Hello, and welcome!
This post is titled and formatted with a not-so-subtle nod to Charles Dicken’s character from A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge.
The only real connection with that classic story is that this special, once-a-year newsletter takes an in-depth look at my writing projects from the past year, what I’m currently working on, and what I hope to accomplish in the year ahead. No ghosts, no introspective realizations about the meaning of life and Christmas, just writing projects past, present, and future.
Without further ado…
Past Writing Projects
2025 was a good year for adding content to the website. In addition to the end-of-month newsletters, once a month I posted short stories set in my whimsical fantasy world, Minz. You can read them all here. I also started The Reading Corner, where I post about the books I’m reading. After a whirlwind start to the year, my free time for reading became consumed with other projects, as you’ll soon see below. Hopefully I’ll get back into more reading in the new year with a more manageable schedule!
It was also a good but jam-packed year for longer pieces of fiction and non-fiction.
I wrote several rough drafts:
- The fourth book in my whimsical fantasy series, Tales of Minz
- The first book in a new and soon-to-be upcoming fantasy series for kids
- A devotional book on spiritual warfare and wearing God’s armor daily
- A devotional book on the foundations of thankfulness and gratitude to God
Of those four rough drafts, I was able to start and finish edits on the fourth Tales of Minz book. I was also able to complete edits for and publish A Christian’s Survival Guide as well. If you’re interested, you can get yours via the links below. Here’s a brief teaser:
Dear Christian, this is not a self-help book. In these pages, you won’t find “Top Ten Ways to Resist Temptation” or “Three Ways to Stop Sinning” or anything like that.
This is a survival guide for life here on earth. Brief, devotional, and practical. After reading this book, you’ll:
- Know Your Enemy
- Know Yourself
- Know Your Savior
We’ll also briefly look at the arms, armor, and aid God gives us, his dearly loved children, to take our stand against the schemes of the devil and against the spiritual forces of darkness in the heavenly realms. Our God does not leave us defenseless against our enemy. He does not leave us alone.
This is A Christian’s Survival Guide: Wearing God’s Armor Every Day.
Let’s get started.
What other projects was I working on in 2025?
I finished edits to and published A Librarian’s Tale, the third book in the Tales of Minz series. Check out the teaser below or click the buttons to order yours today:
This third installment in the Tales of Minz series covers the exciting adventures of a librarian, a wandering knight, and his noble squire…
Lynda has lived her whole life in the Library of Reldare. She wants nothing more than to find a cozy corner where she can avoid people, read a good book, and stay there. She has no desire whatsoever to go off on exciting adventures.
But Lynda wouldn’t be much of a protagonist, and this wouldn’t be much of a story, if she got what she wanted. One unexpected thing leads to another, and Lynda is banished from the library and forced to venture forth on an impossible quest if she ever wants to return. Through her travels, Lynda soon realizes that if she wants to save her family, the Library of Reldare, and the world of Minz itself from certain doom, she’ll have to use all of her kindness, courage, and cleverness to fulfill her quest and return home safely.
But will that be enough?
I updated covers and layouts for several of my previously published books:
2025 also saw the release of the third and final book in The Tale of Rose and Ed: The Knight Who Remembered.
Dear Reader,
If you are looking for an ending to a quite tragic tale, you will find it here. But what sort of ending will it be?
I’ve thoroughly investigated the lives of Rose and Ed Bode, and what really happened to them and their parents, to The Storytellers and PATTOS, all those years ago. I’ve shared my findings with you throughout the past two installments of this strange and twisted tale. I promised to finish what I started, no matter what my research might unearth. I’ve uncovered dark and malevolent mysteries, yes, but I’ve also discovered great deeds of bravery, friendship, and love. By the final page, this story deserves to meet its true and proper end. You are here for that story, and I’ve delayed its ending long enough.
Come, now. Listen to the final pages of The Tale of Rose and Ed.
