Blog Archives
I, Robot Alien
I, Robot Alien follows Scoots, a robot created by transcendent alien beings and sent to a devastated Earth to guide humanity back from devolution. His mission sounds simple on paper. He must stop humanity’s decline, reverse it, and redirect human evolution, all while avoiding involvement in any significant event. The paradox of that directive shapes the entire story. Through encounters with primitive tribes, a treacherous hummingbird-shaped drone companion named Billy, and generations of humans who view him as everything from saint to monster, Scoots records a centuries-long confession of mistakes, discoveries, and unintended consequences.
I liked how author Joel R. Dennstedt uses Scoots’s calm, clinical voice to highlight the strangeness of human behavior. Scoots cannot eat, sleep, age, or reproduce, and each of these gaps pushes him into awkward and often funny situations. His early fumbling attempts to understand social expectations, especially around food and intimacy, made me grin. His encounter with Myra, for example, forces him to lie for the first time, something he revisits with both guilt and amusement. The writing works best in these grounded moments. I felt the tension between his programmed serenity and the messy reality he walks through. The book never rushes. The measured pace fits a being who experiences centuries as casually as humans experience hours.
What surprised me most is how emotional the story became even though Scoots claims to feel nothing. That contrast hooked me. When he tries to save the broken boy Alexander, only to watch his legacy twisted by Alexander’s son Damon, I felt a pull of frustration and sadness, even though Scoots insists he does not experience those things. The detached narration makes the violence colder and somehow more tragic. The book balances dark turns with odd sweetness, and I really enjoyed that mix.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy reflective science fiction with philosophical edges. If you like stories that linger on ideas of perception, evolution, and what it means to guide others without losing yourself, this book will speak to you. It is also a good fit for anyone who likes Asimov-inspired fiction that plays with the spirit of the Three Laws while carving out something more personal and strange.
Pages: 336 | ASIN : B0F9QKYDVL
I, Robot Soldier
I, Robot Soldier follows the journey of One Shot, a war-damaged robot soldier who wakes in the ruins of a world shattered by conflict. When he encounters a traumatized young girl named Amy, he becomes her protector and companion. The story tracks their travels across a devastated landscape, their struggle to survive, and their tentative growth into something like a family. The book blends desolation with warmth, pairing the bleak aftermath of war with touching moments as One Shot tries to understand humanity and Amy tries to remember what hope feels like. From their first meeting in rubble and fire to their escape through underground tunnels and beyond, the story keeps its heart fixed on the odd, tender bond between a child and a machine.
I was wrapped up in the emotional push and pull between the two main characters. The writing caught me off guard with how gentle it could be. One Shot’s voice is direct and plain, yet it still carries this undercurrent of longing that feels almost human. His confusion about feelings, jokes, dreams, and shivers gave the story a sweet awkwardness that made me smile. Amy, on the other hand, is prickly and bold and scared all at once. Watching her needle One Shot with teasing comments about his rattling parts while also clinging to him at night felt so real. Their mismatched rhythms somehow clicked, and the simplicity of their conversations made the emotional beats land harder. The storm scenes, the quiet nights by open gas fires, the moments when Amy whispers her needs instead of barking commands, all stuck with me.
I also found myself drawn to the book’s ideas. It pokes at questions about purpose and identity without drowning the story in jargon or heavy theory. One Shot tries to follow his prime directives, but he keeps slipping into choices that feel suspiciously like care rather than programming. He lies to protect Amy’s feelings. He tinkers with the Cat drone so it can play with her. He dreams. He broods. He wonders about wonder itself. And Amy, for all her toughness, shows how fragile kids can be when the world drops out from under them. I loved how the story played with the idea that they were reprogramming each other. The writing doesn’t lecture. It just lets these two wander through fire and darkness until something warm grows between them. That quiet exploration of found family really moved me.
This book feels like a heartfelt blend of The Road and The Iron Giant, offering the grim quiet of a shattered world and the warmth of an unlikely bond between a child and a machine. I, Robot Soldier is a great choice for readers who love character-driven science fiction. The book feels straightforward on the surface, but it carries a surprising amount of feeling. I’d recommend it to people who want a story about survival, loyalty, and the strange ways we keep each other going in broken places.
