elizabeth_oswald

I finally pushed the button!

I finally submitted TBK to Aethon, my first choice of publishers. I have to admit that I'm really freaked out by this, and not because I don't think Broken Knife deserves to be published (it will be, even if I have to do it myself) but because I'm truly terrible at writing query letters. What if they never even look at the story, because my CL sucks so much? I just want to roll around and scream for the next 90 days.

And speaking of 90 days, that's how long I have to w...

Chapter One hundred thirteen – The Best Laid Plans

Now that the goddess was gone, Pandy discovered that she couldn’t speak out loud any longer, so instead she thought, <Kappa?>

…

What?

Didn’t she tell you everything?

Was he pouting? He was definitely pouting. And why did he keep putting up the three little dots? Was that the System version of a beleaguered sigh? <Why are you here?> She looked around. <Can you see me? Or�...

Chapter One hundred twelve – Kisses and Karma

It took Thaniel a few precious seconds before he gathered himself enough to chase after his friend, and by the time he did, it was too late. When he reached the students’ hall, Ms. Davenport was there, directing him firmly up the stairs, in spite of his insistence that he needed to speak to Geraldine.

“You’ll have to talk to her tomorrow, Thaniel,” the woman said, not without some sympathy. “But right now, it’s time to get ready for bed. The bell is going to ring-” Just th...

Editing day Friday!

I've been trying to do a little editing on Broken Knife each day, but it's hard to catch inconsistencies when it's broken up. I need to do a more focused edit, so I'll be doing that this Friday, rather than writing a new chapter of Lucky Rabbit. We will return to LR on Monday!

Chapter One hundred eleven – Confirmation Bias

A warm summer rain started after dinner, and Eleanor went to her room, pleading a headache. Isidor claimed he needed to study and followed less than a minute after her. The two older girls decided to stay in the dining hall working on their homework, though it was more like Suzanne decided and Matilda reluctantly went along with the idea ‘because you know I’m better at math than you’.

This left Thaniel, Geraldine, Abbington, and their elemental companions to their own dev...

Chapter One hundred ten – Weiners and Whispers

Since Pandy was incapable of responding – which was a relief, actually, since she didn’t know what to say – Augustus very politely carried her back to the room she shared with Thaniel and the others, at which point Pandy remembered the huge mess she’d left behind that morning. The chancellor immediately noticed her flattened ears and dejected posture, and she would have sworn he was laughing at her as he opened the door, though his lips never moved.

The room was immaculate. Bett...

Chapter One hundred nine – Pictures and Prophecy

Once inside the chancellor’s office, Augustus shifted two pillows from a small couch, piling them up in a chair instead. He placed Pandy on the short stack, then circled around behind his desk and sat. For several moments that fell just shy of awkwardness, he stared at her over his steepled fingers, then closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with an aggrieved sigh.

“My dear Ms. Boxx,” he said. “How is it that I find you in the middle of absolutely everything that happens at th...

Chapter One hundred eight – Elementary Elemental Exchange

Pandy froze, half-in and half-out of the ragged gap in the door. <What? Who said that?> She paused, then ventured, <System?>

Um, yes, absolutely. That’s me. System.

That was absolutely not Pandy’s System. At least, it wasn’t the same, barely functional, System she’d been dealing with up to now. It spoke to her the same way, with words scrolling across her vision, but no, even Pandy wasn’t falling for that. Had her System been hacked?...

Chapter One hundred seven – A Nose for Novels

Pandy looked at Miss Cupcakes. Miss Cupcakes looked at Pandy, then at the door. Pointedly. Like, “Why don’t you open it?” but without words. And Pandy realized that the cat thought she could do exactly that. Change into a human, grab the doorknob, and twist. But she couldn’t, at least not for another, what, fifteen hours? So she looked down, her ears burning.

Miss Cupcakes growled. It wasn’t an, “I’m going to eat you,” growl, but a, “What did I expect,” growl. The ki...

Chapter One hundred six – Haphazard Hare

This classroom was one of the smaller ones, with only a few tables and chairs scattered around. There was no teacher’s desk, leading Pandy to wonder if this might be a club room or quiet study space. Bookshelves lined the wall to her left, covered floor to ceiling in books. Large windows graced the walls straight ahead and to the right. A thick blue-gray carpet lay in the perfect spot to gather the warm sunlight coming from the right, and for a moment, Pandy thought she might simply have fo...

