@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

"We need to get you some local clothes," Tseluna said to Rory.
She led him into a boutique & picked out a stylish outfit.
"Try this on!"
After inspecting him, she spoke to the clerk in Japanese. They went to the register & she extracted eight 10,000 #yen bills to pay.
After she paid, Rory asked, "Where did that money come from?"
"I'm rich, you know," she said, archly.
"But did you have that money before?"
"No," she admitted. "I just made it with magic. It's way more convenient."

#wss366

I've been thinking… So both the LATimes and WaPo killed their endorsements of Harris, right? But the fact that it came out publicly that they HAD endorsed her and that the endorsements were killed has perhaps focused even more public attention on the endorsements than they would have gotten if the endorsements had simply run. So I wonder if this is the billionaires having their cake and eating it too. "Oh, no, Mr. Trump. We killed those endorsements because We Support You."

Cecelia helped Helia back across the stream and then they ran over the grass of the pasture. Helia stepped in a cowpie and slipped, falling flat on her face. She yelped when she lost her balance and a cry went from the treeline as the soldiers became aware of them.
"Get up! Get up!" Cecelia said, breathlessly, pulling her back up. They ran hand-in-hand.
Cecelia heard a crossbow bolt whiz past. Then another.

#LesFicFri "Cry" from *Lady Cecelia's Temptation*

It's telling that billionaires are not afraid of Trump winning the election, but they're scared shitless of being identified as having raised even the tiniest objection to Trump winning the election. #uspol

As Rory got ready to leave for his training run one Wednesday morning, Tseluna teleported herself outside and rang the doorbell, as usual, but Rory's dad got to the door first.
"Good morning, Mrs. T," he said, opening the door. "Do you have a second?"
For a moment, Rory was filled with hope that they could #skip the run.
"Certainly," she said, then turning to Rory. "You go ahead on your run." She patted him and pretended she was unaware of the stream of curses running through his mind.

#wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub How long is the shortest story you've ever written? Can you link to it?

I write 500 character #microfiction all the time for @wss366. I used to write for #vss365 back when I used birdchan and those stories were even shorter. I wrote a post about wandering shop stories that includes the earliest of those stories I could find: https://stevendbrewer.com/wandering-shop-stories/

My shortest *published* story (at 300 words) is *The Better Angels and the Giddy Genial Gag* in *Better Angels: Tour de Force*.

Unless it takes place in a single moment, every story is a time-travel story.

Read more about Tau and the other neoboxers in Better Angels: Tour de Force only on the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy. https://truckstop.waterdragonpublishing.com/product/better-angels-tour-de-force/ #books

As Tau reached the hatch, David called. "Just a minute!"
Tau turned, his hackles up.
David walked toward him holding a fightin' ball.
"You left this here," he said.
He pantomimed tossing the ball, but tossed the pill instead.
Tau caught the pill. He went to spit it out, but David grabbed his muzzle & rubbed his throat.
"Down the hatch!" he cried, triumphantly. Tau swallowed.
David offered him the fightin' ball.
Tau snorted indignantly, but finally accepted it and stalked out.

#wss366

Tau growled at Zaza.
"#Pill?" she said, innocently. "What pill?"
Tau turned up his nose and headed into the lounge.
Bebe was there wearing a white coat.
"Cap'n Tau!" Bebe said. "Bebe wants to play doctor. Stick out your tongue and say, 'Ah!'"
Tongue lolling, he opened his jaws. Bebe raised her hand up, when Tau saw the pill between her thumb and forefinger. He sprang back.
"Let Bebe give you the pill!" Bebe cried.
Tau barked at her and stalked, stiff-legged toward the hatch.

#wss366

A call came into the bridge of Angels' Wings.
"David, here," David said.
"It's that time of the month again," Lusa said.
"Oh," David replied. "OK. We'll try."
"Thank you. You know how he gets."
David sighed.
When Captain Tau arrived on Angels' Wings, the Better Angels had just finished lunch.
"Cap'n Tau! Cap'n Tau!" Zaza cried. "We fixed a Fun Meal for you!" She offered him a sandwich. Slavering, he started to accept it and then, suddenly backed up and clapped his jaws shut.

#wss366

#WordWeavers Do you do any writing-adjacent jobs, like editing, librarian, character art, etc.?

I have taught scientific writing at UMass Amherst for more than 20 years. I also perform service for some writing organizations: I'm on the program committee for Straw Dog Writers' Guild and run "Straw Dog Writes," a writing accountability group that meets Wednesday evenings. Oh! And I'm currently a write-in candidate for Secretary of SFWA: If you haven't voted yet, you can still write me in today!

Fresh out of the police academy, the new recruit arrived at the precinct door. Inspecting his reflection, he tugged his jacket down & straightened his cap. He took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Someone came up behind him & flipped his cap forward, exposing his mop of blond hair.
"Blimey!" said a gruff voice, in an atrocious accent. "It's a fair #cop, innit?"
There was raucous laughter.
"C'mon, newbie," a kind voice said. He gently guided him into the staff room.

#wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub How do you capture a character's unique voice in dialogue?

Part is technique or just tricks (like using unique terms of endearment or having verbal tics for particular characters). But part is simply magic. When I start writing *Revin's Heart* or *Better Angels* something happens and I begin to hear the characters' voices in my head. And they just *sound* different. At least they sound different to me. Maybe readers don't experience that. But who cares? I do.

#WritersCoffeeClub What's your favourite writing convention to eschew?

I don't know enough about writing conventions to eschew any. I just write so that it sounds the way I want it to.

I have found the Turkey City Lexicon helpful in terms of patterns to recognize and avoid. https://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/18/turkey-city-lexicon-a-primer-for-sf-workshops/

If I really want to, I'll eschew those too.

I finished playing Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom yesterday. It was fun! I enjoyed the puzzle solving and the ways the same simplified the fighting parts so they weren't tediously complex. It was a good game. Recommended.

fantome palaj, funkioj ekforvelkas… same kiel mi / ghostly pale, the hostas wither away… just like me #hajko #haiku #esperanto

Read more about Bebe and Prince Hiccup in *Better Angels: Tour de Force* only on the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy. https://truckstop.waterdragonpublishing.com/product/better-angels-tour-de-force/ #books

Bebe skipped along the Docking Ring of the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy.
"Miss Bebe!" called a voice. A young man wearing a white dress uniform approached her.
"Wah!" she cried. "It's Prince Hiccup!"
"Prince Philip," corrected Philip. "I don't mean to #pry, but does Miss Popo ever talk about me?"
"She had hiccups last night."
"But does she ever talk about me?"
"We talked about how to get rid of hiccups. If you hold your breath they go away."
Bebe started holding her breath.

#wss366

Read more about Totemo Isogashii and Lambda in *Better Angels: Tour de Force* only on the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy. https://truckstop.waterdragonpublishing.com/product/better-angels-tour-de-force/ #books