#PennedPossibilities 730 — 2nd Anniversary Edition: Share a blurb, summary, or tiny snippet explaining your WIP to everyone in the hashtag.

Congratulations, @floofpaldi Two years of prompts is pretty dang amazing! Since you were asking for a tiny snippet explaining my WIP, I actually got pulled to a steamy single paragraph that oddly puts the book into perspective (or so its author would claim). I decided that without permission, I'd not post that to the hashtag.

This instead here's a blurb providing the gist (maybe) of a novelette I'm trying to get started, which is taking up my head space at the moment.

Bolt was framed for murder and forced to fly messages for the mob; she wonders often if going to prison might have been the better choice. She's blacked out her memories of bad things for a dozen years. She lives for the rare moments she grabs for her street photography—the capturing of the faces and the camaraderie of a normalcy her stupidity denied her. When a newspaper reporter breaks his camera and Bolt is hovering at the scene of a weird disaster, with a perspective to see more than she should, her quirky photos end up on the front page and seem a ticket away from a life of apathy toward friendship. When her mob boss wants her to shadow the unusual teenage woman she photographed walking out of the erratic star gate, she learns the secret of her blackouts. Boss Mead knows the teenager, whom Bolt soon realizes has whole different take on apathy, one that endangers her reporter friend, her horrible job, and likely the city itself.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2025.07.17 — Your MC's boss has done a job performance appraisal, share a few details.

Hehehe. A "job performance appraisal," in not so many words, was the climatic scene in a short novel, before I rewrote it and added about 30% more content. Her actual boss (the main series antagonist) approves greatly of how the MC spent her last four years since running away, and knows a lot more about those years than the MC could have imagined. Despite the criminal activities the MC was involved in, what the boss sees is: She learned to fight smartly, became an effective thaumaturge, used her knowledge to help the individuals around her even if she didn't understand them (the MC is autistic), kept the people she was responsible for safe, and eventually guided a huge (albeit criminal) organization beyond a period of "disastrous mismanagement" with little loss of life while maintaining the peace. Temporarily taking over the "organization" included the ironic death of a woman that was trying to assassinate the main series antagonist; this might require a bonus!

The MC had thought the main series antagonist was evil before. Now, from her point of view, she's sure of it.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2025.07.17 — How much can a reader learn about an author through their works?

This worries me greatly.

I don't think that a reader can learn a lot about an author's public, or even private persona, from their stories unless the author intends it to be so. Hints maybe, philosophy likely, but about them? Not much. However, what leaks into the text (my text, anyway) is what most people severely censor, what if's we wouldn't approach "for reals." Fighting and the other f-word used as a verb, because readers want exciting stories—especially in genre fiction—that are NOT about the normal everyday people they know, or are. If you write murder mysteries, erotic fantasy, or vigilante adventure you are going to have to imagine being those people to write their stories, but this doesn't mean you murder people in a locked room, have a blazing libido, or use a .356 magnum to kill the criminals the police can't or won't.

My worry is that readers will think they understand me through my stories, and since my stories are more spicy these days than ever before, my self-censor is throwing fits and hysterics. I'm not my characters. I'm simply living the Walter Mitty life like every other reader, only more in control—though I'm sure people who ban books will be happy to tar me as advocating whatever offended them. Seems these days who you have sex with is far more important than the gun you conceal in your pants.

That's my thought on the subject, anyway. Note: I am still writing.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.17 — Tell us about a book you like despite its cover (don't show the cover yet.)

The elevator pitch is "Yentl in the future." Google Yentl. My novel†. An SF YA. Published years ago before I took the R.S. nom de plume.

=-=-=-=-=-=
† I edited the post to be clear, Yentl is not my novel; I am simply not stating the title. Aren't the vagaries of English wonderful?

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2025.07.16 — SC POV: What do you do to calm down when you’re angry?

[Bolt closes her eyes in obvious emotional pain. As tears gather in her eyelashes, the day angel wraps her upper body in her wings to hide as she talks:] My friend calls it anger management; 'parently I keep on inflicting "life lessons" on myself. As a dumb, stupid, ignorant fledgling, I didn't calm down; I acted out. Rarely listened, got myself into fun trouble that was still trouble all the same, flew with hunky guys who were no good, and generally made my family regret I'd been born. Haven't tried to contact 'em since I threw that brick through the Hauler Guild's window 'fer rejected me, and rolled that pretty van down a hill. Ya could say I got to the point of calming down by breaking things and people's trust in me.

Running from the law has the effect of ya losing the privilege to be protected by that same law. I… [coughs] Okay, bad things happened and I lost control of my life, including the bein' able to fight being controlled. Not a child no more. How did I calm down?

Turned it inward.

My friend calls it "apathy." A-pathy: means "not feelin'." Got to the point where I ceased remembering my life, worked through criminal things I had no choice but to do, and, well, felt so very little I'd've been happy ta have suddenly died. I lived to 27 years surprisingly fast feelin' surprisingly numb, most days (surprisingly) blacked out from memory.

Friends changed that. They pointed out the good things I also did, and helped me find new dreams beyond my restrictions. Now, surprisingly often, I find that I cry. [She has lowered her blue feathered wings as she's talked, and you see tears streaming down her cheeks.]

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2025.07.15 — How emotionally intelligent is your MC?

Referring to the definitions below: The devil-girl is very emotionally intelligent, or not emotionally intelligent at all.

