Tag: politics

Pai-Graf, 9/x

If you ever want to sidetrack people, get them talking about their kids. Even I am guilty of that, proud of my two debt-free, employed daughters (cough hint cough) that I am.

The importance of children echoes through all of my stories. Those who cannot or can only have a few are devastated by that knowledge. Reina, also, is NOT at pleased at the prospect. The world of the Change is not one of GrrlBosses and WineAunts. You marry in your late teens and get knocked up ASAP; FFS, Empress Fussy has ten kids. Personally? I think that may be because I’m a mule and my wife sterilized by chemo when she was 28. We adopted two. One of the reasons it was so easy for Pavel and Reina to adopt Tay, I suppose.

Anyhoo, Graf forgets what he was told and nearly dies. He is technically the main character, so I rather that not happen.

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Iter, 1/x

This will be the 11th and last addition to my 19th book, another short story collexion. It, unfortunately, again deals with death. And how the spouse of that person deals with their death. I again apologize for all these depressing stories, and will try to do something much more fun and entertaining, next.

All demi-humans have longer lifespans. Those who have lived in close physical proximity (which Laszlo has not) to Henge Hartmann even more so. But they still die and are smart enough to not deny that and thus can make plans for it. As an android, Minerva (please be polite when reading and pronounce it in your head correctly: mee-nur-wa) is effectively immortal. As a Model 12, she has living skin, which she feeds via something like a TPN every three days, which was replaced about fifty years ago.

Iter will be wall-to-wall grief and politics. If that’s not your thing, I’ll be back, later. Otherwise, here we go…

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Knoxville Shopping Trip, 2/x

“Out of the mouths of babes,” and all that gives a little exposition into Henge’s substance. I think, but do not know, that she was so focused on her love of Gary that she never fully considered the extent of what someone such as her would do to a recovering community. She’s obviously welcome, but I suspect there is still an undercurrent of “what is that?”

Which is precisely the last line of this installment. Next one will be tricky, so likely out late tomorrow. Cheers, all.

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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, 6/?

I’ve mentally finished the story. Parts 7 and 8 next week. I’m very pleased with it and expect Stephen to cut it to shreds come copyedit time.

In book 19 we will meet Stephen Johnston a few stories before this one. Quiet but very clever; I think that’s why Fussy’s eyes landed on him for her second husband. We get a glimpse of that here, just before the empress shows up to be an asshole.

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Bright Eyes, 5/?

A tiny bit of backstory on Josh’s part. No doubt Liz knows most of it, but I’m old enough to know sometimes internal family lore has things which written records do not. Witness my father-in-law making me swear to never tell his daughter, my wife, what happened to him on the Eastern Front and in the AVO gulag.

On a personal note, it seems I may soon have a great deal more time to write.

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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, 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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Annexation (5/4 End)

Strange week; much RealLife drama I do not need. Picking at another short story, but nothing really clicking yet. I shall be patient.

Most autocrats enjoy it when people stand up to them, just because it doesn’t happen very often. The imperium’s bureaucracy is very small, as Fussy can do the work of many humans and do it faster, but I’m sure they are rather obsequious. I doubt her legates are. Forewarned by Old Dysart, Stephen does not put up with her shit, either.

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Annexation (4/4?)

Stepping up posting a bit as it will force me to finish this. There will be a Part Five, a conclusion. My notes from last night are awful, so I’ll flog them together later today.

In RealLife, I had to do preliminary tax work this morning. Ours are complicated so we’ve used a CPA for twenty years. Since the Fed’s Magic Money Machine can just go brrr, brrr, filing taxes is nothing more than a humiliation ritual the Cloud People use to show how much they hate us.

Below, Stephen meets Fussy for the first time and, I think, likes what he sees. He is a cautious and reserved man, which I think is why I had to write a part 5; nothing happens quickly. In fact, from my notes, nothing really happens.

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