Shade of Jeremy

July Writing Exercise

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 02:32:00 +0000

The other day while at the park I was doing a little writing. I had some prompts to go off of and I wrote the following short piece. It isn't much, but it was a fun exercise.

PROMPT: It's the middle of the night. There's Light snow falling. You're in the countryside. There's a charming feeling to the place.

Why am I still awake? On a chilly winter night like this, I should be all wrapped up in my blanket next to that cozy fire inside. Instead I find myself out here, in the snow. And the dark, can't forget it's dark. I came here to get away from all of the noise, the people, the distractions. I needed the rest. And I'm trudging through snow in the middle of the night. Not exactly restful. Or is it?

It is quiet. Snows like that, quiet I mean. And there are no other people around at the moment. The other guests at the lodge are inside. Wrapped up and warm. Probably enjoying hot cocoa as well. But I need this right now. I take another deep breath and watch as I exhale. It is a soothing sight, seeing my breath drift out of my mouth. I walk down to the edge of the woods. That's about as far as is safe this late at night. I hear faint sounds of the forest. Not any closer I remind myself. I don't want them sending a search party from the lodge in the morning.

Ha, that would be something. But no, I'm fine here. And I should head back shortly anyway. But I'll enjoy it for a little longer. Tomorrow is my first full day at the lodge. I arrived pretty late this evening. I'm here for a full two weeks. I'll have plenty of time inside. And out here in the countryside.

Two whole weeks of not having to deal with co-workers. No more neighbors blasting their TVs or music. No revving engines when I'm trying to go to bed. Not wondering if that plane flying over head is going to come crashing down on my house. No, I don't really believe that would happen. Don't be silly. Still, one never knows.

I hear a train whistle in the distance. Back home, that would have bothered me. Here I really don't mind. Whelp, time to head back in. Just from this little experience, I can tell I'm going to enjoy my vacation.

Until next post, I hope you enjoy.

July 2025 Update and a short story.

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 13:53:00 +0000

My word processor died several months back and I had not been able to do much writing other than in notebooks. But yesterday afternoon I was finally able to fix the "Typewriter" and to try it out I typed up the following short little story. Enjoy.

The Derelict

By J.L. LaMastus 07/2025

The ship was a derelict, floating in the asteroid field. How long it had been there, none could say. The crew, they were long dead. So the ship just floated along, waiting to be discovered. Though it wasn’t to wait much longer.

A small cruiser entered the field. “This seems like a good place to lay low for a while.” The pilot observed. “At least until those scaly goons take a break.” He glanced at his monitors and noticed some odd readings. Grinning, he examined them more closely. His instruments had detected the derelict. A perfect hiding place, just waiting for him.

Drawing close to the ship, he could make out the name, The Harpy. He also noted the large hole in the hull. Quite big enough for his little cruiser to enter. “Williams my friend,” speaking to himself, “you just found yourself a new home.”

As the cruiser settled in, Williams donned his space-suit. “Time to do a little exploring.” The ship’s interior was lit by beams from the two shoulder lamps on his suit as he drifted across the gap deeper into the ship. What had happened here anyway? That breach in the hull was no accident. Ahead of him it seemed there was a glow. Could there be some life here after all?

He advanced to see if he could find out. Cautiously, of course. No signs of life, be he couldn’t be for certain. Turning a corner he discovered the source of the light. There was a control panel that still functioned. This could prove enlightening. He stopped at the controls and typed in a command. Soon the ship filled with light. No life perhaps, but power at least.

Tapping in a few more commands he called up the ship’s records. Maybe they would hold some clue as to what had happened here. His eyes grew wide with shock, then fear as the last video entry played back. Quickly he shut off the power and turned to get his butt back to his cruiser. As fast as he possibly could.

It wasn’t fast enough. In the dying light he saw them now. “I shoulda taken my chances with those scaly freaks.” He lamented. Too late he learned that this derelict, The Harpy, was to truly be his home. His last home.

