<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Rustin Petrae | Author & Graphic Designer]]></title><description><![CDATA[rustinpetraeagd]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/blog-1</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:33:37 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.rustinpetrae.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Film Review - Spider-Man: Brand New Day]]></title><description><![CDATA[I've been sitting on this review for a minute, trying to sort my thoughts out on it. As a massive (and lifelong) Marvel/MCU fan, I needed a little bit of time to figure out my own biases and such. Why is the photo a Korean Spider-Man: Brand New Day image? That is a good question. It's because I was fortunate enough to travel to Japan and Korea this past summer (2026) with my son. While in Korea, Brand New Day came out so we wisely decided to watch it there. I definitely enjoyed being able to...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/film-review-spider-man-brand-new-day</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a948f827ba802b41b923cd7</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Movie/TV Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 16:00:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_88ac54bc627444d3b1e2c49bf1da5524~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie - Under Marshal Law: Chapter One]]></title><description><![CDATA[A little bit about one of my newest novels, Under Marshal Law is set in the aftermath of a global plague where the sickness doesn’t kill people, it mutates them into indestructible and mindless monsters. The only thing capable of killing them is the blood of a Cure. Kol Bishop and his daughter, Lena, both carry this rare trait. As Marshals, they patrol the walls of the Dayton Compound, one of the few surviving havens where they can be safe from the Spread. Blood is their weapon. Enjoy the...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-under-marshal-law-chapter-one</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3ee6df740673c68359b472</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><category><![CDATA[Newest Titles]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 16:00:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_a6c61be130014605a0a177e0ef6896f6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Film Review - Disclosure Day]]></title><description><![CDATA[I am back again with another film review. It's been awhile but that's mostly due to wanting to finish the novel I am currently working on, Avalon - The Shadowed Trials. More on that in the future. All right then, here we go. As always, spoiler alerts so if you haven't watched the movie yet, maybe come back after you did (although not that many this time around). Title: Disclosure Day Release Date: June 12, 2026 Director: Steven Spielberg Screenplay: David Koepp Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/film-review-disclosure-day</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3e86f1c900dddc2f388699</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Movie/TV Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:00:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_1f2c0a4200e64df8ae41f7a85c529d61~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Beware - Read The Contract (Duh!)]]></title><description><![CDATA[It's been awhile since I've posted anything. This post is a bit different in the sense that it is about a sore point I've experienced time and time again as an author. I've received many offers in the past (most of them obvious scams) to license my work. I won't lie, it is absolutely flattering and always gives me a glimmer of hope that I'm on the right track. That one day I might be a successful  author, and when I say successful author, I mostly mean being able to have that as my full time...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/beware-read-the-contract-duh</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a052531618ba451740080f6</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 16:01:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_af60b6df0c5c4dffa8d7566ec910eba0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie: Avalon - The Fallen King: Chapter 10]]></title><description><![CDATA[Chapter Ten - Old Columbus disappeared behind them almost three hours ago and the only thing Theo saw now were flatlands with large fields of grass, some trees off in the distance, and the occasional town every so often. According to his parents, they were another hour or so from putting the Borick Province behind them altogether. He wasn’t sure how to feel about leaving his home even though he had planned on doing just that to attend the Royal Institute of Higher Studies. The only difference...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-avalon-the-fallen-king-chapter-10</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699d09c6a2f37a9969cdc116</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:00:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_21c4cf1690394abfbe535f1fb55a0645~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Film Review - Project Hail Mary]]></title><description><![CDATA[Funny story. My idiot brain, whether it's post-radiation reasons or just simple obliviousness, thought it bought our tickets to Project Hail Mary for Friday at 8 pm. Turns out, it actually bought tickets to the Saturday at 8 pm showing. So, with that being said, to the person I accidentally stole your seat from, I sincerely apologize. I absolutely had no idea I'd done this and legitimately thought I had gotten tickets to that showing. That is my fault and wish I would've realized it much...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/film-review-project-hail-mary</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69c0572df68fa4c22fbc8189</guid><category><![CDATA[Movie/TV Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:00:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_0b95c4695c5148dfaf5466e26290827d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie: Avalon - The Fallen King: Chapter 9]]></title><description><![CDATA[Chapter Nine - Theo sat on the cement roof of a circular, stone structure built at the top of a fairly large hill, alone except for Artemis and Jeks, both of whom sat in silence as he contemplated things. Below him, majestic trees, streams, and farmland dotted the landscape. Interspersed throughout were buildings made of brick or stone. This spot has been a favorite of his ever since he found it. The only people that knew about it, as far as he’d been able to tell, was himself, Therresa,...