Queer Fantasy and Weird Tales for the People
On April 28 (a week from Sunday), I’ll be at the Kenosha Book Festival at Studio Moonfall: 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI. It will be open from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, and feature a slate of very cool indie authors (if I do say so myself), food trucks, and special deals. Here’s a link to the Facebook event and here are Studio Moonfall’s other events.
I was a last-minute addition, and I’m very excited to be attending! Hope to see you there!
I got to my feet. All I had was an eating knife, sheathed at my belt, and my hand came to rest on its hilt. If I could place some distance between myself and the others at this table, I could summon my harpoon. I hoped the man who had taken it from me possessed the good sense to keep his face clear of its sharp edges.
Ansgard reached out a hand and gripped my elbow. “This man has come from the south,” he said. “He is on an errand in search of a particular weapon.”
“I mean you no harm,” I added, and let Ansgard pull me back into my seat.
The old man, Oeric, peered at me through the smoke that filled the room, his eyes pale blue and rimmed in red. These eyes were sharp despite his age, and made all the more so by the mistrust I had evidently sparked in them.
“You’re painted like one of them,” Oeric muttered.
Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter LV: The Hall of Lord Oeric”“If he wants the knife, then we may as well show it to him,” the man said to his companions. To me, he added, “On your feet, then. This will be easier for you if you cooperate.”
Chapter LVI: The Burial-Ground
In the latest chapter of Journey to the Water, Eske gets captured. Again. Not really on purpose this time. You can read it right now on Patreon.
Radical Face, “Black Eyes”
Good morning! I think I’m back!
There was an error with the registration of my domain, and ICANN shut it down yesterday (or, at least, I noticed it yesterday). As of this writing, it’s back up, and hopefully it will stay that way.
I was planning on participating in the Tax Day Strike for Gaza yesterday anyway, so in any case, my regular posting schedule has been moved back a day, as you can see because this post is going up on a Tuesday. I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon tomorrow, and you’ll find last week’s chapter here on Thursday.
Since I couldn’t put them up yesterday, here are some petitions:
Via the American Friends Service Committee: End Violence and Occupation in Palestine and Israel and Act Now to Stop the War in Sudan
Via the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: Stop Arming Israel
Via No Business with Genocide: Stand Up for the People of Sudan and Pass the Uyghur Policy Act and Pass the Supporting Armenians Against Azerbaijani Aggression Act
Via ADC: Demand an Immediate, Permanent, and Unconditional Ceasefire
Via Win Without War: Secure a ceasefire & de-escalate this crisis now
That’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you.
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”“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.
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!
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”“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.
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!
Space Whales Press 