Writing
2025-03-08 Writing Mannerisms - Just a little commentary on my quirks of writing, the origin of some of them, and commentaries on the thoughts that rattle around in my head.
2024-10-24 ICON 49 Retrospective - After a fantastic weekend at ICON 49, I have a chance to write up some of my thoughts.
2024-10-20 SPFBO and Flight of the Scions - Just thoughts on Flight of the Scions being DNFd for SPFBO 2024.
2024-10-13 ICON 49 Panels - My panels for ICON 49, which is this coming Friday, October 18-20.
2023-03-13 A Little Vacation - I'm going to take a two week vacation from work and already have al it of things to do.
2023-01-29 A Week of Dependencies plus Nor Curse Be Found 13 - To write a chapter in Nor Curse Be Found, I ended up spending three days working on projects and tasks that needed to be done to provide the tools I use while writing.
2022-10-26 Various Updates - Good and Bad - Two months ago, I was uncomfortable and in pain and distracted myself with migrating to a new forge. In the time since then, I've pretty much done the same thing: been in a lot of pain and migrating stuff.
2022-08-27 August in a Nutshell - The last few weeks of August have been very busy, both in terms of obligations, deadlines, and events of note. Some of them are negative while others are positive, so give me a chance to tell how my month has been going.
2022-07-19 Sorting Books (v1.0.3, 2022-07-19) - Ideas on how to format spines to make it easier to sort and organize books.
2022-07-14 The Words are Done - One of my goals for the year was to publish Flight of the Scions before ICON. As of today, the words of the novel are finally done and all that is left is to finalize the cover and get it printed.
2022-01-21 Content Warnings - This Book Contains Death - As part of my work toward getting Flight of the Scions done, I decided to work on content warnings.
2022-01-16 fedran-cli - I started working on a small tool,
fedran-cli, to help me manage and work with the growing cluster of stories and novel Git repositories and automated processes.2021-10-03 Second-Hand Dresses delayed - Second-Hand Dresses is not going to be released this year.
2021-03-17 The End After Three Hundred Weeks - Six years ago, I started posting weekly chapters. As of this week, I have been doing that for three hundred consecutive weeks. It is also time for me to stop.
2020-06-01 May in Writing - We've reached the beginning of another month, which means it's time for an accountability post. Overall, May was a tight month because of professional requirements but still had some productivity. I felt I got some good stories in but I see some struggle approaching as I head into June.
2020-05-01 April in Writing - April was not the most productive month when it came to writing, mainly because of a pretty big distraction with my website.
2020-04-01 March in Writing - A summary of a March worth of writing. It was a hard month but I still got three stories in addition to my chapters. And hit a major roadblock
2020-03-01 February in Writing - A summary of a February worth of writing.
2020-02-04 January in Writing - A summary of a January worth of stories, novels, and essays.
2020-01-29 World-Building - Tarsan - Tarsan is one of the most significant countries in Fedran, as both the oldest established country at the time of the Mechanical War and its influence on the rest of society.
2020-01-22 Jogūchya - Snap the Tail - A Jogūchya game inspired by "Go Fish" and "Uno" that is easy to understand and play.
2020-01-15 World-Building - Sequels, Prequels, and Intermissions - Much of my secondary stories are sequels or prequels but I rarely mix the two for a single character.
2020-01-04 Two Months in Writing - A summary of two months of stories, novels, and essays.
2019-12-31 Lexember 31 - Hissan - relif - On Lexember 31, 2019, I present "relif" as "to celebrate surviving a difficulty."
2019-12-30 Lexember 30 - Hissan - egys - On Lexember 30, 2019, I present "egys" as "to celebrate families coming together."
2019-12-29 Lexember 29 - Hissan - astar - On Lexember 29, 2019, I present "astar" as "to tap the energy of the land for a ritual."
2019-12-28 Lexember 28 - Hissan - tunas - On Lexember 28, 2019, I present "tunas" as "to tap a land for magic to build things."
2019-12-27 Lexember 27 - Hissan - foosga - On Lexember 27, 2019, I present "foosga" as "to tap a land for defensive magic."
2019-12-26 Lexember 26 - Hissan - lorkku - On Lexember 26, 2019, I present "lorkku" as "lands that border against another country."
2019-12-25 Lexember 25 - Hissan - bloom - On Lexember 25, 2019, I present "bloom" as "a blood or lineage claim."
2019-12-24 Lexember 24 - Hissan - gyusplas - On Lexember 24, 2019, I present "gyusplas" as "to make a claim on a land."
2019-12-23 Lexember 23 - Hissan - gubbaba - On Lexember 23, 2019, I present "gubbaba" as "a moot baby."
2019-12-22 Lexember 22 - Hissan - ogumma - On Lexember 22, 2019, I present "ogumma" as "to leave a mother's clan."
2019-12-21 Lexember 21 - Hissan - pilmsunnad - On Lexember 21, 2019, I present "pilmsunnad" as "to negotiate a land claim."
2019-12-20 Lexember 20 - Hissan - eestor - On Lexember 20, 2019, I present "eestor" as "someone who taps a land's energy without consent."
2019-12-19 Lexember 19 - Hissan - meraslan - On Lexember 19, 2019, I present "meraslan" as "a tragedy that splits a tribe apart."
2019-12-18 Lexember 18 - Hissan - dissago - On Lexember 18, 2019, I present "dissago" as "an argument that splits a tribe apart."
2019-12-17 Lexember 17 - Hissan - aborlas - On Lexember 17, 2019, I present "aborlas" as "to split a family away from a tribe."
2019-12-16 Lexember 16 - Hissan - clitici - On Lexember 16, 2019, I present "clitici" as "to have a family join a tribe."
2019-12-15 Lexember 15 - Hissan - ookna - On Lexember 15, 2019, I present "ookna" as "to perform a ritual."
2019-12-14 Lexember 14 - Hissan - gyolas - On Lexember 14, 2019, I present "gyolas" as "a tradition or convention that has been obseved for multiple generations."
2019-12-13 Lexember 13 - Hissan - toysa - On Lexember 13, 2019, I present "toysa" as "to clean up the land before leaving."
2019-12-12 Lexember 12 - Hissan - ca - On Lexember 12, 2019, I present "ca" as "to travel by walking."
2019-12-11 Lexember 11 - Hissan - as - On Lexember 11, 2019, I present "as" as "to move air by exhalation, to blow."
2019-12-11 World-Building - Telepathy - Magic is a funny beast in Fedran. Using some of the concepts I got from my various religion classes in college, I decided that no one actually knows how magic works. While there are some consistent rules that are evolving as I write, no technique or system that encompasses everything. That goes for psionics also. Psychic powers is just a different form of magic, telepathy included.
2019-12-10 Lexember 10 - Hissan - boosly - On Lexember 10, 2019, I present "boosly" as "to walk away from a fight to calm down."
2019-12-09 Lexember 9 - Hissan - flinork - On Lexember 9, 2019, I present "flinork" as "the violent reaction of disharmonious magical energies."
2019-12-08 Lexember 8 - Hissan - adysin - On Lexember 8, 2019, I present "adysin" as "to accept the vows of marriage."
2019-12-07 Lexember 7 - Hissan - oplin - On Lexember 7, 2019, I present "oplin" as "to change the frequency of magic to match another."
2019-12-06 Lexember 6 - Hissan - gsach - On Lexember 6, 2019, I present "gsach" as "the resonance of magical energies interacting."
2019-12-05 Lexember 5 - Hissan - gsubi - On Lexember 5, 2019, I present "gsubi" as "a marriage between two people."
2019-12-04 World-Building - Hidanork Land Magic - The whole idea of the United Hidanork Tribes started with Elizabeth Moon's The Deeds of Paksenarrion. It was the first time I heard of the term taig to refer to the land itself as a distinct being capable of magic and awareness. I'm not sure about the history of the word (and my Google search isn't good enough to verify) but the idea of the taig had stuck with me ever since I read that scene.
2019-12-04 Lexember 4 - Hissan - shik - On Lexember 4, 2019, I present "shik" as "a supernatural force that affects the world."
2019-12-03 Lexember 3 - Hissan - kasi - On Lexember 3, 2019, I present "kasi" as "a tract of land."
2019-12-02 Lexember 2 - Hissan - misa - On Lexember 2, 2019, I present "misa" as "a strong wind."
2019-12-01 Lexember 1 - Hissan - soli - On Lexember 1, 2019, I present "soli" as "the aggregate of solid mineral formations that makes up bedrock or the earth's crust."
2019-11-27 World-Building - Tent Pole Development - For this week's world-building post, I want to talk about tent poles. In this case, I'm not talking about the ones under a circus tent but ways of exploring the world through fiction and documentation (writing dictionary or encyclopedia entries).