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 21:32:00 +0000

2025

January the 1st

It being a new year I am reviving this web-site. I haven’t written here in too long. July of 2023 to be precise. But I am going to do better about that.

Mainly due to the changes going on with my writing. Some things are still up in the air. But there are others to be discussed.

The main thing right now is a book that was just published. An unexpected, answered prayer for me. To go back to the beginning, in 2019 I started writing a story for an upcoming anthology. The Moon Man Vol. 3 from Airship 27. While I was writing it Mom passed away and I nearly gave up and didn’t feel like finishing the story. But I pushed through and got it done and turned it in. Unfortunately one of the other writers didn’t turn in his story and the book didn’t get published. That hit me pretty hard and took the wind out of my sails for a couple years.

Fast forward to 2024. I found out that Amazon would be shuttering the Vella program. That being how I’d been mainly publishing my writing I was hit hard once more. I am still searching for an alternative that I feel will work for me. But on December 5th, the last day to upload episodes for the Vella, I received an email from Ron at Airship 27. It let me know that the Moon Man book was going to be published at last. After five years the story I wrote was finally going to see the light of day. A week later I got a proof copy to review. I went over it and was happy with it, so I responded that it was fine. Then it was time to wait once more.

I didn’t have long to wait however. Last night, on New Year’s Eve, I got another email informing me that the book had been published and was now available on Amazon. What a great and blessed start to this new year. I am thankful to God for this and now am feeling pretty optimistic for the year to come.

I still need to figure out how I’ll be publishing my stories going forward. But I have faith that when the time comes the answer will be there.

Update July 27

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 01:53:00 +0000

Things have been productive. I have several stories completed and in the pipeline to be published on Vella. Actually they have been even more productive than I anticipated. So I've been reworking my plans and changing things ups somewhat. Within the next couple of weeks this should all take affect.

Monday - Stories set in The Silver Gauntlet Barony. I have three more of them planned and they should run until January or February of next year. They will be leading up to a stand alone novel to come out later next year.

Tuesday - I am writing some one shot stand alone stories which will be published on this day each week.

Wednesday - The Harvester will continue to run this day It remains an ongoing story with no planned ending at the moment.

Thursday - Like Tuesday this will be a day of having a stand alone or one shot story. Some of these may lead to something more, some won't.

Friday - The W.A.R.D. stories will continue, and like the Harvester these are ongoing.

Saturday - I have a new sci-fi space opera story planned with the working title of Dawn Seekers. I'll talk about it a little more once I've ironed out a few more of the details.

Sunday - I think six days a week will be enough so there will not be anything today.

Anyway that's my new plan. Of course it could change, but for now I am sticking to it.

Update July 7th

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Sat, 08 Jul 2023 04:36:00 +0000

It's been awhile. Time for an update.

Writing has been going good. I have the latest Silver Gauntlet tale still running on Vella. And I'm off to a good start on The Harvester. The first four chapters have been written and tonight I uploaded them to Vella to publish on Wednesdays starting next week.

After I finish this first Harvester story I think it will be time to start work on the W.A.R.D. stories. I get them going and I will have them publishing on Fridays. If I can keep this up it would be great. I am getting better word counts every night. It helps that I am truly enjoying what I'm writing. The Harvester is one I am really feeling good about.

In between the three stories I am planning out some essays I think I'd like to write that I'll post here. I have a few ideas but nothing set just yet. I'll see how that goes.

Update June 6

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 16:44:00 +0000

Well, I had to scrap the Starr Siren story I started last week. I found another series of books with nearly the same story and even the same main character name. Disappointed but something like this has happened to me a couple times before. I'll just move on to The Harvester which I was pretty much ready to start anyway.

And I do still have more stories from Silver Gauntlet to write. So this is only a minor set-back. And I'm glad I discovered it before I'd gotten much writing done and before I published it. I only had one chapter written and was about halfway through the second. So not much time or effort was wasted.

I am still doing well with everything and this isn't stopping me.

