In case you've lost your love for Star Trek: The Original Series, this is the month your time runs out to make peace with an old friend.
Here, let me help you. *My mind to your mind...my thoughts to your thoughts.*
And there we are...back to the past in the future in the past. ("Plato's Stepchildren," Star Trek TOS S3: E10). Buy Capt. Kirk's toga for a mere $40-60K here.
In the quantum singularity I just created between our brain cells, a high level of questionable intelligence (dubiously describable as statistics) is about to swallow up much of our collective logic as we ponder one of the finer points of TOS together.
Red Shirts
Yes, that's right. What else would we focus on in TOS?
How many professions Dr. McCoy rejects with the line "I'm a doctor, not a(n) ___!"?(11 in TOS, 3 in the alternate timeline movies...including bricklayer, psychiatrist, physicist, escalator, flesh peddler, engineer, mechanic, magician, coal miner, and torpedo technician...).
How Dr. McCoy in TOS never actually prefaces that line with "Dammit, Jim!" but apparently we all thought he should have...?
How many times Spock actually says "Live long and prosper" and gives the iconic Vulcan salute? (Only 4 times in all of TOS -- but the only ST franchise that does not include that blessing delivered by any characteris Deep Space 9.)
How "Beam me up, Scotty!" was never actually uttered by any character in all of the Original Series?
And what the deal is with the Klingon appearance changes, from very human in TOS, to bigger cranial ridges with sharper teeth in TNG, to whatever you call that in Discovery?(?!) (Natural selection? Reverse evolution?)
Since we're obviously not going to discuss any of that other stuff, let's jump straight to the most important question on our collective mind when we think of TOS:
What is the best chance for a Red Shirt to stay alive (other than disobeying orders to beam down to the planet and staying out of all fights)? Overall, a Red Shirt character has a 53% chance of dying during an episode of TOS. However, there is only a 12% fatality rate when Captain Kirk meets a female alien during the mission, according to Matt Bailey.
This handy-dandy chart (also from Matt Bailey) delineates episodes in which there was a fight, affair, and/or crew member death. The grey things are allegedly phasers, representing fights.
From this chart, you can see Captain Kirk actively honed his "first-contact skills" in at least 24 of the 80 TOS episodes. It is now obvious that this was a selfless act to preserve Red Shirt lives.
Now -- if you have not yet found back your appreciation for -- if not a downright urge to go binge -- TOS, you have until the 17th to get on board the NCC-1701. Otherwise, you'll have to catch a ride on the Millennium Falcon in May. 😆
Throughout The Xianova Chronicles, most people have DNA-integrated biotech that includes a nanocyte-based holographic forearm display. The high-security "Gabriel communique" used by Ministers of Purity is a life-size, interactive, and tactile holographic display.
If you read the tech segment in the last newsletter, I bet you were wondering what possible use there is for a "roll-up" OLED phone or tablet screen. Well, it's kind of the first step toward the biotech I described above. Check these out:
How close are we to personal holographic displays and communication?
Metasurfaces and OLEDs Could Bring Holograms Closer to Everyday Use (August 2025) -- "Until now, holograms have been created using lasers. However, researchers have found that using OLEDs and HMs provides a simpler and more compact approach that is potentially cheaper and easier to apply, overcoming the main barriers to hologram technology being used more widely."
Working on The Erebi and The Blessed (Books 2-3 of The Xianova Chronicles)
Personal Life:
Could we PLEASE slow down the insane pace of the grass, the weeds, the groundhogs under my shed (and IN my shed 👿), and the new school year stuff for the kids and grandkids...
Basically, can we go back to April? I'm almost ready for April.
On the bright side, over the last week (even though I'm still losing the war with Thistletopia):
Welcome False Fall!
Also, a huge praise! My next-youngest brother Dan was struck by lightning while riding his bike on 9/16/23, and suffered a shattered eye socket, three massive brain bleeds (that should have killed him), completely obliterated ear drums, paralysis of his right side, etc. He just met a huge goal in his 100-miracles-so-far recovery: he's back on his bike, and was able to ride for about 15 minutes! He used to ride his bike just about every day, 30-50+ miles, so 🙌🥹.
