Don't worry, I'm not actually working, I wrote this post in advance and scheduled it to appear while I am flopping. XD
I am trying to nail down final dates for all the majors of the Stardancer series.
- It looks like Brighthaven is 15 years older than Alysha, if the canon is to be believed, so if she was born in 434, that puts his birthdate at 419.
- Laelkii needs time to have gone to medical school and established herself as a married woman sharing her husband's practice at the time she meets Alysha, but she can't be so much older that her personality doesn't make sense (she acts like a new married woman in Alysha's Fall). I'm guessing her to be around 16 years older than Alysha (418 BA birthdate, and one year older than Brighthaven).
- 'Star and Taylitha are all students at around the same time as Alysha, so I've made 'Star one year older (433 BA) and Taylitha one year younger (435 BA). Still debating the one year younger, I might make that two... dunno. Interestingly, this means Taylitha won the Alliance's most prestigious fencing tournament at either 19 or 20 years of age, and suggests her childhood trajectory as someone one of those 'I got super into sports as a kid' types. You can imagine her receiving that trophy and thinking: 'do I stick with this or pivot and concentrate on school.' Might make an interesting backstory story one day.
I haven't pinned a date on Svetlana but my gut instinct with her is that she's probably around 10 years younger than Alysha, maybe. I'd have to work that out, see if that makes sense with her service history.
If your jam is not the Stardancer stuff, some new wiki things:
- You can now give new people this List of Books by Series, which I think might be less confusing than the 'by publication date' or 'by internal chronology' lists (which are more for experienced readers who want to get deep in the weeds). Feel free to adjust this page if you can think of a way to make it more useful for new readers. https://peltedverse.org/wiki/index.php/List_of_Fiction_by_Series
- Holly's page now has the song from "A Distant Sun," along with some odd religious stuff: https://peltedverse.org/wiki/index.php/Holly
The wiki is beginning to feel like a Thing of Its Own. Like you could browse it for fun. One of my friends keeps encouraging me to make a game out of this setting but meh. At least I'd have all the background if I needed it?
Or at least, I intend it to be relaxing. Hopefully it delivers.
4:22 minutes
Materials:
- Pen: Moonman Starry Glass dip pen, Mars: https://www.jetpens.com/Moonman-Starry-Sky-Glass-Dip-Pen-Mars/pd/31536
- Paper: Strathmore Writing Series 500, lined: https://www.jetpens.com/Strathmore-500-Series-Writing-Pad-8.5-x-11-Lined-50-Sheets/pd/15322
- Ink: Robert Oster, Rose Gilt Tynte: https://www.jetpens.com/Robert-Oster-Rose-Gilt-Tynte-Fountain-Pen-Ink-Shake-N-Shimmy-50-ml-Bottle/pd/25170
In which I talk about the paper, the paint, and the experience of oils versus gouache. Fun stuff, will do more.
Thank you Locals supporters! Your contribution to my art war chest here is what's powering these experiments and videos. For now I'm keeping them public but I may start doing some subscriber-only videos if you all are interested.💖
Thanks for your comments yesterday on the business post... all very provocative, in a good way. I'll try to respond to all of them today.
Some Alysha misc now, since I'm gearing up for the results of the Kickstarter!
Petrov is giving away coupon codes for every book in the Alysha series (and has some leftover coupons for Marda and the business book). You can pick those up here (and please do! The books are bought already, someone should use them!) https://twitter.com/PetrovNeutrino/status/1457344535843987461
Our own @JudasComplex sent along a sample of the Faith in the Service audiobook, which I've attached for your delight! I... haven't had a chance to listen to it. Don't ask me about my past week and a half or so. Putting it here will guarantee I get to it.
After hearing the amused comments during the livestream, I went ahead and added all the ship type illustrations I have inked from the 90s to the wiki. Glory in the rampant adorableness of their anthropomorphic stylings! See those ...
A little comedy today, at least in the link. Transcript follows.
Hi, all. Welcome to this episode of The Jaguar’s Heart.
A while back I was introduced to a comedy sketch about Cuban coffee by a Mexican comedian, Gabriel Iglesias. ( The sketch begins with him greeting all his fellow Latinos and then backing up to say ‘but we’re all different, aren’t we’ which is a segue into a demonstration of how different Hispanics speak Spanish.
It is hilarious. First, because I am a Spanish speaker and a linguistics hobbyist, and his portrayal of various accents resonated with my experiences in trying to make sense of them myself… Not always easy, since from culture to culture, slang and accent are often totally different (and sometimes grammar! Spaniards use a grammatical construct that has died out in many other Spanish-speaking countries, the plural “you.”)
I also loved it because the Cuban coffee part is real. I grew up with Cubans. I know how we are....
One of the most common things I hear (and say) right now is "the asymmetry is the story." Here's one about how none of us are innocent of the sins we hate in others.
Hi, all. Welcome to this week’s episode of The Jaguar’s Heart.
It’s been weeks since the Baen’s Bar incident and I’m still thinking about it... because the longer I do, the more I feel, overwhelmingly, that it’s obvious that the problem is deeper than “this forum was saying stuff that offended us.” We have to back up to the glaring fact that people on opposite sides no longer consider each other human. Nothing I say will matter because the people disagreeing with me don’t think I’m human. They have denied my humanity; they have not bothered to listen to my beliefs, or have fake-listened to them in that way that people do when they’re so ready to prove you wrong that they’re only using your speech to provide talking points for their own ideas.
We have forgotten how to listen.
Increasingly, we have also ...
This is just a random post! First to say:THANK YOU!
Since my Jaguar Calls for Aid post, I’ve had 8 new members subscribe and 9 people upgrade their memberships. I am so grateful! I can’t wait to send out all the stickers… we’ve still got another week or so before that offer expires. I hope more people jump on it, I love sending mail!
Anyway, I’m re-reading and making notes for Surela 3 because apparently, having finished off Red Honey in draft, I want to get something else moving before the end of the year and I’m excited about getting Surela to the end of her redemption story. Thank you to everyone who’s contributed to the Pelted wiki! I’m using it a lot. (Haven’t seen it? Want to help? Check it out: https://peltedverse.org/wiki/Main_Page)
I kind of want to make a Surela essential oil blend. I wonder what it would consist of? What smells would remind you of her?
I’m also continuing on the game work. I code until I run out of Claude tokens, flip to Grok until I get ...
There are a lot of things on my mind lately, and this year particularly because this month I hit a milestone birthday (what I call the decade birthdays!), and it’s been 25 years since my first professional fiction sale. To date, in that 25-year-span, I’ve published 71 books for adults, 3 for children, and 7 coloring books. I feel like this is a great start to a career, particularly given that some people don’t start publishing their first books until they’re closer to my current age!
So I’m satisfied that I’ve created a significant body of work. I’ve got the Peltedverse arc to wrap up, and some other projects I’d like to get back to, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and there are enough finished series in that I don’t feel like I’m sitting on a giant mass of unfinished projects.
Which brings me to my birthday and my reflection on the industry and social trends. Every year since the indie revolution hit has brought some version of doom about discovery and organic reach and ...
Complete with homemade challah french toast (the challah is homemade). (Also the french toast.)
I guess if you weren't sure about buying a thing or leaving a review or telling a friend about a thing or taking the book quiz, there is no time like the present. Because it would be that, literally, a present. XD
Okay I'm loopy, I'm off to nap, I am so full. XD
