This blog is a series of fantasy novels in serial form. If you’d like to start at the beginning and work your way through, this post provides a handy list of all the chapters in sequence. The first volume, Man Raised by Spiders, tells the story of Inglorion’s younger cousin Valentine, who was taken captive during […]
Soundtrack and Video: Johnny Cash, “Hurt” Tereus wakes up, dry-mouthed, bile rising in his throat. He’s tied to the split-rail fence surrounding the stable yard. His arms and legs are spread wide, and he’s slightly bent at the waist, cheek pressed against a rough wooden beam. His bonds are cruelly tight. It’s exhausting to support his […]
Things are really tough now. When things are hard — personally or as a city or nation — it’s almost a relief to retreat into cynicism or hopelessness or blame. I hear it a lot from people around me. Everything from, “It’s too hard to wear a mask,” to “I’m done with this country. I’m sick […]
The cellar is lit by a single candle. It’s small — perhaps 10’ x 10’. Three of the four walls are lined with shelves stocked with canned food. There are sacks of potatoes and onions half-buried in one corner. Lavinia, Camilla and Claudius have burrowed down among the potatoes. Valerius is stretched out on the […]
Things that did my heart good today: I keep yapping about how New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the perfect, gruff dad for his state and the nation. It’s because it’s true. Today, a long, impassioned and canny speech about how political change happens. Dad says, You’re pissed. You’re right to be pissed. Here’s what […]
It’s hard to look and listen now, to see what’s really happening. When much of the country is engulfed in protests and rioting, and Americans are dying every day from a pandemic, it’s tough acknowledge that we have a real problem, and it’s not enough for people to sit down, shut up and go back […]
I was talking to my sister just now — having the call where we share the week’s frustrations and joys, and where we give and receive real spiritual solace. I love her dearly, and rely on her kindness and wisdom. More than anything, I value the fact that we disagree sharply about politics, but we’re […]
I ended last week by reading Heather Ann Thompson’s account of the 1971 Attica prison uprising, Blood on the Water. If you’re puzzled by this week’s riots, her book is an excellent primer on racial violence and injustice in America. Aside from the obvious reasons, I was reading it to understand the roles played by […]