Update May 30

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Tue, 30 May 2023 19:09:00 +0000

I finished the last chapter of Dark-Thorn Spire last night. Now I just need to edit the chapters before I can publish them on Vella.

Next up I'm moving on to Starr Siren which I'll begin writing tonight. Not much else to update today.

Flash Forward Friday! # 1

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Fri, 26 May 2023 14:51:00 +0000

It's time for my first Flash Forward Friday. Lets get right into it.

We'll start with The Harvester. I made a few aborted attempts to work on this a few years ago but I was just never happy with it so I set it aside until I could work out what I was doing wrong with it. Now I think I have it.

The Harvester is a mysterious pulp crime fighter. Set in a medium size Mid-western town during the 1930's he wields a cursed scythe that while giving him powers is also slowly driving him insane. Fun stuff.

Crawford came to town to collect his inheritance from his late grandfather. He had no idea it would include a family curse .

Next up I have Starr Siren. Another one I came up with a few years ago but side aside. I didn't make any attempts to start this one. I liked the concept but just didn't want to work on it then.

Starr was once a princess on her home world but renounced her throne. Now she travels the space ways in search of adventure in her rocket ship The Siren's Call. Sometimes this makes her an outlaw, but she's okay with that.

Nanny was originally Starr's robot nursemaid as a child. Now her only trusted friend and companion on her adventures. She can still be a bit protective, it's hard to get past that old programming after all.

And that is two of the projects I've been working on to follow up the current one. I haven't decided which one I'll work on first but I'm leaning towards Starr Siren.

That'll be it for this time. Until next week take care and I'll talk to you later.

Update May 25

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Thu, 25 May 2023 19:31:00 +0000

Writing has been going well. I finished two more chapters of Dark-Thorn so far this week. Chapters 7 & 8, leaving only one more to go. Tonight I'll edit them and have them ready to go. That will just leave tomorrow night's writing. I think I'll do some prep work on the next story. That way I'll be ready to start on it next week after I finish chapter 9 of Dark-Thorn.

Check back here tomorrow as well for my first Flash Forward Friday. I'll give a little preview of two of the stories I've been getting ready. Some character sketches and a little on what they're about. Until then take care.

Update May 22

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Mon, 22 May 2023 16:47:00 +0000

Plans for the week. Last week was good and productive and i want to keep that going. I've had the weekend off but I kept thinking about my writing the whole time. I still haven't made up my mind on what to work on next but I do have some new ideas to add.

This week I want to finish two more chapters in Dark-Thorn Spire. Both writing and editing them. Then one night will be for prep work on another of my planned stories to follow up Dark-Thorn. I do have one more I haven't done any prep on so that will have me ready to go with whatever I do choose as my next project.

I have also been sketching out some drawings of the characters from my upcoming story ideas. In a few days I'll try to scan those and post them here as a preview of what's to come. Until then have a good week and I'll talk to you later.

Update May 19

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Fri, 19 May 2023 19:02:00 +0000

Despite some personal difficulties I have been keeping up on my nightly writing. I finished another chapter in my current story, Dark-Thorn Spire. And I spent one night prepping for one of my other stories to follow up after I finish the current one. The plan for tonight is to edit and spell-check the work I finished this week. Then I'll be off for the weekend and be back at it next week. Planning on two chapters on the story and prep for one more planned upcoming story.

I want to go ahead and start one these other stories, but I've tried that in the past and it didn't work out for me. I need to stay focused on one project at a time. I'm just not wired to do otherwise it seems. So I'll finish off Dark-Thorn and then decide what to move on to next.

Until next week.

Update May 16, 2023

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Tue, 16 May 2023 22:22:00 +0000

Well, it's been a long time. Longer than I realized. But my life has been a mess for a time. Now I am getting some stuff back in order. And this blog is something I cannot neglect anymore.

I've been on track with my fiction writing and I plan on posting updates on here as to my progress. Sort of a way to keep up with where things are going. Last summer I started a series of stories set in the Barony of Silver Gauntlet. Inspired by my Castles & Crusades games I'd played. Basically they serve to introduce characters and do some world building for later stories I have planned. Three of them have been published on Kindle Vella so far. Two are finished and the third is half done with the remaining chapters posting each Monday. And I am just past the halfway mark on the fourth. I have three more planned to do in the series.

