So, it’s my birthday

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

Which means someone has plans to kidnap me and go have some fun for the day. Probably a couple of museums and dinner out.

Anyway, I might finish a chapter on Orphans of the Stars (because I like sleeping at night, and the book is a tyrant) but I ain’t writing a post today.

To compensate…. Well, I wrote this song that sounds like a gurrrrl powah song, until you realize it’s called Athena’s Song. By that point, if you’ve read Darkship Thieves, you’ll be giggling like a little girl. Yes, even if you’re an older man.

So, without further ado: Athena’s Song:

And if you haven’t read Darkship Thieves, this is your lucky day. Yes, I know I was supposed to have Witch’s daughter out by now and was going to put Witchfinder up for 99c. Well, that’s been delayed a couple of weeks, mostly due to my getting sick. I seem to — knock on head — be getting over it by now, and the book is back, so… (It got all muddled, when I was sick.)

Anyway, for now, I started my Birthday-to-New-Years 99c sale with Darkship Thieves. IF I didn’t screw anything up, it will be for sale by the time you read this.

Athena Hera Sinistra never wanted to go to space. Never wanted see the eerie glow of the Powerpods. Never wanted to visit Circum Terra. She never had any interest in finding out the truth about the Darkships. You always get what you don’t ask for.
When an intruder in her bedroom forces Athena to flee her father’s luxury cruiser in a tiny lifeboat, her escape leads her straight to the legendary Darkships—mysterious vessels that steal Earth’s power supply. And into the life of the pilot of the Darkship.

Thrust into a hidden asteroid colony and hunted by powerful enemies, Athena discovers shocking truths about her father’s empire and her own identity. As she navigates this dangerous new reality, what began as a fight for survival becomes a battle for freedom that could transform humanity’s future.

Winner of the Prometheus Award—a pulse-pounding space adventure where liberty hangs in the balance and nothing is as it seems.

112 thoughts on “So, it’s my birthday”

      1. That is what I get for translating from Spanish to Portuguese. 😁

        Normal for a Uruguayan speaking to a Brazilian.

        Feliz cumplean~os

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          1. Interesting. Aniversario in spanish applies to date of marriage or some political event, never heard it used for birthday though it could apply. You are correct in being grumpy when dealing with the other Iberians😁, whilst I get along with both sides (well, maybe excluding Basques), the language differences are always vexing. Cheers from a distant Anglo/Spanish reader in MI.

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    1. Also known as the Mongol Birthday song. I think there are more verses, but those are the ones I’ve heard most often.

      Happy Birthday!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Now that is a cake!👍👍👍 Fire Department standing by, right?😉

      Happy birthday, Sarah; enjoy the day.

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  9. Happy Birthday, BBESP, and thank you for the lovely gift of $0.99 DST. (Isn’t that supposed to go the other way around?). Since I lost my paperback copy in the fire, I will receive this opportunity with joy.

    Also, would that banner be more accurate reading, ‘Closed, Gone Finishing’? 😁

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  10. Must. Not. Giggle. Loudly. “He only wants you for your body.” Oof!

    Bought a new copy a few months ago. It’s somewhere on the TB(Re)R stack.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I wondered about this quote; “Huh, where did Sarah say that?” Oh, wait, maybe the video. Took the risk of watching it here at work, with volume on. OHhhh. But then watching it; OK, AI doesn’t do a bad job on the front, but that poor girl appears to have NO butt.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Good grief! “Hippo Birdie!” That is a birthday tradition in my family, going back to my childhood when I punned that on my sister’s birthday card. The whole song.

      Never heard anyone else use it.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. And she used it all the way back in 1975. Wow.

          We had moved to our country/’hood home by the time I made that card. So after 1974. And we have been using “Hippo Birdie” since then, so what are the odds?

          (….Kirk jabbering about the Theory of Parallel Evolution….)

          Dang. I will have to buy some now.

          Liked by 2 people

  14. Happy Birthday Sarah – may you have many happy returns to the day.

    Re: “Athena’s Song” – I’m an ‘older man’ and I’ve read all the Darkship books – so, yes <giggle>

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  23. Ah, museums and restaurants: feeding the two most important appetites.

    Happy birthday, Sarah. We’ll still be here when you come back, brain and stomach well filled. (And we probably won’t set the website on fire while you’re gone.)

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Nathan got it here first with my standard line, so let me just say congratulations on another solar orbital period of confounding and taunting your enemies.

    Liked by 1 person

  35. Sarah:

    I do not allow posts from many people. The volume of E-mail becomes overwhelming after a while.

    I do enjoy reading your posts even if I do not agree with every piece of every post. You are a beacon of light in a fractious universe. Please continue to shine forth.

