Let's talk about Hate

Yesterday, I awoke to the news that a shooter had killed 50 people and wounded 53 more in a gay nightclub.

Later in the day, I got news about a man who was pulled over for a speeding ticket on his way to LA Pride, and arrested for a car full of rifles and bombs after neighborhood watch reported him for peering in windows. He said he was going to Pride..

The narrative around the men was achingly familiar to anyone who watches news.
The first, being Muslim, was labeled a terrorist. (he did call 911 and claim to be Daesh, but Daesh did not take credit until after the event. It was grandiose self-inflation on his part)
The second, being white, was labeled mentally ill.

They were BOTH garden variety homophobes.
The only difference is they believed their religious rhetoric more than most and decided to act on it.

~~~

I asked myself why I was so angry about it, so afraid. It's hundred of miles away. I didn't know anyone. And these days I'm only marginally involved in the community. Not like the early 2000s when I was volunteering at the Center twice a month.

Then I remembered:

Mudd was recently featured in an article in the local GLBT magazine. Photos and all.

Olivia and her friends, and most of the local gay youth group went to a showing of Rocky Horror on Friday.

They will both march in the Pride parade come October, and I will be watching.

My household goes to Perpetual Transition every Monday night.

We are all targets.

~~~

I thought too much yesterday.
I figured the Right Wing would be salivating.
They get fifty dead queer PoC, which they would consider an objective good in itself, that they can pretend to care about and Muslim to blame for it.  (The LA event would have been much more problematic for their narrative.) I write political thrillers and that would have been a master stroke of plotting in my opinion.

And Ted Cruz, who has connections to Kevin Swanson, a pastor who called for the death of gays, tweeted about his "thoughts and prayers."  Hence the "pretending to care" part.

There was a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment--even though the shooter was American. There was a lot of anti-Muslim sentiment.

I tend to ask the latter: How can you tell? Or shall we just murder all 3.3 million in the US, plus all the ones who look Middle Eastern but aren't Muslim, in the name of our fears? Because genociding religious groups is not good publicity.

