Purchase my books directly through my distributor by clicking the links below. Alternatively, all of these titles and more are also available through your favorite major online platforms.
Please note that I have published more books than are listed on this page. In order to preserve a sense of mystery, or to focus my branding, or something, only those titles published under my own name or under my Titus Naso pen name are listed here.
Short Stories & Essays
Perspectives
Experimental Short Fiction & Essays, 1988-2012
Today our society is falteringly undergoing an ongoing cultural moment of revelation about the importance of diverse perspectives: not just yours or mine or someone else’s, but everyone’s perspectives. We are beginning to understand that if we are to learn and grow in peace and relative harmony with one another, then it’s essential to be able to see the world from perspectives other than our own. That’s what Perspectives strives to do.
Each of the works in this collection explores a unique perspective. One story is told from Medusa’s perspective (although it’s not exactly the canonical version of the story as you learned it from Greek mythology). Another story imagines a nonconformist who turns out to be both a hero and a criminal at the same time. One of the “stories” is a fictional book report, written by a fictional college student about a fictional book which is itself a collection of short stories told from a variety of different perspectives. Reading on through Perspectives, we hear from a mad scientist; we enjoy the adventures of a more or less typical college student who just happens to be an alien from another planet; and we imagine a conversation between the Buddha Gotama and the Jain holy monk, Jina Mahavira. And at the center of the collection is the title piece: an impressionistic story examining the perspectives of many individuals who differ by race, gender, age, and circumstances, but who all share a moment together at a singular point in space and time.
This collection of Jesse S. Smith’s surprising and wonderfully creative experimental short fiction in a variety of genres is rounded out by a lively series of essays considering unexpected perspectives on Eastern philosophies, early Christianity as a social movement, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare, and the use of humor in apocalyptic fiction.
So treat yourself, and put your feet up, and enjoy these wild and crazy perspectives.
Self-Help
Start Today
Be Awesome. Be You.
Be good to yourself; forgive yourself; believe in yourself. Be good to others; forgive others; believe in others. Think about your thoughts. Live with love. The basic principles of self-help as a personal philosophy are widely known; and many of these ideas have been discussed as a part of various major world religions, spiritual practices, and practical philosophies for thousands of years. Jesse S. Smith‘s take on self-help as a personal philosophy focuses on positivity; offers many references to ancient spirituality from around the world; and describes the inspiring examples of a number of great musicians and community members. Get inspired to take on the challenges that face you in your life! Set lofty goals; overcome the burdens of the past and worries about the future; allow yourself to see the world in new ways. Choose to see a layer of hope and joy and gratitude in your daily experience of life. Take control of your life, and be the awesome person you were meant to be. Start today.
Challenge Journal
A Personal Transformation Toolkit
This one is meant to be a book that you the reader will write.
This fillable notebook has blank lines organized into sections for conveniently tracking participation in strict challenges (such as the famous “75 Hard” mental toughness and fitness challenge). Each facing pair of pages has spaces dedicated to to-do tasks and appointments; gratitude, wins, and plans; a reading log; a meditation log; an exercise log; water logged; a nutrition log; and “The Captain’s Personal Log.” The exercise log is further subdivided into spaces for logging the details of various types of moves and exercises, such as number of reps for each weight in a set with increasing weights, or the number of laps in a set. The nutrition log is subdivided into columns for servings, calories, and other metrics. There is finally a checkbox for your “progress pic,” and heading spaces for the date, priority of the day, thought of the day, and the day number of your challenge, which is helpful if you have undertaken a challenge that lasts a specific number of days. This fillable blank journal features a beautifully inspiring cover photo of a sunrise, taken from an overlook near Eugene one morning a very long time ago.
Action-Adventure & Literary Fiction (Or Something Like It)
Rise of the Pagans
Explore the Pagan origins of many aspects of Western culture, from the days of the week to the major holidays, in this spirituality-themed coming of age story that reveals the inner secrets of the modern neo-Pagan wheel of the year.
Hayden is just another working stiff trying to get through the day when he first falls into casual conversation with his colleague Nicholas one Spring day. There in the break room of the busy business, Nicholas begins to relate the history of our culture’s calendar: beginning with the weekdays named after Nordic deities, and the months named after Mediterranean deities.
