All I can do is bear witness

I guess you probably heard what happened yesterday in DC. Just in case you didn’t, the sitting president incited a mob of his followers to march up to the capitol building. 

If they’d protested at The National Mall, that would have been fine. It would have been part of a time-honored tradition in our country. That’s what we’re supposed to do. There is a beautiful tradition of civil disobedience in America.

That’s not what happened, though. The mob descended on the capitol building. They broke in, many of them were armed. They took down our American flag and replaced it with a Trump flag. They flew the Confederate flag, the flag of traitors, outside our Capitol building. They threatened our politicians. VP Pence had to be removed from the building for his safety. I have no love for Pence, but neither do I want him harmed. 

Four people were killed. 

Several bombs were found that would have taken many more lives. 

Armed people broke into our capital and were largely greeting as friends by the police officers who should have been protecting the people within. The same police who violently attacked protestors on the National Mall when Trump wanted a photo op. 

Trump was responsible for all of this. He had to be banned from social media to keep from doing more harm.

These are facts, they cannot be disputed. 

You probably already know all of this. So why am I telling you again? 

Man, I wish I could go back to talking about books and tv and dragons all the time. 

But here’s the thing. I’m saying this because it needs to be said over and over again until it stops. Politicians need to say it, actors and influencers need to say it. Even content creators like me need to say it. Silence is complacency, and now is not the time for complacency. 

I’m also saying this because I have only my voice and my vote. If I want my vote to keep counting, I’d better use my voice. Because right now, there’s a massive mob of people who think they can use violence to overthrow our votes. 

This isn’t how we do things. I didn’t want Trump to win in 2016, but I sure as hell didn’t attack my own politicians. That’s not how a democracy works. 

We must bear witness to this moment in our history. It’s the moment when we decide if we want a government by the people and for the people, or if we’re willing to allow bullies to threaten and scare us into obedience. 

Will you bear witness?

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Life audit with me, week one

2020 sucked and I’m so glad to kick it to the curb. It was a dumpster fire of a year. And the worst thing about it, the absolute worst, is that I fell into some coping mechanisms that need to stop right the hell now. I stopped doing a lot of good things that I need to be doing again. 

In general, my life is a bit of a mess. I needed a life audit in the worst way. So, in early December I wrote a list of things that needed an update in my life. These were things in my personal care routine, my writing life, my family life and my spiritual life. 

Since I’ve made that list, I’ve done one thing every day to make my life better. To make things run smoother. And I’ve been pretty happy with the results. So I thought it would be a great thing to share with all of you. Because I bet (no judging) that you’ve fallen out of some good habits and into some bad ones too. Let’s get better together. 

I’ve separated each prompt into categories, starting with self-improvement, then home care, money, and ending with business. Each Friday I’ll give you the prompts for the next seven days. I’ll also tell you a little bit about it went for me.

I’m including a whole week in one post for two reasons. One is that I’m working on two major projects right now and I just don’t have time to post every day. But I also understand that everyone has different levels of work on any given day. Some people will have time on a Tuesday afternoon to clear out all their craft supplies. For others that will need to be a Saturday activity. I don’t suggest trying to do more than one activity a day, whatever you do. This is a thoughtful process, you need to give yourself time and space.

That being said, let’s go into week one.

Day one-Your nightly routine

What you do right before bed has more impact on your life than you can imagine. I will die on this hill! It sets you up for a good night’s sleep and a smoother morning. 

Start with writing down what you do before bed now. Do so without judgment. We aren’t doing this to beat ourselves up. We are doing this to make small changes to make our lives better.

Next, write down all the things you’d like to do before bed. You want to be realistic here. I think we’d all like to end each day with a rose-scented bath, full-body lotion, a cup of lavender tea and thirty minutes of journaling. But that’s not happening every night. We just don’t have the hours in the day for it.

So think about instead what’s going to help you the most. What would you like to wake up to? 

When I did this, I came up with the following list.

