FROM MY DESK: AN AUTHOR UPDATE
23 September 2026
Hey everyone,
It’s been a little while since I’ve sat down and written one of these, and considering how much has happened lately, I figured it was probably time.
First, thank you.
Every download, every review, every comment on a post, every message telling me which character you fell in love with, or occasionally threatening me over something I did to one of them, 😂 still means more to me than I can adequately put into words.
When I started publishing these stories, I hoped I might find a few readers who enjoyed the same kind of worlds I love creating: paranormal romance, military brotherhood, found family, stubborn men, dangerous creatures, and characters who sometimes have to fight like hell before they figure out where they belong.
Somehow, this has grown into much more than that.
🐺 THE WARBORN PACK KEEPS GROWING
The Warborn Pack has become something much bigger than I originally imagined.
What began with Mac Carter and Melvin Hayes in The Alpha’s Panther opened the door to an entire world of shifters, soldiers, ancient creatures, the Council, Valker, and the strange family that continues forming around Mac and Melvin.
Then came Matt Reynolds.
The Hyena’s Guardian took us beneath a mountain in Romania, where Matt discovered that the most dangerous thing waiting underground might also be the one thing he never expected to find, a mate.
Theron quickly became one of my favorite characters to write, and judging from some of your reactions, I’m definitely not alone there.
And I’m nowhere near finished with the Warborn Pack.
There are characters whose stories are still waiting to be told, relationships that are only beginning, and parts of this world that readers haven’t seen yet.
Some of those stories are already written.
Others are currently living inside my head and refusing to leave me alone.
Apparently retirement means I no longer have a commanding officer, but fictional characters have happily taken over the position.
🐺 THE ALPHA’S PROMISE
And because apparently I wasn’t quite finished spending time with Mac and Melvin, there’s The Alpha’s Promise, a Warborn Pack novella that takes them back to a familiar cabin, and a promise Mac made years ago.
Three nights away from Pack responsibilities. Just the two of them, good food, a warm fire, and Mac insisting that planning a romantic getaway is simply “logistics.”
Melvin is buying absolutely none of that.
This one gave me a chance to enjoy the life they’ve built together: the teasing, the tenderness, the heat, and the small ways they keep choosing each other after all these years.
If you’ve been missing our wolf and panther, this one’s for you.
🔥 BLOOD AND BONE
Outside the Warborn universe is Blood and Bone, a paranormal crime romance novella featuring Joe and Cory.
This one gave me the chance to play in a different kind of world: grittier, more contemporary, and dangerous in a very different way.
There’s violence, betrayal, an attempted murder, an Alpha who is entirely too protective, and two men trying to figure out what happens after surviving something that should have ended very differently.
Basically, I behaved myself.
Mostly.
🖤 THE UNBROKEN CAGE
September brought The Unbroken Cage to Kindle.
Damon and Locke’s story is different from the Warborn books, but that was part of what I loved about writing it. Getting to move between different worlds and different kinds of characters keeps me excited about writing, and occasionally gives the Warborn crew enough time to stop yelling at me.
Occasionally.
🏊♂️🤼 AND THEN COLE AND TRISTAN HAPPENED…
My current obsession is The Line Between Us.
This one is something different again: a contemporary MM omegaverse romance set at Hawthorne University.
Cole Hartley is an Alpha and captain of the wrestling team.
Tristan Bennett is an Omega and captain of the swim team.
They’re competitive, stubborn, athletic, fiercely independent…
…and they’ve already been stepbrothers for about six years.
And they’re now college roommates.
Because apparently I enjoy creating problems for myself.
What started as an idea for a sweet, funny, slow-burn story has turned into something I’m really enjoying. Cole and Tristan have surprised me more than once while writing them, and the heart of their story has become much bigger than the trope that started it.
At its core, The Line Between Us is about two strong men learning that loving someone doesn’t require either of them to become smaller.
I can’t wait for you to meet them.
✍️ LIFE BEHIND THE BOOKS
On the personal side, retirement continues to agree with me.
After spending most of my adult life in the Army, being able to wake up and decide that my biggest mission for the day is figuring out what imaginary people are doing next is still pretty damn amazing.
Of course, Pandora and Nemo remain convinced that my actual purpose in retirement is attending to their every need.
They may have a point.
Between writing, working on the website, creating graphics, learning more about the publishing side of this business, and planning what comes next, I’ve somehow managed to stay busier than I expected.
The difference is that now I’m busy doing something I genuinely love.
And that’s a pretty great place to be.
🐾 A BIG NEXT STEP FOR NEMO
Speaking of Nemo, he has something much bigger than supervising my writing on his calendar.
Next week, he’s headed to a four week training program at Dog Training Camp USA – Louisville to become my service dog, and I’m so excited about this next chapter for us. Check out Dog Training Camp at https://dogtrainingcamplouisville.com/
I also want to give a heartfelt thank-you to USA Cares for helping cover the cost of his training. They support veterans, service members, and military families, and this time, I get to tell you firsthand how much that help means.
After 27 years in the Army, I’m grateful to have an organization like this in my corner as Nemo and I take this step together.
Apparently, I’m not the only one around here getting a new job in retirement. Although I suspect Nemo’s preferred payment will still be treats.
You can learn more about their work at usacares.org.
❤️ ONE LAST THING
If you’ve bought one of my books, read one through Kindle Unlimited, left a review, shared one of my posts, recommended a story to somebody, or simply followed along while I build these worlds…
Thank you.
Independent authors don’t have enormous publishing machines behind us. A reader telling another reader, “Hey, you should try this book,” can make an incredible difference.
But beyond the business side of it, there’s something pretty incredible about creating people and places that exist only in your imagination and then discovering that someone you’ve never met cares about them too.
That’s the part I don’t think I’ll ever get used to.
There are a lot more stories coming.
More Warborn Pack.
More romance.
More shifters.
More questionable decisions on my part regarding what I put my characters through.
And definitely more happily ever afters.
Thanks for being here for all of it.
Until next time,
Randy M. Schilling
🐺 Paranormal worlds. Fierce love. Found family.
Visit me at:
www.randyschillingauthor.com