2019-11-20 World-Building - Magic and Trauma - Last week, I wrote a short story called I Will Hurt You Only Once. This is a story about Gichyòbi telling his young daughter about the rite of passage into adulthood such as Rutejìmo's in Sand and Blood. Both of these are about how trauma affects magic in the world of Fedran.
2019-11-13 World-Building - Creating Hissian - So, with me writing Looking for The Wrong Thing, I realized I need to start working on the constructed language Hissian, the language spoken by the United Hidanork Tribes in the creatively named country of Hidanork.
2019-11-12 ICON 44 Retrospective - Two weeks ago, I went to ICON for four days of fun and a lot of panels. Here are my thoughts and a few observations.
2019-11-06 World-Building - Iterative Development - One of the first questions asked at world-building panels is "how to get started?". Starting is scary when trying to build a world intended to be used for decades as opposed to a (relatively) smaller world for only a short story or two.
2019-11-01 October Fiction - So, I was gently pinged on my Patreon that I don't do a lot of status updates. I appreciate the reminders, so I'm going to try writing up a monthly post of everything I serialize on my fantasy website.
2019-09-30 Writing Workshop Deadline Extended to October 15 - The deadline for submission for the writing workshop at ICON 44 has been extended to October 15.
2019-09-09 Writing Workshop at ICON - I will be running a writing workshop at ICON 44. If you are interested, check out the post.
2019-07-24 Future Plans - An update on near- and long-term plans for my writing and updates on this site. Also status on my Pride Month challenge stories, various novels, and financial plans.
2019-06-01 Pride Month Challenge - Over the last few months, I've been berating myself about representation of queer characters in my world. Last year, I made a list on Twitter about some of the queers that I've already introduced. Those haven't changed but I realized that I'm had not made any of those characters obvious that they were queer despite the fact they are and have been from the beginning.
2019-05-02 Author Intrusion and Naming Languages - This week I submitted chapters three and four of Raging Alone to the writing group. There were some good points made but one of the ones that the entire table brought up was the names. I figured that I could use the tool I just wrote to find out how bad it was.
2019-04-30 Author Intrusion - I've Been Here Before - When it comes to projects that I probably will never finish, Author Intrusion is probably right up there. Most of the time, it is because I keep restarting because I learned significant lessons. This last week was one of those cases.
2019-04-30 Poem - Why Not Let it Be? - For the final day of National Poetry Month, I present a poem about the Internet culture and unwanted discouragement.
2019-04-30 Poem - My Father's Ring - On the thirthieth day of National Poetry Month, I present a poem about battle and fighting for a cause.
2019-04-29 Poem - A Child is Born - For the twenty-ninth day of National Poetry Month, I wrote about poem about my son's first breath.
2019-04-28 Poem - Love Among Girls - For the twenty-eight day of National Poetry Month, the theme is forbidden lesbian lovers.
2019-04-27 Poem - Fifty-Three Years - On the twenty-seventh day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a poem about my marriage.
2019-04-26 Poem - A Child On a Bed So Soft - On the twenty-sixth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about losing a child.
2019-04-25 Poem - Yes, Sir, I Understand - For the twenty-fifth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about slavery and racism.
2019-04-24 Poem - She Speaks For Death - For the twenty-fourth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little spoiler for a novel I'm planning on writing.
2019-04-23 Poem - Kill Them All - Content Warning for Suicide and Murder For the twenty-third day of National Poetry Month, I have a poem about the horrors of growing up.
2019-04-22 Poem - Pumps and Gears - For the twenty-second day of National Poetry Month, I have a poem about steam engines.
2019-04-21 Poem - The Stone and I Breathe - For the first and twenty day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a poem about attuning oneself to rock.
2019-04-20 Poem - Wisps of Clouds - For the twentieth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about flying. There is something about fliers I love, both the joy of losing oneself in the clouds but also the freedom to move.
2019-04-19 Poem - Unexpected Reduction of Memories - For the nineteenth day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a poem about how telepaths view the world.
2019-04-19 Two Hundred Weeks - About four years ago, I started posting weekly chapters. As of this week, I've been doing that for two hundred consecutive weeks.
2019-04-18 Poem - Ageless and Invulnerable - For the eighteenth day of National Poetry Month, I present a little poem about being immortal. Remarkably, I'm not fond of immortals as a theme.
2019-04-17 Poem - I Am Shadows - For National Poetry Month, I present another poem for day seventeen: I Am Shadows. This is a little piece about assassins using shadow magic.
2019-04-16 Poem - Drifting Thoughts - On the sixteenth day of April, I present another poem for National Poetry Month. Today we have a little piece about high society and telepathy.
2019-04-15 Poem - Damn the Sands - There are three parts to the so-called war between the sun and moon clans: Mifúno. Mifúno is the personification of the desert, kind of a combination of bad luck and death combined into one.
2019-04-14 Poem - The Desert Sleeps - On the fourtheenth days of April, I present another poem for National Poetry Month. Today, the poem is about the conflict between Tachìra and Chobìre, the source of most clan's magic. This also ties into the creation myth for the north western part of the desert.
2019-04-13 Poem - Hush Child - On the thirteenth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little lullaby. I like cadence poetry a lot more than rhyming. In this case, you have 2/3/3/3 syllable pattern. It also fits the pattern I sing to my kids when they are feeling sick.
2019-04-12 Poem - He Said Yes! - For a little sweetness, I wrote a little poem about a trans girl finding a boyfriend. I figured it was a good unicorn chaser to yesterday's poem but also because there are parts of my world that is accepting of trans and queers.
2019-04-11 Poem - Burnt Hills and Embers - I've organized much of my planned ideas for future novels and stories around three phases related to a world war that marks the passage of Fedran from a world of magic to one of industry and steampunk.
2019-04-10 Poem - Soft Browns - For the ninth day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a little poem about racism.
2019-04-09 Poem - Black Skinned Monsters - For the ninth day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a little poem about racism.
2019-04-08 Poem - Inscribing the Rune - On the eighth day of National Poetry Month, I return to one of my favorite topics: crafting.
2019-04-07 Poem - A Stranger - For the seventh day of National Poetry Month, I have a little one about [body integrity dysphoria](Body integrity dysphoria) or the feeling like a limb doesn't belong to yourself.
2019-04-06 Poem - I Love Them All - So, to contrast yesterday's poem for National Poetry Month, I have a poem about polyamory.
2019-04-05 Poem - Leaving My Love - On the fifth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about asexuality.
2019-04-04 Poem - Sand Bites Hard Now - On the fourth day of National Poetry Month, I write a little poem with my least favorite pattern: rhyming.
2019-04-03 Poem - Spin, Drop, Slice - On the third day of National Poetry Month, I have a littlie poem about martial practice.
2019-04-02 Poem - Bunny Tail - For the second day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a little poem about the sexualization and biases of the dalpre as they integrate into society as "free" people.
2019-04-01 Poem - Waiting for Change - For the first day of the month, I wanted to start with a poem about manifesting powers.
2019-04-01 2018 Writing Monies - My high-level breakdown of 2018 incomes and expenses for writing.
2019-03-31 National Poetry Month - I've decided to participate with National Poetry Month for the first time. In my case, this means I'm going to write a poem a day in April. As with the rest of my writing this decade, these poems are going to be focused on Fedran.
2019-02-04 Started on Raging Alone - As we are now coming to the end of Flight of the Scions, it's time to work on the next project. The next one is related to my first series, Raging Alone. After spending a week on it, the first chapters are up for patrons.
2018-12-31 #Lexember 31 - woi - On Lexember 31, 2018, I present "woi."
2018-12-30 #Lexember 30 - zushichya - On Lexember 30, 2018, I present "zushichya."
2018-12-29 #Lexember 29 - ashyobyupa - On Lexember 29, 2018, I present "ashyobyupa."
2018-12-28 #Lexember 28 - ogapi - On Lexember 28, 2018, I present "ogapi."
2018-12-27 #Lexember 27 - ikugafu - On Lexember 27, 2018, I present "ikugafu."
2018-12-26 #Lexember 26 - oteza - On Lexember 26, 2018, I present "oteza."
2018-12-25 #Lexember 25 - kufo - On Lexember 25, 2018, I present "kufo."
2018-12-24 #Lexember 24 - hamani - On Lexember 24, 2018, I present "hamani."
2018-12-23 #Lexember 23 - gatiru - On Lexember 23, 2018, I present "gatiru."
2018-12-22 #Lexember 22 - rimu - On Lexember 22, 2018, I present "rimu."
2018-12-21 #Lexember 21 - pachyun - On Lexember 21, 2018, I present "pachyun."
2018-12-20 #Lexember 20 - faruku - On Lexember 20, 2018, I present "faruku."
