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# Blaze Ward

Author

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.blazeward.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Ramblings](https://www.blazeward.com/ramblings/)
- [20230612](https://www.blazeward.com/20230612-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Bathroom remodel, week 2. last week, we got the tiles on the floor and
- [20230619](https://www.blazeward.com/20230619-2/) - 20230619 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. If you’ve been paying attention elsewhere, we’re sixteen days into the bathroom
- [20260421](https://www.blazeward.com/20260421-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. Late April. Kincaide is sitting at 1533k at this point, that slow grind
- [20260414](https://www.blazeward.com/20260414-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Yesterday was 413. I keep certain folks in my phone with reminders of birthdays,
- [20260407](https://www.blazeward.com/20260407-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday after NorWesCon. Haven’t been in a lot of years. Had to reset my
- [20260331](https://www.blazeward.com/20260331-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Better this week. Granted, low bar considering last week, but better. Absolutely nobody got
- [20260324](https://www.blazeward.com/20260324-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Ow. Had a long phone call yesterday, so walked a big square around Enumclaw.
- [20260317](https://www.blazeward.com/20260317-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] It snowed Thursday night. And all day Friday. Part of Saturday. Lost power at
- [20260310](https://www.blazeward.com/20260310-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesdays traditionally were the days when TradPub released new books. Every author got a
- [20260303](https://www.blazeward.com/20260303-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Grumpy, crunchy, and a little rabid this morning. Dojo work last night was all
- [20260224](https://www.blazeward.com/20260224-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] No Pants Day. Saturday, Feb 24, 2018. My first day as a full-time writer,
- [20260217](https://www.blazeward.com/20260217-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday again. Good news, I’m home. Bad news, I came about as close as
- [20260211](https://www.blazeward.com/20260211-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Wednesday. Got home late last night from the Superstars Writing Conference and am currently
- [20260204](https://www.blazeward.com/20260204-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Really short bit of news today, because I’m currently out of town. We drive
- [20260127](https://www.blazeward.com/20260127-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Congrats, no more Kickstarter news, because it wraps up in a few hours. Made
- [20260120](https://www.blazeward.com/20260120-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] You missed it, but late pledges might still live briefly Reminder that the Kickstarter
- [20260113](https://www.blazeward.com/20260113-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] You missed it, but late pledges are still live briefly Reminder that the Kickstarter
- [The Kickstarter is LIVE!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/the-kickstarter-is-live/) - Sorry, gonna be a little annoying on all social media fronts for three weeks. But if we can make stupid money, I can play silly games with the writing, so encourage all your family and random acquaintances to get involved? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blazeward/make-100-2026-collection Halfway funded in under an hour. I'd like to get back from errands tonight
- [20260106](https://www.blazeward.com/20260106-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Later today Reminder that the Kickstarter link is finalized and ready to go for
- [20251230](https://www.blazeward.com/20251230-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] One week from today: Reminder that the Kickstarter link is finalized and ready to go
- [20251223](https://www.blazeward.com/20251223-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Next Pineapple Express coming through. Already gotten like 40cm of rain from the last
- [20251216](https://www.blazeward.com/20251216-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] More rain. First Pineapple Express finished by dropping something like 8 inches of rain
- [20251209](https://www.blazeward.com/20251209-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Pineapple Express all week. That’s where the rain forms a corridor connecting the Hawaiian
- [20251202](https://www.blazeward.com/20251202-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Hope the USians among you had a lovely and quiet Thanksgiving last week. I
- [20251125](https://www.blazeward.com/20251125-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Winter is getting close. Monday was a bout 35F (2C) as I left the
- [20251104](https://www.blazeward.com/20251104-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] More Tuesday. More fun. Those of you who have read Boundary Shock Quarterly Issue
- [20251118](https://www.blazeward.com/20251118-2/) - 20251118 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Cold out there today. And gray and a little foggy. I’m slow to
- [20251111](https://www.blazeward.com/20251111-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] And the next Science Officer dropped yesterday. Fleets of Vengeance. Guardians of Tomorrow in
- [20251028](https://www.blazeward.com/20251028-2/) - 20251028 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Fall has arrived. Had a Pineapple Express last week. Several days of high
- [20251021](https://www.blazeward.com/20251021-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] It was a yucky weekend. Caught a head cold or something. General malaise and
- [20251014](https://www.blazeward.com/20251014-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Good morning and welcome to the sideshow. Or something. Scattered Tribes 3 is just
- [20251007](https://www.blazeward.com/20251007-2/) - 20251007 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. Didn’t sleep for shit last night, so a lot rough this morning
- [20250930](https://www.blazeward.com/20250930-3/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] I’m that writer that lays down in the evening and lets backbrain grind and
- [20250923](https://www.blazeward.com/20250923-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Got a little carried away and didn’t write a blog post this morning. So
- [20250916](https://www.blazeward.com/20250916-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Weather up in this corner of the Cascades has been weird this year. Not
- [20250930](https://www.blazeward.com/20250930-2/) - 20250909 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Because I can. And because it won’t make a damned bit of sense
- [20250902](https://www.blazeward.com/20250902-2/) - 20250902 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Gotten over August, I think. It was an ugly one, but not bad.
- [20250826](https://www.blazeward.com/20250826-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. The Exhaustion continues. Reread three weeks ago and man, August has been heavy.
- [20250819](https://www.blazeward.com/20250819-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Spent ALL of last week at WorldCon, here in Seattle. And owe y’all a
- [202508012](https://www.blazeward.com/202508012-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] It’s always useful to see the three-weeks-lag newsletter show up on Tuesday morning, so
- [20250805](https://www.blazeward.com/20250805-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Holy shit, I’m exhausted. Sunday last, we had the Annual Art Colony Barbecue, where
- [20250729](https://www.blazeward.com/20250729-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Got a note last night from a fan/friend in Australia who is finally getting
- [20250722](https://www.blazeward.com/20250722-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Getting packed up shortly to go on a quick vacation to celebrate our anniversary.
- [20250715](https://www.blazeward.com/20250715-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] And I just finished Heather 5. Warlord of Yaumgan Ground Control Tyche Chevalier Griever
- [20250708](https://www.blazeward.com/20250708-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Hot. Summer finally arrived this week, as it does in Seattle. Over the last
- [20250701](https://www.blazeward.com/20250701-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Good morning. Just finished rereading editor’s comments for an anthology I’m in that’s coming
- [20250624](https://www.blazeward.com/20250624-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. Got Mama Doe and two Zoomies grazing in the back yard as I
- [20250617](https://www.blazeward.com/20250617-2/) - 20250617 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] And then, I was sick from Thursday to Sunday. Pretty sure I get
- [20250610](https://www.blazeward.com/20250610-2/) - 20250610 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. Spent last week dealing with a dead control board on the furnace,
- [20250603](https://www.blazeward.com/20250603-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Sunny morning. A little chilly in here, but that’s the furnace dying over the
- [20250527](https://www.blazeward.com/20250527-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Rain passed yesterday. Sun’s out but still a bit chilly this morning. Fabulous Publisher
- [20250520](https://www.blazeward.com/20250520-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] I’m just gonna go ahead and blame Jon, Charles, and Mark. In that order.
- [20250513](https://www.blazeward.com/20250513-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Having kind of a hard morning getting motivated, but I’ll go make more coffee
- [20250506](https://www.blazeward.com/20250506-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Broke out the mower over the weekend and cleared the lower meadow. And got
- [20250429](https://www.blazeward.com/20250429-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Drizzle and coffee and that damned flicker who likes to tap on the sliding
- [I need a Dance DJ or Vinylhead](https://www.blazeward.com/i-need-a-dance-dj-or-vinylhead/) - Need your help. Recently saved several boxes of vinyl albums from being tossed into the dumpster. Long story I can explain when someone needs details. Got four boxes of albums. About 70" shelf width. A few albums I know. A bunch of bands I've never heard of. Lots of dance. Obscure bands like "Shall Not
- [20250422](https://www.blazeward.com/20250422-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Having a morning. Did finish Heather’s War #4. Then been editing and trying to
- [20250401](https://www.blazeward.com/20250401-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Just sent the April Newsletter. Now on to the sausage making. Or something. Got
- [20250325](https://www.blazeward.com/20250325-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] There is news. Good, even. Uplifting, in my case. Some of you are paying
- [20250415](https://www.blazeward.com/20250415-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Happy Tax Day to all who partake. Or something like that. Still getting used
- [20250408](https://www.blazeward.com/20250408-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday Monsoon. Like, crazy stupid around here. Staying in. Just made soup. Might have
- [20253018](https://www.blazeward.com/20253018-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Woke up to about a footprint of snow, and three elk in the side
- [20250311](https://www.blazeward.com/20250311-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Late day today. Started slow and late this morning. Struggled with words. Forgot it
- [20250304](https://www.blazeward.com/20250304-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Close to finishing Scattered Tribes #2. Sitting at 70k right now and targeting 85
- [20250224](https://www.blazeward.com/20250224-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Good workout first thing this morning. I am a white belt, but I am
- [20250128](https://www.blazeward.com/20250128-2/) - 20250121 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. I hope. Deep into the next Science officer. 38K before I start
- [20250218](https://www.blazeward.com/20250218-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Snow’s finally melting. Gone, for the most part. Temps in the 40sF. Not spring,
- [20250211](https://www.blazeward.com/20250211-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Colder than shit around here, but getting warm during the day so a lot
- [20250204](https://www.blazeward.com/20250204-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. Snowed off and on all weekend and yesterday, but clear skies this morning.
- [20250121](https://www.blazeward.com/20250121-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Ugh. Fabulous Publisher Babe™ came down with a head cold last week, then gave
- [20250114](https://www.blazeward.com/20250114-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. Been reading Corsac Fox 6&7, so quickly giggling that it’s a Tuesday. Hopefully
- [20250107](https://www.blazeward.com/20250107-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Been writing shorts over the last week. Finished Corsac last week. Since then Brother
- [20241231](https://www.blazeward.com/20241231-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Tuesday. Having just completed Corsac Fox 7 on a Tuesday, and just realizing that,
- [20241224](https://www.blazeward.com/20241224-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Shift to Tuesdays on-going, as I adjust. Had a busy crazy Monday yesterday, so
- [20241217](https://www.blazeward.com/20241217-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Shift to Tuesdays in process. Possibly permanently, because I’ve started learning Karate and the
- [20241210](https://www.blazeward.com/20241210-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Shift to Tuesdays in process. Possibly permanently, because I’ve started learning Karate and the
- [20241202](https://www.blazeward.com/20241202-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] It’s fucking cold out there this morning. 28F with fog, when I went down
- [20241125](https://www.blazeward.com/20241125-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Lost power last Tuesday at 430pm. Just about the time I was close
- [20241118](https://www.blazeward.com/20241118-2/) - 20241118 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Skipped a week, in case you didn’t notice. Also having issues with the
- [20241021](https://www.blazeward.com/20241021-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Woke up a little before sunrise and didn’t turn on the lights. Just sat
- [20241014](https://www.blazeward.com/20241014-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Finished Science Officer 15 yesterday. Cliffhangared the hell out of it, but that’s fine
- [20241104](https://www.blazeward.com/20241104-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] The Anarchist came over yesterday and did a construction consult on the Tiny Greathall.
- [20241028](https://www.blazeward.com/20241028-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Been raining all weekend. Autumn has arrived. Voted yesterday. Washington does everything by mail,
- [20240923](https://www.blazeward.com/20240923-2/) - 20240923 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Offbeat monday. Got up and went to work out with my buddy. He’s
- [20241007](https://www.blazeward.com/20241007-2/) - 20241007 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Not as much pain as I expected from a day of tiling.
- [20240930](https://www.blazeward.com/20240930-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] More Weird Monday. Did the “BBQ, Beer, and Brats” thing at Enumclaw Fairgrounds yesterday.
- [20240916](https://www.blazeward.com/20240916-2/) - 20240916 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Floor’s in, in Tiny Greathall. Last piece was intentionally a jigsaw piece, so
- [20240909](https://www.blazeward.com/20240909-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] How do you make it stop??? Background: I don’t read much these days. Mostly
- [20240812](https://www.blazeward.com/20240812-2/) - 20240805 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Over the weekend, Flight of the Cerberus came out wide. Been out in
- [20240902](https://www.blazeward.com/20240902-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Stupid freaking bear. Keeps getting into the wife’s birdfeeders and destroying them. Turned out
- [24240826](https://www.blazeward.com/24240826-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Ow. The barn remodel is coming along nicely, but ow. Up and down ladders.
- [20240819](https://www.blazeward.com/20240819-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Coming up on the end of summer. Got a lot going on. Got more
- [20240805](https://www.blazeward.com/20240805-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Crazy Monday. Instead of heading down to Krain Corner, I had to return
- [20240729](https://www.blazeward.com/20240729-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Woke up to drizzle this morning. Weird. Usually, the summer rainy season is June.
- [20240722](https://www.blazeward.com/20240722-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. It rained yesterday. Not a lot, but actual water falling from the sky.
- [20240715](https://www.blazeward.com/20240715-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Yuck. Overrated. Been hotter than hell around here for too long. I’ve stayed
- [20240617](https://www.blazeward.com/20240617-2/) - 20240617 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] At least the foot’s better. Took a week. Since Saturday, been dealing with
- [20240708](https://www.blazeward.com/20240708-2/) - 20240701 [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Health getting better. Doc took a look at what they had done, and
- [20240701](https://www.blazeward.com/20240701-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] And the steroids worked for a time, but failed and my arms are covered
- [20240624](https://www.blazeward.com/20240624-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Spoke too soon. No sooner than I got the foot largely taken care of,
- [20240527](https://www.blazeward.com/20240527-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] They say hurt dogs howl. Nice phrase for someone blindly lashing out when confronted
- [20240610](https://www.blazeward.com/20240610-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] And Lords of the Endless Plains came out last night. Hope you stayed up
- [20240603](https://www.blazeward.com/20240603-2/) - [As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Ended up starting the next Scour novel after all. 10K in. Starting to think
- [20240520](https://www.blazeward.com/20240520-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] A good Monday. The Fabulous Publisher Babe™ got home Friday. Utterly exhausted on all
- [20240513](https://www.blazeward.com/20240513-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Almost sort of maybe recovered this week. Had a quiet weekend, after all the
- [20240506](https://www.blazeward.com/20240506-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Ye Gads, what a weekend. Drove down to Portland to see Fabulous Publisher Babe™
- [20240429](https://www.blazeward.com/20240429-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Still working Uly and Dan. Just over 50k of an expected 80k, so that’s
- [20240422](https://www.blazeward.com/20240422-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Got up and been running all over creation for the last several hours. Breakfast.
- [20240415](https://www.blazeward.com/20240415-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Okay, slight break. Took some time off. Recovering. Realized that, dating back to about
- [20240318](https://www.blazeward.com/20240318-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] It’s always weird when I’m standing at my desk writing and see a deer
- [20240311](https://www.blazeward.com/20240311-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] A Monday that almost appears normal. Which is good, because I spent most of
- [20240401](https://www.blazeward.com/20240401-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Slightly better Monday, but still kinda yuck. Ended up dropping $2,000 on the car
- [20240325](https://www.blazeward.com/20240325-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Grumble. Spent the whole morning at the car dealership, where I managed to get
- [20240212](https://www.blazeward.com/20240212-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Having a Monday. Recovering from last week. Went down to Portland to help move
- [20240305](https://www.blazeward.com/20240305-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] So I’m back. Two weeks in Mexico City and Oaxaca. Fantastic trip, filled with
- [20240219](https://www.blazeward.com/20240219-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Going to be out of town next week, traveling low to the ground, so
- [20240129](https://www.blazeward.com/20240129-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Ugliest part of the cold is over. Gray and over 60F this morning, which
- [20240205](https://www.blazeward.com/20240205-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Year Two of The Thrill Ride is in kickstarter right now, in case you
- [20240122](https://www.blazeward.com/20240122-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday, and I’m in the process of purging my mailing lists. (lovely typo there.
- [20240115](https://www.blazeward.com/20240115-2/) - 20240108 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Don’t wanna say it’s cold out here, but I’m pretty sure I just
- [20231225](https://www.blazeward.com/20231225-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] So I looked at the weekly alarm reminder and went ahead and typed. Kinda
- [20240108](https://www.blazeward.com/20240108-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Oh, hell, there is a lot of snow in the forecast. Maybe a foot
- [20240101](https://www.blazeward.com/20240101-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Looked it up this morning and realized that we’ve been at this for four
- [20231218](https://www.blazeward.com/20231218-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] I might post next week. And I might not, it being Xmas in the
- [20231127](https://www.blazeward.com/20231127-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Final Monday of the “Going to Grandma’s Sale” over on KRP. You know the
- [20231211](https://www.blazeward.com/20231211-2/) - 20231204 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Yeah. New world. New everything. We’d known two years ago that the kitty
- [20231204](https://www.blazeward.com/20231204-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] December. Corsac Fox One and Two available everywhere. I should finish Five this week.
- [She Refused To Use Her Words But Her Interpretive Dance Was Always On Point](https://www.blazeward.com/she-refused-to-use-her-words-but-her-interpretive-dance-was-always-on-point/) - That was how we always described her, because it fit. Kiera The Cat. Leah adopted her in March of 2006, and the shelter thought she was about a year old at that point, so we always celebrated her Gotcha Day as her birthday. I didn’t come along until 2013 (the second time around), so she
- [20231120](https://www.blazeward.com/20231120-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Second Monday of the “Going to Grandma’s Sale” over on KRP. You know the
- [20231113](https://www.blazeward.com/20231113-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Ya know what? Still bouncy. Which is way better than morose. Got a new
- [20231107](https://www.blazeward.com/20231107-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Okay, slightly bouncy. Rainy season is upon us. WHAT? I moved to Seattle for
- [20231016](https://www.blazeward.com/20231016-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Got up this morning and took Fabulous Publisher Babe™ into town for breakfast. And
- [20231030](https://www.blazeward.com/20231030-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Got a mild case of Mondays. Fabulous Publisher Babe™ came down with something and
- [20231023](https://www.blazeward.com/20231023-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] I think I have mentioned that I messed up my right shoulder. Went to
- [20230925](https://www.blazeward.com/20230925-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] I woke up and found Noah hard at work in my front yard, building
- [20231009](https://www.blazeward.com/20231009-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] It’s a Monday. Hardly slept last night, but dealing with some physical issues that
- [20231002](https://www.blazeward.com/20231002-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] OCTOBER! Newsletter went out this morning because I’m being a little lazy. Story will
- [20230918](https://www.blazeward.com/20230918-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] So the head cold has mostly gone away, but I’m still hacking crap up
- [20230911](https://www.blazeward.com/20230911-monday/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Ugh. Had a headcold last week (presumably con crud, but only in the head).
