Hi, folks,
My grandmother passed yesterday. She was 95, but had been mostly in good health until about a month ago. Her final illness was not long, but it was quite painful and harrowing. The pandemic was very hard on her, with periods of complete isolation in a tiny room at her assisted living facility. I feel that this experience accelerated her passing by years. There is no lesson to be drawn from this. It was just a rough time to be in your 90's.
My grandmother was an interesting person who lived through an interesting period of history. My grieving process always includes writing a poem. Trying to write hers feels overwhelming.
My abrupt switch from writing romance back to writing talking animal stories about heavier topics is 100% related. Sorry. I thought I was done with that for a while, but I find I must return. I've got a working description now and 35,000 words. I think this story is called "Legacy."
Two and a half years after the events in Arcove’s Bright Side, Halvery loses a challenge fight to a nomadic troublemaker and his coalition. The victors manage to keep news of the fight from spreading for two days. By the time Arcove and his officers learn of the events, Halvery has been missing for an ominous length of time and his mates and cubs are being held hostage. Wisteria’s new den council is put to an extreme test in dealing with this dangerous situation.
Meanwhile, Halvery’s friends search frantically for him. His survival seems unlikely, and the future of all aging members of the creasia council is called into question. Leadership has always meant strength in Leeshwood. If an alpha cannot win fights, is there any place left for him?
This is at the $5 level on the Patreon and likely to remain there for a while even after I finish it. Reading order for the Hunters Universe is:
Hunters Unlucky
Lullaby
Distraction
Arcove's Bright Side
This New Thing
You can get the first two from retailers or even libraries, but after that, they're only available from me.
Iben, who did the artwork for all the newer covers, also did some fan art related to this story. It's sad and beautiful. You should check it out, along with the Hunters Unlucky tag, where new fan art keeps popping up. Karvolf recent drew some adorable ferryshaft.
Cat Update
I've been telling Nonie for years that, when she reached 96 and Nim reached 20, they would achieve parity in human/cat years. Sadly, Nonie didn't make the rendezvous. Of course, there's no guarantee Nim will, either. He'll be 19 next month, so 20 is still a year away. The Queen of England is nearly the same age, so I suppose Nim can begin racing her.
Taro and Mochi continue to regard Nim as an un-athletic older brother. Mochi, particularly, lets him know he's loved. Here's a video of Mochi being sweet to the old man. For some laughs, here's Taro escorting the Roomba through its duties. You have to keep an eye on those robots.
What else is going on?
In case you missed it last time, Arcove's Bright Side is out in ebook. This is a chunky novel.
Rish is reading Bright Side this month and should begin recording the audiobook next month.
The audiobooks of Lullaby and Distraction are still up in my Patreon feed at the $3 level.
I'll be working on the first Sleipner book again as soon as I finish this detour to Lidian. I've got 12,000 words so far. If you want to follow along in real time (read the draft as I write it), you can do that at the $1 level on my Patreon.
The Pirates of Wefrivain Books are finally being corrected on Audible. In theory, Jager Thunder is now fixed. It should have some 3-4 hours of additional short stories in the back. If you bought that book previously, try deleting and redownloading. See if the new content shows up.
Yours, an author trying to write a good-bye poem for her grandma,
Abbie