2018-12-19 #Lexember 19 - rukan - On Lexember 19, 2018, I present "rukan."
2018-12-18 #Lexember 18 - hiropadu - On Lexember 18, 2018, I present "hiropadu."
2018-12-17 #Lexember 17 - funami - On Lexember 17, 2018, I present "funami."
2018-12-16 #Lexember 16 - ogimo - On Lexember 16, 2018, I present "ogimo."
2018-12-15 #Lexember 15 - hanako - On Lexember 15, 2018, I present "hanako."
2018-12-14 #Lexember 14 - aeno - On Lexember 14, 2018, I present "aeno."
2018-12-13 #Lexember 13 - danichyo - On Lexember 13, 2018, I present "danichyo."
2018-12-12 #Lexember 12 - wufabi - On Lexember 12, 2018, I present "wufabi."
2018-12-11 #Lexember 11 - mobipo - On Lexember 11, 2018, I present "mobipo."
2018-12-10 #Lexember 10 - hofuma - On Lexember 10, 2018, I present "hofuma."
2018-12-09 #Lexember 9 - dodera - On Lexember 9, 2018, I present "dodera."
2018-12-08 #Lexember 8 - rurafu - On Lexember 8, 2018, I present "rurafu."
2018-12-07 #Lexember 7 - ryuma - On Lexember 7, 2018, I present "ryuma."
2018-12-06 #Lexember 6 - rimyo - On Lexember 6, 2018, I present "rimyo."
2018-12-05 #Lexember 5 - ragofuchino - On Lexember 5, 2018, I present "ragofuchino."
2018-12-04 #Lexember 4 - tidona - On Lexember 4, 2018, I present "tidona."
2018-12-03 #Lexember 3 - tejoki - On Lexember 3, 2018, I present "tejoki."
2018-12-02 #Lexember 2 - ryakochyani - On Lexember 2, 2018, I present "ryakochyani."
2018-12-01 #Lexember 1 - gupiji - On Lexember 1, 2018, I present "gupiji."
2018-11-26 Coming up with Jogūchya card names (2 of 2) - I'm finishing the work on naming the various cards.
2018-11-05 Coming up with Jogūchya card names (1 of 2) - I'm working on naming various cards.
2018-10-29 Jogūchya Card Names - I'm expanding the contents of the cards in preparation to drawing and illustrating them.
2018-10-22 Jogūchya Cards - I'm introducing my designs for a deck of cards set in Fedran.
2018-10-15 Introducing Patron-Only Content - As part of my new goals, I'm introducing patron-locked posts. These will contain various subscriber content or previews of upcoming content.
2018-10-11 Using RPG Mechanics to Balance Written Characters - One of the two panels I did at ICON 43 this year was Using RPG Mechanics to Balance Written Characters. This panel focused using RPG games to supplement the writing process. Along the way, I got to bounce ideas off the audience and crystallized some of my thoughts.
2018-10-09 ICON 43 Retrospective - After a four day weekend of having fun at ICON, my home convention, it's time to focus on other things. The fleeting moments, though, are always good to write down.
2018-09-18 My Schedule for ICON 43 - This year, I'm attending ICON 43 including the Author block on Thursday. I hope to see you there!
2018-08-27 Integrating Semantic Versioning into MfGames Writing - How to release a novel or story using MfGames Writing.
2018-08-26 Theming for MfGames Writing - Branding requires a distinct style for writing. Here is how you customize a theme for MfGames Writing to match.
2018-08-25 Additional Formats for MfGames Writing - There are a number of different formats that can be used to generate MfGames Writing output, these are the basics.
2018-08-24 Working with MfGames Writing, CI, and Docker - How to use a continual integration (CI) server to publish projects.
2018-08-23 Adding Content to MfGames Writing - Introduction on how to add different types of content to a MfGames Writing project.
2018-08-22 First Steps Using MfGames Writing (GitLab, NPM) - The initial steps for setting up a new project for publication.
2018-08-21 The Evolution of MfGames Writing - A brief history and reasoning behind MfGames Writing.
2018-08-13 Semantic Versions and Releases for Publishing - Over the last few weeks, I've been tweaking my publishing process to automate more of the release and generation process.
2018-06-17 Flight of the Scions is now beta! - Thanks to the effort of Shannon Ryan, Flight of the Scions is now officially beta. Sadly, I won't be in SPFBO like I hoped.
2018-03-29 The End, NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 44, and Coming Next - Lily's romance is now over. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story. This is the first time I've really written a romance and definitely the first time I've ever written anything more than "fade to black".
2018-03-22 Life Cycles, Second-Hand Dresses 43, and Coming Next - Even though she is no longer in the High Society circles, Lily still has a chance to go to the party to see how Nirih's dress is presented. Nothing prepares her, however, with what else would happen that night.
2018-03-17 Choose My Fate or What's Next? - At this point, Second-Hand Dresses has been drafted and is now entering the pipeline to get published. This means a couple rounds of editing, then saving up money from patrons to pay for editors and printing, and then actually publishing it.
2018-03-15 Crashing, NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 42, and Coming Next - The dress was beautiful and perfect. No one, even the pickiest of people had nothing to say and Lily could finally relax. But how to you relax the day after it happens? Well, two good friends of hers have an idea.
2018-03-09 Sharing Alex Penland's The Second Quatro - Today, Alex Penland is releasing their second book, The Letter Mage: Second Quatro. This series is a collection of short and long stories following the 14-year-old Aleph as he infiltrates the departments of the Lunar University, encountering love, espionage, and academia.
2018-03-08 Underwhelming Projects, Second-Hand Dresses 41, and Coming Next - As we come up to the end, so do the little threads of Lily's life. This week, she finally finished the dress that has been haunting her for weeks. But she isn't alone, she had friends willing to encourage her through the last few steps, like presenting the dress to her mother and Marigold.
2018-03-01 Marriage Proposals, Second-Hand Dresses 40, and Coming Next - As we are in the final stretch of Second-Hand Dresses. As of today, the novel has been drafted out and the rest of the chapters scheduled.
2018-02-22 Skipped Posts, Nearing the End, and NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 39 - Lily has finally finished the dress. It is perfect to everyone except herself. Fortunately for her, her obsession was interrupted by Mindil and Kendrick who are more than willing to distract her.
2018-02-08 Mailing Lists - To make it easier to read my chapters and posts, I've hooked up a number of mailing lists to my various websites. This way, you can get the chapters or my blog posts (or announcements if you want them less frequently) directly to your mail box.
2018-02-01 Shorted Posts, Consent, The End is Nigh, and Second-Hand Dresses 36 - Embarrassed at being caught making out with Mindil, Lily sits down with her two lovers to talk about their future. To her surprise, both are willing to accept the other and Mindil even promises her husband. There is only one thing Lily has to do….
2018-01-25 NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 35 - Working through the tears of her betrayal to her best friend, Lily dreads hearing the door on her store ring out. There were only two people who would show up, both of them ready to ruin her day. It was just a matter of which one would come.
2018-01-18 Second-Hand Dresses 34 - Lily dreaded having lunch with Mindil and Hasan. As much as she adored both of them, the guilt of her adulterous night with Hasan hung over her like a blade poised at her neck.
2018-01-12 2017 Writing Monies - I've summarized both income and expenses over 2017 when it comes to writing and publishing books.
2018-01-11 Second-Hand Dresses 33 - Lily's perfect morning started as she finished the embroidery on Nirih's dress. She is finally able to focus and the dress was finally coming into shape. However, everything is put into risk when Mindil shows up.
2017-12-31 Lexember 31 - norikuchyofune - On Lexember 31, I present norikuchyofune.
2017-12-30 Lexember 30 - watefama - On Lexember 30, I present watefama.
2017-12-29 Lexember 29 - wamuchiso - On Lexember 29, I present wamuchiso.
2017-12-28 Lexember 28 - tsukishi - On Lexember 28, I present tsukishi.
2017-12-27 Lexember 27 - yagumama - On Lexember 27, I present yagumama.
2017-12-26 Lexember 26 - puruna - On Lexember 26, I present puruna.
2017-12-25 Lexember 25 - burukano - On Lexember 25, I present burukano.
2017-12-24 Lexember 24 - hachifobu - On Lexember 24, I present hachifobu.
2017-12-23 Lexember 23 - netune - On Lexember 23, I present netune.
2017-12-22 Lexember 22 - soramifu - On Lexember 22, I present soramifu.
2017-12-21 Lexember 21 - semura - On Lexember 21, I present semura.
2017-12-20 Lexember 20 - gichyoku - On Lexember 20, I present gichyoku.
