Winds of Change – 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition
Launches February 10, 2026
Uncut. Restored. Still standing.
Preorder and learn more »The smear campaigns didn’t end. They adapted.
For more than 25 years, I’ve written stories that reached readers around the world. Despite the noise, the truth has never changed: the work is real, the readers are real—and the attacks have always been about control, not credibility.
This new wave of misinformation is just the latest evolution of a very old playbook: recycle debunked lies, add dramatic music, and call it an “investigation.”
Let’s refocus on the facts.
For Background
I stepped away from publishing new creative work for nearly a decade, focusing instead on personal projects and private life. But that changed in March 2025, when I announced the forthcoming release of the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Kingdoms & the Elves of the Reaches. Almost immediately, a familiar pattern re-emerged.
Some of the same voices who had fueled disinformation campaigns in the early 2000s—and others who have maintained a pattern of online harassment since at least 2015—resurfaced. Within days of the announcement, new videos began circulating, rehashing claims that had long since been publicly debunked.
The first video, posted around April 17, revived several known falsehoods. It included personal attacks against my wife, distorted facts about a publicly documented photo from the Distinguished Flying Cross Memorial (which clearly displays my name), and misrepresented my photography collections as “nonexistent” book series—demonstrating either willful misinformation or careless research.
On April 22, a second, more aggressive hour-long video followed—escalating the attacks and forming the basis of the response that follows. To be clear, the video draws extensively on material lifted—nearly word-for-word—from a notorious blog known for recycling long-debunked falsehoods about me dating back to the early 2000s. These claims have been investigated, discredited, and publicly refuted for years.
The “Title Change” Myth
The Lie: “In 2016, Robert renamed his books to mimic George R.R. Martin.”
The Truth: The 10th Anniversary Editions of Ruin Mist began publishing in 2012, not 2016. Titles like Winds of Change and Seeds of Dissent had already existed—and were clearly presented as YA editions from the beginning.
The “named path” and “numbered path” structure wasn’t a copycat gimmick. It was a creative design inspired by my years in Japan and my love for manga, which often uses volume arcs and labeled sagas.
It was about storytelling—not trend-chasing.
YA vs. Adult Editions: A Real Strategy, Not a Scam
The Lie: “Having separate YA and adult editions was deceptive.”
The Truth: This is standard in the industry. Major publishers like Tor, Orbit, and HarperCollins have done the same—often after Ruin Mist pioneered the approach.
My editions were always clearly labeled:
- YA editions: shorter, accessible, path-labeled.
- Adult editions: combined volumes, deeper lore.
It wasn’t a trick. It was reader-first publishing—before it became the norm. As I’ve written about for years, other publishers even approached me back then to understand how I’d successfully positioned the series for both YA and adult markets. They studied my model. Some even followed it.
The Sci-Fi Cash Grab Claim
The Lie: “Robert pivoted to science fiction in 2014 to chase Hunger Games success.”
The Truth: My roots in science fiction go back decades. After the Machines was the culmination of long-standing work in speculative fiction, blending AI, surveillance, and dystopian themes—subjects I’ve covered as both an author and a technologist.
The Emily Asimov Accusation
The Lie: “Emily Asimov is a pseudonym designed to mislead readers into thinking she’s Isaac Asimov’s granddaughter.”
The Truth: Emily’s bio is transparent and personal. It contains no such claim. The assumption is invented—and the attack is a cruel smear against another writer.
Many authors use pseudonyms. That choice is theirs. It doesn’t invalidate the work.
The Forum Fabrication
The Lie: “Robert impersonated hundreds of fans on his own message board.”
The Truth: The Ruin Mist forums, active from 2003 to 2012, had 700 members, over 10,000 posts, and a peak of 400 users online in a single day. They’re still publicly viewable.
The claim that I ran every post myself is not only false—it’s easily disprovable by the record.
The “Handful of Fans” Myth
The Lie: “Maybe he had a few fans—no more.”
The Truth: My books had real momentum. Thousands of readers across forums, classrooms, libraries, and online communities.
