@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

When he doubled over, she stepped to the side, grabbed his collar and belt, and shoved him into a wall.
He #hit hard, then fell to the ground, insensate.
Veronica resumed walking home, scarcely breaking stride. (4/4) #wss366

"Hey, little lady!" he slurred. "Let me buy you a drink!"
When Veronica ignored him, he tried to grab her.
She easily evaded his grasp, stepped inside his reach, and, without warning, punched him in the stomach. Hard. (3/4) #wss366

The nightlife in Cloudrise was in full swing, with all that meant. Tourists on vacation who'd hit it big at the tables and the less-savory elements that preyed on them. The latter, being locals, knew enough to stay away from Veronica. But a gambler, drunk on his winnings accosted her. (2/3) #wss366

Veronica sat in her office late into the night, staring at the floor. Finally, when midnight struck, she left. She locked her office and walked through the empty corridors, her footsteps echoing in the silence. She went out the staff entrance, and then walked home in the darkness. (1/3) #wss366

Tonight, the Riverbenders are performing. Good music! https://www.berkshire-brewing.com/event-details-registration/the-riverbenders #WesternMass

New glasses at Berkshire Brewing, but only one glass is filled with Foxglove DIPA. #beer

#LesFicFri #danger from *The Ground Never Lies*

"Good morning!" Sophie said. She'd gotten up and heated water for tea. "I saw these lovely cups and I was going to…"
Veronica put a hand over Sophie's mouth, then put her mouth close to Sophie's ear.
"You're in danger," she whispered. "Get ready to go."

#WritersCoffeeClub Share an experience of writing in a restrictive format (sonnet, drabble, haiku, novella, script, etc).

Writing #Esperanto haiku is magical. The juxtaposition of the rigid constraints of haiku (three independent phrases, 5-7-5, separated by a single kireji, about nature, with a kigo or seasonal indication) stands in contrast with the utter flexibility of Esperanto (you can assemble roots to make any part of speech with no fixed word order and elide syllables when convenient).

I've been watching Lycoris Recoil with my son (while I tussle with his boxer dog). It has a similar gap-moe vibe to what I was going for with the Better Angels: cute girls doing cute-girl-things interspersed with scenes of ruthless, mind-bending violence. It's fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoris_Recoil

A longish post about selling books at pride events… https://stevendbrewer.com/selling-books-at-the-queer-artisan-market-and-first-amherst-pride-parade/

A spectacular sunrise this morning…

Tanuki-chan loves to roll on her back and tussle with me. She acts very fierce, but she's got a soft mouth and is actually very gentle. #DogsOfMastodon

"Oh, the usual," she said, looking around. Everything was still a mess. There was so much clutter it made no sense to be sweeping.
He sweated as she inspected his work.
"You've made good progress!" she said.
"You're very #kind!" he said. But "You're kind of stupid…" is what he thought. (2/2) #wss366

His eyes popped open when she put the key in the lock. He sprang to his feet, grabbed the broom, and started pretending to sweep.
The door opened and she came in, looking harried as usual.
"How'd it go?" he asked, hoping to deflect attention from his lack of progress. (1/2) #wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub How much of the finished work do you need to have in mind before you start writing?

When I started writing, I would begin with some characters and a setting and only a general idea of where the story would go. At some point, I started having anxiety that I would write myself into a corner and I began making outlines as guardrails. I've discovered, however, that the outlines don't really constrain me. So I make them, but still end up letting stories go where they want.

Before the Nebula Conference in Kansas City, the SFWA Board held a strategic retreat to talk about plans for the coming year. I was really encouraged by how well things are going. https://stevendbrewer.com/sfwa-strategic-retreat/

After reading this article, I'm tempted to start a book club. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/style/fiction-books-men-reading.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Rk8.I2lj.-nmjHA7spcVj&smid=url-share

#WritersCoffeeClub How frequently do other languages (or conlangs) appear in your writing?

My forthcoming book, *A Familiar Problem*, has scenes set in Japan, and there's a little Japanese to go along with those scenes. In *Ecorozire* (a Revin's Heart sequel), they travel to a place where a different language is spoken (that I developed the outline of a conlang for). But I'm cautious about using other languages. I'm a language geek and if I really let my geek flag fly, it might turn people off.

Tutu looked at the glass then at Bebe. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Hmph!" Bebe said, looking away.
Tutu put the glass down and sat on the floor.
Bebe pushed Bellotrix into her glass and knocked it over. It spilled all over Tutu's lap.
"Hey!"
"Oops! Bebe told you Bellotrix was thirsty!" (4/4) #wss366

"Where did you hide my glass?"
"Bebe didn't take it!"
Tutu clenched her fists and took a step toward Bebe. Then David returned from the galley.
"There was was a fly in your drink," he said, handing her the glass. "So I got you a fresh one." (3/4) #wss366