2017-12-20 Bodice Rippers and NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 30 - When Lily wakes up with a torn dress and a man face-down in her lap, there really is only one thing she can do: try not to get too excited and take a shower. Of course, even a simple task like that can be fraught with dangers.
2017-12-19 Lexember 19 - masotoru - On Lexember 19, I present masotoru.
2017-12-18 Lexember 18 - dakyofu - On Lexember 18, I present dakyofu.
2017-12-17 Lexember 17 - taigona - On Lexember 17, I present taigona.
2017-12-16 Lexember 16 - uichifogu - On Lexember 16, I present uichifogu.
2017-12-15 Lexember 15 - iryoga - On Lexember 15, I present iryoga.
2017-12-14 Lexember 14 - udimo - On Lexember 14, I present udimo.
2017-12-13 Lexember 13 - ditamafu - On Lexember 13, I present ditamafu.
2017-12-13 Emotions, Jealousy, and Second-Hand Dresses 29 - Worried about Kendrick, Lily rushed to the port area to rescue him. What she finds is a drunken water mage trying to drown himself with the memory of her hanging over his head.
2017-12-12 Lexember 12 - datemo - On Lexember 12, I present datemo.
2017-12-11 Lexember 11 - widahogu - On Lexember 11, I present widahogu.
2017-12-10 Lexember 10 - afukijomu - On Lexember 10, I present afukijomu.
2017-12-09 Award-Eligible Works for 2017 - As we come up to the end of the year, here is an exhaustive list of things I've written that are eligible for 2017 awards.
2017-12-09 Lexember 9 - itochyoku - On Lexember 9, I present itochyoku.
2017-12-08 Lexember 8 - pumakyoni - On Lexember 8, I present pumakyoni.
2017-12-07 Lexember 7 - kafuchi - On Lexember 7, I present kafuchi.
2017-12-06 Lexember 6 - monika - On Lexember 6, I present monika.
2017-12-06 Second-Hand Dresses 28 - Frustrated at her lack of progress, Lily creates the design of the dress she feels will work though it would be scandalous for Mindil to wear such an outfit, much less Nirih. However, as she is considering it, she has an unexpected visitor.
2017-12-05 Lexember 5 - gamibita - On Lexember 5, I present gamibita.
2017-12-04 Lexember 4 - bidosomi - On Lexember 4, I present bidosomi.
2017-12-03 Lexember 3 - tsukokimu - On Lexember 3, I present tsukokimu.
2017-12-02 Lexember 2 - chisogura - On Lexember 2, I present chisogura.
2017-12-01 Lexember 1 - hogano - On Lexember 1, I present hogano.
2017-11-29 NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 27 - Encouraged by Tabithas, Lily is ready to face Hasan in her house again. This time, she is sure she will be able to resist his seduction and focus on what is important, keeping her business and her honor by following her mother's threats.
2017-11-22 Birth Control and Second-Hand Dresses 26 - This week, I have a little rant about birth control and introduce the next chapter of Lily's tale.
2017-11-15 Second-Hand Dresses 25 - At Rose Manor, Lily presents herself to her mother who is furious about Lily not finishing Nirih's dress. Stunned and unable to respond, Lily is berated by her mother who threatens one of the things most precious to Lily if she doesn't complete the dress.
2017-11-08 Second-Hand Dresses 24 - While being driven back to Rose Manor, the full impact of the night before strikes Lily. She realizes that she had betrayed Mindil's trust by sleeping with Hasan and the guilt seems to stab her in the loneliness of the carriage.
2017-11-01 NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 23 - After a night of passion, Lily wakes up to Hasan who is still interesting in going a few rounds. Their intimacy is interrupted by Tabithas, who has a dire summon for Lily at her mother's house.
2017-10-25 NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 22 - Hasan serves Lily a feast that sets the stage for her own struggle with her lusts. It doesn't take too long before her ill-fated attempt to relieve her passions backfire and she finds herself falling into the man she had fallen for.
2017-10-23 Fourth Annual Book Bums - In two weeks on Saturday, November 4, I'll be at the Fourth Annual Book Bums Writing Workshop. This is a one-day workshop at the West Liberty Public Library.
2017-10-17 Gender Roles, Guilt, Archetypes, and NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 21 - This week's naughty chapter is about Lily coming home to find Hasan cooking dinner for him. Unexpected, she finds that she wants him even more and her resolve to avoid cheating with Mindil rises up until she is forced to take matters into her own fingers.
2017-10-10 Hair Color, Selling, Children with Parents in Polygamous Relationships, NaNoGenMo, and Second-Hand Dresses 20 - This week is a lovely chapter filled with positive things for Lily including increasing the services she can to offer, kissing Mindil, and learning more about herself. At the same time, we find out Mindil has to go away for a few days to retrieve her children; this triggered a brief conversation about children in polygamous relationships.
2017-10-04 NaNoGenMo, ICON, New Laptop, and NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 19 - I had some technical difficulties this week, so it is a short posting again. This week, Lily is happily working on her dress when she is interrupted once again. This time, it is from Margiold who is in a fury because her daughter's dress isn't done weeks before it was done. Unreasonable? Probably. However when Lily breaks down, she finds comfort from an unexpected source.
2017-09-26 NaNoGenMo Prep, ICON, and Second-Hand Dresses 18 - A short week for the blog post. Lily gets a chance to get Kendrick while they walk home. Nothing raunchy, just sweet.
2017-09-25 ICON Events - My "home" convention is ICON, Iowa's longest running Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions. This year, the convention is September 29–October 1, 2017; just a few days away.
2017-09-20 Rain as a Mood, NaNoGenMo, and Second-Hand Dresses 17 - This week is a sweet little chapter of Lily and Kendrick meeting together in the middle of a water-soaked road, completely with drawn swords and explosions. It ends well, as most of this novel, but it lets me enjoy my favorite weather: rain.
2017-09-12 More on Hair, Eye Colors, Falling Rain, and Second-Hand Dresses 16 - Apparently I wanted to talk about the process of world-building, in specific exploring the repercussions of changing hair color in my world to fit with the image I want instead of what I started with. It lets me move to a world that I want now without breaking the world I've already published. Oh, and Lily goes on a walk.
2017-09-05 Ideal Beauties, Standing Alone, Hair Color, and Second-Hand Dresses 15 - This week, I talk about world-building the ideals of beauty and creating characters who buck those trends. Plus, poor Lily can't get a break on her overwhelming projects when Mindil comes with a surprise interruption of teasing and sweets.
2017-08-29 New Cover, Cover Grammar, and Second-Hand Dresses 14 - This week is a short chapter, mostly a little tease about Lily's and Kendrick's relationship. It also heaps up some distractions up on poor Lily, but she manages to actually complete something and give him a little extra to make his life easier.
2017-08-23 Stalking, Teasing, Masturbation, and NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 13 - This week I talk about Kendrick's stalking, why I like teasing scenes, and briefly only female masturbation in romance novels. I also introduce the chapter where some of Kendrick's secrets come out to reveal a more complicated man.
2017-08-15 Sex, Endings, and NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 12 - This week, I talk a little about my opinions of sex and death as a way of introducing the first chapter that crosses my NSFW threshold.
2017-08-08 Relik da Martin ne Golid, The Unspeakable, and Second-Hand Dresses 11 - This week we introduce a potential conflict of the novel and the reason for Kendrick's difficulties. We'll find out later what Relik da Martin ne Golid has over Kendrick. For the time being, just a little gentleman's introduction into the story.
2017-08-07 Changing Gears - Well, my vacation is all over and I had a blast. I was up in northern Wisconsin for two weeks with coming home in time to do an author event at the local mall. I got a lot done, but time to change gears and focus on commissions for a week or three.
2017-08-01 Mindil, Weight in Romance, and Second-Hand Dresses 10 - This week, we are introduced to the fourth (and final) person that is going to be in the core of Lily's life for the novel. Mindil is a much different character than the others, both in her original purpose but also how she's grown across the novel.
2017-07-25 Maximum Velocity, Using Talents, Times, and Second-Hand Dresses 9 - This short chapter is there to show the passage of time because I really dislike montages in writing. Actually, I don't like them much of anywhere. However, I wanted to show that she is moving forward with Nirih's dress, which is a "backbone" of the tension in this novel.
2017-07-18 Adultery, Boys Will Not Be Boys, and Second-Hand Dresses 8 - Since this is a short, steamy little scene between Lily and Hasan, it is a good time to talk about Hasan being a married to Mindil while kissing Lily. I like this scene because it shows that Hasan has poor control over Lily when it comes to his passion and Lily is no less than receptive of them for her own reasons. It is also intimate and personal, something that both crave at this moment.
