“For the ones who dream of Stranger Worlds.”

This quote is much whispered among science fiction, and fantasy book circles, attributed to a book I never read published in early 2015 – Shades of Magic #1, A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E. Schwab, an acclaimed American fantasy author.

Yet weirdly, this quote appeared earlier on the cover of a blank leather-covered notebook from a dear friend as a Christmas gift, well reflected by my website and social media passions, put forth as the Stranger World branding. You are reading this now on strangerworlds.com, a site hosted for news and reviews, and for a while worked well covering mostly comic books. We had some good times in this quite little clubhouse, promoting indie culture, fan discussion, many reviews and recommendations.

Yet slowly, all came to a crawl in recent years as real-life responsibilities and personal mid-life crisis drama pulled me further away from the dream. The pandemic of prior years dragged my creative efforts, adding to anxieties over finance and a need to redefine my goals for the long term. Sadly, much of that involved taking more time to find a stable job to keep up with the ever-rising cost of living. And also more personal stuff, for which I will keep in the shadows.

But now and then, I kept that journal book with me, slowly adding to it. I would take it with me to work, often to parks, sometimes to cafes, wherever just in case I had a cool thought to preserve and jot down. Include but not limited to various ponderings, maps, odd drawings, short stories, senseless poetry, twisted ideas, amazing characters, and otherworld creatures based on made-up mythologies alongside fragments of worldbuilding attempts. Some top things I come back to are the notes of a traveling space journalist, a conflict between warring plants, a philosophical discussion with a drifter alien astro-biker and a broken hologram, made-up fruit, clones lost in a maze on a science station moon, and more.

It’s nearly filled with, as a guide for the adventures I will share, a new direction…a dream that may never end, to live. And more important, to keep adding to this book and beyond.

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