Blog #5 - The Dungeon

Blog #5

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Mount Vernon, Ohio

The Dungeon

Hello everyone!!

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe Holiday Season!! Welcome to 2026! I hope that this year brings you success and goals reached!

All right, the pleasantries are done! Let’s talk about what’s going on around here!! I saw a bunch of you on my author page on Facebook who were super excited for the coming year! I’m quite excited for the new year myself. I’ve been trying to think of attainable goals to set for this year.

First, I SERIOUSLY need to finish the outline for Book II. I’ve already written the first two chapters, but I’m much more comfortable working from my outlines! Nothing against our Pantser friends, but working from an outline just makes more sense to me. I can use my bullet points as nav buoys for the storyline and then add all of the colors in between! The difficult part is laying out the ideas that turn into the outline!

Second, I want to finish the Book II manuscript!! Then I can do my personal edits, several times through at least. Then the manuscript gets shipped off to my wonderful and fantastic editor, Kim Coghlan of Coghlan Professional Writing Services. This young lady is a Viking Shield Maiden!!! She can take a manuscript and carve it into a brilliant work of art with an axe!! Yes, this is yet another blatant, up-front, in-your-face plug for Kim!! It’s what I do!

I mentioned in my last post that I lost my Number 1 Beta Reader. That was Bob Neil. My Best Man! I had a video chat with his wife, Nanette, a couple of nights ago. Our chat lasted two and a half hours. We told stories, talked about old Seabee stuff. I don’t know how I managed not to break down in tears while we talked. It was beautiful, honestly. I loved Bobby. He was a brother to me. Now, I feel it’s my responsibility to reach out to Nanette every so often. Bobby would do the same for me to reach out to Misty Isty.

I’ve mentioned the Ramey Publishing Corporation Family numerous times. That Family includes our little group of hooligans. I love them all. But Bobby, yeah, he was really family to me.

I know that not everyone who might read this blog is a Christian, or may have polar political views than I do. You might be anti-whatever. That’s all cool. No worries. We don’t judge here. Bobby, myself, Misty Isty, Tommy’s mother Kim, we all signed that Blank Check to the United States so that you, as an individual, might say or think whatever you’d like. Of course, we’re all different, which means that we’re all going to have different viewpoints. Here at the RPC Family, we respect your rights to think that way and say whatever you’d like.

I wrote up a Business Plan when I started RPC. In that plan, I stated that the backbone of this company was my faith in my lord, Jesus Christ. I stand by that till the end of time. Now, secondly, I believe that our little Family is the second driving force behind this work. And that’s some hardcore stuff!!

I want to invite any of you reading this to adopt a sense of closeness, security, and strong Christian Family values when you read our blogs.

Like them.

Love them.

Hate them.

Talk about them.

It’s all good. We’re in this adventure together, and it’s going to be a long ride.

Now, with all of that being said, I have to ask for another Beta Reader. Shoot, I’ll take several of you, if any of you are interested. It’s going to be a little while yet before I would need you, but need you I will. If you’re interested in becoming a Beta Reader for Book II of the Evil in the World Saga, please email Arilyn at office@deramey.com and let her know. I can’t replace Bobby. I won’t, we wouldn’t even try. So if you do want to sign up, know that you’re in exceptional company.

I sent out an email to the RPC Family earlier today. We need to have our first Quarterly meeting of the year. I’ve already got a bunch of stuff on the board for us to look into, plus I’ve asked them all for their input on what we can do or change, and what we can do later. I’m excited for this meeting! It should get pretty wild!! Hopefully, we will have video input from Ohio, Mississippi, and Northern California during the meeting!! I have to say that we are so blessed. I can’t begin to describe the love and laughter we shared at the last meeting, even though we were missing two Family members at the time.

I have a mission. Bobby told me I had taken on a Calling when he and I talked about what the Evil in the World Saga was really about. Another dear friend, Leonard, told me back in 2018 that I would be getting death threats when the story started to unfold across the country. I wasn’t afraid, though, as I put in the book, “Whom shall I fear?” That mission is to touch one soul with this Saga, let them see terror and horror and loss, and even despair and despite. Then, through all that pain and chaos, they can find love, healing, grace, and redemption in Jesus Christ. If I can bring just one soul back or even introduce one to the gospel, how great will be that glory?

Wow! I really had no idea that this would come leaping out onto the page. Awesome!! It’s no secret, my mission. And I’m in no way ashamed of proclaiming my faith in Jesus Christ here. It’s my blog. Every one of you are welcomed to share in our Family fun and faith. Or not. That’s your choice. We’ll love and respect you either way.

I believe some fantastic things are coming in our future. And I hope that this blog has given you some insights into the Ramey Publishing Corporation Family. We aren’t perfect, but we do laugh and love! A lot.

I should probably end this blog here. That was some cool stuff! Plenty of food for thought, that’s for sure!

Have a great week, folks!! READ BOOKS!!

Dave

PS. Here’s a super awesome picture! It’s the original cover art design that Kim and I came up with!! It’s taken from the scene where Avery and Ahrie find all of the desecrated headstones in the cemetery.