I am a novelist with work published in science fiction, fantasy, mystery and historical "novelized biography". I've won the Prometheus award and the Dragon award. I also write under the names Elise Hyatt and Sarah D'Almeida. http://sarahahoyt.com/
*Sorry this is RIDICULOUSLY late. The day after travel is always slow, but today is exceptionally so, probably because we did a fast “cannon ball run” back home, leaving very early and arriving very late and forgetting to eat in between, and then arrived to Havelock-cat hygiene issues that HAD to be fixed before going to bed. We’re all well. Well, the constitutional republic is looking like it might die, of course, but the close family is okay. And the republic…. if it dies, doesn’t mean we stop fighting. On the contrary. So, bear with me today and tomorrow, and then we should be back on track-ish – Sarah*
BOOK PROMO
*Note these are books sent to us by readers/frequenters of this blog. Our bringing them to your attention does not imply that we’ve read them and/or endorse them, unless we specifically say so. As with all such purchases, we recommend you download a sample and make sure it’s to your taste. If you wish to send us books for next week’s promo, please email to bookpimping at outlook dot com. If you feel a need to re-promo the same book do so no more than once every six months (unless you’re me or my relative. Deal.) One book per author per week. Amazon links only. Oh, yeah, by clicking through and buying (anything, actually) through one of the links below, you will at no cost to you be giving a portion of your purchase to support ATH through our associates number. I ALSO WISH TO REMIND OUR READERS THAT IF THEY WANT TO TIP THE BLOGGER WITHOUT SPENDING EXTRA MONEY, CLICKING TO AMAZON THROUGH ONE OF THE BOOK LINKS ON THE RIGHT, WILL GIVE US SOME AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR PURCHASES MADE IN THE NEXT 24HOURS, OR UNTIL YOU CLICK ANOTHER ASSOCIATE’S LINK. PLEASE CONSIDER CLICKING THROUGH ONE OF THOSE LINKS BEFORE SEARCHING FOR THAT SHED, BIG SCREEN TV, GAMING COMPUTER OR CONSERVATORY YOU WISH TO BUY. That helps defray my time cost of about 2 hours a day on the blog, time probably better spent on fiction. ;)*
His one chance to escape slavery could trap his brother in a terrible fate!
Jetay has been on the run with his brother for a long time, hiding his psychic powers from the evil Red Knights. Living as a slave on a star freighter, Jetay dreams of freeing himself and his brother, and of wielding his powers openly.
On a frontier planet, Lady Lanati of the Partisan Alliance seeks his help for a secret mission. It will take him across the stars to the edge of a black hole, with a Red Knight chasing him every step of the way. He might finally get a chance to use his powers for good.
But the price of that chance may be too high, putting his brother in grave danger. Can Jetay save himself and his brother without sacrificing Lanati and her friends? If he can’t find a way to save them all, the battle against evil may be over before it begins….
What lies behind a reflection? Powers have filled the world with both heroes and villains. Helen, despite her own powers, had acquired the name Sanddollar but stayed out of the fights. When the enigmatic chess masters create a mirrored world reflecting her own home and the world about it, it’s not so easy to escape. All the more in that the people of that world are a dark reflection of all those she knows.
AND DON’T FORGET, MY BOOKS ARE ON SALE TILL TUESDAY FOR 99C. (WELL, ALL THOSE I HAVE CONTROL OF. MORE OF THEM NEXT YEAR. I WAS TOLD ONE OF THE LINKS DOESN’T WORK, BUT SINCE I WAS TRAVELING, I COULDN’T FIX IT. IF YOU SEARCH THE BOOK’S NAME, IT SHOULD COME UP ANYWAY: SO HERE’S THE LINK TO THE POST WITH ALL THE BOOKS.
Vignettes by Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike.
So what’s a vignette? You might know them as flash fiction, or even just sketches. We will provide a prompt each Sunday that you can use directly (including it in your work) or just as an inspiration. You, in turn, will write about 50 words (yes, we are going for short shorts! Not even a Drabble 100 words, just half that!). Then post it! For an additional challenge, you can aim to make it exactly 50 words, if you like.
We recommend that if you have an original vignette, you post that as a new reply. If you are commenting on someone’s vignette, then post that as a reply to the vignette. Comments — this is writing practice, so comments should be aimed at helping someone be a better writer, not at crushing them. And since these are likely to be drafts, don’t jump up and down too hard on typos and grammar.
There is no New Normal. There’s normal, and then our present durance vile and captivity.
In this very abnormal Christmas, I wish you the joy of American Christmases to come.
Because we all know what came after Valley Forge.
Meanwhile have as Merry a Christmas as you can, and remember you are not alone, you are not crazy, and gaslight never illuminated anything except the desire of those who want to keep you in the dark.
Stay safe, stay sane, and know we are all with you in spirit.
I won’t be home for Christmas. And neither will you. And in fact, very few people throughout what was once quaintly called Christendom will be home for Christmas.
When I was thinking about this post, I was going to say that we’d never spent Christmas on the road, but that’s not precisely true. Our technically first Christmas together was spent in Portugal. See, our wedding was on the 28th of December, so we went over a little earlier (about a week.) For one, I needed to have fittings on the gown. No, don’t ask. Yes it was insane.
But that was arguably better than our second Christmas, when we were alone. Being childless and away from all family, even though I’d cooked a turkey breast for lunch, we found ourselves all out of sorts, so we went out in the evening to a steakhouse, and that was worse, actually. Because the place was filled with lonely souls, hunched over their plates, looking lost.
The next year we’d learned and ran an “orphans dinner” for Christmas (and thanksgiving.)
I’ll be honest, except for the period of about 8 years when we had a writers’ group, and people came over because ours was the gathering space, most of our married life, Christmas has just been the four of us. A far cry from the Christmas of my childhood, where the entire extended family got together at grandma’s. Well, the extended family in Portugal, which made it all of 14 people or so. But then we’re very different sort of people, and I wouldn’t do well with the sort of tribal politics, infighting for who brings the roast, and– No. Just no.
But this year….
