@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

I had meetings and errands pretty much all day today, so — although I really should be catching up on grading my overdue papers — I'm slacking this evening, listening to J-pop and reading manga.

There is still (barely) time to sign up for the @SFWA Quasar online conference that starts tomorrow (Nov 15). The program looks fantastic with lots of professional development opportunities and a keynote address by Nicola Griffith and Lois McMaster Bujold! Join us! https://membership.sfwa.org/event-6301796

let the willow #weep tonight
and to the stars belie
its tendency to shun the fight
when tempest winds do fly
for though the mighty oak may fall
and every hemlock fail
the willow bends to heed the call
and o'er the storm prevail

#wss366

He sketched out a map in the dirt and drew two arrows.
"See this canyon?" he continued. "We draw them in from opposite directions and get them to spend themselves against each other. Then we clean up what's left."
The squad's mood lifted as they began to hope.
Sergeant Baker grinned. (2/2) #wss366

The cadets of Squad 6 were discouraged.
"We've got three squads arrayed against us," Updraft said. "Three against one! We're screwed."
"Bring it!" Nightmare exulted, pumping his fist.
Curtiss thought for a moment and then said, carefully, "I think you're thinking about it backwards." (1/2) #wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub Name the oldest work to have inspired you

I certainly appreciated ancient epic poems, like *Gilgamesh* or *Kavaliro en Tigra Felo*, but in terms of genuine inspiration, I would probably cite both *The Three Musketeers* and *Treasure Island* that profoundly influenced my writing. My debut work, *Revin's Heart*, though not a pastiche of *Treasure Island,* began with the question, "What if Jim had gone off with Long John Silver? What adventures might they have had together?"