It’s been a long while since I’ve been able to post any of my writings on here, but I managed to 1: Be home from work all day, 2: Be by myself all day, and 3: Be so sick that I was told (forcefully) to not do any chores and to just write all day.
This translates to some 20-odd pages written down, spread through three different stories.
The Star Wars adventure is almost ready to go up, but in the meantime, please go through my pages for my personal science fiction idea “For the Honor of the Queen” and the fan-fiction project “Sherlock Holmes, Wizard”.
I also have 5 different essays sitting in my drafts, so I’ll eventually go looking through them to see what’s worth publishing.
Category: Writing
Walking into 2022 with open eyes and a saddened heart
I have never been shy of New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve attempted them every year since I was a teenager. I’ll admit that I’ve also failed those resolutions more often than not. But I’ve grown to accept a few traditions when it comes to the new year.
Firstly, that I’ll have a headache. I don’t need to drink for this to happen; I have enough stress just living to wake up with a headache from worrying. But most often it is because of drinking too much on the Eve.
Secondly, that I’d sing “Auld Lang Syne”, if just to myself. In the past, I’d mumble-sing it around my friends, because I hated my singing voice. Recently, I’ve sung it around my children, who don’t know bad singing yet and think their Dad is the greatest man ever.
Thirdly, and sadly, I’ve grown to accept that as time passes, I’d be greeting the new year with fewer people in my life. Most often, this was because of simple time; people grow distant over the years, and I’ve accepted that. Sometimes, however, I’d be raising my pint and saying ‘To Absent Friends’ to honor the memory of someone who would have been right beside me.
I’ve reached the age when I stopped celebrating newborns and began mourning funerals. I understand that and accept it, but I never get to explain it from my own point of view. For most of the world around me, I am a goofy, weird person that is socially awkward. I keep these moments to myself and just go through them.
But I’m stepping into this year with sadness and resolve.
I’ve lost my best friend this past year. I’ve lost my confidante and soundboard. Now, I’m going forward on my own, as it were. Without those moments of being called out for idiocy or missteps.
But I’m also moving forward with experience gained from that friendship. I’m stepping into the next year with the knowledge gained via pragmatic sarcasm.
And through my memories and story-telling, my friend will be there with me.
I’ve accepted that I’ve lost someone. I’ve accepted that as this stage of life, I will continue to lose people. But I will never stop talking about them. I’ll never pass the opportunity to bring them up as anecdotes or witticisms.
I’ll always remember them, in days of auld lang syne.
Happy 2022, readers. Be unforgettable.
The middle-aged man who forgets to look in the mirror makes for great “Why aren’t you writing?” inspirational photos.
“The Queens’ Honor” Story Idea
Prologue
2240.01 CE
20.01 PSD (Post Starship Departure)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African League, Kingdom of United Stars Capitol
The city looked beautiful in the mornings, Queen Mahima Varma thought as she gazed at the sprawling metropolis from her veranda. The sun was cresting over the mountains and bathing the city, her city, in dappled red and gold. The early commuters with hover-licenses were gracing the upper lanes with their wakes, stirring the morning fog into contrails while the lower lanes battled in both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The glint from the skyscrapers showered the city in even more brilliant light, overtaking the city lights in their own war for dominance in luminescence.
It was almost a pity that today was a Firmament day, she mused as she rested her hands on the guard rail. Mahima was aware of the trappings of the throne, but the Lords should take a moment to enjoy the view sometimes, by God. Maybe then they would have a bit more awe in their world and stop pushing their expansionist agendas on the throne.
“My Queen,” a voice demurely said. Mahima turned away from the spectacular view to find Ishim Valwa, her majordomo and sometimes confidant, standing at the door. Her dark skin was enjoying the first heat from the sunrise and Ishim, who knew the Queen’s preferred schedule better than even she did, had shown up right after her face was warmed. For all that it was a kindness, she was irritated that he knew precisely when to call her away from her leisures. She gave the man a slightly exasperated smile.
“Must I, Ishim?” she asked. “It’s such a beautiful day.”
Ishim smiled gently. “Normally I would agree with my Queen,” he said, “but I’m afraid that today cannot be simply waved away. You have more than just the Lords Council.”
Mahima grimaced. “Are you sure my treatment is today?” she asked. “I could’ve sworn I would not be due for another fortnight.”
“My Queen attempts at levity,” Ishim said, bowing at the waist. “It was a valiant effort, I will note. But I must also note that, had this been a fortnight from today, my Queen would insist it was the fortnight after that.”
Mahima scowled playfully. “You never let me have my fun, Ishim,” she said. The scowl deepened. “Are we certain the treatments must continue? Eighty one years is quite a long life for a human.”
“I am afraid that it is not nearly enough for the rulers of the Kingdom, my Queen,” Ishim said. “The treatments are meant to extend your life, and with it, the stability of the Kingdom.”
The Queen raised a skeptical eyebrow, but walked away from the rail and to the glass door of the veranda. “The way the Lord Governor of Greacus Alphus tells it,” she muttered, “that stability is threatened by my mere existence.”
Ishim bowed again, offering an arm to Mashima. “I cannot give an opinion on the nobles within your Court, my Queen,” he said, “but if I could, I would venture to say that Lord Tan had never understood the fine points of interstellar rule, and that was why he never became more than a Lord Governor.”
Mahima laughed, pressing her palm on the reader for the door. The glass slid away, allowing the two to enter, sliding shut after Mahima’s gown was beyond the sensor.
“Shall we, Ishim?” Mahima asked, looking out at the sunrise from behind the window. Ishim bowed again.
“Begin Firmament protocols,” Mahima said, projecting her voice to ring out through the chamber. The halls began chiming a musical tone, and the palace grew abuzz with activity. Servants and staff dashed about the building, tapping on panels that activated the protocols within the structure.
Anything that was not already bolted to the floor or built into the foundation began cycling their magnetic harnesses, locking them onto the plates placed discreetly under their posts. Foodstuffs, wardrobes, and even pets like Centurion, Mahima’s mastiff, were ushered into secured spots for the protocol.
“We will begin Firmament within two minutes,” a computerized voice said in the palace. “Please secure yourself within that time.”
Mahima sighed and seated herself on a couch within the room. While it was cycling its magnetic seals, she was gingerly setting a restraint over her waist.
“And it was going to be such a beautiful morning,” she complained. Ishim, seated in a personal chair and likewise restrained, smiled.
“My Queen,” he said, “it will only be for a week, standard time. Your schedule will be free for another week. You will have ample opportunity to gaze upon the sunrises over the mountains.”
Mahima snorted, rather delicately. “And the entire week will have morning rainfalls as we leave the dry season. Mark my words.”
“I do, my Queen,” Ishim said. “Every word.”
The two minute timer wound down to zero, and with the gentleness of a feathery wind, the palace lifted from the mountainous foundation and began to ascend. Mahima watched the window avidly, soaking up the view of her shrinking city. The space elevator built into the center of the palace took twenty minutes to rise into the stratosphere, and the view was always breathtaking.
Soon, the views of the Red Sea became visible, if but for a few moments. The lands drew out before her, with a brief glimpse of Cairo at the extreme edge of her window. The wide expanse of Africa and the former Middle Eastern countries, now the Crossroad Nations, revealed themselves to her in tantalizing detail.
But the moments were short-lived, unfortunately. As the palace reached further into the heavens, security and safety shutters began slamming into place. Mahima sighed in regret at this, for all that she it was necessary. At least the exterior of the palace was rated for zero-vacuum; otherwise she would never be able to visit her favorite veranda.
As the shutters settled, Mahima tried to settle herself and welcome the morning rituals. “Are the Lords already gathered?” she asked.
Ishim shifted in his seat, bringing out his planner. “They have all arrived at Firmament,” he said. “Of course, it’s difficult to poll each individual, but there was a note made for their assistants to not keep you waiting on such a fine morning.”
