Open Thread: Red and Yellow


I remember none of the details surrounding this picture.

Sorry for being so late.  (Even later than I was last week.)

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We have special open threads set aside for discussing various movies, said discussions including plain text spoilers.  These are they:
   ● Ant-Man and The Wasp
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Friday Sunday Recommendations!  What have you been reading/writing/listening to/playing/watching lately?  Shamelessly self-promote or boost the signal on something you think we should know about - the weekend’s ahead of us almost over, so give us something new to explore!

And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!

Open Thread: Ant-Man and The Wasp



This is a place to discuss the movie Ant-Man and The Wasp, including spoilers (without need for ROT 13 Cthulhu summoning.)

Unfortunately the "Current Comments" feature removes whitespace so, to avoid spoilers appearing there, please use some space for non-spoiler comments or just start your comment with some nonsense.

Example nonsense:
[nonsense] Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, id soleat doctus sit, cum te erant omnium. Invidunt periculis at cum, eos diam vivendum no, ea qui vivendum legendos. Verterem similique ut pri, iisque prodesset voluptaria no nam. Eos esse mollis et, mei no putent utamur praesent, nec ex solum saperet. No has soluta molestie.[/nonsense]
And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!

Transcending Flesh

Transcending Flesh

by Ana Mardoll

Do you want to write a science fiction or fantasy setting which provides for extensive body modification through the use of magic or cool technology, but you're wondering how to include transgender people in your world without falling back on offensive stereotypes or erasing their existence altogether?

This guidebook contains a series of essays covering settings which feature fast, easy, and widely-accessible body alteration, including the futuristic BodyTron5000 ("step right in and we'll jiffy up a uterus!") and fantastical trips to the Gender Witch for magic potions. These settings have ripple effects on trans people both on and off the page, and writers must consider multiple angles of gender presentation and body diversity when creating new worlds. This resource also contains guidelines for role-players and dungeon masters on how to respectfully incorporate transgender characters and issues into fictional game worlds and playing sessions.

Tags: Transgender, Nonbinary, Writing

Book (eBook) Retailers
Written by: Ana Mardoll
Published: July 2015
Language: English

Available from retailers below.
Books2Read
Amazon Kindle
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble Nook
GoodReads
Google
GumRoad
Kobo
Overdrive
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Angus & Robertson (AU)
Indigo (CA)
Mondadori Store (IT)
Vivlio (FR)
Book (eBook) Free Download
Written by: Ana Mardoll
Published: July 2015
Language: English

Available to download directly.
epub
mobi
pdf
Patreon ($5 tier)


Open Thread: Sea Crow


First of all, sorry that this is so late.

Second, have a crow.  My nephew and I were watching bathing seagulls from the parking lot of a supermarket, then in flew a crow.  It had something in its beak and seemed to find the estuary . . . bed?  I'm going to go with "bed", "floor" makes me think of the underwater parts.

Anyway, it seemed to find the estuary bed an inviting place to have it's meal.  Or attempted meal.  I was too far away to see what it was trying to eat, so I have no idea if whatever it was was actually edible.

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We have special open threads set aside for discussing various movies, said discussions including plain text spoilers.  These are they:
   ● Solo (A Star Wars Story)
   ● Avengers: Infinity War
   ● A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
   ● Black Panther

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Friday Saturday Recommendations!  What have you been reading/writing/listening to/playing/watching lately?  Shamelessly self-promote or boost the signal on something you think we should know about - the weekend’s ahead of us here, so give us something new to explore!

And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!

Self-Promotion: No Man of Woman Born and Other Updates

The Writings page has been updated with my latest book and 800 links to places where it (and my other books!) can be acquired. 💕

Open Thread: Purple Lines and Curves


I think my camera is losing the ability to good close ups (i.e. macro mode isn't working properly) but that's for the resolution it takes pictures at.  I think, scaled down to the resolution we use here, this looks good.

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We have special open threads set aside for discussing various movies, said discussions including plain text spoilers.  These are they:
   ● Solo (A Star Wars Story)
   ● Avengers: Infinity War
   ● A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
   ● Black Panther

-

Friday Recommendations!  What have you been reading/writing/listening to/playing/watching lately?  Shamelessly self-promote or boost the signal on something you think we should know about - the weekend’s ahead of us, so give us something new to explore!

And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!

No Man of Woman Born

No Man of Woman Born (Rewoven Tales)

by Ana Mardoll

Destiny sees what others don’t.

A quiet fisher mourning the loss of xer sister to a cruel dragon. A clever hedge-witch gathering knowledge in a hostile land. A son seeking vengeance for his father's death. A daughter claiming the legacy denied her. A princess laboring under an unbreakable curse. A young resistance fighter questioning everything he's ever known. A little girl willing to battle a dragon for the sake of a wish. These heroes and heroines emerge from adversity into triumph, recognizing they can be more than they ever imagined: chosen ones of destiny.

From the author of the Earthside series and the Rewoven Tales novels, No Man of Woman Born is a collection of seven fantasy stories in which transgender and nonbinary characters subvert and fulfill gendered prophecies. These prophecies recognize and acknowledge each character's gender, even when others do not. Note: No trans or nonbinary characters were killed in the making of this book. Trigger warnings and neopronoun pronunciation guides are provided for each story.

