October | 2025 | Chosen Words

Ants Waking, A Fantasy Novella with Bonus Short Stories and Poetry, by RJ Huneke

ISBN – 979-8349273322 (hardcover)
979-8349340338 (ebook)
Published by Rune Works Productions, Ltd.
BUY on Bookshop.org

A surprising story about the power of myth and identity. Recommended.

Ants Waking by RJ Huneke is a novella-length “fairy tale noir,” an exploration of story and identity, using myth and the power of stories to guide readers through an immersive world that is unsettling and allegorical.

Stories and myth are the currency in this world, as Erica journeys to find the Legioness, the power of the city. But it may already be too late, and it is too late for some…

To say much more would spoil the discovery!

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Note: for every book sold, the author is donating $1 to Global Action for Trans Equality [GATE] and $1 to Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

Today reminds me of the early stages of being an empty-nester (many years past, now). I’ve sent my new mystery-suspense novel, Witness Tree to a publisher, and I feel something like the uncertainty of sending a child out into the world. You think they’re equipped. Certainly, you hope you’ve done your job. But you can’t know.

Like the first days of being an empty-nester, you don’t quite know what to do with yourself. Not yet…

Check out the rest of the piece on Substack (free), at: https://jamesmccrone850794.substack.com/p/authors-empty-nest

I’m considering a move to Substack, and the “Author’s Empty Nest” post is my first post there, though I’ve had the Substack account for some time.

Find me–and subscribe!–at: https://substack.com/@jamesmccrone850794

# # #

James McCrone is the author of the Imogen Trager political suspense-thrillers Faithless Elector, Dark Network , and Emergency Powers–noir tales about a stolen presidency, a conspiracy, and a nation on edge. Bastard Verdict, his fourth novel, is about a conspiracy surrounding a second Scottish Independence referendum. His novel-in-progress is called Witness Tree, a (pinot) noir tale of murder and corruption set in Oregon’s wine country. Coming soon!

All books are available on BookShop.org, IndyBound.org, Barnes & Noble, your local bookshop, and Amazon.

eBooks are available in multiple formats including Apple, Kobo, Nook and Kindle.

James is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Int’l Assoc. of Crime Writers, and he’s the current president of the Delaware Valley chapter of Sisters in Crime. He lives in Philadelphia. James has an MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle.