Issue #1

Top stories from the community

Step into the rain-slicked neon of a 1940s detective’s world—where chrome reflects holographic rain, distant stars drift past city lights, and every shadow hides a secret.

Distant Echo Lounge is the atmospheric soundtrack companion to the Nick Jarvis series (published by Strangers and Pilgrims Publishing). It’s a 10-track album that captures the pulse of a hardboiled private eye navigating a science-fiction noir landscape of wet asphalt, midnight trains, and neon-lit mysteries.

The Sound of the Streets

The music draws you into the same world as the books. Tracks like “Nick Jarvis, Detective,” “Neon Rain On Chrome,” “Neon Streets In Wet Asphalt,” “Train To Nowhere,” “Rain In The Hologram,” and “Midnight Reflections” blend moody instrumentals that feel equally at home beside a good detective novel or in a dimly lit listening space. Expect cinematic, lounge-inflected pieces that evoke late-night stakeouts, drifting starlight, and the quiet tension of a case that refuses to stay buried. This is music for readers who want more than a playlist—it’s a full sensory extension of the stories. Put it on while you turn pages, or drop the needle after the lights go down. Physical Formats Made for Collectors and Fans. Available now as on-demand vinyl and CD through elasticStage, every copy is manufactured only when you order it. You get:

• A professionally packaged 12" album (or CD) with custom artwork designed for the release
• No risk of sell-outs or waiting months for a traditional press run
• Global shipping to 90+ countries
• The tactile satisfaction of holding a physical object that matches the noir aesthetic of the series

Perfect Companion for the Series

Whether you’re already following Nick Jarvis through the rain-lit streets of his sci-fi world or you’re discovering the stories for the first time, Distant Echo Lounge deepens the atmosphere. The album spans the books’ tone: hardboiled detective energy, nocturnal cityscapes, cosmic drift, and quiet midnight moments.

Get your physical copy here: https://strangerspilgrims.com/music/distant-echo-lounge​

Add it to your shelf, pair it with the Nick Jarvis books from Strangers and Pilgrims Publishing, and let the distant echoes play while the neon rain falls.

Stories That Lift: Help Build the Home for Clean Christian Adventure

Imagine handing your child, teenager, or spouse a book they can’t put down—one filled with epic space battles, frontier justice, neon-noir mysteries, or whimsical adventures among the moons of distant planets—without a single worry about foul language, explicit content, or themes that undercut the values you hold dear. That world is possible. And we’re already building it.

Hi, I’m Mark Castleberry, founder of Strangers and Pilgrims Publishing, LLC. I’ve been a storyteller most of my life. Growing up on a lake in Alabama, I filled notebooks with science fiction and fantasy worlds. Characters lived in my head for decades. When self-publishing became viable, I brought them into the light. Today I live in Missouri with my wife and two cats, writing fast-paced, imaginative stories grounded in Christian morals and biblical truth, and running a podcast that keeps the golden age of radio dramas alive.What I discovered is a quiet crisis in modern publishing. Families who want compelling, high-quality fiction are often forced to choose between stories that grip the imagination and stories that align with their values. Clean, faith-informed stories that still deliver genuine adventure, wonder, and emotional power are harder to find than they should be.

Strangers and Pilgrims Publishing exists to change that.

We are a small, independent press dedicated to high-quality, clean, family-friendly fiction for readers of all ages. Our name comes from Hebrews 11:13—those who confessed they were “strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” journeying toward something greater and carrying hope and light through an often dark landscape. That spirit shapes everything we publish.Our growing catalog already includes:

• Christian science fiction and fantasy (the World of Strangers and Pilgrims series, Godfather of the Galaxy, The Reign of the Horned King, The Moons of Morag, The Age of Sorrow, Pioneers of Ethos, and more)
• Children’s picture books (the Charlee Kate series and Jack, the Black Cat)
• Adventures in Space Command (clean, all-ages space adventure in the classic tradition)
• Westerns, military sci-fi, neon-noir mysteries (including the Nick Jarvis, Detective series), short-story collections, graphic novels, and activity books

We publish through IngramSpark and Amazon, with new titles appearing regularly. Alongside the books, The Strangers and Pilgrims Podcast offers hundreds of hours of Golden Age radio and dramatic storytelling—a ready audience already in the habit of settling in for a story. Readers’ Favorite called the writing in The Redemption of Kings “clear, clean, and straightforward… a perfect fit for readers who enjoy fast-paced fantasy.” The author’s Goodreads average sits at 4.89.We have proven we can create the stories. What we need now is the working capital to grow from a passionate independent press into a sustainable one that reaches far more families.

Why funding matters right nowSmall publishing is hard. Large publishers dominate distribution, marketing budgets, and bookstore placement. To remain true to our clean, values-driven mission while competing effectively, we must invest in:

• Professional tools and software for editing, cover design, formatting, and production quality
• Marketing and advertising that actually reaches families looking for wholesome entertainment (targeted campaigns, social media, convention presence, outreach to bookstores, libraries, churches, and homeschool groups)
• Expanded distribution and printing options (more hardcovers, better wholesale programs, broader availability)
• Podcast and multimedia development so the stories and community can grow beyond the printed page
• Support for additional authors who share our commitment to clean, inspiring fiction
• Core operational needs: website improvements, inventory, and the legal/business infrastructure required to scale responsibly

Every dollar goes directly into these areas. This is not funding salaries or lifestyle—it is fuel for the mission. When you back this campaign, you are not simply pre-ordering books. You are helping build a lasting alternative in the literary landscape—a home for stories that celebrate courage, redemption, wonder, and moral clarity without compromise. You are making it easier for parents to hand their children an adventure they can trust. You are giving collaborating authors a platform. You are helping a small Missouri-based press reach the readers who have been waiting for exactly these kinds of books. The long-term vision is bigger than more titles from one author. It is a lasting independent publishing and media company: a substantial catalog that stays available, professional audiobooks and audio drama, a growing podcast, stronger direct-to-consumer relationships, and the ability to publish selected manuscripts from other writers who meet our public standards of clean, faith-shaped adventure. The world needs more stories that lift rather than pull down, that invite imagination without sacrificing integrity, and that remind us we are all, in some sense, strangers and pilgrims traveling toward something better.

Join us. Help us write the next chapter.

Visit strangerspilgrims.com to explore the current catalog and podcast.

See you next week!