This edition of Food • Home • Opportunity was written by Francisco Martinez.

About Francisco: Francisco Martinez is the 7th President and CEO of Project QUEST. A first-generation college student and son of immigrants, he understands firsthand the power of education to change lives and is committed to expanding opportunity for working adults in San Antonio.

How Project QUEST Is Strengthening Our City

The strength of a city is measured by the opportunities available to its people. In San Antonio, thousands of hardworking adults are ready to move forward but lack access to the education and training that lead to stable careers. For them, opportunity is not an idea. It is education and training that lead to a living wage career. It is benefits, stability, and generational change.

That is where Project QUEST comes in.

Project QUEST was born out of organized community leadership. In 1990, COPS/Metro leaders listened to working families who were doing everything right but still falling behind. They did not ask for charity. They demanded access. They worked with employers, colleges, and the City to design a workforce model that would remove barriers and create real economic mobility. Project QUEST was the community’s answer.

The problem was not motivation. It was access. The education and workforce systems were not designed with working adults in mind. They were not built for parents balancing childcare, jobs, and bills. They were not built for someone who cannot afford to stop working in order to attend school.

So San Antonio built a solution in 1992.

Today, Project QUEST serves about 2,500 adults each year. The average participant is 31 years old and earns about $14,000 annually, often while supporting a family. The drive is there. The work ethic is there. What is missing is access and the support needed to navigate a system that was not built for them.

QUEST serves as the partner, the expert, and the facilitator on that journey. We walk hand in hand with our participants. We see their potential. We understand the strength and value of lived experience. Many of the adults we serve have navigated challenges that have shaped their resilience and determination. Instead of asking them to figure out a complicated system alone, we guide them through it.

Project QUEST partners with local colleges and training providers to connect adults to high-paying, in-demand careers in healthcare, information technology, and skilled trades. These industries offer stability, benefits, and room for advancement. But access to a training program alone is not enough.

What makes Project QUEST unique is its wraparound support model. Participants receive career coaching, job readiness training, and financial or emergency assistance when eligible. We help with tuition assistance. We help solve barriers. We coordinate with training partners. We prepare participants not just to enroll, but to persist and complete.

The results are measurable and life-changing! Graduates see an average starting wage of around $50,000 per year at initial placement. These jobs come with benefits and clear pathways for continued growth. Participants experience an average 200 percent increase in wages compared to before entering QUEST. That kind of change transforms households.

Opportunity Makes an Economic Impact

Over the past three decades, Project QUEST has served more than 15,000 individuals and contributed billions of dollars in economic impact to the region. Its model has been evaluated at the national level and has inspired similar workforce programs nationwide. Yet at its core, this work remains deeply local.

It is about a parent who can now afford stable housing. It is about a graduate who now has access to employer-paid healthcare. It is about families building a new financial foundation that can last for generations.

Opportunity does not happen by accident. It is built with intention. When we design systems that work for adults who are ready to learn and are ready to thrive, we strengthen our workforce, grow our economy, and build a more resilient San Antonio.

If you or someone you know is ready to begin a new chapter, Project QUEST is here to help.

Thank you to Francisco Martinez for agreeing to share how his organization wants to be a part of Opportunity Solutions in our community!

Visit www.questsa.org and start your QUEST to a new career today.

This edition of Food • Home • Opportunity was written by Rogelio "Roger" Narvaez Jr. LMSW. Roger is a Social Worker (LMSW), Author, Speaker, Storyteller and works with underserved and vulnerable individuals and families in Bexar County.

I remember a conversation I had with my wife, some time shortly after getting married, and when I had finally moved most of my stuff from my house into the house we would now share as a married couple. I say most of my stuff because she mostly got rid of stuff I no longer needed. I say that in jest, of course. We reminisced about our lives before meeting, dating, and being married, and how now it was more meaningful to come “home”. And that is the word I used… I was coming to a home and not a house.

As a social work student, one of the theories imprinted into my memory throughout graduate school and afterward working with clients is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is the idea that humans have needs that need to be met until we find ourselves fulfilled. We all have the same level of needs: physiological needs, safety needs, belonging or love needs, self-esteem or ego needs, and a need for self-actualization. Self-actualization is the goal, as it will allow us to fulfill being the best version of ourselves. For many, reaching that part of the pyramid is way out of reach or not even a thought. And for many, like the families and individuals I have worked with across various agencies and settings, addressing the basic needs of food (water), shelter, and health is where they find themselves consistently.

If the goal is to find the best version of myself, I am going to have a hard time fulfilling that need if I am hungry and lack food, or if I have no place to call home and rest at night, or if my physical and mental health are suffering. Think about the six or seven-year-old not having enough food on the table; think about the pregnant mother fleeing domestic violence; think about the veteran sleeping in a tent under the highway because they suffer from untreated mental health issues. And these are all real scenarios that I speak of, as I have worked with many families and individuals in San Antonio that meet this criteria and whose images run across my brain as I write this.

And so the questions pour in: Are we doing enough? What else needs to be done? Is this a funding issue? Is this a permanent solution? Who gets help first…who is prioritized over others? Who is responsible for ensuring our neighbors are getting the help they need?

