I have devoured two fantasy novels in the last month with very similar shapes: The Wheel of the Infinite by Martha Wells, and Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher.

They're both very good, but I liked The Wheel of the Infinite a lot better. In part because it's set in a world I'd want to live in; and in part because the romantic leads get to be well-adjusted enough to admit they're attracted to each other, and to get around to sex *before* they face mortal peril together.

Don't judge a book by its cover. Give it like 5-10 pages to prove it's worth your attention.

#WritersCoffeeClub Oct11: What's a turn of phrase you've inherited from someone else?

"Better a bad time and a good story than a good time and no story at all."

My dad insists he wasn't serious about this, that he was quoting someone who used it as a joke, but there are definitely situations it applies to.

At a fancy Mexican restaurant. My chicken and mole (the mole was already too spicy for me) came with a roasted chili pepper. My inner Sensate demanded that I taste the pepper.

I am now in pain. And very glad the waitress just came back so I could ask for ice cream.

To my fellow members of the #Mazeldon minyan looking for a religious exemption from AI use at work: here's some justification a friend found me, packed with helpful Talmudic references.

https://www.lifeisasacredtext.com/the-jewish-case-for-ai-work-exemptions/

Edit: fixed, thanks!

So I just got a new phone, and because I changed my number a few months ago, I now have to start fresh with #Signal.

On my laptop, Signal insists on staying connected to my old phone, and it keeps telling me the QR code I'm supposed to use to link it to the new phone isn't valid. Uninstalling and reinstalling Signal Desktop didn't fix it. What do I do?

Trying to build a #Minecraft piston door from a youtube tutorial.

I've gotten half of it to work consistently. The other half is just the first half mirrored, but it breaks a different way every time I rebuild it.

I'm starting to hate quasiconnectivity.

You want them to find your horny work in high school or after, wonder why they find the prose so familiar and comforting, and *then* find out you're the same person. Their experience of your work ages with their tastes, and they stick with you.

And then if you write in a third category, decide which of those two you want to define your reputation.

#ScribesAndMakers October 2—Do you think it's important for authors to use different pen names for different genres?

Only if you want to keep your audiences separate. Like if you write both erotica and children's lit, you don't want your younger readers looking for more books by you, getting traumatized by a sex scene, and being put off all your work and unable or ashamed to communicate about why their favorite books stopped being their favorite.

#WritersCoffeeClub 9/26: How does your faith feature in your works?

I'm trying to put a Jewish spin on Western fantasy themes. Repairing the world as a focus. Gods you can argue with. How do members of a repressed religion deal with being forced into the spotlight.

Oh, and to bring this around to a punch line, one of my more sheltered main characters doesn't know what pigs are.

Just a globetrotting slice of life domestic comedy about Maskelle and Rian trying to raise a teenage god with the help of the theater troupe, and occasionally dealing with supernatural threats along the way.

Maybe a cameo from @zzclaybourne 's Khumalo family. There has to be a version of Amnandi here somewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good throwaway detail, that's how so much fanfic happens, but "oh, I didn't expect *that* to come back around!" is one of my favorite book-reading feelings.

Yesterday I devoured Martha Wells' Wheel of the Infinite. I wish I could spend more time with the main characters; the worldbuilding is fascinating, especially the theology (though the idea that only one religion gets it right always bothers me); the interest curve is perfectly shaped; the humor will be very familiar to Murderbot fans; and the Law of Conservation of Detail is followed to a shockingly delightful extent.

the agency is one I've worked for before

wasn't a great time, but that's in large part because the health insurance sucked and the client was Amazon

now I'm on Canadian health insurance and the client is a fashion company's HR department, so maybe it'll suck less

and I continue to hope they won't actually force me to use chatbots

I had an interview* today out of nowhere**

maybe it'll turn into something

* recruiter screening for a contract agency
** checked my email with enough time to schedule the call

Do you know anyone in Nebraska who worked for Union Pacific in the '70s–90s or is a ham radio or vintage computing enthusiast? I'm following leads on Teletype equipment used there.

Boosts appreciated.

#vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #teletype

no, I'm not sharing

We know who rules this roost! #BirdCallOut

Omg fat squirrel stamps

BMI was definitely invented by and for tall thin people.