    If for some reason you decide that you do not want your transgender readers, just send me a quick note and I will drop off. I hope that does not happen.

    Take care and persevere.

    Michelle Rogers

    Chattanooga, TN

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      1. More to the point: what state of mind do you need to be in to think that is even possible?

        If you publish something in public you have given up any possible rights or capacity to control that.

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        1. I had always believed that Sarah was tolerant of her transgender readers. But some recent meme posts contained strongly anti-trans material, which surprised me. I hoped that was because someone else put the meme post together and not Sarah.

          As for “firing,” I only meant that if she did not want any readers to be on the list, I would gladly disappear.

          Michelle Rogers, Chattanooga, TN

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          1. What ‘anti-trans material’ do you mean? I haven’t seen any. If you make such accusations you have to back them up. Or are you simply primed to see ‘oppression’ where none exists?
            ———————————
            When reality doesn’t conform to your theories, it’s not the universe that’s wrong.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. I did not keep copies of the blog posts that had the meme posts in them. But if someone wants to go back to posts in the last couple of months, they will find memes that are quite clearly anti-trans.

              The most recent meme post did not have such material in it.

              I will not argue with the rest of the members about this and will not respond to future posts about this. If I see more anti-trans memes in the posts, I will move on. It is not worth wasting time over.

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              1. If your standards for “anti-trans” are going to include “recognize the objective fact that a man in a dress is not a woman,” then yes, you are going to be very upset.

                Liked by 1 person

              3. I see. You’re ‘Offended!’ by something you can’t remember, and can’t be bothered to identify. We are expected to read your mind and avoid posting anything else that might ‘Offend!!’ you. I, for one, do not play such games.
                ———————————
                He’s a lumberjack, and he’s OK.

                Liked by 1 person

              4. Madam: I put up anti-Catholic memes on occasion, and even anti-Portuguese ones. My point on the memes is “Is it funny” not “is someone going to clutch his/hers/hamster’s pearls.” Because that is the death of humor.
                If you’re that fragile, you not only never read me, you never will read me. And I don’t care. It’s a free internet.
                It doesn’t reflect on any of my trans friends or family or my opinion of them. Or of you.
                Also, if it offended you so terribly you should be able to tell me exactly which and when. When I offend other people they usually email me.
                In addition, I have no memory of putting up any anti-trans memes. I might have put up anti-specific-trans person memes, but that’s different.
                Other than that: read me or don’t. I presume you’re an adult. Do as you please. I’ll gladly refund you every penny you paid for those meme posts.

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                1. It seems that ‘Taking Offense!’ has been turned into some sort of twisted performance art. Well, I am not entertained. Anybody that finds immutable biological facts ‘Offensive!’ is delusional.
                  ———————————
                  You can’t use the government to take away the freedom of only the people you hate.

                  Liked by 1 person

                2. I presume you’re an adult. 

                  Objection! Assumes facts not presented…..

                  Jebus on a pogo stick. Sarah (and the rest of the crew) snark at everyone. Ma’am, I promise you, this blog cultivates a thicker hide than all the gator in the bayous.

                  Liked by 1 person

                  1. “cultivates a thicker hide than all the gator in the bayous.“

                    –

                    Hm. That is a good one! Haven’t thought of putting it that way. Maybe because the gators are rather thin on the ground and in the water around here. As in if seen “What the HECK is that?” Kind of like tornadoes, and we occasionally get one or two of those around here. Nothing to brag about, but they do happen. Gators? Not so much.

                    Liked by 1 person

                3. Mrs. Hoyt:

                  I would have responded to your message earlier, but have been fighting off a persistent respiratory infection. Only now do I have the energy to deal with this subject.

                  We had been talking about whether anti-transgender memes had ended up in one or more of your weekly meme posts. You thought it odd that I could not remember the specific memes in question but was offended.

                  It might be going too far to say that I was offended. I did wonder if this indicated a shift in your sentiment towards a more anti-trans position than in the past.

                  Since then, I had a chance to look through my old E-mails for the meme post messages. I found two memes that definitely seemed to be anti-trans. I also remember a couple that were questionable, so I did not include them here.

                  Here are the memes that I found.

                  The first was from your meme post of October 18. The 2023 figure on the far right looks to me like it was intended to ridicule transgender women. You may disagree.

                  The second was from your memo post of November 1. It clearly insults transgender persons as far as I can tell. Again, you may disagree.

                  It was possible that someone else had posted these memes in your place while you were away. That is why I asked the question in the first place.

                  I was very surprised to have your posters attack with such vigor. But it really does not matter now. It seems clear that I should simply move on and accept that even most of my fellow conservatives really do not want much to do with me now that I am transgender.