Intrigued by this lingering link from the paved present to the Pagan past, Hayden agrees to accompany Nicholas to a neo-Pagan gathering out in the woods to celebrate the Beltane holiday. There he meets a colorful cast of characters: including Phoenix, the group’s unofficial spokesperson and de facto leader; and Sage, with her flowy garments and her constant coterie of companions and admirers. Most importantly, he meets the elfin Melissa.
As the group sits around the bonfire until late at night, playing drums and dancing and reciting ancient esoteric lore, Hayden and Melissa quickly become enamored with one another. Later, back in town, what first began as a singular night at a festive party soon develops into a much longer-term relationship.
But the lovers’ official handfasting celebration is crashed and wrecked by violent self-righteous intolerant locals: locals convinced that their own mainstream religious beliefs give them an excuse to harass and torment other people who have different beliefs.
Now it’s up to the Pagans to stand up for themselves, and to demonstrate to the world that freedom for all means tolerance for others: and tolerance means allowing other people to believe what they want to believe and worship how they want to worship, whether they pray to God or to the Goddess.
The Reality Game and The Little Black Box
Dreams become nightmares, and nightmares become reality, in this surreal pair of novellas published together in a single binding. From the paranoid conspiracy fueled techno-realism of The Reality Game to the introspective psychological wonderland of The Little Black Box, this nice pair of unpredictable stories takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through the imagination.
In The Reality Game, Tim works at a travel agency, reads a lot of books, and writes a blog in his free time. In other words, he’s just a regular guy: until the day when Destiny calls him on the telephone, and they arrange to meet for lunch at a nearby Thai food restaurant. Before the meal is over, Destiny persuades him to take part in the Reality Game. After that, things get much stranger. Soon Tim finds himself swept up in events far beyond his comprehension. But what are the Game Masters really up to? Is the Reality Game merely what it seems, a series of strange anonymous pranks played by people in masks who sometimes hand off mysterious packages in the dark? Is all of this just a bizarre form of extravagant flash-mob entertainment for bored trendy hipster types? Or is the Reality Game itself really a sort of convoluted cover for an unnamed and potentially sinister conspiracy? And even if Tim can finally learn Destiny’s true identity, will his questions still go unanswered? This surreal psychological thriller adventure story is a bit like The Matrix meets John Fowles. Brought to you by the author of The Battle of Hillsboro, this book is a great read for anyone who enjoys immersive disorienting psychological espionage techno thrillers. Yeah, you know you do! Get your copy today!
(Warning: This Plot Summary Contains Spoilers!) In The Little Black Box, Jeff is hanging out at Roger’s place one sunny summer morning when his friend, who happens to be a crazy chemist, accidentally hands him the wrong coffee mug, which happens to contain a highly concentrated dose of a very newly synthesized experimental psychedelic substance. Whoops! Soon Jeff finds himself wandering through an impressionistic otherworld, a sort of nightmare Wonderland, where he is followed by a fearsome shadow which eventually introduces itself as Toby, the Keeper of the Little Black Box. After listening to a reading of lilting poetry and an at times slightly titillating ballad by a May Queen and an outlandish rustic, Jeff plunges through the tangled wilderness, scrambles in panic on a sheer cliff face, and encounters the dire Little Black Box, which turns out to be not so little after all: because the box itself, as it turns out, is a psychological projection that contains all of Jeff’s fears and doubts and worries, all of his self-criticism and his self-loathing: and there’s a lot of that! Will Jeff find himself trapped forever within the dark confines of the Little Black Box? Or will the wisdom of the Dragon of Reason be able to talk him down from his bad trip, and help him to return to the peaceful sunny day of delights?
The Battle of Hillsboro
eXtremely Offensive 15th Anniversary Edition
It’s hilarious when members of the public look at the author of a work of pulp fiction and reflexively, baselessly accuse them of committing the crimes they wrote about in the book. Like, “oh, you wrote a book about people who go around robbing banks, so you must secretly be a bank robber!” Duh, I am not a bank robber, why do I even have to say this, it should be obvious, doofus; but as it turns out, human beings gathered together in a society can collectively achieve such incredible heights of insipid credulity that clearly we need fast-paced works of humorous irony like The Battle of Hillsboro to get people to wake up! Do I have your attention yet?