1. Set out clothes for tomorrow.

2. Make my to-do list for tomorrow.

3. Put on face cream and under-eye cream after shower.

4. Take my medication.

Boom, that’s it. I’ll have clothes in the morning, I’ve put everything out of my mind and onto the page, and I’ve delayed the ravages of time on my face. I can now sleep easy. Your list may look different than mine, and that’s perfect. It’s a personal thing. 

Day two- Your morning routine

Now that your evening routine is in place, it’s time to build on that. What do you want to do in the morning?

Do you want to make time to move your body or read a devotional book? Maybe your day would be so much better if you could just watch the birds out your kitchen window while you drink coffee in peace. 

Whatever goes onto your list, you want to make sure it follows two rules. It should improve your day and be something you have time for.

Here’s my list. 

1. Wake, feed pets, make coffee

2. Do ten minutes of yoga

3. Dress, brush my hair and teeth, do my makeup.

4. Meditate and pull an oracle card.

5. Check in with my planners. 

6. Track my spending from the day before.

Day three- Your afternoon routine

This is what I call my after-work routine, but it could also be an after school routine or a before dinner routine. It’s a list of things that are meant to keep my house orderly. The goal of this list is that it should take no more than 30 minutes.

Think about the biggest problem areas in your home. The things that bother your the most if they build up. The things that smell. That’s my biggest issue. I can handle clutter, but I can’t stand it when things smell.

Here’s my list.

1. Scoop the cat box.

2. Do the dishes. 

3. Do the FlyLady task of the day.

4. Water the plants.

5. 10-minute pickup.

And boom, we’re done. Just like that, the house is in good enough shape for me to make dinner and relax for the evening. 

Day four- Daily task list

Think of this as sort of a chore chart. Certain things need to be done, but they don’t need to be done every day. Things like running the vacuum, taking the garbage out to the curb on trash night. Because I’m a blogger, I also have tasks like writing my weekly blog posts.

Start by writing down everything that needs to be done in a week. Then, decide what day it’s best to do it on. Try to not have more than one task on a day, or it’s going to get overwhelming. So maybe you clean out your car on Sunday afternoon, vacuum your house on Saturday and clear out your fridge on Wednesday. You get the point.

Day five- Plan spiritual activities

No matter your faith there are certain activities that you probably like to practice to observe. Maybe you attend service or perform good works. I like to give donations, help people, read devotional materials. All of these things are more likely to happen if I, you know, schedule them. I’d say they’re probably not going to happen if I don’t schedule them.

If you aren’t someone who considers themselves spiritual, then certainly you have things you wish you did more of. Gardening, reading, things like that. There is something that feeds your soul. Find it, and find time to make it happen.

Day six- Plan what you want to learn

This is where things get fun. What do you want to learn this year? Is there a class you can take for a better job? Do you want to learn a new language, or take an art class? Seriously, there’s no better time to get some education in. I’m taking an ASL class, and I subscribed to Skillshare. I’ve been working through all the writing courses available. But I think I’ll also be taking some hand lettering classes. I love some hand lettering. My bullet journal is going to be freaking awesome this year.

So what do you want to learn? Remember, we’re not in school anymore. There are no required classes here. You can learn whatever you want. How cool is that?

Day seven-Audit your notebooks and apps

This one isn’t as fun, but man did I need to do it. I had a ton of planners and notebooks, not to mention a bunch of apps I used to organize my life. The problem is, I’ve got way too many. Some of them I only used for one thing. I mean, there was one app I used only for a list of twitter ideas. I used another app to remind me when to water my plants. Which is, you know, great if I remember to open it. But if I was the sort of person who remembered to open an app to see what plants needed to be watered, I’d probably be the sort of person who didn’t need an app for that in the first place.

Most of my app info got moved to bullet journal spreads. I still have a budget book and a yearly planner. Everything else got downgraded.

That’s it for the first week. Stay tuned next week for week two of our life audit. And if you share any pictures on Twitter, be sure to tag me so I can see them.

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The top ten posts of 2020

I always look forward to writing this post every year. It’s a look back at what’s been on our collective minds for the last twelve months. And in a year as twisted as 2020, I was especially interested to see what posts resonated with you all the most.