And simply put: no, more, yes, no, everyone, we all are!

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…” once meant for all, is now relative to your bank account. And so community organizations and non-profit agencies must come up with new innovative ideas to bring “life, liberty, and happiness” to those they serve. They turn closed schools and churches into transitional shelters; churches across the city take turns feeding those who hunger and clothe the naked. Doctors and clinicians step foot away from the offices and step foot in homeless camps to offer aid. And this is why humanity is ESSENTIAL & FUNDAMENTAL to living and fulfilling the most basic of needs for any human being: food, shelter, and health. This sounds a lot like Jesus when He fed the crowds, ensured His friends had roofs to sleep under when traveling, and healed both those with physical and mental illnesses.

Can you imagine, for a moment, what it would look like if every sector of the community sat at the table with the goal of “help thy neighbor”? Each still being able to accomplish their own goals and projects, but also building something bigger —lasting community?

We are nearly a week into 2026, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t already a little overwhelmed by the work ahead. In my work at SAMMinistries , I see a long list of projects to raise awareness, build advocacy, provide support, and raise funds to continue what I tend to ‘feel’ is the actual work: connecting neighbors to stabilizing housing and further opportunities to create self-sufficiency.

With the new year, we tend to use this time as a launchpad for what could be, while disregarding what has come before. BUT there is so much to remember from 2025.

One of the most profound and galvanizing events that SAMMinistries hosts is the annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service. Every year, community members, public officials, and staff from homeless response organizations gather to read the names of every known individual who passed away while experiencing homelessness. Locally, we join together with Close to Home and members of the Alliance to House Everyone: Haven for Hope , Corazon Ministries Inc , Christian Assistance Ministry , Endeavors San Antonio, Communities Under the Bridge , The Salvation Army of San Antonio . Beyond the names and numbers (271 passed in 2025), we partner with Goodwill Industries of San Antonio to place a pair of shoes with a name card for every individual, creating an evocative display that continues to resonate with me.

This year, I was captured by the words of SAMMinistries’ President and CEO, Nikisha J. Baker, about the power of housing and its collective and transformative power in our community:

“Housing is the foundation of stability and wellbeing.But we also know that housing is healthcare; housing is education;housing is recovery; housing is public safety; housing is justice;and housing is a human right.”

Stability and wellbeing. Healthcare. Education. Recovery. Public safety. Justice. A Human Right.

Housing is the starting point, the foundation, the opening door to brighter futures and opportunities. And a community that protects this human right can weather the storms that inevitably come. If we protect housing, food is easier to come by. If we protect housing, opportunity is that much closer.

Looking to 2026 - with 2025 in mind and the names still resting in my mind - I wonder what a community fully invested in housing could look like. What does it look like to you?

I spent four years working at the San Antonio Food Bank , starting in 2019. My first year, I was learning the ropes, getting my bearings, and stretching my capacity. What I imagined, getting my foundation set for my second year and then expanding my skillset and pushing forward in the organization, didn’t go as planned.

It was January 2020 when we started hearing the murmurs, the overseas chatter, then the quarantined cruise ship, then the mall outbreak, then… shutdown. I was in the hospital in March 2020, welcoming our second daughter (shout-out to my wife, Damaris, for her strength and resilience in bringing Ruth into the world! I take no credit). The world I left on March 4th, and the one I re-entered with a newborn on March 5th, would be a sign of things to come. I walked out of the hospital to get our car from the medical center parking garage. When I walked back in, I was confronted by a hospital security guard and asked questions about my symptoms and how I was feeling, who I was, and where I was going. The realization that this would be the new normal had not quite struck me yet, but the interaction had left me with a heaviness in my gut.

As my wife and I spent that week in our own mini newborn “lockdown”, we felt the tide shift as our city went from business as usual to an official quarantine lockdown. My colleagues at the San Antonio Food Bank were not only deemed essential workers, but we were also asked to keep coming into the office. I was asked to cut my parental leave short and work remotely for that second week of Ruth’s life. I started messaging with our staff daily - sometimes multiple times a day - to make critical updates and ensure our food bank websites were up-to-date with health information and … more importantly … food distribution information.

Suddenly, we were being asked to serve 120,000 of our neighbors every week… DOUBLE the normal need… overnight.

It was a seismic, tectonic shift. It showed how fragile our community’s systems, capacity, and welfare really were. How quickly a family could go from sharing a meal at their dinner table, to running out of gas in a parking lot waiting for food distribution groceries. It clarified for me that food was foundational. Access to it was the bedrock of a stable society, and, as we witnessed society shutter in crisis, it was a foundation we would have to fight to save… together.

I recently reached out to my former leader and someone I consider a mentor, Michael Guerra , the Chief Philanthropy Officer at the San Antonio Food Bank. We have continued conversations about the cultural and equity landscape in San Antonio (and the surrounding counties and communities they serve) even as I have moved into a different role at SAMMinistries over the past (almost) three years. We talked about the importance of food, and he relayed a powerful quote from their President and CEO, Eric Cooper :

“You only need to observe a holiday, a birthday, a special occasion of almost any sort, to see the power of food to convene. Food anchors our celebrations. Food anchors our community time. But what we often don’t see is the stabilizing power of food in community.

