Tag: Nova Scotia

Potential Allies of all Colours

DayJob continues to be a freaking trial this week but I’m seeing lots to write down. Woke up at 0400 this morning, in fact, with an image behind my eyes which will tie this book, “Regent,” to both “Crosses & Doublecrosses” from six years ago as well as the in-process manuscript of “New Russia” I walked away from in the late spring. Future histories, like those past, are webs, not linear.

Below, I think the woman who brought food is legit and knows Ypres or his family. Donegal? He might want to recall that “I was only doing my job” didn’t fly in 1946-48 (not that the Nuremberg Trials had any legitimacy; they didn’t need it. They had guns).

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Potential Allies of all Colours” →

Flatscreen Colours

One, I was right when I suspected Jimmy’s uncle won’t be much of an ally to him. Two, I think Jimmy is being just a little to much of a dick here, given his circumstances, but, then again, he doesn’t have much to lose.

Had to pause yesterday to do some research about the layout of Montreal. That plus a busy week at DayJob might limit my writing output. I hope not; this is getting good.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Flatscreen Colours” →

Arrested Colour

Bit of a whiplash installment: “you’re back to work! now you’re arrested!” At least Jimmy gets some solid advice from his friend, Loup Ypres.

That guy interests me. He already mentioned his family coming to Quebec from Algeria. That was, what, around 1962? I recall that the Separatist Movement got a reboot from those French who had lived in Algiers for generations and were suddenly unwelcome refugees in their own country. Is Ypres just passing on family lore or has he been behind bars?

With trans-Rocky Mountain Canada controlled by the Russian Empire, if Aurie could pull off something in Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, Rump Canada would collapse almost immediately. I wonder if she has looked that far ahead? If she did, she has to shelve that for her stint as regent.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Arrested Colour” →

Colourful Friends

Some older, wiser heads come over, both to check on their friend and find out what happened. In all that, the conversation quickly takes a dark turn.

I’m still a few thousand words ahead. We know from the last scene with Aurie that at some point Jimmy is transferred to Halifax. I am a bit torn as to what happens after that. Having him, essentially, sit back and wait for Hartmann to rescue him, after she already did once from the pirates, would be demeaning to his self-image as a man. Burns assembles rockets, so we know he’s not dumb. And works in commercial fishing, lobsters and crabs, which is hard, dangerous work, so he’s not physically weak. How to be heroic and noble without being shot by the secret police? Thinking about that…

I wonder if Ypres and Jansen ever get together?

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Colourful Friends” →

Shift of Colour

As promised, the camera is now back on Jimmy Burns. This picks up exactly where we last saw him: right after Aurie drops him off in his tiny backyard right after taking him to the edge of space. Given this will be a hundred pages on in the book, once finished, a short summary of events, masquerading as a police report, will get readers up to speed.

After that, we get to listen in to him as he tries to understand what happened to his life over the last 48 hours. Things will pick up fast after this as what is one thing in a tiny hamlet like Canso is a huge political crisis in Ottawa.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Shift of Colour” →

Colourful Language

Okay, worked my way around the address. Not exactly “head-hopping” but I admit to fudging it a little. Remember: being a fiction write means you tell stories; you are a liar. Sometime you have to lie to yourself and your readers.

After being shamed by Colour, is looks as if Aurie is going all in and now willing to provoke a war with Canada. They outnumber the imperium by at least 3:1 if not more. Then again, the imperium is the only nation in history to use a fusion weapon in anger. It might be easier for them to pretend Jimmy Burns never existed and have him pushed across the border into Maine.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Colourful Language” →

Colour’s Plea

Something a recapitulation of the last few installments but once this is book, I want those scenes clear in the reader’s minds as I’m going to gloss nearly their entire 600-mile ride and go immediately into imperium politics, internal, external, familial. There will suddenly be a lot of names thrown at the screen. In the book you will be able to flip to the front to the family tree and go, “oh, that’s who this is.” Not really bothering with that here.

Colour’s letter is in blockquotes but formatting WordPress is not worth the bother.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Colour’s Plea” →

Colour of a Dream

This concludes the ‘Nova Scotia arc.’ I lay 1:2 odds that when Jimmy walks into his house, the RCMP are waiting on him. Who knows?

Story-wise, I’ll be going dark for a while as I’m blind as to where this is going right now. There’s one conflict on the horizon: Aurie’s huge argument with the Empress. Fussy wants Aurie married now. Fussy is also still seething that Aurie’s demi-human brother married a “normie” of questionable genetics; Jimmy might be a step too far. On the other hand, as Aurelia will throw in her face: “There are less than ten of us! Are we some Semite tribe to marry our cousins?”

Minor conflict. These are great characters on the stage and they deserve great conflict. With Texas edging to the imperium’s side, does Canada sign a defensive agreement with Mexico? Suddenly Faustina is the one surrounded; she would not like that and likely respond kinetically. Does Liz, Fussy’s first child, switch on her listening array on the back of the Moon only to hear, “Humans look tasty. See you soon.”? Maybe old Empress Togame finally dies, provoking a succession crisis in the Japanese Empire while Aurie is there in a diplomatic capacity? A lot to think about.

If anything interesting happens, I’ll toss it onto here. I’ve an author meet’n’greet at the Heath, Ohio, Indian Mound Mall on Saturday. Hope to sell a book.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Colour of a Dream” →

Colour’s Dinner

I think Aurie is much more tired, and possibly traumatized physically and mentally, than she’s letting on. She doesn’t want Jimmy to cluck over her or the doc to try to restrain her (now that would be a disaster…) so she’d not telling the whole truth. I bet the conversation with her army’s chief medical officer will be quite revealing. We shall see.

After being gently reprimanded by Colour, Burns finally starts pushing back to this crazy girl’s suggestions. Recall he met her just shy of a day ago? It’s been a long 24 hours.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Colour’s Dinner” →

Traitor’s Colours?

Similar to the short battle through Burns’ eyes, here two we simply hear his internal reflection on what Aurelia and the doctor are saying to one another. That prevents the “wall of text” of exposition which I hate so much.

Missed an update yesterday as I had guest over after work. Given the four Manhattans I had, anything coherent like posting was out of the question. After today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, I’ll be at the end of the Nova Scotia arc. I’m going to pause as I’ve written 38,000 words with no plot. That needs fixing.

In the meantime, I’ll be working on a plastic model of U-292. If anything interesting happens, I’ll toss it onto the blog.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

Continue reading “Traitor’s Colours?” →