Tag: books

UPDATE #111 (12/12/25): A New Short Story – Inspired by “Godzilla vs. Biollante” – Is Live

On December 16th, 1984, an explosion destroyed a Middle-Eastern bioengineering laboratory operated by the government of the Republic of Saradia. The deadly terrorist attack destroyed irreplaceable research and ended dozens of lives.

On that day, Dr. Genichiro Shiragami – a geneticist heading the lab’s experimental botany research team – discovered that his daughter, Erika, was among those killed in the attack.

On that day, a father lost his child.

And his heart would never be the same again…

Season’s greetings, everyone.

Before we jump into this post, I apologize for the incredibly long gap between updates. If you’re a follower of the GNP on social media, you’re likely aware that the project went on a brief hiatus this summer/fall while I navigated some personal struggles. The back half of my year has been incredibly difficult, and at the risk of sounding dramatic, it truly did rob me of any semblance of a creative spark. Typically, writing and art are an effective escape for me, a way to recharge and heal. Sadly, not so these last few months.

That said, while these struggles are still ongoing, I have been gradually working my way back into being creative. And with the year closing out, I knew it was time for me to usher a new GNP short story out into the wild.

Truth be told, this tale is not one I was expecting to tell. It began falling out of my brain and through my fingers several days ago, and I couldn’t stop the flow.

The end result – inspired by work I did several years ago writing the script for an animated Godzilla vs. Biollante fan film that, unfortunately, remains unproduced – is not the happiest of tales. It takes the form of a letter written by a grief-stricken Dr. Shiragami roughly one year after the death of his daughter, Erika. A letter written to his daughter. A letter she will never read.

While the proposed fan film – to have been created by my dear friend “Kaiju” Kim Lacanilao – would have focused on Erika’s perspective as her psyche slowly transforms into something monstrous (a remarkable story I dearly hope Kim gets to tell some day), I instead chose to step behind the eyes of Erika’s father. To lose a child is, perhaps, the greatest, most unspeakable pain a human being can endure. What would this do to a man with Shiragami’s intellect? How would it break him, fracture his heart, and ultimately put him on the path to attempting his daughter’s resurrection five years later?

All interesting questions, and all representing the exact kind of emotional character study the GNP loves to tackle with its short stories. It’s my hope that this raw, devastated deep dive into Shiragami’s grief will not only expand upon one of the Godzilla franchise’s most intriguing and tortured characters, but also articulate – to the best of my ability – how even the strongest of people struggle to process a pain that, tragically, is all too real in our world.

That said, a word of caution: this story – as you can imagine – deals with some very heavy topics. If you’ve ever lived through the death/loss of anyone close to you (be it friend, parent, or child), please use discretion as to whether you should read or not.

The GNP proudly presents… “Missing You” – A Short Story

READ IT HERE

I hope you enjoy it.

And with that, the GNP has officially published its last short story of 2025. I will be taking the remainder of the year to breathe, de-stress as best I can, and spend time with my family. I hope to enter the New Year with as much renewed energy as I can muster, because, to put it mildly, I will need that energy for what’s destined to be a packed 2026. Between my Godzilla history book beginning its press/promotion and hitting bookstore shelves, a whole second book I haven’t even announced yet, some exciting collaborations on upcoming kaiju Blu-ray releases, the inevitable wave of G-Fest prep, and some big plans for the GNP (including finishing that Godzilla 1985 short story I promised you), it’s going to be big and very exciting year! I can’t wait to reveal it all to you.

Until then, thank you for being here. Thank you for your patience, your support, and for continuing to believe in me and this project. It means more to me than I can say, and it has been especially uplifting for me over the last few months. I appreciate each and every one of you, and I hope you have a safe, special, and healing holiday season with those you love.

With love and gratitude,

–Daniel

UPDATE (1/3/24): “A Prayer for Peace” – A New Short Story for the New Year

“I’d come to know the horrors of man and his capacity for destruction. I’d stared that destruction in the eye, felt its claws rip at my flesh and tear away at my very soul. On that day, I knew what it meant – how it felt – to behold a monster…”

Hello there, readers. Welcome to 2024!

It’s high time for a new short story, and this one has been a long time coming.

Back in the summer of 2023 (which I’m still getting used to referring to as “last year”), I began writing a story that had randomly popped into my mind and taken hold of my creative attention. I hit a few roadblocks (some involving the story itself, and others involving some personal things that needed tending to), and ultimately shelved the project for a few months. I picked it up again in November, but still couldn’t quite crack the approach I wanted to take for telling the tale. But finally, as 2023 wrapped up, I was able to nail down the final details and complete the story in the way I wanted to. And dare I say, I think the final result was worth the wait!

With that said, the Godzilla Novelization Project is proud to present “A Prayer for Peace,” a new short story inspired by Godzilla (1954).

The tale follows a young Japanese soldier who dreams of peace amidst the horrors and bloodshed of WWII. A decade later, when the shadow of a nuclear titan falls over his country, the soldier – motivated to fight for Japan once more – finally finds his opportunity to achieve the peace he so desperately wants, but in a way he never imagined…

The story takes the form of a first-person memoir crafted by the soldier during the events of the 1954 film, acting as an alternate perspective to the story that puts a unique spin on multiple elements fans will know all too well from the film itself. Part diary, part remembrance, and part warning for the future.

(Also – in a first for the GNP – this story has spoilers, so if you give it a read and want to share your thoughts, please do so without spoiling anything for those who haven’t read it yet!)

Check out “A Prayer for Peace” here.

Thank you all for your continuing support, and – as always – for taking the time to read this new story. (Also, a HUGE thank you to each and every one of you for making 2023 the best-performing year for the GNP! I’ll be sharing some pretty incredible stats and numbers in a future post, but to say I was blown away would be an understatement. You’re all amazing, and your excitement for this project never ceases to leave me speechless.)

Happy reading, and happy New Year to you all! I hope 2024 brings you success, fulfillment, and happiness.