Time around the dinner table stabilizes a home. Time around the break room table stabilizes a workplace. For Christians, time breaking bread together strengthens community.

Food is a key building block. A lack of food will inevitably lead to a weak foundation. Food security is family security and community security. You can see it in America, and you can see it in countries around the globe. Food gathers, builds, and stabilizes, but only when there is access and availability.”

Eric S. Cooper, President and CEO, San Antonio Food Bank

Food is foundational to communities that thrive. When the pantry is bare, the dinner table collects dust. And the dinner table is where community happens. One of my favorite quotes, one that I have immortalized as a sticker on my laptop, says:

“If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table, not a taller fence.”

This quote has stayed with me for a long time. The dinner table is not just a family setting; it is a hub for community activity and an opportunity to grow belonging and solidarity for us as people. I recall countless church potlucks and fellowship halls growing up in a Southern Baptist church in Illinois1. We crave community, whether at the dinner table at home or in breakrooms, halls, temples, or chambers. The idea of dinner table fellowship is creating spaces for community anywhere. And building a longer table brings more people into that sense of belonging.

❤️ So, I ask you today as we look to this precious holiday season: where is your heart calling you?

These days, filled with the dissonance of both hope and tensions, how can you extend your dinner table beyond your circle of family and friends? If people feel they belong at the table, they will see the opportunities we can all share: to secure food for today, build homes for tomorrow, and open doors to brighter futures.

🤝 Getting Involved

If you would like to prepare the larger table, visit safoodbank.org and see how you can help a neighbor in need. 🍎🍎

You can also learn more and connect by watching stories that help us all meet neighbors where they are: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIMJilAoznPv-bvS_PIZbdCFuAsRo889C&si=1hMEEXWiFtXWlgh6.

If you are drawn to housing solutions and opening doors to brighter futures, you can follow the work we do at SAMMinistries and connect with the local network of nonprofits working together to ensure everyone has a place to call home with Close to Home.

Thanks,

Rob

A Beginning

There’s a moment in the Gospel of Luke that I’ve carried with me for a long time. Jesus stands in the synagogue, reads from Isaiah, and announces good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed, and sight for the blind. Then He sits down and says, “Today this is fulfilled in your hearing.”

It’s not a dramatic miracle. It’s not a spectacle. It’s a simple declaration of what matters… and who matters. And even if you do not believe what I do, I think you can find hope in these words. While they may not spiritually pull you, I think they are calling us to something MORE for our community.

Somewhere in the last twenty years of nonprofit work, ministry, storytelling, and raising a family in San Antonio, that passage became a kind of compass for me. I find myself returning to three simple needs I’ve watched shape people’s lives more than anything else:

Food. Home. Opportunity.

These are the basic building blocks of a dignified life.

This newsletter is my attempt to explore those three ideas slowly, honestly, and in community.

Why These Three Words?

Food

I’ve seen what hunger does.

At the Food Bank during COVID, I watched cars stretch for miles in parking lots. Parents choosing between gas and groceries, seniors choosing between food and medicine. People who didn’t care about the politics of food access. They just wanted to survive. And our community stepped up. We became #SanAntonioStrong in a way I had not experienced before.

Food is the first act of compassion. It says, “You don’t have to struggle alone. I see you.”

And in my faith tradition, meals have always been where healing begins. Some of the greatest stories in the Christian scriptures take place at the dinner table or in community as people share meals. It was in these moments that Christ stretched the food that was given to meet the immediate needs of the people who came to hear His truth.

Home

I now work with families and individuals experiencing homelessness, and I can tell you with complete sincerity: a safe place to sleep changes everything.

A home is where a person exhales. Housing is healthcare. Where a child finally stops worrying. Where tomorrow becomes something you can imagine rather than fear.

Housing isn’t just a roof. It represents tomorrow and is framed in dignity and a foundation to build from.

Opportunity

Once someone is fed and housed, something beautiful happens: they begin to build a brighter future.

Opportunity is about education, creativity, employment, healing, and support. It’s the doorway that lets someone step into a future they can actually shape.

I’ve spent my career telling stories, designing communication, leading teams, and seeking opportunities and opening doors for others. Opportunity is the part of the work that feels like watching someone recover their sight.

Why Write About This Now?

My kids are getting older. They’re starting to notice how uneven the world feels — people with signs on the road, some families on the edge, the costs of living. They’re asking harder questions: Why can’t he have a house? Where does he go at night? Do we have anything to give?

And they’re watching how I answer.

I want them to grow up in a community that is more equitable, more generous, and more human than the one I inherited. I want them to believe that compassion is normal, and that peace and justice are something we build together.

Sharing these reflections here is part of that work. It’s a way of putting language to the things I’ve seen up close, the spiritual convictions that anchor me, and the hope I have for our community’s future.

Even as life gets harder, truth seems harder to discern, and trust harder to build… maybe we can make the hugs last longer, the bridges firmer, and the words mean more -- because they are rooted in something… actions… that connect our lives to one another.

What You Can Expect Going Forward

This won’t be a technical newsletter. It won’t be an academic one with a nonstop stream of data and policy analysis. (Though we will talk about affordability and ALICE and the real math families face.)