This year with no church. This year with no lights, no walk through the botanic gardens light trail (because they make you wear masks. Outside. Without being near anyone!) this year that hasn’t had any other holidays, any other gatherings, all to defeat a virus that is no worse, and frankly might be better than a bad flu year….
I don’t know what this is. I look around at a strange land in which the governor tells us we’re a society of laws, and his word is law, and I wonder where I’ve gotten to, and how.
And this election showed us we can’t get rid of our tormentors. They’ve “Fixed” things so we can’t get rid of them and their ridiculous, over the top rules.
But worse, much worse, is seeing our institutions go along with this ridiculous nonsense, including our mainline churches, which jump in to demand you reserve seats online, and oh, yeah, you trace contacts (which even restaurants refused to do) because those martyrs through the ages who suffered for their faith were apparently chumps who risked themselves and others for faith.
We’re traveling. Because if we can’t do anything else, at least we’ll see family. And hey, stupid mask mandates are everywhere, but at least in other states you can still eat out.
But nothing is right. This morning, at a diner, most of the tables — even allotted tables — were empty. And people sit at their tables looking lost and dispirited. It’s worse than that steakhouse on Christmas. It’s worse than it was in Fall.
It’s like EVERYONE is looking around, with completely confused eyes going “where are we? And how did we get here?”
When I was little, in a land faraway, amid a boisterous, sociable tribe, I’d often think “I want to go home.”
I had no idea where home was, or with whom I should be, but there was a strong feeling of not belonging, and also that there was a place SOMEWHERE where I belonged.
Well, I found that. And I had it. We all had it.
We should have guarded it better. But I don’t know how. It wasn’t up to any of us. And our institutions were long corrupted, before most of us were born.
All I know is that this Christmas, like wanderers in Egypt, we are far from home. And we must go home again, however long it takes however hard it is. We must, all of us get back to America. Constitutional America. The USA that counts. The true USA where religion is not constrained, where we’re allowed to show our faces, where we can’t be arrested without due process, where governors words aren’t law, and where our votes count for something.
Let’s work towards it, and way from this painful land of our exile.
Next Christmas in America. Next Christmas in the USA. Let’s work on it.
So, you know how they want us all to stay at home? I obviously am not going to do it, particularly with Polis telling us too. But more importantly, with the completely ridiculous, insane, and possibly otherworldly reasoning for this lockdown.
I mean, if lockdowns worked, then the first one did, and we’re fine, right? if they don’t work…. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
Oh, yeah, I forgot. Because the “elites” who have found their way to fraud themselves into power for decades now hate us and want us to die. In abject poverty. It’s amazing how I forget these things.
Anyway, we’ve been on the road, so I lost track of time, and connections are a little iffy.
And a Rather Belated Chanukah, and happy whatever else holidays you gonzo Odds are celebrating right now.
This year I was going to send out Christmas cards, I was. But between laptopcaplypse (now resolved) and a whole lot of 2020, I never got to print them, which is just as well, as I understand our post office is functioning just about as well as our other institutions this year.
So below is the Christmas card (suitable-for-printing) I was going to send out and below that is my Christmas gift to y’all which should be live right now (I think. I scheduled two days ago, as we’re kind of busy today) or shortly after. Note the sale is US only (Yes, yes, I heard that aw) mostly because, well, you know… with the 2020 being very itself, I haven’t the time to set it up for the UK and Germany, where I’ll get maybe 3 sales apiece. BUT I do promise to do it as a New Year Sale (because it’s not like we’re going anywhere) if you remind me.
Also these are not DRMed on my end, so if you guys choose to guy and convert to another format, I have no issues with that.
The cat on the front is Dan’s keeper, Valeria. The cat on the footstool is Greebo’s understudy and my current minder (since Greebo left us. Sniffle) Havelock. And the dragon hatchling is just a brat.
Now in celebration of these very very weird holidays I’ve put a bunch of stuff on sale, as well as promising to have something new our by the end of the year and then getting the backlog of recently reverted Darkship Thieves and Shifters up ASAP in the new year, before continuing those series. So, for now:
In the original Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen there was only enough good between Darcy and Wickham to make a “good sort of man.” But what if this were not true? What if what we — and Darcy — think we know about Wickham was all wrong? What if sweet Jane Bennet were right all along, and there was some great misunderstanding? In this short story of intrigue and crime, one might end up feeling sorry for George Wickham himself.
From Sarah A. Hoyt in more or less reverse order of publication (I’m not sure on some of them)
THESE ARE ALL ON SALE FOR 99c TILL NOON OF THE 29TH:
Like all Private Detectives, Seamus Lebanon [Leb] Magis has often been told to go to Hell. He just never thought he’d actually have to go. But when an old client asks him to investigate why Death Metal bands are dressing in pink – with butterfly mustache clips – and singing about puppies and kittens in a bad imitation of K-pop bands, Leb knows there’s something foul in the realm of music. When the something grows to include the woman he fell in love with in kindergarten and a missing six-year-old girl, Leb climbs into his battered Suburban and like a knight of old goes forth to do battles with the legions of Hell. This is when things become insane…. Or perhaps in the interest of truth we should say more insane.
The France of the Musketeers has changed. Decades ago, someone opened a tomb in Eastern Europe, and from that tomb crawled an ancient horror, who in turn woke others of its kind. Now Paris is beset by vampires, the countryside barren and abandoned. The Cardinal has become a vampire, the church is banned, the king too cowed to fight. Until now, the three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis have stood as a bulwark against the encroaching evil, their swords defending the innocent and helpless. But last night, in a blood mass, Athos was turned into a Vampire. And a young vampire orphan has just arrived from Gascony: Monsieur D’Artagnan. Things are about to get… complicated. This book was originally published under the pen name Sarah Marques.
In Avalon, where the world runs on magic, the king of Britannia appoints a witchfinder to rescue unfortunates with magical power from lands where magic is a capital crime. Or he did. But after the royal princess was kidnapped from her cradle twenty years ago, all travel to other universes has been forbidden, and the position of witchfinder abolished. Seraphim Ainsling, Duke of Darkwater, son of the last witchfinder, breaks the edict. He can’t simply let people die for lack of rescue. His stubborn compassion will bring him trouble and disgrace, turmoil and danger — and maybe, just maybe, the greatest reward of all.