Mahima smiled at this. “How much bickering over territory must I expect?” she asked.
“Considering that Count Lords Bristoli, Tan, and Otchello have been fighting to expand beyond our five colonies and the Urfenor have been aggressive in their negotiations over border security,” Ishim noted, “I’d expect a great deal of bickering.”
Mahima raised an eyebrow. “You’re slipping from your strict stance of not having an opinion on the nobles, Ishim.”
“I am merely answering the questions my Queen asks,” Ishim retorted, smiling. Mahima chuckled, but a thought struck her with worry.
“Where is Norinaga?” Mahima asked. The artificial gravity began to cycle up, and she felt the weightlessness of microgravity begin and suddenly lessen.
“The Crown Prince had returned from his hunting trip on Columbia, my Queen, about four hours ago,” Ishim said. “I believe he wishes to be present for the Lord’s Council.”
Mahima sighed. Noirinaga was impatient about his inheritance, but he was simply not ready to rule. She tried her best to instill the sense of awe and humility that came with ruling an interstellar empire, but he never accepted her conservative attitudes. She believed their territory was sufficient for their people and that they should focus on making their worlds homes for humanity.
Norinaga, however, had been swept up in the craze of expansion. What good was it to call ourselves an empire if we only had five worlds, he would ask. How much larger are the alien territories compared to that of humanity, he would argue. How long would it be before those aliens decided that humanity needed to be under their rule, he would conspire.
Mahima spared a private moment to mentally curse Lord Tan. The Alpha Centauri system, with Greacus Alpha being their oldest colony, had a direct jumpoint into the Urfenor Republic. He was agitating to expand into their territory and had ever since the jumpoint had been mapped.
She would just have to hold on for maybe twenty years, Mahima told herself. Twenty years, and Norinaga would be beginning his own lifespan treatments and would, with luck, start seeing the empire like his mother did: as a delicate garden that needed tending.
That hope kept her spirits up as the palace rode the space elevator to Firmament Station.
On switching between stories and attempting to relax
I’ve never been one to talk about or worry about my blood pressure, but I know I live and work in a ‘high-stress’ environment. The stress from the day job is unavoidable; that’s what you get for agreeing to be a public servant on a federal level. The demands made on your body and spirit are way higher than what you’d expect. The lifestyle stress is my own damn fault: I like working on multiple projects simultaneously and keep thinking I’m in my early 20’s and capable of juggling 7 different tasks. (I can’t, now, and couldn’t back then, but we’re letting my past self feel arrogant at the moment)
But I was told that I needed to take it easy today. This was because I have been suffering through a heinous sinus infection for several days and have been pushing myself. Walking the mail route during a thunderstorm for several days did not help, either. But Sarah, and my daughter Hannah to my surprise, had all but yelled at me to not do chores and to rest.
I mean, really. What do you when your wife and your daughter tells you that you aren’t allowed to work at home?
(Note: my son showed similar sentiments, but he was distracted today by his trucks and potty-training. I believe that is valid.)
I took their advice (their stern, almost threatening advice, imagine getting a deathstare from a five year old) and took it easy for today. No physically-intensive chores and nothing to get my blood pressure up (I think), just relaxing and attempting to get my writing goals back.
Problem to that: it’s been so long since I’ve been through the daily grind of making my goal that I am staring at the screen and sweating over writer’s block. I did manage to get 800 words written down, but more than half of that was plot/outline while the rest was working on a first draft that I’m not confident in.
Thankfully, I can accept that my first draft will be shit. Every project takes work and I’m still learning. That, and I have several works-in-progress and can shift from one to the other when I’ve hit a snag. If I’m desperate to get my writing muscles working, I can always fall back to D&D writing and work out a few sessions’ worth of situations/dialogue/outcomes.
(Don’t tell Sarah or Hannah that I was working on multiple projects today. They’ll kick my ass and it’ll be easy with this sinus infection.)