Mostly, it will be a conversation about:

What dignity looks like in real life, what people need to thrive, what it means to follow a faith or moral foundation that cares for the vulnerable, and how we can build a community where more people can flourish.

I don’t have all the answers… not even close. I’m bringing what I’ve seen, what I’ve learned, and what I’m hoping for.

And I want you to lend your experience, your insights, and your compassion to be part of the conversation. Part of belonging to a community is listening to MANY voices and holding onto each other when the storms roll in.

Thank you for reading, being curious, and caring about the kind of community we create together.

I’m glad you’re here. More soon.

— Rob

However, over the last 19 years, I have worked in the nonprofit sector, and since 2019, I have been involved in direct human services. Human services sounds so cold and detached, but what it really means is that I want people to have access to food, healthcare, a home, and education. I think most people do.

I’ve just been blessed with a job that keeps me close to the work of making that possible.

I’ve been working with SAMMinistries since 2023, adding to the conversation around homelessness and encouraging awareness and support from people who want to make sure everyone has a place to call home. SAMMinistries serves over 3,000 individuals every year, 40% are children. And in a community where nearly half of our people live paycheck to paycheck, that number could grow.

Right now… TODAY… a giving campaign is jumpstarting across San Antonio, Texas, built around spreading the word on compelling nonprofits and the work they do to ensure the well-being of our community.

YOU CAN HELP!

I would appreciate your support. My goal is to raise $500 for SAMMinistries, but our BIG GOAL is to raise $40,000.

$1 makes an impact. $1 + $1 + $1 + $1… You get the idea. Together, we can support a community where no one has to live on the street.

GIVE TODAY

Take a break. Go outside. Hug your loved ones. Love beyond self and beyond your own sphere. Practice empathy like it is a super power.

We can build a bridge back to each other.

SOMETHING FOR YOU 🚮

Words to Page Count (Calculator) 🧮

Here is a graph of fonts, a sorting of tiers... font... tiers. I'm truly sorry, but at the fifth installment, we've reached 'saga' levels of ineptitude on my part and you shant be getting much better.

Also a shout out to resident substack revolutionary for inspiring me to make a parody font “FUTURO” based on the Futura font. 😅😅😅

If you would like this as a legitimate font… let me know in the comments, and I’ll see what can be cooked up!

So let’s bust out that fresh sheet of paper, plop it on the desk, and get to writing!

But first… you can support my declining mental health with a paid subscription. I’m so insane, I’m giving you a free first month! You can try out being a Fiker by clicking below. Don’t like it… it won’t hurt my feelings if you let it expire at the end.1

Get 30 day free trial

FIT TO PRINT 📎

So here’s stuff I wish I had written that’s fit to print!

FTL Communications (STELLAR EMPIRE - Lore)

continues the “Science of Stellar Empire” series with a post about FTL (faster-than-light) Communications and The Ansible Network.

Our Stellar Empire substack has an ongoing weekly series on Fridays (Born of Ash and Iron), plus weekly lore posts on Mondays.

Stellar Empire

Science of Stellar Empire: FTL Communications

Let’s talk about instant communication…

Read more

9 months ago · 1 like · Andrew Sears

Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 12 (Stellar Empire “Empirefall Chronicles" novella series)

is nearing the end of the Born of Ash and Iron novella with one of the punchiest chapters I’ve read so far. I’m sorry I did not post about this sooner, but I was hit by a major stomach bug that rendered my body and mind a wasteland (more than usual anyway). This chapter is fantastic, raises the tension and action even higher than before, and I’m honestly caught offguard with every read… and I’m helping review and edit them!

Haven’t read ANY of it yet? Unless you want to Tarantino-start-in-the-middle it, you can go to the beginning with CHAPTER ONE here.

Stellar Empire

Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 12

INTERVIEW ROOM, INCARCERATION CENTRE, HILLTOP HEIGHTS, SOMARI PRIME…

Read more

9 months ago · 4 likes · Andrew Sears

THE JUNK DRAWER 🚮

I’m a collector of links, art, funny sayings, quotes, people, nostalgia morsels, and I toss them into a database I will never hope to mine and share out. But my general unhinged ADHD is your reward (weekly)!

[Art] Designs from Rachel Gillespie (Seer Design Co.), who likes to play with type (and fonts *wink wink*) in her work:🔗🖼️

Rachel's Designs!

[Article] The Best Book Cover Fonts to Use Right Now - THE BOOK DESIGNER (09/2023)

• I know it says RIGHT NOW, but I think re-visiting these types of design assets is perfect for authors looking to see what typefaces and fonts work well within your genre of choice… or what to avoid if you are trying to break the format or traditions in your genres!

[Articulate Buffoonery] Teeming with Meme-ing:

• Old Building

• Tell me ‘Y’

• Fonts You Have vs. Fonts You Use

UPDATES 📰

• Stellar Empire:

  • Friday “Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 13” from

  • Monday Stellar Empire Lore “What’s Brewing?” from

Happy Monday. Subscribe and take advantage of the free month…

Get 30 day free trial

Until Next Monday! (unless you peep below!)

