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 […]
Hands trembling, Inglorion unfolds the second slip of paper and reads: He looks forward to seeing her and finds their relations gratifying, though he knows that she loathes him, and that the sight and sound and smell of him sickens her. He relishes forcing himself on her, though he doesn’t find her attractive as a […]
We’ll start a couple of days back, when I was flicking through pictures I’d taken on my phone. Mostly meals and portraits of my cat, Lyndon Johnson, being cute in various ways. I stumbled on a shot that was mysterious, compelling, and utterly foreign. I took it on Saturday at 3:42 a.m. I’m sure I […]
As summer gives way to fall, Inglorion comes to think that his father left no record of his crime and its consequence. He might not have thought of it at all. Inglorion accepts that he won’t learn what he thought he wanted to know. It wouldn’t be the first time the gods answered a different […]
Though I love pasta, for many years I didn’t have a reliable recipe for marinara sauce. This seemed sad and vaguely shameful, since I could make a dandy mushroom sauce, a few different lasagnas, and even a stellar bolognese, which is a remarkable achievement for a longtime vegetarian. I found what would become the core […]
Today was a wonderful day because my beloved Time Market has reopened, and I picked up a framed print from Bob and Wade at Deadwood Framing. I’ve missed the Time Market terribly. A few times a week, I would order a salad and a slice of pizza, and sit in the picture window people-watching, and […]
Inglorion moves into his father’s house, and takes over the garden, bees and chickens. In theory, there’s a satisfying symmetry to this. Certainly Lucius seems unsurprised, and quietly agrees it’s for the best. In reality, Inglorion’s confronted with an immediate, practical task. The walls, ceiling and floor are all spattered and stained to various degrees. When […]
So, here’s a pet peeve of mine. When reporters from major media outlets — think, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and just about every cable news show — deign to report from Arizona, they rarely venture beyond the Phoenix metropolitan area. This article on whether the Latino vote will finally flip Arizona blue […]
I’ve been talking to a lot of people about mask-wearing — it’s one thing most people have in common now — and a number of them report feeling physical distress: Dizziness, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and so on. It’s rare to have a physical condition that prevents you from wearing a mask. Depending on the […]
After days of blank mourning, a purpose comes to Inglorion in the night. He will visit a nearby shrine, El Tiradito. The name means “The Castaway,” and the memorial is dedicated to sinners and outcasts, souls too degraded and impure to be buried in hallowed ground. Tereus was a non-believer, criminal and occasional drunk; Inglorion […]
The scenes in which Tereus gets my innocent, teetotaling hero drunk and cooks him a steak are loosely based on the raffish habits of my mathematician friend, Sol. Once, when I had a bad cold, Sol cooked the best chicken soup I’ve ever tasted, and left it warm on my porch. On another occasion, he […]
