Eagles Over the Kennebec

Well.  Where to start?

Ah.  Thank you to everyone who read and kindly donated to "Core Values."

If you haven't read the story yet, here's your link to the introduction, which itself includes a link to the story.  You may read the story for free.  Those who wish may also donate, to the story, to the site, to the Coon Cat Food Bank, or to the author. A donation is not required to read the story.

Now we can get to the Important Topic of Tali.

Tali found the Guest Parlor too small.  Because I have a Very Weird House, I was able, after yesterday's breakfast, to close off the hallway in which the Guest Parlor is located, closing the door to Steve's office at one end, and the rest of the house, at the other end.  This gave Tali the Guest Parlor, a short hallway, a cul de sac which is glorified as the Laundry Room, and a big window overlooking the Long Back Yard.  I also put Trooper in with her, thinking he could share some more pearls of feline wisdom.

This is what that looked like, when I peered in a couple hours later.

After lunch, Trooper and I traded places.  I took my laptop back to the laundry room, and sat in the chair I'd moved in from Steve's office, and finished inputting corrections to "Core Values."  Tali several times leapt into my lap -- she gives epic head bumps -- and tried her paw at editing the story.

Firefly was still being hissy, and Rook was taking his cue from her, so I visited Tali once or twice on the evening, but my intention was to leave her in Steve's hallway until at least Thursday afternoon (I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and Ashley is coming tomorrow morning to do the cleaning).

At 5am this morning, Trooper opened the door to Steve's hallway, and let Tali out.

I got up, turned on all the lights, and prepared myself to run interference (Tali does not like to be picked up.  She will jump in my lap, but she Does. Not. Want. me to pick her up, and I had ... reservations about allowing a cat who will not allow me to pick her up roaming the house.).  Trooper, however, had appointed himself Tour Guide.  He took Tali downstairs, where the Accommodations are (she has a litter pan in the Guest Parlor, but apparently it's not the best arrangement), he showed her the food station and the cat fountain.  He walked her right past Firefly, who was hissing, and Rook, who was likewise.

Since he had it in paw, I got dressed and put the kettle on for tea.

Tali eventually went back to her hallway.  I followed her in, closed the door, and sat down.  She jumped into my lap, and we had a cuddle while chatting out her first impressions.

I let her out again when I got back from my Annual Wellness appointment (spoiler:  I'm healthy).

I must say Tali's being very smart about integrating herself.  She spent some time in the bedroom, and has explored the rest of the rooms once or twice, entirely unfazed by hissing sillies. She offers no aggression, nor does she hiss back; it's merely nothing to do with her, what those cats are carrying on about.

Occasionally, she goes back to her hallway for a breather.

And that's where we are right now.  Trooper, Firefly, and Rook are in my office with me, and Tali is exploring the living room.

Chapter Five, the final chapter of the splinter Shadow of Artemia, is now ready for you to read.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Three of the the Lomar Fasholt splinter, Shadow of Artemia is now live!

For those keeping score, there are two more Lomar splinters after this one, with the last being posted on November 1.

A note about splinters, as there seems to be some Question.

Splinters are -- splinters.  They are not whole stories; they are bits, bobs, and outtakes that for some reason that very rarely has to do with the Actual Writing, did not -- or cannot be made to -- fit into existing storylines.  As such, they do not come to a Satisfying Conclusion.  Mostly, they just -- stop.

We post splinters because some readers find such things interesting, and as a way to illustrate that writing is so very much an intuitive process -- an art, if you will, no matter how hard we try to ring it around with rules or pour it into flowcharts.

Here's the links to the chapters so far:

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

The last two chapters of splintered novel Wolf in the Wind is now up and ready to entertain you.

...the ebook edition of Splinter Universe Presents from Baen. 

Here's your link.

YES, WE WILL ALSO BE PUBLISHING TO AMAZON, BN, AND ALL THE REST OF THE USUAL SUSPECTS. I'm going to pull the trigger now.

I have embarked upon a Project.

Over the next few days, I will be taking down the older -- pre-2020 -- Splinters from Splinter Universe.  These will be collected in an ebook (possibly print) volume tentatively entitled: Splinter Universe Presents! -- so that they will not be Lost Forever.

This redesign will give us room to start posting a Very Long Splinter, which we've been thinking about posting for A While Now.

So!  That's what we're doing today, Brain!

So, suddenly and with only a little bit of warning -- we're busy.

Well.  I'm busy.

Steve was already busy.  Being lead on a novel comes with an "I'm busy" card.  Plus, he's already recorded a short story for Patreon.  Here's the link.

Me, though, I had a couple things on my plate -- getting the taxes ready for the accountant, a short story that may come under contract a little further down the line, that Archers Beach universe story I've been thinking about, the next novel after Steve's got done with his two.  Also, I'd been thinking about another Liaden story or two, for inclusion in a new chapbook.  So -- work, but not a lot of work.

And then?  I started going through the "cope with this after you've healed" folder on my desk, and I discovered that I had some splinters for eventual posting on Splinter Universe (there's one up now, with author commentary, at this link).

The rest of the splinters in hand are Liaden in nature, and the plan is to get them up in a more-or-less leisurely manner.  First, I have to do something about the color scheme at Splinter Universe.

Then, Steve had finished drafting a story that Would Not Be Quiet just before my foot got rebuilt, and I put it aside to read until I was back on both feet.  That story -- "The Gate that Locks the Tree In: A Minor Melant'i Play for Snow Season" -- is destined to become a chapbook, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 30.

So, this is what's lined up, so far:

1  Do the taxes
2  Edit, format, put on sale "The Gate That Locks the Tree In"
3  Write short story
4  Fix Splinter Universe template
5  Plot  and write Archers Beach story
6  Type in Liaden snippets/write author commentary for each
7 Plot and write story(ies) for Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 31
8  Post Liaden snippets
9  Plot and write Liaden novel
10 Confer with Steve over producing possible "outtake" chapbook

So, that'll keep me busy for a while, I guess.

And now you're up to date.

Today's blog title brought to you by Tennessee Ernie Ford, "Sixteen Tons."

. . .is that you find the coolest stuff.

I, for instance, found an outtake from Crystal Soldier which (1) I had forgotten I (I was writing Cantra at that point; Steve was working with Jela) had written and (2) is Actually Really Nice.  Too bad it wouldn't fit in the book as it came to shape up.

It has now been published to Splinter Universe, here.

There's also a small, generally incoherent, author's intro, here.

Oh.  And here's a picture of what's left of yesterday's Big Pile of Typescripts: