@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

The top five cities browsing my blog are in China. What's up with that?

She put a boot on Booboo's throat. Her eyes sprang open.
"You did not meet me at the door, darling!"
"No, mistress!"
"You are a very bad girl, who must be punished!"
Tears of joy sprang into Booboo's eyes. "Yes, mistress! Thank you, mistress!" (4/4) #wss366

They pointed up, silently.
Zsazsa climbed the stairs carefully and went into their bedroom.
Booboo was laying on her back with her eyes closed.
Zsazsa locked the door and then cast off the cloak. Underneath, she wore nothing but thigh-high back boots with stiletto heels. (3/4) #wss366

For a few days, Booboo had pushed through with forced cheer. But today, she just hadn't gotten up at all.
They heard the door open and turned, thunderstruck, to see Zsazsa standing in the opening wearing a long black cloak.
She looked around. "Where is my darling?" she asked. (2/4) #wss366

Booboo hadn't come down all day.
"Is she alright?" Ruhrow asked, in a whisper.
"She's been depressed ever since Zsazsa left," Susan whispered back
Zsazsa had called off world due to a "family obligation" and had been gone for nearly a week. (1/4) #wss366

My new novel, *A Familiar Problem*, is available for purchase! https://stevendbrewer.com/a-familiar-problem-released/

The dried tissue of the corpse had drawn back from the teeth, exposing a rictus grin. I noted the #chip missing from the left incisor. With my tongue, I explored the corresponding chip in my own tooth.
"Viri?" I asked.
"Welcome back, Commander Thompson." (4/4) #wss366

"Conditions?" I said stepping into the airlock.
"The Viri is awake. Conditions nominal," the Ziri replied.
I cycled the airlock and stepped into the *Fear*. A mummified body lay on the floor in front of the airlock. The features had become unrecognizable. (3/4) #wss366

"Five minutes until the Viri is awake. Ten minutes until gravity stabilizes. Temperature and atmosphere will take longer. Environmental suit recommended."
I walked to the airlock, pulled a suit out of a locker, and put it on. By the time I closed the last seal, ten minutes had elapsed. (2/4) #wss366

"Powering up," the Ziri said.
They had found his derelict spacecraft and docked. Now the Ziri had reversed the power connection from the *Loathing* to bring the older spacecraft back online.
"How long until the *Fear* is habitable again?" I asked. (1/4) #wss366

It's really easy to not be fooled by AI videos: just don't watch videos.

#ScribesAndMakers Tell us about a multimedia project you've made or seen.

I played with animated gifs once.

Once.

La Ĥinumoj de Istvan Bierfaristo: https://bierfaristo.com/hinumoj.php

#writephant A4 What’s one thing you’d like to do differently in your writing life next year?

I had gotten discouraged last spring and quit submitting stuff for publication. In the fall, I committed to getting my manuscripts back out working for and have been pretty good about resubmitting stuff once it gets rejected. But my next goal is to start querying for an agent for my new manuscript.

#writephant A3 What’s one thing about your writing process you’ve enjoyed the most this year?

Hmm. It's a cop out, but I will refer to my previous essay "I love to write" https://stevendbrewer.com/i-love-to-write/

#writephant A2 How do you plan to balance rest and writing time over the holidays?

I haven't thought a lot about it. I need to get through the end of the semester first. Once I get grades posted, I'll be able to work on writing full time for about a month. That will be great.

#writephant A1 How did your writing and publishing goals go in 2025?

As always, my creative productivity is uneven. I did get a fair amount of writing done. But, I had imagined this year would be my tour to promote *A Familiar Problem*. But it was delayed and is only coming out in a few days. So, when I attended Arisia, Boskone, Watch City, Readercon, and Worldcon in 2025, I didn't have my new book available. But it's finally coming out December 10! https://waterdragonpublishing.com/product/a-familiar-problem/

"Very well," she said. "You will stay here. Where I can keep an eye on you."
"By your leave. And what should I call you?"
"Melody," she said. "And you are?"
"#Last," I said.
She raised her eyebrows.
"When we were created, we were given only numbers. But I was the last. And I believe I *am* the last. We were not built to last. Yet here I am."
"Here you are," she said. #wss366

From *Always a Destroyer* in *Romancing the Rainbow*. https://knightwritingpress.com/romancing-the-rainbow-2/

#ScribesAndMakers Share a single line from a song you like. Ask people to identify the song.

待ちくたびれて feelin' little grumpy

#SilentSunday

"Well…" he said, reviewing his device. Lambda stopped panting. "The results were negative."
Lambda silently got to her feet.
As they left, Totemo said, "Shall we get some lunch?"
Lambda nudged her with her muzzle, then snorted.
"Good idea," Totemo said. "Hush puppies sound perfect." (3/3) #wss366