My father opined that they're all crazy and we need to be out of the Middle East entirely. I reminded him of Dr. Jezbi and Dr. Ahmed, both of whom had saved my life and my hearing.

~~~~

And people ask why I live by the axiom "Straights hate Gays." They think it's sad, that it doesn't give allies enough credit.  Maybe it doesn't. But it means that things like this never surprise me.


And now, I think I need more chocolate. It's the thing after Dementor attacks. And this one has been a lulu.

Bits of news

I've been working hard at the day jobs lately, but here's what is going on.

1) Hard Reboot is out as an audiobook

Dark erotic cyberpunk with strong BDSM content. Patrick Blackthorne, our narrator, sounds creepily like Darren in places.

2) We are in for Memphis RenFaire, KC Renaissance Festival

The Fall Death March runs as follows:

Aug 20-21 and 27-28, Memphis RenFaire: The booth will be staffed by a rotating crew to keep us healthy

Sept 2-4 Mephit FurMeet.  Mostly staff. I may be going to my 30 year HS reunion

Sept 24-25 Kansas City Renaissance Festival.

Oct 13-16, Festival of Souls. Staff. I won't be going.

Nov 6-8 ConTraception. This is the final outing for Inkstained Succubus for the foreseeable future.

Dec 10-11, Kris Kinder Market, KC.  This is a tentative SCA event


3) Anthony and Glad Hands are still scheduled for reissue.

And I have to go clean stuff for a yard sale.

Decisions and going forward.

It's not much secret I'm burned out. The thought of doing another convention makes me want to hide in the bottom of the closet under a pillow fort and refuse to come out until someone guesses the password. The password changes at random intervals.

Most of my publishers have gone under or will be reverting my rights withing a year or so. The thought of editing and self publishing my entire oeuvre makes me want to open my wrists with my teeth. And my dentures are nowhere near sharp enough. I'd have better luck sawing with the edge of my Otter Box.

So I have done some hard thinking and decisions have been decided.

1) I am taking the year off from writing and publishing. I did one short story and that's it. That's what I have. The Word Hoard is mostly empty. There are a few loose pieces of  Was and The and a lone Defenestration rattling around at the bottom.  Since 2004, I have written 17 novels, 3 nonfiction Children's books (and two half done) nearly 100 short stories and a non-trivial number of blog posts.

Nobody is holding their breath for the next Angelia Sparrow. I figured that out 5 years ago. It just took a while to sink in.


2) Inkstained Succubus will close, at least for the foreseeable future, on Dec 31 of this year. All rights will revert on that date. The crew has mutinied. And the Art Department is in the Brig with no drawing privileges until June.


3) I am not doing any shows until August. That gives me 3 months to get the stock up for this next exciting venture. I've had a lifelong dream of being a RenFaire merchant and it really kicks off with the Memphis Ren Faire.

FurMeet, KC RenFest, Festival of Souls and ConTraception are also on the schedule. We'll look into other for next year. Hoping for Estrella and Lilies War.

Thanks to all who helped with the crowdfunding. We're up at Etsy with some things.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCarpentersWyfe


4) My social media presence may drop as well. Crochet takes both hands. Do not look for content at Facebook. It is and always has been the repost spot for LJ, Blogger, Tumblr, Pinterest and Twitter (and everyone else's walls too).  Here at Blogger, be warned I prefer LJ.

One Day left

All contributions will be credited at the next higher perk Level.

Ebooks $1

$25 gets you a paperback, an audiobook, an ebook AND a tarot reading.

Become a character in the Eight Thrones Saga, just $100 instead of $150.

$150 gets you a custom paddle ($80), the character, a box ($25), a hat ($25), the tarot reading ($20), a paperback ($15), an audiobook ($10) and an ebook ($5). A $180 value, for $150, plus, you become a part of the story. Priceless.

Ren Fests, Pagan events and SCA

At first glance these things all look very similar. A bunch of weirdos all dressed up, doing something strange in a wooded area. While an ordinary person might go to a renaissance faire, they would never dream of joining the SCA or becoming pagan.

And there are reasons for this.


Paganism is a lifestyle. It is a religion and something you do every day. It changes your world-view and alters how you act. It brings magic home on a daily basis. There is little room for magic in Joe Ordinary's Life.

The SCA can range from hobby to lifestyle (FIJAGDH or FIAWOL). It can be something fun you do on weekends, a chance to wear pretty dresses, learn a new craft, eat new and exciting food. Or it can devour every non-working hour until you're rushing from Baronial meeting, to guild meeting to fighter practice to event planning session to household craft night with never a chance at any other sort of life. Again, Joe Ordinary, with a job and mortgage and kids, isn't interested in living like that.

But the Ren fest, that's a little bit of magic, one or two or six weekends a year. That requires no great time commitment from Joe, just a day of pleasure. He gets outside. He watches some really bad comedy shows ( While I was on holiday, I shot two enormous grizzly bears! And I had them stuffed./Mounted?/No, just shaking hands), some pretty decent music shows, the belly dancers, and maybe some artisans making things: a blacksmith, a basketweaver. He has a bit of cider from an ancient style press. He eats a turkey leg while watching the jousting and pretends he is lord of all he surveys for the afternoon. And then he goes home to his ordinary life, satisfied he's normal, feeling virtuous for having donated to the arts, either directly to performers or indirectly (the RenFest was, for years, a fundraiser for the KC Art Institute) .

As a merchant, and I have sold to all three, these are HUGE differences.

Pagans may or may not have money. They don't tend to be the most financially prosperous, much like the SF convention community, with whom there is some overlap.

When they buy, they buy something that fits into their whole life. They buy shawls, and scarves and hand-warmers. They buy boxes and jewelry that speaks to them, and wands. Ritual clothing is also a good bet.

In short, they buy things they don't know how to make, and kind of need. Something they will use frequently.

~~~

SCA folk seldom have money. It all goes to play the game. If they buy, they are buying something they cannot make. They shop for their persona first and then their ordinary life. And SCA folk are all crafters. Most sew, most do several other things. Wood, leather and armor are the best bets here. And under $20 or over $200 was the rule I heard years ago.