2017-07-11 Creative Blocks, High Society Superstitions, Finding Love, and Second-Hand Dresses 7 - This week, Kendrick comes back and interrupts Lily. I also write a little bit about creative/writer's block, romance in restrictive societies, and the bad luck of having a failed duel means to a young woman.
2017-07-05 Origins, Hasan, Second-Hand Dresses 6, Spoilers, The Choice, and One More - This week introduces our second love interest for the novel, Hasan. Lily's life gets more complicated as the two men who were responsible for her not being chosen for a wife have come back into her life, months before she officially becomes a kudame.
2017-06-27 High Society, Naming Conventions, and Second-Hand Dresses 5 - This week is a short little chapter in Second-Hand Dresses which forces Lily to make a decision about her future. The path she chooses will color the events in the near future and eventually her fate.
2017-06-25 Winding down working on Second-Hand Dresses - Well, it's Sunday and time to switch gears on writing projects. I found it easier to treat my overwhelming number of projects as iterations like software development. Work from Monday to Sunday, then decide the next project (which may be the same one). Unfortunately I have some obligations that need to be completed by the end of the month so I have to stop writing Second-Hand Dresses.
2017-06-20 Romance, Bylines, NSFW Scenes, and Second-Hand Dresses 4 - After a few weeks of voting over on Patreon and my forum, the next novel selected is Second-Hand Dresses. This is a much different piece than Sand and Blood and its sequels in that it is a romance and drama piece with little violence and a good and proper Happily Ever After.
2017-06-13 Advent Children, The End, Sand and Bone 35, What's Next - After thirty-five weeks, I've finished serializing Sand and Bone. The novel has been completely edited and posted. It is released as Creative Commons BY-NC-SA. On the website, you can download the EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions of the book. Or you can just read the chapters right on the website.
2017-06-06 Closure, R5-D4 Plots, Patreon, and Sand and Bone 34 - We are now at the penultimate chapter of the novel. Only one more left before we get to the end. This is also one of the more emotional chapters for me because it puts a capstone on one of the longer threads that ran through the entire trilogy.
2017-05-30 Mikáryo, Datobàpo, Flight of the Scions, Patrons, and Sand and Bone 33 - We are rapidly heading over to the end of the novel, only three more chapters including this one. We also get to revisit two characters who were influential in Rutejìmo's life as they get one last chance to give their respects and encouragements.
2017-05-24 State of writing with Markdown, YAML, and Git 2017 - A year ago, at one of my more successful panels at WisCon, I was on a panel with K. Tempest Bradford and Kristine Smith talking about writing processes. I got to see a lot of cool gadgets but I also got a chance to talk about my processes of writing with Markdown, YAML, and Git.
2017-05-23 Giveaways, Patrons, Sorrow Rides a Fast Horse, and Sand and Bone 32 - A busy week as I reach the end of Sand and Bone being serialzied on my website. There are giveaway, decisions, and a call for patrons. Not to mention a short chapter of Rutejìmo night time run.
2017-05-17 Second-Hand Dresses 3 - So, it's been a long time since I've done anything with Second-Hand Dresses but a number of folks on Wattpad stumbled on it so I was feeling guilty about not updating it. This evening, I did a little organization on the first chapter, split it in a half, and then merged it with the first section of the next chapter.
2017-05-16 Master Plots, Book Identifiers, Wind's Teeth, and Sand and Bone 31 - It's hard to believe that I'm near the end of the book. Only a few more chapters left. I'm betting I can abuse Rutejìmo a little more before the end though, besides there are a few plots (but not all) to finish up.
2017-05-13 Anniversary, Website, and Sand and Bone 30 - This week has been a lot late, I apologize for that. I decided to redo the Fedran website and try to fix a few things. Fortunately, this week is a very short chapter that bridges two important scenes.
2017-05-03 Bryan Aiello podcast - This afternoon, I did my first audio interview/conversation about writing. It was with Bryan Aiello and his new podcast.
2017-05-02 A Warrior's Fate, The Noble Death, and Sand and Bone 29 - I've always said that Sand and Bone was inspired by Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven. I love samurai dramas for many reasons, one of them is you don't always know who is going to survive the piece. At the same time, there are very few "cheap" deaths. For a warrior, the noble sacrifice is one of the best ways to die.
2017-04-25 Violence, Mutual Destruction, Midnight Flight, Pacifism, and Sand and Bone 28 - Over the last few months, I've brought up the words that Gichyòbi had said about how he was encouraged to save Rutejìmo from violence. This same encouragement was one (but not the only) reason that Mikáryo took pity on him back in Sand and Blood. Well, this chapter is why that aspect of the world came into place, all of those ideas and little bits paved the way for this chapter.
2017-04-18 Idle Thoughts, Worn Ideas, The Choice, and Sand and Bone 27 - I've thought a lot about my master plot, the different threads and stories that weave together into where I'm going. Even thought Sand and Bone is a single point-of-view novel, it is part of a master plot that I hope to see some day. I'm just doing it novel-by-novel instead o scene-by-scene. However, there is a drawback of thinking about stories too much and I'm afraid of burning out the idea before it can be pried out of my skull.
2017-04-11 Death Marches; Burnout; Publication Status; Sand and Blood v3; Sand and Bone 26 - There are moments in life when everything wears you down and you don't think you can move forward. This week, Rutejìmo is experiencing one of those moments as he focuses on burning a body before continuing his journey. I also talk about how the same death march has affected me in my life. Finally, a status update on the Sand and Bone publication process.
2017-04-05 Losing Wars; Rites of Passage; Information Overload; Sand and Bone 25 - This week, I write a little bit about the history of Wamifūko, their shattered mountain that used to be a fortress, and their rites of passage. There is also a question about world-building and these weekly posts. Finally, Sand and Bone gets into chapter 25 as Rutejìmo has to escape the city to burn the body of his wife's mother.
2017-03-29 Unreliable Narrator; Dragon Spirits; Progress; and Sand and Bone 24 - This week, I talk about the limitations of third-person limited as it pertains to the master plot. Also, the problem with dragons coupled with why Damagar didn't destroy Kanéko in Flight of the Scions. Finally, an update on the finalization process of Sand and Bone.
2017-03-21 Subtle Healing; Progress; and Sand and Bone 23 - I finally get to answer why Rutejìmo can take so much damage and still be walking.
2017-03-15 Editing; Front Matter; Italics; Sand and Bone 22 - Sand and Bone is almost ready for publication. Just a few more steps. Oh, and another chapter being released.
2017-03-07 Teleportation; Midnight Flight; Sand and Bone 21 - Rutejìmo is put into a situation where he has to choose his duties to the clan or the ones to the desert. Which one will he pick? And will the conquences be deadly?
2017-02-28 Power Discovery; Empowered; Sand and Bone 20 - In this chapter, Rutejìmo has a chance to dole out some wisdom that he has learned over the last few books.
2017-02-22 Sand and Bone 19, sorrow, and fear of the dark - One of the common themes in the entire series is that Rutejìmo terrified of the dark. But what happens when unknown assassins are looking for him and he is left with the sorrow of losing his brother?
2017-02-14 Sand and Bone 18 and the noble death - Along with the others, Rutejìmo ends up running for his life. He sees his friends and families for what might be the last time before he sets off on his own perilous journey. Before he goes, however, his brother has one last thing.
2017-02-07 Sand and Bone 17, Choice, and Wisdom - Rutejìmo has come up to a point in his life, where he has to choose between his own life or dying for the clan.
2017-01-31 Sand and Bone 16, R5-D4 plots, and dragons - We've gotten to a lovely chapter where two series intersect blatantly and the reader can get a hint of where I'm going with Flight of the Scions.
2017-01-24 Sand and Bone 15 and speaking for gods - Sometimes the simplest of phrases can be the most powerful. To stop a death, Rutejìmo makes a declaration that ruins my entire purpose of writing the series and becomes a hero.
2017-01-17 Sand and Bone 14, felony feedback, the Call, and anime fights - This week, we have a lot of violence, destruction, and a really bad idea. I talk a little bit about the mechanics of magic and the Call.
2017-01-10 Sand and Bone 13, Nudity verses sex, Struggling for money - Another chapter of Sand and Bone with the clan making a choice to accept the job or not. In addition, a brief discussion about nudity and sex along with one about struggling for money.
2017-01-03 Sand and Bone 12, HERO system, and pacing - We are now into the second arc of Sand and Bone, where things start to speed up greatly and the bloodbath is going to commence. While I'm setting it up, I talk a little bit about pacing for the book and how I use the HERO System to manage my fantasy.
2016-12-31 On #lexember 31, I present nakasabyofino or the joy of finishing a good book - On the last day of Lexember, I give you a word for the joy of finishing a good book.
2016-12-30 On #lexember 30, I present tsudoku or an unread book - On the thirtieth day of Lexember, I give you a word for an unread book.