I have also been doing some prep work on other stories as well. Not new ones, but ones I'd set aside because I wasn't happy with what I had and wanted to change some things. I finally figured out what was wrong with them recently and I am getting them ready to start on. Which I plan on doing when I finish the current story. I'll go into more detail about them once I start on them. Plus I think this will be a good place to add supplemental material as well. But that's for a future post.

My writing schedule these days is Monday through Friday from 11:30 PM until I reach a good stopping point. No set word count or such. Usually when I reach the end of a chapter but not always. As for when I'll be updating this blog, eventually daily with the weekends off like with my writing. But to start it may only be two or three days a week until I can get into the routine. It will mainly be updates on where I am with my stories as I haven't been doing as much drawing or painting lately. Though if I do I may add some of that here as well.

Anyway I believe that is all for today. I will talk to you later.

J. L. LaMastus

Cataloging D&D #1-Boxed Sets

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 00:35:00 +0000

I decided to catalog my collection of D&D games. I'm starting with all the boxed sets I currently own.

First up is my Holmes Edition originally published in 1977. As with most of these I'm not certain which printing so I'm going with the year it was first printed.

Next up is the 1981 Molday B/X set.

Now we have the most recognizable set, the 1983 Red Box. The Mentzer edited version that was the first in what is known as the BECMI series.

The 1983 Expert Set, Second in the BECMI line. I'm missing the Companion Set so well move along to,

The Master Rules from 1983, fourth in BECMI.

Finally the 1983 Immortals Rules finishes off BECMI.

Now for the first one I ever owned. The 1991 New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons.

To go with the Black Box I have one of the adventure sets, The Dragon's Den from 1992.

Jumping ahead a few years, 2008 for the 4th Edition Starter Set. The only 4th Edition item in my collection.

The 5th Edition Starter Set from 2014.

5th Edition once more. This time the 2019 Stranger Things tie-in. And that's it for D&D sets I own. But I do have some non-D&D sets from TSR I want to add.

Dragon Quest, a 1992 simplified version of D&D.

Much like Dragon Quest the 1993 Dragon Strike game is a simplified version of D&D. This time including a VHS tape teaching you how to play. Sadly my tape is lost.

From 1982 the first RPG I ever owned was Star Frontiers.

Top Secret/S.I. from 1987.

The Bullwinkle and Rocky Role Playing Party Game from 1988. Still has the hand puppets. Who needs minis?

Well, that's all for my box sets. I will continue these posts going through my other Dungeons & Dragons game stuff as well as my other TSR games.

Dinosaur Dracula 2019 August Fun Pack Unboxing

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 20:21:00 +0000

New video up on YouTube. Opening this Months Fun Pack from Dinosaur Dracula.

Thoughts on my Writing

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 07:43:00 +0000

Just a few random thoughts and observations on where I'm at with my writing these days.

I'm still not writing as much as I used to. Years ago I would get in nearly two thousand words a day. For the past few months I've been topping out at one thousand a night. Usually closer to five hundred. The trade off is that I've been writing consistently for a much longer time. I'm closing in on a year now. Before it was only for about a month or so then I'd stop writing for a few months. I seem to be pacing myself a little better.
I have multiple stories in progress at the same time. Usually three different stories going on. Right now that is the pulp hero story I'm working on for an upcoming anthology. Another Challenger Rangers story for the next collection of those I self-publish. And I just started a new series of Junior Challenger Rangers spin-off stories. At other times I have my sword and sorcery tales I'm telling. I've also done some writing on my own pulp horror/hero story. I'm working on a science fiction styled story as well.
I find having different things to write about is good. If I get stuck on one, I can take a break and work on one of the others for a little while.
I also don't see myself writing any actual novels. I'm most comfortable with the short story format. I've written novels in the past and I've never been happy with any of them. So for the time being I think the shorter stuff is what I'll stick to.

