Song of the Week

The Cure, “Burn”

Hello friends! It’s May! Still pretty chilly where I am, but spring is here and soon everything will be green again.

There will be a new chapter of Journey to the Water on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up here on the blog on Wednesday.

In case you missed it, the second episode of The Well Below the Valley is available on Patreon! You can see a free preview here.

I think after this week, my life will calm down enough to start streaming on Twitch again and/or doing something else gaming-related; I should have an update on that later this week or early next week.

As always, thanks for being here. If you like what you read, tell your friends about me! And have an excellent week.

New Patreon Post / The Well Below the Valley, Episode 2

The second episode is called “Flora and Fauna,” and it introduces the last people Professor Ragnarsson contacted: Kurt Cross and Ellie Westmont of Sunset Investigations, and Ernest Wilde, a botanist at the University of London. It also offers the first glimpse into the Cthulhu Mythos and reveals how exactly the professor died.

Once again, this is a script for a ~20-minute episode of an audio drama I hope to one day produce. It is annotated with explanations of references, foreshadowing, and a few illustrations just for fun. It is available only on Patreon, but a free preview is below the cut:

Continue reading “New Patreon Post / The Well Below the Valley, Episode 2” →

Journey to the Water Chapter XII: The Lady of Osona

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

The first night I spent on board the ship, I dreamed.

I floated in the abyss before the gate of bone, with blackness pressing around me and the shape of the goddess Nashurru moving in the depths below. The water was cold, and my body ached with it, my limbs stiff and shivering. I kicked my legs and reached my arms toward the gate, but the chill pierced my bones and filled my belly with ice no matter how much I moved. In the vision, I had felt no need to breathe, but now my chest contracted painfully, sucking against nothing. The bright white of the bones blurred as my vision faded. At last, I could withstand no more, and I inhaled frigid water. It burned my chest and stole away the last of my sight.

I would die here, I thought, and my bones would join the gate as Nashurru looked on, indifferent. I would never see Khalim again.

Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter XII: The Lady of Osona” →

New Patreon Post/ The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Four

Does it feel worse to be strangled or to have your soul damaged?

The Book of the New Moon Door

There is a new chapter available on Patreon! For less than the price of a medium cup of black coffee a month, you can read spoilers before all your friends AND get access to exclusive projects.

Song of the Week

Donovan, “Hurdy Gurdy Man”

Good morning! It’s Monday again.

This week, I’ll have the next chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of Journey to the Water will be posted here on the blog on Wednesday.

I’ll also have the next episode of The Well Below the Valley up on Patreon by the end of this week! This is a Patreon-exclusive project consisting of scripts for 20-minute episodes of an audio drama based on my Call of Cthulhu module. You can see a free preview of the first episode here. If you sign up for Patreon before the end of the month, you can download both episodes for free before I charge everyone on May 1st (Episode 3 will release in late May). It’s only $3 a month, and you get to read all chapters a week early in addition to Patreon exclusives like this one.

In other news, Twitch streaming will probably start again next month. I will keep you posted.

Thanks for being here! Have an excellent week.

The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Three

Questions

The Book of the New Moon Door cover image: A book with yellowing, wrinkled pages lies open on an old wooden desk, with a sprig of lavender lying in the center.

Table of Contents

Everything hurts.

It’s a sure sign that Berend is alive. He’s never heard of Ondir’s realm being a painful one, though he’d have to ask the Sentinel to be certain. A high, shaky note rings in both ears. Beyond it, muffled voices and footsteps move in and out of his awareness. There is light, also, pressing against the lid of his good eye.

What a beautiful day it will be, he thinks, but when he opens his eye, pain shoots through his skull. The ringing in his ears reaches an agonizing crescendo. He closes both the eye and the empty socket, squeezing them shut, and the pain subsides to a dull throb.

All he can remember is Arden Geray—serial murderer, mad sorcerer, and destroyer of souls—and how Berend shot him in the chest and cut him down. After that, something had slammed into Berend’s body, and he must have lost consciousness. The brightness tells him that it must be broad daylight now, so he’s been out for several hours, at least.

Continue reading “The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Three” →

New Patreon Post/ Journey to the Water Chapter XII

“You should wake up, Eske,” he said, “before you no longer remember how.”

Journey to the Water

The latest chapter of Journey to the Water is up on Patreon! Eske is starting his Adventure on the High Seas. Special thanks to Ian Pozdol for lending me Captain Hamilcar, his first D&D character.

Song of the Week

VAST, “Take Me With You”

It’s Monday. It snowed last night where I am, and I don’t think I’ll ever recover emotionally.

It may be hard to believe, but I am finally caught up on writing chapters! That means that the next chapter of Journey to the Water will go up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will make its appearance here on Wednesday.

I’ve gotten a couple of reviews for Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea! If you’ve read it, would you mind leaving a review wherever you bought it? You can read more about my stance on reviews here, but the short version is: you’re not obligated, though I would appreciate it, and I won’t come after you for being honest. You can also just tell your friends about it! Even in this digital age, I read more books based on word-of-mouth than anything else.

I think that’s it for this week. Stop by again soon!

New Patreon Post/ The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Three

Berend attempts a smile. It hurts. “Tell it to me straight, love,” he says. “How bad is the face now?”

The Book of the New Moon Door

The latest chapter is now available on Patreon! Again, it’s only $3 a month, and you get all chapters a week early plus access to exclusive projects.

If that’s not in your budget, don’t worry, this chapter will be up here on the blog next week.

Song of the Week

Fever Ray, “Mercy Street” (Peter Gabriel cover)

Hello again! It’s Monday. I’m happy you’re here.

I’ll have a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door up on Patreon tomorrow. I’m working on the next chapter of Journey to the Water, and I should be back on the alternating posting schedule next week! Thank you for being patient with me.

I’m doing a challenge on Instagram that focuses on a WIP (work in progress), and of my several WIPs I chose New Moon Door. I made these portraits on Artbreeder and I’m very proud of them:

Two sepia-toned portraits showing half a face each: a white man with dark hair, a beard, and a strong jawline and a white woman with dark hair and a thin face. A red splatter covers the portraits.
Berend and Isabel

I couldn’t put an eyepatch on Berend, so the half-and-half was a compromise. I might make some Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea / Journey to the Water portraits later.

I think that’s it for today. Have an excellent week, and stop by again soon!