Journey to the Water Chapter LIV: The Ring-Fort

Journey to the Water cover image: three evergreen trees stand on a hillside, shrouded in bluish fog. Subtitle reads: the sequel to Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea.

Table of Contents

I left Gallia behind, and it receded until it was only a bright spot against a hazy horizon. Then it and the sea beyond were gone, and everything became green, from the canopy overhead to the moss under Bran’s hooves. Only the sky remained a stubborn gray. Rain fell in brief fits from an impenetrable layer of cloud, and the wind blew cold. Autumn was coming to the North, and it would reach me here before long. 

For now, though, the forest was emerald green, and the birds sang summer songs in its branches. After the first day out of the city, the stream of caravans in and out of its gates slowed to a trickle. By the time a week had passed, I saw another traveler only once every few days. I sang as well, as I rode, a rowing song of the frost-cold sea, to warn anyone else on the road of my presence and reassure them that I was not a bandit lying in wait for them. 

Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter LIV: The Ring-Fort” →

New Patreon Post/ Journey to the Water Chapter LV

“You are welcome in my hall, Eske of the Bear Clan,” Oeric said. “If you are as brave as you were in your tale, you will serve me well against the barbarians.”

Chapter LV: The Hall of King Oeric

An ambitious warlord’s even more ambitious son, a missing relic, and a long-brewing civil war: Eske has found himself in a pickle yet again. You can read this chapter right now on Patreon.

Song of the Week

Lucette, “Bobby Reid”

Good morning!

First, an annoucement: I am a last-minute addition to Chapter One of the Kenosha Book Festival, hosted by Studio Moonfall! It will take place on Sunday, April 28 from 10-3 at 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI. Here’s a link to the Facebook event.

As usual, I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon tomorrow, and last week’s chapter will be here Wednesday.

Petitions for this week:

Via MoveOn.org: No U.S. tax dollars for weapons to harm civilians in Gaza

Via Win Without War: Suspend military aid to Israel until humanitarian aid access is improved across Gaza

The sun is shining for the first time in weeks. I hope you are well. Thanks for stopping by!

Journey to the Water Chapter LIII: Departing Once More

Journey to the Water cover image: three evergreen trees stand on a hillside, shrouded in bluish fog. Subtitle reads: the sequel to Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea.

Table of Contents

Ashoka fell quiet, gazing up at the kingly statue. It was as though I fell out of his awareness, disappearing along with the city in the fading sunlight. In Phyreios, he and I had barely spoken—until the very end, he believed in the might and benevolence of the Ascended, so we had little to speak about. He’d called Khalim a charlatan and a sorcerer, and me a barbarian. I’d had no kinder terms with which to address him, though I’d had few occasions to do so. 

But here stood a man with a familiar face, who had seen the triumphs and the horrors I had seen. Here stood a man whose gods had betrayed him. Though the animosity between us remained, filling the temple’s air with a tension like a taut bowstring, I could not yet bring myself to turn from him. 

“You haven’t found a god here?” I asked. “I count seven.” 

Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter LIII: Departing Once More” →

New Patreon Post/ Journey to the Water Chapter LIV

“Take this man outside and cut off his head,” he said. “You can hang it from the wall as an example to the others.”

Chapter LIV: The Ring-Fort

We’re starting a new arc! Eske arrives at his destination and is met with hostility. You can read this chapter right now on Patreon.

Song of the Week

Máire Brennan, “The Days of the Dancing”

It’s Monday again. Hi.

Not much to report this week; I’ll be working to finish this draft of Journey to the Water before the month is out. Since I’ll be working all day Tuesday, there will be a new chapter up on Patreon on Wednesday, and last week’s chapter will be here for free reading on Thursday.

Also, the Spring Primary election in Wisconsin (and elsewhere) is tomorrow! Don’t forget to vote!