- [20230904](https://www.blazeward.com/20230904-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Just got back last night from Bouchercon 2023 in San Diego, which is
- [20230828](https://www.blazeward.com/20230828-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Drizzle. Lots of drizzle. Spent the weekend sitting down. Normally, I stand to
- [20230821](https://www.blazeward.com/20230821-2/) - 20230814 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] By the time most of you see this, the Kickstarter Campaign for Corsac
- [Last Week for the Corsac Fox Kickstarter](https://www.blazeward.com/last-week-for-the-corsac-fox-kickstarter/) - Corsac Fox, Book Two. Mistaken Identity I'm lagging a bit here, but it's summer and things happen. As I write this, we're in the last week for the Corsac Fox kickstarter for Mistaken Identity (Book Two). Hopefully, y'all have ready Flight of the Corsac Fox and enjoyed it. Certainly, the reviews have been lovely. Right
- [20230814](https://www.blazeward.com/20230814-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Reminder: the Kickstarter Campaign for Corsac Fox #2 Mistaken Identity) is live now and
- [20230807](https://www.blazeward.com/20230807-2/) - Reminder: the Kickstarter Campaign for Corsac Fox #2 Mistaken Identity) is live now and runs to August 22. Then you gotta wait. Got up to drizzle this morning. And rain Saturday night, too, so Sunday had been humid and Monday is kinda fall-like. We did a bbq over the weekend. Invited a bunch of artists
- [Kickstarter: Mistaken Identity (the Corsac Fox #2)](https://www.blazeward.com/kickstarter-mistaken-identity-the-corsac-fox-2/) - Heya, off-schedule post tonight because I got news! The kickstarter for Corsac Fox #2: Mistaken Identity is LIVE!!! Uly and Dan and the gang are back. And this time, Uly's going to convince the Khet to hire him to end piracy in this region. It helps when he's got Haydar, Ethir, and Piruz as a
- [20230731](https://www.blazeward.com/20230731-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Got the Mondays. Behind me, the pantry is closed up with a couple of
- [20230724](https://www.blazeward.com/20230724-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] So, last Tuesday, the heat pump went sideways. I’ve talked here about the joys
- [20230717](https://www.blazeward.com/20230717-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday, middle of summer. Fabulous Publisher Babe™ wanted to get up early this morning
- [20230710](https://www.blazeward.com/20230710-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Woke up to drizzle. Not much. Mostly a heavy marine layer more than anything,
- [20230703](https://www.blazeward.com/20230703-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] I need more something. Sleep possibly, though I slept. Energy? Something. Friday night, went
- [20230626](https://www.blazeward.com/20230626-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Busy weekend, but good. Touched up the paint in the bathroom. Tweaked the
- [20230522](https://www.blazeward.com/20230522-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Oh, hey, it’s Monday. Reminder just went off to do something for Patreon. My
- [20230605](https://www.blazeward.com/20230605-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday, running late. Bathroom remodel started yesterday. Stripped out all the baseboard and trim.
- [20230529](https://www.blazeward.com/20230529-2/) - 20230515 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] If you’ve been paying attention, I wrote the first nine stories in nine
- [20230515](https://www.blazeward.com/20230515-2/) - 20230515 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Didn’t shoot this morning. Going Thursday. Piper texted last night and wanted to
- [20230508](https://www.blazeward.com/20230508-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Didn’t go shoot this morning, though the weather was finally lovely enough. Hurt too
- [20230501](https://www.blazeward.com/20230501-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] RPG news, because Monday. The Piper wanted to meet for coffee, so he and
- [20230424](https://www.blazeward.com/20230424-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Got the Mondays. But in a good way. Last week, Jon mentioned the rpg
- [20230417](https://www.blazeward.com/20230417-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Getting tired of scraping the windows on the car in mid-April. 35F at
- [20230410](https://www.blazeward.com/20230410-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Been monsoonerating for about 24 hours, so I got breakfast and skipped shooting.
- [20230403](https://www.blazeward.com/20230403-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. I did not go shooting, because it snowed last night. WTF? Still had
- [20230327](https://www.blazeward.com/20230327-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Managed to get all the paper shipped for Corsac Fox Book One over the
- [20230320](https://www.blazeward.com/20230320-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Sent out the Corsac Fox ebooks to everyone last week. Hopefully you got it
- [20230313](https://www.blazeward.com/20230313-2/) - 20230306 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Finished Corsac #3 on Friday. (YAY!!!) Also got a chance to incorporate some
- [20230306](https://www.blazeward.com/20230306-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Still occasionally snowing around here. Got some last night, but not even a footprint
- [20230227](https://www.blazeward.com/20230227-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Lots of snow last week. Not much of it, but it snowed half a
- [Publishing A Genre Magazine In The Age Of Indie](https://www.blazeward.com/publishing-a-genre-magazine-in-the-age-of-indie/) - I got challenged by John (not really his intent, but he had some interesting, pointed questions for me, so here goes): Publishing A Genre Magazine In The Age Of Indie It started when the Fabulous Publisher Babe™ was part of the Uncollected Anthology project, some 8-10 years ago (I forget when, and it doesn’t matter
- [20230220](https://www.blazeward.com/20230220-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Weird Monday with the holiday, because the gaming group wanted to do a
- [20230213](https://www.blazeward.com/20230213-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monsoonerating last night. And Fabulous Publisher Babe™ had to get up at 5m to
- [Mid-week update a new Kickstarter project](https://www.blazeward.com/mid-week-update-a-new-kickstarter-project/) - Because, ya know? Y'all been listening to me go on and on about the Corsac Fox kickstarter (and it funded with nearly $4000 in the end, so thank you), and now I have more news. Just wasn't quite expecting it to come up so soon, and figured I should break and chat. (Plus, another midmonth
- [20230206](https://www.blazeward.com/20230206-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Heather#1 is done. Warlord of Yaumgan. Boy, did I have a lot of fun
- [20230130](https://www.blazeward.com/20230130-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] I won’t say everything is better, but I am a glass half-full kind of
- [Kickstarter: And First Stretch Goal hit!](https://www.blazeward.com/kickstarter-and-first-stretch-goal-hit/) - Yeah, off schedule, because advertising kinda requires I mention things several times, in order to motivate you to buy. (I've read the books and seen the math.) We funded on day one. And have now hit the first of a bunch of possible stretch goals for prizes and cool stuff I could do. You should
- [20230123](https://www.blazeward.com/20230123-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Knocking on wood, but the everything related to the new heat pump has
- [Kickstarter: Day Two](https://www.blazeward.com/kickstarter-day-two/) - I promise I'm not doing these daily. However... :) We went live at 9am Seattle time Wednesday. And hit our $1,000 goal around dinner time, so THANK YOU(!!!) for the help, the support, and the money. The best part was that an "expert" I dearly adore IRL told me that paper never sells, and that
- [The Kickstart is LIVE!](https://www.blazeward.com/the-kickstart-is-live/) - And we've made it https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/corsacfox/corsac-fox-a-military-space-opera-novel This has been a long time coming, from the original idea through to actually launching a kickstarter to fund it. But we made it. Now, I need your help. There’s not a lot left to say at this point, other than I hope that you’ll like what you see and
- [20230116](https://www.blazeward.com/20230116-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Got a nasty review from someone on Last Stand over the weekend. Posted the
- [Background: The Last Stand](https://www.blazeward.com/background-the-last-stand/) - [Due to a screwup at my end, this essay wasn't included in the ebook or print editions released on Jan 10 and nobody realized until someone asked over the weekend. Posting here, and will upload a new copy everywhere this week.] A while back, there was a discussion on social media about the short-lived TV
- [20230109](https://www.blazeward.com/20230109-2/) - 20230109 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] News, according to the second law of thermodynamics, is bad. Entropy, you see?
- [I might be crazy (-er)](https://www.blazeward.com/i-might-be-crazy-er/) - And then the cell network collapsed last night around 4pm as the wind started to howl. Power went at 730. EVERYWHERE. Lit a fire and went to bed. Got up this morning and went down to Enumclaw for breakfast. And actual internet, with the notification from the power company that power should ("should") come back
- [20230102](https://www.blazeward.com/20230102-2/) - 20230102 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. New Year. New me. New something. Trying to make it as mundane
- [20221226](https://www.blazeward.com/20221226-2/) - 20221219 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] [EXCESSIVE PROFANITIES HERE!!!] Got up Saturday morning and the furnace went out while
- [20221219](https://www.blazeward.com/20221219-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] After a game of “Stump every tech who works there” and having five different
- [20221212](https://www.blazeward.com/20221212-2/) - 20221212 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Well, here’s hoping this Monday goes better. Furnace died two weeks ago. Guys
- [20221205](https://www.blazeward.com/20221205-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Winter. I got a new standing desk, so I’m no longer looking into the
- [1997](https://www.blazeward.com/1997-2/) - Was talking to a social media friend/fan (probably about 7th ring out, more or less) and the character of Moirrey Kermode from the Jessica Keller books came up. Mostly in the context that her internal dialogue can be even more messy and complicated, linguistics and spelling-wise, than the words that emerge from her mouth. Went
- [20221121](https://www.blazeward.com/20221121-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] It’s a Monday. Currently, dealing with a webhost issue that functionally ate everything after
- [20221128](https://www.blazeward.com/20221128-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Woke up to snow. Not much and not bad. Monsoonerated all night, so warm,
- [20221114](https://www.blazeward.com/20221114-2/) - [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] More Update: was no longer contagious by wednesday. And Fabulous Publisher Babe™ stopped having
- [20221107](https://www.blazeward.com/20221107-2/) - 20221031 [As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Update: I have been sick with a mild, ongoing case of covid for
- [20221031](https://www.blazeward.com/20221031-2/) - 20221031 [If you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward), obviously, there is a two week lag. If you’d like your news fresh, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Happy halloween, to all the folks getting fake blood and candy all
- [20221024](https://www.blazeward.com/20221024-2/) - [If you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward), obviously, there is a two week lag. If you’d like your news fresh, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Fall has finally made it to the Pacific Northwest. Rained like hell on
- [20221017](https://www.blazeward.com/20221017-2/) - [If you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward), obviously, there is a two week lag. If you’d like your news fresh, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.] Monday. Went and got food. Skipped shooting. Wasn’t sure why I didn’t want
- [20221010](https://www.blazeward.com/20221010-2/) - [Obviously, two weeks lag if you aren’t reading this from Patreon. See details at the bottom.] Having a good Monday so far. Went to breakfast. Went to the archery range. Even shot pretty well. Did some Tai Chi Chuan and some cane form. Let’s call it something approximating normal. I’d like that, after all the
- [20221003](https://www.blazeward.com/20221003-2/) - [As usual, you're watching this two weeks later than folks on my Patreon feed. See below for details.] Fall might finally be upon us. After one, final taunting, I have not seen any presents from Jimmy-Jack in the yard. Thus, he has fertilized things sufficient. I always worry, because he’s about thirty, and that’s old
- [20220926](https://www.blazeward.com/20220926-2/) - [Reminder that Patreon posts lag two weeks. See details at the bottom if you want your news faster.] Monday. A real Monday, even, weird as that might be. Spent the last two driving all day, so I didn’t get to have my normal Monday. Been good so far (the day is early). Got up, went
- [Yer Gonna See Some Changes Around Here...](https://www.blazeward.com/yer-gonna-see-some-changes-around-here/) - Went to a retreat last week with a group of writers. It involved a long drive there and back again, so Fabulous Publisher Babe™ and I had time to talk business, because that’s what we do on long drives. The trip down to Oregon to see the eclipse spawned Boundary Shock Quarterly, for instance. Another
- [20220918](https://www.blazeward.com/20220918-2/) - (Editor's Note: There is a lag here, obviously) I’m writing this from Lincoln City, Oregon, on a Sunday morning instead of the usual Monday. Will post it tomorrow while I’m driving home. Been meeting with some folks down here to talk about stuff. Nothing formal. Mostly getting together with some folks I haven’t seen since
- [Planning for 2023](https://www.blazeward.com/planning-for-2023/) - Did a Publisher Meeting this morning for breakfast. That’s where I get to take Fabulous Publisher Babe™ out and we talk business. Because that what we do. Talk business. We started the weird part of the conversation talking about how one might handle passports and mail in an interstellar/galactic setting. Either you end up sending
- [CONvergence After Action Report (#CVG2022)](https://www.blazeward.com/convergence-after-action-report-cvg2022/) - Okay, that was a ball. And a really busy con (see image below). (#CVG2022) If I count it right, I had 17 panels over 4 days, out of 22 possible slots. (Didn’t let them schedule me past my 830-930pm slots. I needed my beauty sleep.) That’s amazingly busy, but it worked. I didn’t have any
- [Luna Di Luna](https://www.blazeward.com/luna-di-luna/) - So I’m in Minnesota. Staying in a suburb of Minneapolis called Eagan. Across the river on the south side. Yuppie suburb kind of place. Had lunch in Minneapolis Monday. Dinner and lunch Tuesday out here. Last night, we got a little weird. The Pizzafarmer lives in Minnesota. He was the inspiration for the Wilson Jaxx
- [Bouncy](https://www.blazeward.com/bouncy/) - I’m in Minnesota, counting down to CONvergence, which promises to be an utterly charming and awesome event. And I will not open myself up to so much work next year, assuming that they invite me back. (Seventeen things over four days, when I had honestly been expecting 6. That’s normal for a con, at least
- [The Stars of Science Fiction Humble Bundle!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/the-stars-of-science-fiction-humble-bundle/) - Wow. I’m in a Humblebundle with Brandon Sanderson, Frank Herbert(!), Alan Dean Foster, and Kevin J. Anderson. (And WAY more...) Seriously. It’s called the Stars of SciFi and it was put on by Draft2Digital to mark their new efforts in moving more directly into publishing, having largely been more of a middleman up until now.
- [The Power of Novellas](https://www.blazeward.com/the-power-of-novellas/) - A lot of folks seem to believe that you must either write short fiction, or novels in order to be successful. The short game gets you into magazines and such, where you build up your name and polish your writing craft. I even know a few folks that do make a steady living on short
- [The Power of Breaking Streaks](https://www.blazeward.com/the-power-of-breaking-streaks/) - The power of breaking streaks has been on my mind. I quit the day job to become a full-time writer at the end of February, 2018 (No Pants Day, as we celebrate it around here). I had previously been tracking my writing as an annual thing, but in March and April I realized that I
- [CONvergence 2022 schedule](https://www.blazeward.com/convergence-2022-schedule/) - So I am going to Minneapolis in August for the CONvergence convention. Hopefully, I’ll see folks there, but I just found out my schedule, and things are going to be a bit hectic. Fortunately, I’m also going to be in town for a few days ahead of time, so if you want to get together
- [That Old Bottle](https://www.blazeward.com/that-old-bottle/) - I had a Coke yesterday. Maybe not exotic to some of you, but I made a conscious decision in July of 2013 to stop drinking soda pop. Too much corn syrup in my life. Too many chemicals. Not healthy. Summer 2013 was kinda one of those big ones. At least for me. Major emotional breakdown.
- [Rich Wise: A Friend](https://www.blazeward.com/rich-wise-a-friend/) - I lost a good friend yesterday. Back in 2018 (I think), Fabulous Publisher Babe™ and I took the Coast Starlight (Amtrak) to Los Angeles from Seattle. Overnight, so we got a cabin and hung out there, plugged in and writing while enjoying the scenery and talking publishing. (Duh) Outside of Oakland, we hopped off, because
- [“You are a commodity, not a brand”](https://www.blazeward.com/you-are-a-commodity-not-a-brand/) - Fellow told me that the other day. Part of a discussion on the interwebs about the different lifestyles that come with Indie Publishing. First off, if anyone tells you that “you MUST” do X, feel free to ignore them. I’ll offer suggestions and hints, but I haven’t found the secret handshake that made me wealthy
- [The Neighborhood Horse](https://www.blazeward.com/the-neighborhood-horse/) - I bought property at the end of a cul-de-sac. In a quiet corner of rural King County (Seattle), with only two access points (NW and SW) for an area roughly 100 square miles. (The county bought the land around Rattlesnake Canyon and closed it off years ago, so you can’t get through that way anymore.
- [Forever Learning](https://www.blazeward.com/forever-learning/) - A long time ago, I came to the realization that things in life were either going to go uphill or downhill. You were either conquering mountains or settling for living a perfectly flat and boringly dreary life until death finally remembered to come for you. Nope. When I met the Fabulous Publisher Babe™, she introduced
- [Fanboy Report - 20220502](https://www.blazeward.com/fanboy-report-20220502/) - I got to fanboy yesterday. Phil Kosnett (the now-former Ambassador) and his lovely wife Alison have been on a west coast swing, visiting their daughter in LA and then their son in Portland, OR. And they were gracious enough to carve out time for me and Fabulous Publisher Babe™ to have dinner with them last
- [Anti-Stodgy and Muppet Flailing](https://www.blazeward.com/anti-stodgy-and-muppet-flailing/) - I’ve talked elsewhere about Fabulous Publisher Babe™’s Anti-Stodgy campaign. It arises from research showing that between about ages 14 and 24, your tastes tend to lock down. Same food. Same music. Same clothing. Same routine. Humans are creatures of pattern, so they get into something and stay. That’s how mid-life crises come about, when someone
- [Reach out](https://www.blazeward.com/reach-out/) - One of the things they don’t tell you about being a grown-up is that you’ll lose friends along the way. Partly, at least in my case, that’s the outcome of living a full and adventurous life. I wanted to talk recent times, but it dawns on me that I need to go way back to
- [You are the brand](https://www.blazeward.com/you-are-the-brand/) - Writers, you are a brand. You get that, right? When a reader sees your name on a cover, they will hopefully have a good idea what sort of story to expect. We’re beyond good art, good font, and good blurb here. Your name. Your brand. So what are you selling them? This came up for
- [I Art](https://www.blazeward.com/i-art/) - Had a few conversations recently that got me to thinking about impostor syndrome and how many folks that want to commit art end up holding back. I know a lot of creatives that can commit all manner of art. Could make money at it. Dunno about a living, because that involves a lot of work,
- [I Can't Save You](https://www.blazeward.com/i-cant-save-you/) - Because it’s come up three times now in the last few weeks, I thought I might share some thoughts on where we are in the modern age. Civility has taken a back seat for many people. Just the basic courtesy of not being an asshole to someone. I’m not talking about the ribbing and teasing
- [The January Man: A few thoughts](https://www.blazeward.com/the-january-man-a-few-thoughts/) - The January Man. One of my favorite movies, because it flips so many genre tropes on its head without ever breaking the fourth wall or mugging for the camera. Rich (read: Insane) characters in a fun setting, doing crazy shit. I often wonder if they just kind of handed the cast the rough outlines of
- [2021 in Books and things](https://www.blazeward.com/2021-in-books-and-things/) - Because there is now way in hell to discuss the year in general and not offend your delicate sensibilities with my profanity. So we’ll stick with writing productivity. For the year, I wrote fifteen novels. Five of those are the back of the First Centurion Kosnett books, of which Encounter at Vilahana and Consensus at
- [Eden Package and the Power of Inspiration](https://www.blazeward.com/eden-package-and-the-power-of-inspiration/) - When I first became convinced that I could write fiction and make enough money to call it a living, I had a number of ideas I wanted to pursue. The first and most important turned out to be The Science Officer, which led us into the entirety of the Alexandria Station Universe (minus only a
- [Have you considered being happy?](https://www.blazeward.com/have-you-considered-being-happy/) - Without going into details (the guilty would be too easy to identify), I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about deciding to be happy. In the way back, I was not a happy person. Folks who knew me in those days can testify that I was frequently a grumpy curmudgeon. Shitty
- [Progressive Fiction (not what you think)](https://www.blazeward.com/progressive-fiction-not-what-you-think/) - The Fabulous Publisher Babe™ follows a thread on reddit that talks about progressive fiction, except it’s not what immediately came to mind. The concept is for a series where the characters grow and age over time, rather than being trapped in a timeless state, book after book. It struck her as completely wrong for a
- [Curation](https://www.blazeward.com/curation/) - I woke up one morning in a terrible rage. Like I hadn’t been in decades at that point. Fire and fury. In the old days, it had been a defensive mechanism to keep people at bay. Keep them from getting too close and hurting me. And a lot did, at least until I learned to
- [I hardly remember him...](https://www.blazeward.com/i-hardly-remember-him/) - Long, shaggy dog story short, I had to do some interesting emotional processing over the weekend. A great deal of this story isn’t known to most people. Folks were there for parts of it, but not all, and I haven’t really talked about the whole that much. Background: going back 35+ years, I have a
- [Kosnett](https://www.blazeward.com/kosnett/) - As everyone remembers, I started playing the Star Fleet Battles (SFB) tabletop board game in the early 80s. Played a LOT. Had the early editions, then the collection when they redid everything. And a lot of SSD books and expansions. It was good. Played up until I came back from Los Angeles in 95. (broken
- [In media res](https://www.blazeward.com/in-media-res/) - In Media Res From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_medias_res) A narrative work beginning in medias res (Classical Latin: [ɪn ˈmɛdɪ.aːs ˈreːs], lit. "into the middle of things") opens in the midst of the plot (cf. ab ovo, ab initio).[1] Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, through dialogue, flashbacks or description of past events. For example, Hamlet
- [The Organic Approach](https://www.blazeward.com/the-organic-approach/) - My official job title with Knotted Road Press, Inc. is Marketing Troll. (Seriously. Says so in the incorporation papers. She’s the boss. I just work here.) Part of that is to address marketing issues in addition to my usual stuff. That means trying things to see if they will help build sales and revenue, which
- [Building your stories into chains...](https://www.blazeward.com/building-your-stories-into-chains/) - The topic of world-building and series building is a bit near and dear to my heart today, mostly for all the wrong reasons. I build a lot of universes for my science fiction. I try to keep the independent, and in doing so play with the technological advances, culture, etc, so that each isn’t just
- [Good and Evil](https://www.blazeward.com/good-and-evil/) - So the first four Wednesdays of every month (I get a few off over a year), I have a mastermind conversation with some pro. Writing and Publishing Peers, Writing Student (who is a concert pianist, former nude model, social media small businesswoman, literature expert, and composer), or Classical Composer. You learn a lot of things,
- [Homeowner skillz](https://www.blazeward.com/homeowner-skillz/) - So after a week camping, and a day driving a Mini Cooper with a camper trailer behind it (mine looks just like the picture on the main page), I was exhausted. It had been a long week. Sub-standard for other reasons. I wanted a bath. I designed my house’s bathroom with an oversized tub on
- [I’m in a Space Opera Bundle!](https://www.blazeward.com/im-in-a-space-opera-bundle/) - The Cosmic Visionaries Story Bundle, curated by Robert Jeschonek: What is it about space opera that makes us love it so much? The action, the exotic settings, the colorful characters, the alien species? The promise of countless adventures in the face of the great unknown? The excitement of imagining what humanity may someday become and
- [I rolled a 1](https://www.blazeward.com/i-rolled-a-1/) - I rolled a 1. Easy enough to do. In Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, the Gamemaster occasionally calls for a skill or attribute roll when you are doing something. In this case, I was making coffee, like I do several times a day. Except that I hooked my pinkie on the cup as I went
- [Do you entertain?](https://www.blazeward.com/do-you-entertain/) - Had a long phone call with a friend and fellow writer yesterday. Such things tend to ramble, and that’s good. We’re both writers, so mostly we talk craft and business. And music, because she’s a musician. And other things. (The wife accuses this redneck of being a renaissance man.) Not entirely random, but getting there.
