The Phillip Drayer Duncan Newsletter - November 2025

Thanks for all the fish!

Author

Phillip Drayer Duncan
November 2nd, 2025

Connect with me on all the places!

Actually, forget the fish, thank you for my best launch month yet. The Appalachian Argument frog-hopped my expectations. Thank you for continuing to support my work and keeping this dream of mine afloat.

You may be wondering why my newsletter is late. That is fair. And the answer is…alcohol.

Or at least I assume it’s to blame. See, my annual Halloween party is… Or was… Actually, I’m not sure how this works, because I’m trying to sneak in writing this before everyone shows up, but I’m pretty sure I’ll end up sending it tomorrow. So for me, debauchery is forthcoming. But for you, it is already in the past. Probably. Unless I get this done before anyone shows up… Okay, so, let’s do this:

If you’re reading this on the 1st of November, then that means by some magic or miracle, I’ve managed to finish and hit send before the party. In the more likely event you’re reading this on the 2nd or later, there’s a good chance I’m currently sad and hungover. Send cookies.

I took this picture in the bathroom at Benson’s Grill in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Made me chortle.

What am I working on?

Fun with Friends! (Blade Mage book 8): Still cracking away at this one. As is often the case, my silly ideas made it blossom into something bigger than it was intended to be. That’s okay, because I’m really happy with it so far. But with all the moving pieces, I’ve had to go back to the beginning and read back up to where I’m writing to keep it glued together. Continuity can be a real butthole. Lots of moving pieces in this one.

The Blackbriar Coven by J.H. Fleming: This is J.H.’s latest book and the first installment of a new witch series she’s been working on. She’s been pretty excited about this one, and therefore, I’m very excited to finally get to read it. She’s planning to launch them sometime next year, so keep an eye out, or follow her on Amazon, or one of the other places, because I think you’ll dig it.

Where are we going to be?

We only have one more event scheduled in the near term.

Next weekend we’ll be at The Shire Post Mint Festival in West Fork, Arkansas. It was originally scheduled for this past weekend, but due to weather they moved it out. So, if you’re in the area and have nothing else on, or decide to cancel your plans, come see us!

What's going on in life?

My Birthday

My birthday arrived just after last month’s newsletter. I would’ve been happy to let it pass by without fanfare, but J.H. & my father had other ideas. We went and had breakfast, hit the book store, game store, and then relaxed until my dad grilled us a steak dinner. J.H. got me a game I really wanted and Pops got me this amazing bottle of pre-mixed Old Fashioned made with Buffalo Trace, as well as some of those round ice cube trays, so now I can get blitzed like a proper gentleman.

I also got a couple of books I wanted to mention. If you happen to see either of these titles at your local bookstore, they are books by friends of ours. Louisa Morgan aka Louise Marley is a wonderful human being and I adored her Ghosts of Beatrice Bird novel. Haven’t gotten to read this one yet. The other is an anthology and I’m friends with like half the contributors. Especially Tracy S. Morris. She is one of our favorite writer peoples.

North Heights Porch Fest in Joplin, MO

Porch Fest was an absolutely fantastic event. Basically, this one little neighborhood has live bands playing on people’s porches or in their yards. I think they had like eight stages or something. I could be wrong.

Anyway, basically, there were a bunch of bands, a bunch of food trucks, and then one street blocked off for artisans, crafts, baked goods, and stuff. Or in our case, books.

Super cool event. Highly recommended.

Card Con in Forth Smith, AR

This was the inaugural year for this convention and we’d only heard about it because the showrunner happened to stop by our booth at the State Fair in September. It wasn’t huge, but I think they did a great job putting it together and I think he’ll be able to run it again next year. Yay for geek stuff! The attendees were mostly focused on trading Pokémon cards, but we had a few readers roll through, and I’d say it was an overall good experience.

Also, if you’re ever in Fort Smith, you’ve got to go to Benson’s Grill.

And get the Benson Bowl.

It’s a bowl of fries, topped with a burger, which is topped with a fried egg, which is all covered in white gravy.

I may change my mind once the coming heart attack knocks me down a few pegs, but until then, it remains heaven in a bowl.

Another picture from the bathroom at Benson’s.

Halloween

Now that I’m writing full-time and barely scraping by as a starving artist, I’ve been reluctant to take any time off. That said, J.H. asked me if I would take off Halloween, or at least take off most of the day, so we could celebrate her favorite holiday. I opted for the “most of the day” option. To kick off the festivities, I baked apple cinnamon and pumpkin muffins. Just to clarify – not apple cinnamon pumpkin muffins, but apple cinnamon muffins and then pumpkin muffins. Now that I’m thinking about it, though, what would apple cinnamon pumpkin muffins be like? Anyway… Then we each chose a Halloween-appropriate book from our collections for the other to read. After that, we watched Over the Garden Wall. Then we had grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner while watching an old episode of the Twilight Zone, and finished the evening playing Don’t Starve Together with one of our friends.

Halloween Party Costume.

Sorry, but you’ll have to head jump in time with me here. This section is being written after the Halloween Party. I have to give a shoutout to my sister, even though I don’t think she’s subscribed, and even if she is, I doubt she reads these. Per usual, I was busy and didn’t really think about my costume until the last minute. So, the day before the party I texted my sister that I didn’t have a costume and she responded immediately. “I have the costumes.” See, we usually team up. Its’ sort of a tradition. But we hadn’t really talked about it much this year. That didn’t matter. She rolled up with matching Ghostbusters gear for us. So good. My sister is the best.

What have I been reading?

Failure Mode by Craig Alanson

Another Skippy book! Yay! It’s… Oh, no… This one broke my freaking heart. Oof. Ouch. It was amazing, too. I think it’s like, book 14, or somewhere in that neighborhood. This one… Wowzers. Definitely the most brutal one. My feelers may never recover.