I’m trying to read more independently published books this year, so if you’re an indie author or know one, you can recommend me your/their book and I’ll do my best to check it out! I prefer fantasy, sci-fi, and/or horror, and I try not to buy from Amazon if I can help it. I’ll be posting short, honest reviews on Goodreads, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as wherever I bought the book. I am Very Bad at social media, so this is my way to get involved with my community and support fellow authors.

Here are some petitions I’ve signed over the past week, and maybe you’d like to sign them too:

Via Just Foreign Policy: Demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza

Via Win Without War: Call on Pres. Biden to pressure the Israeli government to increase aid now

Via Avaaz: Stop This War

I think that’s everything for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Newsletter News, and a domain!

So, last month, new regulations went into effect that made it so I couldn’t send my newsletter from my Gmail account. As I understand it, the major email providers changed how they determine what is and isn’t spam, and sending a mass email from a free account made it very likely that said email would end up in the spam filter. The service that I use to format and send my newsletter, MailerLite, wouldn’t let me send out the newsletter until I registered a domain, created an email address for that domain, and verified and authenticated both the domain and the email.

After much deliberation, I upgraded my WordPress account. You may notice that there are no longer ads on this page! You may also notice that your bookmark or link to cranewrites.wordpress.com automatically redirects to spacewhalespress.com. You don’t need to update your bookmarks, unless you really want to.

Without further ado, the March edition of the newsletter is coming out at noon my time (US Central Daylight) on Sunday, March 31, and should continue to come out at noon on the last day of the month for the foreseeable future. If you aren’t subscribed yet, and need more cat pictures in your life, you can do so at this link. There’s another link down at the bottom of the page, under the WordPress subscription button (bottom right on desktop, all the way down on mobile).

Thanks for your patience! Have a good weekend.

Journey to the Water Chapter LII: A Temple of Faces

Journey to the Water cover image: three evergreen trees stand on a hillside, shrouded in bluish fog. Subtitle reads: the sequel to Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea.

Table of Contents

Of all the strange things that Deinaros had told me, and of all the evil that I had seen in the pages of his book, nothing disturbed me more than this key he asked me to retrieve. A blade of obsidian glass must have traveled far to end up in the forests south of my homeland, where the earth lay steady beneath one’s feet and the fires at the heart of the world slept without waking. In all its wandering, passed from hand to wicked hand, it carried the lingering miasma of spilled blood. What sorcery had caused this? Surely, the knife had been used to take innocent lives—why else would it be afflicted so? 

I steeled myself and held my tongue. Deinaros’ face, at the same time ancient with archaic knowledge and unlined with youth, betrayed no emotion. He stared at me without blinking. 

This is a test, I thought. Is he judging my loyalty and willingness to obey, or am I meant to recognize an evil relic by its description, and refuse to lay a hand on it? 

Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter LII: A Temple of Faces” →

New Patreon Post/ Journey to the Water Chapter LIII

“His servant is only a child,” I said, “as much flesh and blood as you or I. As for the rest, I cannot say. I can only swear to you that I will spend no one’s blood but my own.”

Chapter LIII: Departing Once More

An old rival, a promise made, and a new journey: Eske sets out once more in the latest chapter of Journey to the Water, now available on Patreon.

Song of the Week

HIM, “Venus Doom”

Good morning! Something a little heavier for you today.

I’m going to try to figure out how to get the newsletter out this week. If all goes well, it should arrive in your inboxes (if you’ve subscribed) on Sunday the 31st.

In the meantime, I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon tomorrow, and last week’s chapter here on Wednesday. I have 11 chapters left in my outline, for a total of 68 + 6 interludes. (I’m about 6 chapters ahead of what’s posted at the moment.) I probably won’t finish them all this week, but I should be done with the draft by mid-April. Then comes editing. I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit of a mess right now, but I’m trying to enjoy the process.

Some more petitions:

Via Rep. Ro Khanna: Support Funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Via Win Without War: Call on Pres. Biden to pressure the Israeli government to increase aid now

Also, be sure to check your voter registration! In Wisconsin, our next election is April 2.

As always, I appreciate you. Thanks for being here.