- [The Secret Handshake](https://www.blazeward.com/the-secret-handshake-2021/) - I get asked certain questions by young writers occasionally. They take different forms, but all come back down to a shorthand Fabulous Publisher Babe™ and I call “The Secret Handshake.” That’s where someone is just simply convinced that there is some mystical bit of knowledge about the craft of writing that they can learn, that
- [Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up, and Hang On...](https://www.blazeward.com/get-in-sit-down-shut-up-and-hang-on/) - Got to go run errands with a buddy of mine the other day. He’s a martial artist student who has been committed for more than forty years. Senior kind of guy now. Stubborn. Hard-headed, even. Catches hell from others occasionally because the form of art he does (Karate) is hard on the body. Wears you
- [T.I.L.](https://www.blazeward.com/t-i-l/) - "T.I.L." Internet shorthand for “Today I Learned.” I typed it the other day, sharing something nifty that had come across my social media feed that I didn’t know before. Then it hit me. I’m not unique in actively learning new things, but many folks out there don’t seem to ever learn anything. Fabulous Publisher Babe™
- [Dealing with series](https://www.blazeward.com/dealing-with-series/) - Some days, I hate series. Not in a bad way, but in the manner that I have to work my ass off to cover them. Jessica Keller came out as I wrote it, which took several years. Lazarus (almost done) required me to bounce back and forth several times to complete, all in a short
- [How do you make it stop?](https://www.blazeward.com/how-do-you-make-it-stop/) - I was chatting online with a younger writer the other day and she had a moment of utter frustration with her current project, so I had to explain that what she was feeling was a good sign. When you go to a con panel with writers, there is inevitably some youngster who stands up in
- [Legacy](https://www.blazeward.com/legacy/) - Lazarus 5 came out over the last twelve hours. Hopefully y’all have downloaded it and it’s high on your TBR file. I had a lot of fun with this series. Originally, it was supposed to run six novels, but as I got down to the end of five, I realized that it would be seven,
- [Social Media Inflection](https://www.blazeward.com/social-media-inflection/) - We might be seeing the impending death of social media, as it has come to define much of American culture over the last decade or so. Some of you found me on places like Facebook. I’m not planning to deactivate my account anytime soon, but over the weekend a number of friends hit their own,
- [One Down](https://www.blazeward.com/one-down/) - So yesterday, I finally got my first shot. Washington State started bad a year ago, but got better once the governor (Democrat Jay Inslee. I can only imagine what a shit-show either of the GWP morons who ran against him would have had) shut things down. I live on the edge of an extremely red
- [Professionalism](https://www.blazeward.com/professionalism/) - So here’s the scenario: I put up a semi-open call for the newest Blaze Ward Presents anthology about a week ago. I only post them on FB, because that’s the only social medium I pursue beyond my own newsletter, but that newsletter is for readers, not writers. (Got a different one for artists, if you
- [A Day Off](https://www.blazeward.com/a-day-off/) - I had not brain today. (Warning, still slightly loopy, upon review.) Fixed dinner last night and managed to poison myself. I have always had a mild allergic reaction to onions, as far back as I can remember. Used to be I thought it was just a bad reaction, but I really am allergic. Just not
- [Chesterton's Fence](https://www.blazeward.com/chestertons-fence/) - Got a bit irked or maybe inspired this morning by a friend. They had a complaint about a fairly common saying that made no sense to them and went off on a rant that turned into a tirade by the time they were done. I won’t mention the topic, because that would out them too
- [Hurt Dogs Howl](https://www.blazeward.com/hurt-dogs-howl/) - Part of my social media presence involves sharing silly things I find elsewhere. (I don’t share some of them, because the AI bots and South Asians hired to enforce things have a decidedly different political slant than I do, and its not worth the grief.) At the same time, I share things I find uplifting.
- [Mind Mapping The Future](https://www.blazeward.com/mind-mapping-the-future/) - About a decade ago, I worked at a company that used mind mapping software (don’t remember which one, but I loved it at the time). When the company went away, I could no longer find anything at a reasonable price, because the licenses were all expensive and annual. Got out of the habit of mind
- [We're all stressed...](https://www.blazeward.com/were-all-stressed/) - I get that. For Americans with any empathy at all, the last year has been a hard one, as they listened to the medical professionals and stayed home, wore masks, and cared about others, especially when other folks with no humanity at all threw fits about personal freedom and spread disease everywhere. I do not
- [Lazarus: Return](https://www.blazeward.com/lazarus-return/) - When I set out, I had no idea where I was going with this series. Literally. I’ve talked about it before now. Just laying in the tub one night soaking and relaxing, and the opening words of Chapter One of Book One (Escape) hit me. I had to get up, dry off, get dressed, and
- [I Have Eight Spoons](https://www.blazeward.com/i-have-eight-spoons/) - It used to be ten, but we’re down to eight now. I’m speaking metaphorically, of course, before you manage to pull your undies so tight that they cut off your circulation. It used to be that I had an amount of work I could generally accomplish in a day. Write all morning. Errands in the
- [After The Darkness](https://www.blazeward.com/after-the-darkness/) - I wrote a blog post yesterday, but realized as soon as I started that I was too angry to publish it. Yesterday was the American Inauguration, and the end of the Trump Presidency. The third Wednesday in January of 2021, when the first one was an attempted coup and the second one was the impeachment
- [The Lazarus Alliance](https://www.blazeward.com/the-lazarus-alliance/) - So I have a new series coming out in January 2021. The Lazarus Alliance. Escape Return Rebellion Revolution Liberation Retribution Alliance Those seven covers us from January through July, and I already have other things coming out after that as well as during (non-SF drops in the spring, as it were). This is a new
- [Eating Healthy 2021](https://www.blazeward.com/eating-healthy-2021/) - So I do a twice-monthly writer newsletter as part of my social media existence. Other people do more, some do less. We all have our comfort zone. Some folks do FB. Other IG. Or Twitter. The key is to find that thing that you can do and largely ignore the others because that’s a rabbit
- [2021 Aspirations](https://www.blazeward.com/2021-aspirations/) - I am not going to call this anything silly like “Goals” because 2021 is likely to be even more messy than 2020 was. We went into this past year with the impeachment (remember those halcyon days of innocence?), and that brought with it an expectation that sales would take something of a hit, as people
- [In Memorium: Terry](https://www.blazeward.com/in-memorium-terry/) - Oct 20, 1940 - Dec 19, 2020 My Mom, Terry Lynn (Brodbeck) Ward died sometime last night. She'd been in hospice for that last six weeks or so, once it became clear that the cancer behind her eye had rendered her blind and created so much pressure on her brain that her cognition was rapidly
- [The Hero's Journey VERSUS Seven Point Plot Structure](https://www.blazeward.com/the-heros-journey-versus-seven-point-plot-structure/) - So I never intended to be a writer, in the way of many of the folks I know. They were all in on English, literature, creative writing, etc. I actually wanted to take a speech class for my last semester in High School, but the lovely bitch assistant principle explained that if I wanted her
- [I Can Never Fail](https://www.blazeward.com/i-can-never-fail/) - So Fabulous Publisher Babe™ and I have the Anti-Stodgy Campaign, where each month we consciously try to do something new. Something fresh. Something we’ve never done before. I will be the first to admit that it doesn’t always work out, but the whole point is the newness, not the potential improvements to efficiency. She and
- [Season Two: A Sneak Peek](https://www.blazeward.com/season-two-a-sneak-peek/) - So the first eight Science Officer books cover one complete arc of long story story, broken into a number of pieces. When I was done with Hammerfield, I needed a break, because I had told Javier's story the way I wanted, but always knew that there was more out there. (I have extensive notes on
- [OryCon 2020](https://www.blazeward.com/orycon-2020/) - I did a Con OryCon has always been one of my favorites. For the last several years I have even been lucky enough to be on panels, talking about what it means to be a writer in the modern age. OryCon is even moving into the present, however slowly and painfully. For the longest time,
- [NaNoWriMo Check-in](https://www.blazeward.com/nanowrimo-check-in/) - I don’t do NaNo, which is the National Novel Writing Month. Everyone participating is aiming for a goal of writing a 50,000 word novel in November, which is a fantastic goal for most writers. In the old days, Traditional Publishing (aka New York City) only let you publish one novel per year. I know a
- [Something Sort Of Like Normal](https://www.blazeward.com/something-sort-of-like-normal/) - I work from home. Have since March 2018. For me, the sudden "work from home" that everyone else fell into earlier this year wasn't much of a hiccup. Instead, book sales tended to sag (if you weren't in one of the subscription services, which saw a boost when people were suddenly worried about expenses). Hoping
- [Blaze Ward Presents](https://www.blazeward.com/blaze-ward-presents/) - Seriously. Or rather, not so serious, as it were. When you open an anthology call with a one sentence theme, and challenge people to out-weird each other, the results can be strange. And a lot of fun. As of October 1, I have put out the open call for Issue #4: "Cloak and Dagger" However
- [Fire, Chaos, and Rebirth](https://www.blazeward.com/fire-chaos-and-rebirth/) - On top of everything else in 2020, I had to rebuild the barn roof. Took the opportunity to clean out the middle bay of the barn itself. That’s the one with a lot of personal stuff, but some things have gone a little wrong. My Mom lived with me for a few years, back when
- [Gentrification and boba](https://www.blazeward.com/gentrification-and-boba/) - I live in a highly redneck section of King County, Washington. Most people think of this as the Left Coast and Starbucks sipping hippies (not entirely untrue) but if you go by zipcodes, I’m pretty sure this area went red by a significant margin in 2016. I knew that when I bought the property to
- [Hard Reset](https://www.blazeward.com/hard-reset/) - August has kind of sucked. Not terrible, but just a drag on all aspects. First we got the house restained inside and out at the end of July, which was lovely, but required me to tear the house apart so the guy could get to all the walls and ceiling. Still not back to normal.
- [The Living Room Test](https://www.blazeward.com/the-living-room-test/) - I’m tired. Fortunately, I took an entire day to sleep and recover before I wrote this blog post, so you can just imagine what it would have sounded like yesterday. Today, we’re going to talk about the Living Room Test. This is the era of social media. It might change later, but right now a
- [Does an Interstellar Species go extinct?](https://www.blazeward.com/does-an-interstellar-species-go-extinct/) - Those of you who have been reading the Star Tribes series have seen Daniel's ruminations on the topic. Assuming a reliable, fast FTL technology that allows regular travel and commerce between different stars, would a species that start colonizing ever die out? Hard question to answer. On Earth, rats have been introduced everywhere that humans
- [More summer weirdness](https://www.blazeward.com/more-summer-weirdness/) - So I'll go into greater detail in the newsletter coming tomorrow, but I had a summer cold last week. (Just a cold, with a lot of panic.) Lost two days of brainless sitting on the couch. Way behind on word count and not really feeling the need to make it up because eventually I have
- [Ugly Summers](https://www.blazeward.com/ugly-summers/) - I've had a cold for the last several days. (Only a cold. Been paying attention to symptoms.) Haven't gotten hardly any writing done, because there just wasn't brain there. Decided that July was going to be a month I broke my daily average streak, just so that I didn't have it lingering over me. Still
- [You are responsible for your own career...](https://www.blazeward.com/you-are-responsible-for-your-own-career/) - Or, nobody else has any better idea what will work than you do, so listen to what they say, absorb it, and then do what you think it right. After all, the only limits are MY imagination? Y’all are DOOMED!!! Just thought I would share that thought with everyone, as I move into the fall,
- [Setting](https://www.blazeward.com/setting/) - Setting Putting on my editor hat today, because something that I take for granted turned out to be a lesson folks occasionally forget. I was talking to Fabulous Publisher Babe™ last night about one of the projects I am currently editing. (Hint: I always have SOMETHING in process these days, with various timelines across Boundary
- [SwiftStar](https://www.blazeward.com/swiftstar/) - The Star Tribes series of books has been something of an anomaly for me. The main character is an Arab of Algerian descent, trained as a French chef. The Mbaysey are an entire tribe of women, and they are 85% female, originally (culturally) Nigerian/Igbo. The villains are generally Persians from the plateau, culturally evolved forward
- [The Firehose](https://www.blazeward.com/the-firehose/) - That’s a term we use when we encounter a writer just making the transition out of the old Traditional Publishing mindset and starting to think about going Indie. There is so much to learn that it ends up being something like trying to drink from a firehose. And it’s not for everyone. I’m not about
- [On Becoming](https://www.blazeward.com/on-becoming/) - So for as long as I can remember (at least 35 years, probably longer), I have generally sat down in June and reinvented myself. As I explain to others, I become someone else. This keeps me from getting stodgy and set in my ways. (And, mind you, I was doing this long before I met
- [Militant Lesbian Tree Octopus Sorceress](https://www.blazeward.com/militant-lesbian-tree-octopus-sorceress/) - Akahana (Japanese, Feminine): "Red Rose/Beautiful Flower" So I had this idea for a character in a fantasy setting based on the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus (https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/) who had been a familiar summoned by some wizard, but who had somehow managed to survive when he got killed. I grew up playing D&D in the WAY old
- [Death in fiction](https://www.blazeward.com/death-in-fiction/) - So I tend to write in a lot of genres, but a common, overall theme is adventure. One of the things about adventure writing is that everybody doesn't have to be murder-hobos. I watch too many movies where they seem to measure the gravitas of things by the body count. And heroes aren’t really heroes
- [SeptStar](https://www.blazeward.com/septstar/) - In about a week, the third Star Tribes book drops. SeptStar. This one was probably my favorite of the five to write, because you'll get to meet the Anndaing ("ahn-DAH-ing"). If humans evolved from an arboreal tree shrew, the Anndaing started as hammerhead sharks. Seriously. Sharkskin. That mobile hammer made of cartilage with eyes at
- [What "verb" is your cover?](https://www.blazeward.com/what-verb-is-your-cover/) - So I've been having conversations with a variety of folks recently about covers and cover art. Part of the Milestone Indie Publishing Newsletter going out in a couple of weeks contains some of these thoughts, but that one is largely focused on the art itself, so I wanted to address writers now instead. My recent
- [Using the Amazon Pulse](https://www.blazeward.com/using-the-amazon-pulse/) - So it comes up from time to time, but not everyone hears it, or remembers it. There are regular and generally accepted "rumors" that publishing on Amazon on a regular rate ("The Pulse") helps with your overall author ranking, as well as your placement of books in "Also bought" and "You might like" as a
- [SeekerStar](https://www.blazeward.com/seekerstar/) - Hopefully, everyone enjoyed WinterStar. Just sent the final manuscript for MorningStar to the Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) last night and I believe it is in the publishing process everywhere as we speak. In between, you got some time. WinterStar SeekerStar SeptStar SwiftStar MorningStar SeekerStar comes out this weekend (technically Mother's Day so maybe you need to
- ["Modern" Indie Publishing](https://www.blazeward.com/modern-indie-publishing/) - So I have a patreon. And on the second of the month, I send out something to my people. Last month, what I was SUPPOSED to send out was the first three Yasmin of the Desert stories. Then this month I would follow up with 4&5, and in June they would get 6&7. 8 is
- [The starship as a character](https://www.blazeward.com/the-starship-as-a-character/) - So I generally write space opera and space adventure. (Plus some dieselpunk that also qualifies here, as you'll see once you read that series.) One of the interesting things about this sub-set of genres is the importance of the vessel transporting your crew of misfits wherever they are going. Star Trek TOS had this lovely,
- [Professionally Offended](https://www.blazeward.com/professionally-offended/) - Backstory: A friend reached out because he has a cousin who is a writer and who got offered a contract by a publisher and could I take a look at it? Sure. I've been making a full-time living as a writer for several years now. Plus, I have a background in legal research, going way
- [My friend Perry](https://www.blazeward.com/my-friend-perry/) - at 8 am every morning, I have a little doohickey on my phone that chirps to tell me if there is a birthday today or tomorrow. That's my alert to get my ass to writing if I got up at the usual time, but today I slept in a little. First Monday back to normal
- [Quarantined: Week One](https://www.blazeward.com/quarantined-week-one/) - So many of you know that Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) came down with symptoms last Saturday. Not bad. The week turned into a very mild case of the yucks as I made her stay over here in the main house with me (kitty was a little disgruntled) and stay on the couch all day, frequently napping
- [Advanced Reader Copies: An Experiment](https://www.blazeward.com/advanced-reader-copies-an-experiment/) - So I have started putting up short fiction at the Store on my website. Most of it it $0.99, which makes me a few more pennies than selling them elsewhere. However, I've gotten a few requests for some of the longer stuff that's in the can right now without publication dates. I wrote 20 novels
- [I got awesome fans](https://www.blazeward.com/i-got-awesome-fans/) - Name: Unknown Whoever you are: thanks. So I got a note on Amazon a couple days ago of "errors" in Flight of the Blackbird. 14 of them (I think). Well, shit. Went and looked them up. Some awesome person who has the right kind of brain had nailed 14 typos or related mistakes in the
- [Pacing](https://www.blazeward.com/pacing/) - I'm working on a new novel. I know, shocked, SHOCKED to hear there is gambling going on in this establishment. (#48, for those of you keeping score at home.) The definition of a novel is fluid, and depends on who you ask. Some consider it as low as 30,000 words. Others range up to 60,000.