If you're interested in checking out my stuff it can be found at Amazon

J.L. LaMastus

I'm also looking into setting up a Patreon Page, but that is still in the future.

Cobra Convergence IV - The Cobra Commander

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 04:13:00 +0000

The head snake himself, Cobra Commander. The man behind Cobra since day one. The only true leader they ever needed. I decided to capture several of my favorite looks for him.

Cobra Convergence IV - Scrap Iron

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 04:11:00 +0000

My all time favorite Cobra, Scrap Iron. I had to draw him for this of course.

Cobra Convergence IV - Raptor

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 04:09:00 +0000

Raptor, Cobra's accountant who liked to dress up as a bird. I have a soft spot for this somewhat goofy character. I actually think his design is cool and I have long had a fascination with falconry.

Cobra Convergence IV - Crimson Guard

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 04:06:00 +0000

The classic Crimson Guard. My favorite Cobra soldiers. I am especially enthusiastic about the Fred versions of them from the comics.

Cobra Convergence IV - Baroness

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 04:03:00 +0000

For my first drawing of CCIV I chose the Baroness. In her original uniform from her first appearance in G.I. Joe #1. It's more common to see her in the black uniform so I wanted to add to the art out there of her in this one.

Cobra Convergence IV

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 03:58:00 +0000

The month of July has been Cobra Convergence IV. I hoped to be part of it this year, but wasn't sure if I would get anything done in time. Looks like I just made it. All this week (M-F) on my blog I will be posting drawing of Cobra I did. I will be adding commentary on each as well.

For more about this event check out Hooded Cobra Commander 788
Enjoy the week.

Jeremy L.

Remco Toys Part 1 Soldiers

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Fri, 24 May 2019 05:41:00 +0000

Note this is the first in a multi part series.

Good old Remco Toys. I've mentioned the before in my posts about the toys I had at Granny's. But I want to go a little more in depth and write about some of my memories of these cheap, wonderful toys. Most of mine came from either K-Mart or one of the Dollar Stores. Dollar General or Family Dollar. I probably go some elsewhere but those three places were the main stores for me.

The line I am most familiar with would be their military series that went by a few different names. Most notably American Defense or U. S. Forces.

This was a line of 3 3/4" action figures along the lines of G. I. Joe. I had probably a dozen or so of them. As I said these were the ones I had at Granny's. The Good G.I. Joes stayed home but whenever I went to visit or stay I had these guys to play with there. And I had so much fun with them. I had a base from another Remco line that served as their headquarters.

Sure ManTech was a completely different scale but this base worked great for my soldiers. Like G.I. Joe they had some sci-fi elements and so it wasn't too odd.

Three of my favorite figures from the American Defense U.S. Forces line were

Heavy Metal

Forest Green

and Hidden Force

These were my go to guys. I've always liked figures made from translucent plastic like Hidden Force that made him seem to be invisible. Well at least that was what I think it was supposed to represent. Forest Green was a cool ranger type guy with the armor that had leaves on it. I got a kick out of that. As for Heavy Metal, come on look at him. He coulda been a Dreadnock easy. He was a great badguy for them to fight.

As cool as these were there was another military line that came first. Sgt. Rock! Based on the DC comic books that I read as a kid.

I only had Sarge himself and he was enough at the time. Though now I do wish I'd had more of that line. Oh well.

I had some of the vehicles and little playsets as well. I remember the boat and a jeep as well as a machine gun nest.

I don't have too many of them left these days. Most of the toys I had at Granny's I got rid of when she moved in with us. I just didn't have room for all of them. But there are a few left. I don't remember what thought process went into deciding which ones I kept and which ones I got rid of. None of my three favorites were kept for some reason.

I have a Sgt. Rock. Not my original though.

Then there are these three guys. Not too exciting compared to the others I had.

Finally there is this set. These were later releases that were of poorer quality and I'm certain I got these at one of the Dollar Stores. They were cheap and came in two packs. And I kept them.