I did manage to get some work done, though. Now my late-evening will be spent with my headphones on and lunch-prepping for the work week. Cooking is easy, at least. The struggle will be figuring out what goes with what produce is in the fridge. That asparagus needs using.
Happy writing, folks. See you soon.
On returning to a favorite genre for something old-fashioned
Science Fiction remains my all-time favorite story genre. I mostly blame that on being exposed to Star Wars at a very young age, and the choice of books in those years only confirms that.
Like any kid of the 90’s, I discovered Animorphs and became an obsessed reader. I had confirmed my weirdness in the fifth grade among my classmates for knowing these stories better than the St. Michael the Archangel prayer in Religion class (Catholic school for the win!).
In that same year, I also discovered the Star Wars Expanded Universe, with a used and ratty copy of Darksaber.
It was with this novel that I learned that the movies I knew and loved were being given new life, and also about how space battles were fought. I learned that I was intrigued by struggles in deep space, with giant crafts looming over each other and small fighter craft zooming around trying to get an advantage for their side. I learned that I loved the political aspect of opposing sides, and needed stories to give the POV of the antagonist. But mostly, it was giant ships hammering at each other that got my attention.
(Also, this particular story’s premise is hilarious when you think about it, and the climax makes you laugh more than get excited.)
Since then, I’ve always browsed the Science Fiction section of any bookstore I’d come across. When Fantasy was lumped into the same area as Science Fiction, I accepted it. I loved those stories too, so I saw it was an opportunity to stay in my favorite area of the store. I found Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, On Baslisk Station by David Weber, Battlestar Galactica by Glen A. Larson and Robert Thurston, and the grandfather of science fiction literature, Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard.
I went out looking for science fiction stories and read everything I could get my hands on, back in those days. It was a love, pure and simple, and it’s stayed with me over the years.
So, let’s step into more recent days. We’re on a family/work vacation in Florida, and my wife tells me that I need to have a couple hours to myself in the city. She knows I don’t like crowds and am a introverted nerd, so she tells me the thing that always excites me: “You can go into a bookstore and get whatever you want.”
Pure. Fucking. Heaven.
I did make a few purchases (been wanting to start building my manga collection) but I found out that I could not find the one thing I knew would satisfy my old addiction. I could not find a book series (starting book, at least) that was a good and old-fashioned science fiction. I wanted starship combat, I wanted explosions in the void of space, I wanted Captains and Admirals arguing strategy and having fights with their subordinates over it.
I was denied my fix and that made me twitchy.
Some days later, I was talking with my regular buddy about this situation. He’s pretty understanding about having a particular niche in preferred reading, so he’s a good shoulder to cry on when you can’t find what you want. However, he also knows I’m trying to be an author, so he hits me where it hurts.
“If you can’t find the story you want, why not write it yourself?”
I have to admit, I’m terrified of the concept. Yes, I’d love to see such a story back on the shelves, but I get that it’s not popular these days. But still, he had a point. What if the story idea still had attraction to readers? Could I make such a story worthwhile enough for them to pay for it?
I honestly do not know, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited enough to give it a try.
Adding Content and Figuring out How This Works
The more I delve into building this thing, the more I’m reminded that I was never given an education in basic tech work. One day I’ll finally have the skills I need, but for the moment it’s trial-and-error and a lot of “BUTWHYDON’TYOUDOTHAT?”
I’ve been wanting to start putting up a few of my stories and campaign ideas up here for a while. Occasionally I have essays or concepts that I want to explore, but after so many years of adding to the files, I’ve been wanting to share some of these ideas.
The fun part to figuring out how to share these ideas? I’m a organization freak and I like knowing that if I put a story up as a page, it’s visible and easy to find. So far, that’s proving problematic.
But as I continue to learn how to build this website, I’ll invite you to read the first chapter of a Shadowrun story I’ve always wanted to pursue.
If I finally figure out what I’m doing, I’ll put up more stories, but for the moment this is my “I’ve been writing in one world too much, I need a good distraction” project.
Swift's Corner 