanson. They’re great. Highly recommend. Even if sci-fi isn’t your jam.

Music Change: Okay, now we’re onto “Tom of Bedlam” by Music the Gathering. Not only do I love this song, but I’m writing a novel based off of it, so…had to sneak it in!

Weird Western:

Okay, in fairness, I didn’t read many weird westerns this year, but one definitely stood out, so I figured what the heck, why not?

Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian

This was a weird one. The way I found it was the fact it was narrated by John Pirhalla. When I found out he was to be my narrator, I wanted to listen to some of his work. This one was highly rated and had been nominated for awards and things. Wait… Might have won some awards. Can’t remember. Anyway, I was like, yeah, I like weird westerns. Let’s do that one.

It’s a fantastic book. Dark. Somber. Weird as hell. Everything you’d expect from a weird western. And John Pirhalla crushed the narration. Highly recommend the audiobook, and not just because I’m biased toward John, which I totally am.

I haven’t made it to the sequel yet. I bet that makes it onto my list for next year.

Non-fiction:

Wit & Wisdom by Craig Martelle

Craig Martelle is the shit. If you have any aspirations of being a writer yourself, you could do worse than dial in. Craig is not only an incredibly successful indie author, but he offers a ton of wisdom through his Facebook group, his daily videos, and this book. Craig is also an amazing human being and if you ever get the chance to meet him… Highly recommend.

In Wit & Wisdom, Craig has collected some of his own shorthand thoughts about being a writer. And just like with everything he does, there’s no bullshit or fluff. It’s straightforward. Simple. Plain. The kind of advice we all need. As a cool aside, the way I found out about the book is he gave a free copy to everyone at Superstars last year ahead of the book’s actual release. He’s a cool guy like that.

Honorable Mentions:

The Black-Tongue Thief by Christopher Buehlamn. Pretty decent epic fantasy.

Horseman by Christina Henry.

And a few that I felt would be cheaters because they were re-reads…

Knights of Dark Renown by David Gemmell. Obviously, it’d be cheating to include any David Gemmell books since he was my favorite author growing up. Well, actually… There is one book he wrote that I haven’t read. It’s just been sitting on my shelf because I know once I read it, that’s it. No more new David Gemmell. Maybe this year will be the year…

I really enjoyed reading back through some of the old Something from the Nightside books by Simon R. Green. They’re still pretty fun.

Same with the Drizzt books by R.A. Salvatore. I enjoyed going back to those oldies as well.

Gaming Recap

I didn’t spend a ton of time gaming this year, so I can’t do my own genre award show, but I thought it would be fun to mention a few.

Lunar the Silver Star Story

The update was amazing. That was the very first turn-based RPG I ever fell in love with and finished, way back in like 8^th or 9^th grade. Getting back to it was a blast. I love the updated version. Would highly recommend.

I also enjoyed running through the 2^nd  Lunar again as well as the first Suikoden, both of which also received modern updates. I really need to find more time for running through old-school RPGs because I enjoyed the shit out of those.

 Music Change: “Pigs (Three different ones)” by Pink Floyd. I told you we getting weird up in here!

Marvel’s Midnight Suns

What an underrated title. It hurts my heart that it wasn’t a commercial success. Easily my favorite comic book-based game ever. I guess I’ll die on this hill alone, but damn, that game deserved better. They crushed it with the characters. Tony Stark was on point. Peter Parker, too. Wolverine. All of them. But Blade absolutely killed. Loved the gameplay. Loved how the card-based system made every fight different, so it never got boring. Loved it.

Speaking of playing back through old titles…

Metal Gear Solid 3 – Delta

I think they call it Delta. Not really sure. It was the updated Metal Gear Solid 3. J.H. got it for me for my birthday. It was super fun running through it again, but with the updated graphics and everything. Rocked my socks off. My only complaint is that now it’s hard to see the damned snakes slithering around the grass, the little b-holes. Always biting me.

But if I had to pick a game of the year?

Clair Obscure Expedition 33

I absolutely adored this game. This isn’t a hot take. If you’ve paid attention to anything going on in the gaming industry lately, then you’ll know Expedition 33 just won the awards. All the awards. They deserved them. I don’t care what…

Okay, you know what?

A few of you have been kind enough to reply to my newsletters to let me know, very much to my surprise, that you enjoy my rants, so this one is for you…

What the fuck is wrong with people?

Like…

We love an underdog, right up until the underdog delivers and does the thing, and then everyone turns on them.

I don’t get it.

That’s what happened to Expedition 33.

