Shadows of Atlantic City is a bit different than what I normally write, which is Dark Fantasy. But like just about everything I write, it also has a “dark” element. In this book, I decided to go with a Western theme, although it’s set in Atlantic City.
I’ve likened it to Sherlock Holmes meets Supernatural meets Wild Wild West.
Needless to say, it was a lot of fun writing Shadows of Atlantic City. There was quite a bit more research than normal, but still fun, nonetheless.
To help me learn the ins and outs of writing while taking the Reedsy masterclass, How to Write a Novel, I decided to put it into practice with a new book.
Although this postponed Fury, I felt it necessary to put everything I learned into practice with the new book from start to finish.
2/1/2024
Decided on a Title
When I began writing the book, I was using a placeholder title. That’s because I don’t often have the title of a book until I’m about halfway through writing the first draft.
By February of 2024, I decided on “Shadows of Atlantic City” and was toying with the idea of turning it into a small series. Unlike the progression of the Witcham series, though, these books will be standalone titles featuring the same fictional world.
That means that you can jump into reading any book and not necessarily have to read them in order.
2/28/2024
Created the Temp Book Cover
I usually have a temp book cover while writing, mostly to give me an idea of what I want it to look like once it’s published. However, it rarely goes how I envision in the beginning simply because we come up with better ideas toward the end.
Nonetheless, I like the “old time” look of this one, especially since it’s centered in 1874 Atlantic City. The fun part is going to be finding an artist who can deliver this look as I refuse to use AI to generate a cover. I support artists, not prompt jockeys.
5/15/2024
Finished the First Draft
After having to postpone the deadline a couple of times due to several issues, both personal and professional, I was able to finish the first draft of the book during the live writing sprint.
Although the first draft is technically done, I still went through and polished it up a bit before giving beta readers access to the story.
7/22/2024
Began First Round of Edits
As I await feedback from beta readers, I started the first round of edits. So far, those who read Kingmaker say that Shadows of Atlantic City was my best book thus far due to how it was structured and written.
The Reedsy masterclass for How to Write a Novel was a great boon to writing this particular book. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be writing a “remastered” version of Kingmaker once that series is complete.
9/12/2024
Using AutoCrit to Edit the Book
After the first round of edits, I fed Shadows of Atlantic City into AutoCrit. It’s an AI-based platform that analyzes your manuscript’s structure. And according to AutoCrit, I’m on the path for a “best seller.” At least from a structural standpoint. In reality, I just want it to find repetitions and redundancies.
4/9/2025
Wrapped Up Edits
I used AutoCrit to make a series of edits, which included everything from repitious word use to fighting up showing vs telling. According to the AI, I have a makings of a “best-selling novel.” Of course, that means nothing without actually putting in the effort to market the book.
Next up, I am working on the cover while beta readers are giving it a final approval with feedback.
6/13/2025
Officially Wrapped Up the Cover
After painstakingly editing the image at the pixel level, I finished the cover art for the book. All that’s left is to print a version of it here and then adjust the brightness if needed.
The first run of Kingmaker was incredibly dark and I had to increase the brightness quite a bit to get it to look right. I would love for Shadows of Atlantic City to come out perfect from the jump.
11/21/2025
Finished with Final Edits and Tweaks
It took a while, but we finally finished the final edits and adjustments to the manuscript of the book. The beta readers were helpful, and I like the additions I made in the book while reading through one last time.
All that’s left is to test print the cover and upload it to Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Then comes the fun part of marketing the book.
11/23/2025
Scheduled for Release
After spending several hours fighting with KDP to schedule the different versions of the book, I finally succeeded. Shadows of Atlantic City is now available for pre-order at a $2 discount. That’s because Amazon isn’t very helpful when trying to run discounts unless you’re exclusive through Kindle Unlimited.
Regardless, the book is scheduled for release on the 28th on Amazon. Next, I need to get my account set up and running on Barnes & Noble. I’d love to see my book in a physical store.
11/30/2025
All Versions Published on Amazon!
All versions of Shadows of Atlantic City are now available, which includes eBook, paperback, and hard cover copies. Now comes the fun part of marketing and getting the book in front of as many people as possible.
Shadows of Atlantic City Was a Lot of Fun to Write
Although most of my books center around fantasy in some way, I truly enjoy stepping outside of the genre to explore something else. And I have to say that Shadows of Atlantic City was a lot of fun to write and edit.
At the time of this post, I’m not sure if it’ll become a series or not. I would like to finish the Witcham series, which has several books planned already.
Regardless, I hope others enjoy reading Shadows as much as I enjoyed writing it.