This year I’ve limited the list to only posts that were written in 2020. I don’t know why I haven’t done that in the past but there it is. Here are the top ten most popular Paper Beats World posts for 2020, the year that shouldn’t.

The Middle Finger Project, The Book, Launches today!

I love that this post got so much attention because it means this book got a lot of attention. And it deserves it. No, you deserve to read this book. Because it’s life-changing.

The holidays are going to look different this year

I don’t think I was the only blogger talking about this. But it helped me to get my feelings out to the world. I hope that it helped you to see the good in the holidays even if they weren’t what we wanted them to be. 

Don’t forget when this is over

I’m going to keep repeating the message for this post. We can’t stop fighting in America. We’re too great a country to settle for what we’ve got right now. There are still babies in cages at our border. There are still people going hungry in one of the wealthiest countries on the planet. Don’t forget, and don’t stop fighting to make our country better. 

I’m going for a Milwordy

This was a big shiny goal that I had at one point. It didn’t go to plan. But more on that later. 

Should we even do Nanowrimo this year?

My answer to this was yes. And I think I wrote an awesome book I can’t wait to share it with all of you in 2022. Did you write a book in November? Tell us about it in the comments.

Why Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes works

I loved this book, as I’ve already mentioned. I guess a lot of you loved it too. I hope you learned something from this installment of Why it Works. I enjoy writing those and will keep doing so in 2021.

An interview with Madolyn Locke

Madolyn Locke is a writing buddy of mine and a great author. I’m so happy this interview got so many reads. If you like my work, you’ll love hers. Tell a friend. 

I’ve decided not to do a Milwordy, here’s why

Best laid plans and such. I thought a million words in a year would be no big deal with all the different projects I have going on. Turns out when you’re a professional writer you spend a lot more time editing than writing. Oh well, live and learn.

Things that irritate me as a fantasy fan

This post still riles me up. I’m glad you all liked it, and I hope you agreed with some of my pet peeves. 

Writing Medicine in Fantasy Books

This was the most popular post of the year by far, and I’m so glad. I love writing detailed posts about little writing tools, and I’m going to write more of them in the future. 

So that was it for 2020. I have some really exciting things planned for 2021 that I cannot wait to share with you. Let’s raise some champaign glasses and kick 2020 the hell out of here. 

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My top ten favorite books of 2020

One good thing can be said of 2020. I read a lot of good books. Coming up with my top ten for the year was a bit of a challenge because of this. I mean, I read The Exorcist this year and it didn’t even make it into the top ten. But if I’m going to have a challenge, I can think of worse ones. 

Not all of them came out this year, this is just the first year I read them. This isn’t news to anyone who’s read my previous year-end round-ups. You’ll find all sorts of genres represented here. Some books I’ve done a full review on, some I haven’t. One I haven’t even finished reading yet, but it’s so awesome already that it had to make my top ten. No matter what differences these books may have, they all have one thing in common. They were damned good.

If you want to follow along with what I’m reading all year long, you can do so on Goodreads. Now, on to the list. 

The Middle Finger Project by Ash Ambridge 

If you need to get your life in order, this is the book you need to do it. I have never read such in your face realistic business advice. I cried multiple times while reading it.

Top of my lungs by Natalie Goldberg

Have you ever read a book and immediately knew you were going to reach for it again? That was what Top of my Lungs was like for me. The poetry is inspiringly beautiful. The artwork is soothing. I put this book on my in case of an emergency bullet journal page. If I’m in doubt, Natalie is there for me.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Yes, I know this show blew up on Netflix. No, I don’t know if I’ll be watching it. That’s not what I’m here to talk about. This book was good. This book was deep and thoughtful and felt way too real. It’s a reminder that we lose the rights we don’t insist upon. 

Savage Legion by Matt Wallace 

This is the one I haven’t finished yet. But the story is so good, I had to include it on the list. 

A young woman is sent to the front line of an unwinnable war as punishment for a barroom brawl. But it turns out she got herself sent there on purpose to find the one man who can stop this brutal practice and save the soul of their country. And I have loved every second of it. Expect a full review on that soon.