Pages: 344 | ASIN : B0D9MFM9QN
Building a Community To Survive
The Reckoning of Chaos and Magic follows a group living in a post-apocalyptic world going on a supply run who are captured, tortured, and imprisoned, causing a supernatural power to awaken inside them. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration began with Book One, Rubicon Escape, and continues through this book. My inspiration was to create a hook and immediate tension in the storyline, which would reveal the support from the ranch and the love that TJ has for Mel. As authors, we need that hook in the first few pages to engage and captivate our readers. My hope is that if they pick up this book first without having read the other two, they will go back and grab the other two, and then be waiting for Books Four and Five.
The characters in your book are complex and well-developed, drawing readers into not just their story but the inner workings of their minds. What is your process for creating such in-depth characters?
I write the storyline out in Plotter and build the plot line, the Arcs, and the path I want the story to take. I then began typing on my computer to create the initial draft with this raw idea and the characters. Once completed, I start reviewing, rewriting, and changing how the characters interact and speak in the story. While I’m in the middle of a storyline, I tend to dream about these characters and the storyline, and I wake up making changes based on my dreams and thoughts.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Resilience, perseverance, and survival, and how people will become friends and build relationships in times of need. This story follows a group of people building a community to survive, while also exploring the internal conflicts of a new family coming together. I wanted to portray my characters as relatable to the challenges we face in our everyday lives and how we can learn to get along. The internal conflict is not solved in this book, though the plan is to mend the fences in an upcoming book.
I also wanted to build an external threat to the protagonist and build that conflict and tension in the story.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Yes, Book Four is currently in the works. The next book will cover overcoming fears and fighting for what we believe in. This genre of book always has the good fighting evil, and that will continue. What might start out as someone being good, they will turn to the dark side and try to fight the team at the ranch.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website
Supernatural Apocalyptic War – Book Three
When the world ended, Freedom Ranch became more than a refuge—it became a fortress of hope, grit, and magic.
After the EMP collapse that shattered every system on Earth, Mel and TJ thought they had built something unbreakable: a home carved from the chaos, protected by veterans, healers, and survivors who refused to give up. But the deeper they dig into the ruins of civilization, the more they uncover that the apocalypse wasn’t only man-made… it was supernatural.
A rescue mission gone wrong thrusts Mel and her team into the hands of a brutal gang, revealing just how far the corruption and cruelty have spread across what’s left of America. But the real threat isn’t human—it’s the darkness rising within the unseen world. When Mel, Gail, Shelly, and Raven are marked by a living tattoo of the Tree of Life, time slows, magic ignites, and the four women discover that destiny has bound them together as the Chosen Four.
Each bears a gift born of ancient power: Mel’s nature magic, Gail’s shapeshifting spirit, Shelly’s crystal sorcery, and Raven’s command of the unseen. Together, they’ll learn that the apocalypse has awakened more than survival instincts—it’s awakened a war between worlds.
As allies gather—veterans, witches, and warriors of light—Freedom Ranch becomes the last bastion between humanity and the encroaching shadow. Ruffus, the loyal Malinois, continues to evolve into something beyond mortal comprehension, guarding the ranch as a griffin of legend. Joe, the quiet neighbor with too many secrets, finally reveals his true name and purpose. And when Merlin himself steps out from myth to stand beside them, the team realizes that magic has always been real—it was just waiting for the right people to believe.
But belief won’t be enough. Evil walks in flesh and fog alike: gangs turned warlords, twisted spirits hungry for vengeance, and a demonic force that feeds on fear and blood. When the Chosen Four are hunted by otherworldly beings sent to destroy them, their friendship and courage will be tested to the breaking point. The line between life and death, love and loss, faith and fear blurs in a battle that spans both realms.
Haunted by visions, bound by prophecy, and armed with grit, humor, and firepower, Mel and her allies must face the truth—magic isn’t a gift. It’s a reckoning.
As the skies burn and the earth trembles, Freedom Ranch will either become the birthplace of humanity’s rebirth… or the tomb of its last defenders.
In The Reckoning of Chaos and Magic, blends post-apocalyptic realism with supernatural mythos, forging a story where survival meets destiny and courage is laced with laughter. Heart-pounding action, loyal camaraderie, and deeply human moments drive this third entry in the Supernatural Apocalyptic War saga.
The end of the world was only the beginning.
The true war has just begun.