(And yes, I do know that’s a lot of first in series. The series are not abandoned. I promise. More coming soon.- SAH)
A collection of science fiction short stories by Sarah A. Hoyt. Are there truly aliens among us? What do they really want? And what if our creations could come back in lethal form? Could we resist them? If there were a time police, would we know it? And really, why do people expect enlightenment from the stars? What if aliens needed us for their moral compass? You think our illegal immigration is bad? Wait till its coming from the stars? And what happens when the coin falls on edge? Can you reproduce it? Those not particularly moral aliens might set fiendish traps. And you can never go back again. Also, why would you want to? The future will invent completely new ways of making people miserable. Also how well would a generation ship get us to the stars without humans getting in their own way? If you read the world of Darkship Thieves, there’s a story ten years after the revolution in Olympus. It bridges the gap to the second wave of novels of the Earth Revolution which will be written, eventually. And what if the Carthaginians had sowed salt on the ruins of Rome? How long is memory?
From a parallel world where we have all the dreams of pulp writers, to a future where bioengineering kindles new hates and new heroes, to a different Tudor England, to the intricacies of time wars, this science fiction collection provides a glimpse of things undreamed… some from which we’ll gladly waken, and some we’d very much like to be true. Contains the short stories: Wait Until The War Is Over, Only The Lonely, Lost, Neptune’s Orphans, After the Sabines, The Serpent’s Tail, Spinning Away, The Private Wound, Super Lamb Banana, To Learn To Forget, Things Remembered, The Bombs Bursting in Air, On A Far Distant Shore, So Little And So Light.
From the trenches of WWI where the Red Baron just can’t help turning into a dragon, to the desert sands of a future world where humans have become something else, from a coffee shop between worlds where magicians gather, to a place where your worst nightmare can love you, let Dragon Blood take you on a series of fantastic adventures.
With an introduction by Pam Uphoff
This collection contains the stories: Rising Above, From Out The Fire, Yellow Tide Foam, Hot, The Blood Like Wine,The Least Of These Little Ones, Scraps Of Fog,Something Worse Hereafter,The Littlest Nightmare,Dragon Blood
A collection of short stories by Award Winning Author Sarah A. Hoyt. From dark worlds ruled by vampires, to magical high schools, to future worlds where super-men have as many problems as mere mortals, this collection shows humans embattled, imperiled, in trouble, but never giving up. Angel in Flight is set in Sarah Hoyt’s popular Darkship series. The collection contains the stories: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear First Blood, Created He Them, A Grain Of Salt, Shepherds and Wolves, Blood Ransom,The Price Of Gold,Around the Bend,An Answer From The North, Heart’s Fire,Whom The Gods Love,Angel In Flight,Dragons as well as an introduction by fantasy writer Cedar Sanderson.
From Elizabethan England to the Far Future, discover who really was Shakespeare and why Marlowe was called The Muses Darling. Discover the horrifying secret that Leonardo DaVinci found beneath a cave in his home village. In the far future, find a new way to keep Traveling, Traveling. Use cold sleep to find your love again, and join the (high tech) Magical Legion. Seventeen short stories from Prometheus Award Winning Author, Sarah A. Hoyt. This edition features an Introduction by Dave Freer and a Bonus Short Story “With Unconfined Wings.”
A collection of short stories by Prometheus Award Winner Sarah A. Hoyt. The first edition of this collection was published by Dark Regions Press in paper, only. This updated edition contains two bonus short stories: High Stakes and Sweet Alice. It also contains the stories: Elvis Died for Your Sins; Like Dreams Of Waking; Ariadne’s Skein;Thirst;Dear John;Trafalgar Square;The Green Bay Tree; Another George; Songs;Thy Vain Worlds;Crawling Between Heaven and Earth.
Kathryn Howard belongs to a wealthy and powerful family, the same family that Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s great love originated from. From a young age, her ambitious relatives maneuver to make her queen. Brought up in a careless manner, ignorant of the ways of the court, Kathryn falls victim to her kind heart, all the while wishing she could be the wife of Thomas Culpepper.
(Yes, I do know the following covers aren’t the best. I’ve been struggling with them and the musketeers. Honestly the books need editing and re-typesetting. And I need an assistant. I plan to indenture tall son. Stand by. – SAH)
Young Will Shakespeare is a humble school master who arrives home to find his wife and infant daughter, Susannah are missing, kidnapped by the fairies of Arden Woods, the children of Titania and Oberon. His attempts at rescue are interrupted and complicated by a feud over throne of fairyland, between Sylvanus, king regnant, and his younger brother Quicksilver who is both more and less than he seems. Amid treachery, murder, duel and seduction, Shakespeare discovers the enchantment of fairyland, which will always remain with him, for good and ill. (This book was originally published by Ace/Berkley 10/2001)
“Filled with quotations and references to the Works of Shakespeare, this debut novel will interest the playwright’s fans of any age” VOYA
“Sarah Hoyt has taken tremendous chances:She has told a tale of how Shakespeare became Shakespeare, weaving the language of the plays deftly through the narrative. Reading the book feels like discovering the origins of the quotes we know so well, rather than something derivative.” San Jose Mercury News.
Touched by the magic of fairyland, unable to forget Lady Silver, Shakespeare goes to London to seek his fortune. But there, the elf will follow, on the trail of a creature so deadly that, unless Shakespeare and the king of Elves stop it, it might very well consume London and all of England. (This book was originally published by Ace/Berkley 10/2002) Praise for All Night Awake: “Ingenious… fans of the first book won’t be disappointed.” – Publishers Weekly “Hoyt sustains her intriguing premise with a soaring, lyrical style. A most enchanting novel” – Booklist “The author of Ill Met By Moonlight continues her portrayal of the secret life of William Shakespeare with a tale of deception and betrayal that brings to life the raucous world of Elizabethan England. Will have particular appeal to fans of literary fantasy.” – Library Journal.