Yes, friends, this is the spit-out-your-drink, snort-laugh inducing revised and updated “eXtremely Offensive 15th Anniversary Edition” of The Battle of Hillsboro by the only real Jesse S. Smith. With even more terrible one-liners, and a more inclusive rebel insurgency, this revised and updated version of one of Basementia’s top-selling titles of all time has something in it that’s sure to be offensive to anyone and everyone who reads it, no matter who you are. So that means, if you’re the sort of person who enjoys reading that sort of thing, then you already know who you are, and you know that you will love this book. In our humble opinion.
And as always, we love to “talk tough” over here, but in reality this is just, like, Chuck Palahniuk-level violence; it’s not really that bad. I mean, sure, I guess, it’s kind of, definitely not for children, and yeah, at the end (spoiler alert!!!!) the main character sort of, well, dies gruesomely; but other than that, it’s not too bad. Also some gun shootouts with the police. But not that bad. Really. A teeny weeny string of armed robbery, grand larceny, and grand theft auto felonies, that sort of thing. It’s a fun little crime spree heist story. Give it a read. You’ll like it. If you’re a bad person. But not that bad. Just kind of, a little bit naughty sometimes. You know you are. Don’t deny it.
Ahem. So anyway, The Battle of Hillsboro is the story of what can happen when highly educated, slightly crazy people are unable to find meaning or satisfaction in their lives and their careers and their designated roles in our glorious modern society. Eventually, their rather pointless crime spree becomes a metaphor for all human wars throughout history; and, in this updated edition, it becomes clear how, each in its own way, every major political and religious philosophy in our present modern society tends to contribute to a seemingly inevitable showdown.
It’s ironic. It’s sarcastic. It’s allegorical. It’s fast-paced! And seriously friends, the whole point is, it’s freaking hilarious. It’s so, so wrong. You’ll love it. Give it a read. Also available as an affordable e-book from somewhere or other. But if you buy the paperback, then you can leave it out on your coffee table to impress your friends.
The Battle of Hillsboro. Not actually a real battle occurring in a real place by that name. That you know of. Some limitations apply. Void where prohibited. Get yours today.
Speculative Science Fiction & Fantasy
The Gompa Oasis
Traveling home from Varum to Kiranesh across the post-apocalyptic Zensai Desert of the Mohaani Peninsula, young Gantsch and his companion unknowingly drink contaminated well water when they camp for the night at some abandoned ruins out in the middle of nowhere. After they succumb to the effects of a deadly microorganism, they are unexpectedly rescued from certain death by a wandering band of matriarchal Dimpai nomads: including the beautiful and talented Balhudailadishtarya.
Together they all ride six-legged dromi lizards along the ruins of the ancient Imperial Highway to the famed Gompa Oasis, an important point where desert travelers usually replenish their water supplies.
But once they arrive at the essential oasis, they find they must first confront the henchmen of the evil warlord Kragston, and fight for the right to drink the life-giving waters that should be free to all travelers in the desert.
It’s like Dune meets The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Fans of Douglas Adams will appreciate this zany and occasionally slapstick “Frank Herbert with a twist” tale of otherworldly adventures.
The Overlords of Tlegryth
The evil Overlords have conquered the pastoral realm of Tlegryth! Can a ragged band of misfits and magicians join together to liberate the land?
A hairy farmboy named Dau Moth and his lovely love, the raven-haired Aswelia, must ask a wizard named Appletree to help them take on the might of the dreaded Emperor Vizzglyth, the evil Overlord who has installed himself in the castle and holds the entire realm of Tlegryth in terror of his power. Following the wizened wizard’s advice, the young rebels seek further aid from underground demigods, a Rhasta dragon, and the Master Storyteller, among others.
In the best tradition of the Terry Pratchett-style fantasy humor spoof (with maybe just a little bit of Hunter S. Thompson on the side), the lively, unpredictable, vivacious, humorous storytelling of The Overlords of Tlegryth takes the reader on a silly, joyous romp through a fantasy realm with all the trappings.
