A wizard on the run. A comedian with a family and his own starship. The galaxy isn’t ready for Mort and Chuck.
When Mordecai The Brown (a.k.a Mort) fled Earth, he thought he was just bumming a ride. But vintage comic Chuck Ramsey and his eccentric family of star nomads grew on him. An ever-moving target, Chuck’s starship, the Radio City, would be the perfect way to stay ahead of the Convocation death squads sent to hunt Mort down. And Chuck, ever the opportunist, finds no shortage of ways to make use of having access to his own personal wizard (just don’t let Mort hear you call him that).
With the stars as their home, the crew of the Radio City roam the galaxy looking to stay one gig’s work ahead of the fuel bills. And when they can’t, well… let’s just say that morals are for suckers. Chuck Ramsey may be a lot of things, but he’s no sucker. That’s one thing he and Mort have in common.
The other is a bright-eyed, quick-witted, sticky-fingered young man named Brad Ramsey—a boy who needs all the father figures in his life that he can get.
Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem delves into the origins of two vagabonds making their living among the stars. Mort is a wizard coming to grips with a life on the run and estrangement from the comforts and respect he had on Earth. Brad is an impressionable youth, too clever for his—or anyone’s—good. And Chuck Ramsey is the mold that Brad’s trying to break out of, which is harder than he could ever have dreamed.
Know When to Run: Mission 1
Chuck Ramsey is a traveling comedian trying to turn a planetside gig on Earth into a cash cow. Of course, the cost of living on Earth is astronomical. He needs to get rich quick—or at least come out ahead—and head for cheaper pastures.
Enter Mordecai The Brown. Once the golden boy of the Convocation, Guardian of the Plundered Tomes, and the Convocation's number one hunter of dark wizards, "Mort" has found himself on the wrong end of an internal investigation. You see, he was supposed to be killing mad wizard, then confiscating and locking up dangerous books—not reading them. Certainly not stealing them and destroying them.
When Mort needs quick passage off world and off the books, he remembers a backstage meet-and-greet with funny-man who lived a nomadic existence with his family. Chuck agrees to take a passenger aboard his family ship, the Radio City, and suddenly a powerful wizard owes a favor he can never repay.
Little did either of them know the trouble that would follow.
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Low Flyer: Mission 2
Chuck takes the Radio City to a little out-of-the-way planet where the locals leave outsiders alone. The Ramseys meet up with some nomad friends. And while the adults drink and catch up, the younger generation makes their own fun.
While Brad tries to hustle his friends out of their money, Chuck forgets about interest on an old loan he only sort of repaid. As consequences swirl around both of them, an out-of-his-element wizard scurries to keep the Ramseys safe while also keeping a low profile.
Because that's what wizards do best: keep a low profile.
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Available to read as:
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The Good Die Young: Mission 3
It seemed like a safe enough gig. A week aboard a One Church missionary ship. Bland entertainment for respectable money. A place where the family could relax and let their guard down.
Until the pirates attacked.
Alone in alien space, the missionaries are sitting ducks. When the hijackers commandeer the vessel, Mort and the Ramseys get split up. Each has to handle their own problems, whether that's telling jokes to keep murderous aliens amused, trying to collect all the kids with at least one parent, or refraining from wrecking an entire starship with magic.
If you take over a ship with enough people aboard, a few are bound to slip through the cracks. And one of those just might be a teenager with little enough respect for little authority and none for the pirates who've taken his family hostage.
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Lyin’ Guys: Mission 4
A missionary ship hijacked by pirates. Legion of armed aliens burnt to a crisp. At the Convocation, something doesn't add up, and when the Grand Council gets word, they launch an investigation.
Now, anyone who was aboard the missionary vessel is a suspect. There was a wizard aboard, and until the Convocation inquisitors are satisfied, any one on that ship might be the most wanted wizard in the galaxy in disguise.
