The plague and the memory hole
We’re going to forget all about this, and that’s a terrible idea.
Still no jam today.
Medusa was out of sorts this morning. I still managed to get treated, but because everything was delayed, they didn't have time to do the tattoos. So I'm...
VGer is my lover.
Yesterday, I started radiotherapy. I could not decide whether to call this post "The Illustrated Boob," "They shot me with a proton gun," "The lion lies down...
The cat content you come here for
Gurney is a cat of vast dignity, curiosity, and intellect. Last night, for example, he happened to be inspecting the guitar amplifier when I tapped my...
CW: Cancer stuff update
Hey folks, Just wanted to check in and let you all know that things are finally moving again here. I got some good news on Monday, which is to say that my...
Book Club Post, November 2021
It’s come around again on the guitar, as Arlo Guthrie says: we’ve weathered the onset of the holidays, we’re battening down for the next Covid surge (sigh),...
New story! It's about mushrooms!
MUSHROOMS!
A Hole to the 80s
So yesterday was Max Headroom Broadcast Signal Intrusion Day, one of the holidays in my personal calendar, along with Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov Saves The...
The Origin of Storms cover reveal!
Available for pre-order now, here!
A moment of silence, this Armistice Day
I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, and...
CW: Cancer stuff, boy am I tired edition.
So I’m sitting on the couch and I’m sort of trying to write but it’s not going especially well. I did some administrivia and answered some relevant emails,...
THE ORIGIN OF STORMS pre-orders are go!
24 May 2022! Cover coming soon!
a poem for the ladies
This is from 2015. I just found it again, looking for something else. Oh grand-daughters. You will not know what your mothers and your grandmothers knew; you...
It's all Ursula's fault.
So I've been dealing with the Cancer Bullshit and trying to do #nanomiddlemo, as it were--I.E., use the general November energy to get a chunk out of The...
CW: Cancer Stuff
So we’re still in a holding pattern here until the oncotype comes back (hopefully next week, when I have appointments Tuesday AND Wednesday (medical oncology...
I've been thinking about healthcare, health outcomes, and American exceptionalism.
Cancer stuff updates will be a little delayed, as everything is sort of up in the air scheduling wise as we deal with delayed testing results and a minor...
Horse stories
So we missed last week’s lesson, due to a doctor’s appointment. This week’s lesson was working on crossrails, walking and trotting over them, and trotting...
October Book Club Post
Hey folks, So I'm still not making huge progress on the reading front--I've been distracted by a lot of podcasts, and I'm really enjoying 99% Invisible,...
CW: Cancer stuff
I am serving my primary purpose as a cat warmer while writing this, so know that all is well in the world. Just to quickly get everybody up to date, I had an...
Here is your Discord invite, loyal subscriber....
It expires in seven days! https://discord.gg/sCKe6rhg (If you miss the window, you can always drop me an email and get another one.) Best, Bear
Pastel shit-talking centaurs discover the true meaning of friendship is dealing responsibly with your damage
I wish I had written this fucking show. So my friend Alex decided to watch Centaurworld about a month ago, and wandered into a group chatroom we’re both in...
CW: Cancer stuff, but mostly positive.
Today I talked with a social worker about coping strategies, and a genetic counselor about genetic testing for genes that make recurrent cancer more likely,...
CW: Cancer stuff. c-PTSD stuff. (This one for subscribers because it's very personal) "For my next trick, I'll need a volunteer."
additional CW: this is a whine. I have to say, I’m not coping well emotionally right now. I was doing pretty well holding it together until after surgery and...
Horse stories
So, given my general state of discomfort for the past two weeks, I have not been riding. However, I have been out to visit the boys, and done two lessons on...
Unicorn chaser
Because we all deserve some cat photos after that last one.
A few exciting changes around here.
Hey folks! I have successfully hired a Discord administrator, a queer woman with literally decades of experience as a forum moderator in the gaming industry...
Pandemics and denial
Here’s a great article from Ed Yong at The Atlantic (speaking of their pandemic coverage) on failing to cope with Delta and what it means for future...
Marley was dead to begin with.
My copy of the new edition of John M. Ford's brilliant THE SCHOLARS OF NIGHT with an intro by Charlie Stross just arrived from Book Moon Books, and it has a...
I have a complaint
So I have a subscription to The Atlantic Magazine, mostly for their pandemic coverage, which has largely been excellent thanks to Ed Yong and Katherine Wu....
September Book Post
I read three whole books this month. One of them was my own, the final copyedits for The Origin of Storms, which is finally scheduled for next spring and I...
Hot take
So my facile hot take on the first episode of Foundation is that they took the Good Parts version of Foundation and grafted in a whole lot of cool bits from...
I'm out of surgery and resting at home
Also I am promised tacos.
Just a little list of books about Vikings... or about people descended from Vikings...
Click on through to the other side.
Just wanted to make a special shout-out to the new folks--
You're appreciated. And you long-term denizens are appreciated, too. I've spent the evening catching up on my extremely neglected accounting, but now...
CW: cancer stuff
Surgery on Monday the 27th. Can't wait to have it over with.
Horse stories takes a fall
A week ago Tuesday, I fell off my horse. People will ask you the difference between falling off and getting thrown. It's this: when you get thrown, the horse...
The good news is that I'm a writer and already own 75 pairs of pajamas
Hey, folks. This is one of those bad news but not the worst news posts, which is to say that I've been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and am in the...
War stories
Remember when we used to go places and hang out in crowded bars? The subject of cave diving came up in a slack I'm in and I would up telling this Barcon...
Horse stories honestly I lost count
My elbow is still fussy, but not AS fussy, so I've managed a little light riding over the past week. Two trail rides, one with Alex and Magni, and one with...
August Book CLub
Hey folks. Sorry I'm late! I fucked off to the beach yesterday--and finished reading the most recent Meg Lanslow mystery, Murder Most Fowl, which is not one...
Horse stuff!
Hey, folks! I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that Ormr is doing fine. I haven’t been able to ride for the past few weeks because my...
Ahem. I seem to be nominated for a Dragon Award.
So this happened! What an amazing class of nominees to be a part of. Thank you so much to everybody who has supported Machine, read it, recommended it to...
She sings to the cat / the cat ignores her
This morning, while tidying the kitchen, I found myself singing to the cats, as sometimes happens. As best I can remember it went something like this: Why...
Postmodern Pentathalon
Hey folks, So I got curious about the Modern Pentathlon, for my sins, entirely because of those photos that are going around. You know the ones. In the...
July Book Club Post
Hey folks! There’s a bunch of reading this month that I won’t be discussing too much, because it was for an award jury, but I also just took a bunch of time...
The responsibility to be kind
Good for Simone Biles. Good for Naomi Osaka. Good for every single person who has recently stood up and said, “This situation is not good for me and I will...
The horrid glory of personal responsibility
So this screencap is going around the internets and I have no idea who the person is who posted it but it made me laugh like a drain. Just because this is so...
Cat politics
Of our four cats, Duncan is the boss cat, but he is a (mostly) benevolent dictator. Fafhrd is a horrible bully, but he's smaller than the other two boys and...
Horse stories 10
This guy saved both of us from a scary situation today, and I'm super proud of him. The morning started amusingly as I showed up at the barn first thing to...
Paperback Bookday!
Oh look, it's the US Paperback of MACHINE!