- [Well, so much for that idea...](https://www.blazeward.com/well-so-much-for-that-idea/) - As many of you know, I'm an Indie Writer making a living from my fiction. (This year's going to suck for everyone, but the last several years have been good and I'll get through all this as well and keep writing.) Just got the official word from a publisher I have been working with that
- [I have silly deer](https://www.blazeward.com/i-have-silly-deer/) - So Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I just went for a walk. She has a fitbit and is subject the the "tyranny of movement" because it reminds her at 10 minutes til the hour if she hasn't walked at least 250 steps. There are two driveways from the bottom of the hill where the road ends.
- [Writing in the time of apocalyse](https://www.blazeward.com/writing-in-the-time-of-apocalyse/) - Statement 1) I am an introvert. Statement 2) I "retired" from the dayjob in Feb 2018, so I'm 25 months into writing full time from home. I stand at the counter in the kitchen, at the bar that sticks out like a peninsula and cuts the greatroom into kitchen over there and living room over
- [Carpenters and Chairs](https://www.blazeward.com/carpenters-and-chairs/) - It's an old note, but I figure that it's worth talking about again, especially in light of the new Milestone Publisher newsletter that I started up recently. That one will focus almost entirely on the business of publishing, but occasionally we need to chat about the craft as well. I'm working with a new author.
- [Spotlight on the Introvert](https://www.blazeward.com/spotlight-on-the-introvert/) - So in this modern age, the biggest thing for an indie author is discoverability. Folks will buy your books, once they know who you are. If you have more books, they'll give you more money. But they gotta find you first. Got up this morning and did a quick count in my head, just because
- [You've got one week...](https://www.blazeward.com/youve-got-one-week/) - I'm in a storybundle and it will be over in a week. New series. New universe. Heap-tons of aliens of all sorts. Book one of an awesome new series, but this is an exclusive, so you can get started now and really enjoy yourself. I've gotten lots of comments from folks on how much they
- [My Damned Hippy Wife, part whatever](https://www.blazeward.com/my-damned-hippy-wife-part-whatever/) - She enables, so I get to blame her for all sorts of things (she knew this when she married me, however, unlike someone we met over the weekend, the police were not involved. heh) Went into Renton today to get coconut milk at Uwajymaya. Almost out, but highway 169 has been closed since Friday. Rarely
- [Vision of the Future: The Lazarus Alliance](https://www.blazeward.com/vision-of-the-future-the-lazarus-alliance/) - Most of you have been paying attention enough to know that I occasionally get invited to participate in story bundle collections. Starting today, we're live with a new one called Visions of the Future. A little fun background: A couple of previous times, I got contacted at the last minute because someone had dropped out
- [Cover Creator from Book Brush](https://www.blazeward.com/cover-creator-from-book-brush/) - Some of you have heard me talking about a new tool coming to do covers that is easy, fast, and relatively cheap. The folks at Bookbrush have now made the Cover Creator. You should already be using Bookbrush to do your marketing and advertising images, because is it so easy and useful. However, you can
- [What replaces boomer rock?](https://www.blazeward.com/what-replaces-boomer-rock/) - So Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I stopped in a new restaurant for breakfast this morning. We had spent the night with some friends way up north after throwing a party, and hit 12th Avenue Cafe in Issaquah on the drive south. Pretty solid breakfast, but that's not why we're here today. Was listening to the
- [I have committed a capitalism](https://www.blazeward.com/i-have-committed-a-capitalism/) - And you can, too!!! So I have mentioned that I would be putting up a new store to sell exclusive fiction. That happened last week and Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) has reminded me more than once that it has gone from stupidly complicated to really easy to set up a sight with WooCommerce on the front
- [The Shop is open for business!!](https://www.blazeward.com/the-shop-is-open-for-business/) - So the original plan had been to do this sometime in Q1 of 2020. Fabulous Publisher Babe (TM) got her store up earlier this week and on Friday she got it installed here and we are off and running. (Thanks to my two first customers for confirming that everything works.) The Shop Every month, the
- [2020: The Plan](https://www.blazeward.com/2020-the-plan/) - So, in 2019, the final count was 20 novels and 21.5 short/medium/novella stories (finished Eva #5 on Jan 1, 2020 as the 22nd). 1,394,982 words because I damned well didn't want to push that hard the last three days, thank you very much. Call is a shade under 1.4 million words. Good enough. My goal
- [It was thirty years ago today](https://www.blazeward.com/it-was-thirty-years-ago-today/) - Sgt Pepper taught some punks to play... Woke up this morning and realized that 2020 did have some emotional impact on me after all. We bounce back thirty years to one of those spectacular inflection points that you run into in life and look around. (Those of you who've known me for a while can
- [Phoenix (Shadow of the Dominion 5)](https://www.blazeward.com/phoenix-shadow-of-the-dominion-5/) - Just a quick, friendly reminder that Phoenix (Shadow of the Dominion #5) comes out on Jan 10, 2020. wow. 2020. I'm old. But I'm not done yet. Got lots more fiction in me and hopefully y'all will continue to enjoy it. Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments on the series so far. This one
- [Countdown to Phoenix](https://www.blazeward.com/countdown-to-phoenix/) - So we're coming up on the Christmas holiday in the West. Happy whatever holidays you celebrate where you are. By now a few of you have read Petron. Thank you for the lovely reviews and commentary. As I have said, it is really the end of Jessica's story (for now), but there are places I
- [So apparently I'm Dutch now. Or something](https://www.blazeward.com/so-apparently-im-dutch-now-or-something/) - Update: Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) is a woman of a particular age, and the doctors recommend 4 oz of fatty fish every week to get all the right stuff in her diet. For the last however long, we've gone and gotten sushi at this fantastic place in Maple Valley, WA. Sumo Sushi, on Highway 169 if
- [It's a pj's kinda day](https://www.blazeward.com/its-a-pjs-kinda-day/) - we've been way too social over the last week or so. It's been wonderful, and I'm glad we did, but I needed to take a day off. Normally on Sunday morning we go down to Krain, WA (just north of Enumclaw) and have breakfast at the Krain Cafe. Damned good food and amazing people. Today,
- [The Indie World and Fans](https://www.blazeward.com/the-indie-world-and-fans/) - So I don't have a formal publisher. Or rather, I married her. Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) We write fast and publish regularly. I'll put out 14 novels in 2019 and write 20. 4 Issues of Boundary Shock Quarterly. 2 Issues of Blaze Ward Presents. Turn them around pretty quickly, because the Canadian Copyeditor Babe(tm) works fast.
- [Countdown to Petron](https://www.blazeward.com/countdown-to-petron/) - Just about a week to go, and I'm hoping the rest of you are as excited as I am. Late in the day on the Dec 9 (Seattle time), the fourteenth (and currently last) of the Jessica Keller books will be out. PETRON I really enjoyed that book, even as long as the story ended
- [Been playing with new covers](https://www.blazeward.com/been-playing-with-new-covers/) - A reminder for folks who might have missed it in other place: Sometime early next year (Q1-ish), the plan is to start selling certain short fiction directly from my website, rather than out on the major distributors. There are lots of reasons, but primarily, I don't sell a lot of short fiction, even when I
- [Thanksgiving cooking](https://www.blazeward.com/thanksgiving-cooking/) - We do things a little nonconventional, out here on the farm. That includes holidays. American Thanksgiving will be this week, so Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I have been working on things. We're going to spatchcock a chicken and then have strange fixings on the side. I'm allergic to onions and mushrooms. She can't do eggs,
- [OryCon wrapup and stuff](https://www.blazeward.com/orycon-wrapup-and-stuff/) - I have so many outlets of communication these days that the blog is going to be far less than it used to, but I'll still share things here that don't go elsewhere. Let's face it, I have my Patreon, where every Monday I try to talk about what I've been writing, in way more detail
- [Checking In With Myself](https://www.blazeward.com/checking-in-with-myself/) - It's late October and I'm coming up on the end of the year. Time to sit down and determine how things went and are going. Yesterday, I finished the second novel in the Air Pirates of Cyrenaica series. That's number 18 for the year and number 40 overall. (Sped way up this year on a
- [Settling into Fall](https://www.blazeward.com/settling-into-fall/) - At least that's as far as I'm willing to commit to at present. Crazy summer is over (theoretically). Got one part of the fence project left to finish partway on Monday and then hang the deer netting after that and call it done. Recovering from NINC. Mostly. Got a lot of homework in front of
- [NINC Conference - Day Four (Retrospective)](https://www.blazeward.com/ninc-conference-day-four-retrospective/) - [From last week's NINC conference, written in real time and then stored to be sent out a week later.] Saturday. Actually managed to sleep some last night. The hotel has a set temperature at all times, and it gets warm in the room. Or rather, I let my house get cold at night (66 in
- [NINC Conference - Day Three (Retrospective)](https://www.blazeward.com/ninc-conference-day-three-retrospective/) - [From last week's NINC conference, written in real time and then stored to be sent out a week later.] Blogging for the shy Had lunch with several lovely folks today. The question I try to ask everyone this year is “What thing did you learn that you think will completely overturn publishing next year?” Not
- [NINC Conference - Day Two (Retrospective)](https://www.blazeward.com/ninc-conference-day-two-retrospective/) - [From last week's NINC conference, written in real time and then stored to be sent out a week later.] There is no backlist The term backlist came up yesterday in conversation. A woman previous tradpubbed talking about how to rejuvenate her backlist. At the time, I wasn’t sure why the term offended me, but last
- [NINC Conference - Day One (Retrospective)](https://www.blazeward.com/ninc-conference-day-one-retrospective/) - [From last week's NINC conference, written in real time and then stored to be sent out a week later.] So I’m actually writing this blog post on my computer and storing it for delivery next week, but I wanted to keep things sharp while they were fresh. It is Wednesday, 9/25. I’m in Florida at
- [Bread and Circuses](https://www.blazeward.com/bread-and-circuses/) - Had one of those conversations with another writer the other day. You know the ones. When they ask me about my writing goals and I tell them what I'm going to execute this year. The one where their eyes glaze over and fear begins to creep in. Something about having already crossed one million words
- [Future PreOrders](https://www.blazeward.com/future-preorders/) - So Amazon made an interesting change in how they handle pre-orders for ebooks sometime in the recent past. Not sure when exactly, but the news bubbled up to me in the last few weeks. In the past, you could only put up a book for preorder something like ninety days out . That made sense,
- [Hard Bargain](https://www.blazeward.com/hard-bargain/) - Counting down to live. Hard Bargain will drop in a couple of days. If you haven't already read Longshot Hypothesis, you should do so now. (And by the way, Outermost is available for pre-order most places, but doesn't come out until October 10.) So Hard Bargain was not supposed to turn out the way it
- [Seriously, I married a hippy](https://www.blazeward.com/seriously-i-married-a-hippy/) - Some of you have been following along at home with the adventures in food around the farm. I've always been allergic to onions (didn't realize that the symptoms were allergy and not intolerance until just recently) and then developed an allergy to mushrooms about ten years ago. Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) is allergic to anything derived
- [Masterminding](https://www.blazeward.com/masterminding/) - I'm always surprised that more people don't know about the concept of the Mastermind Group, so I figured I'd take the time to put down my explanation here, as a way to generating some traffic on the concept and getting people engaged. So let's start with the Wikipedia definition (slightly edited for clarity here. emph
- [Shadow of the Dominion](https://www.blazeward.com/shadow-of-the-dominion/) - Woo-hoo!!!! So, news update. Some of you have been paying attention to the new series getting ramped up over the rest of the fall and into the winter. Shadow of the Dominion. Fun stuff. The old discussion in the genre of Science Fiction is whether a series is Space Opera or Space Adventure. Mostly, the
- [Fleet Centurion Kosnett](https://www.blazeward.com/fleet-centurion-kosnett/) - So by now some of you have read the CS-405 spin-off trilogy that falls between St. Legier and Winterhome in the Jessica Keller series. Those are also referred to as the Kosnett Trilogy, because Command Centurion Phil Kosnett is the central axis around which everything rotates. I originally got the name of the character from
- [Series and Continuity](https://www.blazeward.com/series-and-continuity/) - So as I learn things about the business and craft of being a writer, I try to write a new Business For Breakfast book, so that others can take advantage of that. (And pay me some money along the way.) The goal is 2 of these each year, on a variety of topics, because the
- [Trial of the Star Dragon](https://www.blazeward.com/trial-of-the-star-dragon/) - “PEOPLE OF THE EARTH, YOU WILL HEAR ME.” Hope y'all enjoyed the cliffhanger that was the end of Shadow of the Star Dragon. I certainly had a lot of fun writing those books. In just a few days, the series will reach culmination with Trial of the Star Dragon, out late in the evening August
- [The Middleman Syndrome](https://www.blazeward.com/the-middleman-syndrome/) - Someone asked me the other day why it was that I don’t sell books directly off of my website, when the tools make it so easy to do these days. According to them, I was losing money because I could sell my books directly to my superfans for less than they could buy them from
- [More Hippy News](https://www.blazeward.com/more-hippy-news/) - Many of you know about my weird diet. I blame my damned, hippy wife, Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm). Over the last whatever, I've taken to building out what we call flavor packs, which is usually an odd assortment of meats, individually parceled out, so that I can just dump one in the slow cooker, along with
- [The Secret Handshake](https://www.blazeward.com/the-secret-handshake/) - I'm not sure where Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I picked up the term, but we use it to describe a certain subset of writers who seem to believe that there really is a Secret Handshake to fame, and that it they learn it, that's the missing piece they need to make it big. Of course,
- [Looking Inward](https://www.blazeward.com/looking-inward/) - Those of you who've known me for a long time will understand that I don't talk much about the stuff that goes on inside my head. Most of the time, that's a good choice for just about everyone involved, because I never claimed to be sane. Fake it well enough most of the time, but
- [Alchemy: A book review](https://www.blazeward.com/alchemy-a-book-review/) - Just finished a business book on branding that I think will be rather useful for artists. WARNING: people who like spreadsheets should lock their doors now, avert their eyes, and just keep driving. Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life Rory is an advertising guy, through and
- [Moles: A tale of the future.](https://www.blazeward.com/moles-a-tale-of-the-future/) - Stopped by the PO box on the way home today from the South Sound Writers Lunch to a lovely prize. The paper edition of Blaze Ward Presents 001: An Interpretation of Moles had arrived. Looks lovely. The rest of the way home, Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I were reflecting that the world has changed, yet
- [Star Dragon: Small whoops](https://www.blazeward.com/star-dragon-small-whoops/) - So we didn't realize it at the time, but we managed to set the pre-order for #3 and #4 both to July 10, when Shadow of the Star Dragon should have been Aug 10 instead. Whoops. And it's too late to fix, so the discussion was just pull Trial of the Star Dragon forward one
- [Just a few days left](https://www.blazeward.com/just-a-few-days-left/) - Hey, gang. The Space Travelers Bundle runs out on Wednesday and then you will no longer be able to purchase a copy of WinterStar to read until sometime in 2020. Move quickly on your quest. Same goes for the others, since I'm just one of four exclusives this time around. Kristine Smith, Robert Jeschonek, and
- [An Interpretation of Moles](https://www.blazeward.com/an-interpretation-of-moles/) - Because it was just that silly. "Moles. Seriously? Yes. Mostly seriously. Chemists, Zoologists, Dermatologists, Government Agencies, and Mexican Food. Over a dozen modern authors offer their take on an Interpretation of Moles. Every kind, every definition. From silly to sublime, this anthology takes you on a wild ride, where the only rule was that it
- [Publishing: The Modern Age](https://www.blazeward.com/publishing-the-modern-age/) - I'm going to go ahead and blame Steve Barnes. I happened to be sitting with a group of folks he wanted to say hello to at a recent con, and the man stopped and talked with all of us for about twenty or thirty minutes. (In case you've never met him in person, he's simply
- [More Star Dragon news](https://www.blazeward.com/more-star-dragon-news/) - Just as a reminder: Call of the Star Dragon is coming out in a few weeks. Have you put in your pre-order yet? This is #3, and marks the halfway point. It's also the beginning of a three-part, cliff-hanging ending where I went back to those great serials from the forties and fifties, like the
- [Only available here!](https://www.blazeward.com/only-available-here/) - Hey, gang. Long story, cut down to reasonable size: I'm in a new story bundle called Space Travelers. Unlike previous bundles I've been in, my novel (WinterStar) is not going to get published anywhere else until sometime in 2020. Hint: if you want to read it, you better buy it now. Or offer up some
- [Book Two Is AVAILABLE!!](https://www.blazeward.com/book-two-is-available/) - In case you missed it, Flight of the Star Dragon is now available. We continue the adventures of Gareth St. John Dankworth in the Accord of Souls. All the bad guys are still around, and the good guys aren't really that good, or at least, they don't like Gareth all that much. (Can you blame
- [Findaway Voices & Audio Excitement](https://www.blazeward.com/findaway-voices-audio-excitement/) - So this year, one of our big projects was to start doing audio books. Science Officer Season One is done and out there. Jessica Keller/Auberon is making slow progress and will get done when it can. For 2019, we found the most amazing guy to do new voice work. (Email me for his contact information.
- [Let's Talk Star Dragons...](https://www.blazeward.com/lets-talk-star-dragons/) - On June 10, the second Star Dragon book goes live (Birth is already available).The series is also available on Kobo and other jurisdictions. Birth of the Star Dragon (available) Flight of the Star Dragon (June 10) Call of the Star Dragon July 10) Shadow of the Star Dragon (August 10) Trial of the Star Dragon (September
- [Kittie of Doom](https://www.blazeward.com/kittie-of-doom/) - She is God's eleven pound, perfect killing machine, and she would appreciate it if you stopped kissing her on the head. My wife (Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I don't live in the same house. I have the main house, She has a "tiny house" across the front yard. She
- [Jessica Keller sequence](https://www.blazeward.com/jessica-keller-sequence/) - Gotten a couple of questions recently, so I figured I would just post the complete Jessica Keller books list in one place again, for everyone to find it easily. While I was at it, I decided to add all of Alexandria Station universe in one place. For now. Things will change. Jessica Keller Auberon Queen
- [Pulp!](https://www.blazeward.com/pulp/) - When I set out to do the Star Dragon series, I wanted a really 1950's pulp feel to it. Old school sensibilities, like a boy scout would bring to the table, rather than the ironically-anti-hip bad-boy hero of the modern age. Personally, I think we've overdone that shtick to the point of tragic comedy. I
- [A most amazing experiment](https://www.blazeward.com/a-most-amazing-experiment/) - In the modern age of Indie Press, there are a number of experts who can tell you all the ways to get rich by expanding your market. I am not one of those people, btw. However, at the NINC (Novelists, Inc.) conference last fall, one of the things that came up was the power of
- [Winterhome and Star Dragons](https://www.blazeward.com/winterhome-and-star-dragons/) - YAY!!! Winterhome is now available everywhere. (Kinda surprised that there haven't been any reviews yet. Y'all have had it for at least twelve hours now... heh.). Petron is due back from my first reader in the next week or so, and then I'll fix everything she finds before it goes off to the Canadian Copyeditor
- [Write Stuff Story Bundle, 2019](https://www.blazeward.com/write-stuff-story-bundle-2019/) - So we're getting close to the end, and I wanted to thank those of you who have already gone ahead and bought it. Hopefully, you've all started reading it and learning all sorts of useful things about the new world of Indie Publishing and how you really can make a nice living at it. A
- [Counting down to Winterhome](https://www.blazeward.com/counting-down-to-winterhome/) - We've got just under two weeks until the 8th Jessica Keller novel is available in ebook. (I think you can order the paper right now.) Winterhome By now, hopefully most of you have read the CS-405 trilogy that takes place right after the end of St. Legier, when CS-405 has a jumpsail failure. Those three
- [Your Post-Easter craziness should have subsided by now...](https://www.blazeward.com/your-post-easter-craziness-should-have-subsided-by-now/) - Blog post for the creatives out there. Not just writers, but all the folks with art in their soul and a willingness to put mind to reality and put it out there. You've recovered from the candy high (we hope.) Just a reminder: you rock. Most folks never commit art. You're already in some pretty
- [2019 Write Stuff Bundle](https://www.blazeward.com/2019-write-stuff-bundle/) - Hey Gang, It's that time of year again. Kris is doing her annual Write Stuff bundle and I was lucky enough to be invited in this time around. How it works: You pay a single amount and get the four books on the top row over on the website (Laura Anne, Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm), Joanna,
- [Going into the home stretch on the Space Bundle](https://www.blazeward.com/going-into-the-home-stretch-on-the-space-bundle/) - as I'm writing this, Friday morning, you have six and a half days (until wednesday) to go get your copy of the The 2019 Space Opera Bundle, curated by Dean Wesley Smith. His take on things: "Space, the final frontier." A famous quote from the opening of maybe the most popular space opera series ever,
- [New books, continued](https://www.blazeward.com/new-books-continued/) - One of the hardest things for me to do over the last eleven years was basically turn my life inside out after my wonderful first wife died of cancer in July 2008. Spent time downsizing things in preparation to go...somewhere. In my case, that means getting rid of something like 3,000 books. Let me put
- [CS-405 is almost complete](https://www.blazeward.com/cs-405-is-almost-complete/) - Heya, This is the reminder to tell your friends, if they haven't already done so, to rush right out and buy the latest Space Opera Storybundle. Book One of the CS-405 trilogy is in there (Queen Anne's Revenge) and Book Two (Packmule) is already out, with Book Three (Persephone) coming in just a few days.