The War on Everyone by Robert Evans

This was an eye-opening book in a year that was quite eye-opening for everyone. It goes a long way to explain where we are in America and exactly how we got here. Of course, it’s written by the man who hosts a podcast called Behind the Bastards. So, be aware that this book isn’t for the faint of heart.

If It Bleeds by Stephen King

I did a whole review of this book over on Haunted MTL, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time on it. Let’s just say it’s worth a read, and for more than just the title story. Especially if you were a fan of King’s The Outsider. 

Now, then and everywhen by Rysa Walker

It’s hard to do a time travel story right. It’s even harder to do it when you’re working between a trilogy you already wrote. But Walker has done this, as well as providing a great story. There’s fighting racism in this book, exciting adventures, fun characters, funny shout outs to real-world fandoms. And I have to admit, I didn’t see the ending coming. The sequel is coming out in January, and I’m stoked.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Everyone was looking forward to this book, and it caused a lot of dust-ups among nerds. I loved it. It was a great story that didn’t humanize President Snow as much as I was worried it would. Again, I’ve done a whole review of it here, if you’d like to read it.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Again, I reviewed this book on Haunted MTL and you can read my review here. If you haven’t read Mexican Gothic, do it right now. It’s a rich, atmospheric read that I just lost myself in. 

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green

This was, by far, my favorite book of the year. You might remember that last year the first book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing made my list. So it’s no surprise that the conclusion made it onto this year. It’s a difficult book to describe, but I attempted to here in my review of it. Do yourself a favor and read it now if you haven’t. 

So that’s it for my top ten list of books in 2020. I’d love to know what made it onto your list. Let us know the best book you’ve read this year in the comments below. 

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Give this gift to yourself today

This post is going live on Christmas Day, 2020. As I write this I’m looking back at the year we’re getting ready to leave behind. 

I don’t need to tell you what kind of year it’s been, you know. We’ve all lived it together. And it’s hard to not come to today without some amount of regret. 

We regret that we couldn’t be with our families. 

We regret that there’s not a lot of gifts under the tree.

We regret that maybe we’re just barely making ends meet. 

We regret that we might have had to take another job. Or leave a job because it was just unsafe. 

Insert your regret here. We’re going to do something together today. Grab a piece of paper and a pen. Maybe grab a cup of tea, too.

Now, write down everything you wish you’d have done better this year. Everything you regret doing or not doing. Every single thing, big or small. 

Do you have your list? Great. Now you need a candle and a fire-safe container. Fold your paper up, and set the damned thing on fire. Let it burn, then flush the ashes.

Because we need to let that shit go.

This is the gift I’m giving myself today. I’m letting go of my regrets from 2020. It was a hard year and we got through it. Now, it’s time to leave all our baggage behind and move into 2021 free from it. 

2021 can be a time to learn. We can be better as a community, as a society, as individuals. We can choose to make 2021 brighter.

Let this be the gift you give yourself. Forgive yourself for doing what you had to do to survive. Let it go, and thrive now. 

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Last minute gifts you still have time for

It’s December 18th. We’re a week away from Christmas Day. And it’s 2020. Going to the store is a bad idea. Ordering online is a great idea, if you did it several weeks ago. Now it’s too late to to be sure of shipping. At least without ensuring gouging shipping fees and the eternal hatred of your mail carrier. 

Alright, so what are you supposed to do if you haven’t gotten something for someone yet? You can order something and just accept that they’ll get it late. That’s fine, absolutely nothing wrong with that. You can pretend it got lost in the mail, but that’s a dick move. 

But those aren’t your only options! You can still get your loved ones a gift that they’ll love. Here are four ideas. 

Subscriptions

Subscription services are awesome, and they’re great gifts. They’re something that can be appreciated all year long. Spotify, Netflix, Hulu. For story lovers there’s Serial Box. No matter what your loved one is into, you can find a subscription for them. 

Homemade gifts

Not just for children! As adults I think we forget that homemade gifts can be treasured just as much as store bought. 

Now, I’m not suggesting this is the time to get out the knitting needles. If you didn’t start a big project like that in September you’re probably not getting it done. 