The Reckoning of Chaos and Magic
Todd Ockert’s The Reckoning of Chaos and Magic picks up in a world torn apart by disaster and violence, where ordinary people cling to survival through grit, loyalty, and a surprising spark of the supernatural. The story follows Mel and her crew from Freedom Ranch as they navigate a brutal new world after civilization’s collapse. Between biker gangs, gunfire, and a hint of midlife magic, Ockert weaves an intense and emotional tale of resilience and found family. It’s a mix of post-apocalyptic survival, combat realism, and mystical discovery, all grounded in friendship and love.
What really struck me about this book was how human it felt. The writing is raw, fast, and filled with emotion. You can feel Mel’s fear and fire. She’s strong, sarcastic, and flawed in all the right ways. The story never slows for long, yet it never loses sight of its characters. The world is cruel, and Ockert doesn’t sugarcoat that, but there’s warmth under the grit. I liked how the dialogue feels like real people talking under pressure. The moments of humor hit right when you need them, like a deep breath between storms. Sometimes the pacing felt jumpy, almost cinematic, but that also gave it energy, like watching an action movie unfold with heart. The magic side of the story adds a weird but welcome twist, it’s subtle, not sparkly, and feels more like power hidden in ordinary people than fantasy for its own sake.
I have to say, this book hit me harder than I expected. The writing isn’t about fancy turns of phrase; it’s about connection and survival. I found myself rooting for every battered, bloodied character. The scenes of violence are harsh, but they’re written with honesty, not shock value. The women in this story, Mel, Gail, Shelly, aren’t damsels or sidekicks. They’re the backbone of the book, and their friendship feels real, full of teasing and fierce loyalty. I also loved the touches of romance, especially between Mel and TJ, which felt tender and grounded in years of shared struggle rather than something sugary or forced. At times, the dialogue leans a bit heavy on exposition, but the sincerity of the writing more than makes up for it. You can tell Ockert loves these characters and the world he’s built for them.
It’s not just about chaos and magic, it’s about what people choose to protect when the world falls apart. I’d recommend this one to readers who love strong characters, action mixed with heart, and stories that don’t flinch from the dark. If you’re into post-apocalyptic tales like The Walking Dead but wish the heroes had a touch of witchy wonder, this book’s your jam. It’s rough, real, and full of hope where you least expect it.
Pages: 346 | ASIN : B0FG87T7T1
New Atlantis
New Atlantis is a post-apocalyptic coming-of-age novel told through a series of deeply personal journal entries and dual first-person perspectives. Set on a fictional island that survived a cataclysmic asteroid impact, the story follows Genna Grey and Parker Scott, teenagers born into a carefully controlled utopian society called New Atlantis. As their world begins to crack under the weight of secrets, surveillance, and forbidden curiosity, they’re forced to confront who they are, who they love, and what they believe about the world outside their island home. It’s a story about love, loss, trust, rebellion, and ultimately, awakening.
I was swept away by the voice of this book. Genna’s writing is raw, sharp, and full of heartache and wit. Parker’s entries, on the other hand, reveal a steady unraveling, both in himself and in his beliefs. Mannien doesn’t just write about teens navigating oppression; she makes it feel achingly real. The characters’ emotions are messy and painfully human. What struck me most was how grounded their inner worlds felt against the surreal backdrop of a “perfect” society built on ash and silence. There’s a quiet heartbreak in the way Genna longs to be seen and Parker longs to break free. The love story is tangled, subtle, sometimes maddening, but that’s what made it hit so hard.
While the writing was intimate and lyrical, the plot had slow stretches, especially early on. Also, some of the futuristic aspects, like the lack of resistance until now, or the strangely antiquated gender dynamics in an otherwise intellectual society, felt inconsistent. That said, these issues didn’t ruin the experience for me. If anything, they made the story more like the world it depicts.
I would recommend New Atlantis to anyone who loves dystopian fiction that doesn’t scream in your face but instead whispers its unease into your heart. It’s perfect for fans of The Giver or Station Eleven, or anyone who’s ever wondered what it means to grow up in a place that claims to know what’s best for you. I left this book feeling both crushed and hopeful, and I think that’s exactly what it wanted.