Read more

The fourth in a series can be weird… It’s like ‘maybe this starts a new trilogy?’ or ‘is this just going to never end?’ or ‘do we recast everyone?’ or ‘do we follow new characters?’…

Like any “good” studio, I’m just going to keep milking this thing for content. Maybe we’ll retcon the format mid-week—who knows!

So let’s bust out that fresh sheet of paper, plop it on the desk, and get to writing!

But first… you can support my declining mental health with a paid subscription. I’m so insane, I’m giving you a free first month! You can try out being a Fiker by clicking below. Don’t like it… it won’t hurt my feelings if you let it expire at the end.1

Get 30 day free trial

FIT TO PRINT 📎

So here’s stuff I wish I had written that’s fit to print!

Pulling Your Weight (STELLAR EMPIRE - Lore)

has been absolutely cranking out a massive amount of content, and you should be subscribed to him if you aren’t already. (I also feel like the title of the post is a slight jab at and myself for not writing as much Stellar Empire stuff as Andrew does. 😅 (We promise we’re going to get better, Andrew!)

Our Stellar Empire substack has an ongoing weekly series on Fridays (Born of Ash and Iron), plus weekly lore posts on Mondays.

Stellar Empire

Pulling Your Weight

Artificial gravity is one of those things in SciFi that everyone just kind of accepts. You see people walking around starships like it’s nothing. No one’s floating around awkwardly, no one’s vomiting in zero-G (with a few notable exceptions). But how…

Read more

9 months ago · 1 like · 1 comment · Andrew Sears

Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 11 (Stellar Empire “Empirefall Chronicles" novella series)

may have written his best chapter yet with Chapter 11 of Born of Ash and Iron. This serves as a turning point toward the final act of the story, and we really feel the pressure that is on Commodore (Captain, now?) Volm. This one is a shorter read, but it packs an emotional punch.

Haven’t read ANY of it yet? Unless you want to Tarantino-start-in-the-middle it, you can go to the beginning with CHAPTER ONE here.

Stellar Empire

Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 11

TWO WORLDS REPUBLIC SHIP ‘Hound’ BRIDGE…

Read more

9 months ago · 4 likes · Andrew Sears

THE JUNK DRAWER 🚮

I’m a collector of links, art, funny sayings, quotes, people, nostalgia morsels, and I toss them into a database I will never hope to mine and share out. But my general unhinged ADHD is your reward (weekly)!

[Art] The Art of Zsolt Varga 🔗🖼️

• "Solarpunks": https://dribbble.com/shots/24537270-Solarpunks

• "Factory Maintenance": https://dribbble.com/shots/24458368-Factory-Maintenance

• "Horizon mints": https://dribbble.com/shots/24102257-Horizon-mints

[Article] NOTHING

• I don’t have anything this week, but I would really love for you to share an article you’ve enjoyed reading recently. It can be about writing or it could be about something else entirely!

[Articulate Buffoonery] Your memes are the real punk rock:

• Changed into Goblin

• Maybe that's the real punk rock (X/Threads acct: @billythebutcher)

• Pay Attention (uh oh)

UPDATES 📰

• Stellar Empire:

  • Tuesday “The Science of Stellar Empire” from

  • Friday “Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 12”

  • Monday Lore (a sneaky one you’ll have to wait and see 😉)

  • Plus… a couple more items coming VERY VERY SOON. (see the paid section for sneak peeks)

Happy Monday. Subscribe and take advantage of the free month…

Get 30 day free trial

Until Next Monday! (unless you peep below!)

Read more

Good Monday.
So nice— I’ve done it thrice.

Normally, the third in a series tends to tie things up nicely with some finality. At least, that’s when it comes to trilogies. But this ain’t no trilogy.

I’m gonna milk this forever!

But really, I want these notes to mean something every Monday. I mean “Good Monday”, ya’ know? So I’ll be sharing as much as possible every week so that you can find something new to get you through. Whether it’s a helpful article, some inspiring artwork, or maybe just a meme that makes you laugh, I want my note to give you a little something special.

So let’s bust out that fresh sheet of paper, plop it on the desk, and get to writing!

But first… you can support my declining mental health with a paid subscription. I’m so insane, I’m giving you a free first month! You can try out being a Fiker by clicking below. Don’t like it… it won’t hurt my feelings if you let it expire at the end.1

Get 30 day free trial

FIT TO PRINT 📎

So here’s stuff I’ve written (or wish I had) that’s fit to print!

Diving Into Subspace (STELLAR EMPIRE - Lore)

We are currently creating lore, stories, artwork, games, and just about anything else you can think of over at JAMR, LLC in regards to our growing STELLAR EMPIRE universe IP. Here has written up some lore about how faster-than-light (FTL) travel works in our universe!2

Stellar Empire

Diving Into Subspace

So here’s the deal: I love science fiction, but I’ve always been annoyed by how often faster-than-light (FTL) travel gets hand-waved away (same with instantaneous communication and starship gravity, but we’ll get to that later). Press a button, engage “warp,” and suddenly you’re sipping earl gray tea on the other side of the galaxy—no questions asked…

Read more

9 months ago · 1 like · Andrew Sears

Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 10 (Stellar Empire “Empirefall Chronicles" novella series)

Okay, I did not write this, but I have a hand in creating it with my creative gremlin cohort and , so I count the editorial process in with writing because they go hand in hand (or sometimes foot in mouth).

