New Story - Catastrophic Assembly Required / Happenings In The Outhouse 16-Jan-2026

 Amazon.com: Catastrophic Assembly Required eBook : Peterson, Mark S. R.: Kindle Store

"Kirk Sterling loves his wife.  He loves his dog.  He loves his house.

He also loves to draw.  Without tooting his own horn, he’s very artistic.  His drawings are very lifelike.

But as he gets older, his artistic talents take a back seat to the daily grind of adulthood.

That is, until one day he receives an unexpected package in the mail.

 Catastrophic Assembly Required is a fun, quirky tale of mystical intrigue, of a heartfelt romantic."

Here is the link to the Amazon Kindle version: Amazon.com: Catastrophic Assembly Required eBook : Peterson, Mark S. R.: Kindle Store

This book is available on other ebook platforms too.  Enjoy!

New Story - Birdhouse Diaries / Happenings In The Outhouse 09-Jan-2026

 Birdhouse Diaries - Kindle edition by Peterson, Mark S. R.. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

"For Dennis Trunk, life in the quiet suburbs of the Twin Cities of Minnesota is a far cry from his previous life on the East Coast as a hitman for an outlaw motorcycle gang.

Until one day, his world is suddenly turned upside down when he receives an FBI Wanted poster in the mail, with his face on it, and a threatening message: “I know who you are.”

Who in the world would want to blackmail a former hitman?

Birdhouse Diaries is a suspenseful tale with several twists and turns along the way."

Birdhouse Diaries - Kindle edition by Peterson, Mark S. R.. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

This is the Amazon Kindle link, but it is available on other ebook platforms too.

3rd Honorable Mention from Writers Of The Future / Happenings In The Outhouse 02-Jan-2026

First, this blog post is my 1200th post!  I honestly can't believe I have been posting so much, and for so long.

Late November, I received news that I achieved my third Honorable Mention from the Writers of the Future contest!

Writers of the Future 4th Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 42 | Writers & Illustrators of the Future

This, of course, is huge news and I am so honored!

Mission Accomplished! Goals Achieved!

I did it!

Over the weekend, I finished publishing a horde of short stories to accomplish my 4th quarter goal of publishing a short story a week.  I will be posting a separate blog post for each story over the next number of weeks.

Now, I am in the process of starting on my next 5 things for the first quarter of 2026.  I still have a goal of publishing one story a week, whether it's a short story, novella, or novelette, and I have enough inventory to accomplish this.

What did 2025 look like for you?

What will you accomplish in 2026?

Pipeline For 2026 (And Beyond) / Happenings In The Outhouse 26-Dec-2025

As 2025 winds down, I've spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas.  Not only for the upcoming quarter, but also for 2026 and beyond.

First, as I review the last three months of my "Next 5 Things" I have almost completed all 5 of my big tasks.  This is huge!  I have struggled to complete even 2-3 items on the list in the past, but almost all 5?  Amazing!  The last item to complete was to publish a short story a week, and honestly I almost made it.  I do not consider it a failure either even if I don't.  As you can tell from previous posts, I have published a LOT of short stories lately.

And there is quite a bit more too.

Then, I'll start compiling these into collections.

Fun times!

So, what is in the pipeline for 2026?

Aside from submitting a story each quarter to the Writers of the Future contest and getting more short stories out, I am in the middle of writing a vigilante thriller novel.  I am around the 17K word mark.  I have other short stories that I haven't finished either.  However, they may take a back seat as I may shift my focus toward getting more novels out there.

Lots to do.  Loads of fun!

Anatomy Of A Cliffhanger / Happenings In The Outhouse 19-Dec-2025

My wife and I watch a lot of movies and shows as we wind down each night (if we're not playing games, of course).

Most shows, obviously, if done well, have scene breaks that leave you hanging . . . wanting to stay until the scene returns.  In some cases of the old TV cable days, it would be a commercial break.  Not for us.  We severed the TV cable a few years ago and have not regretted it.  At this point in the show, I usually point at the TV and say, "Cliffhanger."

My wife has now caught on to what a cliffhanger does--not that she didn't know before, and more than likely did except maybe didn't quite know the word for it, but being married to a writer, I'm prone to this type of thinking of how a story is set up.

Whether your story is in written or visual form, cliffhangers are set up to . . . well, leave you hanging, wanting to either keep reading or watching.

Check out your favorite movies or books, and see if you can spot the cliffhangers.  More than likely, now that you know what to look for, they'll be easy to spot.

New Story - A Sense Of Place / Happenings In The Outhouse 12-Dec-2025

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I keep publishing short stories left and right.  Here is another one for your reading pleasure: "A Sense Of Place."

"Every so often, Detective Tad Wellstone comes across a dead body that appears natural or accidental but his instincts tell him otherwise.
When he finds the deceased Garrett Phillip Martinez at a new construction site, all signs point to a diabetic seizure.  And Tad knows much about diabetes.
Could it be natural?  Or is something more sinister at work?
“A Sense Of Place” is a modern mystery with twists and turns, and will keep you guessing until the very last page."

Amazon.com: A Sense Of Place eBook : Peterson, Mark S. R.: Books

Above is the link to the Amazon Kindle page.  It is also available in other ebook retailers.