William Shakespeare, successful playwright, receives word that his only son has died. Reality is far more complex. The young Hamnet is a hostage in fairyland, where a war rages, and where a young princess waits a Prince Charming who might never come. Can an all too human playwright stop the magical war that threatens both worlds? (This book was originally published by Ace/Berkley 10/2003)
A Dyce Dare Mystery When she was six, Dyce Dare wanted to be a ballerina, but she couldn’t stop tripping over her own feet. Then she wanted to be a lion tamer, but Fluffy, the cat, would not obey her. Which is why at the age of twenty nine she’s dumpster diving, kind of. She’s looking for furniture to keep her refinishing business going, because she would someday like to feed herself and her young son something better than pancakes. Unfortunately, as has come to be her expectation, things go disastrously wrong. She finds a half melted corpse in a dumpster. This will force her to do what she never wanted to do: solve a crime. Life is just about to get crazy… er… crazier. But at least at the end of the tunnel there might be a relationship with a very nice Police Officer.
When Dyce Dare decides to refinish a piano as a gift for her boyfriend, Cas Wolfe, the last thing she expects is to stumble on an old letter that provides a clue to an older murder. She thinks her greatest problems in life are that her friend gave her son a toy motorcycle, and that her son has become unaccountably attached to a neurotic black cat named Pythagoras. She is not prepared for forgotten murder to reach out and threaten her and everything she loves, including her parents’ mystery bookstore. A Dyce Dare Mystery. Originally published by Prime Crime.
When Dyce Dare buys a table to refinish, the last thing she expects is to find a human blood stain under the amateurish finish. Whose blood is it? What happened to the person who bled on the table? Helped and hindered by her fiance, Cas Wolfe, her friend Ben, her son E and an imaginary llama named Ccelly, Dyce must find the killer and the victim, before the killer finds her. A Dyce Dare Mystery. Originally Published by Prime Crime
(Yes, yes, actually the next one is ALMOST finished. Again, I’m going to plead 2020 and promise to get on it ASAP- SAH)
When D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis discover the corpse of a beautiful woman who looks like the Queen of France, they vow to see that justice is done. They do not know that their investigation will widen from murder to intrigue to conspiracy, bring them the renewed enmity of Cardinal Richelieu and shake their fate in humanity. Through duels and doubts, they pursue the truth, even when their search brings them to the sphere of King Louis XIII himself and makes them confront secrets best forgotten.
Aramis emerges from the water closet to find his lover, a duchess, murdered on her bed. The room is locked, and Aramis is the only one who could have entered it. He’s sure he didn’t do it, but no one else believes him. Even Monsieur de Treville, Captain of Musketeers, doubts Aramis’s word. Aramis must leave Paris and go on the run, entrusting the solving of the murder, and the defense of his honor, his freedom and his very life to Athos, Porthos and D’Artagnan. Can “one for all” carry the day when every powerful person in France believes Aramis a murderer and when powerful interests would gladly frame Aramis for it?
It’s August in Paris 1625 and Porthos, once a dancing and fencing master, has taken as apprentice a young nobleman, whom he’s teaching to fence and ride. When the young man dies, poisoned, the stories of his ancestry and domicile unravel into layer after layer of deception and blackmail, involving Porthos’s relatives and his own past. Can Porthos, Athos, Aramis and D’Artagnan dodge the Cardinal’s guards while finding the real murderer? Who was Guillaume Jaucourt, and who could have killed him? And why? It’s one for all and all for one with the swashbuckling sleuths, in a race against time and their own misgivings.
THIS BOOK WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY BERKLEY PRIME CRIME UNDER THE TITLE “A DEATH IN GASCONY.” A letter from Gascony calls D’Artagnan home. His father died suddenly and D’Artagnan must come and take charge of the estate. His friends, of course, accompany him. But what Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D’Artagnan don’t know is that the older D’Artagnan was murdered and that they must find the killer, if they want to keep the younger D’Artagnan alive. By award winning author Sarah A. Hoyt writing as Sarah D’Almeida
When Porthos’ Servant, Mousqueton, is found near a dead armorer or swordsmith and taken up for murder, the four friends, Athos, Porthos, D’Artagnan and Aramis set out to investigate. Their work on this private crime leads them to unfold a bigger plot, against the Cardinal or perhaps the king himself. Will the musketeers have to work on the side of Richelieu to keep Louis XIII safe? THIS NOVEL WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED BY BERKLEY PRIME CRIME AS Dying by the Sword.
AND FINALLY, UNDER ALYX SILVER
(Okay, the explanation for this one is: young I was. Bored I was. Sometime in 1998, husband got a traveling job. For the next 3? years, he was gone most of the week, leaving me with two toddlers. I could only haunt friends on chat so much. Also, I wanted to write, but had kind of despaired of EVER being published. So, since Indie was not yet a thing, I started looking around for fanfic sites. The big problem with that, of course, is that I barely watch TV or movies. So, eventually I alighted on Jane Austen Fan Fic. I still say it was the best place to learn writing, because the comments immediately let you know if you struck a cord or not. This is one of the stories I wrote then. There are another 5 (?) yes, waiting editing before being released, because you know, now indie is a thing, and there’s no reason to give these away for free. Oh, and this one is a little crazy. – SAH)
What if Mr. Darcy, trying to avoid the appearance of being lofty and proud, so far mistook himself as to be charmed by Lydia Bennet? How long could the fair strumpet lady hold his interest? How would Elizabeth Bennet feel about it? As all the Bennet sisters fall into the strangest of relationships, you’ll fear you lost your mind. But you haven’t. Just grab your sweetie and a whip – in case of unruly pillows – and hire a Bennet coach to Gretna Green. They have the best carriages, and guarantee no one will catch you. Then hold on to your hat. You’re in for the ride of your life.
First: the next few days are going to be spotty because of the holidays and family obligations and such. And if you’re saying “How spotty can it be, boss? Because it’s not been all that reliable around here for the last couple of months?”
Very spotty. Which is okay, as I imagine it will be spotty for a bunch of you next couple of weeks, too. I’ll try to post every day, because– well, I’ll explain. But the hours might be very weird.
