February 2025 – Stories Rule Press

Getting Free Books – Some Controversial Thoughts

28 February 2025 / Cameron Cooper

Free books are everywhere. You can find them on every major retail platform, on author websites, in BookFunnel and StoryOrigin giveaways, at signings, in newsletters, and beyond. Readers can easily fill their e-readers with thousands of books without spending a dime. I know this because I’ve done it myself.

But here’s where things get interesting: Readers are increasingly frustrated when an author asks them to sign up for an email list in exchange for a free book. I’ve heard readers say they feel like they “should” be able to get the book with no strings attached. That signing up is a hassle. That they don’t want “more emails.”

Let’s unpack that a little.

The Return of the Sail—On Earth and Among the Stars

21 February 2025 / Cameron Cooper, Science Fiction

Out in the deep, where the stars burn cold and distant, and many years from now, old space dogs who miss the silence and loneliness of deep space race their solar yachts, harnessing the silent power of starlight to propel them through the void. No combustion, no fuel—just the delicate physics of light pressure on vast, shimmering sails. It’s a vision of the future, one where humanity reaches beyond, moving not with brute force, but with elegance and efficiency.

New Science Fiction from Eliot Bishop.

20 February 2025 / Eliot Bishop, Science Fiction, Space Opera

Stories Rule Press author Eliot Bishop has released a short science fiction story, Talionis, today. It is the first of

The Most Dangerous of All Allied Spies

17 February 2025 / Tracy Cooper-Posey

From SRP author Tracy Cooper-Posey: When I was first researching what would become the Adelaide Becket series, I stumbled across

Inbox Reboot – Part 4: The Magic of Filtering

16 February 2025 / Taylen Carver

From SRP author Taylen Carver: The Power of Filtering So far, we’ve covered the fine art of deleting emails and

The Joy of Writing Prolifically (No, It Won’t Make You Depressed)

15 February 2025 / Tracy Cooper-Posey

Recently, Anne R. Allen published a post titled “Can Marathon Writing Sessions Lead to Depression?,” citing studies that suggest long, intense writing sessions might mimic symptoms of depression. If you’re an indie author pushing for a prolific writing habit, this kind of claim can be alarming.

Why Every Sci-Fi Fan Should Try Stargazing (and the Apps That Make It Easy)

14 February 2025 / Cameron Cooper

From SRP author Cameron Cooper: There’s nothing like staring up at a clear night sky to remind you just how

Meandering Paw Prints Scarf

10 February 2025 / Tracy Cooper-Posey

This was a guest post, some years back and some of you who toured around guest blogs with me might

Jewels of the River: The Lost Offerings of Old Britain

9 February 2025 / Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Taylen Carver

If you ever find yourself on the banks of the River Thames at low tide, keep your eyes on the mud. You might spot the usual debris of history—ceramic pipe stems, brass buttons, coins worn smooth by centuries. But if you’re lucky, you might find something far rarer: a deep red gemstone, glinting among the silt like a drop of frozen blood.

Email List Hygiene: The Pain and Profit of Culling Deadheads

8 February 2025 / Tracy Cooper-Posey

Let’s talk about something that makes indie authors break into a cold sweat: cutting subscribers from your email list.

You built this list from the ground up. Every name on it represents hard-won sign-ups, countless freebies, maybe even ad spend. And now, after all that effort, you’re supposed to… delete them?

Yeah. You are.