Chapter One hundred five – Hop on the Trail

None of the children even suggested going outside again. Instead, Eleanor went and got her deck of cards, but this time they played a game that reminded Pandy of group Solitaire, with all of them placing cards according to number or elemental suit. They didn’t take turns, just played a card when they saw a chance, and for once Isidor didn’t win. Instead, it was Matilda who laid down the last of her cards with a triumphant flourish and declared, “Blaze!”

The others groaned, but t...

LR Blurb update?

My current blurb is this:

When Pandy meets Truck-kun, she doesn't expect to be catapulted into the world of her favorite otome video game, Gacha Love. Then, rather than becoming the hero, the villain, or even a background character who could safely eat popcorn while watching the show, she takes over the body of a rabbit. Not just any rabbit, but a mildly undead rabbit whose young playmate is supposed to bite the dust before the game even starts!

Now,...

2025-06-23 16:18:19 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter One hundred four – Lettuce Not Speak of Love

Tension was thick in the air at lunch, and all of the tables were set up. Adults sat among the children, though Pandy thought there were fewer of both – adults and children – than there had been in the morning. She wasn’t certain what that meant but hoped it wasn’t a bad sign.

Somewhat to her surprise, the chancellor was back, and he looked far more serious than he had been that morning in the carriage. He also had deep shadows beneath his eyes, and she knew they hadn’t been t...

Chapter One hundred three – Paws for Reflection

They had to wind their way around a surprising number of students, as well as several more adults Pandy didn’t recognize. She would have assumed that they were teachers or staff members she simply hadn’t seen yet, except that most of them were dressed in perfectly fitted clothes made of fine fabrics, the ladies’ skirts filling a hall that often held as much as three or four students walking abreast.

By the time they reached the door leading out to the stables, Pandy was desperatel...

Chapter One hundred two – The Final Fluffdown

Pandy spent the next indeterminate and seemingly interminable period of time sitting on the cushion, waiting for the Shadow to reappear, or for someone else to suddenly appear. Really, why was she the only one who couldn’t become invisible, or at least close to it? Even Isidor had that wibbly thing he did, even if it didn’t seem to be terribly effective. But the totally-not-a-demonic-undead rabbit? Oh no, she had to be perfectly visible at all times.

Nothing happened, howev...

Chapter One hundred one – Everybunny’s a Cryptic

“Vrazhul,” Saskia muttered, turning so her body was between Pandy and the boy. “Foolish woman.” Her eyes flicked around, lingering on the shadows. “Where is your tenebrak, your elemental?”

Pandy shook her head. “I don’t have an elemental.” Saskia looked doubtful. “Really!” Pandy insisted, whispering for no reason she could see.

“Net tenebraka? To…” The dark eyes narrowed, and she rubbed the red skin stretched across t...

Chapter One hundred – Retail Ther-hop-py

Pandy’s stats were essentially unchanged, so she ignored them, instead focusing on the words that almost seemed like an afterthought, even though she knew they were anything but. She was tucked into the small gap between a fish-monger’s stall, and one belonging to a lady who sold massive, dramatic hats. The hats and the fish apparently weren’t speaking to each other, which left a little space for Pandy to squeeze into, which she had done, promptly dismissing both her freshly updated out...

Chapter Ninety-nine – These Boots Were Made for Hopping

Lanthorne Court was beautiful. Oh, not in the same slightly glowy and romantic way it had been in Gacha Love, but in the way that only a place full of energy and color can be. It was a bit like being back at the festival where Pandy had had her unfortunate encounter with a truck, but since she wasn’t supposed to act as security – and really, what had made her think that she could help other people stay safe? – she could relax and just enjoy it.

Pandy liked people...

Chapter Ninety-eight – Riding Shotbun

Pandy waited by the front door until the bell rang, and students began to pour out of the dining hall. She suspected the chancellor was a Very Prompt Person – which she also was, mainly because if she didn’t leave in plenty of time, something would happen to delay her, usually involving things like exploding plungers and plummeting cabbages. To be fair, those things still happened when she did leave extra time to get places, but she could usually duck into a public restroom long enough to...

Two chapters tomorrow!

The kiddo is out of school, and my schedule is completely out of whack. It's late, and while I could get a chapter done, I think it's best that I just let it go for today. I'm at about 1500 words, so it shouldn't take long to finish up in the morning and head straight into the next one. Good night!

