Category: anime

Unlimited Tsundere Works

Haven’t gotten back to recording my next book, “Foes & Rivals,” for two reasons: one, until I get my first completely passed by ACX, I’m a bit reluctant to get too far into another, in case I am doing something egregiously wrong which will force me to start from scratch, and, two, I STILL – after two weeks – have not completely shaken this seasonal flu; I awake each morning with a mild fever and chills and, worse, still have shortness of breath and an occasional cough, something not well suited for voice acting.

In the meantime, I keep working on that new novel about Empress Faustina’s eldest three sons. I was so tickled to meet Prince Edward’s human cousin (no blood relation), Livia Rupert, that I’ve included their meeting in Austin, Republic of Texas, below the fold. What is up with those two! I’ve also seen a little of the “reels” of Robert’s mission to the border marches of Kentuckiana as well as what might be a life-threatening problem for Laszlo. Honestly, I would be surprised if everyone made it out of this book alive.

Considering that this is about the top three heirs to the empress, I considered giving it the working title of “Lioness in Winter.” But that doesn’t work, compared to the movie – the best I’ve ever seen, btw – as there is no ruling monarch playing a central role. I hope to have something by my next update.

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“Hey, hey!”

In manga and anime high school rom-coms, there is a trope where the female childhood friend of the male protagonist, after years of keeping her love of him a secret, finally screws up her courage to confess.  It is at that moment when the hot-looking, overbearing transfer student bursts into the classroom shouting, “hey, hey!” and all of the quiet friend’s plans are shattered.

On Friday, my family departed for a 10-day vacation at my sister-in-law’s place on a lake in N. Louisiana.  Perfect, I thought, I can finally wrap up the MS for “Empress’ Crusade,” pass it onto a copyeditor, then relocate myself into the basement to begin practicing audio recording to make audiobooks!  Heck, EC is already 72k words, making it one of my longest, so it is time to stick a fork in it and say it’s done…

“Hey, hey!”

Doing some calculations about moving Faustina’s legions about the Deep South and the goings on around Fort Benning, I saw someone.  Another female (of course) but older; hard to tell her exact age as the room was very dark.  She had no need for light:  her eyes had been torn out some years before.  I beheld Alexandra;  part Muscogee Indian and also another demi-human (though she’s yet to tell me who modified her) who is halfway between what Faustina is and what Tracy came to be at her ascension.  A new character and a huge wild-card at that, in the setting sun of the second book of my Crusade Trilogy… exactly what I need (if I used emojis there would be an eyeroll here).

I’ve spent most of today, Sunday, getting Faustina from Birmingham up to Huntsville.  I stopped there for two reasons:  she really likes the 32-year-old Mayor of that town and it is her 19th birthday.  I don’t think she sleeps with him – she is in the middle of campaign, after all – but I did not want to rush things.  Once I have that written down, I’ll have to turn to understand just who and what Alexandra is; there is a definite religious aspect to her, which would turn any assault of Faustina’s army against Fort Benning into a religious war… never a good idea.

The one and only time that Faustina looked into the Void and at what few electronic systems and records there were at Benning, she did not encounter any conscious mind, human or machine.  Perhaps Alexandra was asleep then?  I’ve no idea.  I just hope to resolve this time a timely –

“Hey, hey!”

Con Men

Sorry for the quiet… when the H1B’s at Kindle fixed one problem with the cover of “C&DC” they broke a different part.  Trusting them not at all to not screw it up again, I used my very limited Acrobat skills to make a change and submit it.  With chance and luck will hear something by Monday.

With that – hopefully – behind me, I’ll be looking about for a copyeditor and cover designer for my short story collection.  I’m still tinkering with that MS a bit but still look to a publishing date in early March.

As for this weekend, it is once again Ohayocon here in central Ohio!  As each year there are fewer and fewer panels that interest me, we’re only staying one night at a hotel next to the convention center.  Daughter #1 in even driving down from college to attend; I believe she’s cosplaying Weiss from RWBY.  Me?  After sounding the waters on Instagram, I dusted off Elias Ainsworth from “Ancient Magus’ Bride,” for Saturday.  Come Sunday PM, I hope finally to re-read my notes and start in on Part 2 of Crusade.  Cheerio!

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Sunday Haiku (Sonnets are hard)

I remember taking a class on Shakespeare in my Junior year in high school.  I’d imagine that in most schools, these days, dead white males such as him are not even taught anymore.  The only memory I have was a class discussion having to do with the sonnets.  I’ve no idea what it was, but this little cute pixy at my right spoke up in favor of what’d I’d said.  I’d never noticed her before, but when you’re seventeen and suddenly look over to a cute, bright, smiling face inches from yours… memories are funny things.

Tomorrow?  ExComm.  Awful people doing awful things.

One coin with two sides

Love and Death spin in the air

Careful how it’s caught

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MCD – Abandoned Factory 7 (Close)

This is a little longer, but I wanted it shut down this weekend.  That, of course, is not the same as “over.”  Few stories are ever over.

The construction of this is a bit different as I’ve made a change to my storytelling.

This was fun; perhaps too much fun, though.  What next?

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MCD – Abandoned Factory 5

Took a mental heath day and not because it was 70F in central Ohio.  There were two times, yesterday at work, when I had to stop and sit on the floor in the pharmacy to rest; I didn’t trust myself to sit on a chair.  I’d had that wonderful writing jag all weekend but as a result I was having a hard time distinguishing this world from RealLife(TM).  If you think that sounds hackneyed or stupid, you’re not a writer.

So what do I do with time away from work?  Go back to the ‘Factory, of course.  At 51, it’s not called ‘being self-destructive,’ it’s called ‘being aware of what little time is left.’

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