- [I have joined the future. Sort of](https://www.blazeward.com/i-have-joined-the-future-sort-of/) - So it was probably inevitable. The world keeps changing, and as artists, we all have to change constantly to keep up. And that's a good thing, don't get me wrong. Today, that means that I finally had to pull the trigger on setting up my own Patreon creator account. I'm late to the story, but
- [Unexpected Dinner Company](https://www.blazeward.com/unexpected-dinner-company/) - So this wasn't the blog post I had originally planned to write, but I had unexpected company last night at dinner time and it sort of threw everything sideways. We had just pulled a pair of lovely steaks and were letting them rest when I looked up and realized that an elk was walking over
- [New Science Fiction Story Bundle](https://www.blazeward.com/new-science-fiction-story-bundle/) - Hey, all. As if right now, I'm part of a brand new Science Fiction story bundle and thought you might like to know more. And tell all your friends. Big group of folks I've never even met before, so you most likely don't know about them either, and this is your chance to discover some
- [Your Militant Lesbian Tree Octopus Sorceress news](https://www.blazeward.com/your-militant-lesbian-tree-octopus-sorceress-news/) - Yup, you read that right. Militant Lesbian Tree Octopus Sorceress. No, I can't tell you where ideas like this come from. The first story is several years old now, but was kept in the can because I was working with an artist at one point to do illustrations for her. That woman's life fell apart,
- [Spring, maybe](https://www.blazeward.com/spring-maybe/) - If you've been keeping track, you'll remember that we had a freaking monster blizzard come through a while ago. 28 inches of snow in the first two rounds, plus more after that over the course of a week. I live on 6.5 acres out in the boonies southeast of Seattle, out just past the first
- [Packmule's coming shortly](https://www.blazeward.com/packmules-coming-shortly/) - In just a few days, the middle book in the CS-405 trilogy drops: Packmule. Queen Anne's Revenge centered on Siobhan and Milton, Lady Blackbeard and Stunt Dude, respectively. Going forward, you'll see more of Heather, as she comes into her own commanding her own ship. And then things get a little dark and crazy when
- [The Anthology Workshop](https://www.blazeward.com/the-anthology-workshop/) - Because Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) is frequently one of the editors for the WMG "Fiction River" Anthology workshop, I don't write into it. There are other reasons, not least of which is I mostly work as a novelist these days, and shifting my brain back into that mode for a third of the year is not
- [Novel Mixup: A reminder](https://www.blazeward.com/novel-mixup-a-reminder/) - Because I apparently did not reach everybody when the novella Two Bottles of Wine With a War God came out with the wrong interior in January, I've gotten a few complaints from folks (and a bad review, apparently) about reading the same book twice. I appreciate that folks might be a little upset, and it's
- [No Pants Day!!](https://www.blazeward.com/no-pants-day/) - February 25, 2019 sort of marks the one year anniversary of no longer having a day job. Last day at work was Friday Feb 23, 2018. Recovered for a day, then started the new job Sunday morning. I no longer get up at 0400AM, take a shower, and get out of the house by 425.
- [I have very silly elk](https://www.blazeward.com/i-have-very-silly-elk/) - Preface: I own about six acres of mostly trees, sitting on a hill, overlooking a pond, but otherwise landlocked on all sides by neighbors. Way the hell out in the Cascades. Elk don't care. I didn't grow up with elk. I'm from Kansas, originally, the the most we had was deer, so it's always a
- [Writing into darkness](https://www.blazeward.com/writing-into-darkness-2/) - There is a fine split in the world of writers, between those who outline and those to write by the seat of their pants. There are about ten thousand degrees of gradation between the extremes, but you'll find proponents willing to declare holy war to defend the particular facet of planning that they undertake as
- [Kobo sale!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/kobo-sale/) - So I don't normally move a lot of product on Kobo, but my goal in 2019 is to change that. To that end, I've been signing up for various promotions on their site. FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS ONLY: There is a huge sale on Science Fiction going on! All sorts of stuff for you
- [CS-405 begins...](https://www.blazeward.com/cs-405-begins/) - Well, not really, but if you don't want spoilers from the end of St. Legier (WHAT? You haven't already CONSUMED it? Heathen! Heh), you should probably skip this post and go read the rest of the Jessica Keller books to get caught up. Start with Auberon. So we have reached the end of
- [And then it started snowing](https://www.blazeward.com/and-then-it-started-snowing/) - Wasn't going to blog today, but I also wasn't planning to spend the day indoors watching more snow fall. Started mid-afternoon yesterday. I'm sitting there writing to catch up because we spent the night at a friend's house after the annual wine and chocolate party my wife throws. (One of her best friends hosted it
- [I'm surprised more of you haven't caught on...](https://www.blazeward.com/im-surprise-more-of-you-havent-caught-on/) - I check my sales regularly (daily), just because I want to know where things are and what the trends are. I don't often dive deep, settling for just counting the sales, but Amazon reports things with an ebook/paper split so I can see when someone buys a print books (and it does happen occasionally). However,
- [Milestone (Gareth)](https://www.blazeward.com/milestone-gareth/) - Wow. Just finished putting the final words on the draft of the fifth Star Dragon novel: Awaken The Star Dragon. Will go back later and polish it some, but the core is done and I'm happy. Sometime this summer, it will be rebooted as "Birth of the Star Dragon" in keeping with a naming standard
- [Do you wanna be rich or famous?](https://www.blazeward.com/do-you-wanna-be-rich-or-famous/) - I've caught a lot of grief from folks who have fully drunk the kool-aid of traditional publishing, and got into this conversation sideways with a fellow writer I know and like, so I thought I would post some thoughts on modern publishing. Some of you will roll your eyes and stick pins in your voodoo
- [Men of a Certain Age (Two Bottles Of Wine With a War God edition)](https://www.blazeward.com/men-of-a-certain-age-two-bottles-of-wine-with-a-war-god-edition/) - Had this conversation with someone the other day, in regards to the new novella Two Bottles of Wine With a War God. The story hit him especially hard, but that was kind of on purpose. Not him, specifically, but men who have reached a certain age, a certain level of advancement in their life, where
- [Blackmail is such an ugly term...](https://www.blazeward.com/blackmail-is-such-an-ugly-term/) - And yet, I'm here to tell you for your own good to go do something. Fortunately, it will achieve karmic balance for me, because I'm asking you to do something for someone else and we'll all benefit from it. BACKGROUND: When I first moved to LA in the early 90's, my roommate Snake had a
- [Queen Anne's Revenge](https://www.blazeward.com/queen-annes-revenge/) - "Supposedly" Amazon has the correct version of the file uploaded now, but I'm still hearing from folks that they have gotten Queen Anne's Revenge instead of Two Bottles of Wine With the War God. You can try downloading it again, but that might not work, so feel free to reach out to me and I've
- [Two Bottles of Wine With A War God (Whoops)](https://www.blazeward.com/two-bottles-of-wine-with-a-war-god-whoops/) - So I screwed up somewhere. The book that appears to have gotten uploaded to Amazon (and maybe everywhere) has the cover for War God, but the interior is Queen Anne's Revenge. Whoops. Those of you reading Queen Anne a month early please enjoy it while I sort this out and get the right guts uploaded
- [Jessica Keller is done](https://www.blazeward.com/jessica-keller-is-done/) - Never thought I would type those words. "Jessica Keller is done." Got a social media reminder for 1/7/15 where I posted the comment about the first time The Science Officer went nuts. (It happened again, late summer '17.) At the time, I had just finished writing Imposters and was in the process of figuring out
- [WIND!!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/wind/) - Some of you are aware that I live in the Pacific Northwest, somewhere southeast of Seattle in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Last night, we had a monstrous windstorm. Those are always interesting around here, because I grew up in Kansas, where we're used to wind, but have no trees. Around here, all the
- [2018: Wow that was weird](https://www.blazeward.com/2018-wow-that-was-weird/) - So it's time for me to sit back and look at the year in review. And man, was this one weird. We'll start off with the good news: I walked away from the day job on February 24th of this year and have been working for Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) since then. I am now a
- [A tale of Two Starbucks](https://www.blazeward.com/a-tale-of-two-starbucks/) - So I just got back from a trip yesterday. Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I took the Coast Starlight Amtrak down to Martinez, CA (just outside Oakland, basically). Had a sleeper for the overnight portion. Utterly lovely. At Martinez, we swapped for an inland train that was more direct, running to Bakersfield, then hopping aboard a
- [Math Nerds (Warning: There will be math)](https://www.blazeward.com/math-nerds-warning-there-will-be-math/) - So the Seventh Jessica Keller novel, St. Legier, came out a couple weeks ago, and seems to be getting a pretty good reception, from the reviews and comments. Thank you. From there, the story splits, with on short thread covered in Two Bottles of Wine With A War God coming out in January followed by
- [Are you reading on Kobo?](https://www.blazeward.com/are-you-reading-on-kobo/) - Seriously, you should take a look at Kobo for your ebooks. There are a lot of reasons I could list here, but I'll pick just a couple. First: It has become more writer-friendly than Amazon over the last few years, mostly because they see where Amazon made some interesting choices and did other things. Amazon
- [St. Legier (Jessica Keller #7)](https://www.blazeward.com/st-legier-jessica-keller-7/) - Because I'm way behind on getting my newsletter out (should have arrived Nov 1, still impending), some of you may not be aware that the 7th Jessica Keller is coming out very shortly. (Like, depending on where you live, in the next twelve hours.) Go pre-order it if you haven't or just buy it if
- [The Science Officer, Season One, on audio](https://www.blazeward.com/the-science-officer-season-one-on-audio/) - WOO-HOO!!! Long backstory short, I had always wondered if we could collect up the eight Science Officer audio books that Matt had done, and put them out as one monstrous compendium. I've been told be people (who might not be full of shit) that audio folks don't like novellas. Just the wrong length, because they
- [Using Bundlerabbit as a new kind of Publisher](https://www.blazeward.com/using-bundlerabbit-as-a-new-kind-of-publisher/) - This one is for my Egyptian friends, but anybody outside the US can use this to their advantage, as a way to embrace the Indie Publishing world in the so-called Western World. Recently, one of my con buddies from Cairo asked about finding an English-language publisher for his novel. (Working on that, but he wants
- [Last Chance: Valor Bundle](https://www.blazeward.com/last-chance-valor-bundle/) - You've got less than 38 hours as I write these words to get out there and get all the car chases, spaceship battles, and epic mecha slugfests you need to get through the Christmas season. Why the hell are you still reading this. Go buy these books!! Okay, back? Got them all? What, I need
- [You're running out of time!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/youre-running-out-of-time-2/) - Good, now that I've got your attention, you should look at the calendar. NaNo is going to be over in a few days. For many of you who have never done a NaNo before, you've been pounding away at the keyboard trying to complete your novel. (And if you've done it, then YAY!!!!! GO YOU!
- [Thankful](https://www.blazeward.com/thankful/) - In the late 70's when I was a kid, the family went to Breckenridge, Colorado for a long Thanksgiving holiday. Snow, skiing, fun, stuff. Really enjoyed those trips. One year, total whiteout conditions. Like, can't see the car from the window blizzard. We ended up straightening out coat hangers to roast hotdogs over the fire.
- [Going to Grandma's House](https://www.blazeward.com/going-to-grandmas-house/) - So, it's the weekend before Thanksgiving in the US (sorry for the rest of you, but go ahead and have some turkey and stuffing Thursday anyway, just so you can cosplay at home.) Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I were in the grocery store last night picking up stuff when it dawned on us. Reminder: I
- [My Dreams Are WEIRD (Cthulhu Edition)](https://www.blazeward.com/my-dreams-are-weird-cthulhu-edition/) - And no, I don't need commentary from the peanut gallery on that one, thank you very much. But man, was last night's dream weird. I'm a writer, in case any of you had any doubts. The question is not "How do you get your ideas?" (Poughkeepsie, New York, long story), but rather "How do you
- [Half Full (NaNo edition)](https://www.blazeward.com/half-full-nano-edition/) - Since I've had to give this speech several times of the the weekend at the just-completed OryCon in Portland, OR, I figured I might as well just post it for everyone. As you are now approaching the halfway point of this year's NaNoWriMo, many of you need to celebrate one key aspect of things. Too
- [Military SF Bundle: Vslot](https://www.blazeward.com/military-sf-bundle-vslot/) - Hey gang, I'm in a new story bundle!! VALOR, a military science fiction story bundle is out, and includes my never-been-published-before-and-you-can't-even-by-it-yet novel "Can't Shoot Straight Gang Returns." This is another Handsome Rob gig, part of the Alexandria Station universe and taking place roughly around the same time as the later Jessica Keller novels. The first
- [NaNoWriMo](https://www.blazeward.com/nanowrimo/) - So my social media boards and walls have been full of folks doing the annual NaNoWriMo plunge. National Novel Writing Month runs November, and the goal is for someone to write a (40,000 word) novel in this month. There's help, and we'll come back to it later, but let's talk NaNo itself. For new writers,
- [Colonel Bob](https://www.blazeward.com/colonel-bob/) - So, last week, Fabulous Publisher Babe (tm) and I did a writing vacation on the north shore of Lake Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula. The cabin we were in (Angeles) had a topographical map on one wall, showing the high end of the long river valley, and an area called the Colonel Bob Wilderness. Seriously?
- [Lake Quinault Retreat](https://www.blazeward.com/lake-quinault-retreat/) - That was the view from the window of the cabin where Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I spent the week last week. We were on the north shore of Lake Quinault, over on the Olympic Peninsula. Lockaerie Resort is a half-dozen cabins built in the 1920's and subsequently updated, but quaint and cute just describe them.
- [Robots, Androids, Cyborgs, Oh My](https://www.blazeward.com/robots-androids-cyborgs-oh-my/) - So, I haven't exactly been slack lately, but I have been trying to spread out my news a little, instead of dropping everything on everyone at the same time, like happened to me. Today, a reminder that Issue 004 of Boundary Shock Quarterly is now available at all major vendors. This issue is entitled Robots,
- [More AUDIO!!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/more-audio/) - So it's been a busy couple of week, between NINC, the NaNoWriMo bundle, and stuff. And OryCon 40 is coming up in a few weeks, as well, and I'll be down there paneling again this year. Stop by and say hi. However, I wanted to point out something for everyone, before it got lost in
- [NaNoWriMo 2018](https://www.blazeward.com/nanowrimo-2018/) - Woo-hoo!!!! Just a little while ago, a new Storybundle went live for NaNoWriMo. For those of you who aren't writers, that stands for National Novel Writing Month, and is a project that comes about every November, where the goal is to write a 40,000 word novel in the month of November. This year, I got
- [Home from NINC](https://www.blazeward.com/home-from-ninc/) - Those of you who pay attention will note that I almost never broadcast when I'm leaving town (for all the obvious reasons, of course). That being said, Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I just got back last night from an entire week in SW Florida at a writers conventions known as NINC (short for Novelists, Inc.). Very
- [The Healthy Writer](https://www.blazeward.com/the-healthy-writer/) - I blame my damned, hippy wife, as many of you know. She's the one that got me to eating far healthier than I used to. Didn't eat bad before, but I don't keep much in the house these days that she can't eat. For example: eggs. She's horribly allergic. I eat them when I'm out,
- [Rose City Comic Con 2018](https://www.blazeward.com/rose-city-comic-con-2018/) - Got back late last night from Portland. Rose City Comic Con was an awesome experience. Really well-run con, in terms of all the little things. All the kids stuff was together at one end of the hall. All the artists were at the other. Comic book and toy vendors were on one side. We will
- [Starting the fall](https://www.blazeward.com/starting-the-fall/) - So on Sunday morning, Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I usually go to this lovely diner outside Enumclaw. Bit of a drive from the farm, but they're lovely people and take good care of us. As in, we walk in and the Mom asks if we need menus as she pours me coffee. Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm)
- [Starting Your Own Magazine (In The Modern Age)](https://www.blazeward.com/starting-your-own-magazine-in-the-modern-age/) - I've said this before, and it has become something of a mantra for me lately: The World Has Changed. Last Summer (2017), driving down to see the eclipse a Joshie's place, Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I talked about how I had always wanted to start my own "literary" (read: genre SF) magazine, going clear back
- [Time is running out (Storybundle edition)](https://www.blazeward.com/time-is-running-out-storybundle-edition/) - You've only got a few more days to take advantage of the Plot Twists story bundle before it is gone forever and you have to pay full price for everything. Fiction River Presents: The Unexpected Captain's Log - Boundary Shock Quarterly #1 Daughter of Nothing by Eric Kent Edstrom Magician's Choice by Stefon Mears Laying the Music
- [The Jessica Keller Chronicles](https://www.blazeward.com/the-jessica-keller-chronicles/) - For those of you keeping score at home: I just got back copy edits for Jessica #7 (title changing from what I originally suggested, so new cover reveal coming at some point for a December release date.) More importantly, about five minutes ago, I finished the draft of Jessica #8 (yeah, I have a suggested
- [Plot Twists...](https://www.blazeward.com/plot-twists/) - Allyson challenged us to talk about the plot twists that drove my novel Awaken The Star Dragon. For me, it wasn't so much a plot twist, as a twisted plot, although there's a great twist at the end as well. Several of them, because why the hell not? Fermi's Paradox is the concept (actually propounded
- [Art Colony Thoughts](https://www.blazeward.com/art-colony-thoughts/) - So every year, on the first Saturday of August, Fabulous Publisher Babe (tm) and I throw what we call the Art Colony BBQ out at the farm. The folks we invite are the artists, rather than the mundane friends that I know. Not that I don't love everyone, but the point of the event is
- [Story Bundle 2-for-1 in August](https://www.blazeward.com/story-bundle-2-for-1-in-august/) - A brand new SciFi Story bundle just went live today and I'm kinda thrilled. You should be, too. First off, Issue 001 of Boundary Shock Quarterly is in the bundle, so you get a whole bunch of fun and interesting science fiction inspired by the phrase "Captain's Log...", including one of the weirdest stories I
- [The World Has Changed](https://www.blazeward.com/the-world-has-changed/) - As an amateur student of history, I have read lots, and absorbed things from a variety of timeframes and place. A friend of mine ended up in a rough place recently and some others of us were talking about how he had gotten there and what it might take for him to come out the
- [Grand Theft Starship (Boundary Shock Quarterly 003)](https://www.blazeward.com/grand-theft-starship-boundary-shock-quarterly-003/) - So it has been one hell of a roller-coaster over the last year. We started out, on the drive down to visit Joshua for the eclipse, talking about how would could possibly start a new speculative fiction magazine: how we might do it, what tools were available, how to handle money, who we could recruit,
- [Science Officer stuff](https://www.blazeward.com/science-officer-stuff/) - So, if you have been paying attention, you know that Science Officer volume 4 (The Pleasure Dome) in the series is coming out this Wednesday (5/10). You have pre-ordered your copy, right? I'm speaking now to your friends, so you should forward this post to them. They'll thank you, trust me. Just 'cause, Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) has decided
- [Tuesday After Next (Boundary Shock Quarterly 002)](https://www.blazeward.com/tuesday-after-next-boundary-shock-quarterly-002/) - Heya, folks. Issue 002 of Boundary Shock Quarterly is now live and for sale most places. Unlike Issue 001, I wanted to go someplace smaller with 002. The result was an old, inside joke among a group of my friends from table-top RPGs: Tuesday After Next. It is not the present, and not some incredibly
- [Captain's Log (Boundary Shock Quarterly 001)](https://www.blazeward.com/captains-log-boundary-shock-quarterly-001/) - So I've been a little secretive about this project I have been working on for the last nine months. Lots of work to get here. Lots more to go. But today is finally here and I'd like to make a little noise on the topic. The first issue of Boundary Shock Quarterly is now available
- [Bacon!](https://www.blazeward.com/bacon/) - I don't normally do food reviews, but today we're making an exception. Backstory: Dropped in on a new writing group up in the Roosevelt neighbor of north Seattle this week to see some friends and write with them. It's a long drive from the farm, and they wanted to meet at 6pm, so Fabulous Publisher
- [All Ahead Crazy...](https://www.blazeward.com/all-ahead-crazy/) - In a previous post, I mentioned that I had hit Pulp Speed One in May, with month left over. That's the measure when you are on pace to write one million words in a year. It breaks down to an average of 83,334 words per month, sustained over twelve. In April, I started tracking my
- ["Pulp Speed One"](https://www.blazeward.com/pulp-speed-one/) - Okay, a bit of a background on the term. Pulp Speed refers to the Pulp era authors like Lester Dent and others, who frequently wrote a short story in a day and mailed it off to a magazine the same day. They didn't rewrite. They didn't agonize over every word and sentence. They just wrote.