That being said, there are some great things you can make. Sea salt with some lavender buds, sage, orange peel or rose petals is a lovely gift. If you’ve got little ones you forgot, you can whip up a container of homemade play dough. Or just make the dough yourself and make some handmade ornaments. 

If you’re a fan of baking, a batch of cookies or a cake might be a great gift. Clutter free, too. 

Printable gifts

If you’ve got a printer, look into this. I spent some time on Etsy and found some of the cutest things. Printable games, gift tags, paper dolls. And I mean like really awesome paper dolls. Like, I might get some of these for me dolls. (I’m thirty-four, I can play with dolls if I want to.) Seriously, the imagination put into these things is just amazing. 

There’s nothing wrong with a gift card

Honestly, this is a tried and true gift. This is what I got my best friend’s kids a gift card for Hanukkah. Do you remember being a kid and getting a gift card? How fun was that? It’s a little credit card that you can spend on what you want like a grown up!

All hope is not lost. You can still get a great gift for your loved ones. It just might take some thinking out of the box.

I hope this helps you guys have a great holiday season. If these tips were helpful, let me know in the comments. 

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The best holiday specials ever

One of the things I look forward to during the holiday season is watching all the holiday specials of my favorite shows. Being the huge nerd that I am, this should be no surprise. It’s not even that they’re all good. It’s more that it’s part of the holidays for me. I watch almost nothing but holiday specials from December first to the twenty-fifth. Well, this year I’m also watching The Mandalorian and His Dark Materials. But we’ll talk more about those later.

I thought it would be fun today to share my favorite specials with you. These are listed from worst to best. Most of them you’ve probably already heard of. But maybe you haven’t. Or maybe you forgot all about them and now you remember you can’t wait to see them. Maybe you just want to read the list then tell me how horribly wrong my taste is. That’s fine. I would love for you to leave a comment below telling me your favorite holiday special from any winter holiday.

A very special family guy freakin’ Christmas

Family Guy was really good for the first three seasons. And this Christmas episode in particular is just perfect. It embodies the worst and best of Christmas.

Lois is the sort of person who makes Christmas happen for her family. But when one mishap after another ruins all of her hard work she snaps. She ends up climbing the Quohog Christmas tree, hell-bent on destroying the star on top.

I like this episode because it throws the old fashioned Christmas special on its ear. While we’d all like to soar through the holidays making cookies and special family memories, I think losing our shit after one too many fuck ups is way more relatable.

The Bleakening

Bob’s Burgers is a show that’s worked its way into my holiday viewing. Especially their Thanksgiving episodes. There just aren’t a lot of good Thanksgiving specials.

While there are a lot of Christmas episodes, my favorite is The Bleakening. Linda loses it a little when someone steals her Christmas tree from the restaurant. This action leads the kids to think that a Krampus like creature called The Bleaken is coming to steal all their gifts. So they go out at night to hunt the creature down.

A Very Sunny Christmas

It’s Always Sunny is an acquired taste and not for the easily offended. And this Christmas episode was especially awful. Frank ruins Christmas for his children every year by buying the thing they’d like most for himself. This is the year he goes too far. Dee and Dennis decide it’s time to teach him a lesson. As I’m sure you can imagine, nothing goes to plan and everything is a horrifying hot mess. It’s also one of the funniest damned things I’ve ever seen.

I want a dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown

This isn’t the best known Charlie Brown special, which might be why I like it so much. Rerun wants a dog, but his mom doesn’t want him to have one. He borrows Snoopy, but it’s not the same. When Snoopy’s brother Spike comes into town Rerun gets his mom to let him stay until he’s in better health.

In true Charlie Brown fashion, Spike doesn’t stay. He goes home to live with Joe Cactus and Rerun never does get his dog. But that’s sort of why I love Charlie Brown. The kids don’t usually get what they want, at least not the way they want them. But Rerun still has Snoopy to borrow. If that’s not an allegory for life, I don’t know what is.

Rugrats, Chanuka

I never learned about Hanuka as a child, so this is where I first learned about the celebration of lights. It’s a good explanation for kids and grownups who didn’t grow up in super-diverse neighborhoods.

