seananmcguire

Velveteen vs. Evolution.

And we're back to Vel, as the situation with Doctor Darwin reaches an explosive new height, and everything gets very paleolithic...

We are now six episodes into volume four (volume three was sixteen episodes long), and episode seven will be the second half of "vs. Evolution."  This means we should be finishing soon, and also, that I will stop besieging Patreon in the very near future, as I want to finish faster than a once-a-month tempo implies.

But for now...Vel.

Not a Drop to Drink.

Just a small rumination on the nature of witches and heroes this month, and how much things change depending on where you're standing when the sky falls down.

(Image: Elsie on the dining room table, posing with a copy of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.)

The Silver Sea

(Image: a bucket containing many frogs.)

And we're back to the Undersea, as Simon tries to cope with returning home after Titania's spell, adjusting, and snapping out of a post-traumatic fugue.  Poor buddy.

Best read after Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep.

Ask an Author: What's In A Name?

(Image: Two of my fancier creepy dolls, specifically Sarah and Victoria.)

Welcome to our $3 reward level, where people ask me questions, mostly about the business, craft, and process of writing, and I answer them as best I can.  Reasons this is a good idea:

* I am an internationally published author
* I release an average of four books a year
* I have won multiple major awards
* I actually make my living doing this

Reasons this is a terrible idea:

* Have...

Velveteen Presents The Princess vs...

You may remember that in volume three, before Velveteen reset the timeline, the government was working to control and restrict animus-type heroes.  Well, we're back at the beginning of that process now, and the Princess intends to shut that shit down.

Includes possibly my worst super villain pun name to date.

Ask An Author: Quote Me.

(Image: Alice, making the face of joy she always made when I stroked her head while she was resting in my lap.)

Welcome to our $3 reward level, where people ask me questions, mostly about the business, craft, and process of writing, and I answer them as best I can.  Reasons this is a good idea:

* I am an internationally published author
* I release an average of four books a year
* I have won multiple major awards
* I actually make my living doing this

Reasons...

Fanes That Lie.

We're back to Tybalt and the Brittany timeline as we try to resolve the question of Quickbeam and what's actually going on in the kingdom next door.  Fans of random trivia will love this one, as it names additional hope chests.

Velveteen notes.

As some people have been asking, the currently extant installments in volume four, with their numbers for where they fall in-series, are:

#51. vs. Recovery
#52. vs. Temptation
#53. vs. Dr. Darwin
#54. vs. Gainful Employment

Volume four's subtitle is "Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions," which isn't ominous at all, and I am going to finish it.  I won't be posting the whole thing here, as not everyone cares about Velveteen, and it would take over the Patreon...

It's been a while...

...but Velma "Velveteen" Martinez is back in action, hitting the city streets and planning to save the superheroic world through whatever means necessary.

Because of the long gap between installments, I'm re-posting "vs. Doctor Darwin" alongside the new "vs. Gainful Employment," to help get people vaguely back up to speed.  Welcome to volume four!

Drown the Lamenting.

(Image: Thomas, an adult male Maine Coon with a haircut and a shirt, has melted into the blankets in a tangle of limbs and blissful sleep.)

Let's return to the Duchy of Ships, for a little, lengthy (novella-length this month) excursion with Elizabeth Ryan.  Featuring Captain Pete, lots of cakes, and the untold story of how Diva came to be.

Bundling humbly.

(Image: Not the most flattering picture of me that's ever been taken, but I'm home, in the corn, wearing one of my favorite dresses, so I'll take it.)

Just dropping a quick note here to let you all know that my DAW titles are featured in a Humble Bundle benefiting the EFF!  This is the cheapest way ever to get the Toby and InCryptid books, and help a great charity at the same time.

2023-08-26 19:51:37 +0000 UTC View Post

Updated: Shore to Shore.

An upcoming novella goes deeper into Helmi's life with Dianda, and pointed out some continuity drift since their first appearances.  So this updated version of "Shore to Shore" pulls things back into true with where they need to be.

Hot New Toy.

July was a very heat-wave-y, nap-y month, and so here is a picture of me, napping with Elsie.

For this month's stand-alone story, we go to a bureau adjacent to the ATI, where toys try to protect the children who loved them, and nothing is as it seems.  I love Gigi.

CW: Implied child neglect, sad toys, bad parents.

Notes of Sorrow.

(Image: Verity, a small fawn-point ragdoll cat, looks at the camera like she wants to speak to its manager.)

We really need to find out what's been going on in Armorica while Tybalt was hunting a possibly imaginary hope chest.  Welcome back to Tybalt's timeline for another step along the winding road to the present day.

Ask an Author: Hoofing It.

(Image: two My Little Ponies painted by Amy Mebberson.)

Welcome to our $3 reward level, where people ask me questions, mostly about the business, craft, and process of writing, and I answer them as best I can.  Reasons this is a good idea:

* I am an internationally published author
* I release an average of four books a year
* I have won multiple major awards
* I actually make my living doing this

Reasons this is a terrible idea:

* Have you met me
* L...

Distinction of Place.

(Image: A very fluffy tortoiseshell Maine Coon does a very big yawn.)