Dan and his best friend EJ in July 2023, dipping their tires in the Mississippi after riding across Iowa with RAGBRAI...
Dan on 8/29/25 -- back on his bike with help from a lift and a special sling my mom made for his right arm. (That's his dog, Charlie, begging to go with.)
Hallelujah! And thank you to everyone who has prayed for him!
✅Wrote more Time Jumper and more of a fantasy/sci-fi story I currently call "Sam and Girl" ('Girl' being an adopted beagle) and another one I currently call "Dystopian Lionscape."
✅Plotting work on The Erebi and The Blessed, including making a very important character arc decision that was stalling me out.
✅'Hired' Nick to be my intern, starting in October -- he's a former student of mine who aspires to a spec fiction writing career or side hustle (I'll introduce him more properly soon).
✅Prepped and attended Barks & Brew 2025 in support of Last Hope Animal Rescue. I signed and sold a record number of books (for me, at this annual event) in the 105 degree heat and humidity. Enjoyed meeting and chatting with 30-40 amazing, heat-resistant folks (and some pups) -- including some delightful new friends from Swamp Fox Bookstore (Marion, IA) who were at the next table!
Barks & Brew 2025
Pushed to goals for the next month or two:
⏹️ The Refuge audiobook edits
⏹️ Complete the plotting work and start drafting The Erebi
Last time, after Ainan killed the team members following her, Jonas ordered his chief engineer to develop an AI-guided weapon to kill her. He didn't know that Ainan, jumping into the next time stream portal, experienced a dispersal of her corporeal form, both unique and terrifying...
Chapter 14: Panopticon
You voted for "author's choice." I've chosen to give you a little of both Ainan and Jonas...
If you haven't yet read any Time Jumper, that's ok! You can scroll and catch up after clicking the button — then vote on which way to go for the next chapter!
Note from Jen: This one's Christian dystopian sci-fi -- and it sounded like my cup of tea ("memory is fragile, truth is treason, and survival is just the beginning") ...so of course I downloaded it!
A Shadow in the Fog. A Boy on the Run. A Secret That Could Shatter Everything.
Paul Bishop flees through the misty forest, pursued by unknown enemies. But it’s not just men who hunt him—something unnatural slithers through the fog, watching, waiting.
When he's taken down, a single question remains: What happened to Paul?
"What Happened to Paul" is a short story/missing prequel chapter of an upcoming dystopian series by D.N. Böcek. This series features an off-grid prepper family with jiu-jitsu skills, a dictator who will go to any extent to promote his utopia vision, a monstrous enforcer army, and a drug that can erase faith...
A hurricane, an earthquake, a firestorm… In the midst of the destruction, Detective John Zalerian chases a serial killer through disaster-devastated Los Angeles to stop the madness from spreading. As police capability devolves to a shell, will John find the perpetrator and halt the growth of sinister forces that seek to tear the city apart? --READ MORE--
Note from Jen: This one is the fourth novel in a series of Christian dystopian sci-fi / post-apocalyptic crime thrillers. Check out the series on Amazon!
In the frigid waters of Shelter Mountain, Alaska, ice cream shop owner Abigail Stone's midnight fishing trip reels in more than just the catch of the day—it unearths a chilling legend and a killer determined to keep it buried.
Note from Jen: This one is book 2 in a cozy mystery series with a ferret sidekick...!
*Please use your own best judgment while perusing the book deals I provide. I choose them based on descriptions and/or previews, unless I indicate otherwise. They may contain objectionable content.
81 free ebooks including space sci-fi, post-apocalyptic comedy, alien invasion, supernatural thriller, cyberpunk thrillers, and more (including some fantasy books)! Time runs out on this promo 9/30/25.
155 more *Free* fantasy and sci-fi ebooks (mostly fantasy), including vampires, mages, time-travelers, romantasy, fae, and comedy fantasy -- until 9/30/25.
Thanks for reading this episode of The Blessed Bulletin! Let's connect on socials if we haven't already (or if you prefer that to emails). See you next month!
