03/14/2024 Snippet, PICKMAN’S MODELS.

Door!

Reither made the ‘nodding’ gesture; behind her, the Euros and Luxborough Squad both relaxed from their sudden state of alertness. If she noticed, the lieutenant didn’t let on as she examined the door. “I have found the opening mechanism, sir,” she announced. “Waiting on your orders.”

“You need to report in to General Bruno for anything?” She made the ‘no’ gesture. “And I’m here, so let me send group telemetry, and then we go in?”

Good luck, Commander. Asenath didn’t ‘sound’ thrilled that he was about to go out of radio range; then again, neither was he. Is there anything you would like me to check?

Yes, actually. See if you can find out anything more about Reithner. If Bruno’s using her for this job, either she’s important, or she’s expendable. I’m curious which one.

Very well. Asenath paused. But… what practical use will that information be for you, at this point?

That was a great question. Tobias wished she hadn’t asked it.

Surveys and call for Beta Readers.

I’m having Backerkit check over my Pledge Manager: once that’s done, surveys will go out. Also – and sorry if you’ve already signed up for it; my brain is Swiss cheese right now – if you were interested in being a beta reader, drop me a line. I’ll be getting the stories out to the editor by the end of the month, so we’re talking quick turnaround here.

Random snippet from the collection.

Turns out I have to add a few words, hither and yon. This came out all right, I thought.

The Virginians hadn’t been idle, though. From the scrying reports, the opposing army had been busily setting up defensive positions, just outside of easy fireball range. From the way Plaguebreath swore about it, they knew what they were doing, too. “It’s the damned Hersheyans,” his master told him while the two of them were on monster-fitting duty. “Those Free Staters, too. They’re both keeping the Ginnies supplied.”

“That’s stupid, master,” Jackdaw replied. “We told both mongrel realms to mind their own business while we collected our due. They should have took the hint.”
Plaguebreath snorted, flicked his fingers, and suddenly the room was faintly humming. “What’s your opinion now?” he asked Jackdaw.

“Well, it’s still stupid.” Jackdaw frowned. “Or, wait, master, do I not have enough information?”

“There we go. And no, you do not. The Virginians were supposed to take the hint, too. We made it clear that this isn’t an invading army, it’s a hunting party. No formal tribute, no reparations, nothing but the corpse of the Great Wyrm. The expectation was that our mercy and forbearance would keep any pesky armies out of the way. Instead, the Virginians sent their own army to resist us. They want to fight.”

Jackdaw almost said something sycophantic, but then he remembered that there was a scryguard up. Instead he asked, “Why, master?”

“Wrong question,” Plaguebreath replied, but with a faint smile. “Everybody wants to fight us. It’s close, though. The real question is, Why do the Virginians think they can get away with it?

Patreon Microfiction: Sufficiently Developed Technology.

‘Sufficiently Developed Technology’ assumes that nobody else would develop purely mechanistic ways to mess around with the universe, which admittedly seems very low-probability. Then again, how do we know it’s low-probability? When it comes to sapient species development, we’re dealing with one heck of a small sample size.

I’m thinking about revamping my Patreon.

It’s pretty static at the moment, with the trend down over the last year. Judging from the exit surveys, that’s primarily because of the economy, but it’s still a bit of a problem. The Patreon does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to generating cash to publish the books, so I still need to do something about the situation.

The trick is figuring out what. I’m highly reluctant to slap on tiers besides the $1 one, and the current situation of weekly microfiction and monthly short stories / gaming material is certainly sustainable on my end. I just don’t really know what else I can do. Thoughts welcome.

Once again I am reminding people to give their favorite independent authors the gift of reviews.

And not just ratings, too. Reviews. It doesn’t have to be too long, just a little bit about why other people should buy your favorite authors’ particular books. Reviews are what we all dream about. We treasure them almost as we do sales. Sometimes even more, if they’re good reviews. Addiction to egoboo is a common trait among writers.

Moe Lane

PS: As always: even if you dislike me, there has to be somebody whose books you admire. They crave reviews, too.

#commissionearned

The GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE trailer.

Just hook GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE up to my veins.

I do not actually want to see more than a little Godzilla vs. Kong fighting, you understand. I want to see Godzilla, Kong, and the US military teaming up and kicking everybody’s butts. Well, I’m probably gonna get at least two of them in this particular mix, and that’ll just have to do.

Continue reading The GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE trailer.