Haven’t read ANY of it yet? Unless you want to Tarantino-start-in-the-middle it, you can go to the beginning with CHAPTER ONE here.

Stellar Empire

Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 10

COMMONWEALTH CRUISER ‘Snow’ WARD ROOM…

Read more

9 months ago · 2 likes · 1 comment · Andrew Sears

Community Spotlight - Rooting for the Apocalypse by

Andy has this angonizing way of writing something that feels so effortlessly real that I kinda hate him right now… like in a good way. If you want to kinda hate him too, you can go check out Rooting for the Apocalypse on his substack. 🍻

Andy Futuro

Rooting for the Apocalypse (1)

Drama ensues when Athena invites her dirtbag boyfriend on her dysfunctional family’s vacation…

Read more

a year ago · 58 likes · 19 comments · Andy Futuro

THE JUNK DRAWER 🚮

I’m a collector of links, art, funny sayings, quotes, people, nostalgia morsels, and I toss them into a database I will never hope to mine and share out. But my general unhinged ADHD is your reward (weekly)!

• [Art] Brian Edward Miller’s fantastic body of work over at Dribbble 🔗🖼️

  • "Terrain Generator": https://dribbble.com/shots/26300793-Terrain-Generator

  • "MTG Leyline of Abundance": https://dribbble.com/shots/23648338-MTG-Leyline-of-Abundance

  • "MTG Mountain": https://dribbble.com/shots/23671413-MTG-Mountain

• [Article] "Setting as a Vehicle for Conflict" by Elizabeth Spann Craig (May 2016)🔗

• [Articulate Buffoonery] Your memes have dreams:

UPDATES 📰

• Stellar Empire - Friday (Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 11), Monday Lore (a sneaky one you’ll have to wait and see 😉), plus… a couple more items coming VERY VERY SOON.

Happy Monday. Subscribe and take advantage of the free month…

(whispers: so you can see some really detailed updates on What Hasn’t Been (book 3) below)

Get 30 day free trial

Until Next Monday! (unless you peep below!)

Read more

Good Monday (again).

A sequel has to expand the world or offer new ideas to its predecessor’s audience.1 Thus, Notes from a Writer’s Desk II must be more bombastic with brand-new characters, unexpected turns, and a bloated budget to match the general slippage into grotesque grandiosity.

None of that is true of this series (I hope)…

But if you want to smash my box office with a paid subscription, I wouldn’t hold it against you. I’m also going to give you a free first month. You can try out being a Fiker by clicking below. Don’t like it… it won’t hurt my feelings if you let it expire at the end.2

Get 30 day free trial

FIT TO PRINT 📎

So here’s stuff I’ve written that’s fit to print!

What Are the Archonum (STELLAR EMPIRE - Lore)

We are currently creating lore, stories, artwork, games, and just about anything else you can think of over at JAMR, LLC in regards to our growing STELLAR EMPIRE universe IP. It’s been a fun time because we get to be mad scientists who create monsters all the time. The Archonum fit the monster bill perfectly.

Stellar Empire

What are the Archonum?

It started with a rough sketch. A drawing that even scared the person who made it: me…

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9 months ago · Robert R. Fike

The Rotting Age of Personal Brands (Blog Post)

I wrote this one a few weeks back as I was struggling with the landscape of content creation, the platforms that host it, and the influencer/hustle core/grind/personal brand ecosystem that has sprouted like slimy mold in every nook and cranny of the groin that is the modern web.

Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 9 (Stellar Empire “Empirefall Chronicles" novella series)

Okay, I did not write this, but I have a hand in creating it with my creative gremlin cohort and , so I count the editorial process in with writing because they go hand in hand (or sometimes foot in mouth). Andrew continues to push his characters to the brink in this series, and we continue to chase our lore and artwork tails to get as much of it logged as possible!

Haven’t read ANY of it yet? Unless you want to Tarantino-start-in-the-middle it, you can go to the beginning with CHAPTER ONE here.

Stellar Empire

Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 9

TWO WORLDS REPUBLIC SHIP ‘Firestorm…

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9 months ago · 4 likes · 1 comment · Andrew Sears

THE JUNK DRAWER 🚮

I’m a collector of links, art, funny sayings, quotes, people, nostalgia morsels, and I toss them into a database I will never hope to mine and share out. But my general unhinged ADHD is your reward (weekly)!

• [Art] Some charming art inspiration for me right now: Drawink Animals Illustrations from Getillustrations on Dribbble. 🔗🖼️

• [Article] “If Humble People Make the Best Leaders, Why Do We Fall for Charismatic Narcissists?” Margarita Mayo (Harvard Business Review - 2017) 🔗

• [Articulate Buffoonery] And here are your weekly memes images:

UPDATES 📰

• What Hasn’t Been - Book Three in the Department for Mutated Persons trilogy (yes, the last book) is coming along. (more below behind the veil of paid content wall)3

• Stellar Empire - Today (What Are the Archonum - Lore Post), Friday (Born of Ash and Iron — Chapter 10)

Happy Monday. Subscribe and take advantage of the free month…

(whispers: so you can see some really detailed updates on What Hasn’t Been (book 3) below)

Get 30 day free trial

Until Next Monday! (unless you peep below!)