Pages: 371 | ASIN : B0CW1C98FY
Fortress: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller
The Fortress is a gripping post-apocalyptic tale centered on Sim, a guilt-ridden man trying to atone for his past by rescuing children in a collapsed world. After the death of his wife and daughter, one by sickness, the other by his own hand, Sim finds unexpected redemption in a young girl named Elizabeth. What begins as a chance encounter grows into a mission of purpose: to build a refuge, a literal fortress, for orphans who have survived the mysterious virus that decimated humanity. As the years pass, the house grows into a home for a tribe of children, trained to survive and protect each other against an increasingly dangerous and lawless world. The story weaves through the children’s lives, their rites of passage, and the constant threat from outsiders, all while exploring the emotional weight of survival, community, and chosen family.
The writing hit a strange and effective balance between gritty realism and deep emotional tenderness. Author T.A. Styles doesn’t pull punches, there’s blood, there’s death, and the violence is raw, but somehow, he keeps the soul of the story grounded in the kids’ humanity. It’s not just about survival. It’s about protecting what little innocence they have left. The pacing is wild in places, calm, even warm, and then suddenly you’re neck-deep in a knife fight. The narrative felt unpredictable, and that worked. There’s a messiness to the structure that actually made it feel more real to me. And Sim is a complicated character. A man haunted by unbearable guilt, trying to forge a future from the ruins of his worst mistake.
The action scenes were intense and well-paced. There are a lot of action scenes by the end. I found myself more drawn to the quieter parts, the handprints on the flag, the porch talks, the moments when the kids reminded me they were still kids. Styles clearly poured a lot into Sim, but the supporting cast, while likable, sometimes blurred together. Still, I kept turning the pages. It’s a story that sticks.
I walked away thinking hard about the cost of survival and what it really means to build something good in a broken world. This book made me feel a lot of sadness, tension, hope, and even joy. I’d recommend The Fortress to readers who like their dystopias with a heavy emotional core. If you appreciated The Road by Cormac McCarthy or Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, this book might speak to you too. It’s brutal at times, but it’s also strangely beautiful.
Pages: 315 | ASIN: B0CD8XCJJ1
Until The Rescue Ship Arrives
Until the Rescue Ship Arrives is a surprising and slow-burning science fiction tale set in a dystopian near-future Earth where trust, compassion, and personal conviction quietly battle the weight of authoritarian oppression. It begins with a washed-up alien, half-drowned on an Oregon beach, and a retired priest, Father Hughes, whose intuition tells him to protect the mysterious visitor rather than hand her over to the authorities. As the story unfolds, a gentle but profound exploration of humanity’s best and worst qualities emerges—not through epic battles or flashy technology, but through whispered conversations, weary choices, and quiet heroism.
What caught me off guard was the elegance and intimacy of the writing. The prose is deeply thoughtful without being pretentious. In the first chapter, the simple rhythm of Father Hughes walking the misty beach with his dog Buster is almost meditative. When he stumbles upon the alien girl, the moment isn’t dramatic in a Hollywood sense—it’s hushed, almost sacred. The author draws this scene out just enough to let the emotional weight sink in. His decision not to call the authorities, guided by nothing more than a “little voice,” was a turning point. It said everything about the kind of story this was going to be—about character over plot, trust over fear.
What I admired most was how the book takes time to earn your emotional investment. It lets you sit with discomfort, with silence, with uncertainty. When Father Hughes debates whether helping this alien being is the right thing to do, knowing the risks not just to himself, but to others, it felt incredibly grounded. His conversations with Mother Catherine and Doctor Griffith aren’t expositional info dumps; they feel real. These are people with doubts and weariness and love for each other, pushed into a situation that none of them were prepared for. There’s a moment when Sister Clare chooses a name for the alien—”Laura”—that brought me to tears, not because it was grand, but because it was so heartbreakingly human.
It occasionally leans heavily into exposition, particularly during the sections that explain the alien civilization or the tunneling technology. While interesting, these parts slow the story’s pace. I found myself much more invested in the scenes grounded in human connection, like the moment when Laura listens to the nuns singing in the chapel, or when she asks about truth and kindness. Those scenes carried more weight than any sci-fi explanation ever could. The latter chapters involving the alien couple’s escape and internal monologues about their society were beautifully written, but I wished they had been more tightly integrated with the human narrative.
Until the Rescue Ship Arrives isn’t about aliens, or dystopias, or resistance movements. It’s about the quiet decision to care for someone who is different. It’s about the fragile but powerful ways humans choose grace over fear. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves thoughtful, character-driven stories with a moral spine. Fans of The Man Who Fell to Earth or The Left Hand of Darkness will find a kindred spirit here. If you’re tired of noisy, effects-laden science fiction and want something that feels like a whispered prayer against a storm, this book might be exactly what you’re looking for.
