@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

I've wanted to try umeboshi (pickled plums) for a long time and today I went to a local store that had some. They're scary: a bit like sweet olives. There's little danger of gorging on them, I'll say that. But, in moderation, and with some good sake, they'll be really good.

I've added a new filter to my mastodon feed: I filter on "substack" and call the filter "nazistack" so that's what I see in my feed.

This Saturday (Aug 2), I'll be selling books at Look Park. I hope to see you there! https://stevendbrewer.com/rock-roll-and-gather-at-look-park/ #WesternMass

Meta charged with intentionally distributing porn videos as a mechanism to boost their ability to bittorrent other, less desirable files, for training their AI. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/meta-pirated-and-seeded-porn-for-years-to-train-ai-lawsuit-says/

Order a signed edition of Better Angels: Tour de Force and receive a 'zine with snapshots of each of the Angels plus their vital statistics (including their three measurements) https://water-dragon-publishing.square.site/product/better-angels-tour-de-force/354?cs=true&cst=custom

Zaza bent over and sniffed.
"I don't smell anything," she said.
Sssindy's blue tongue flickered.
"Old Ssshoesss!" she said. "Marvelousss!"
After visiting each of the pieces, they congratulated Tau, and then headed back to Angels' Wings.
"Bebe still doesn't understand art," Bebe said. (4/4) #wss366

"I didn't know you were an artist," David said.
Tau barked, then turned and pointed at his artworks. They were frames placed close to the ground that appeared empty.
"What kind of work is this?"
Tau ruffed.
"Olfactory Objet d'art?"
David and the Angels stared at the first empty frame. (3/4) #wss366

"Nevertheless, we'll go," Zaza said. "I'm sure you'll find it edifying."
David led the way. They arrived at the gallery and entered. No-one was there except the artist: Tau.
They ran over, squealing, and surrounded Tau, who twisted like a pretzel this way and that as they petted him. (2/4) #wss366

Sssindy and the Better Angels received personalized invitations to a new #art exhibit being offered in the Kōkyū Gallery in the Blue Zone of the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy.
"It sssoundsss sssimply sssensssational!" hissed Sssindy.
"Bebe doesn't understand art," Bebe said. (1/4) #wss366

"How can you eat those!" the boy said.
"Walnuts?" his grandmother replied. "There's a trick."
"A trick?"
"Yeah," she said, cracking one open. "Here! Look!"
"What?"
"Doesn't it look like a braaaaaain!" she whispered, with an evil chuckle.
When her son got home, he pointed at the boy cackling on the back step eating walnuts.
"What's up with him?"
She just shrugged. #wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub How do you write sensory experiences that fall beyond the the usual five? Give an example.

I have a lot of examples from *Revin's Heart*, *A Familiar Problem*, and my current work-in-progress, *The Ground Never Lies*. Veronica is a geomancer who can sense things about the world that others cannot. She does land assessments for her daily job, but is also a crime-scene geomancer for the constabulary.

Things I've learned from manga and anime number 327: People that use fancy parasols are probably not human at all.

"Not fair!" screamed Forrest.
Brunhilde thought for a moment.
"How about a good, old-fashioned footrace?"
Forrest shook his feathers out, spread his wings, and took off with disgust.
"Since Forrest has conceded, will you race me?" the bear asked Brunhilde.
"With pleasure!" (3/3) #wss366

"Not so," the bear replied. "Do you want to make wager?"
"You're on!" Forrest said, landing nearby.
"Alright," the bear said. He turned to Brunhilde, "What kind of race do you want? Diving to the bottom of the lake to pick up a coin? Or who can #finish a cigarette first?"(2/3) #wss366

"Hey! Hey!" Brunhilde said, walking alongside the bear. "Who would win in a race? You or Forrest?"
"It depends," the bear said, thoughtfully after a lengthy pause.
"Lies!" Forrest screeched from the treetops. "You know that I would always win!" (1/3) #wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub How does your social class influence what you write?

*Revin's Heart* is fundamentally a story about feudalism. My experience seeing the longing in the United States for royalty (e.g. celebrating the excesses of the hyperwealthy and a president who appointed his children to positions of authority) make me feel that we are entering a neo-feudal era. *Revin's Heart* is about finding a third-way forward between enlightened and repressive feudal regimes.

#WordWeavers Do you have any fight scenes in your work?

Nearly every one of my stories ends up having fight scenes. My current WiP, *The Ground Never Lies*, has a lot.

"You know your mother doesn't want you to fight," her father said.
"If the boys would leave Liz…" She paused midword, then continued. "If they'd leave me and my friends alone, I wouldn't fight them," she said. "Are *you* going to tell me not to fight them?"
"No," her father laughed. "No. I'm going to teach you how to win."

I was grumpy this evening, so my wife talked me into going up to Berkshire Brewing Company to get a glass (or two) of Foxglove. I'm still grumpy, but now I'm grumpy and kinda drunk.

#ScribesAndMakers Talk about the book that got the fewest votes in yesterday's poll, or share something about all three.

The book that got the fewest votes was *Treasure Island*, a classic young-man's adventure story. *Revin's Heart* is by no means a pastiche of *Treasure Island*, but it did give me the idea. In *Treasure Island*, the pirate, Long John Silver, escapes while Jim goes back to his old life. I always wondered what would have happened if Jim had, instead, gone off with Long John…

From *Devishire!* an unpublished sequel to *Revin's Heart*. You can receive updates when it appears through my monthly newsletter. https://author-sdbrewer.micro.blog/subscribe/