Second-Hand Dresses
Second-Hand Dresses is an erotic romance novel set in the Fedran universe.
2024-09-27 Bakfu and OCI Containers - Thoughts on scope creep, OCI containers, and why I still need Bakfu for package management.
2024-10-20 SPFBO and Flight of the Scions - Just thoughts on Flight of the Scions being DNFd for SPFBO 2024.
2024-12-31 The End of 2024 - The final thoughts of 2024.
2023-06-24 Fedran Infrastructure - In the last month, I've been doing a lot of writing and programming. I also finished a good-sized around of "fun coding" with Fedran.
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….
2018-02-22 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.
2018-03-29 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".
2018-03-01 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.
2018-03-08 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.
2018-03-15 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.
2018-03-22 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.
2018-01-25 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.
2018-01-11 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.
2018-01-12 2017 Writing Monies - I've summarized both income and expenses over 2017 when it comes to writing and publishing books.
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.
2021-11-30 Using Nix - Today, I finished putting the final touches on additional features for
generator-mfgames-writing, my scaffolding generator for Yeoman that lets me set up writing projects quickly.2021-08-01 Secret Romance Readers Interview - Some time ago, I did an online interview about being a male romance readers. I had forgotten about it for a while, but then stumbled onto the link again and realized I never posted about it online.
2021-10-03 Second-Hand Dresses delayed - Second-Hand Dresses is not going to be released this year.
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.
2015-07-20 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.
2015-12-02 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.
2015-04-12 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.
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.
2019-04-16 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.
2019-04-11 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.
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.
2017-11-01 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.
2017-11-08 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.
2017-11-15 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.
2017-11-22 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.
2017-09-20 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.
2017-09-26 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.
2017-08-29 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.
2017-08-01 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.
2017-08-08 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.
2017-08-15 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.
2017-08-23 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.
2017-07-25 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.
2017-10-25 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.
2017-10-10 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.
2017-10-17 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.
2017-12-20 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.
2017-12-06 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.
2017-12-13 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.
2017-05-16 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.
2017-05-17 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.
2017-06-25 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.
2017-06-27 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.
2017-06-13 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.
2022-03-19 ABC Did a Beautiful Job Siding My House - Last week, we got siding put on our house. It is beautiful and ABC did a wonderful job installing it. While that is a relief, there are still things I need to work on.
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.
2022-08-27 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.