Anyway, getting to the explanation. Yesterday was one of those days when everything went wrong. Now it was mostly MINOR things, like the shower door not closing properly, and then the handle kept falling off, and I put it back on, and it fell off, and– But there was also major “this is gonna cost us money” things which I’m not even ready to talk about YET, and which came about without our even realizing.
And then in the evening, after an entire day of being away from online, partly because we got the replacement laptop and were setting it up, partly because everything took ten times as long as it should, I logged into the chat with the (smallish) group who have become my extended family over the last five years, and I found that someone not a part of it but definitely a friend had died, and had died in circumstances that most of us have a horror even thinking about.
Prepare yourself if you read indie SF.
This was someone I knew from a seminar, a friend of a friend who went indie after a lifetime of trying to publish trad, and did spectacularly well. The entire time I’ve known him (8? years now) he was semi-shocked/delighted at how well he was doing in writing. He commented here a few times, and I’m actually hitting myself that I don’t remember when the last time was.
Curiously, just about a month ago, I thought, “He lives alone, doesn’t he? I wonder how he is doing.” It was already too late.
Doug Dandrige, Brother To Cats, a gentle soul and an amazing writer has died sometime in the last few months , alone in his house with his cats, and no one knew. It was only yesterday that family members broke into the house. And please say a prayer for his family too, because that can’t be easy. It’s the sort of horror we wish never to face.
And I feel guilty and stupid and angry at myself that I didn’t notice him slipping away from our circles. But he’d been depressed and blocked, as a lot of us are, and there is a tendency to go and hide, particularly for our kind, like wounded cats or something. We emotionally can’t even engage.
Part of it, of course, was the new FB User Interface, who I swear only shows me statuses of people I don’t care about, having forced me almost exclusively into my smaller groups. Beyond the fact that it takes so long to do anything, I’ve been going there less and less and less.
And part is this incredibly unnatural way we’re living. While Doug lived alone, we would have noticed if he hadn’t showed up at LC, and someone would have reached out. Perhaps — I don’t know when he died — in time to save his cats.
I don’t know and I don’t think anyone will till the Post Mortem, how he died. I’m 99% sure it wasn’t suicide, but only because he wouldn’t do that to his cats.
I have a vague memory he had a bad heart, but I have a bad memory for that sort of thing, unless I’m actually talking to people, when the file opens up and it all comes out. At any rate, over the last month I’ve lost six people in my extended and fringe sets (fringe being people I only see/talk to at cons) to heart attacks and strokes. Must be the ridiculous stress we are all under, honest.
And in any case, and probably stupid, I keep feeling he’d still be with us if everything had been normal, and we’d been bumping along in the normal way of normal life. More importantly I’m sure he’d have been found well before MONTHS had passed.
This is heart-wrenching to any cat owner, particularly those of us who are responsible. I would hate for my death to mean death for the fuzzies. And it if it did, I’d rather it came cleanly, with a shot at the vet or humane society, rather than slowly starving to death, feeling the world had betrayed them.
Anyway this hits way too close to home, because in the last months of covidiocy I’ve become aware that I’m losing touch, I’m losing my sense of where everyone is, in my groups, in the commenters here (ya’ll have been too “absent” for long periods for me to know if it’s something serious or just the lack of spoons that’s also affecting me.) Normally I keep an eye out. The only reason I’m not frantic over CACS for instance, is that I know RES would tell me if something is wrong. I did have a strange worrying dream about Emily, so I hope she’s keeping track of her meds and stuff (though she commented here the day after the dream, so….)
So, this is what I want to say: Sure, we’re resisting (wait till I do the om symbol in starts and stripes!) and we’re trying to minimize the money we send to left people and institutions, because it needs to be done. They’ve been doing it for decades, and it’s why they have the advantage they have. It’s time to fight back.
But it’s also important to support the good. Back in May I had a post about keeping the good restaurants going, with no regard to the political color of those running it. I’m not as ecumenical now. As much as it hurts me, personally, I’m cutting out discretionary spending to the people who want to hurt people, take their stuff, and rule them with a boot on their face. Even if they’re just useful idiots, who are supporting it because it’s “cool” and “the smart thing to do.” Don’t care.
But at the same time I’m going out of my way to support the good people who are decent human beings, who are lovers of freedom, who are suffering through this, and particularly who are good at whatever they do.
When I have to buy on Amazon, I’ve started assuming it’s worth it to pay twice as much, if not made in China, for instance. And if I know we have a crafter (we do, my friend Wayne Blackburn, who does wood things, and my friend Jonna who does fabric thingies, and — I probably should have a day for people to advertise their non-book stuff, soon.) who is a liberty lover, I’ll buy from them first, (provided their stuff is good. Don’t reward crap. It doesn’t help anything. To a certain extent the left fell into that trap.) and the same with books and drawing and covers, of course.
I confess it’s part of the reason I started doing the promo post, and it’s self selecting because hard core lefties don’t want me to promo them, when I or people ask.
I’m trying as hard as I can, and knowing there’s at least a couple of harder and harder years ahead (sorry guys, it’s obvious, now look at how much money the “stimulus” package is blowing and to whom it’s going. It’s vezenuelization at speed. If we’re good Americans it will be SHORT.) to create, build and positively help people, instead of just passively. It’s going not very well and SLOW because I’m working against my own endless depression, tiredness, fear and heartsickness over what I see coming, but I’m doing something positive, as well as something negative. Meaning trying to support, not just take revenge.
And if you can’t support physically or monetarily, try to support remotely with your presence. Check on people, particularly those of us who live alone, but even people who live with just one person, and who don’t have a support network nearby.
And if you live alone or are just you and a spouse, make sure you have someone check on your regularly. Preferably more than one person.
No, you’re not safe if there’s two of you. Particularly not if you’re my age or older. A couple of years ago, we had a situation where my MIL collapsed, my FIL tried to lift her and had a heart even, and they were just lucky my SIL went by within an hour, unexpectedly, or they and the doggies would have been gonners. This stuff happens.
It’s okay if your check in is remote, if the person has instructions on someone local to call/activate if you don’t answer for say 24 hours.
And this is why, btw, I have a chat program with my remote extended family. I check in every day, either morning or evening. (Though there are three people living in this house, and one is young.)