2016-12-29 On #lexember 29, I present takawumofu or paper cut - On the third to last day of Lexember, I give you a word for paper cut.
2016-12-28 On #lexember 28, I present wamifi or paper - On the twenty-eighth day of Lexember, I give you a word for paper.
2016-12-28 Sand and Bone 11, foreshadowing, third person limited, and big cities - Safely back at the city, Rutejìmo spends a leisurely day exploring the city. At least until Dimóryo finds him again.
2016-12-27 On #lexember 27, I present hagomami or accounting or book of accounts - On the twenty-seventh day of Lexember, I give you a word for accounting or book of accounts.
2016-12-26 On #lexember 26, I present akuregima or a book or registry of taxes owed - On the 26th day of Lexember, I give you a word for a book or registry of taxes owed.
2016-12-25 On #lexember 25, I present rogami or a registry or list of items - On the twenty-fifth day of Lexember, I give you a word for a registry or list of items.
2016-12-24 On #lexember 24, I present kojinomi kikochyo fakóri, The Book of Ash - On the twenty-fourth day of Lexember, I give you a word for The Book of Ash.
2016-12-23 On #lexember 23, I present nigafokura or a children's book or written story - On the twenty-third day of Lexember, I give you a word for a children's book or written story.
2016-12-22 On #lexember 22, I present fakori or a bound book - On the twenty-second day of Lexember, I give you a word for a bound book.
2016-12-21 On #lexember 21, I present paryumichya or written instructions - On the twenty-first day of Lexember, I give you a word for written instructions.
2016-12-21 Sand and Bone 10 and hair styles - Rutejìmo returns to Kosobyo City and finds himself in an unfamiliar civilization that only vaguely resembled his own. Also a little bit on hair.
2016-12-20 On #lexember 20, I present sakofukika or a formalized description of a battle or fight - On the twentieth day of Lexember, I give you a word for a formalized description of a battle or fight.
2016-12-19 On #lexember 19, I present konufichya or essays or other factual descriptions - On the nineteenth day of Lexember, I give you a word for essays or other factual descriptions.
2016-12-18 On #lexember 18, I present bifochyo or the western style of writing with vowels as accents on the consonants. - On the eighteenth day of Lexember, I give you a word for the western style of writing with vowels as accents on the consonants..
2016-12-17 On #lexember 17, I present chofachi or the northern and eastern style of writing with separate vowels on the same line as the consonants - On the seventeenth day of Lexember, I give you a word for the northern and eastern style of writing with separate vowels on the same line as the consonants.
2016-12-16 On #lexember 16, I present pafagukiki or printed advertisement, such as a poster or in a newspaper - On the sixteenth day of Lexember, I give you a word for printed advertisement, such as a poster or in a newspaper.
2016-12-15 On #lexember 15, I present pifagiki or advertisement - On the fifteenth day of Lexember, I give you a word for advertisement.
2016-12-14 On #lexember 14, I present kosonomichyu or the details of how words are written or typed - On the fourteenth day of Lexember, I give you a word for the details of how words are written or typed.
2016-12-14 Sand and Bone 9, a little lesson on Miwāfu, gender in the desert, and speaking for the spirits - A grandfather looking for revenge and a man who cannot stop him.
2016-12-13 On #lexember 13, I present wafukiki or a newspaper or poster - On the thirteenth day of Lexember, I give you a word for a newspaper or poster.
2016-12-12 My publications for 2016 - As we approach the end of the year, there is a consolidate list of the pieces I've published in 2016.
2016-12-12 On #lexember 12, I present mafachichi or the sound of a mechanical printing press operating - On the twelfth day of Lexember, I give you a word for the sound of a mechanical printing press operating.
2016-12-11 On #lexember 11, I present mikodojyu or writing of prayers on sand using a finger - On the eleventh day of Lexember, I give you a word for writing of prayers on sand using a finger.
2016-12-10 On #lexember 10, I present nijijya or the art of writing on temporary places such as sand or water - On the tenth day of Lexember, I give you a word for the art of writing on temporary places such as sand or water.
2016-12-09 On #lexember 9, I present the fine art of the written marriage proposal or hyagofachyo - On the ninth day of Lexember, I give you a word writing a marriage proposal.
2016-12-08 On #lexember 8, I present chyukofecho or legal writing or word puzzles - On the eighth day of Lexember, I give you a word for legal contracts and word puzzles.
2016-12-07 On #lexember 7, I give you binafichu or using writing in architecture - On the seventh day of Lexember, we have a word for writing using buildings and architecture.
2016-12-07 Sand and Bone 8, and traditional verses contemporary worship - Chapter eight is a quiet chapter that sets the tone for what will be Rutejìmo inner struggle for the book.
2016-12-06 On #lexember 6, I present edamofachya or the art of writing with embroidery - On the sixth day of Lexember, we have a word for writing with embroidery or sewing.
2016-12-05 On #lexember 5, I present nupyakofichu or the art of miniature writing - On the fifth day of Lexember, I have a word for writing tiny letters.
2016-12-04 On #lexember 4, I have nefocho or writing on persistent objects - On the fourth day of Lexember, I have a word for the medium of writing.
2016-12-03 On #lexember 3, I present nupyako for measuring the balance of type elements - On the third day of Lexember, I include a typesetting measurement.
2016-12-02 pideki #lexember 2 - On the second day of Lexember, I include a foot in my master plan.
2016-12-01 pyoke #lexember 1 - On the first day of Lexember, I started by journey with the smallest finger.
2016-11-30 Sand and Bone 7, coming into power, and the powers of the dead - I'm done to only a single weekly serial right now and we pick right up at chapter seven where Rutejìmo learns that all the pain he suffered in the last book comes with an interesting yet terrifying benefit.
2016-11-26 The last chapters of Flight of the Scions - I've posted the last chapters of Flight of the Scion for my subscribers. After this, I'm making a few changes to subscriptions.
2016-11-09 Sand and Bone 6, Flight of the Scions 40, and connected plots - We are only a single chapter from the climax of Flight of the Scions. I talk about it and how it connects to Sand and Bone.
2016-11-01 Sand and Bone 5, Flight of the Scions 39, splitting novels, and Exalted - I played Exalted for a long time and I knew it wouldn't be long before it showed up in my writing. This week, you can see hints of that.
2016-10-31 Writing with Markdown and YAML - I realized that it's been a while since I wrote up how I write with Markdown and YAML. This is the current state of my technique of writing.
2016-10-25 Sand and Bone 4, Flight of the Scions 38, and preparations - In the two chapters this week, we have two forms of preparing going on: one for the final battle and the other for a journey about to start.
2016-10-18 Sand and Bone 3, Flight of the Scions 37, and epic fights - This week, I introduce the plot for Sand and Ash while Kanéko has the epic fight that I original intended to write.
2016-10-11 Sand and Bone 2, Flight of the Scions 36 - I never realized how hard it is to reintroduce characters on the third book of a series. At the same time, I love writing about mature characters. On the other hand, I also have a chapter about a very immature young woman and her awareness of psychics.
2016-10-04 Sand and Bone 1, Flight of the Scions 35 - This week, I start the serialization of Sand and Bone, the third and final book of Rutejìmo's story.
2016-09-20 Sand and Blood is finished! - After just over seven months of weekly posting, Sand and Blood has now been released as a Creative Common novels.
2016-09-13 Sand and Blood 29, Flight of the Scions 34 - These two chapters focus on social roles and positions between different characters and their relationships.
2016-09-06 Sand and Blood 28, Flight of the Scions 33, and social rules - These two chapters focus on social roles and positions between different characters and their relationships.
2016-08-31 Sand and Blood 27, Flight of the Scions 32, and mistakes - Life is about failure, it is the only way to get ahead. This week's chapter is about iterative failures. Plus news about Sand and Bone.
2016-08-23 Sand and Blood 26, Flight of the Scions 31, and doubt - This week, both series talk about doubt in different forms: violence and death for Rutejìmo and Kanéko has her questions about her father.
2016-08-16 Sand and Blood 25, Flight of the Scions 30, and character depth - Both serials are at a turning point as we head into the conclusion for both. Also a bit about other books in the Rutejìmo series.
2016-08-10 Sand and Blood 24, Flight of the Scions 29, and teachers - Sometimes, we have a few lessons that need to be taught before all the action starts again. This chapter has a few quite moments.
2016-08-02 Sand and Blood 23, Flight of the Scions 28, and giant telepathic toads - This week, I introduce the villain of our story, a giant telepathic toad that terrorizes Kanéko and her friends. And Rutejìmo shows that he has a backbone.