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Good Monday.

Writing is a massive part of my life. Unfortunately, the rest of my life has not gotten the memo… Whether it is the career I have going 40+ hours a week, juggling three high-energy daughters1, or the creative work I do with JAMR, I am constantly pulled away from my core creative passion.

Writing can become this small little voice in the back of my head, a nagging little reminder that I’m not doing the ONE thing I have centered at the very heart of who I am.

Don’t get me wrong, I have been working on a few projects. You may have seen the recent editing work I’ve been doing with JAMR on the story, Born of Ash and Iron. But I wouldn’t say that these writings are mine. Each chapter is coming from my creative friend, , and I give credit to him for pushing it forward.

I think that detail keys in on my current issue: writing. Andrew is actually writing.

You cannot improve what you haven’t made.

I have three things— debts to my creative ledger that are holding me back.

1. What Hasn’t Been (Book 3)2

2. Aubrey Finch’s Multiverse3

3. Stellar Empire ONE / Short Stories and Serials

That third one is multiple items, but - for this writer’s desk update - I’m going to keep it manageable.

As you can see from the footnotes and links, I do have SOME of these things done. But they are partially done. I cannot improve my writing, work through the editorial process, or plan next steps until I have a finished draft to work from.

Do not wait for perfection. Make it exist first. Then you can make it better.

In our current influencer culture, many people are building a personal brand to sell products, classes, even themselves, to pursue wealth and fame. But this pursuit is a hollow pathway to burnout, shame, or - worse - personal destruction.

Trust takes time to build… and an instant to destroy.

Consider the very public examples of the last couple of decades: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos1, the Fyre Festival2, Dan Bilzerian3, Jussie Smollett, Kevin Spacey, not to mention the countless religious leaders who have been outed4… the list goes on—public images destroyed in an instant.

In most cases, this was because what was inside didn’t match what was being sold on the outside.

In pursuit of fame, wealth, and status, these individuals hid what was rotten underneath, took advantage of people, or outright misrepresented themselves. In the societal cult of ‘fake it till you make it,’ the con artist is king. But when the con is over, the repercussions leave society in shambles. We were not built to trust quickly and be manipulated at this scale. But the fame-building of social media charisma has created a dissonance. We trust quickly, love too boldly, and take a vengeful turn just as quickly.

People crave authenticity, and that yearning for authenticity can be devastating when someone we believed was credible is a charlatan. We want to feel like the person on the other side of the phone screen, speaking up at the podium or preaching from the pulpit, has earned that trust placed on them. So when leaders fall, the destruction isn’t just exclusive to them… we feel it too.

Credibility is Trust

Credibility is ‘banked’ trust. It shows people that you say what you mean, you mean what you say, and your actions back that up.

The personal brand would tell you, “Because I’m awesome, you should buy this thing.”

The personal brand ties itself to products.

Its value is wrapped in metrics and sales.

And the personal brand will sell at any cost.

The personal brand is designed to sell and profit. All other considerations are secondary. The personal brand is prone to shortcuts, get-rich-quick schemes, and selling oneself to a desired end. It has no qualms with a change in stance if the check clears. It makes strange bedfellows, practices art-of-the-deal chicanery; all in an effort to expand itself: cancerous, reckless growth.

How do we avoid this fast food binge of celebrity and society self-destruction? It starts with us.

You don’t need a personal brand. You need a personal ethos, a foundation of beliefs you stand on, not perform for.

Ethos has taken on many shapes over the thousands of years it has been studied. In the original Greek, it meant "character or a custom. In our modern time, it has two distinct meanings:

In rhetoric (persuasion)

Ethos refers to the credibility, trustworthiness, or moral character of the speaker or writer.

Or at a macro level:

In culture or society

Ethos can also mean the characteristic spirit, values, or beliefs of a group, community, or organization.

Ask yourself: what would you die for? Who would you die for? Why?

The ideals and people you would die for form the bedrock of your sense of self. These foundations won’t shift or move if a temptation comes begging to be ‘sold.’ I was taught once: there are things you write in the sand, and there are things you carve in stone.

What will you hold hard and fast to when tested?

These are beliefs and values you hold, whether individually or as a community, that weather storms and the societal collapses described when faulty personal brands and selfish leaders run amok.

It may look like Proverbs 4:23

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

• The heart (your inner self, ethos) is the source of action, not an image you project to attain value.

Or for others, maybe it looks like Confucius

"The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions."

• A Confucian ethos centers on internal virtue, relational harmony, and ACTIONS that reflect it; not self-promotion for personal gain.

Brene Brown's work is a more modern example of thought around ethos, credibility, and the inner self. While a great deal of her writing concerns vulnerability, her deeper work is about living wholeheartedly from a grounded place with clear values, courage, and consistency of character.

"Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice your values rather than simply professing them."5

A personal brand will protect its revenue stream at all costs. It will maintain wealth and access without compromise. It is obsessed with maintaining or growing its ‘seat at the table’ with the algorithm, in committees, staying on top of news cycles, or fighting to keep the flock in line. This drives personal brand self-promotion and outsized ego trips.

