Work continues on my proposed short story collection Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies. I've completed more stories, I've tweaked the blueprint, and I'm still crossin' the ol' fingers in hope of a May 2026 publication.
The biggest material change to this book's contents is to reverse my decision to include stories related to the Copperhead Kid and his heroic descendants. I had originally planned to collect the Copperhead chronicles as a separate book anyway. A few months back, I started to think those tales could enhance this short story collection instead. I've re-thought that, mostly because the Copperhead stories are appropriate for all ages; the potty-mouthed language in some of the rest of this short story book is definitely not intended for younger readers. The Western adventure "The Last Ride Of The Copperhead Kid" will appear in Guitars Vs. Rayguns!!, and I hope it will eventually join its kin in a potential YA The Legends Of The Copperhead's Kids book of its own.
(Of the remaining completed Copperhead stories, I may still include the short interlude "President Copperhead" in GvR!!, while "Bullets From The Copperhead Detective," "The Copperhead Strikes!," "The Copperhead Affair," "Chaos At The Copperhead Club," "Flight Of The Copperhead," and still-to-be-written chapters like "The First Ride Of Freedom's Whip" and "The Copperhead Kid's New York Adventure" are all being saved for the hypothetical Copperhead's Kids book.)
The collection takes its title from "Guitars Vs. Rayguns!," my obscenity-laden farce about a rock 'n' roll group playing dangerously volatile gigs on distant planets. This was the first work of fiction I ever sold--thanks again, AHOY Comics!--and it inspired two sequels, "Guitars Vs. Rayguns! Last Stand On Uranus" and "Guitars Vs. Rayguns! Battle Of The Band." I think this book needs at least two additional new stories in this series, and I would probably postpone the book's publication if I can't get those stories scribbled out in time for May.
As for the other two asterisked entries seen above, "Seven Minutes To Blackout" is a reimagination of a story I wrote as a 17-year-old college freshman and "The Adventures Of Captain Magic, Chapter 13" is a more recent invention. Odds are that neither of those will be written in time for this book, but earlier this year I would have said the same about "The Traitor's Tourist Guide To Hell," and I did finish that one (and I'm delighted with it). As I like to say: Ya never know with me. I never know with me.
The last story listed above isn't a short story, but the opening sequence from a proposed novel called Lazarus Lives. I'm torn about whether or not I want to include that. I feel very strongly both ways. The decision to include or exclude the other tentative pieces--"Dreaming Deadly" and "I'm At Bat!"--will be determined by how well I think they fit in as part of the completed book.
In the midst of piecing together my short story collection, I'm also working on the nonfiction book Make Something Happen! The DIY Story Of A Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. The Flashcubes book was supposed to be out last summer, but the work required to complete my 2025 various-artists Flashcubes tribute album (the similarly-titled Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes) made it impractical for me to do both Cubic projects at the same time. I have resumed work on that book, and while progress has been slow, it remains my goal to have this available at retail by the end of this year.
Me doing research for a future book
So: Two books in 2026. True stories about the Flashcubes. White lies about everything else. More books to come after that, including a 2027 collaboration with another creator for a project I really hope we can bring to the light of day. First up: Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies, a book I've wanted to write for more than fifty years.
That long-standing wish looks to be granted in May.
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I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here
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