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-avalon-the-fallen-king-chapter-9</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699d04e6a2f37a9969cdb5e2</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2026 16:00:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_21c4cf1690394abfbe535f1fb55a0645~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie: Avalon - The Fallen King: Chapter 8]]></title><description><![CDATA[Chapter Eight - Theo sat in his class, staring absentmindedly at the doodles he kept drawing over and over on a sheet of paper as his teacher, Mrs. Heights, droned on about the history of Avalon. He only half paid attention, his mind on other things. Things like the enormously awkward fact that he was now heir apparent to the First King’s throne, a man he had idolized practically since birth. A man he had admired above pretty much anyone else. It had been three and a half weeks since the...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-avalon-the-fallen-king-chapter-8</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699d023f9509a0da66f8616b</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2026 16:00:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_21c4cf1690394abfbe535f1fb55a0645~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie: Avalon - The Fallen King: Chapter 7]]></title><description><![CDATA[Chapter Seven - “Why would Micah do this?” Edrick asked, both hands gripping the wooden arms of his throne hard enough to make them creak in protest. “Not only does he have a secret child, but apparently that child has been in the care of a former Prime Guardian and his Second, both of whom were supposedly killed over a decade ago. None of this makes any sense.” “I don’t know but the question remains, who is the boy’s mother?” Winston asked. “It can’t be Xerya,” Harlan said. “Micah would...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-avalon-the-fallen-king-chapter-7</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699b608c33aebccb486a3816</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:00:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_21c4cf1690394abfbe535f1fb55a0645~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Book Review - Red Rising by Pierce Brown]]></title><description><![CDATA[Red Rising  is a book that is, in theory, right up my  alley. It has everything I typically love. Action. Heavy sci-fi elements. A strong main character. Compelling story. A solid premise. I actually started reading this for a couple of reasons, but the biggest one was the simple fact that I've heard great things about it. I like to read popular novels (and watch popular tv shows and movies) because I want to see what the hype is all about. In some cases, it works out (for example, the...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/book-review-red-rising-by-pierce-brown</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699d0e613633f91285eec9f6</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Reviews]]></category><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:00:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_e6ce02255dc043bd9d13120b3bcce0f6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie: Avalon - The Fallen King: Chapter 6]]></title><description><![CDATA[Chapter Six - Parthos ran all over the palace, sweating through his three-piece piece suit. He could feel it the worst along his lower back and drenching both of his armpits. He swiped a hand across his forehead, appalled when he saw how much it dampened his sleeve. He pushed aside his disgust at all the sweat and focused instead on making it back to the Grand Chamber. The halls were mostly empty and a lot of the staff had been told to go home for the day. No one was sure why but with all the...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-avalon-the-fallen-king-chapter-6</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699b5d404494a30051f8a814</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:00:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_21c4cf1690394abfbe535f1fb55a0645~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[TV Review - Wonder Man]]></title><description><![CDATA[I finished up Wonderman maybe a week or two ago (watched it all in one day with my son) and decided to give myself some time before I reviewed it. Marvel is a weird one for me now. Might be weird for a lot of people. Without a doubt, the MCU did something special but their time at the top is over. Has been over pretty much since Endgame. With more and more properties they dropped tanking (i.e. Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Echo, Secret Wars, and so many...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/tv-review-wonder-man</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699a5aae68aec190b13b4627</guid><category><![CDATA[Movie/TV Reviews]]></category><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:00:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_fd64189ef7ad4cddb17cb38699c6dbe8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie - Corrupted Love]]></title><description><![CDATA[Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of the holiday, I thought it would be fun to share my short story, Corrupted Love. It's a bit of a departure from the standard Cupid trope. Enjoy! Corrupted Love -  Featured in the anthology,  Love in the Dark  by WPC Press and in my short story collection, SINS . Jessie Amare’s alarm started blaring at her. Her hand fumbled across her cluttered nightstand, knocking several empty liquor bottles down in the process, before she found her phone and shut it off....]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-corrupted-love</link><guid isPermaLink="false">698f2ea7c6422c8cacd267e2</guid><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:00:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_5bcec2a176354fbf8309ec595656fb87~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Another Face in the Crowd: Life in the Face of Cancer - vol 5]]></title><description><![CDATA[A visit to the ER is not exactly an unknown experience for me. I've had my fair share of emergency situations pop up including taking a hockey stick to the eyebrow (the left one - it seems a lot of bad stuff happens to my left side for some reason), my crushed foot, a bout of shingles (which really sucks by the way), the other bloody nose that ended up with me being diagnosed with ACC, and quite a few other things as well. It's not a fun place. Ever. I don't despise them, not really, but it's...