Chapter Ninety-seven – Adulthood, 1 Star, Do Not Recommend

Thaniel was very glad to see both his roommate and his rabbit, and clutched Pandy to him, in spite of her damp condition. Isidor went to bed as soon as he changed into his nightclothes and put Tempest into her box. For once, Pandy thought he was deeply asleep, not ready to wake at the slightest movement or sound. Thaniel was already in his nightclothes, and when Isidor simply ignored his questions and went to bed, the younger boy also slipped beneath his blankets, though he didn’t fall asle...

Chapter Ninety-six – Just Keep Hopping

When they stepped out of the door, they found themselves in a blessedly familiar hallway. Behind them was the library door, and the halls of Falconet surrounded them. At least, Pandy assumed it was Falconet, since that was how the library was supposed to work. Leaving it returned you to wherever you’d entered it, and while the dungeon definitely wasn’t the library, it had used the same entrance.

A sniffle drew Pandy’s attention to Eleanor, and she looked up just as fresh tears beg...

Chapter Ninety-five – Trial by Puffin

“Bunny?” the princess whispered, wiggling until she could reach out to stroke a finger along Pandy’s ear. The thorns surrounding the girl moved away as she did so, and Pandy could just make out something that might once have been a dog, but now looked like a particularly droopy flowering hedge. Two familiar brown eyes looked out from under curving leaves, and Pandy realized what was going on. Eleanor wasn’t trapped, she was safe, at least for now.

Pandy gave the princess an enco...

Map of Falconet - Ground Floor

I'm sure some of this is contradicted in the story (tell me where if you catch a spot!), but this map should be correct, so eventually the story will be adjusted to reflect that. Hopefully, this will help you orient yourself a bit better. I'll get the second floor done soon, but it's basically the same, except that the Dining Hall, Kitchens, etc. will become teacher and staff living areas.

One thing you will notice is that there's no exit door in the dorms (students could get out the wi...

Chapter Ninety-four – What Big Paws You Have

With a look up at Isidor, Pandy edged forward. Her Spark didn’t move, because it wasn’t that kind of light, which was really rather frustrating. Edgar used fire spells to light the gloom, and Clara, of course, had Light elementals, at least as long as she still had enough Stamina to summon them. Pandy, however, only had Spark, and while she could just cast several of them, that would eat into her Mana, which was Not Good. Which left her with only one option.

<Radiant Presence,>...

ARGH!

I realized something horrible today. And, of course, it has to do with math. Would you believe I actually used to like math? I would do long-division by hand for fun. Yeah.

Okay, so I have a chart of how many uses it takes for Pandy to reach each level. When I was tracking those levels closely, it was easy to stay on track.

Relatively easy.

For some definition of easy which is actually, "I messed up several times but it hadn't gone on for long, so it wasn't too hard to fix."...

Chapter Ninety-three – Hare-raising Exploits

Pandy had had a terrible moment when she thought boy and turtle might be dead, now she saw Isidor’s chest rise and fall in a slow rhythm. Was he…asleep? Drawing close, Pandy gently prodded Isidor, who didn’t move, other than the slow rise and fall of his chest. There was no sign of blood or any other injury on the fallen boy, but Pandy tried a quick Minor Heal anyway, only to have it do exactly nothing. Whatever was wrong with Isidor, it wasn’t anything physical.

Tempest’s she...

Chapter Ninety-two – It’s Always Something

When Thaniel pounded up the stairs to the chancellor’s office, Pandy finally saw the Portrait That Watches. The elderly man painted on the canvas looked more like a blue-eyed walrus than any human being had a right to look, and those bulging eyes bugged out even more as he saw Thaniel running. A low, vibrating moan emitted from the area around – or perhaps behind? – the painting, and Pandy’s ears twitched as she heard a door open below them.

Thaniel either didn’t hear or ignor...

I'm home!

I know you're all here for the story, but I thought I would let you know I did make it safely home. We drove about 750 miles (~1200 km) each way, which made for some long days. We played a TTRPG called Mice and Mystics together as a family, and my husband ran his Savage Worlds scenario. We also visited the Alamo, which was really cool, even though it wasn't, because it was 100°F outside. 😅

My favorite part, however, was meeting Pebbles, a capybara! I even got to pet him. He wasn't t...

Chapter Ninety-one – Doorknobs and Cantrips

Pandy didn’t need to eat, but Isidor always looked too thin, so she felt very guilty when he didn’t go to dinner late, but rather stayed in the room, fiddling with Tempest’s box. The tortoise retreated inside as soon as she was given the opportunity, though she did linger just long enough to give Pandy a look that might have been disgust, but also might simply have been contemplation.

Once he was clean and dressed in a fresh uniform, Isidor ignored Pandy in favor of setting his ha...