- [The Write Stuff Bundle is almost done](https://www.blazeward.com/the-write-stuff-bundle-is-almost-done/) - Just four days from now, it will be gone forever. You should make sure you have your copy today, or tell your artist friends about it, because there's way more here than just things for writers. The Write Stuff Bundle Creating Your Author Brand Completing Your To-Do List Writing a Novel in 5 Days While
- [The Red Admiral is live!](https://www.blazeward.com/the-red-admiral-is-live/) - Thank you to all the people who pre-ordered your copies of The Red Admiral. It went live on all the sites over the last few hours and you should have it in your inbox by now. I've been kinda bubbling over with spoilers I didn't want to torture folks with, at least until you could
- [Writing Ahead](https://www.blazeward.com/writing-ahead/) - So I've quit the day job and turned myself into a full-time writer. Yay! And I've apparently done the impossible, because according to traditional wisdom, a new, full-time writer is supposed to slow down for the first six months of their transition, because they have to reinvent everything. Apparently, doing that wrong. In 2017 l
- [The Write Stuff Bundle 2018](https://www.blazeward.com/the-write-stuff-bundle-2018/) - So every spring, Kris Rusch puts together a bundle of books on the craft of writing. This year, I was lucky enough to be included in The Write Stuff bundle. There are some new and interesting books up this year, including Kris's book on Creating Your Author Brand and Dean's book about writing a novel
- [Because I can](https://www.blazeward.com/because-i-can/) - So the names won't mean anything to the rest of you, for now, but I've been listening to two of my characters argue back and forth for several weeks. (At some point, you'll meet Angus and her grandmother and understand that previous sentence.) The topic is doing new things on a regular basis. Fabulous Publisher
- [Absent friends](https://www.blazeward.com/absent-friends/) - A decade ago, I lost three of the closest people in my life, over the course of about a year. One simply vanished, his inbox overflowing, fate unknown. The second was my first wife, Donna, who died of breast cancer in the summer of 2008, after a three year battle she would never win. The
- [Jessica Keller Starter Library](https://www.blazeward.com/jessica-keller-starter-library/) - To help build a little momentum for the coming release of the sixth Jessica Keller novel, The Red Admiral, I am putting up a new Jessica Keller Chronicles Starter Set, featuring the first three books (Auberon, Queen of the Pirates, and Last of the Immortals). This will be a limited-time, special offer to help people
- [More new normalness (with critters)](https://www.blazeward.com/more-new-normalness-with-critters/) - So it's been about six weeks of being a writer full time. Starting to establish some of the patterns of life, but got a ways to go. And new things keep happening in strange ways. Got up Friday morning when the body said wake up. Managing to sleep until 630 or 700 many days now,
- [The Hammerfield Payoff Audio (and other news)](https://www.blazeward.com/the-hammerfield-payoff-audio-and-other-news/) - Happy Dance!!! "The Hammerfield Payoff (The Science Officer Volume 8) is now on sale at Audible, and it will be available on iTunes and Amazon within the next few days." For those of you keeping score at home, that means that Matt has caught up with me and completed Season One of The Science Officer. All
- [Suvi's birthday](https://www.blazeward.com/suvis-birthday/) - yes, you read that right. Suvi's birthday is March 19th. I have it programmed into my phone for birthday reminders, so I woke up this morning and got the note. What's more fun is that the machine is smart enough to do the math, but slightly confused, because it shows her age as -5408. That's
- [AUBERON!!!!!!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/auberon-audio/) - Just because the audio version is totally awesome, and some of you are starting to realize it. (And because it's Melissa's birthday today...) Go get your audio version of Auberon. 5 stars in all categories from one of my fans. Have you heard Melissa? She's doing Queen now, and eventually all of them. Tell her
- [The New Normal](https://www.blazeward.com/the-new-normal/) - Haven't announced it all that broadly before now, but I have news. Weird news. Exciting and terrifying news. As of late February, I am no longer employed by someone else. As in, I have gone full-time writer gig. It's been about three weeks now, but the first one was at the Anthology Workshop, the next
- [Expectations](https://www.blazeward.com/expectations/) - The sequel to Kid Lexington is finally coming out individually. Expectations picks up the story twenty-two years later, in 1974. A 1974 with Nixon and Watergate. the Symbionese Liberation Army shootout with the LAPD. Bad ju-ju. Kid Lexington has two wives, sort of. And a pair of (semi-fraternal), super-powered, twin daughters who are eighteen, full
- [The Red Admiral](https://www.blazeward.com/the-red-admiral/) - A few of you appear to have noticed already, so I'll let the rest of you in on the secret. The Red Admiral is now available for pre-order on all the usual suspects. "Jessica Keller replaces Emmerich Wachturm as The Red Admiral. Her first task: returning home and not only convincing Aquitaine to build her a new fleet,
- [Branding and Genre Fiction](https://www.blazeward.com/branding-and-genre-fiction/) - So once a month, a group of us writers get together up in Lynnwood to talk, not about the craft of writing, but about the business of indie publishing. Most of the writers I know in the indie field do publish their own work, but would not call themselves publishers. It is a different mindset.
- [Cupcakery](https://www.blazeward.com/cupcakery/) - So in a Chop-socky movie, you get down to the end and the final confrontation, where the villain shows off his bad-ass martial arts moves. Then the hero looks at him, and smiles politely. "Your fu is good," the hero says. "But still, mine is better." And then proceeds to kick the bad guy's butt.
- [AUBERON!!!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/auberon/) - Sorry, kinda excited. Auberon (Jessica Keller Book One) is now available as an audiobook, and Melissa (the narrator) hasn't once tried to kill me. She's even well into doing Book Two, Queen of the Pirates. For you, gentle listener, you can now enjoy the excitement and relish a good space opera series, as I keep
- [The Unbloomed Rose](https://www.blazeward.com/the-unbloomed-rose/) - Most of you know that I try to publish something on the 10th of every month. Something good is coming on Feb 10th, as well. Most of it, you've already seen, but I got a little sidetracked last year, in the process of writing all those Science Officer stories to finish out Season One. (And
- [Making art](https://www.blazeward.com/making-art/) - My business cards do not say writer. I'm not. They say storyteller. I am. I have been a storyteller since I had words. Some of the stories were what you would expect. But I never stopped at just that. There are six volumes of poetry sitting in a box. I have pulled out a small
- [Omnibus #2](https://www.blazeward.com/omnibus-2/) - Very shortly, the second Science Officer Omnibus is going to drop everywhere. I'm kinda thrilled because the whole thing is one extended story, broken into the requisite 25,000 word chunks. And it turned out exactly like I hoped, when I sat down and started working on The Pleasure Dome (#4) to set everything up more
- [The Voice of Jessica Keller](https://www.blazeward.com/the-voice-of-jessica-keller/) - I have fantastic news!! As you know, I got amazingly lucky to work with Matt Weight to do the narration for all the Science Officer audio books. And all the future ones I have yet to write. And anything else where Suvi plays. (and there will be more of those coming as I expand the universe.)
- [In review, kinda](https://www.blazeward.com/in-review-kinda/) - So today is Dec 22, 2017. Useful as a tracking mechanism because I have a target word count each year I try to hit. That's what gets my lazy ass up at 4AM every weekday, so I can be in the kitchen at the office at 515AM, eat my breakfast, suck down some coffee, read
- [Rank structures in Military SF](https://www.blazeward.com/rank-structures-in-military-sf/) - One of the most enjoyable things for me about writing some of the military science fiction I generate is trying to get my head into a culture that’s hundreds or even thousands of years into our future, or, more fun, some alien place. Part of where that shows up on paper is in the rank
- [Hammerfield is coming...](https://www.blazeward.com/hammerfield-is-coming/) - Hopefully by now, the name Hammerfield means all sorts of useful and intersting things to you. This is important, because we’re about a week away from the Hammerfield Saga dropping. I will be so thrilled when the rest of you are able to know how Season One of The Science Officer books winds up. It
- [Thoughts on OryCon](https://www.blazeward.com/thoughts-on-orycon/) - So, last week I was down in Portland for OryCon, a writer-heavy sci-fi/fantasy con (this was #39) that is my favoritest and the one I consider my home con. (There are personal reasons I avoid certain conventions in the further PWN.) This year, I got in early and applied to be on panels, and offered
- [The Rangers](https://www.blazeward.com/the-rangers/) - As most of you know, I don't get particularly political on my blog, for the most part. That's intentional, because I'm not making enough money here to justify pissing off any segment of my fan base, just because we voted for different folks and have different opinions on the best way to do things in
- [The Sins of The Fathers - new superhero bundle](https://www.blazeward.com/the-sins-of-the-fathers-new-superhero-bundle/) - So I haven't said anything to pretty much anybody about this project, because it turned out to be way more complicated than I thought it would be, and take longer, but we're finally here. Last spring, I was talking with a bunch of writers I know about doing a new bundle on bundlerabbit.com. This one
- [Driving Inspiration](https://www.blazeward.com/driving-inspiration/) - People ask me why I get up at such an incredibly early hour in the morning. Part of it is that I live a ways out in the woods, and work kitty-corner from Safeco Field in downtown Seattle. Thirty-two miles each way, with no reasonable mass transit solutions that wouldn’t drive me utterly nuts. In
- [The Doomsday Vault goes Audio!!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/the-doomsday-vault-goes-audio/) - Woo-hoo. I kinda feel bad for Matt. He loves doing the audio for the Science Officer books, but he was NOT prepared for me to write five of them this year, or to drop them so close together. He is, however, going like hell on the rest. And today, I got the notice from Fabulous
- [The Last Flagship](https://www.blazeward.com/the-last-flagship/) - http://www.knottedroadpress.com/book/the-last-flagship/ As some of you might have noticed, the newest Javier Aritza/Science Officer story (#6) is finally available everywhere. What a few of you have also realized is that #7 and #8 are also now available for pre-order everywhere, dropping together on Dec 10. When I started writing The Science Officer, it turned out to
- [There are still good people...](https://www.blazeward.com/there-are-still-good-people/) - So I haven't posted much of anywhere lately. Been heads-down busy on various projects, including helping Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) with her girlcave, the new corporate offices of Knotted Road Press. Last weekend, hanging a bunch of fiberboard and sheetrock to close in all the walls. It is nearly ready for all the pretty work to
- [Freebies and Good Deeds](https://www.blazeward.com/freebies-and-good-deeds/) - So there is a new bundle out there. Aliens Among Us. I've talked about it before, and want to circle back. My first novel Imposters is in it. Right now, for as long as the bundle runs (couple more weeks), anyone who asks can get a free copy of the short story The Shipwrecked Mermaid,
- [Aliens Among Us](https://www.blazeward.com/aliens-among-us/) - And I don't mean strangers from a foreign land. Well, maybe, if your idea of a foreign land is actually a different planet. I hinted at it with the last blog post, but it is now officially a thing, so I can talk more. The Aliens Among Us bundle is now live and ready for
- [Inspired and silly: The Shipwrecked Mermaid and Imposters](https://www.blazeward.com/inspired-and-silly-the-shipwrecked-mermaid-and-imposters/) - So a little background: I keep a long list of interesting story ideas that I want to pursue at some future date, when inspiration strikes and time slots come open. (This is doubly important since I made the commitment to write at least one short/medium story every month, while pursuing my novels. There will be
- [The Last Flagship (A Science Officer story)](https://www.blazeward.com/the-last-flagship-a-science-officer-story/) - So, A few of you have been paying attention, and noticed that there is a new Science Officer story up for pre-order. The Last Flagship. Volume 6. Dropping October 10th everywhere. A brief intro, from the beginning of Book Seventeen: Avalon: "The door chime was almost a welcome interruption. Almost. Javier took a deep breath,
- [Superhero news](https://www.blazeward.com/superhero-news/) - In ancient times, almost every culture invented mighty warriors to commit great deeds and fight terrible monsters. At the same time, future generations could look back on those mighty warriors for inspiration, an ancestor-worship so powerful that ruling dynasties often claimed to be descended from such heroes as a way of gaining legitimacy. For the
- [Adventures in silliness](https://www.blazeward.com/adventures-in-silliness/) - If you have been paying attention, you know I own 6 acres of mostly trees, out in the wilderness of western Washington. About an acres and a half, maybe two, has been cleared enough for a house, a barn, a pumphouse, and the new Knotted Road Press corporate offices bungalow that Fabulous Publisher Babe™ is
- [The Doomsday Vault](https://www.blazeward.com/the-doomsday-vault/) - So I haven't really mentioned it all that much this summer, mostly because things have been completely crazy between that nasty summer cold, an already-aggressive publishing schedule, and being invited to participate in more bundles than I ever expected. However, today (already for a few of you who read clear to the bottom of newsletters and
- [Why This Story? (Time and Effort versus Money)](https://www.blazeward.com/why-this-story-time-and-effort-versus-money/) - One of the interesting questions that a writer must ask themselves when they sit down to a blank screen is “Why This Story?” You can tell any story. All stories. But you have committed to this story. Why? But first, a note from our sponsors, with this short-term offer that’s going away in only a
- [A Whole New Thing (The Post-Apocalyptic Cozy)](https://www.blazeward.com/a-whole-new-thing-the-post-apocalyptic-cozy/) - So it started at the Bellevue Writers Lunch (which is no longer held in Bellevue, but work with me here). There is a meme going around the interwebs that we can sum up in our verbal shorthand as "bi-sexual death commandos of the apocalypse." (I'll explain in a later post, or you can search social
- [Stick Figures In White Rooms](https://www.blazeward.com/stick-figures-in-white-rooms/) - Stick Figures In White Rooms. Such a charming image, no? I recently picked up a book that had been one of my favorites when I was a kid in the very long ago. Reread it for ideas, inspiration, and some general research, but one thing struck me as amazingly interesting. At no point, could I
- [The Mega-bundle (the bundle bundle bundle)](https://www.blazeward.com/the-mega-bundle-the-bundle-bundle-bundle/) - We'll get you through the summer with this one. Yes, even you. Most times, a bundle represents about a dozen books. Maybe novels. Maybe shorter stuff. But you get stuff to read at a really good price. They went a little crazy with this one: https://storybundle.com/bundle If my math is correct (I was told there would
- [Summer News (I hate colds)](https://www.blazeward.com/summer-news-i-hate-colds/) - The last three weeks are a vague blur, mostly because I caught that damned zombie cold that was making its rounds in Seattle, with a tremendously bad batch of allergies on top. Blogging has fallen by the wayside, which is bad, because I try to put something up three weeks in four, mostly to give
- [Discoverability](https://www.blazeward.com/discoverability/) - (or: how you can help) You're consuming this right now on one of my social media outlets (website, Amazon, FB, Goodreads, etc.), so I'll generally be safe assuming you know me, or got here through a connection who does. Discoverability is the problem for the modern indie writer. In the old days, you submitted your
- [And now, more Jessica](https://www.blazeward.com/and-now-more-jessica/) - Yay! Flight of the Blackbird is now available everywhere. For those of you keeping score at home, that's the fifth novel in the series (currently planned to be nine when she's done with me.) For the next week or so, this is also an opportunity to get your friends hooked on the whole series. Over
- [Moonscapes and AbleGamers](https://www.blazeward.com/moonscapes-and-ablegamers/) - Hey, gang. I'm in a Storybundle that started late last night (had to keep it a secret up until now for all the obvious reasons). From Dean: "The Moonscapes Bundle, curated by Dean Wesley Smith, was born out of Fiction River: Moonscapes, a volume of his bi-monthly anthology series. He says: "When editing the volume,
- [Bellevue Writers Lunch](https://www.blazeward.com/bellevue-writers-lunch/) - That's what I call it, anyway. We started out there a couple years ago, meeting at a place on the east side of Lake Washington for a Saturday afternoon to talk business with some other writers we knew. It's not a reader/critique group, because those have a tendency to devolve into mendacity and outright hostility,
- [Hiding Behind The Cowl is now out](https://www.blazeward.com/hiding-behind-the-cowl-is-out/) - so on top of all the other craziness going on in my life, I have a new superhero anthology that came out today. (Can you tell my precognition skills are kinda lacking here?) Hiding Behind The Cowl was born out of several desires. One was to delve into superheroic fantasy as a serious medium for
- [And then the damned thing exploded](https://www.blazeward.com/and-then-the-damned-thing-exploded/) - Background: back in November, this country looked around and decided that a carnival barker with a penchant for nude teenage girls, sexual assault, corporate bankruptcy, and a distinct aversion to the truth, was just what this country needed. I held my nose to vote for the other option, having hated that woman for most of
- [More Javier](https://www.blazeward.com/more-javier/) - This seemed like a good time to blog about some of my upcoming stuff. The next six weeks are going to be slightly insane with things, as several projects all decided to come together at the same time. (Alternative Truths Anthology: The Last Ranger; Hiding Behind The Cowl superhero anthology I edited, some marketing with
- [The Metric System](https://www.blazeward.com/the-metric-system/) - I’ll blame Thomas Jefferson. At one point, this nation’s foremost Francophile politician found the Metric system too French to be thought of as a universal standard, even though many of his contemporaries would have happily moved to that system of weights and measures. Instead, we stayed with the Imperial system, which is a functionally irrational
- [Hiding Behind the Cowl](https://www.blazeward.com/hiding-behind-the-cowl/) - So a while back, I mentioned that I was going to edit a superhero anthology, with lotsa details TBD at that point. Mostly because life happens, and stuff, and until you get to the final product and the delivery date, everything can go sideways in a heartbeat. Good news. Hiding Behind the Cowl is now
- [Aces!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/aces/) - So one historical rule of writing was that a young writer often started with short fiction and got it placed into magazines, developing their craft and their audience. Over time, you (hopefully) got better at words and got more fans. Eventually, depending on the writer, you might write longer pieces and go after an agent
- [Marketing Troll (or "Oh, you're a writer?)](https://www.blazeward.com/marketing-troll-or-oh-youre-a-writer/) - Went to a fantastic birthday party last night with a few people I knew and a whole bunch of really neat strangers. Fabulous Publisher Babe (tm) was with me. The shindig was for a group of folks who all celebrate March birthdays. Was an absolute ball. I don't talk about being a data nerd at
- [Birthday Girl](https://www.blazeward.com/birthday-girl/) - I’m celebrating a birthday today. Because I can. (I think we’ve covered this logic before…) I have an app on my phone that flashes a red balloon for each birthday on any given day. (If you don’t have one of these, get one. Greatest thing ever in this modern age, especially since I forget birthdays.)