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/another-face-in-the-crowd-life-in-the-face-of-cancer-vol-5</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6983be6a0b2d097f708becb5</guid><category><![CDATA[Another Face in the Crowd]]></category><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2026 17:00:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_e164a1ae52984d4ba660402b1de50b2b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie: Avalon - The Fallen King: Chapter 5]]></title><description><![CDATA[Chapter Five “What the hell do you mean by that?” Alice jerked her head toward Edrick, her eyes lit up with pure rage. The tears kept streaming down her face as she stared down her uncle. Bright colors of red blossomed on her cheeks. Even the veins of her arms started to light up with magic again and Hydrick grew even more fitful and restless above her father’s four-poster bed. Edrick, for his part, looked taken aback by his niece’s sudden anger. He stumbled backward and held up his hands,...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-avalon-the-fallen-king-chapter-5</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6983ca414ef7940ceeefec8d</guid><category><![CDATA[Newest Titles]]></category><category><![CDATA[General]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2026 17:00:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_21c4cf1690394abfbe535f1fb55a0645~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Another Face in the Crowd: Life in the Face of Cancer - vol 4]]></title><description><![CDATA[This volume is probably the hardest one for me to write. Talking about cancer and its impact on my life is relatively easy, but what happened to me after my initial surgery was, to be completely honest, an absolute nightmare. There has never been a time in my life where I legitimately thought I was going to die. Going into that first surgery to remove the tumor had me scared, true, but my level of fear that I would "die on the table" was pretty low. It was mostly just nerves. I remember...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/another-face-in-the-crowd-life-in-the-face-of-cancer-vol-4</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6972afc4aa29322cefc9d8a1</guid><category><![CDATA[Another Face in the Crowd]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:00:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_e164a1ae52984d4ba660402b1de50b2b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie: Avalon - The Fallen King: Chapter 4]]></title><description><![CDATA[Chapter Four - The sounds of heavy foot traffic echoed through the halls of the Elysium Palace, home to the High Royals of Avalon and their staff. On any given day, the sound of footsteps wouldn’t be out of the ordinary, but this was not an ordinary day and the rushing footsteps had a frantic, panicky air about them. To a casual observer, they would probably guess something might be extremely wrong. And they would be correct. Something was wrong. Palace aides from the highest-ranking advisor...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-avalon-the-fallen-king-chapter-4</link><guid isPermaLink="false">696eb409423c15f2e1ef6bdd</guid><category><![CDATA[Newest Titles]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 31 Jan 2026 17:00:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_21c4cf1690394abfbe535f1fb55a0645~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Book Series Review - Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman]]></title><description><![CDATA[Man, I haven't done one of these in forever. It's not like my movies and TV show reviews either. With those, I was still watching movies and shows I just wasn't really reviewing any content officially (although I did drop my ratings in Letterboxd still). Books were a bit of a different story altogether because I just wasn't reading anything anymore. For those that know me or  knew me growing up, that's practically unheard of. I'd always have a book in hand no matter where I went. Bars in...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/book-series-review-dungeon-crawler-carl-by-matt-dinniman</link><guid isPermaLink="false">696e84faef9d90695c0c14f5</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:00:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_27e1a931fc084033b0ac8d394dafff2a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Freebie: Avalon - The Fallen King: Chapter 3]]></title><description><![CDATA[Chapter Three - Silence so deep, fell over the stadium again. The hushed whispers died down, as did the occasional shouted question. Everyone just sat there and stared with expressions of absolute disbelief on their faces. Theo couldn’t believe it either. Why would the First King’s familiar come to him and mark him as his heir? His blood suddenly turned to ice. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open a little. If Jeks was here, marking an heir, then that meant… It can’t be, he told...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/freebie-avalon-the-fallen-king-chapter-3</link><guid isPermaLink="false">696ac04e3e23fce29373ccbd</guid><category><![CDATA[Newest Titles]]></category><category><![CDATA[Freebies]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 17:00:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_21c4cf1690394abfbe535f1fb55a0645~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[TV Review - Stranger Things]]></title><description><![CDATA[Those that know me probably won't be surprised to find me wanting to review this series. I love Stranger Things and have been a massive fan since the very first season. I still remember coming across this show after hearing absolutely nothing about it beforehand. It was pure magic. I was engrossed from the very start. The 80s nostalgic feel was fun. The characters were compelling. The story drew me in and kept me fascinated from minute one. I am very glad I watched it. It is still one of my...]]></description><link>https://www.rustinpetrae.com/post/tv-review-stranger-things</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69584220edad85458dd9309d</guid><category><![CDATA[Movie/TV Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 17:00:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2ec2b9_f0d1fe87cd694e9fb13205f2f7bb8dee~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rustin Petrae</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>