The Rhodes Report #1

Spring, Stories & What Comes Next

and

Mar 25, 2025

Welcome to Spring

There’s something about spring—the way the days begin to defrost and stretch just a little longer, and the world begins to wake back up from winter. Possibility hangs in the air. Things you’d put off suddenly feel urgent. Stories waiting in the wings start calling to be told.

At Rhodes Ave. Press, the season feels like a turning point—because it is.

Our latest series, The Family, is heading into its climactic finale this week. What started as an invitation to paradise has unraveled into something far stranger, far darker. The island has revealed its secrets. Now comes the reckoning.

If you’ve been following along, you know the stakes. If you haven’t yet—this is the perfect moment to step in. The story’s still unfolding. There’s still time to find your way to the island. And once you do, trust me: it won’t let you go.

Hey Now, What’s that Sound?

Music has always been the undercurrent. Every story I write starts with a mood, a rhythm, a track on repeat. It’s not background—it’s blueprint.

Writing on Substack lets me bring that energy front and center. I think of it as enhanced audio fiction—not just stories that reference music, but stories that include it. Songs you can actually hear and feel while you read.

Because for me, reading isn’t just about the words on the page. It’s a multi-sensory experience. It should move you, haunt you, stay in your blood.

So when you hit play on a Rhodes Ave. Press story, know this: it was always meant to sound like that.

Spring Mood board

Lately, I’ve been thinking about…

’90s nostalgia

That era where everything felt dialed up—moody teens in suburban thrillers, big summer movies with soundtracks to match. For anyone who didn’t grow up in this decade, this was basically our 60s.

And If you do remember growing up in this decade, you’re certainly missing it right now and I’ve been happily diving back in deep for inspiration on some upcoming books.

Classic albums

– The ones that never grow old, the ones that trigger memories and inspire new ones.

Femme Fatale Movies

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good spy in a tux (I love a man in a good tuxedo)—but lately I’m craving the sleek, shadowy girls who slowly smoke cigarettes while bathed in neon lights. Femme fatales with knives in their boots. Secrets hidden in lipstick tubes. Glamour with an edge.

Namely,

Atomic Blonde
Red Sparrow
La Femme Nikita
Kristin Scott Thomas in Only God Forgives (her character is a nasty piece of work and she embodies it so deliciously well.)

Coming Soon to Rhodes Ave. Press

The Room Where It Happens

[June]
Beth Knox was the breakout star of Studio X. Now she’s back to take over the show—and the power players at the network aren’t ready for what she’s bringing to the table.

Chasing Shadows

[April]

It’s 1988. Sonja Rozhenko has a fake passport, a knife in her boot, and a past soaked in blood. New York’s getting louder. The bodies are piling up. And someone wants her very, very dead.

Hawk

[July]
Before he was a teacher, he ran the streets. Now Hawk’s trying to clean up the block one student at a time. But Baltimore doesn’t forget—and second chances come with a body count.

The Sins of the Seven

[May]
In the ’90s, they ruled the hottest primetime drama on television. Now “The Seven” are back for a reunion special thirty years in the making. These famous friends are about to discover that fame fades but secrets don’t.

Watchlist/Reading List

Lately, it’s all about stories with swagger—and big characters who don’t always play nice.

Watching

• The Pitt – Bleak, brilliant, and so vivid I can practically smell the rubbing alcohol. Pittsburgh never looked so cursed.
[MAX]

• Deli Boys – Hilarious, chaotic, it’s the immigrant hustle with a body count.
[HULU]

• Dope Thief – Dark, gritty, tense, and terrific.
[APPLE TV+]

• La Cocina – Like a more sedate version of The Bear meets Jon Favreau’s Chef. Love, labor, and survival—all on the line of a busy restaurant.
[available to rent on iTunes]

• Friends – Peak ’90s comfort chaos. The outfits? Deranged. The jokes? still problematic but the nostalgic comfort? Still immaculate.
[MAX]

Reading

• Story of My Life by Jay McInerney – A coke-dusted spiral through Manhattan with the most tragic It Girl you’ve ever rooted for.

• The Garden of Allah series by Martin Turnbull – A fun historical fiction take on Old Hollywood glamour, gossip, and ambition, served with a side of martini-drenched scandal.

Until Next Time

Thanks for being here—whether you’ve been with me since day one or just found your way to the island. Rhodes Ave. Press is only just getting started, and the stories ahead are some of our most ambitious yet.

Founding Members get first dibs on it all:

• Early access to new chapters

• Behind-the-scenes influence on select upcoming series

• A limited-edition exclusive gift with each new series.