Jul
2020
Sci-Fi Writing
ANDROGYNE KEY - Character Excerpts PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION It was impossible to separate Androgyne from the ship, or the ship from her. She herself did not know where one ended and the other began anymore. Gypsy Heart was four thousand tons of polycarbide mayhem salvaged from the brutality of the 4th millennium--a yellow and black hornet birthed from the scrapyards of Hades-Gamma IV. Androgyne Key shared her sharp lines and subtle curves.[...]
Jan
2020
10 Memories \ Writing Exercise
I took an online writing workshop with One Story last year, and one of the exercises from it that I loved most was one intended to show people how to take real memories and turn them into fictional stories. Memories have all kinds of strong associations, and the detail that comes from them helps make fiction feel real as well. After coming up with the list of 10 memories, pick[...]
Jun
2019
The Bone King of Praath
It is said that King Hezzaghal of Praath was a great warrior who traveled all the lands of the old world in search of a worthy opponent. He crossed the Malhalholtra and left a trail of sorrow and death in his wake, traveling beyond the Rimefrost and Treppania, beyond the lands of Knet and Shur, until he came to the edge of the knot and turned back. All the mighty[...]
May
2019
The Wisdom & Folly of the Whip
I. There is Wisdom in the Whip The Wisdom of the Red Lie And the Obstinate Truth II. The Whip Serves All Masters For Service is the Pleasure of the Whip And the Fruit of its Kiss III. The Red Lie is the Promise of Wisdom But the Obstinate Truth is Unyielding And the Fruit of the Whip is Pleasure IV. The Wisdom of the Red Lie[...]
May
2019
The Thirst for Light
The Thirst for the Light is the Obstinate Truth And the Obstinate Truth is Unyielding It Will Not Yield to the Mountain, the Sea, or the Sky It Will Not Yield to Sleep, to Skin, or to Bone We Bathe in the Light of the Radiant Stars Whose Gift is as Great as their Hunger We Eat What is Bathed in the Light of the Radiant Stars We Are[...]
May
2019
The Knot of Creation
I. In the time before creation there was neither darkness nor light Nor our world, nor even The Red Chapel, Which Waits II. This was the time of the Knot, which neither saw, nor hungered, nor heard And dwelled in the void without fear III. From Elsewhere came the Radiant Stars, Whose Light Needs No Doors And with them came change, and shadow, and fear IV. And the Knot was[...]
May
2019
The Hungering Stars
I. There Are Many Kinds of Hunger The Hunger of the Belly The Hunger of the Mind The Hunger of the Heart II. A Fourth Kind of Hunger is the Hunger of Eyes And the Stars Burn Bright with Hunger They Wake Each Night to Drink We Drink the Stars and the Stars Drink Us III. The Radiance of the Stars are the Strings in Our Eyes The[...]
Jan
2019
Grimsby’s Hollow
It is summer, and in the shadow of the mountains the people of Grimsby’s Hollow are serenaded by cicadas and the sweet scents of timberwine and salted steaks burning over charcoal. These are the first days of harvest, when men laugh and their cups run over. A grand celebration is held on the west field, where the children laugh and play and boys give chase to girls. Ichabod Grimsby,[...]
Jan
2019
Evelyn Grimsby on Growing Up
Sometimes when I get stuck with a story, or when I'm having a little trouble writing, I try to write bits and pieces of conversations to figure out who a character is and how they see the world. Evelyn's mother, Maeve, spent the first part of her life as a slave, and that experience colored who she was as a parent, and how she raised her daughter. This is another[...]
Jan
2019
The Time Evelyn Grimsby Fell in Love
When I first started writing the Grimsby & Wulf stories, I had this idea to use footnotes to explain every little side reference or adventure, but it just didn't fit. This is one of the ones that didn't make it, destined instead for the dustbin. Evelyn Grimsby fell in love only once, when she was twelve years old. It was a moonlit summer night, and fireflies were dancing in the[...]