The Winze Files, Volume 2: Writing by the Lake

Volume Two grew out of a shift I did not expect. I had another story lined up, but this one pushed ahead and made more sense to write first. The lake played a part in that. I wrote most of this book while looking out the window at the water. It’s kinda cheesy, but this lake is a beautiful and alive entity that was really fun to use as the muse. The surface changed hour by hour. The weather rolled through. The light moved across the ridge in a slow sweep. That view kept me focused and shaped the atmosphere of the story without me planning it.

This volume returns to Feverin. Some familiar characters show up again, but the book builds its own theme and its own trouble. Each volume in the series works that way. They all connect, but they don’t repeat the same patterns. The cast shifts. The tone shifts. The pace shifts. It mirrors how this place feels in real life, where people come and go with the seasons, and the community reshapes itself overnight. Small towns work in quick cycles, and the story carries that same movement.

The Winze Files, Volume 2: Beneath the Lake.

My intention with this volume is simple. I want readers to feel the strain, the humour, and the odd loyalty that holds this town together. I want the landscapes to feel familiar, even if you have never stood here. I want the characters to read like people you have worked with, argued with, or bumped into at the post office. Feverin has its own rhythm, and Volume Two leans into that.

Writing it was a mix of tracking details from Volume One, planning for future books, and leaving enough space for the chaos that belongs in this world. I often thought about the TV shows I grew up on, especially the strange Ontario programming that mixed sincerity with unintentional weirdness. There was something honest in that tone. I tried to let this story hold the same kind of energy, where the wild moments sit right beside the quiet ones.

The Winze Files, Volume 2: Beneath the Lake, will be out in January 2026. The printing approach is different this time, and I look forward to sharing more about the characters and the scenes that grew from this chapter of writing. Volume One is already available here on the site if you want to start at the beginning.

And I remind myself every day….