‘That’ Thing

Here is the first of a four-part novella, about a young man who goes to the Antarctic. If you’re interested in seeing the whole thing, it’s on my patreon. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5359808

Horror and Romance; mostly Romance.

Chapter 1: At the Mountains

The world is full of extreme environments. Places where human life is impossible. Places where no sane people go.

Mount Everest. Highest peak in the world. How many people have died climbing it?

Death Valley. Hottest place on earth. It hardly needs to be pointed out how it got its name.

The Mariana Trench. So deep that water is actually notably compressed by the pressure.

And Lake Vostok. Beneath a four kilometer-deep glacier on the surface of Antarctica. The land above Lake Vostok is dark continuously from late April till late August. During the polar winter, the temperature averages -70 degrees celsius, and has been recorded as low as close to -90. The coldest wind chill measured down to -130 degrees Celsius. That is closer to the boiling point of nitrogen than the freezing point of water.  It is nearly two miles above sea level, with the altitude sickness to prove it. And the wind never, ever stops.

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A Stranger in Paradise Q&A

And so, we finish the polls! Looks like the most surprisingly popular characters in A Stranger in Paradise were Baron Samedi, Jack and Jill, Odysseus, and Michael; I’ll probably use these as inspirations for future Patreon novellas! Speaking of which, on Tuesday, I’ll be posting the first chapter of ‘That’ Thing here for free. It’s a stand-alone, but it’ll give a little context to the next novel… Mysterious, eh?

The split on the ‘Do you want the world to change or stay the same’ is interesting- 4 for stay the same, 6 for change. That’s kind of the nature of things; When the world changes, it can be unpredictable. The more you have to lose, the scarier that is. And for stories, you risk losing what made it good in the first place, and alienating audiences.

But the world can’t just stay the same. The forces within have to change things, over time. That’s frightening, because if you can’t change, it can leave you behind. It can be awful.

But when your life is shit, when the world is pulling itself apart around you, when nobody seems to give a damn, when suffering is everywhere, it can make a difference.

I’ve been feeling a bit stressed lately, juggling a lot of stuff- but by god, I’ll keep writing, and I’ll finish these stories. They’re worth finishing.

Little Myth: Seventeen Syllables

There are countless stereotypes in the world. A stereotype, after all, is just a very simple story, and people need stories to explain the world to their simple and straightforward brains. A stereotype is a kind of shorthand for experience, something simple and easy to keep track of. They’re a tool, neither inherently good nor bad. I have now met some tools which make me question whether a tool can be wholly innocent of their actions. But that can wait.

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A Stranger in Paradise Afterthoughts

Phew, and there we go- the finish of A Stranger in Paradise, the culmination of my work… thus far! Even as soon as I’d finished A Serpent in Zion, I’d started thinking about this story a lot- but it changed quite substantially in the year and a half between writing A Serpent in Paradise and starting on A Stranger in Paradise. The Prester John and Paradise aspects were fairly set, but my initial thinking had involved a US accountant being sent to Prester John, and discovering that he was Famine’s pawn; I had this idea that he’d be a power-stealing kind of guy, but this wound up becoming more Nash’s hat, and so I decided to tie together Betty into it.

Betty, herself, was interesting to write for this; Putting her out of her place of power to have her face a challenge she couldn’t just claw her way through. Well, not until she got to those sandwiches. It was also interesting to tie up the Jack and Jill plot; this marks the first time I’ve had a plot-line stretching between two stories. I hope seeing them get their asses kicked was satisfying to you readers out there.

And of course, remember. People are strongest when they’re together.

So, onto the character poll! Usual rules apply, vote for as many characters as you like; I can’t promise it will guide my future writing, but it may give me thoughts. http://www.strawpoll.me/13574403

And for my more esoteric poll- Do you want the world to change? Or do you want it to stay the way it is? http://www.strawpoll.me/13569952

As per usual, if you have questions you want to answer, ask them here, or e-mail them to mgexaminers@gmail.com. Remember, your questions- no matter how foolish they may seem- matter a great deal to me. I like to make sure my work is understandable. If there are theories you have, lingering questions remaining behind, or things you’d like to know more about, ask; and you may receive!

Next up is a short story from the perspective of Jenny Nishi, on what it’s like to be an immortal goddess.

Chapter 35: War in Heaven

“No?” asked Conquest, mockingly. “It’s not your decision. No one can protect her. Not the Sisters. Not the gods. Not you, Nash. She sold herself, a long time ago. This is calling in her debt, and you are not able to interfere. This is not a problem you can fight your way out of. You are magnificent, don’t get me wrong. You are brave, and strong, and I will be more than happy to comfort you. But even if you were to fight us today, tomorrow, the next day, we will take her from you the moment your guard is lowered. She will come with us willingly, now, simply to save you the pain of fighting, and failing against us. She will not fight us, because she is too weak to win, and because the conflict would cost you and those around you dearly. And then, she will be tortured. You don’t know the depths of pain that can be caused, Nash. You have dipped your toes in the pool of loss and suffering, and thought you knew what it was. But she’s going to hurt.”

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Paradise by the Dashboard Lights

This month’s Patreon story is Paradise by the Dashboard Lights, a 22,000 word novella focusing on Atina LeRoux, and one of her less death-defying cases. If you’re interested in my backlog of Patreon novellas, https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5359808 they’re all available on here for only a dollar a month!

Slice of Life, Comedy. Atina-focused. Atina finds herself being hired by a Fairy Noble of Spring, whose teenage son- a changeling- has begun making far too many unwise promises, not least his promise to love his girlfriend forever, while dealing with Roy’s occasional jealousy at said fairy teenager’s skill with words.

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