2016-07-27 Sand and Blood 21-22, Flight of the Scions 27, powers, and secrets - Both trios find out a bit of their enemies this week along with revealing secrets for everyone. Plus Sand and Ash is out.
2016-07-13 Sand and Blood 20, Flight of the Scions 26, death, and lessons - A smattering of lessons, both about death and more cheerful things. We are getting to some of the more interesting parts of both novels.
2016-07-06 Sand and Blood 19, Flight of the Scions 25, and recovering from action - This week, both Kanéko and Rutejìmo are dealing with the conquences of their action scenes in the previous chapter.
2016-06-29 Sand and Blood 18, Flight of the Scions 24, seeing in the dark, and violence - This week, both chapters have to deal with the same topic: fighting in the dark. This shows my love of the specific troupe but both stories go about it in very different ways.
2016-06-22 Sand and Blood 17, Flight of the Scions 23, magical healing, and power addiction - Just another pair of discussions with both serials. I talk a little bit about magical healing and the addiction of power, not to mention conventions that I'm using with other languages and telepathy.
2016-06-15 Sand and Blood 16, Flight of the Scions 22, and differing personalities
2016-06-13 Why I go to WisCon to be uncomfortable - I go to WisCon for a number of reasons, but probably the biggest one is that I go to be uncomfortable.
2016-06-12 Trigger Warnings - I've been thinking about Jim C. Hines' post about trigger warnings for a few months now. In the process of re-releasing two books, I decided to do something about it.
2016-06-08 Sand and Blood 15, Flight of the Scions 21, and telepathic computers - After a few weeks of taking a break, I'm back to my serials. This week, we have a bit of introspection and a naming of the Big Bad.
2016-06-06 WisCon Retrospective - It's been a week since I got back from WisCon, time to talk about it. I should have done it sooner, but I have a few things going on.
2016-05-18 Sand and Blood 14, Flight of the Scions 20, and being weaker - Not every story has a Big Bad, the evil villain that makes the hero's job miserable. Sometimes the demons are inside the character's head. The chapters this week demonstrate both.
2016-05-18 WisCon Schedule - In just over a week, I'll be at WisCon on a few panels, doing a reading, and generally having fun.
2016-05-11 Sand and Blood 13, Flight of the Scions 19, angels, and types of intelligence - Looking at Flight of the Scions, it's obvious that my main characters are actually rather intelligent.
2016-05-04 Sand and Blood 12, Flight of the Scions 18, speech patterns, and the Industrial Age - One of the difficult parts of writing Flight of the Scions is getting Ruben's speech pattern right. Also a brief discussion of mechanical devices in Fedran.
2016-04-20 Sand and Blood 10, Flight of the Scions 16, and gaining powers - Magical talents are one of the underlying aspects of Fedran, but how everyone gains their powers is wildly different.
2016-04-13 Sand and Blood 9, Flight of the Scions 15 (again), five chapters of Sand and Bone, and injuries - I reworked chapter fifteen of Flight of the Scions, made another chapter of Sand and Blood available, opened up five chapters of Sand and Bone to subscribers, and talked about ending chapters.
2016-04-06 Sand and Blood 8, Flight of the Scions 13 (again) - I said I was going to take a little break, but I lied. Sand and Blood is starting to be serialized and I reworked Flight of the Scions 13.
2016-03-30 Sand and Ash - Well, this is the end. Yeah, it's a week early, but I decided to post the final two chapters at once. It is a sad moment for me, mainly because there is a lot of me in this novel but I'm also glad that I got a chance to do this.
2016-03-23 Sand and Ash 34 - The climax of Sand and Ash but one that comes in a whispered confession to a man who can't speak.
2016-03-16 Sand and Ash 33, Flight of the Scions 14, miscarriages, and abortion - When I originally wrote this and the next chapter for Sand and Ash, I was in the middle of dealing with a miscarriage. There is no question that this part of the story is influenced by my experiences.
2016-03-09 Sand and Ash 32, Flight of the Scions 14, and doubt - As Sand and Ash comes into the final stretch, we are dealing with a non-typical fantasy ending. At the same time, we are also coming to where Flight of the Scions becomes two separate books.
2016-03-02 Sand and Ash 31, Flight of the Scions 13, living, and dying - Sand and Ash hits the epiphany that I originally never planed, Rutejìmo's purpose in life. In Flight of the Scions, Kanéko realizes that she may have made a mistake.
2016-02-24 Sand and Ash 30, Flight of the Scions 12, foreshadowing, and magical healing - In Sand and Ash, I realized that I'm already foreshadowing the third book of the series while Rutejìmo finds unexpected allies while he was dead. In Flight of the Scions, Kanéko meets one of the few healers I plan on ever writing for this world.
2016-02-17 Sand and Ash 29, Flight of the Scions 11, suicide, and racism - While Rutejìmo is struggling with guilt as he plans on leaving Mapábyo, Kanéko is being attacked for being nothing more than curious and black.
2016-02-10 Sand and Ash 28, Flight of the Scions 10, and depression - A dark chapter for poor Rutejìmo who is dealing poorly with being home but ignored. For Kanéko, a bright chapter as she approaches the Boar Hunt Inn. And a bit of discussion about miscarriage and depression.
2016-02-03 Sand and Ash 27, Flight of the Scions 9, getting caught, and being a fool - Happiness is a hard thing to find, more so for characters in my world. Rutejìmo finds stability while being dead, alternating between working hard hours and spending time with his love. Kanéko, on the other hand, is humiliated in front of everyone including the boy she is falling for.
2016-01-27 Sand and Ash 26, Flight of the Scions 8, and mistakes - This week Rutejìmo gets a hint of what he is becoming and Kanéko finds herself falling for a boy.
2016-01-20 Sand and Ash 25, Flight of the Scions 7, and love - This week Mapábyo gets Rutejìmo to talk about his love for another woman and Kanéko makes a humiliating mistake while trying to prevent a larger one.
2016-01-13 Sand and Ash 24, Flight of the Scions 6, and dog girls - And one of my favorite characters, the absolutely adorable Maris, is finally introduced to the readers.
2016-01-10 2015 Writing Income - Following up with last year's post on writing monies and inspired by Jim C. Hines' own posts, here is an update on the financial side of my career as a writer.
2016-01-06 Sand and Ash 23, Flight of the Scions 5, Falling in Love, and Dreams - Two big moments for both Sand and Ash as well as Flight of the Scions. Rutejìmo finally declares his love and Kanéko dreams of proving herself to her father.
2015-12-30 Sand and Ash 22, Flight of the Scions 4, Hard Lessons, and Garèo - In the fourth chapter of Flight of the Scions, we introduce one of my favorite, screwed-up characters.
2015-12-23 Sand and Ash 21, Flight of the Scions 3, Rejection - This week we have two very different stories going on, both of my characters are setting out on their paths.
2015-12-16 Sand and Ash 20, Flight of the Scions 2, Obsession, and Hope - This week is Sand and Ash 20 and the second chapter of Flight of the Scions both talk about obsession and hope.
2015-12-09 Sand and Ash 19, Flight of the Scions 1 - This week is Sand and Ash 19 and the first chapter of Flight of the Scions, including some reasons of where Flight came from and where I'm going with all of this.
2015-12-02 Sand and Ash 18, Flight of the Scions, and Second-Hand Dresses - Chapter eighteen is a short one, but there were some interesting things happening outside of the novel worth talking about including starting to release Flight of the Scions as a Patreon-only reward.
2015-11-25 Sand and Ash 17, Autism, and Making Mistakes - The seventeenth chapter is the point where Rutejìmo realizes the biggest mistake he had made: failing to understand how much Mapábyo loves him.
2015-11-18 Sand and Ash 16, Banyosiōu - Banyosiōu, someone who lost their clan. I never planned on having a word for this when I started this novel, but it became a gateway into something far deeper than I could ever imagine.
2015-11-15 MfGames Culture work, Reviews, and other plans - Among many other things, I've been working on a Javascript version of MfGames Culture and got something to show off.
2015-11-11 Sand and Ash 15, Phrases of Affection - I rarely think about what I'm writing. Call it intuitive or just being a pantser. I wasn't thinking when I wrote this chapter, but it ended up being the first time I've used a phrase that would be the hallmark of the rest of the series.
2015-11-04 Sand and Ash 14, Drinking - Abandoned by everyone he knew, Rutejìmo retreated to a bar to lick his wounds and drown himself in a mug of alcohol. But sooner or later, the money would run out and then where would he be?
2015-10-28 Sand and Ash 13, Mikáryo - Chapter thirteen could best be described as ‘tough love,’ both in what the main character went through but also why.
2015-10-21 Sand and Ash 12, Punishments, Closure - Chapter twelve will be an uncomfortable one for some readers, but one that I think is critical for the story and plot. It is violent and sad, but one that sets Rutejìmo on a path that he needs to travel.