Tags: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Transgender, Nonbinary

Note: No Man of Woman Born is a collection of short stories which may be read in any order.

Book (eBook)
Written by: Ana Mardoll
Published: July 2018
Language: English

Available from retailers below.
Books2Read
Amazon Kindle
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble Nook
GoodReads
Google
GumRoad
Kobo
Overdrive
---
Angus & Robertson (AU)
Indigo (CA)
Vivlio (FR)
Book (6x9 Trade)
Written by: Ana Mardoll
Published: July 2018
Language: English

Available from retailers below.
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Etsy
Patreon ($25 tier)
Audio Book
Narrated by: Cori Samuel
Published: July 2018
Language: English

Available from retailers below.
Amazon
Audible
GumRoad (+eBook bundle!)


Open Thread: Today, with its cloudy sky.


Like all great art, this was taken through a car window.

In spite of it being taken only 23 minutes ago, I don't remember which window in particular, but it was, most definitely, not the near window.  The one on the opposite side of the car would have been the closest possible window, with some possibility that the window was opposite not just left to right but also front to back.

Anyway, it is well recorded (by the ancients and then "rediscovered" in the Renaissance, in spite of certain Medieval art clearly having made use of the allegedly lost knowledge ) that it is important --nay,  vital-- that there be a stretch of open air between the observer and the car window though which the subject matter is observed, if the resultant art is to be great.

In other words:

I got nothing.

-

We have special open threads set aside for discussing various movies, said discussions including plain text spoilers.  These are they:
   ● Solo (A Star Wars Story)
   ● Avengers: Infinity War
   ● A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
   ● Black Panther

-

Friday Recommendations!  What have you been reading/writing/listening to/playing/watching lately?  Shamelessly self-promote or boost the signal on something you think we should know about - the weekend’s ahead of us, so give us something new to explore!

And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!

Narnia: The Magician's Neighbor

[Narnia Content Note: Child Abuse, Animal Abuse, Ableism, Mental Illness]

Narnia Recap: Welcome to the start of a fresh new day!

The Magician's Nephew, Chapter 1: The Wrong Door

The ending to The Horse and His Boy was so abrupt that I actually had to go back through the archives to check to see if I'd actually finished the book. Apparently I have! And as there is not yet a THAHB movie of any sort (at least that I know of), we have no intermission. On to the next book!

The Magician's Nephew is one reason why I tackled the books in publishing order rather than canonical order: I remember not being a fan. We'll see if time and distance have mellowed me, but as a kid this was one of the books in the series that I didn't much care for. When I grew up and saw that Harper-Collins was actually packaging and marketing the series with TMN as "book one", I had a hearty bitter laugh and predicted that the kids they were marketing to would never read past the "first" book. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe may have problems, but you can see what Lewis was going for and can fill in the gaps, often without even noticing that you're doing so. The Magician's Nephew is often just... surreal and not nearly so easy to aid with imagination-spackle.

And, if I recall correctly, the women get the short end of all the sticks. But now I'm jumping ahead.

   THIS IS A STORY ABOUT SOMETHING that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child. It is a very important story because it shows how all the comings and goings between our own world and the land of Narnia first began.

I mean! This is the first paragraph of the book, and what is Harper-Collins even thinking? The narrative clearly supposes the reader knows and cares about Narnia, enough so that they'd be interested in a backstory about the place. When you package this as "book one" in a series, you're completely misunderstanding how a reader--

No. Okay. I'm calm.

July Newsletter (2018)

Apparently it's July?????? When? How?

I'm afraid I don't have a lot to report today and I'm honestly really sorry. June saw me go out on my second surgical leave of the year, this time to cut out a cyst which kept expanding on my ovary. The surgery was supposed to be routine and no big deal, but they ended up having to take one of my fallopian tubes. I'm still recovering from all that (my incisions are very ouch) and my emotions have been all haywire.

What's most frustrating is that this was meant to help with a pain I've been having--and which sent me to the Emergency Room last month--and the pain... hasn't stopped. So apparently the cyst was an unrelated thing that needed to come out but we still haven't gotten the culprit. Bodies!

All this has meant my writing has been in a downward spiral of nope because I've spent most of the month sleeping off the anesthetic. But I'm hopeful that July will be better. It can't be worse, which means it will be better, right? ♥ ♥ ♥

LET'S TALK PATREON REWARDS.

♡ $2+ Fantasy Realtor. This was a fun drabble I wrote after thinking about realtors in D&D settings where they need to explain things like the failed summoning circle burned into the living room floor. I love this one, even if it's a short one.

♡ $5+ Fire Mage Chapter 6, the next chapter in my Fire Mage wip!

♡ $25+ Early Access: No Man of Woman Born Signed Paperbacks! I actually made deadline on this, which feels like a miracle! I got these to the post office earlier in the week and some of them have already reached their new homes! This is a huge big happy feeling!

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TRANS PROPHECY PROJECT: In case you missed it: The book is finished! I'm so excited I could pop! eBooks exist and are going out to you today, and have been put up for pre-order at Amazon and elsewhere. There is a GoodReads page! There is a cover reveal at LGBTQ Reads which is a life-long goal of mine!! This month has been amazing.

DON'T FORGET: Stay safe and take care. I'll be back next month with more. ♥