Poetry
Choosing Change
This inspiring collection of motivational and spiritual poems about living with intention has been one of our most popular poetry titles to date. With its cheerful color scheme and boldly uplifting message, it’s easy to see why. These positive poems invite you to leave the past behind, ignore the naysayers, overcome limitations, strive towards your goals, and achieve more than you had ever dreamed possible. Learn to quiet the voice of doubt and those nagging intrusive thoughts; and focus instead on hope, gratitude, and appreciation for Nature, and the people who love you, and the good things in life. There is no big secret. It just takes a positive attitude, a mindfulness practice, and a lot of hard work. These poems were composed during an intense period of personal transformation, coinciding with the global turmoil precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns of 2020. Inspired by poetry, meditations, a fitness challenge, and time spent in Nature, Titus Naso channeled challenges into the poetry of change, and found a path through to the other side. Now you can follow that journey yourself, when you choose Choosing Change. May you be inspired!
A Year Outside of Time
Follow one rural parent’s personal experience of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and the tumultuous year that followed, narrated in verse form. It all began in April of the year 2020, when the artist known as Titus Naso had been reading a translation of Ovid’s Fasti, which is a poetic account of the holidays, festivals, important commemorations, and celestial events noted by the ancient Romans. Thus inspired by a mentor from antiquity, our modern poet, facing uncertain times, resolved to meet the unknown by writing a poem every day for a year. These selected highlights from the resulting body of work are the poems discussing the poet’s own personal experiences of that year: including homeschooling reluctant children; reading the increasingly alarming daily political news; escaping the smoke of the wildfires; and hunkering down to withstand an ice storm and a protracted power outage. Along the way, the poet participates in a wellness challenge and refocuses on self-help. And the end of the year, our poet emerges hopeful and invigorated: as we hope you will, as well, when you’ve had a chance to ponder the poems of A Year Outside of Time.
Months and Days
Major holidays, cultural milestones, and facts about the calendar, both ancient and modern, are celebrated in sonnets, ballads, and blank verse in this tour-de-force collection by the modern poet known as Titus Naso. All the way around the wheel of the year, from New Year’s Day to the next New Year’s Eve, the poems of Months and Days consider the changing months, and the specific days that are important in the modern era to people from a great rainbow variety of personal, cultural, religious, and geographic backgrounds; as well as the days that were important to the people of the past. Special emphasis is placed on the Solstices, Equinoxes, and cross-quarter days, and the ways in which these annual signals of the changing seasons have been observed in rituals by people around the world for thousands of years: from the Native Americans to the ancient Cambodians, Celtic peoples, the old Norse, and the ancient Romans. Modern religious holy days from the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist religious traditions are described and honored. Modern American civil holidays and important historical dates are given due respect: including Women’s Equality Day, Juneteenth, and the Stonewall Riots, along with Presidents’ Day and many others. The American civil holidays form an interesting counterpoint to the ancient Roman civil holidays cited by the ancient poet Ovid in his Fasti, which was the original inspiration for this work. Written during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and the tumultuous year that followed, Months and Days is an inspiring modern multicultural and historical glance at the ways in which the people of the world denote the advance of time.
The Histories
Consider intriguing parallels between the past and the present through the lens of Titus Naso’s poetic contemplations of historical persons and events. The poems of The Histories describe the life stories of scientists and philosophers; of poets (several of them) and Emperors; of Presidents and tree planters; of working people and aristocrats; of change makers and tyrants. These are stories of exile and acceptance; stories of Biblical figures, a variety of political and cultural heroes, scientists, soldiers, a blind visionary, a volcano, and a waterfall. It’s beautiful. Penned during the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, The Histories delights and perhaps at times disturbs readers with reminders of who we are and who we have been. The exile of the poet Ovid; modern women’s rights and Civil Rights activists; major religious figures; and the attempted insurrection of January 6, 2021: all figure prominently in this timely selection of pertinent poems by Titus Naso.
