Finding a genuinely good book is becoming harder—not because great stories no longer exist, but because readers are being buried under rushed, low-quality content designed to game algorithms instead of move people. At Stories Rule Press, every book is still built the old-fashioned way: by real authors who care deeply about storytelling, characters, and giving readers an experience worth remembering.
Readers are becoming more selective—and that may be very good news for skilled storytellers. In a marketplace flooded with rushed and disposable content, craftsmanship matters more than ever. Readers aren’t just consuming words. They’re investing trust. And trust is earned one sentence, one scene, and one book at a time.
Some years are quieter than others. Some years are meant for rest.
And some years? Some years hand you a shovel, a wheelbarrow, and a horizon full of work worth doing.
In this reflective new post, Mark Posey writes about turning sixty, building twenty raised garden beds, rebuilding the future of Stories Rule Press, and why this season of life feels less about chasing and more about building — steadily, patiently, one load of compost at a time.
This weekend, Mark is trading the keyboard for lumber, screws, and soil as he builds twenty raised beds in the backyard. There’s a quiet satisfaction in work you can see at the end of the day—and a surprising connection between gardening and writing. Both are acts of optimism: you do the work now, trust the process, and hope something good will grow.
When I was twelve, I discovered both libraries and science fiction at the same time. The dusty anthologies, John Wyndham, and the town librarians who always knew exactly what I should read next opened an entire universe for me. For Librarian Day, a thank you to the people who quietly changed my life one book at a time.
One of the unexpected joys of running Stories Rule Press has nothing to do with computers, algorithms, or online stores. It’s the live markets. Standing behind a table of books and talking with readers face-to-face changes everything. Conversations happen, stories get discovered, and suddenly the solitary work of writing becomes something wonderfully human.
Epic fantasy promises us war, prophecy, ancient evils, and—eventually—an ending. But what happens when “eventually” starts to feel like a geological era? Let’s talk about unfinished series, glacial winters, and why finishing a story might be the most heroic act of all.
A lot of what keeps books moving never shows up on a product page. It happens quietly—through revisions, production passes, and careful attention to the details that make a book feel seamless when it finally reaches readers.
Mark takes a moment to brag — loudly and unapologetically — about Tracy’s incredible achievement: completing the thirteen-book Once and Future Hearts series and preparing its exclusive hardcover Kickstarter. From behind-the-scenes glimpses to outright spousal pride, this post celebrates the epic scope of the project and why the upcoming campaign is such a milestone.
Fourteen years ago, I shared a snapshot of my writing desk—and a surprising number of you still remember it! That desk is still with me, but the world around it has changed: the landline is gone, the monitors have multiplied, and only Strider remains of the original furry trio. This year, I revisited that 2011 post with a photo tour of my current workspace, the oddball trinkets that inspire me, and a glimpse into how I really write now—recliner and all. Spoiler: dusty fantasy author chaos is alive and well.