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A NETWORK. And for your own sanity, I encourage you to have a chat with a group, small or large, and stay on it.
I know it’s hard, but just saying “hi, I’m okay” is a good thing for you and the other person. It lessens the stress and the isolation.
When this insanity started, in addition to the extended fam, I had three people on my Skype I texted with daily.
Since the election, I haven’t heard from one at all (and I’m worried. Yes, she’s alive, but I’m worried she’s mad at me, though it makes absolutely no sense.) and the others I hear from very sporadically, because we’re all mad as hell, and it’s hard to talk when you have no spoons. We need to stop that shit.
It’s instinctive to go somewhere, and pull the world in after you. It’s also deadly. Take my cat, Pixie, of blessed memory, who got hit by truck and crawled in our garage to die. He had multiple cranial fractures, stuff wrong with his spine, and internal injuries.
When he didn’t show up to eat, I was worried, and kept going to the front porch to call him. He crawled out of the garage, at my voice. It took him half the day to make it up the steps, and to the front porch, leaving a trail of blood, but when I saw him, we dropped everything and spent the 10k we’d saved to buy me a car (we were a one-car family, which meant I was stuck at home when Dan was at work.) to save his life. He spent 3 weeks in ICU and we’d have given up except he OBVIOUSLY didn’t want to. He went on to live another 13 years, and help us raise the boys. So, you know. But it would never have happened if he hadn’t responded to my voice, as painful and hard and “feels like dying” as that must have been.
BE LIKE PIXIE. If you’re in trouble, send up a smoke signal.
IN the fam we’ve already dealt with one person trying to hide and die without bothering anyone. Don’t do that. We need you. I don’t care how old/infirm/useless you think you are. You’re a part of our community, and just by being here, you give us courage and strength.
Create a network. Create Checkpoints. And if you’re in trouble, send up a smoke signal.
And if you’re a praying person, send up a prayer for Doug, one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and a great writer. I’m so sorry, my friend. When we meet again, I’m going to apologize SO MUCH.
And you, yes, you out there don’t break my heart. Yes, we’re heading into terrible times. Yes, the fight is already engaged and it is evil and rips your guts out in many metaphorical ways. Yes, we’re in big big trouble.
But it would be much worse alone. I value everyone of you and I do not want to lose you. Stay in touch, stay connected, work as you can, create alternate streams of income — remember, belt and suspenders — keep your weapons and clothes where you can find them in the dark. Have a plan Z and a bugout route AND if you get in trouble, if you’re going under, even if it’s just “psychological” or “I don’t feel so good” SEND UP A SIGNAL. Let us help you. It might be nothing. Or it might be everything.
Stay with us. Fighting alone sucks. You’re needed.
*Note these are books sent to us by readers/frequenters of this blog. Our bringing them to your attention does not imply that we’ve read them and/or endorse them, unless we specifically say so. As with all such purchases, we recommend you download a sample and make sure it’s to your taste. If you wish to send us books for next week’s promo, please email to bookpimping at outlook dot com. If you feel a need to re-promo the same book do so no more than once every six months (unless you’re me or my relative. Deal.) One book per author per week. Amazon links only. Oh, yeah, by clicking through and buying (anything, actually) through one of the links below, you will at no cost to you be giving a portion of your purchase to support ATH through our associates number. I ALSO WISH TO REMIND OUR READERS THAT IF THEY WANT TO TIP THE BLOGGER WITHOUT SPENDING EXTRA MONEY, CLICKING TO AMAZON THROUGH ONE OF THE BOOK LINKS ON THE RIGHT, WILL GIVE US SOME AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR PURCHASES MADE IN THE NEXT 24HOURS, OR UNTIL YOU CLICK ANOTHER ASSOCIATE’S LINK. PLEASE CONSIDER CLICKING THROUGH ONE OF THOSE LINKS BEFORE SEARCHING FOR THAT SHED, BIG SCREEN TV, GAMING COMPUTER OR CONSERVATORY YOU WISH TO BUY. That helps defray my time cost of about 2 hours a day on the blog, time probably better spent on fiction. ;)*
Exzy, that charming little redheaded baby wizard, is about to launch into a series of adventures.
Those rats in Grandfather’s attic? Could they be intelligent? And a pack of school bullies just might play a trick that gets really interesting. Cats and Crows should not be given magic potions magic potions . . . Friends, foes, and foals are an interesting mix Not to mention rescuing a Prince. And rats interrupting his studies.
A warlord of fire can lay curses of fever. A woman of snow can freeze a man to death.
Pierre, knight of the king, is burning with fever from the curse of the warlord when he learns a possibility that might save him — and the kingdom. It turns on a child.
Welcome to a world of magic and mischief, one enchanting yet strangely . . . Familiar. Rosie Jones, a 120 lb. skunk. Smiley Lorraine, a wolverine with reading glasses. Accidental curses, unplanned transformations, coffee-warming salamanders with explosive appetites, and a society mother who won’t take, “Mom, I’m not thirteen anymore” for an answer. Adventure, magic, taxes, excessive shedding, a police prairie dog baseball addict . . . You never know what might happen in Riverton. Contains the first two volumes in the Familiar Tales series.
(Two book set)
Vignettes by Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike.
So what’s a vignette? You might know them as flash fiction, or even just sketches. We will provide a prompt each Sunday that you can use directly (including it in your work) or just as an inspiration. You, in turn, will write about 50 words (yes, we are going for short shorts! Not even a Drabble 100 words, just half that!). Then post it! For an additional challenge, you can aim to make it exactly 50 words, if you like.
We recommend that if you have an original vignette, you post that as a new reply. If you are commenting on someone’s vignette, then post that as a reply to the vignette. Comments — this is writing practice, so comments should be aimed at helping someone be a better writer, not at crushing them. And since these are likely to be drafts, don’t jump up and down too hard on typos and grammar.
I’m not actually stupid, you know, and I did grow up in Colorado. As far back as I can remember we used to joke that weathermen in the area go stark raving mad, and that we could get a better weather forecast by flipping a coin or using another form of divination than by listening to the so called experts.