- [Overdrive (and stuff)](https://www.blazeward.com/overdrive-and-stuff/) - Background: a great many libraries in North America and other places use a service called Overdrive to acquire ebooks for loaning out. As I understand it, they pay a one-time fee for the title, and can then loan the ebook out to as many people who want to borrow it. TradPub being stupid and greedy,
- [It was twenty years ago today...](https://www.blazeward.com/it-was-twenty-years-ago-today/) - I had been living in SoCal in the early 90's, going to Claremont Graduate School. Stayed for a while when I was done. Did some really interesting and weird (and stupid) shit, including working as a bouncer at a cowboy bar in Riverside, CA (primary guests were the cowboys from Norco and marines down from
- [Blaze Ward has a new book out?](https://www.blazeward.com/blaze-ward-has-a-new-book-out/) - Amazon just let me know I have a new book out. A little background: Around 2005, I stopped writing poetry with the sort of passion I had previously had. That was when my first wife was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and given six months to live. (She ended up making it a little over
- [There is a new BlazeWard.com Marketplace (or "Why I Love The Future...")](https://www.blazeward.com/there-is-a-new-blazeward-com-marketplace-or-why-i-love-the-future/) - So first off, my apologies for two blog posts in one day. I had set a reminder to myself to update the marketplace, and then promptly forgot and wrote the other blog post. Then my alarm went off. Whatever. Back at the Master Publishing Workshop in October, somebody said Society6.com was the best choice for
- [It's working (and I'm a little freaked)](https://www.blazeward.com/its-working-and-im-a-little-freaked/) - So, Late last night, I got an email ping on my phone. Glanced at it. Email from Amazon that Blaze Ward has a new book available for pre-order. (by the way: Beyond the Mirror, Volume Four: Dramatic Worlds, but I digress). Occasionally, I also get emails from Amazon telling me that Blaze Ward has a
- [Uniforms of the Fleet, Vol One: Some thoughts](https://www.blazeward.com/uniforms-some-thoughts/) - Uniforms of the Fleet, Vol 1 Hopefully by now you have seen the news. Had a small hiccup when the file was uploaded, and the pre-order was set to the 20th instead of the 10th. These things happen. It’s now out there. Thank you to the people who have ordered your copy. It is also
- [Ninth Pohang Legion, Grand Army of the Republic of Aquitaine](https://www.blazeward.com/ninth-pohang-legion-blog/) - Today’s blog post topic is about the Ninth Pohang Legion: Heavy (Cataphracti) The Grand Army of the Republic is a ground-based military force fielded by the Republic of Aquitaine. Until recently (The Siege and Conquest of Thuringwell), it was considered a defensive force, intended to protect worlds of the Republic against invasion by forces of
- [Losing the past](https://www.blazeward.com/losing-the-past/) - This past weekend, Fabulous Publisher Babe™ and I went out to lunch with a woman who had been her best friend since Junior High School. (We’ll just quantify that as “a while ago.”) Babe and I got to talking beforehand about those sorts of things and I came to realize that the guy who had
- [2016 - Okay that was interesting...](https://www.blazeward.com/2016-okay-that-was-interesting/) - This time last year, I sat down to organize my notes and figure out what was going on. FB reminds me of anniversaries of interesting events. I have my own in the calendar. January 7, 2015. My world kinda turned upside down. I had previously published Beyond the Mirror, Vol 1 and Vol 2. Two
- [Happy Eggnog!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/happy-eggnog/) - Because I can... has kinda become my mantra this year. The only limits to my career are my imagination and patience, so I am having way too much fun. I'm out at the farm today (Xmas Eve), with no interwebs and no interest in going into town, but then I realized I could hit the
- [Preorder: Uniforms of the Fleet, Volume One](https://www.blazeward.com/preorder-uniforms-of-the-fleet-volume-one/) - Good news. I have a new book up for pre-order. It's been a year in the making, but I'm really jazzed about it, and I hope y'all will be, too. Uniforms of the Fleet, Volume One contains thirteen color plates (including the cover) with characters from the Jessica Keller stories (including Command Centurion Jessica on
- [Fundraiser for a good cause](https://www.blazeward.com/fundraiser-for-a-good-cause/) - Reminder: there will be a fundraiser that starts at noon on Wednesday and runs for a day. I have the link here, but it's not live at this second, so you'll get a 404, but check back. Your chance to get a signed copy of Auberon delivered, plus I'll tuckerize you into a coming story
- [Tucker was here...](https://www.blazeward.com/tucker-was-here/) - So, Noon Eastern US Time, December 14, which is Wednesday, there will be an auction (see Jim’s website for others) to support a good cause in Michigan. For whoever wins the auction, a signed copy of Auberon will be sent to them via post. Additionally, and more importantly, I’ll tuckerize you. In layman’s terms, you’ll
- [Holly Breckenridge: December 10](https://www.blazeward.com/holly-breckenridge-december-10/) - As you know, following my new pattern, I'm trying to put up a new story or novel for pre-order such that it will go live on the 10th of every month until the heat-death of the universe. (Challenge accepted.) For December, it was my chance to put out the first piece of what will eventually
- [Merchandising and stuffff....](https://www.blazeward.com/merchandising-and-stuffff/) - So one of the interesting things that came out of the Master Publishing Class this year, at least for me, revolved around physical goods. Merchandise. Advertising given permanent form. One of my next books to come out will be Uniforms of the Fleet, Volume One. This will be a series of color plates in a
- [And it begins](https://www.blazeward.com/and-it-begins/) - Those of you paying attention recently will remember that I promised to start hitting the publish button every 10th of the month. (How long it takes to actually go boom afterwards is subject to theoretical discussions, but bear with me here.) At least on Amazon, dropping something every 30 days or so triggers another bot
- [Digesting the future](https://www.blazeward.com/digesting-the-future/) - So about a week ago, I got back from a Master Publishing Workshop. Seven days of three sessions per day, high-end information about what used to work in publishing, what works today, and what might work tomorrow. Enough to make my brain melt. Took a whole week just to digest everything. And I have fifty pages
- [Goodreads Giveaway and a Sale...](https://www.blazeward.com/goodreads-giveaway-and-a-sale/) - Heya, Goddess of War is set to drop electronically in a few hours. This is your chance to also own a physical copy. For the next several days, there is a Goodreads Giveaway going here. My way of thanking everyone for the support over the last few years. I really could not have done this
- [Yesterdays (and Theatre)](https://www.blazeward.com/yesterdays/) - So, as many of you know, I've been a storyteller for as long as I've had words (and that's a long time at this point, but I digress). Recently, I was chatting with a friend of mine who teaches Theatre at a mid-western university. She mentioned that the school has been on her butt to do
- [YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/youre-running-out-of-time/) - but aren't we all? ;) Extreme Sci Fi bundle runs out in a few days. After that, you'll never have the chance to get this collection of writers together in one place again. (Well, maybe Kris and Dean and Kevin J, but they play in a much bigger league than I normally get to. Hopefully,
- [Week Two: Fairchild](https://www.blazeward.com/week-two-fairchild/) - It's finally Fall around here. Harvested all the grapes and pressed them. (Got about a quart of juice all told, because none of the vines are fully mature yet. Probably two years for everything.) Got all the apples and most of the pears. Will harvest the last few boscs this week. Getting ready to bring the
- [The Harpoon Gun...](https://www.blazeward.com/the-harpoon-gun/) - With every writing project, long or short, I try to explore some new facet of my craft. That might be wall paper, it might be Voice, it might be a new Theme. With the most recent novel, Fairchild, I was pushing the envelope on what we might call truly Hard Science Fiction. It is a
- [Do you Storybundle?](https://www.blazeward.com/do-you-storybundle/) - And if not, why not? Let's fix that. Starting today and running for the next three weeks, I'm in a StoryBundle called "Extreme SF." We talked about the project previously, and how it kinda snuck up on me over the summer. Here was a chance to be in a bundle with some some folks I really
- [Small Press versus Indie](https://www.blazeward.com/small-press-versus-indie/) - (Mind rant warning) A question came up the other day, in regards to the post I did from WorldCon where I watched the dipwad from NY Publishing talk about Amazon and Indie publishing in the vein of being a “vanity press.” He didn’t get it. Many folks wedded to the idea of New York Publishing™
- [This is a test](https://www.blazeward.com/this-is-a-test/) - this is only a test. Had this been a real blog post, I would have put something useful here, instead of a filler message while I try to figure out why my posts have stop feeding to facebook. If you see this on FB, you should take it as a sign that you've missed a
- [Series](https://www.blazeward.com/series/) - Met up yesterday with a group we call the "Bellevue (WA) Writer's Lunch" to talk business. It's a monthly thing we do (if interested in joining us sometime, lemme know, we're not actually meeting in Bellevue these days) where a group of us get together and talk about the business of writing, rather than the craft.
- [Worldcon, day 3](https://www.blazeward.com/worldcon-day-3/) - So on Saturday, the first panel I went to was about small press publishing. Moderated by one of the editors at Locus Magazine. Seriously. “Small Press.” There was a very fascinating gentleman from Israel named Ron Yaniv who publishes original SF work in Hebrew, and also translates things from English. He was useful to listen
- [Worldcon, day 4](https://www.blazeward.com/worldcon-day-4/) - I don’t want to call them social networks. A social network, these days, is a tool, not a construct. What I imply is an older term. A network made up of personal connections and obligations. I’m at 36,000 feet as I write this, westbound from Kansas City, Missouri and the 74th Worldcon/MidAmeriCon II. It was a
- [Worldcon, day 2](https://www.blazeward.com/worldcon-day-2/) - So after a full day of programming and fun at Worldcon, some rather interesting impressions. I went to Sasquan last year in Spokane, WA. It is a smaller city, well inland across the state from Seattle, but close enough to drive. It left me with concepts and concerns. This year has not addressed them in
- [Worldcon, day 1](https://www.blazeward.com/worldcon-day-1/) - Have arrived in Kansas City, MO for MidAmeriCon II (commonly known as Worldcon 74). Have a list of panels I want to see, from hard Science Fiction to publishing. There are several people here I hope to catch up with. Already met a few neat people I hope to keep in touch with in the
- [Out of this world...](https://www.blazeward.com/out-of-this-world/) - I have words, but she does it so much better than I do this morning: http://rebeccasenese.com/out-of-this-world-bundle-lets-blast-off/ Bundle: to gather together a wide and interesting group of folks and put one of their books each into a product for people to read for a single, cheap price. The goal: I have fans who have (hopefully) read
- [Did you know I have a newsletter?](https://www.blazeward.com/did-you-know-i-have-a-newsletter/) - It's true. And I post things there on a quarterly basis that don't necessarily make it into my semi-regular blog posts. The blog is where I talk about stuff, but not necessarily things of any great relevance, beyond my usual snark. The newsletter, on the other hand, is about schedules and events. And occasionally giveaways
- [Radio Silence...](https://www.blazeward.com/radio-silence/) - yeah, I realize I haven't posted on my blog in a while. This won't be long, until the trolls find me and drag me back to work. Was working hard on fixing the pumphouse. That's about 3/4 done now, and I eke out a few minutes here and here as I can. Then a special
- [StandStand (today's Free advertising)](https://www.blazeward.com/standstand-free-advertising/) - Just 'cause. Much ago, Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) was involved in the original Kickstart for the StandStand. (seriously: https://www.standstand.com/) It is a lovely contraption that you assemble and put on a table or desk so you can put your laptop up at a level to type while standing up. She ended up with two of them, at
- [New novel just dropped!!!!!!!!!!!111111112](https://www.blazeward.com/new-novel-just-dropped111111112/) - Actually, if you pre-ordered, it probably appeared in your inbox list and library last night, since the Amazons appear to be running GMT for their go-code. Above translated into english, kinda: White Crane (Modern Gods, Book 1) is now available for purchase at your preferred vendor. The blurb: "Kai Di laments the death of her
- [Thinking about the future](https://www.blazeward.com/thinking-about-the-future/) - When I started writing science fiction again, the first story I wrote was Greater Than The Gods Intended. It’s a fantasy piece, and contained in a fantasy anthology (BTM2), but only because the whole story is told from the point of view of a three-foot-tall lizard-man, an Isaurian, who is the direct descendent of genetically-engineered
- [White Crane, Modern Gods, Book 1](https://www.blazeward.com/white-crane-modern-gods-book-1/) - Yay! After so long with no news, I have more now. White Crane is available for pre-order in all the usual places. Comes out June 28. Superheroic Contemporary Fantasy and the beginning of a trilogy, and a whole new world in which to play. The Blurb: Kai Di laments the death of her best friend,
- [Surprise Bundle](https://www.blazeward.com/surprise-bundle/) - Hiya, I would have given you more warning, but it came up at the last minute. My SF thriller novel Imposters is part of a bundle on the Rabbit. https://bundlerabbit.com/not-only-humans Very short term bundle (as in, maybe a week, I think), and you'll get awesome writers like Mindy Klasky, Leah Cutter, Douglas Smith, and Kim
- [Voice](https://www.blazeward.com/voice/) - The seven point plot structure definition of fiction writing starts out with a character, in a setting, with a problem. And you can have different points of view as you go. How does the reader get to see the scene? First Person is inside the character’s head, listening to “I.” Third Person Distant lets you
- [New stuff coming soon (and summer news)](https://www.blazeward.com/new-stuff-coming-soon-and-summer-news/) - My apologies for a wee bit of radio silence recently. Managed to throw my back out a couple of weeks ago, and then caught a touch of norovirus or something this week as I was close to recovering. Last night was the first I had slept through this week. Kinda nice, but still on the mend.
- [Spambots and the modern world](https://www.blazeward.com/spambots-and-the-modern-world/) - So every day or so I log in and check my website. It is probably not obvious, but I have the system padlocked. If you make a comment on something (and I encourage the humans in my audience to do so), it goes into a queue until it gets approved by an Admin (me, or
- [Summer is coming...](https://www.blazeward.com/summer-is-coming/) - So after a lot of quiet for a while, Summer is nearly upon us. I put out the third Javier Aritza story, The Gilded Cage, in January. (Thanks to all the folks that made it successful. I've got #4 plotted out, and just no time to write it for a while with all the other
- [More bundles](https://www.blazeward.com/more-bundles/) - okay, so I don't always blog on a believable schedule. But I wanted to put this out there. I got invited to a new bundle, focused entirely on science fiction this time. Auberon is in there, for those of you who have not gotten around to reading it. There are also a bunch of other
- [BOGO!](https://www.blazeward.com/bogo/) - I did warn y'all this was coming, didn't I? The deal is this: Buy the full bundle. $12 for 12 books. SUCH A DEAL. Email me (Blaze at BlazeWard dot com) the receipt from Bundle Rabbit, showing that you've bought all the books. I will email you a zip file containing the epub and mobi of
- [It must be spring, I’m bleeding…](https://www.blazeward.com/it-must-be-spring-im-bleeding/) - First nice weekend of the season. That means a garden and an orchard that needs weeding. It includes slightly overgrown game trails that need work with the machete. It involves frightening the deer. (Seriously, I went out to throw some stuff in the composter this morning. It’s across the open backyard, close to an ancient
- [Another interesting weekend...](https://www.blazeward.com/another-interesting-weekend/) - So last week, we talked about the onrushing death of Traditional Publishing. That generated some interesting responses, both on and off line. Mushroom cloud peeking over the horizon. Went to Emerald City ComicCon yesterday/Saturday (it's nice to be able to walk to something like that and then home, even if I ended up doing 22k
- [I'm a bundle bunny!!!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/im-a-bundle-bunny/) - https://bundlerabbit.com/the-middlings-sampler I did warn you this was coming. And you get to listen to me a little bit, because I'm in an awesome bundle with some amazing people (and one writer I totally squeeeeee over, but you folks knew that.) Here's the fun part: www.Kobo.com has decided to sponsor us on this one, partly to help
- [An interesting kind of weekend...](https://www.blazeward.com/an-interesting-kind-of-weekend/) - I drove to Portland, OR yesterday. A friend was celebrating her birthday. First, we had lunch with the Portland Writers Consortium, and introduced them to a new friend. And talked a lot of business and gossip about the magical, fading land of Traditional Publishing. It kind of felt like the sort of gossip one would
- [The Ages of Man (An Alexandria Station Timeline)](https://www.blazeward.com/the-ages-of-man-an-alexandria-station-timeline/) - Depending on how you want to count them, several different dates in the Twentieth Century Christian Era (CE) can become our zero point for counting the future. The first might be Einstein’s Annus Mirabilis (the year of Miracles) in CE 1905, when he first published the papers that would revolutionize science, including E=MC^2. A useful
- [W.I.B.B.O.W....And Worldbuilding](https://www.blazeward.com/w-i-b-b-o-w-and-worldbuilding/) - WIBBOW = Would I Be Better Off Writing? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: more yes. Been down with a nasty cold all week, sleeping, coughing, hacking, and yuck. The worst part was that I just wasn't able to think. Sitting in the middle of a novel (okay, right at the end of Act I, but
- [When Close Counts](https://www.blazeward.com/when-close-counts/) - http://www.knottedroadpress.com/book/horseshoes-hand-grenades-and-magic/ There is a new CampCon anthology available today!!! I have a Brak story in there (technically a Sleipnir story, but whatever). Get yours today.
- [The Coast Anthology Workshop](https://www.blazeward.com/the-coast-anthology-workshop/) - Every year, the folks behind the Fiction River Anthologies (Kristine Katherine Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, Kerrie L Hughes, Rebecca Moesta, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, John Helfers, and Kevin J Anderson, editing) do a workshop down on the coast to provide the guts of the thing. It goes like this: Once a week, in the dead
- [Bundling, or, welcome to the brave new future...](https://www.blazeward.com/bundling-or-welcome-to-the-brave-new-future/) - The concept of book bundles has been on my mind recently. Partly, as to the timing of my spring, partly as a series of conversations with Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) about the many possible futures of indie publishing. In about three weeks, Knotted Road Press will be publishing one of my stories in the second CampCon anthology,
- [SF and sexuality](https://www.blazeward.com/sf-and-sexuality/) - The Revolution of Politics One of the most interesting facets of modern science fiction, at least for me, is the culmination of various threads of cultural pressures that have coalesced to shatter the socio-political underpinnings of the genre. In English, things have changed. And it is good. I grew up reading the founders. I have
- [Why Zanzibar?](https://www.blazeward.com/why-zanzibar/) - Recently, Fabulous Publisher Babe™ had her annual Chocolate and Wine Party, where we invite her friends (mostly writers), my friends (mostly rednecks) and other folks we like. I got into a discussion with several other folks, some of whom were familiar with the various pieces that make up the Alexandria Station universe. One of them
- [Ya know, maybe I don't wanna fit in...](https://www.blazeward.com/ya-know-maybe-i-dont-wanna-fit-in/) - Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) and I have this game we play called "The White Picket Fence." Last week, she I and were talking to a new life insurance agent (I've been with the agency forever, but many of the people I've never met in the flesh before.) Young man was extremely bright, very earnest, massively competent
- [Art and Marketing](https://www.blazeward.com/art-and-marketing/) - This year, as part of my job of being Fabulous Publisher Babe™’s Marketing Troll, Ollie, I’m branching out into a few new realms, in that eternal quest to make enough writing money that I don’t have to get up and put on pants in the morning. (Venn Diagram. Two circles that do not touch. “Days
- [Wandering...](https://www.blazeward.com/wandering/) - I got to talking with a friend the other day about moving around. Hint: I know very few people up here who are actually from Seattle. More likely is that the person ended up here at the tail end of something else, or running away from something, or running to something. Whatever. I grew up mostly
- [Have I mentioned how awesome Matt is?](https://www.blazeward.com/have-i-mentioned-how-awesome-matt-is/) - Some of you are probably already aware of this, but it might be news for others. I have had a number of titles done as audio books available on Audible.com So far: The Science Officer The Mind Field (SO #2) The Gilded Cage (SO #3) is now available The Story Road The Librarian and The
- [Yay. New book!!!](https://www.blazeward.com/yay-new-book/) - So to celebrate the latest birthday of Jeff Bezos, we're publishing the third in the Business 4 Breakfast series. And I wrote this one. It is The Beginning Professional Storyteller. I wanted to write this one (more than a year ago. Long story) to lay out for myself an understanding of the 7-Point Plot Structure
- [2016: Okay, now what?](https://www.blazeward.com/2016-okay-now-what/) - Last week, we talked about what happened to me (publishing-wise, there was more) last year. The anniversary of that was this Thursday just passed. This morning, I’m out in banjo country without access to the interwebs as I write this, listening to the water boil and watching Fabulous Publisher Babe™ stir and press the coffee.