The kids are taken to a Hanuka play at temple with Grandpa Boris. He ends up in an on-stage spat with an old rival, and the kids are read a story about the meaning of Hanuka while trying to get the ‘Meanie’ to fall asleep.

As always, I love seeing the hilarious misunderstandings that the kids fall into. I also love the way the show explained why this beautiful holiday is celebrated.

Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas

This is maybe the best episode of Community ever. The whole thing’s in stop motion, and it centers around Abed having sort of a mental break down. He drags everyone along for a journey to find the meaning of Christmas.

This episode is especially fun when you consider that all of the magical stuff is happening in Abed’s mind. Everyone else is sitting in the study room, just talking. I love it.

Futurama, X-mas story

There’s a line from this my husband and I quote to each other at any opportunity. “I’m gonna get you so many lizards.”

In the future, X-mas is celebrated with palm trees because pine trees have gone extinct. Oh, and Santa is a homicidal robot why deems everyone naughty and slaughters people every X-mas Eve. Fry and Lela are caught out late and have to run for their lives.

Hilarity ensues.

X-Files, How the Ghosts Stole Christmas

I do love a good ghost story, especially for Christmas. Mulder and Scully find themselves trapped in a house that’s messing with their heads. Rooms move from place to place. They’re tortured by visions of each other dying. They see the spirits who live there but are not able to put them to rest. Though, in fairness, the couple seems quite content to spend eternity together. And who wouldn’t? They’ve got each other and some living people to torture on Christmas Eve. They’re set.

The ambiance of this episode is just amazing. Warm fires, old books, dead bodies. It’s just like A Christmas Carol.

Simpsons Roasting On an Open Fire

Finally, my favorite holiday special. Homer’s crushed when he doesn’t get his Christmas bonus. Things get even worse when Marge has to spend all their Christmas savings to remove a tattoo from Bart. He tries to get a second job as a mall Santa to try to get gifts. When that too falls through, his last hope is betting on a dog race.

This episode is heartwarming and never fails to make me laugh. It’s a fluffy blanket and a cup of eggnog. It just feels like Christmas when I see little Maggie dressed up in her star-shaped snowsuit. It’s not unusual for me to watch it a couple of times.

So that’s it. Those are my can’t miss holiday specials. Now I want to hear what you think? What’s your favorite holiday special? Let us know in the comments below.

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Building new traditions

Holidays are often built around traditions that are passed down from year to year, generation to generation. The ornament that your mom put on the tree when she was little, that your son is putting up now. The movie you watch with your dad. The book you read with your grandmother. It’s part of what we all look forward to. 

We didn’t have a lot of traditions for the holidays when I was a kid. It’s no one’s fault. We moved a lot and my mom had to work. Somehow ornaments and decorations got lost in the shuffle of the moves. And most of my movie watching was done alone. But there were some traditions. 

My mom always did the twelve days of Christmas, letting me open one gift a night up until Christmas Eve. We opened everything that night because we were going to visit my grandmother and great grandmothers on Christmas day. My mom always told me I’d opened everything. But on Christmas morning there was also one last gift. Usually the best one.

We always made potato candy and fudge. The cats always hid in the tree and attacked us while we put up ornaments. And we always always sang together.

I don’t do any of those things now. My family moved away and I was left on my own. So I made new traditions. 

This year, most of our traditions are going to be unsafe. We can’t get together with our family. We can’t travel, can’t go to parties. I usually go holiday shopping with my best friend, but we’re sure as hell not doing that. Another buddy and I always get coffee together for Yule. Another thing that won’t be happening. Ditto Light up Night in Pittsburgh. I don’t have to tell you that this is hardly the first time we’ve faced this in 2020. 

Fuck you, 2020.

That being said, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to build new traditions. And I’m far from the only one. 

There are holidays after the death of a loved one. Holidays after a move across the country, after a divorce. On a less depressing note, there are births and weddings. Buying new houses, getting new jobs that require moves to exciting new cities. 

Life changes, it evolves. We change too, and our traditions change with us. Sometimes it’s going to be painful. Life is painful sometimes, and that sucks. Nothing I can say will change that. 