When I was seven there was a a snow storm on my birthday. Which wouldn’t be all that weird, except that my birthday is on the fourth of July. Oh, and the storm was in the morning and by evening it was 80 degrees.
When I learned to drive at 16, mom always made sure even if I was just driving the two miles to the grocery store I had space blankets, water and power bars in the car. Summer and winter. Just in case, you know?
I’ve never before today heard of Sarah Chamberlain, and yet she is my (a little younger) sister.
So are all of you, my comrades. From now on I’m stealing the communist word for believers in the same cause who are not willing to put down their weapons and be stomped on by the reigning leftist hierarchy. Those who will not let their heads be invaded. Those who will provide aid and comfort to others like them.
The promise of brotherhood in “comrade” was always a lie for the left, because a system based on envy and suppression is not brotherhood. Unless your idea of family is as profoundly dysfunctional as a communist’s. (Which I think is the problem.)
Also, frankly, the collectivists have no business — none — complaining we stole their term. We’re …. collectivizing it.
So, you are my brothers and sisters, even I never met you. Comrades at arms. People I’ll succor in extremity, people from whom I’ll buy preferentially. People I’ll promote preferentially, in war or — just — in normal life.
Communism unmade us that way, from within, by favoring their own, which not only allowed them to take over, but gave them the voice of authority and prestige. Which made Marxism a positional good and a mark of “intelligence” because the intelligent do better in life, right?
Well, it’s time to fight back. Now. It starts right now. Right this moment, in whatever small way you can affect. Like Sarah Chamberlain, I won’t be the one to start the rough music, though I don’t promise I won’t join in, unsuited to that work though I am.
BUT I’ve started already to do things to support the believers in freedom and, if given a chance, hamper the collectivists. I’ve started, within the limits of my life to fight back.
It is possible, friends, brothers and sisters, comrades, that we have lost the Republic. But this dream Republic of ours is unkillable. So long as we believe. And what greater purpose can there be in our lives, than to work for the cause of liberty for mankind? We might only be laying the foundations, but our grandchildren will see the flowering. Be not afraid.
And Sarah Chamberlain, if you follow this link back? Sit back. You’re not alone. You’re among comrades, and fellow believers in liberty. You need us give a holler. You want to borrow my forum, ask. There are more of us than of the rats chewing away at society. There have to be, or the last two elections wouldn’t be the way they were. And they can’t create or run anything. They’re like evil elves who can only destroy and demand respect. Don’t give them an inch. Or a cent. Fight back however you can within the limits of possible for you at that moment. It might take a while, but we’re going to win this. Let’s do it for your grandkids, Sarah.
Please save, screenshot, etc., then boost. I don’t usually ask for my content to be shared. What I am about to say though is perhaps the most important thing I will ever say in public, and in the present landscape of the internet, there is a very high probability that it is being silenced or erased even now as you read it. So, I am asking you to please, save an offline and/or archived copy of this letter RIGHT NOW.
If, once you’ve read this letter, you feel that it has any value or interest whatsoever, please, as a personal favor, send it on through whichever channels, to whichever people you feel safe doing so.
If you think what I say is absurd, please share my letter with your friends so you can all laugh at me.
If you think that what I say is evil, please share it with your friends so you can all rage at me.
If you think I deserve to be punished for what I say, please send my letter on to the “authorities” or to any person you think might hurt me for writing it. At least then, those people will have a chance to read it.
I am an American, a New Hampshirewoman, a lover of liberty, and a happily married mother of four beautiful children. I have a wonderful life, a bright future, and could not ask for any greater blessing than those I have already received.
My enemies are in a word, communists. Modern communists do not usually call themselves such. They do not talk about workers rising up and seizing the Means of Production.
Instead, modern communists adopt a rhetorical stance where they assume that all people and all property are ALREADY COLLECTIVIZED, then calmly discuss what WE should do: – What WE should ALLOW people to own. – What WE should ALLOW people to do. – What WE should ALLOW people to say. – How WE should ALLOW people to use their property. – How WE should ALLOW people to conduct their businesses, – … and WHO should be ALLOWED, – … and WHERE. – How WE should ALLOW people to raise their children. – Who should be GIVEN which roles within society. – etc.
The issue under discussion is always something sympathetic, something most decent people would like to see fixed: Intergenerational poverty, police brutality, environmental degradation, bigotry, violence.
But the solutions modern communists put forward are rarely passive, and they are never liberating. If a problem can be solved by individual action, voluntary charity, by the free market, or by the passage of time, that is never seen as good enough. In fact, nothing that fails to increase the power and control of governments or certain institutions (or to grow the people’s dependence on them) is ever regarded as a solution at all.
The people who do the work of modern communism, debating and voting on these “issues of the day” are mostly not aware of what they are doing. A majority of them are decent people who want real problems addressed. But their thinking is confined to a multiple choice question presented by prestige media and schools where only oppressive proposals are listed as options.
Even those higher up the food chain, the ones who create the policy proposals or set the bounds of debate around them are not usually conscious of the way they are manipulating the public. They are hobbled by a theory of history (care of the school system) where the past is merely a series of dragons slain by government policy, where everything is “systemic”, and where the free choices and conscientious actions of individuals have no meaningful effect.
This is how the enemy operates. In order for modern communists to have the latitude to execute their plans, they need every citizen to be as weak and dependent as possible. They especially need the middle tiers of management, professions, and bureaucracy to be filled with minimally competent placeholders who owe their position to political and institutional favor. These sorts of people, since they are only able to achieve their present position through the system, are more pliable to coercion and less likely to see freedom in any aspect of life as promising or beneficial.
As a consequence, modern communists wage eternal war against every wholesome and sustainable aspect of life, society, and culture which gives people or communities strength and independence. They see it as desirable to destroy the natural optimum which people discover through freedom and competition and replace it with fragile, orchid-like solutions which could not thrive without government and/or institutional intervention: – Those with demonstrable skills must be replaced by those with credentials. – The self-employed must be reduced to the status of employees. – Property must become regulated or burdened with tax and debt, and wherever possible, wealth must be rendered intangible as abstracted financial fictions constructed of laws. – People must come to rely on government programs for security where they previously relied on themselves and each other. – The traditional family and organic communities it forms, such as churches, must be invaded, defanged, and delegitimized to leave people at the mercy of authorities.
