Category: romance

Irrational Pai, 3/5

They are so pushy. All of them. At least Pai, it seems, know enough to realize when she goes too far, such as grabbing Graf by the throat in the last segment or demanding he marry her.

Nonetheless, it was still funny she took him to bed so fast. Hey: I don’t care what her claims are, if a cute girl wanted 17-year-old me? I would not even have asked my parents. In the Breakup/Change, families matter more than in our time, and even more for the Winsteads, what with their loss.

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Irrational Pai, 1/x

Sometimes a single image is enough to launch a story. I stared at the one below for a day before she started talking to me, telling me a story. This will be one of two for the anthology Tales from the Lemur Throne, vol. 1, due out late this year.

Given her family, she’s a bit clumsy and sometimes has trouble paying attention. Given the setting, it is also a chance for me to look about one of the places in the former US which stabilized after the Change, but never really recovered to a significant technological level. I think this will be fun.

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Bright Eyes, 7/end

Found my way to the end. About 4400 words, so not a bad short story. What next?

Faustina, like Reina, is the type of person who you just have to shove the facts under their noses and they come ’round fairly quickly. Guess I need to update my family tree at the top of my blog again? I’ll wait until I’ve some idea how many kids they have.

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Bright Eyes, 4/?

They are so darling together, aren’t they? Let’s hope this bottle of gin doesn’t have a Tragic End at the bottom of it. I usually don’t. Usually. The end of one of my books is absolutely horrible. The end of Foes & Rivals is tragic as regards what Nichole 5’s mission was, but not horrid, as we get to see many of the players in later short stories and with walk-ons in a few novels. I don’t think that is where this going.

Even in A Texas Naval Affair, Fussy was faced with her cousin wanted to wed a former thug. Not exactly an adornment to the imperial family, but that mostly turned out well. Mostly.

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Bright Eyes, 3/?

One of the things I am just now realizing it that by being away from these people for just over four months, details that I knew better than my meatspace relatives become clouded or lost. In this case, while I knew Liz’s bio-dad dies in an accident (and her mom later remarries), I screwed up the dating. So, Liz cannot be 25; hell, she can barely be 18, and that still might be wrong. So, Josh is now just turned 23, while they were working on the moon.

So, when I’m starting to edit all of this into my third short story collection, I’d have to be very careful. I’ve made myself some notes in the Word file, so I don’t forget. Again.

Below the fold, Josh learns a little more about what is pending-wife is. And there’s a little romance for these kids who are now both years younger.

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Bright Eyes, 2/?

So, from Fussy’s first word, I guess this story is over? I kid; all the Harmanns are rather hardheaded and used to having their way. Think of it more as a negotiation point.

Looking back at part one, Liz almost seems a little “aspie.” Makes sense as being a demi of a technical bent, she’s used to focusing completely on something before moving on. Thus, that’s why Josh had no idea that she was interested in him until the radar array project was complete.

Below, I love the little bit where Josh is busted for looking at Faustina’s ass. We men really are pigs.

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Bright Eyes, 1/?

A short story about the first child of Empress Faustina. Demi-human, she considers herself a scientist and engineer, most recently working for the Thinking Machine, Ninon, of tribe Tohsaka, on a radar search array on the other side of the moon. While there, a human man, a few years older, catches her eyes, her bright yellow eyes. They have much work to do, so she says nothing. Until it is time to go back to Earth.

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Succession (3/5)

Aurie and Jimmy wrap up their conversation in the bath. He reminds her of her violent nature and that seems to steady her; she sets about plotting something.

So. That gives us two “Chekov’s Guns:” whoever arrived overnight and what actions Aurelia’s mother, Henge, might be able to do in an emergency. I’ll start blowing things up on Wednesday. This short story is already at 3,000 words and I don’t want it to get out of hand.

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Colour of Maine (3/3)

First short of the next collection complete (barring copyediting, of course). I’m rather please for how I wrapped it up, keeping with the religious and life-affirming themes of my works (barring all those people Fussy and Aurie have killed, of course; that’s war, not murder – a critical distinction).

My future history is called Machine Civilization, but there are times where it’s all humans, or sometimes humans and demis. I’m glad I was able to get tribe Toshsaka back into the fray. Many no longer have any relationship with physicals at all. Nice to see Thaad, eldest Thinking Machine on Earth, is still about.

I don’t think it’s prurient to mention Colour’s post-coital response. I recall a million years ago, BC (before children), when my wife was overseas on assignment in the Far East for a mere six months. I made sure she couldn’t walk much the next day; funny thing was, with those muscles out of use, I couldn’t much either.

Trying to piece my way through a second story. Having people talk to themselves, by themselves, is not really engaging to the reader, so, like an orb, I am pondering things.

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Colour of Maine (2/3)

We start with more politics with the NorFed Executive Council before Colour pokes the wrong bear and gets her orders from Aurie. Part of this is fun for me: only by being middle-aged myself could I imagine “old folks” striking up a romance. What I would have considered creepy in my 20s is perfectly normal, now.

When Colour walks out of the meeting, I had to remind myself just how do you get ahold of someone in a tech environment equivalent to the 1970s? We all take our phones for granted. Fortunately, Loup must have realized that, too, so I had him hanging out in the area. We find out why he’s there.

Conclusion tomorrow. With the Henge-talk at the end of this part, I’m now thinking she should get a short story, too.

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