Forthright .'s Blog, page 8

Main Man. This is some of the official character art of Varti Weller, one of the main characters in the Immortal Holmes books. This is his work uniform. He’s a member of the local constabulary in the royal city of Newcomb.

The green cloak marks him as a member of the Bastion’s regulars, and he serves as the head of the Files & Evidence division. A humble position for one of the Badge Academy’s most promising graduates, but Varti’s lucky to have any job at all, thanks to being folk-spelled...

Folk-Spelled (Immortal Holmes, No.1) was a pleasure to typeset. Choosing fonts and fiddling with page layout are the fun part that comes after all the writing & editing are completed. Here’s a peek at a page in the program I use for readying a book for the printer:

I’m currently taking pre-orders for author-signed copies of Folk-Spelled. Interested? Details are on the Signed Books page. I’ll post pictures as soon as I receive boxes from the printer!

Claimer: I do hereby claim all rights and responsibility for the characters in a certain boy’s adventures because the Amaranthine Saga & Songs are mine. Please continue to indulge the lot of us, especially he curious one.

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Free Time

It only took a few days before Coop gave in to temptation.

Explanations and reasons were… fine. But he was best at hands-on learning. Once he figured something out for himself, then he understood it.

Dad had always encouraged him to follow his curio...

Updated! Bard & Barbarian has updated over on my Patreon with Ch75: “Gaps in the Ranks,” in which Yarrow looks toward hiring on new crew members. But hazard pay is gonna be a problem, now that Cataclysms are involved.

Patrons at any (paid) tier can read Bard & Barbarian!

forthright on Patreon >>

Claimer: I do hereby claim all rights and responsibility for the characters in a certain boy’s adventures because the Amaranthine Saga & Songs are mine. Please continue to indulge the lot of us, especially the one who speaks.

99
Knotty Boy

Rose may have called wolf knots baby stuff, but this crop of reavers were a fumble-fingered bunch. Coop chipped in. “See how this one is kinda the same, but reversed? Like knit one, purl one.”

He unspooled practice cord and bartered for beads. Teac...

This Just In! My print proof arrived, and it’s perfect! The print editions have been green-lighted, so they’ll be showing up in virtual shopfronts for everyone, everywhere. Order at your leisure. Or ask for them at your favorite bookstore. They’ll be able to order them in. Same goes for libraries.

I unboxed:

At nearly 500 pages, it’s kind of a chonk. One thing the print edition has that the digital edition lacks is … the illustrated back cover:

Interiors are wonderful, a...

Claimer: I do hereby claim all rights and responsibility for the characters in a certain boy’s adventures because the Amaranthine Saga & Songs are mine. Please continue to indulge the lot of us, especially the one with insider knowledge.

98
Good Communicator

“He used a tracker hand sign,” said one kid.

Another said, “Postures.”

“Wolfsong!”

A girl pointed to the supplies on the table. “Wolf knots.”

Farook nodded. “And the beads themselves. What else?”

Nobody spoke.

Coop...

Claimer: I do hereby claim all rights and responsibility for the characters in a certain boy’s adventures because the Amaranthine Saga & Songs are mine. Please continue to indulge the lot of us, especially the one who does fit in. When he’s where he belongs.

97
All Right

Coop did his best to explain, but he could tell he was losing his audience. Giang’s incredulity slowly shifted into awkwardness, and Pierre zipped straight to annoyance, like Coop had somehow wasted his time.

After b...

Chapter 14, “Amaranthine Embassy” is live over on Patreon! Subscription to this story is one of the perks that starts at the Twinkle tier ($4/month). Thanks to those who’ve chosen to read along! I’m grateful.

forthrightly on Patreon >>

Claimer: I do hereby claim all rights and responsibility for the characters in a certain boy’s adventures because the Amaranthine Saga & Songs are mine. Please continue to indulge the lot of us, especially the Betweener.

96
Ranker

Coop asked, “What’s your classification?”

They guys traded a look, then pointed to their tunics.

A glance around the dining hall confirmed clusters of kids in matching tunics. “You guys are color-coded! Sorry. I’m new. Didn’t realize. So what’s blue?”