Pages: 270 | ASIN : B0DHV72FWH
What Role Would You Play
The Fire Within follows a teen outcast learning to use his unique sensory gift as he navigates life in a post-apocalyptic desert compound. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I’ve always been fascinated by characters who have to overcome a disability or a weakness. Finn’s inability to call on the nova-field makes him a danger to himself and everyone around him in a very dangerous post-apocalyptic world. His disability makes him an outcast. It also forces him to become more in tune with the world than those who practice novamancy. How we turn perceived weakness into strength makes life interesting.
I grew up without a TV, so I read pretty much every sci-fi and fantasy book printed in the 80s and 90s. Stories like Mad Max, the Hunger Games, LOTR, the Divergent series, even 1984, are so fun because they let us imagine a world not too far from our own where everything goes to hell. What role would you play in that new society when the niceties of modern life vanish? This is a question my friend group has been asking for years and was a big part of the inspiration for The Fire Within.
What is it that draws you to the science fiction genre?
Anything is possible. I like to blend sci-fi and fantasy because magic and science of a distant future are essentially interchangeable. I got a degree in physics eons ago and I fell in love with how strange the fundamental rules of existence are, especially when delving into the very small (quantum physics) or the very fast (relativity). The fact that hardened scientists have their assumptions regularly challenged by the mysteries of the real world is incredibly hopeful. We still know so little about how the universe works, which means anything is possible.
What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?
One of the things I love about young adult stories is the simplicity of the fight between good and evil. In the literature I grew up with, evil was typically one-dimensional. Bad guy=pure evil. YA stories have evolved quite a bit since then as our readers have realized there is nothing more boring than a one-dimensional character. The only guideline I set was to make the characters feel real, relatable. No one is good at everything, we all make mistakes, and bad things happen to everyone. How we respond to those challenges shapes us as people. I have these conversations with my daughters on a near daily basis. For some, these challenges make us hardened and bitter. Others rise above and never lose sight of that childish wonder and hope. I try to show a bit of both in my characters.
Character building reminds me of the old Cherokee story of two wolves: A Grandfather is teaching his young grandson. “It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offence when no offence was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way. But the other wolf, is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper.” “He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, because his anger will change nothing. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, because both of the wolves try to dominate my spirit.” The boy looked into his Grandfather’s eyes and asked, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?” The Grandfather smiled and said, “The one I feed.”
As a writer, I get to feed both wolves hearty meals, which is what makes writing so much fun.
Can you give us a glimpse inside the second book in The Ashen Legacy series? Where will it take readers?
Absolutely! Ashara is a divided world—aboveground, a searing desert battered by nova storms and scorched by the terrifying Ignavari; underground, sprawling caverns house the magical Dusker kingdoms, ruled by a feudal society that thrives beneath the frozen glaciers. We spent the majority of the first book aboveground. The second book dives deep into the Dusker kingdoms where Finn will face a new set of challenges, where the threats aren’t as obvious as a giant fire monster trying to melt his face. It doesn’t make the threats any less dangerous however. Finn will need to fall back on his perception and his friends if he is going to survive the political backbiting, the magical monsters, the mystery of the waxers, and make some progress on how to fight the Ignavari.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Ashara is a divided world—aboveground, a searing desert battered by nova storms and scorched by the terrifying Ignavari; underground, sprawling caverns house the magical Dusker kingdoms, ruled by a feudal society that thrives beneath the frozen glaciers. Finn is unable to manipulate the Grounder energy known as novamancy, but his peculiar ability to sense power sets him apart.
Forced to survive in the underground tunnels between worlds, Finn joins a drillship crew who battle fearsome goblins to rescue a member of a Dusker royal family, and uncover horrifying truths behind the fire-wielding Igni. As Finn hones his skills, he discovers a terrifying secret—a shadow from his past has become a waxer, a being of molten flesh twisted by dark power, and he’s leading an army against everything Finn once called home.
With war looming and his past haunting him, Finn must embrace the fire within or risk being consumed by it. Survival isn’t enough—he must forge his path and fight for those who still believe in him.
Perfect for fans of Red Rising and The Hunger Games, The Fire Within is a pulse-pounding tale of survival, destiny, and the power to shape one’s own fate.
LITERARY TITAN 