Next up I'll talk about another line from Remco that was a favorite of mine. It features robots! Be ready.

My New Adventures of He-Man Collection Attic Archaeology Pt 2

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Thu, 23 May 2019 04:02:00 +0000

The past few days I've been going through the boxes in my attic again. More thoroughly than last time. I've been finding lots of cool stuff. Things I forgot I had, things I remembered but didn't know where they were exactly. So much good stuff.

For one thing I found what was left of my New Adventures of He-Man collection. Not a lot and most of it is either broken or missing pieces. But still I gathered up what I found and took some pics and even made a video which is at the end of this post. First however, the pics.

First up, the good guys. I have two of He-man, but only one has his helmet and armor. So I gave the one remaining shield to the other one. Neither has his sword anymore. Both of the swords got broken long ago. Then there's Hydron and Flipshot. Flip is missing his jetpack and Hydron's helmet is gone as well. Finally there is the block-headed robot guy. I had to look him up as I didn't remember that his name was Artilla, which it is. As far as I know he didn't come with any accessories so he's complete.

Now for the bad guys.

First off there is Skeletor. Two of him as well, but they are different versions at least. I believe they are both complete at least. Then we have Flogg, minus his helmet. But otherwise in pretty good shape. And lastly there is Optikk with his gun making him complete.

And there is also the shuttle.

The Dreadwing shuttle was the only vehicle in the series I owned. It is pretty much complete. Even has the weapons in the back. However the guns on the front are messed up somewhat. but at least they are still there. And as you can see from the photos some of the stickers are peeling off. So it's pretty rough looking but in okay shape.

Finally, here is a short video I made of them.

Free Comic Book Day 2019

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Sun, 05 May 2019 02:31:00 +0000

I only get to the comic shop every other week. And it worked out that I got to go on Free Comic Book Day this year. Nice timing really. I also went by the local weekend flea market where my friend Matt has a booth selling comics. He was also doing stuff for FCBD this weekend.

I brought along my usual sidekick, my nephew Mason. We had a good day. Starting with a stop at Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast. Then we ran by Family Video, Mason wanted to get the new release calendar for this month and I rented him a couple video games. Then it was off to the Book Broker for our first FCBD stop.

There I got to see my friend Vince, a local comic artist. I picked up a few of the free comics and my regular books as well.

My free books I picked up

I got Casper, Archie and Vampirella, a odd mix I admit but I was most interested in this year. Mason got a small art print of Deadpool, a Captain Marvel button and a Power Rangers print.

My regular comics pick up

Most of these were in my pull file with the exceptions of Major X, Zorro and The Six Million Dollar Man. Again an odd mix but I enjoy a variety of titles.

After the comic shop we headed to the Diamond Ave Flea Market for our next stop. Matt had some free comics he was giving away as well as having his comics on sale for 1/2 off.

Free comic from the Flea Market

I don't remember what book Mason got but I picked up a Kabuki comic. An older title I enjoyed reading back in the day. I also took advantage of the half price sale to replace some of my G.I. Joe comics and add a few more older books to my collection.

Flea Market haul

I got a nice run of G.I. Joe books 30-37 missing #34. Four Archie titles, two Betty and Me and two Jugheads. As well I got four Conan books. Headed home after that.

All in all it was a good day. Mason and I enjoyed ourselves and we got some good comics. Yes I'd say it was a good day.

Adventure People Mystery

noreply@blogger.com (ShadeofJeremy) — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 04:45:00 +0000

Today when I went out to my art studio I found this in the mud.

It appeared to be the leg of an old Fisher-Price Adventure People figure. But I had no idea which one. So I decided to see if I could find out just which it was.

And I did find out pretty quickly. It took less that five minutes to search him out. And here he is,

His name is Jess and he is the pilot of the Rescue Helicopter. Which I clearly remember having as a kid.

More about it here.

Anyway, it is cool to have discovered this. And to be reunited with part of one of my childhood toys.