But someone living in their ethos maintains SELF, demands less, and offers more. The strength of a personal ethos is that, at a moment’s notice, you know how you would respond to hard questions, external criticism, and healthy opportunities for growth. Because rather than a personal brand that nomadically jumps from one opportunity to another, your basecamp is always within sight.

Without the fragility of a revenue stream, with a personal ethos guiding you, you can make room for others.

AGAIN, ask yourself:

What would you die for?

Who would you die for?

Why?

Start here. Let’s build our personal ethos and find our inner selves.

Thank you for reading. Subscribing isn’t necessary, but if you like what you read, maybe consider it. 📖

I say this a lot—A LOT. It’s a defense mechanism I’ve honed over the years.

Not Sorry.

I’m going to post things you don’t like, so you may want to unsubscribe right now. This is a warning and a promise: You will not like what I have to say.

What I am going to post is not an invitation to debate. I’m sure you have plenty of sources you feel strongly about. I am exhausted by the discourse… or lack thereof. You do not hold a monopoly on the truth, and I’m not here to defend my opinion.

If you want attention, start your own blog.

I’m not going to hunt you down and hound your comment sections. I would much rather we live our lives, and get on with it. So, you are the Popsi-Coolest! If you get irritated with the stuff I post, it’s okay to move on. 👋

I’m sure you are wondering where I have been… or maybe you haven’t. We seem to be swept up in our lives amidst the noise of the outside world. It can be easy to lose track of many things - friends, projects, bills - so I would forgive you for losing sight of little ol’ me.

But that brings us back to my absence.

For the last seven years, I have been taking medication for anxiety. It has had effects on my life that I only now have begun to unpack as the effects of this medication are peeling away from me. One such effect, I believe, is a low-grade numbness to my emotional spectrum. Like a glossy film, my true feelings have been hiding under, just slightly smothered, by a steady stream of pharmaceuticals.

What is being uncovered, in truth, is anger. I'm not angry at particular people but at what I’ve seen spreading like a toxin throughout our relationships. I’ve also been watching in horror as our society has slowly broken down and given up all semblance of self-determination to a group of people who—in fact—hate everyone, including the people who support them.

I will be unpacking more of that in the coming months, but - for now - let it be known how I feel on the matter. Know that I see posts that you make, like, and share. And forgive what you may think is an overreaction: it grieves me.

That brings me to an announcement I must make: I will no longer sell my books on Amazon and will cease doing business on that platform as time permits.

“Oh, your two book sales this year are really going to hurt them.”

It’s not about hurting Amazon, or any other of these major corporate platforms. It’s about how much I want to be a part of a system of ongoing oppression and cynical mass consumption. We may be the consumers, but we are the ones truly being consumed. Hollowed out—husks to the wind.

And as I watch as our nation’s institutions - our very souls - be hollowed out, I cannot continue. I feel like I’ve been moving through sludge, against the flow of a river I don’t remember falling into. I look at my previous novels, and I feel a sense of hypocrisy in waiting so long to voice these concerns.

“Wait, where are your books going?”

My books will be here. I will make them available in PDF format, and as soon as I can find a way to make them available in print, they will also be available in that format.

I’m sorry that my first post back was so heavy, but I felt I needed to unburden myself to some extent. I appreciate everyone who reads what I write; I’m truly blessed that anyone would listen to the mad ravings of such a lunatic. 🤣

More to come. Promise.

Best,
Rob

I'll let this be formative and help me get better at writing. : |

I'll take a harsh critique if it holds some actionable feedback.1

1. Amateurish in style.

I will take this as a framework for the rest of the critique, and by working on the notes provided, I can be less amateurish to the reader.

2. Characters were better than dialogue.

I feel that dialogue is the strongest aspect of my writing, but this reader disagreed. They did think that my characters were stronger, so I should lean into that as I go and look for ways to improve the dialogue.

3. Dialogue was stilted / not believable.

Stilted and believability. Given the genre of the book, making sure that dialogue is believable will help ground the work and keep the audience invested. I should continue to look for ways to review, refine, and get feedback from readers on whether something feels believable to them.

4. "Ok so far"

They either intended to read the next book in the series OR were in the middle of reading the first book when they gave the review. If it's the former, that is good. If it's the latter, that isn't very encouraging. I must keep the reader engaged throughout the book, especially in the middle.

5. The story was bland and unconvincing.

Again, I will need to work on what is in the middle (the meat of the story) to keep the reader engaged. I will need to continue to think about what would convince the reader. It may be best to reach out to people who can beta-read my third (and final) book of the series.

This is the second in a series of articles on how to use your limited time to grow your business on social media.

Your Customers Want to Know You

It is safe to say you are not alone in the marketplace unless you have somehow stumbled onto the first product or service in the entirety of human thought. So, how do you stand out across the millions of choices the internet offers your potential customers?

People buy from people. In our first post, we discussed how to leverage the people who love your product or service to gain a larger audience and grow your business. But the next part has less to do with the people who already love you and more to do with how we make sure there is something there to love.

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