- [2015: What the hell just happened?](https://www.blazeward.com/2015-what-the-hell-just-happened/) - It has been a very strange twelve months. Some of you know this story. For you, my apologies for repeating. For some of you, this will be new. I have been a storyteller for as long as I have had words. I published some of my short fiction and poetry, once upon a time, in
- [How to escape the day-job](https://www.blazeward.com/how-to-escape-the-day-job/) - Because there are very few people actually listening, I can pretty much talk about anything here. Those of you paying attention, feel free to offer suggestions, advice, and/or winning lottery tickets... :) For any creative type, the struggle in life is always the mundane versus the exciting. There are all these stories that I would
- [But will they like it?](https://www.blazeward.com/but-will-they-like-it/) - Quick survey: What kind of reader are you? There are two interesting schools of thought out there today, when it comes to how people read. On the one hand, the old school (Traditional Publishing) demands that a writer must be closely pigeon-holed into a very specific genre category. The corollary is that if you write
- [Holidays and Sales and fun](https://www.blazeward.com/holidays-and-sales-and-fun/) - I didn't get much done over the long weekend (Thanksgiving in the US). Did the traditional chili-dogs breakfast (long story, remind me to tell y'all sometime, preferably over mead), then invited some friends over and had what we call an Art Colony. Lunch at 2. Sit around and talk until 4. Then everyone gets serious
- [I can finally brain again](https://www.blazeward.com/i-can-finally-brain-again/) - That was an intense weekend. (And I need fashion design help.) OryCon, followed by my first ever book signing at Powell's. Thanks to everyone who came out, and all the new friends I made. (And that poor girl that I talked into liking epic, military SF in spite of herself. She did at least friend
- [The Gilded Cage](https://www.blazeward.com/the-gilded-cage/) - The third Javier Aritza novella, entitled The Gilded Cage, is coming out December 15. It's available for pre-order now (and somebody already did, which was weird, but thank you). Last of the Immortals will drop in about two and a half days. At least two of you already ordered paper copies, since I had to make
- [Lots of Words](https://www.blazeward.com/lots-of-words/) - News Update, Round 2: The next Goodreads Giveaway (Queen of the Pirates) starts Tuesday 11/10 and runs for a week. After that, a set of giveaways for Last of the Immortals that will begin just after the book itself comes out on Nov 17. As usual, available for pre-order everywhere that allows, plus everywhere after
- [Committing](https://www.blazeward.com/committing/) - Side Note: As a race into publishing Last of the Immortals, I am doing a set of Goodreads giveaways. Auberon is going on now, and will end on 11/3. After that, we'll do a set for Queen of the Pirates, and finally Last of the Immortals. This is your chance to own a hard-copy version, sure
- [Chairs and chairmakers](https://www.blazeward.com/chairs-and-chairmakers/) - One of the hardest tasks for a writer is to find someone who can read what you have written with a critical-enough eye to help, while not being a complete ass about things. Being a First Reader is a skill set, one that takes time to learn. It is necessary to be able to read
- [Last of the Immortals finally available for pre-order](https://www.blazeward.com/last-of-the-immortals-finally-available-for-pre-order/) - It has been an awesome year. A little overwhelming, but utterly awesome. Earlier this week, Fabulous Publisher Babe (tm) put Last of the Immortals up for pre-order on all the usual suspects. Several of you went and already pre-ordered. That's even more awesome. And I'm seeing people wander aimlessly through the stacks, reading things. Hopefully,
- [Product Placement in Genre Fiction](https://www.blazeward.com/product-placement-in-genre-fiction/) - Recently, I got into an interesting discussion with an (visual) artist friend of mine about some of the differences between so-called modern entertainment and genre science fiction. One thing that has always struck me as interesting is the prevalence of what we would today call "product placement." It's not a recent thing, as far as
- [Writing Into Darkness](https://www.blazeward.com/writing-into-darkness/) - There are several ways to approach fiction writing. None of them are better than any other, as far as I can tell. They are just tools in the toolbox. As you advance in your craft, you learn to make use of them as you go, depending on the needs of the story. You can work
- [Immortality](https://www.blazeward.com/immortality/) - It's a trope in Science Fiction. An outgrowth of the rise of technology that it eventually overcomes mortality. I remember a comment in a book once, where one character explained that aging was a curable disease. And they had. He was fifteen or twenty thousand years old at that point, and well on his way
- [Science Fiction as Burlesque](https://www.blazeward.com/science-fiction-as-burlesque/) - I had a question from a friend who is a fan of Suvi, and it got me to thinking that other people probably had the same question/observation. He was reading (re-reading, again) The Librarian, and the thing that jumped out at him was how much detail I left out of the middle, and how the
- [The Voracious Reader](https://www.blazeward.com/the-voracious-reader/) - It still amazes me when I look at sales numbers and actually see people buying my books. I mean, I've been a story teller for as long as I have had language, but I was never in a position to actually make any money at it until very, very recently. I know I tell good
- [Inspiration](https://www.blazeward.com/inspiration/) - Those of you know have been keeping score at home know that I moved this summer into a new place. The old house was 1800 sqft with a three car garage. The new gig is just under 1100 sqft, with no garage, but a couple of outbuildings and a little over six acres of trees,
- [Queen of the Pirates, and other news](https://www.blazeward.com/queen-of-the-pirates-and-other-news/) - So about now, the next Hive story, entitled Moonshot, has been finally published on all the major sites. It's the next sequel to Myrmidons, and features everybody's favorite psychic ant nest in her further adventures. This time, she steals technology from the gods so that she can demonstrate the non-primacy of man as alpha predator.
- [I'm back, kinda](https://www.blazeward.com/im-back-kinda/) - Summer has been kinda awesome. For those of you keeping score at home, I published two novels, a novella, and two short stories, plus a couple of audio books. I also finished building a new house and am about to move in, and got married to Fabulous Publisher Babe™. Yesterday, I published the summer newsletter,
- [It's Summer](https://www.blazeward.com/its-summer/) - So, y'all remember earlier when I said it was going to go from busy to busier? Maybe not. Anyway, simple note here for everyone. Things that have come out: Auberon (Jessica 1/Alexandria Station) The Shipwrecked Mermaid (Rick Pine 1) Imposters (Rick Pine 2/sequel to Mermaid) The Story Road (Alexandria Station) Things still coming (August): Moonshot
- [Queen of the Pirates Goodreads giveway and other fall news](https://www.blazeward.com/queen-of-the-pirates-goodreads-giveway-and-other-fall-news/) - First news: There is a Goodreads giveaway of Queen of the Pirates happening, for those of you that would like a paper copy that you can track me down and have sign, sometime. Additionally, Book Three, Last of the Immortals, is now in the hands of first readers and editors. Expected publication date is roughly
- [Last of the Immortals](https://www.blazeward.com/last-of-the-immortals/) - Hiya, First off: thank you. I had a big print-book giveaway on Goodreads last week and had a bunch of people sign up for a copy of Auberon. At the same time, pre-orders for Queen of the Pirates have gone kinda through the roof right now, and the book won't drop until Tuesday morning (I think Seattle
- [The Science Officer](https://www.blazeward.com/the-science-officer/) - I've been writing a whole bunch over the last half year in the Alexandria Station universe, mostly concentrated on the far end of the calendar, specifically Jessica Keller and Henri Baudin (a name you'll meet next week when The Story Road drops). It dawns on me that I really haven't spent a lot of time
- [Imposters](https://www.blazeward.com/imposters/) - Yay!!!! After waiting so long and staring at that cover sitting on my desk, probably mocking me, Imposters is finally available for sale at all the usual suspects. A bit of backstory, for those of you not playing along at home: I wrote The Shipwrecked Mermaid for an anthology that came out this last spring
- [Valse d'Glaive](https://www.blazeward.com/valse-dglaive/) - Jessica Keller practices a form of close-combat martial art known as Valse d'Glaive, the Sword Dance. In the distant future of her time, mankind has been exploring the galaxy for nearly ten thousand years. The Homeworld was destroyed by bolide attack, nearly three thousand years ago. What is left is a interesting melting pot jumble
- [What about the reader](https://www.blazeward.com/what-about-the-reader/) - I talk a lot to writers. I've been a storyteller for as long as I can remember, but I've only really turned myself into a writer over the course of the last year and a half. At first, I was writing pure fantasy because I've been into fantasy (and other) rpg's since grade school (yeah,
- [A Summer Of Fun](https://www.blazeward.com/a-summer-of-fun/) - Those of you who have been playing along at home are aware that Auberon was the first step of what I plan to be a very busy summer. As of this week (I wasn't exactly paying attention), Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) put the next piece of the puzzle on the interwebs. Imposters is now available for
- [Auberon: Beams and Missiles](https://www.blazeward.com/auberon-beams-and-missiles/) - So last week, I geeked out on carriers. This week, I want to talk about offensive firepower in the way distant future. I thought about coming up with a fun and exciting name for the various classes of beam weapons, like several movie and TV show universes have, but in the end, I realized that
- [The Republic of Aquitaine Carriers](https://www.blazeward.com/the-republic-of-aquitaine-carriers/) - Today, boys and girls, I wanted to geek out a little. Just a little. Call it a tour in world-building. Some writers talk about how they write, or why, and I do that. But I really wanted to spend some time inside the place I have spent so much time lately. -------------------- Auberon is an
- [I have a novel...](https://www.blazeward.com/i-have-a-novel/) - After all the work, and all the planning, and all the waiting, I have a novel coming out this week, generally available this Tuesday. I'm still kinda boggled by the whole thing. On the one hand, I have around thirty titles published to date, and this is just the next one in the line. On the
- [What Is Alexandria Station?](https://www.blazeward.com/what-is-alexandria-station/) - You've heard me talk about it as a place, a concept, and a universe. Figured I'd cover all three and let everyone have a brief look inside the weirdness that is my head. First: Universe. In my notes, I have four different sets of "worlds" i want to write Science Fiction in. So far. Like,
- [Are we alone?](https://www.blazeward.com/are-we-alone/) - So when you first set your butt in the chair and decide to write Science Fiction (tm), this is one of the first questions you have to ask yourself. Are we alone? In Fantasy, in almost all flavors, the answer is "duh, no." because you have elves, and dragons, and unicorns, and lycanthropes, and vampires
- [Suvi](https://www.blazeward.com/suvi/) - The Muse "No Muse-poet grows conscious of the Muse except by experience of a woman in whom the Goddess is to some degree resident; just as no Apollonian poet can perform his proper function unless he lives under a monarchy or a quasi-monarchy. A Muse-poet falls in love, absolutely, and his true love is for
- [Goodreads giveaways](https://www.blazeward.com/more_prizes/) - So, starting shortly, my publisher plans on doing several Goodreads giveaways of my first novel, Auberon. At least, that's what she tells me. It's due out May 5, so this will be your opportunity to read it before anyone else. (The giveaway is for paperbacks, not electronic books. So some of you might get early
- [The Shipwrecked Mermaid](https://www.blazeward.com/the-shipwrecked-mermaid/) - Yay, I have a new story coming out. For those of you paying attention at home, I have written elsewhere about CampCon, the annual summer camping/writing weekend in central Oregon. Last year was my first visit (I'll be back this year, hopefully). There were about a dozen writers there, all furiously heads-down generating new stuff.
- [Free books giveaway and stuff](https://www.blazeward.com/free-books-giveaway/) - Good News!!! Audible has given me promo codes to use for free audio book downloads of The Science Officer, The Mind Field, and The Librarian. At the same time, I also have promo codes from iTunes for e-book copies of all three that I can also use for a giveaway. After consulting with my publisher,
- [All the ways to reach a reader](https://www.blazeward.com/all-the-ways-to-reach-a-reader/) - I have had good teachers. Kristine Katherine Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith (both of http://www.wmgpublishing.com) are big time writers who have made it their work to train up new writers in the craft of good writing and business of being a successful businessman. What I know comes from what they have taught, largely filtered and
- [Alexandria Station](https://www.blazeward.com/alexandria-station/) - When I started out with the science fiction, I had a couple of interesting characters in mind. Separate characters, living in their own worlds. It was only later that they all got together and explained to me that they lived in the same universe. They were just spread out by time. So I sat down
- [Languages in the Future (or why I want a Bulgarian Fan Club)](https://www.blazeward.com/languages-in-the-future-or-why-i-want-a-bulgarian-fan-club/) - I got asked the other day why I had Bulgarian as a language in The Science Officer. And in The Librarian. It's a complicated question to answer, because it goes to the heart of what I see in science fiction, or rather, one of the things I see wrong. Many authors (myself occasionally included), use
- [Auberon now available for pre-order](https://www.blazeward.com/auberon-now-available-for-pre-order/) - After a lot of work, I am finally able to announce that the first novel in the Jessica Keller series is now available for pre-order on several sites (see links below). Amazon Kobo The novel is entitled Auberon, and is the beginning of a series of novels that takes place in the Alexandria Station universe,
- [The Zolnerovy  Stories](https://www.blazeward.com/the_zolnerovy_stories/) - In the Summer of 2014, I got invited to participate in a closed anthology, meaning one that is by-invitation-only, rather than open for submissions. The theme was science fiction and having to do with in the woods, so terrestrial and arboreal instead of space ships. For writers, the question is never "Where do you get
- [One of THOSE conversations](https://www.blazeward.com/one-of-those-conversations/) - I grew up in what west coasters colloquially refer to as "flyover country." Specifically, Kansas. Flat, gold, extreme weather. I grew up hunting and fishing, and doing all sorts of crazy things in the eyes of people from the left coast. (Please note: I am NEVER mucking out a stable again, thank you.) From my
- [Why Auberon](https://www.blazeward.com/why-auberon/) - I spent last year writing in a variety of genre, partly as an experiment, partly because I had (have!) so many ideas floating around in my head and wanted to get as many of them done as I could. Towards the end of the year, I had an experience with a group of professional writers

## Pages

- [Welcome to Blaze's world](https://www.blazeward.com/) - Newsletter Now is a good time to sign up for my newsletter. You get a new short story that will only be available for folks who sign up for the newsletter in the future. It is a lovely story about an octopus inventor and his invention, exploring the lands beyond the high tide, and the
- [Action-Thriller](https://www.blazeward.com/action-thriller/) - The Red Branch (Historic Military Aviation Action-Thriller, ongoing series) Swordmistress Zhen (Historic Chinese Action-Thriller) Chace Haig (Espionage Thriller, ongoing) A Little Action/Adventure Thrill Ride Magazinde (Ungoing Action-Thriller I Edit) Honor Unlikely Partners No WWM Betrayal Sisters-In-Arms Gadgets Adventure Lone Wolves Secrets Fast Cars Sidekicks Spies Thief In The Night
- [Science Fiction Books](https://www.blazeward.com/books/) - Flight of the Corsac Fox (Epic Space Opera, ongoing, Block one complete at 7) Alexandria Station - Science Fiction Jessica Keller Chronicles - Series Complete (9 + 5) (Sequel series is First Centurion Kosnett, also complete) First Centurion Kosnett (Sequel Series to the Jessica Keller Chronicles. Complete. Sequel series is Warlord of Yaumgan) Warlord of
- [Alexandria Station Timeline](https://www.blazeward.com/alexandria-station-timeline/) - Timeline Of The Future Suvi CE Jessica Javier Concord/Union Ballard Republic Empire Earth Yuri Gagarin born 1,934 Chicago Pile 1 (first man-made nuclear reactor live) 1,942 Exploration & Space Travel (Vostok 1)
- [Magazines I Edit](https://www.blazeward.com/magazines-i-edit/) - Boundary Shock Quarterly (Science Fiction Anthology, ongoing) Thrill Ride Magazine (Thriller, quarterly, ongoing) Blaze Ward Presents - ongoing
- [Music - Ward & Rogers](https://www.blazeward.com/music-ward-rogers/) - A place where music released by Blaze Ward and Paul Johnson Rogers (Ward & Rogers) can be found. Check back as we're regularly working on new music.
- [Fantasy Books and Stuffff](https://www.blazeward.com/fantasy-books-and-stuffff/) - Augustus Dexter Derlyth (Occult Detective, ongoing) Urban Fantasy Fantasy Series - Brak Fantasy Series - Suren Fantasy Series - Kaleph Sa'id Fantasy Stories Fantastical Poetry Beyond The Mirror Collections (Fantasy, SF, Dramatic, Heroic) Modern Gods - Superheroes Business For Breakfast
- [Newsletters](https://www.blazeward.com/newsletter/) - Subscribe to my personal newsletter! I promise to never spam you, or to use my list of email addresses for nefarious purposes.
- [Should I fanfic?](https://www.blazeward.com/should-i-fanfic/) - To fanfic or not fanfic? Different writers have different feelings about fanfic. My policy is basically the same as Charlie Stross’. A) I don’t care if you write fanfic about my characters or not. B) Do not ever, ever ask me to read it. C) Don’t mess with my ability to make money from my
- [Questions](https://www.blazeward.com/questions/) - This is a place to hang certain answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
- [Contact](https://www.blazeward.com/contact/)
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.blazeward.com/privacy-policy/) - Mailing list Any information you provide will never be sold. At present Blaze Ward will typically provide newsletters 1-2 times per month, including announcements for new books and sales. Your information may also be used for targeted marketing on social media platforms, but only for works by Blaze Ward. Your list will never be sold, loaned, or traded. You
- [Marketplace](https://www.blazeward.com/marketplace/) - The Marketplace has been updated. Or rather, moved. Society6.com is way easier to work with. You will not be able to be the first person to get your own Auberon coffee mug, because I did that. I also got the first black t-shirt with the big logo on the front. Because I can. (I love
- [Should I cosplay?](https://www.blazeward.com/should-i-cosplay/) - Absolutely. Yes, please. Send me questions. Send me pics to post on the site. Dirty, little secret: I think it would be completely awesome to run into someone at a con, wearing the uniform of the Republic of Aquitaine Navy. (Or, Fribourg Empire if you're into that sort of thing.) As part of the work

## MailPoet Page

- [MailPoet Page](https://www.blazeward.com/?mailpoet_page=captcha) - [mailpoet_page]
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## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://www.blazeward.com/category/uncategorized/)
- [Alexandria Station](https://www.blazeward.com/category/alexandria-station/) - Stories in the universe of Javier Aritza, Doyle Iwakuma, Jessica Keller, Henri Baudin, and, of course, Suvi
- [Zolnerovy](https://www.blazeward.com/category/zolnerovy/) - Stories about the Zolnerovy, Daughters of The Soldier.
- [The Collective](https://www.blazeward.com/category/collective/) - Stories in the Rick Pine universe, home of The Collective
- [cooking](https://www.blazeward.com/category/cooking/)
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