But life goes on. This holiday won’t look like other years. It can still be great. This might be the year you find a new tradition you love so much you do every year from now on. It all depends on how you do it. 

To help you out, here’s a list of things I’m doing this year that cost little to no money. You can do them alone, or with family and friends in your bubble. 

Please note that I celebrate Christmas and Yule, so these ideas are kind of all from those holidays. If you celebrate something else, I would be thankful and honored if you’d share some of your own quarantine friendly traditions. 

Since I can’t go to a coffee shop, my buddy and I are doing a virtual coffee day. Zoom and coffee while we (hopefully) open Yule gifts that arrived in the mail. 

I do lots of mailed gifts since most of my family doesn’t live near me. I love that so many places can just deliver right to my loved ones without me ever having to touch them.

Of course, no holiday would be complete for me without a few books. I read A Christmas Carol every year, starting on Black Friday. Spoiler, you can usually find A Christmas Carol as a free e-book download. It’s a beautiful story read either to your family or on your own.

I love collecting ornaments for my tree. So one gift I get myself every year is a new ornament. Only one, though. Otherwise, it’s way too hard to stop buying them.

Since we’ve been home so much more, I’ve been crafting a ton more than I ever have. Wooden stars covered in silver and gold. A new crochet tree skirt, glass jars turned into candle holders. Several handmade ornaments. I’m painting a box we got from Hickory Farms as a gingerbread house. All together I bought some yarn, wooden stars and battery lit candles. It’s been fun, and my house is just filled with decorations. I can’t recommend getting crafty enough. 

We might have to spend this holiday season apart, but doing so will help ensure more of us are here to celebrate next year. Let’s make some new traditions and have a wonderful holiday season apart, together.

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It’s another launch day, Station Central is going wide today

Station Central is now available on Smashwords! Today is the day at last and I’m pretty stoked. I always like to end the year on a high note, and this one’s pretty good. 

Which is nice because this year has been pretty much a dumpster fire. 

But here at least is something pretty cool. Now, no matter the platform or device you have, you can download Station Central. This is, in my humble opinion, the best Station 86 story to date.



It’s also Black Friday. I hope no one reading this has been out shopping today. We’re in a pandemic and I want all of you to stay safe. Today is a great day instead to do some online shopping, maybe write out your holiday cards or put your decorations up. Maybe just curl up with a good book and some hot tea. That’s what I’ll be doing. 

Here’s to a wonderful, if different holiday season. Stay warm, stay safe. And I hope you all enjoy a vacation adventure turned horrifying in Station Central.

Check out Station Central now on Smashwords.

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Station Central, Episode Three

If you’re loving the story, you can now get the whole book on Smashwords.

Godfrey followed Akiko to a glass building not far from the loading docks. He glanced between her and Gene, wondering how far he’d get if he decided to run. He didn’t think it would be far enough. And he wouldn’t have put it past this woman to know just where Sennett and the others were, and detain them if he tried.

“Have you ever been to Station Central before, Councilman?” Akiko asked.

“No,” Godfrey said, as they walked past the front desk. The building’s main purpose seemed to be a tourist information center. The walls flashed with event information and activities. There was, according to the advertisements, levels for shopping, dining, museums. There was even a beach themed level, and an amusement park on the top floor.

“You should try Punchello’s for dinner one night, it’s my favorite,” she said. “My treat, I insist. Just tell them you’re there as my guest.”

They wove through the crowd of people milling around, looking at displays and taking pictures, until they reached a quieter hallway. There, Godfrey saw doors with the names of what he assumed must have been other council members. Akiko led him right to the end of the hall, to a door with her own name. She entered, letting the two men in.

Inside, Godfrey saw a white, high polished chrome desk. The floor was a simple tile, and the walls displayed posters of classic movies and plays.

“Please take a seat,” Akiko said, gesturing to two padded chairs on one side of her desk. She settled herself on a backless chair on the other side.