2015-10-18 Followup for ICON 40 - A followup for the last four days of glorious fun at ICON.
2015-10-14 Sand and Ash 11, Sterility - In the desert, warriors dedicate their entire lives to protecting their clan. With their powers comes many disadvantages, including sterility.
2015-10-04 Sand and Ash 10 and Tsubàyo - The tenth chapter of Sand and Ash surprised me when I wrote it, mainly because one character was entirely unexpected.
2015-09-30 Sand and Ash 09 and a hint of what is coming - The ninth chapter of Sand and Ash is all about making decisions, some good and some poor.
2015-09-23 Sand and Ash 08 and working too hard - The eighth chapter of Sand and Ash introduces the first new clan for the book. And one of the many warriors in Rutejìmo's life.
2015-09-16 Sand and Ash 07 and falling in love badly - The seventh chapter of Sand and Ash is when most of the readers realized that Rutejìmo is an idiot or at least blind. And that's a good thing.
2015-09-09 Sand and Ash 06, Faríhyo, and Kiríshi - The sixth chapter of Sand and Ash gives a chance to give some of the women in Rutejìmo's life a bit more screen time.
2015-09-02 Sand and Ash 05 and Being Subtle - The fifth chapter of Sand and Ash introduces some ideas behind the desert culture. They don't tell someone they are doing something wrong, they guide them to the conclusion that needs to be made.
2015-08-26 Sand and Ash 04 and Being Different - The fourth chapter of Sand and Ash is now available. Also some discussions of being an outsider.
2015-08-21 Tarsan Famlies, Building Cultures, and Naming - While writing a highly ritualized culture that is centered around families, how to name and address them can be one of the most complicated steps.
2015-08-19 Sand and Ash 03, Pacifism, and the Chosen One - The third chapter of Sand and Ash is now available. Also some discussions of warrior's sterility, Rutejìmo's pacifism, and Chimípu being the Chosen One.
2015-08-09 Sand and Ash, Creative Commons, and Patreon - Years ago, I almost made my first novel Creative Commons licensed but I didn't have the courage. This time, I'm going to do it.
2015-07-20 Mechanical Writing - Author Intrusion, though I think it will help my writing, has a risk of getting caught in the objective and mechanical aspects of writing.
2015-06-22 Changes - Life is about changes, both the little changes that happen from day to day and the big ones. In this case, it is the little changes of how I connect with readers online.
2015-06-01 Family Trip and WisCon 39 - A few weeks ago, I went on my big trip for the year which included four days at the family cabin and four days at WisCon, one of my two conventions of the year.
2015-05-06 WisCon and Bloodbond - I've gotten the final schedule for WisCon and I have two events. In addition, I got myself on the cover of another magazine, Bloodbond.
2015-04-12 Writing News - It's been a few weeks since I've written about writing. Since then, I've managed to finish the third draft for Sand and Bone, drafted Raging Alone, and had a friend create an album with my lyrics.
2015-03-25 Sand and Blood v1.2.0 - While creating the fictionary for Sand and Blood, we found a typo in the book. I decided to use that opportunity to switch distributors, add italics, and fix that one little bug.
2015-03-15 Creating a Fictionary - Over the last week, I've been creating a fictionary for Sand and Blood. Here are my experiences of the process.
2015-02-25 What Is Going On Now? - It's been a few weeks since I last posted. When I work on projects, I have a tendency to go silent because I could either post or I could work on it. But, here is what is going on.
2015-02-19 Trysts of Fate - February 2015 - Today, I got my contributor's copy for Trysts of Fate where I have a short story inside.
2015-02-06 Outposts of Beyond - This Thursday, I got a contributor's copy of Outposts of Beyond. It never gets old to see my name on the cover of anything.
2015-01-26 Meandering This Week - I spent the last few weeks getting things off my to do list so I could focus on Author Intrusion, but it looks like I need another week or so before that happens.
2015-01-19 Forgotten Story - Best of Enemies - Back in 2011, I wrote a humorous fantasy story called Best of Enemies. It had a six month exclusive contract, but I had forgotten it until a few days ago. Since it won't be published anywhere else, here it is.
2015-01-06 2014 Writing Income - I haven't really considered writing as anything more than a hobby until 2012, but I've been tracking my income and expenses since 2002. Here is a breakdown of my writing income.
2015-01-05 Rolling up the Weekend - It was a productive week, mainly knocking things off my to do list, working on Journals, and being slightly stressed out.
2015-01-01 Tarsan Standard Calendar - Partially in response to a Reddit challenge and also for detail work for Journals of Fedran, I needed to come up with the Tarsan Standard Calendar. This is how the calendar came to be.
2014-12-28 Journals of Fedran is at a stopping point - After two months of working, Journals of Fedran is finally at a stopping point.
2014-12-17 Journals of Fedran covers - One of the hardest parts is coming up with a visual style for something. But, using the inspiration for Journals, I have come up with the covers for the issues and the individual stories.
2014-12-15 Journals of Fedran progress - After a weekend of working on things, I've pretty happy with my progress on the Journals project.
2014-12-05 I'm Not Your Target Audience - As I'm writing these difference pieces for Journals, I realize that I'm going to be hearing a phrase a lot: I'm not your target audience.
2014-12-01 Journals of Fedran idea - For the last month or so, I had an idea of how to expand on my fantasy world, Fedran, by showing the wide variety of stories that exist in my head.
2014-11-03 ICON 39 Retrospective - This year I was able to go to two days of ICON 39, one of the two conventions that I was planning on going this year. It was a fun two days of writing and talking.
2014-10-22 Why I chose the desert - I find my reasons for doing things to be fascinating. And when someone asks why, I usually try to answer it. One of the more recent one was my decision to set Sand and Blood in the desert.
2014-10-14 Scheduling Delays - After a small set of setbacks, it has become obvious that Sand and Ash won't be coming out by the end of the year.
2014-10-05 Reorganizing my Git writing repository - Last night, I completely reorganized my writing repository to get around some limitations of Git.
2014-09-26 Sand and Blood is mostly updated - The latest version of Sand and Blood is now available in all the stories. This includes copy editing and some clarifications, resulting in version 1.1.0.
2014-09-07 Sands - A status update on the Rutejìmo series, including a little bit of humiliation.
2014-08-25 Something completely different - For my birthday, my wife gave me a weekend alone. Originally, I planned on coding until the wee hours of the morning but then I decided to work on my novel instead.
2014-08-16 R5-D4 Plots - My philosophy for Fedran stories comes from a single conversation with a friend right before Star Wars I, The Phantom Menace, came out.
2014-08-08 Mailing lists and social networking - I realized that I haven't been obvious everywhere I hang my hat on social networks. Here is a list along with what I post where.
2014-08-07 Author Intrusion - Names - One of the complexities of authors is their names. I want to avoid making an assumption of how they are displayed and used. At the same time, I want to reuse the logic to handle character names within the story.
2014-07-15 Smashwords sale and GoodReads giveaway - Announcing Smashwords sale and a GoodReads giveaway for Sand and Blood.
2014-07-05 Adding novel quotes - As part of the final steps for Sand and Blood, I've created a number of pages for the quotes that start every chapter.
2014-07-03 What is in a name? - One of the barriers of entry of Sand and Blood is the main character's name, Rutejìmo. As much as this hurts my chance of selling the book, there is a reason behind it.
2014-06-29 Match Book Pricing - On Amazon, if you buy the print version, you can get the ebook version for free.
2014-06-09 Fulfilling an Obligation - Twenty-one years ago, I made a promise to myself that I would dedicate my first book to my high school teachers. I finally did that, but now I need to let them know.
2014-05-20 Sand and Blood is finally here! - After three years, Sand and Blood has finally been published.
2014-05-16 Choosing between two Sand and Blood covers - I'm down to two different covers, but I can't decide. A request for opinions on the two.
2014-05-09 Always one more thing - So many things to do to get a novel out. A list of things I think I have left.
2013-12-02 No Author Intrusion for November (and probably December)
2012-06-01 Finding sentences that start off the same with Perl
2012-05-13 Killing off characters and the hate mail that follows
2008-11-13 Is it better to feel sick or to feel like a writer?
2008-06-26 Running Bomb votes are in! (and a snippet from Scions)
2008-01-25 Shadow Over Shandahar by T. R. Chowdhury and T. M. Crim
2008-01-08 Scroll of the Lands and 10 things about my writing
2007-09-26 Epiphanies in BooGame, plans for CuteGod and writing
2007-09-17 Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
2007-05-11 White Wolf submission, posted New Girl, married 7 years!
2007-04-09 Finished The New Girl (formerly known as Engines)