They are buying game upgrades.

~~~

Ren Fest shoppers fall into two categories.

The first wants something a little unusual to have after the fest, a reminder of the fun they had, that isn't too intrusive. A tiny bottle with glitter that glows in the dark (a bottled fairy), a flower crown or hat to hang on the side of the mirror and smile when they see, a plaque with a witty saying, or a CD by a musician they enjoyed. These things fit their lives. make them smile and bring them back the next year.

They want souvenirs.

The second kind wants to be a part of the show. They will buy clothing, pouches and other items to fit their idea of themselves. This is the corset, sword and chain-mail bikini crowd. They tend to be teens or college students and often end up in the Faire or in the SCA.

They want, like the SCA folk, game upgrades.

I have opted for the Fest crowd because it goes with my painful lesson: You can't sell things to broke people. People come to the Faire to spend money. People go to pagan events for the rituals and their friends and classes, and to SCA events for the fighting or classes or competition or feast. Shopping is extraneous in these venues.

So, we go where the money is,.

Three days left

Donate during these last days and I'll boost your perks to the next level. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/air-harborage-and-fuel-or-storage-and-improvements--2 

Death again

I am a servant of Hermes Psychopompous, Hermes the Soul Guide. I am the Crone. Death is a part of life and it is the part I am responsible for. That doesn't make things any easier when I am called to work.

Death leaves holes. Holes where people used to be, in physical space, in mental space and in our hearts. Places where they should be. Laughter or words you listen for that never comes. Empty spaces, where someone no longer is.

Those holes aren't neat and cauterized. They're raw and bleeding, and they hurt all the time, and more often if you think about them or poke them.

Some people leave great gaping wounds, whose raw edges seem to fade very little. Some people leave smaller holes, easily healed, like a new piercing. But they all hurt and the holes never go away.

And someday, when our hearts are nothing but lace, all holes held together with thread, we go and leave the same holes in another.

Today I got word that a new hole has formed in my life, the third in sixteen months.

An online friend, from the con circuit, opted out of this life, his pain and burdens too large for him.
His family is medically fragile and his name is being held until the family can be told.

We only met once, but we had talked many times online. He was smart, funny and very similar to me in many ways.


We were on a panel and talking about the big drama in any zombie movie, when someone has to put down a zombified loved one.

Everyone blinked when I said it was a very real moment and many of us have to do it in reality. I gave the example of Mom, when we opted to end the minimal treatment she was getting and stop letting her be "alive," so she could move on into death. Millions of people "pull the plug" on their loved ones every day.

My voice cracked as I spoke. And his hand was on my back, steadying me until I could finish my thought.


My friend, may you pass softly.
May you find healing in Mother's Cauldron of Rebirth.
May the burdens you could not carry here vanish in the light of the Summerlands.
May your family and friends be comforted.
May you return to us swiftly, for your work is incomplete.

But dammit. Not a large hole, still a raw one.

Crowdfunding Special: offering a little boost

Today only, Monday the 28th, I will bump the first $100 in donations. 

That means, if you contribute at the $5 level, I will match your donation and bump you to the secret $10 perk. If you contribute $30, I bump you to $50 and make you a hat.

$100 of my own money, 12 hours at Michael's, 10 secret shops. 7.5 hours training Sears associates. That;s on top of the money and time and sweat already in the shop.

The link to the secret $10 perk level.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/air-harborage-and-fuel-or-storage-and-improvements--2/x/6784331?secret_perk_token=65aa38a7

Crowd funding

We need all the help we can get. Please check out the perks we offer.

We're achieving some of our goals on our own. Don't let this dissuade you. We need more help.

Why mock Donald Trump?

There comes a time in any politician's career when they need their ego punctured.

Trump is appealing to the lowest common denominator, the cuttlefish, Harlan Ellison calls them.
He is doing this, and promising things he cannot deliver, in a parody of fascism that is violating Poe's Law left, right and center. (Poe's Law; It is impossible to parody the religious right because they have already published a serious article that is a step beyond your satire)

Trump is not the next Hitler. He is using the same tactics, but once in place will focus on getting his name gilded across the White House and getting 16 points on the margin for the Eiffel Tower Deal (and possibly throwing in the Washington Monument)  Read Dave Neiwert's piece on this. He's right on the money.

Even his supporters know he's a buffoon and egotist. They like him because he throws raw meat to the slavering beasts that lurk on the underbelly of our psyches.

What he is doing is paving the way for some earnest young man, a nice Christian kid with a deep love of God an country, an Eagle Scout, to step up in 2020 and lead us STRAIGHT into fascism.  We missed the last exit about 12-15 years ago.

And with his decree that he will punish newspapers, it becomes imperative and patriotic to mock him in every possible forum.

Why? Let Spike Jones explain

By showing this man for what he is, we are resisting. By holding his ideas up to ridicule and obloquy, we show how bankrupt they are.

My own resistance: If Trump is elected, I'm wearing nothing but red lipstick. every day.  Hitler hated red lipstick which is why it was so popular in the 40s.

I will write rude books about dubious sexual escapades: Taken by Trump Tower.. The Boss and my Apprenticed Ass. Der Donald mit die Piche. Maybe some badly disguised Gremlins 2 fanfic. No, wait, I actually like that movie.

But I will stand up and say "I am an American and a woman, and I PEE whether you like it or not. And I took an oath when I was eight years old to serve God, My Country and Mankind. I took it over and over for fifteen more years, and I am standing here saying I am for the gods, all the gods, and those who worship them, all worshipers, I am for America. I love her and want to make her better than she is. I see her potential. I feel the anger that she is not what she was for my parents and grandparents I want to harness that anger into something useful, not into a firestorm to burn away all who are not like me. Serving mankind does not discriminate against color or boundary."

I stand against him, and will mock him with virulent satire at every turn. Should he be elected, I will do my best to make him a laughingstock. I am only one person. But don't quarrel with a woman who buys ink by the barrel.