The Tale of Rose and Ed is such a foundational part of my writing journey—it holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. Now that it’s all finished, it feels strange to be done with their story. I started working on the first book in the trilogy in December of 2018. My, how the past seven years have flown. 😳 I shared it in its roughest form with my good friend, Nic Gartner, in early 2020, and then he and I began editing it together after that.
A House Named Haven starts the Bode family’s tale, and it continues with the second book, The Storytellers. Everything ends with The Knight Who Remembered. If you enjoy stories about stories and their importance in our lives, I think you’ll love these books.
Present Writing Projects
What am I working on right now?
I’m currently finalizing the fourth book in the Tales of Minz series, A Gardener’s Tale. If you’ve read the previous book in the series, you’ll recognize some of the characters, but it isn’t necessary for you to have done so. Each of the books in the Tales of Minz series can stand on their own without any prior reading necessary.
This fourth book in the Tales of Minz series has been such a blast to write. It’s currently the shortest of the series, but makes up for it with a whole lot of heart. I’m hoping to be done with editing, formatting, and designing the cover art in the coming month so that I can publish A Gardener’s Tale around the middle of February 2026. You can be sure to find a post or two about it before its release date!
Two more editing projects (and books to look forward to in 2026):
- Back in 2021, I wrote a children’s book set in a magical world, with the beautiful themes of friendship and bravery woven throughout. It needed a good amount of rewriting, so I did that this year. I’ve let it sit on the proverbial shelf for a while now, and once I’m done with the edits for A Gardener’s Tale, this book will be my main focus. My goal is to publish it in June of 2026. (As an aside, I also found the time to loosely sketch out what I want to do with the rest of the series.)
- Earlier in this lengthy post, I mentioned that I wrote twelve short stories set in Minz and posted them here on the blog. I’ve decided to edit and compile those together, add an Editor’s Preface and Postface by Barnabas E. Wooldridge, as well as a Foreword and Afterword by The Storyteller Vern, and publish the first of the Tales of Minz collected short stories in print and digital forms later in the fall of 2026.
Future Writing Projects
This is the most ambiguous section of the Ebenezer Post because I don’t know if I’ll find time to work on these projects this upcoming year.
That being said, here are a few things I’d like to squeeze in time for in 2026. Some of these projects might not see the light of day for a while, but stories take time to gather and grow. I’ll order these possible projects from smallest to largest.
Thinking of new content to add to the website, I’d like to start dabbling with some flash fiction, character pieces, and story fragments to keep writing new material, even while tackling larger editing projects. I love the writing process, and edits are necessary, but man alive, are they time consuming! I’ll also get back into writing my Book Appreciation posts—I have a lot of great stories on my TBR list and I’m excited to dive into them.
You might have noticed in the previous section of this post that I’m not currently working on any new projects. That isn’t because I’ve run out of ideas! My plan is to continue working on planning the new fantasy series, and perhaps even drafting one or two of the books since they’re shorter in length than other projects.
I’m also planning on writing the next Tales of Minz book (the fifth book), and who knows? There might be another project or two that I start as time and interest allows…
There’s always another story to tell.
In Summary
Phew. That’s all I have at the moment for this Ebenezer Post! In last year’s post, I mentioned that I had a lot of irons in the proverbial fire and would try to juggle all of those irons at the same time.
Looking back, I definitely dropped some of those irons and picked up a couple more than I was planning to along the way. I’m hoping that 2026 comes with a little more balance and a little less juggling than 2025. 😋
That being said, I love telling stories, and I’m thankful for the opportunities to keep telling them. You’re part of the reason that’s possible, and I appreciate your willingness to read what I write more than you can possibly know. I truly am grateful! If you read and enjoy my books, short stories, or blog posts, I’d be honored if you left a review or recommended my writing to a friend who might enjoy it too!
One final connection to A Christmas Carol before you go. In the words of Tiny Tim: God bless us, everyone!
Until next time,
Al
