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Showing posts from December, 2016

New book: The Ship's Crew now available #amwriting

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There are so many terrible things happening in the world. One of the reasons why I write good-humoured stories is to remedy all the evil and misery that abounds, and while I cannot do much about political despondence or grief over the death of a loved one, I can for a short time take readers somewhere else, that somewhere where old librarians hit men with books, where giants dance holes through decks, and where exquisite captains have sword fights in tea houses. The Ship's Crew, part three in the Marridon novellas, is now available worldwide through Amazon . I hope in some small way it can make readers feel better for a few hours. Writing it certainly helped me through all the atrocities going around as of late. I hope it offers some comfort during the trials of modern times. Buy the Ship's Crew HERE .

The Haanta Series venerates Carrie Fisher #RIPCarrieFisher #RIPPrincessLeia

I have been trying and failing miserably for the last few hours to get something together by way of a eulogy. This year has been a rage of misery for many reasons, and I had been used to think that if anyone would survive this carriage wreck of a year, it would be the Eternally Intrepid. I have never been more sorry to be wrong. We have all seen her films and read her books, and we have all delighted in her distinctive character and exquisite wit, and while she meant many th ings to millions of people, perhaps her most important legacy is her openness and candour about living with mental illness. She had often said she and Princess Leia were the same person, the same "sass-factory" as she liked to say, but more than being the rebel against an insidious Empire, she was a hero for everyone rapt in the silent agony of psychological warfare, and she approached the subject with such sincerity and yet such sarcasm that it helped those who will never know the ang

Maith Ailineighdaeth! A #holiday story: The Tea Ceremony

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Tis the season, and what better way to celebrate the holidays than with a story about tea. Happy Ailneighdaeth to all! T he spread was better than the party had expected: the teacakes were beautifully arranged, the biscuits were whole and tolerably fresh, and the tea, though overboiled, was well made, with the milk and sugar added in proper style and in the proper order. Upon the whole, it was a pleasant set, a pale imitation of Marridon’s grand ceremonies, but a worthy effort: the sandwiches tasted as they should, the teapot was not unpretty, and it was more than enough to silence Bartleby’s remonstrances about breakfast. Rannig delighted in the chocolate rounds, but while he was choosing his next biscuit and listening to Bartleby go on about the correct method required in submerging a biscuit in tea, the captain’s awareness was awake to the vase, which had begun to shift into the light. The proprietor and his staff quitted the front room and returned to the kitchen, and once they

Story for the Day: Waking Bartleby

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The release of The Ship's Crew, the third novella in the Marridon series, is upon us. The book will be available in ebook format just in time for the holidays. And now, an excerpt involving certain librarian and a butter biscuit:   D anaco put away his letter and went toward the cabin, leaving Moppit to regale in the fleshment of being first to receive such an excellent piece of news, and when Danaco entered his office, he found Rannig standing over Bartleby, who was still sleep, laid out along the ground with tributary of drool slithering out of his mouth. Rannig had pinched Barlteby’s nose, to silence his incessant snoring, and now that Bartleby was breathing loudly out of his mouth, the giant seemed to be enjoying thoroughly himself.                 “His lip flaps when I hold his nose closed,” Rannig giggled.                 Bartleby inhaled, his bottom lip curling into his jaw, and when he exhaled, his nose trumpeted out a stifled rale, and his lips flapped against h

#Birthday Story: The Herald's Holiday - Part 2

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Poor Harold. And he thought a visit to Lucentia was going to be a simple and peaceful journey. Join our Patreon to receive a copy of the Herald's Holiday T he Journey glided out of port, and within a few minutes, they were sailing northward along the Eastern Sea. The crewmen busied themselves about the halyards, and the captain with with his navigator discussing whether they had better not stop in Marridon for supplies, and the Herald   he had a moment to look about him and revel in the untinctured quietness of the sea. The slosh of the ram ploughing through the barm, the cries of the crewmen, the din of boots racing along the deck above were all muted by thick walls and furnished floors, and the Herald mantled over his tea and exhaled, feeling himself safe at last from any unwarranted interruption. remained in his room, delighting in all the isolation that the captain’s cabin could afford. Tea was soon spoken for, and the captain’s man arrived with a small trey, decora

#Birthday story: The Herald's Holiday

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Birthdays, like ages, are fickle things, and the more we have of one the less inclined we are to acknowledge the other. Twisk and I, as fate would have it, have nearly the same birthday, and each of us cares more for the other's birthday than we do our own. I always end up writing her a new story for her special day, and I usually finish it on mine, but this story might take somewhat longer to be told. Harold the Herald finally gets a vacation away from the keep. He might not be gone for very long, however. Harold is the one and only Frewyn Herald T he business in Erieannan over, the Godstone in Faraleidh recovered and Darran reestablished in the pantheon, the kingdom was in a fair way to being at peace once more. The high holidays over and   No one in the keep delighted in a leave more than himself: he could never understand how it was that no one else was disposed to take time away from being in the capital; the incessant thrum of the castle halls, the bustles of busy