A Different Thousand and One Nights
This collection of narrative poems provides a fresh (and often hilarious) new perspective on stories you’ve known all your life. Join Titus Naso for a rowdy poetic romp through your favorite familiar fairy tales and folklore. This fantastical collection is like a poetic journey from Wonderland to Sleepy Hollow, in the company of Cinderalla, on the decks of the Pequod, all set within the narrative framework of the Tales of the Arabian Nights. More specifically, it’s a verse-form retelling of all those stories and more: 18 different tales in all, also notably including Rip van Winkle, The Bremen Town Musicians, and the Trojan War. In a project largely penned during the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, A Different Thousand and One Nights delights and surprises the reader by looking at the familiar in unexpected new ways.
Hardcover
impressions
impressions is a collected lifetime’s worth of poetry and song lyrics by Jesse S. Smith. Themes of love, loss, adventure, and gratitude are interwoven throughout these exuberant and introspective verses.
Individually, these collected song lyrics and poetic verses each convey impressions of images and feelings. Viewed together, these verses, composed over the course of more than three decades (from 1987 to 2019) and arranged chronologically, may suggest the blurred outline of a life story: in something like the way splatters of pigment blown around a hand may leave a hand-shaped impression on the wall of a prehistoric cave.
Choosing Change is available in a glossy hardcover binding.
Three of the other above titles are available in a grey hardcover cloth binding with gold ink lettering on the spine and no image or other text on the cover, as shown. Those three cloth binding editions will show as “Cover Image Not Available” when you click through to our distributor’s landing page.
Political Philosophy
Principles for a Self-Directed Society
Principles for a Self-Directed Society is a thoughtful work of political philosophy by Jesse S. Smith, originally published in 2008 (second edition 2020 with assorted minor corrections and a slightly different cover design). The book advocates a number of specific long-term policies for government and economic reform which the author believes would help to bring about an attractive vision of a global society based on love and respect for Peace, Environmental Restoration, Health and Prosperity, and Basic Rights.
Smith begins with a brief overview of the origins and prehistory of human society, according to modern science. The discussion continues with a consideration of the many challenges which must be overcome in pursuit of the four basic stated goals, and some of the means which may be adapted by a self-aware global society in pursuit of a more perfect union. These means include economic reform, political reform to achieve the economic reform, and broader social reform in the interest of freeing society from its historical tendency to be steered by a small minority.
However, the book is highly critical of extremism, and condemns the use of violence to achieve political ends. Unfortunately, this philosophy of nonviolence is a way of thinking that has fallen dangerously out of fashion in certain circles in our times. Principles for a Self-Directed Society strongly rejects political violence: because a stable healthy society is only achieved through consensus-building and collaboration.
The book then discusses a number of specific political and economic considerations and reforms which are recommended in order to better pursue those goals. After a final brief discussion of some of the specific challenges facing our society, the text concludes with creative visions for a future world, and additional strategies for Consciously Creating Positive Social Change.
We’re the first to admit, Principles for a Self-Directed Society is not for everybody. The tone is rather embarrassingly strident in places. In fact, when Basementia reached out to him for an exclusive interview in February of 2026, author Jesse S. Smith told us not-quite confidentially, “Nobody is going to agree with everything I wrote in that book. In fact, not even I agree with everything I wrote in that book! After all, it’s been many years since I wrote it; and I’ve had a lot of opportunities to reflect in the meantime. But these ideas are still interesting to consider; and I think that for a lot of people, they may find that some of these principles feel almost more like core values.”
Smith’s Campaigns for Local Office
Principles for a Self-Directed Society was originally published in 2008. (The “buy now” link below is for the Second Edition of the book, which was released in 2020, and does not have the globe icon on the cover.) Based in part on the policy background he had developed while elaborating and defending his ideas and beliefs in this Iraq-war-era book of political philosophy, Jesse S. Smith later ran for his local district’s seat in the Oregon State House of Representatives in 2022; and (far more controversially) for the local School Board the next year, in 2023. Smith was resoundingly defeated both times, and acknowledges that he’s unlikely to try the experiment again anytime soon; but he notes, “Running for office was a worthwhile and eye-opening experience, and I am so very grateful for the opportunity, and thankful for all the people who supported me. We are truly blessed to live in a land where a total nobody like me can participate in the public debate on this level. Thank you all.”
Consider the possibility of developing a holistic set of guiding principles based on core values that don’t change over time according to which way the political winds are blowing. Read Principles for a Self-Directed Society today.