Godfrey sat, Gene settling in next to him. “So,” Akiko tilted her head. “Station 86 sure has been through a lot, hasn’t it? First, eleven of the twelve council members are assassinated. Then, you had that problem with the AI dogs. Then there was that botched election issue. I understand your friend was off planet at the time, and she was nearly killed by a lose virus on Station 16?” Akiko shook her head. “Poor man, no wonder you wanted a vacation. I’m so sorry to spoil your first day here with this.”

“That’s not my concern, Councilwoman,” he said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “My concern is that I’m not a councilman anymore. I’m a private citizen. As I’ve already told you, Station 86 decided to change how we’re governed. We held a free election, and we chose two Marshals to lead us, one from each political party.”

“Yes, but the problem with that is that elections aren’t legal on the stations,” Akiko said. “You’re the remaining Councilman, so you’re fully within your right to claim these two people as fellow council members. But a marshal is not an official title.”

“If you’d had an auditor at the time, they certainly would have told you that,” Gene said. “But I understand that you lost your last auditor. He was on the ship with Councilwoman Thorn?”

“Yes,” Godfrey said, “but I don’t understand how you peoplethink you’ve got any kind of right to tell Station 86 what we’re going to do with our people. We decided that we wanted to be governed differently. Why should that be any of your business?”

Akiko folded her hands on her desk. “Because with Earth silent, my council and I are now the political center for all of the stations. Therefore, it’s my job to assign a new auditor to Station 86. Gene here will go back with you when you go home.”

“It sounds like we’ve got a lot of work to do together, with eight council seats empty,” Gene said.

“Nine,” Godfrey said. “I am not a council member.”

“Mmm, sorry,” Gene said, “but a council member can’t resign with empty seats. You’ve got to stay until all twelve are full. It’s down in the constitution you agreed to when you became a station citizen.”

“And in the oath you agreed to when you became a council member,” Akiko said, nodding. “I’m afraid you’re stuck until the council’s full again.

“But, please don’t let that darken your vacation. Relax, have fun with your friends. We can worry about all this when it’s time for you to go home.”

“Alright,” Godfrey muttered. “Since I’m stuck as a councilman, I might as well act like one. What are you planning for the Hollow Suits?”

Akiko and Gene tensed. “I think that would be a matter best discussed later, when you haven’t just arrived” Akiko said. “In fact, I wonder if I could ask you a favor regarding that. We haven’t publicly spoken about the Hollow Suits yet. Would you mind not mentioning it?”

“Why haven’t you told the people who live here?” Godfrey asked.

“Because we’re trying not to start a panic,” Akiko chuckled. “We’re handling it, even as we speak. There’s no reason to worry the people on the station. Especially since they, like yourself, are on vacation.”

“But if these Hollows get on the station-,” Godfrey said, but was interrupted by a knock on the office door.

“I’m so sorry,” Akiko said, rising gracefully. She went to the door, and admitted a young man in a bright blue suit.

“Jeremy, what can I do for you?” she asked.

“Sorry, Councilwoman, but I thought you should see what Commander Tanner just sent to everyone on the station,” the young man said.

Godfrey remembered his wrist pad buzzing as Akiko had led him away. He looked down now, and played it. Gene did the same.

All citizens and visitors of Station Central, please be advised that known terrorist Jason Whitehall has escaped from police protection and is thought to be somewhere on the station. If you spot him, please contact authorities imminently. Whitehall is thought to be armed with illegal weaponry, and is suspected in the murder of May Conner.

Gene was looking at his own wrist pad, his other hand over his mouth.

“Um, wow,” Godfrey said. “What’s this all about? I thought your council didn’t want to cause a panic.”

“Tanner is not a council member,” Akiko snapped.

She turned, flashing her smile again. “I’ve kept you from your friends long enough. Forgive my interruption.”

She opened the door wider, and gave Godfrey a gentle inclination of her head. “Have a good day, Councilman.”

Godfrey realized that he wasn’t going to get anything further from the situation. His long trip was also catching up with him. He stood, and said, “Thank you, Councilwoman. I suppose I’ll be seeing you soon, Gene.”

“Yeah, of course,” Gene said, but he wasn’t looking up. He was looking at his wrist pad still, his brows furrowed.

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