CZEdwards

Progress on the new trilogy has been too good for my own good.

I will admit that forcing myself to not write while I do things like move boxes from place to place, and letting the characters use my mouth to work out their dialogue is actually a working strategy (Basically, it’s exactly what stand-up comedians do when working out a bit) though it’s probably going to get a cop called on me for being in the midst of a psychotic break or something. Because yes, I am talking to myself. Usually in 3 voices, and those voices are often talking about murder, or other crimes.

No, officer, just 0-drafting dialogue for fantasy novels set in a world without fossil fuels and with magic cell phones pre-installed in most everyone’s heads.

The good thing about writing Galantier is it’s comfortable and well worn in. I know this place better than I know parts of my own city (because other people keep building stuff in the real city). Even with the changes at the end of the first series, I can still figure out how these people will react and work around what’s happened.

And yes, these are new focal characters. It’s not that the prior focal characters don’t have stuff to say, but they have other priorities right now. They’re still there, still working (or dead, because I could have killed them all, and if you haven’t finished the books, I’m not spoiling who gets to live). Just not being focal characters, and that’s good. They need some time off.

For the next month, though, Rebellion is on SALE. Have fun, enjoy!

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‪A love-hate letter to my brain.‬

‪We’re supposed to be working on the 2nd draft of Mars’ Rich Livery, which we know were it goes. Yes, we’re at the transition point where we grumbled & cursed last time, and yes, it’s still being a pain in our asses.

We both get that. You not wanting to write the fiddly transition point is not actually helping our shared reality that you mediate. So let’s just get it done so we can stop having to do it, and be better for having done it.

I know you want to write the new stuff. It’s exciting, we like these characters, we know that we’ve got people interested in the further performance we can accomplish with these characters. I agree, we have something really interesting in these specific characters.

Thus, though you delight me with your inventiveness, I am rather exasperated with you, Brain, because you kept cranking words last night, in the universe we’re not supposed to be playing in right now. 6500 of them.

Thanks, great. And hey, good start. I wasn’t actually planning for some of that for another 3-5 chapters, but... yeah, doing some of that early is going to help. But let’s not get them bogged down in their emotional lives, because they all need to WORK THE PROBLEM.

Let’s NOT forget what that problem is, and why THESE people are going to be working it. Because if it wasn’t for the PROBLEM, we could have a lot of other people addressing the Cimenarum Housing Crisis.

And let’s remember that we’ve got to keep a reasonable schedule. I’m 100% fine with cranking two chapters a day, but this time, we’re not doing 8000 word chapters. The goal is 2500 per chapter, up to 4000.

We’re not staying up late. It’s bad for us, and bad for Spouse.

I like writing Galantier, too! It’s comfortable and we know it well and I know we’ve had all sorts of ideas over the past year for this series. And I’m as much an outward oriented praise monkey as you are. I am equally aware that people are reading Galantier and want more.

But. They’re gonna love Sophia and Will, and Michael and George and Caro, too. They just haven’t met them yet, and they can’t meet any of them until we GET PAST THE TRANSITION POINT and work the problem.

I love you brain, but let’s work on the cooperative skill set some more. Because just doing what you want often means we abandon manuscripts. And that sucks because we like what we write.

We have cool ideas, and yeah I still wanna fix the Buffy As Mythos in Post-Apoc world. When we introduced the light warriors, we were ON TO SOMETHING. But you get so... distracted.

I love you, but I need you to focus, because we also have priorities. We need to finish the basement. Because we want to move all our work-spaces upstairs. And move all of spouse’s downstairs, so our dialogue stop irritating Spouse, and Spouse stops feeling like any movement will break our thoughts.

So I know you wanna be all up in the Ministry of Women & Children and the Cimenarum housing crisis and the deep mechanics of how to make a guild for sex workers work, but we have priorities. We gotta get the post-Napoleonic wars back on track.

And get all the stuff out, so the drywall guy can get in.

So the night theme is quite cool.

Also, I’m copy-pasting in a sex scene. Because NSFW content, baby. That’s the point of this. To see if I can get the hang of this platform, and if it’s a good replacement for the social media I currently use.

Warning: dudes happily fucking.

I don’t think I’m going to do scroll space.

I think I’ll do PSAs as scroll space.

PSA: Get over yourself if same sex NSFW makes you have issues.

PSA: Your hang ups are not my problem.

Also, Bran & Laarens are adorable together. 💜💜💜💜

OH! I can do emojis!

I need a cinnamon roll emoji. Apple, get on that. OO. Cinnamon croissant.🥐🥐🥐

PSA: Grown up people have sex.

PSA: What’s actually perverse is how curious straights are about grownup people having sex. Like seriously, people would have to be like BFFs to inquire into the details of how Spouse and I fuck, but when it’s two people who present as having a similar gender? Straights not only want details, they’ll go find porn of it.

PSA: If you’re curious, you should consider trying it. Be safe and consensual, but here’s the thing: grownups have sex. Being open about how sex works when it’s different from PIV missionary? That’s actually a form of self-defense. Because it gets the questions out of the way so that really important conversations can proceed.

OKAY! SEX! NSFW. A copy-paste.

He caught me midword, his mouth on mine. I didn’t want to react, but his tongue danced with mine, almost as if he knew what I wanted, needed. He backed me against a birch, pinning me against the trunk. I couldn’t have moved anyway. He was so hot against me, but not stifling. Enthralling. Hard and strong, his hands stroked my neck, unlacing my shirt as his mouth worked down my throat. “Don’t you ask permission?” I managed to gasp. “Must I?” he breathed into my breast and my nipples, always sensitive, turned hard and tender as he stroked my flank. “I think not. Burning ancestors, Bran, you’re gorgeous.” “Flattery gets you nowhere,” I said through gritted teeth as he cupped my prong, already full and unhappy with me, through my breeches. “Good gods, Laarens — ” “Yes or no,” he said into my chest. “One word.” I couldn’t say no. He might be arrogant, demanding, difficult, but he smelled right and felt better as he tore open my buttons. “Yes.” One flew away, forever lost, then his mouth was around me and I shattered in less time than complimented my stamina. I barely bit back the lightning yelp he summoned from me. For a long time, I thought of nothing but my taste on his mouth and his body in my hands. It might not be love, but it wasn’t hate. Not violation, no matter how demanding.

What happens when a significant part of the housing stock is destroyed? Doesn’t matter if it’s fire, or flood, or wind.

Rent goes up.

One gets a roommate, or six. With luck, one chooses who one lives with, rather than having someone thrust into your private space. Or rather than being thrust into someone else’s space.

If you’re truly lucky, there’s a door one can close. But that doesn’t always work out. Especially when the fire, or flood, or wind was bad.

This happens everywhere, and is happening all over this planet, right now.

It will keep happening, because our climate is becoming ever more fragile.

Next up in Galantier: Housing Crisis Edition.