For realz, the Skippy books are some of the best audiobooks out there. I absolutely adore this series.

Knight Watch by Tim Akers

I saw this one in the book store, and based on the premise, had to give it a try.

Basically, it indicated that the M.C. goes to the Ren Faire and gets attacked by an actual dragon. Yes, please!

It was a pretty interesting premise and pretty enjoyable read. Didn’t exactly blow me away but was worth the time.

Horseman by Christina Henry

This was the book J.H. picked for me to read for Halloween, so I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m about halfway through. It’s been fantastic. Love the creepy vibes. Super well-written. Great pacing. This is one of those books I could have easily read through in a single sitting. Good choice, J.H.

(And since we’re time traveling in this newsletter, I’ll admit that I was sober enough before bed to read a little further. Has a very interesting spin on the classic Sleepy Hollow tale.)

In case you’re wondering, I chose The Brotherhood of the Wheel by R.S. Belcher for her.

I don’t think she’s enjoying it as much as I did.

Or as much as I’m enjoying the one she picked for me.

Kind of a bummer because I loved that book. Ah well, at least I’m enjoying mine. And that’s what matters the most. Me! Mwahahaha!

Seriously, though, The Brotherhood of the Wheel was one of my favorite Urban Fantasy novels. In fact, I highly recommend all of R.S. Belcher’s stuff, even the ones I haven’t read. I haven’t met him or anything, but I’ve just really enjoyed his work.

What games have I been playing?

Metal Gear Solid 3 – Snake Eater - Update? Re-Make?

This was the game J.H. got me for my birthday: a re-make, or update, of one of my favorite games from when I was a teenager. The Metal Gear games are labeled as tactical espionage, but they also have strong hints of magical realism. Almost like an Urban Fantasy tactical espionage thing. You always play as a dude, who is just a dude, and have to sneak around and then battle enemies with weird super powers and then take on giant mechs with nothing but a rocket launcher. And the story is just… I dunno. It’s on another level. Huge twists and crazy plot turns. And funny, too.

I remember when the first Metal Gear Solid came out on Playstation Uno and my brother got it for his birthday. I waited patiently for him to get bored with it so I could have my turn, and then played it over and over. And over. And over. Like, there was a point in my life where I would play through, and as soon as I finished, I’d just start right over from the beginning again. I played Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 much the same way. So, when they did a graphics overhaul for Metal Gear Solid 3 and put it back out, I was foaming at the bit.

And it looked beautiful. I’m not usually a big graphics person, but this one was stunning.

Also, I liked the fact they offered some modernized control mechanics, but also left an option for the original setup, too.

I’ve already beaten it. It’s not a super long game and I feel like playing it again. Instead, I’ve decided to play through the entire damned series. I never finished number 5 and it’s long been on my to-do list. Fun note, if you play them in the order of the storyline, it goes 3, 5, 1, 2, 4. That’s why I got the idea to play the entire series after playing 3.

Between 3 and 5, however, there was a PSP game called Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker. So, I’m working through that now. Yes, I know there is “technically” another PSP game that counts, but it’s dumb, and we’re pretending it doesn’t exist. Also, I don’t believe I have a working PSP, nor a copy, and the controls sucked. For Peacewalker, however, because it didn’t suck, they made it available on the Xbox store to download.

What shows have we been watching?

Wayward Pines

This was one of those shows where it felt like everyone had recommended it to me at one time or another. Since Halloween was coming up, we wanted something with the creepy vibes. This one checked the boxes. I enjoyed the first few episodes immensely. Later in the season, it felt like they were relying too heavily on creating drama out of people not communicating effectively, which is realistic, but also a bit annoying. So, there were a few things in the later part of the season that fell flat for me, but overall… Would recommend.

The Twilight Zone

Oh, the nostalgia. No, I’m not old enough to have existed when it originally aired, but when I was a kid, they used to play re-runs on TV Land or Sci-fi channel or something. I just remember when I’d spend the summers working at my grandparents’ museum, I’d often catch an episode during lunch. They still hold up. At least for me. The thing is… When they were making The Twilight Zone, they didn’t have graphics to fall back on. They didn’t have CGI. They couldn’t scare you with realistic monsters or gore. No, it was all down to the storytelling. The writing. The acting. That was what has always stood out to me. And why the show stands the test of time.

Final Thoughts

All right, well, I tried to get this done before the party kicked off, but I just heard the first vehicle pull up. Checking my Ring Cam now to see who it is and…

Well, no surprise there. It’s real-life Axel.

Yup. So, working is now off the table. Gotta go. Shenanigans to begin in about 30 seconds. If you never read these words, it means I drank too much and was hauled away by witches. If you are reading this, it means I’m probably really hungover and regretting my life choices and/or the witches have returned me.

(Okay, so this is future Phill. Or present Phill. Or, like, slightly less past Phill, I guess, when you’re reading this I’ll be less in the past than I was at the start. Whatever. Not sure how this time stuff works. I’m not a Doctor. At any rate, the witches have returned me, and I am alive and well. One great thing about my friend group getting older is that instead of drinking until the wee hours of the morning, then waking up miserable around midday, year after year everyone goes home earlier and earlier. Seriously, I’ve been keeping track for several years and like clockwork, each year I’ve made it to bed 30 minutes earlier and 10% less intoxicated than the previous. By my math, in two more years, I’ll be going to bed at my normal time and completely sober. 20-year-old Phill might have resented that. Considerably Older Phill thinks 20-year-old Phill was a jackass and loves sleep nearly as much as he hates hangovers.)

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween and I wish you all the pumpkin pies this month!

And remember…