To a modern communist, “freedom” means the opportunity for individuals to choose some fundamentally maladaptive way of life and be protected from consequences, encouraged and subsidized by power.
The weaker you are, the more useful you are to those in power. Those who choose to be weak and dependent where they could be healthy and independent are collaborators.
This is what I see happening. The American public has come to accept all the components of totalitarian states. – We have come to accept a militarized police. – We have come to accept ideological indoctrination in schools. – We have come to accept mass surveillance. – We have come to accept speech codes. – We have come to accept the rewriting of history to serve the interests of the ruling party. – We have come to accept the tarring of political dissidents as “terrorists”, “extremists”, and “White Supremacists.” – We have come to accept the State telling us when and where we can meet. – We have come to accept the State shutting down our places of worship. – We have come to accept the idea that parents should have no special authority over their children. – We have come to accept the manipulation of thought through the manipulation of language. – We have come to accept the radical reordering of society by government in the name of crisis.
In the 2016 election, the full-throated manipulation by the mainstream press, academia, and the political establishment was so intense, and so obvious, that many people (myself included) who did not consider themselves “conservative” voted for Donald Trump just to poke a finger in the eye of Leviathan. So many people did so that his margin of victory exceeded the margin of cheat, and he was actually able to become president.
In the intervening years, the modern communists of both parties (though more so the Democrats) and those same media and academia mandarins have only doubled down on their commitment to subjugating the public and clamping down on our personal freedom and political prerogatives. Somehow, in losing electorally, we are to believe that their mandate for runaway collectivism and authoritarianism was strengthened.
Now, in the 2020 election, the fraud and manipulation became so glaringly obvious that, at the time of writing, at least 47% of all Americans, regardless of party loyalty, understand that the election was stolen and Joe Biden is illegitimate. Somehow though, it is still a long shot that Donald Trump, the person who has done more to expose the mendacity and incompetence of the ruling party and institutions than anyone else, will be seated as President.
Every one of those Americans who understands this must realize that this is it. This is the last moment for the American Republic, the last time we will even have a glimmer of a chance of an honest election result, and the last time any opposition to modern communism will be afforded space in the public square. And yet, neither I nor most of you are going to do anything about this situation that might risk our present status or comfort.
This is why I won’t yet act. Unfortunately for me, the crisis has come either too late or too early. Our family has four young children, a single income, and a base of assets which could be easily lost but probably never replaced. We are maximally vulnerable to the sorts of attacks which collectivists bring against those who fight back.
Even so, if the fight were on, if the majority of Americans who this past election shows are opposed to creeping collectivism were on the march, I would risk it all to join them. No comfort, no wealth, not even life itself is as important as preserving the possibility of human freedom. The hive-society prison which is being built around us must be demolished at any cost.
But when I look around me, I see many people who are paralyzed as I am. We know that the fight for our republic is unavoidable, and that the time is now, but do not see a nucleus of resistance to which we can pledge our lives, fortunes, and sacred honors without it being tantamount to suicide. We are watching and waiting for someone else to be that nucleus.
Most people who have not committed to the cause of freedom are not conscious supporters of modern communism. Some hold out the futile hope that things will all go back to normal, others have convinced themselves that what is happening is inevitable and cannot be opposed. Both are dead wrong. As open struggle against collectivism, communism, authoritarianism, and globalism rises, both of these positions will weaken, and support for freedom will grow.
If you have the courage to act where I do not, here is what I WILL do: – If you speak out against them, I will listen. – If you act against them, I will not stand in your way. – If they portray you as uncool, cringey, old-fashioned, unintelligent, or low-class, I will not laugh at you or think less of you. – If they call you a racist, sexist, xenophobe, homophobe, Nazi, granny killer, etc., I will not believe them, nor will I care. – If they call you a terrorist or an extremist, I will not assume that you are in the wrong. – When they ask me questions, I will lie, forget, or evade as I am able. – When they tell me their version of history, I will smile and nod and know they are liars. – If they dispossess you, I will share what I can. – If they martyr you, my children will learn your name as that of a hero. – If you have the courage to be shameless in opposing them, you will be honored in my house.
This is what I will remember. 1. The universities and the class of “experts” and “professionals” to whom they grant legitimacy have no constitutional role in the American Republic. No amount of schooling grants one authority over others, and no consensus among the educated should have the force of law.
2. The guarantee in the Constitution of “Freedom of the Press” is not a grant of authority to the legacy media or to professional journalists. It is, in fact, a right belonging to the people: WE have the right to publish and disseminate views and information the same as those who work for newspapers or television networks.
3. The Intelligence and Defense establishments of the US exist to secure the rights and liberties of the American people. The US has constructed a vast apparatus to deploy force, subvert or overthrow governments, and disseminate propaganda, but these activities are only legitimate when they are directed OUTWARD. When the geopolitical capabilities of the US government do not act to empower the American people and sustain our Constitution, they are just as criminal as the same actions taken by private citizens.
4. Law enforcement and defense against violence is the responsibility of each and every person. Even though we have become accustomed to having these services provided by professionals, they remain our right and our personal responsibility.
5. Education of the young is the responsibility of parents and natural communities. Even though we have become accustomed to having this service provided by professionals, it remains our right and our personal responsibility.
6. Provision of necessities such as food and shelter is the responsibility of each and every person. Even though we have become accustomed to these goods being delivered by a vast and interconnected economic machinery over which we have little control, it remains our right and our duty to provide for ourselves and those we care about.
7. Though peace, prosperity, happiness, and a long life are all wonderful conditions to experience, they are not what makes a human life worthwhile. Humans have dignity and value insofar as they are free agents struggling and striving to obtain these ends. “Treating someone as a human being” does not mean coddling them and providing for them like you would a child or a pet. It means getting out of their way and leaving them the freedom and latitude to provide for themselves.
8. Whoever relinquishes their freedom to obtain comfort or security is not acting as a human, but as an animal. Because our fates are all intertwined, such a person is betraying all of us, and does not deserve our concern or regard.
According To Hoyt 