Welcome to June, and welcome back to Tybalt's semi-medieval adventures, in which he tries to stay alive long enough to become the man we know him to be.  This story picks up straight from "Mean and Mighty," which is also attached, for easy of catching up, and follows Tybalt out of Armorica on his quest to confirm the current location of the hope chest known as Quickbeam.

Boy needs a nap.

Still life with owl (bonus outtakes).

(Image: The author, wearing a black tank top, sitting on a loveseat with a candy corn pillow and a fluffy cat's tail wrapped around her neck.)

So writing a book sometimes means heading down some weird paths that don't make it into the final manuscript.  Sentences tend to be lost to time, but when I have to cut whole pages, I'll generally save it somewhere.  This was originally part of the end sequence of The Girl in the Green Silk Gown, but didn't fit where the plot w...

Slipping.

(Image: My sister's calico sphinx, Lizzy, looking baleful in a blanket.)

This month's story is a deeply upsetting exploration of the slippery slope, and the laws of unintended consequences.  Because it touches on current events which some people may not want to find in their fiction, I've also re-posted "Face Your Furs," which has somehow become the lighter offering.  How...?

CW for Slipping: Transphobia, weaponized political language, child abuse both accused and actual...

Passing Grades in Penance.

(Image: Elsie, a tortoiseshell Maine Coon, staring at the camera with wide owl-eyes.)

And now we're back to the Alice and Thomas timeline for another visit to Alice's awkward college days.  CW: Domestic violence, brief, and immediately squashed, but still present.

Alice is not enjoying her time in the halls of higher education.

A request.

(Picture: Let's all look at Kelpie.  Looking at Kelpie is always good.)

So I periodically ask that people who want to get hold of me email through my website contact form, rather than through Patreon's internal messaging system.  And this usually works.  But lately, I've been getting more messages through Patreon, and it occurs to me that I haven't explained why I need it done this way for a while.

So as I have discussed openly elsewhere on social media, I ...

Content/Consent.

(Image: Let's all look at Alice.)

This month we're stand-alone again (this year so far has been a gift to the folks who wanted more stand-alone stories, although I'm going to have to get back to following some continuity backstory stuff soon), as we examine another aspect of the current "AI" controversy.

Namely...what happens if these programs ever do become intelligent?

Hello, Kelpie!

Because being a patron should come with perks occasionally, you get to be the first to see my new family member: meet Kelpie (full name Woodpile's Kelpurnia of the Soddenweald, because Maine Coons get ridiculous names on paper).  Kelpie is a twelve-week-old Maine Coon baby, and she is a glorious nightmare child with a purr bigger than her body.

She'll be introduced to the rest of the internet soon!

Whalefall.

(Image: a very fine albino alligator I saw in New Orleans several years ago.)

This month, we're traveling to an alien world for a discussion of whalefall, biology, culture, and what it means to be curious.

Short, but surprisingly grim.  Enjoy!

We'll probably be returning to the Undersea next month.

Ask An Author: Schedule Me.

(Picture: a couple of my creepier dolls, staring at the world.)

Welcome to our $3 reward level, where people ask me questions, mostly about the business, craft, and process of writing, and I answer them as best I can.  Reasons this is a good idea:

* I am an internationally published author
* I release an average of four books a year
* I have won multiple major awards
* I actually make my living doing this

Reasons this is a terrible idea:

* Have you met m...

Ask An Author: Fanfic.

Welcome to our $3 reward level, where people ask me questions, mostly about the business, craft, and process of writing, and I answer them as best I can.  Reasons this is a good idea:

* I am an internationally published author
* I release an average of four books a year
* I have won multiple major awards
* I actually make my living doing this

Reasons this is a terrible idea:

* Have you met me
* Like, ever
* I should not give advice to anyone

Now it...

How Much Harm?

This month's story attempts to answer the question "if you were Death for a day, how much harm could you do?".  It's also about temp work and administrative assistants, because why not.

Something soft and standalone to start the new year.

Ask An Author: Voice.

Welcome to our $3 reward level, where people ask me questions, mostly about the business, craft, and process of writing, and I answer them as best I can.  This is actually our November Q&A, so we'll have another for December in reasonably short order.  Reasons this is a good idea:

* I am an internationally published author
* I release an average of four books a year
* I have won multiple major awards
* I actually make my living doing this

Reasons this is a t...

Give Sorrow Words.

And now, Yule in the Undersea, as promised.  Simon has started getting help, and he's trying.  Saints above and gods below, he's trying.

As a note, I am going to try for something in a standalone universe for January, as I do understand "franchise fatigue."  I've just been trying to deal with my gears being a little jammed by the world outside the words.  I think I've almost shaken the grit loose, however.

A question for the floor.

I am having a conflicted, so here is a picture of Thomas, and a question:

I need to get to beating on the story for December if I want to have it ready for the first.  Since that's a big time holiday month, no matter what you celebrate, I'd like to have a holiday story.  I can do that in either the InCryptid or the Toby timelines, as both of them are currently located in November of their respective years.

So do you want Alice coming home to Buckley for the holidays, whi...

Like A Dream.

(Alice again.  It's going to be a lot of Alice for a little while.)

And now it's time for November, wherein Simon gets to learn more about the mortal concepts being therapy and medical treatment.

He's having a week.