In the time between its release, up until it won all the awards at the Game Awards, I never really saw anything negative about it. I mean, sure, there were people who were like… Meh, not for me. But for the most part, everyone was positive about it. Like… Hell yeah! This indie studio just shook up the entire industry with this crazy good game! Suck it, Triple AAA! Mwahahaha!

But then…

It went on and did the things. Sold a ton of copies. Got a ton of good reviews. And then… Won ALL the awards.

And now…

Everything I see on the dumbass internet is people trying to tear it down. Because now that they’ve done the very thing everyone was cheering for them to do, it’s cooler to shit on them.

Why can’ t people just like the things they like? Why do they feel the urge to turn on something just because it went and did the very thing they were cheering for it to do?

The Kansas City Chiefs.

Back when Patrick Mahomie first took over in K.C., they quickly became the unofficial “America’s team.” Seemed like everyone was coming out of the woodwork to cheer on the Chiefs. And then they went and did the thing and won a mess of Super Cereal Bowls. Now?

“They’re cheaters!” “They only get helped by the refs!” “I hope they lose!” “Patrick Mahomes sucks!” Blah, blah, blah.

People act like this sportsball team is out to get them personally. I don’t…

Wait, hold on. Need to change the tunes. What would be good to rant to?

I know… Back to Tupac. “Can’t C Me.” Let’s get loud and angry!

Anyway, back to my rant…

Where was I?

Tom Brady and the Patriots.

Same damned thing in the same damned sportsball league.

Tom Brady’s story is amazing. Dude wasn’t expected to get the starting QB job in high school. Ended up with it and rocked out. In college, again, no one expected him to be a starter. Due to injuries, he got a chance and balled out.

The NFL, though? They were ready for him, right?

Hell no.

Tom was a last round draft pick no one believed in.

But guess what? He kept grinding. Kept doing his thing.

And one day…

All of a sudden everyone was rooting for the Patriots. They were America’s team. Right until…

They went and did the damn thing and won all those cereal bowls. And then…

“They’re just cheaters!” “The refs help them!” “They deserve to lose!” “Tom Brady isn’t even that good!”

And then Tom retired, and all those same haters, now focused on Patrick Mahomie and the Chiefs, are the same ones who’ll be the first to tell you Tom is the G.O.A.T. and that they always believed in him.

Just…

I’m reminded of a time, way back in high school, when one of my best friends was obsessed with this song. He played it over and over. Wouldn’t stop. Drove me nuts with it. Until one day, we were walking into school and this other guy, an absolute frothing mound of douche pollution, let’s call him Dingus, pulled up to park beside us. Dingus was the worst. One of those guys who had the bully spirit of Eric Cartman. Thought he was hot shit. Fancied himself a cool jock kid. He was big, too. Probably a whole head taller than me and a bit wider. He didn’t just think he was cool, he thought he was tough. Anyway, he was blaring my friend’s song on his radio.

And that was it.

My buddy never play that song again. Ruined.

He hated it from that moment forward.

In hindsight, that was dumb.

He liked the song. Who cares if some bull-boy, piece of douche pollution also liked it? Fuck that guy!

Like, seriously…

Okay, that same dipshit, Dingus, tried to bully me once. We were at a sportsball game in our rival school’s gym, watching our girls play volleyball. For some reason, he’d ended up sitting in the group I was in rather than with his normal wannabe jock bro-dudes. Apparently, the game wasn’t exciting enough, and his peanut-sized brain decided I’d be a fun target. Like I said, I was shorter and he was wider. He had some size on me. So, in his infinite wisdom, he reached over and smacked me on the back of the head.

Me, being the peaceful, patient, and well-tempered lad that I was, realized, in my own infinite teenage wisdom, there was really only one appropriate response.

I pimp-slapped him.

Open handed, right across his chubby cheek.

Hard as I could.

Big ole smack.

In front of God, Buddha, the Easter Bunny, and everyone who happened to be looking our direction.

Dingus’s eyes got to watering and his cheeks took to trembling. The cheek I didn’t slap turned as red as the one I did. Turned out, teenage bullies didn’t like being slapped. Who’d have thunk it?

He glared at me and said, “As soon as this game is over, I’m going to drag your ass outside and beat the fuck out of you!”

I grinned at him. “Why wait? We can go now.”

He had nothing more to say.

When the game ended, he hopped up and re-joined his normal group of bro-dudes.

My work wasn’t done, though. I’d put a little fear into Dingus, sure. But I also understood that it wasn’t enough. He’d be back for vengeance. Maybe not that day, but at some point, he’d come for revenge. To put me back in my place. I’d won the battle, but the war yet loomed. Best to end it while I had the advantage.

So, I strolled right into the middle of his friend group, and with a calm and polite voice, I said, “Hey, Dingus, I believe we have a meeting outside, don’t we?”

