People Buy Houses for Weird Reasons

People Buy Houses for Weird Reasons

On Christmas vacation we watched a lot of HGTV. My mother-in-law is particularly fond of shows like House Hunters, where couples are presented with three houses that suit their purchasing desires and choose which they want to buy. Presumably they look at more houses off camera, but that’s the scope of the show. Personally, I …

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First Snowfall of the Year

First Snowfall of the Year

Silkfoot pressed his nose to the window. His reflection crinkled his nose at the fat white flakes drifting from the sky while his breath formed a white haze across the glass. Fluffy white piles clung to every rooftop and doorstep in the city. Those brave enough to venture out had already begun the process of …

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Very Few are Left

Very Few are Left

He’d never been one for shadowy organizations, backroom meetings or hiding beneath the cowl of a cloak. Yet he seemed to live his life by it these days. Granted, showing his face near a patch of civilization was a veritable death sentence, but all the slinking still felt strange. He was no strange to stealth, …

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Saying Farewell

Saying Farewell

The British Museum is huge. You’d probably have to live in London to see the whole thing. Even then, I wonder if anyone ever feels like they saw everything the museum has to offer. We were members for just shy a year and we tried to see as much as we could in the time …

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Forgotten Shore

Forgotten Shore

Sometimes Ryn’dar’ud felt the call. Human mating rituals were strange. They spent a great deal of time luring their mate into the act of reproduction. He understood that some people spent decades trying to attract the proper mate and some still failed to reproduce. Taverns like his played a pivotal role in the early stages. …

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Why We Need a Higher Bar

Why We Need a Higher Bar

Most advice for new writers includes references to the Bechdel test. Even veteran writers suggest new writers be familiar with and make certain their work passes the test. It isn’t bad advice, but I’m not sure it’s good advice either. The Bechdel test states simply that a story (no matter the media) should possess at …

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Only Human

Only Human

“What have you found?” The voice echoed strangely in his ears, reverberating through the vaults of his mind. “It’s only a human.” The ground – at least, what he thought was the ground, rushed up to meet him. His left shoulder impacted the cool surface, sending a sharp jolt down the left side of his …

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