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Viva, Las Vega IX: Mission 5
Chuck's fortunes are shifting, and he lands a long-term gig performing at a casino on a core world. They're planetside long enough that Brad gets stuck attending a school. Meanwhile, Mort wanders off on his own errands. But nothing is quite what it seems.
Brad's new school friends turn out to be rich kids, and become suckers in his plot to make cash he can conceal from his parents.
Chuck's casino gig was a setup.
And Mort's errands are actually a series of contract killings. He's made a deal to keep the family safe, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to keep up his end.
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Ventura Starway: Mission 6
Operating in the uninhabited, the unexplored, and the uncharted systems of the Milky Way is a permanent swap meet. An ever-changing fleet of nomads, traders, and criminals follows a central ship that acts as common ground, a place of commerce, and a hub of nomad life.
Ventura Convoy.
When Chuck gets bored of shopping for diapers, cereal, and used electronics and Brad stumbles into a mysterious stranger, they each come up with a plan to pull a heist and make the trip worthwhile. It doesn't take long before a simple resupply trip becomes the crime of the century.
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Fly Like an Ego: Mission 7
Brad scams his own father and gets to go summer camp for starship racing. It starts out as a delightful getaway filled with competition and catching up with an old friend. Along the way, things go haywire. Several of the racers get kidnapped. Brad and his friend have to consider a new career in order to survive.
Meanwhile, Mort and Chuck ply their respective trades. Chuck works a gig on a retrovert planet that's right up his alley. Mort tries to hunt down a mysterious, wealthy wizard with a penchant for purchasing suspicious goods. When the pair receive a cryptic distress call, both have to decide whether to cut bait and run to the rescue.
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Available to read as:
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Sixteen Tomes: Mission 8
Chuck and Mort team up to finish a job Mort had to leave undone. A dark wizard is on the loose with a head start and the entire galaxy in which to hide. Their only lead? A mystical connection that Mort doesn't want to talk about. To make matters worse, their target has an accomplice, and it's someone Mort isn't inclined to get rough with. On the homefront, Brad is grounded both literally and figuratively. Stranded on a retrovert planet with nothing to do, he's forced to make his own fun. And what better way to liven up a dull planet than to run a scam on the people responsible: his family.
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Live and Let Kill: Mission 9
Comedy doesn't pay. Some might claim that's the wrong cliché, but Chuck Ramsey knows the truth of it all too well. That's why he resorts to crime to pay the bills. His latest scheme isn't to pick up odd, questionably legal jobs near his gigs; this time he's found the perfect opportunity, and he's willing to buy a gig to be in the right place at the right time. All he has to do is get a certain wizard to play his part without knowing it.
Meanwhile, the colony Chuck chose is a real dump, an old asteroid mine turned barely-viable colony. And there's not much for kids to do there. At least, nothing that ticks all the boxes of safe, legal, and interesting enough to keep their attention. We already knew the Ramsey scheming gene had passed to the next generation, but the oldest isn't the only kid getting ideas outside the law.
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Available to read as:
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50 Ways to Leave a Planet: Mission 10
On the heels of a crazy, dangerous scheme that he barely got away with, Chuck Ramsey presses his luck and keeps trying. But on Ganymede, in the heart of Sol's wine country, in the territory of a small but ruthless local criminal syndicate, his luck runs out. Chuck sends off quick comms to the rest of the family to get them back to the ship on the double.
Two problems: Becky doesn't believe he's really in danger on a core world, and Brad receives the wrong message entirely.
For Becky, it's simple. She'd rather stay with Rhiannon as she tries to launch her daughter's acting career.
As for Brad, he was out with his sister Michelle, and the message he got was a code word that his father was compromised, the ship wasn't safe to return to, and to get off the planet ASAP. By the time Chuck figures out his mistake, Brad has a huge head start, and has gone off the grid.
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Blowin’ in the Wind: Mission 11
Brad went on the run with his sister Michelle. He got away. They're safe. With new identities and a clean start, all Brad has to do is fake being a responsible, law-abiding adult until Michelle turns eighteen...in nine years. But how long can an incorrigible delinquent keep that up?