This big bully bitch pretended he didn’t hear me. But his skin turned red as an apple. And all his friends and their girlfriends turned toward me, seeming really confused. Since I had everyone’s attention, I politely repeated my query. “I thought you were going to drag me outside and beat my ass? I’m ready if you are.”

Dingus, who again, was bigger than me, forced a laugh and said, “I was just joking about that.”

Channeling my inner Doc Holiday, I replied. “I wasn’t.”

We stood there awkwardly, in the middle of our rival school’s gym, him terrified, his friends confused but also alarmed, and me grinning like a teenage psycho.

That was it.

The war was over.

I won.

He never messed with me again. In fact, he made it a point to act like we were best friends. Like I was the coolest cat he’d ever met.

Later that school year, Dingus picked on another kid. One significantly smaller. That kid busted his nose. I didn’t get to see the blow, but I giggled at the blood splattered across the tile. Everyone had a good chuckle about that. Everyone except Dingus, I suppose.

You’d have thought poor Dingus would’ve learned his lesson. You’d be wrong. Some assholes just can’t turn it off.

Just before graduation, he set his sights on a big quiet kid we called Kirby. The thing about Kirby was…he pretty much minded his own business. Never bothered anyone. Kept to himself. The quiet kid, right?

You probably think you know where this is going. I don’t think you do.

I don’t know what Dingus did to Kirby exactly. I’ve either forgotten or never found out. But I know it was bad. Word was it was going to be handled at our graduation party. I, along with nearly every teenage man-buck, was very excited. We all knew what Dingus clearly did not. You shouldn’t fuck with Kirby.

So, anyway, we’re at the party, out in the middle of a forest, big bonfire burning, surrounded by trees and trucks, radios blaring, underage drinking. All of us having a good time. Suddenly, there is the distinct sound of a chainsaw firing to life.

We all paused, glancing around. Like… What the hell?

Kirby stomps up onto the roof of a car, bathed in firelight. Might have been Dingus’s car. Don’t remember for sure. Anyway, there’s Kirby, standing on the roof of this car with a chainsaw in his hands. He raises it over his head and screams Dingus’s name.

Then he revved the chainsaw, jumped off the car, and stalked right toward Dingus.

I have never seen a chunky bully run so fast.

Dingus was gone.

He disappeared into the forest with all the speed his fat, cowardly legs could manage.

Kirby won.

Anyway, at this point, after several twists, and turns onto segue avenue, a few side story streets, and touring the digression back alleys, you’re surely wondering where I’m going with all of this.

Might point is this…

My friend let Dingus ruin his favorite song. He let that dipshit ruin something he liked.

I hated that for him. Still bothers me. I mean, yeah, I was happy to not have to hear that damned song on repeat over and over, but… It kind of broke my heart.

Look…

The way I figure it, people who bandwagon for or against things, or just hop on trends, they probably aren’t truly happy people. People who let dipshits ruin their favorite things for them are also not happy people. Nor are people who just shit on everything.

Like what you like.

Don’t hate on something just because it’s popular.

Don’t spread negativity jam just because its not your particular toast.

Don’t root for the underdog just because it’s cool and then turn on them the minute they succeed. That’s super lame.

Fuck following the crowd.

Be weird. Be you.

You’ll be a hell of a lot happier.

Oh, and never be afraid to pimp-slap your bullies.

Maybe don’t do the chainsaw thing, though. That, uh, could end poorly for all parties.

Also, shoutout to Kirby, if you’re reading this. Kirby has supported my work since day one. He read Moonshine Wizard back when it first came out. And when I set up my Patreon, he was one of the first subscribers. Kirby is, was, and shall always remain, a bad motherfucker. Dingus should have known better. Anyone could have told him, “Don’t fuck with Kirby.”

As for my other friend, we still laugh about how he ended up hating that song. And it’s not too late for me to slap him, because he’ll be here later for the party. He’s all right. And the song was overplayed anyway.

The bully boy, though? No idea what happened to him. Probably living in a trash can. Who fucking cares?

Final Thoughts

I was going to talk about goals and things, but after that long-ass rant, you’re probably ready to move on and start your new year, while I’m almost certainly still in bed nursing a hangover. Of course, that’s what I thought before the Halloween party and I ended up fine. In fact, we’ve already been plotting to call out the new year while its out over the Atlantic, because my friends are all getting old and I’m not sure they’ll make it to midnight in our own damned time zone.

Anyway, I’m excited to get the new year started. I have lots of words to write and some really exciting ideas around the Blade Mage I can’t wait to share with you.

Let’s make 2026 our best year yet, yeah? The best one of our lives.

Here’s to us! May we have the best year ever!

-Phill