                  Therefore, please drop me from your blog membership.

                  I do wish you the best in your writing career and personal life. I just wish we had parted on better terms.

                  Godspeed and farewell.

                  Michelle L. Rogers

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                  1. Dear Ma’am. This is not an airport. Don’t advertise your departure. No one can “Drop you from blog membership.” If you signed for the RSS feed, it’s up to you to stop it.
                    As for “Anti-trans” memes, I am in fact anti-trans. Oh, not people. I have friends and family who are trans. I am anti-trans-process because it’s inhumane and hurts humans.
                    HOWEVER I believe adults can mutilate themselves and put themselves at cander risk however they please. I don’t actually give a damn.
                    I do care, passionately about freedom of speech and freedom of humor. And your offense is fine, but it’s not a reason not to post memes I find funny.
                    Again, you drop yourself off the blog. I’m not going to be gagged by your “I’m so offended.”
                    I have no clue what type of trans you think you are, but you are in fact a trans-Karen.
                    Have fun being offended at life. I hope you get what you’re looking for.

                    Liked by 3 people

                    2. HOWEVER I believe adults can mutilate themselves and put themselves at cander risk however they please. I don’t actually give a damn.

                      The key word there is “adult”. I’m sure Michelle the Offensive would prefer we allow transitioning from birth onwards. How about NO.

                      Liked by 1 person

                    1. I’m starting to wonder if this person has ever been on the blog before or after, considering how long it took her to come up with that wall of text amounting to “you offended me”
                      As if offense were a stick she could beat me with.
                      There’s only ONE answer to that “Frankly, Margaret, I don’t give a damn.”

                      Liked by 2 people

                  4. The first was from your meme post of October 18. The 2023 figure on the far right looks to me like it was intended to ridicule transgender women.

                    It’s a dude in high heels and a pink wig, wearing fishnets and heels.

                    Did you manage to sleep through the left wing “drag queens” dressed similarly to that?

                    Or are you such a hateful sort that you try to claim drag queens are claiming to be female?

                    If so… are you even telling the truth about being trans yourself?

                    Note: I have the term drag queen in quotes above, because those dressed like the guy in the meme were not long-term drag queen performers, who to be concise actually like the female form, rather than engaging in “woman-face” that sexualizes and degrades actual female human beings.

                    Liked by 2 people

                    1. Yeah, nothing wearing a beard and fishnets is trans. That’s straight up “Drag queen story hour” bullshit.
                      Look, Michelle-Karen, when your friends wind you up against some blog, CHECK first before coming out for a quick hit, okay?

                      Liked by 1 person

    2. If for some reason you decide that you do not want your transgender readers, just send me a quick note and I will drop off. 

      Where the heck did that come from? Kind of jarring switch up in the middle of a birthday greeting.

      Having read Sarah for over a decade and now having met her personally I’m puzzled where you would ever get the idea that was a possibility?

      If it’s happened elsewhere, then sorry. I don’t see that as an issue here. At least from Sarah or the regular crew. (I am not including the trolls, bots, groypers, doomers, black pill pushers etc. that show up here. If they start mouthing off, I recommend simply pointing and laughing at them. Or just ignoring them)

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    4. If for some reason you decide that you do not want your transgender readers, just send me a quick note and I will drop off. I hope that does not happen.

      You know how trans people have a reputation of being narcissistic attention whores who insist that the world must revolve around them and their delusions, and everybody must conform to that or else?

      This posturing does nothing to dispel that rep.

      If you like what Sarah writes, read her. If you don’t, then don’t. Stop assuming that your decision in that regard is So Fracking Important that it needs to be paraded in public, and that the public will wait anxiously to find out what your decision might be. Outside your friends and family, nobody cares.

      I am Sarah’s brother by duct tape, and her editor. I have a relationship with her where I might expect her to drop me a line if she’s going to say something that might rankle me. (And honestly, if she does, I’m hardly going to take umbrage at it. That’s called Being An Adult.)

      You? Don’t have that kind of a relationship with her. You read her blog. You claim to like it. Go you. That doesn’t mean that she owes you jack or shit, no matter what your fee fees are.

      Liked by 2 people

  39. Happy birthday. And many blessed returns of the day, and an enjoyable theme kidnapping.

    Meanwhile, a $0.99 sale and an opening wedge into clankerfilk for a new narrative universe? Backwards as it may be, thank you for the gifts given us in honor of your birthday..!

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  40. Giving gifts to other people on your birthday? Sarah must have an ancestor among the Shirefolk!

    Happy Birthday, Sarah, and many happy returns!

    Liked by 1 person

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