The pattern of coordinated 1-star reviews? That’s not opinion—that’s digital sabotage. And it began as soon as the books gained traction.
The DOJ Revelation: Why Reviews Vanished
The Lie: “Reviews were deleted because they were fake.”
The Truth: Reviews began disappearing only after years of harassment—and around the same time as a $100M fraud ring at Amazon was exposed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Corrupt insiders were removing positive reviews, suspending competitors, and manipulating rankings for bribes. This wasn’t theory—it was fact, detailed in DOJ indictments.
I was one of many targeted.
Read the press release: DOJ: Amazon Bribery & Fraud Case (2020)
What This Is Really About
Not fame. Not ego.
This fight is about who gets to tell stories—and whether those stories must pass through someone else’s gate to be seen as “valid.”
When the trolls couldn’t stop the books, they tried to erase the author. When that didn’t work, they tried to erase the truth.
But the truth didn’t go anywhere.
Let Me Be Clear
The books are real.
The readers are real.
The story is still standing.
No one dedicates decades to tearing down a story—unless that story threatens the silence.
If the story didn’t matter, they wouldn’t still be attacking it.
The renewed noise? It’s because I dared to bring Ruin Mist back.
And that’s exactly why you should read it.
Celebrating Worldwide Recognition & Success
Beloved Series & Bestselling Titles
Ruin Mist • Bugville Critters • After the Machines • Scott Evers Thrillers
Chart-Topping Achievements
- #1 Fiction — Audible.com
- #1 Kids & YA — Audible.com
- #1 Mystery/Thriller — Audible.com
- Top 10 Kids & YA — Audible.com
- Top 50 Sci-Fi & Fantasy — Amazon.com
- Top 50 All-Time Bestseller — Audible.com
- #1 Free Dystopian, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller — Amazon.com
As Featured In
The New York Times • Publisher's Weekly • VOYA Magazine • Foreword Magazine • School Library Journal • Library Journal • Children's Bookshelf • Parenting Magazine • The Journal of Electronic Defense • OverDrive’s “ContentWire for Libraries” • Ancient Art of Faery Magick • The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Elves & Fairies • Popular Series Fiction for Middle School and Teen Readers
Trusted by Leading Platforms
Audible • Emusic • Epic! • Kobo • Spotify • Tales2Go • Playaway • Findaway World • Ripple Reader • Sony Ebooks • Google Play • Apple Books • Walmart • ThriftBooks • OverDrive • eLibrary • Ingram Digital • EBSCO • Chirp Books • Barnes & Noble • Scribd • Hoopla Digital • Bookshop Org • Tolino Media • Target • Storytel • Librofm • Audiobook Store • Downpour Audio • BookPage • eBrary • Proquest • Baker & Taylor • BookSource • and dozens more over the years to ensure our stories reached homes, schools, and libraries everywhere.
Acclaimed Worldwide by Readers, Critics & Professionals
Ruin Mist / Kingdoms & the Elves / Service of Dragons
- Instant Bestsellers (2002): 26 weeks on Amazon’s Sci-Fi/Fantasy Top 50
- Audible Milestone (2005): #1 for 14 consecutive weeks; Top 10 Kids & YA for 3 years
- Millions of readers reached via Amazon, Audible, OverDrive, and more
- VOYA Review: “Dramatic illustrations draw the reader into the Tolkienesque world...”
- Foreword Magazine: “Three compelling stories, fast-paced and suspenseful… Brisk, accessible prose.”
- Publisher’s Weekly Cover Feature: April 2009
The Pieces of the Puzzle
- #1 Fiction & Top 10 Mystery Bestseller — Audible (2005)
Bugville Critters
- Follett Early Learning: “Essential early learning series.”
- Foreword Magazine: “Colorful and instructive, reminiscent of Little Miss Spider.”
- The Audio Book Store: “One of our most featured and respected Kids authors.”
- Parenting Magazine: “Recommended Series.”
Stormjammers
- The Journal of Electronic Defense: “Ride along with Stanek’s crew in 32 Desert Storm missions.”