Meanwhile, Chuck goes out of his mind trying to find his missing kids. With Mort along to help, they crisscross the galaxy, searching for a trail. Family friends haven't seen or heard anything, leaving the pair to confront a hard truth.
Chuck's only going to find his kids if he learns enough about them to think like they would.
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PRE-ORDER We Drink Alone: Mission 12
Mordecai The Brown has killed more than his fair share of his fellow humans. Once a mighty hunter of wizards, life has reduced him to chasing down mundane miscreants in a complex scheme orchestrated by a friend. One day, he simply realizes that he's being used, and he puts his foot down. This next murder, he will not do.
Thinking he's washed his hands of the matter, Mort informs Chuck of his retirement. But when Chuck discovers that the intended target was the man responsible for his favorite adult beverage, Earth's Preferred, he insists that they have to protect him from whoever the job will fall to next.
Hijinks ensue as both Mort and Chuck take day jobs at the Earth's Preferred home brewery, working their way up the corporate ladder to get close enough to protect the man behind the brew.
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PRE-ORDER Life is a Crime Wave: Mission 13
When a cooperating witness seems beyond reach, Don Rucker needs a killer capable of getting to anyone. The problem: Mort's a cantankerous wizard who doesn't care about the money. Enter Chuck Ramsey, who has one skill that the Rucker Syndicate desperately needs: he's friends with the most dangerous wizard in the galaxy. When Mort demands an outrageous sum for his services, the Ruckers' desperation forces them to meet his price.
Meanwhile, Brad, who inadvertently got those two involved, works his way up the lower ranks of the Rucker organization. Head down, nose clean, he finds that he likes this lifestyle. Young Jimmy Rucker, only a few years older and a member of the family, takes Brad under his wing. But how long can Brad survive when the crime bosses' daughters start taking an interest?
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PRE-ORDER Same as the Old Boss: Mission 14
Don Rucker has seen what Mordecai The Brown is capable of. Now the second in command of his father's syndicate wants Mort's help with an even bigger job: killing Theo Rucker.
Initially roped in simply as Mort's handler, Chuck's people skills become invaluable in rooting out loyalists to the old regime when even Don's trusted lieutenants are too close to be objective. Mort trims the ranks quietly, become a boogeyman to any syndicate guys not in on the plot. When the coup takes place, they hope for a quick decisive action that swiftly puts Don on the throne.
Of course, none of it goes according to plan, not even the part where Don's only daughter, Tania, is holed up with bodyguards in an undisclosed safehouse. Lucky for her, a young up-and-comer in the organization was also part of her protection detail: Brad Ramsey. When a mole blows their cover, the pair head on the run together, hoping to evade Rucker minions on all sides of the family until they're sure she's safe.
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PRE-ORDER Unfortunate Son: Mission 15
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PRE-ORDER And Drift Away: Mission 16
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Progress on Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem is now chugging along, full steam ahead. Stay tuned for more adventures with Chuck, Mort, and young Brad throughout the rest of 2023.
You can pre-order the rest of the ebook missions directly from my store right now, or wait a bit and pre-order ebooks from your favorite store soon.
- Planning
- Planning
- Writing
- Editing
- Narration
- Production
While you wait for more, have you met Carl & Amy’s adult children yet? Their adventures, beginning with a time-magic mishap, kick off with the first 4 missions of Black Ocean: Passage of Time.
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Join the Black Ocean fan group to discuss Black Ocean with other outlaws. Chat about ebooks, audio, or paper versions; main series, Astral Prime, or Mercy For Hire.
Looking for swag?
Wish you could live in the Black Ocean world? I can't promise you'll win an argument with the universe, but you CAN wear your own wizard hoodie (complete with Convocation medallion), disguise your boring soda or beer with the Earth's Preferred can cooler, or fly the Poet Fleet Jolly Roger.
