I promise I didn’t forget to post today. I just neglected to. So in lieu of a post, I bring an update from the land of Wattpad, where you can read “The Grand Mythos of Úr’Dan” for free.
As of May 25, the five published chapters of my mythic fantasy series had a grand total of 9 reads and 0 votes. I was honestly considering whether it was worth continuing publishing on Wattpad once all 12 chapters were up.
But then I got an incredible comment from that nice user up there (comments are public, so I have no qualms about sharing them here).
Since then, my total reads have jumped to 17, with 1 vote on my first chapter! Hopefully, all those new readers continue onto later chapters, but it’s just a great confidence boost to see a random person enjoying my work and passing it on to his friends.
Chapter five of “The Grand Mythos of Úr’Dan” just went up yesterday. And I’m shortening my publication schedule again. Look out for the next chapter in just three weeks!
“The Blood Seas and the Womb of the Earth” is the longest chapter yet in my series, and I would argue the most exciting. A new character arrives!
Genre: fantasy, high fantasy, mythic fantasy
Chapter Blurb: The First Four Vai’ad have begun to shape the Void to their liking, but Go’Dan wishes to create new life. They will soon discover that by combining their powers, the Vai’ad can truly master their world.
Series Blurb:
Every world has its folktales, but even folktales carry a part of the truth. Follow the first beings in the universe as they try to bring order and life to their home. Witness the creation of the vibrant world of Úr’Dan, and the fantastic creatures who live there. Based on the unique fantasy universe of the novel, The Warden of Everfeld: Memento.
Nearly two years ago, in anticipation of season 7 of Game of Thrones, I wrote a piece about what I view as the philosophy of the books and show.
At the time, I was excited to see how the show would tidily wrap up all of its weaving plot threads in two unnecessarily truncated seasons. Oh, how naive I was.
Still, it wouldn’t be ethical of me to espouse philosophical theories about a fictional universe and not actually revisit them at the story’s conclusion. Let’s see how my predictions panned out in the wake of the series finale!
Autonomy for a living, breathing woman to decide–for whatever reason or in whatever circumstances–that she does not want to carry a baby to term.
It doesn’t matter that abortions make you uncomfortable. No one likes abortions. Nor does it matter that it’s against your religion, your personal moral code, or your sense of decency.
If you argue that a woman does not have autonomy over her own body, you are arguing for the oppression of all women by the government–and worse, by your self-righteous moral code. It’s that simple.
And before you start, here are some preemptive reasons why you’re wrong:
Life does not begin at conception. An embryo is a collection of cells that is utterly dependent on the mother for its existence.
There is no clear line at which life “begins” in the womb. If the fetus is not viable outside the womb, then it is not an individual.
If you want to claim that a fetus has the full rights of an individual human, then you must also believe that fetuses should have social security numbers, health insurance, and be included in the tax code as dependents. Let’s go ahead and register them for selective service while we’re at it.
If all life is sacred, even in the womb, you would want to support services such as childcare, education, healthcare, and foster care for all of these children you are forcing women to carry to term.
A woman is not a vessel for pumping out babies. That is not her duty, responsibility, or privilege in society. Claiming such is misogynistic and oppressive, and the fact that anyone has to explain that to you idiots in 2019 is unconscionable.
Your religion does not dictate how others should live their lives. Move to Iran or Saudi Arabia if you believe otherwise.
If you honestly want to limit abortions, try providing birth control and female reproductive healthcare for ALL women. You could also stop with the abstinence-only sex ed bullshit.
Game of Thrones spoilers probably incoming. I’m not doing this ironically. I have already expressed my frustrations with the last two seasons of Game of Thrones, and I legitimately want to see Martin finish out his series the way it deserves. It would be really cool–however unlikely–if he read it.
I listened to Everything Trump Touches Dies by conservative campaign strategist Rick Wilson on Audible. Narrated by Wilson and dripping with snarky disgust, ETTD is an unflinching and unforgiving evisceration of the Trump campaign and administration through its first year-plus.
Evening Satellite Publishing 