She is intelligent enough to understand that her logical and mathematical intelligence doesn't cut it, which isn't at all helped by her being somewhat autistic. She knows she fails definition 1 below. However, she is very well trained, and has been trained from the age of five to be so, when she lost her family and ended up being raised by a guardian (a proxy for the main series antagonist)—until she ran away.

She could (and chooses to) convincingly act the part of definition number 2, including managing her own emotions no matter how infuriatingly stupid, stubborn, or vapid the vast majority of people she has had to deal with have turned out to be. Her internal dialogue is hilarious in this respect.

What she likes is being skilled, earning praise, and being challenged into learning something. What had been indoctrinated into her is that other people are like her, feel like her, and want normalacy like her (albeit differently), which is why she's unerringly willing to choose to "have the backs" of those she becomes responsible for. She's very skilled at putting herself in other's shoes.

Don't confuse this with empathy†. She occasionally toys with people, or acts with deadly logic. She doesn't tolerate continued stupidity for long. The "good" she has done thus far is by choice. Her choice. Forced to interact with people, she reframes the situation as being fun, or learning how to make it fun for herself.

emotional intelligence

noun

1. Intelligence regarding the emotions, especially in the ability to monitor one's own or others' emotions.
2. The ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
† There's the empathy she demonstrates (the reader gets to decide) and the empathy she'll admit to (which is none). If you practice something long enough it becomes reflexive. She may or may not get this.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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> #WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2025.07.16 — How often do you raise questions in your writing without intention to answer them?

The keywords are "without intention." How often without intention? That would be never intentionally.

However, I do intentionally raise questions in stories that could lead to a sequel (or prequel) where I would (I hope) answer them. I may do this early on, or add threads that are only apparent in the epilogue. I sometimes raise questions unintentionally, bits of worldbuilding or plot or a fanciful side character that nevertheless gets baked into the workings of the world. I can think of at least one instance where a reader called me out on this, causing me to write further stories as a result.

However, I prefer to find and fry up my red herrings—with onions, salt, and pepper, and enjoy a meal of kippers.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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Check out C.J. Baty

MM Action Adventure, Comedy, Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Fantasy, Gaylit, Historical, Holiday, Mystery, Paranormal, Suspense, Thriller

CJ Baty lives with her very patient husband and two encouraging adult children. The recent move to include a second home in Tennessee has fulfilled one of her life long dreams. ...

https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/c-j-baty/

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#PennedPossibilities 728 — Write about something your antagonist (or villain) frequently forgets.

Rainy Days frequently forgets how difficult and painful giving birth is, especially when she's distracted in the moment.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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Time to share another author friend: Joseph Gorne

MM Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller

Joseph Gorne is a lifelong fan of fantasy, drawing characters and weaving outlandish stories for them one of his favorite pastimes. He resides in North Carolina with his husband as well as several impish, little bundles of fluff(read: cats). Creative endeavors ...

https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/joseph-gorne/

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Yup Also, one of the worst things about writing is it takes some of the joy out of reading because you've seen "how the sausage is made"

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So here I am about to throw out the 1st chapter of a novelette again. I realized that I can't simply depict directly the thoughts of a person whose dreams have been crushed. Bolt feels dead inside, lost in darkness, except when doing the few things allowed her that bring a glimmer of hope and light. The narrative must start as snapshots, apropos since it's street portrait photography that grabs her—until a friendly antagonist shines light and gives her new dreams.

#WritersCoffeeClub 16. How often do you raise questions in your writing without intention to answer them?

I don't knowingly do this.

#Histfic often raises interesting questions for modern readers by contrasting "then" and "now". But anyone with a moral sense knows the answers.

SELF PROMOTION
I'm writing a book (a crooked path that reveals much).
When you sign up on the "1000 early readers" list you get previews of chapters as I write them. You also get free access to regular online workshops, plus discounts on other
goodies from me and my colleagues.

ps. Please share (boost) where appropriate

http://apprenticeshiptolove.com

#WordWeavers 15/7: How emotionally intelligent is your MC?

As a young man, not very. Age improves him somewhat. Marriage and parenthood also help.

#WritersCoffeeClub 15/7: What 'standards' do you take for granted?

Literacy and an interest in the history of the wider world. I'm very much hoping that isn't too much to ask, but I may be wrong.

#PennedPossibilities 727 — MC POV: Do you remember your 21st birthday? Describe it as best you can.

The devil-girl pretty much spilled the beans about her age in The Wanted Poster in 1st person POV, which is pinned to my profile. Consider reading the 540 word tootfic for a taste of her autistic deadpan humor and the situations she fervently doesn't want to get into but does because she has the back of people she's responsible for, to a fault. As for her age, these two paragraphs set up and provide her answer.

[I] read [the wanted poster] further, "Wanted for questioning in regards to the Old Harbors Post Office and the Three Forks Bridge explosions. Suspected of transporting illegal goods and wanted persons, assault, racketeering, attempted murder, and terrorism. Goes by the name Gelding and other aliases. Aged between 15 and 35."

I muttered, "A two-decade range? I'm not even two decades old." I really worked on disguising myself, and it paid off.

She doesn't remember her 21st birthday, yet…

PS: The age of majority in her world is 24.

The Wanted Poster: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110136451462609798

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ReaderCon attendees, I will be in the Dealers Room, at one of the Authors Alley tables, from 3 - 7 pm on Friday. If you'd like me to sign a copy of The Day We Said Goodbye to the Birds, that would be the best place to find me.