I sent in my two panel ideas to the Gettysburg Steampunk Festival. I wasn't going to go but when it didn't pan out with the Louisville panels. Trying for a little fun in a world on fire.

Today mom and I went out to meet my younger cousin for her birthday and went off to Trader Joe's. I wish I had one closer to me. Mine is 90 miles off in Columbus. Even here the closet one is about 35 minutes away. Picked up some cool things.

The writing zoom went well tonight too.


So for fannish 50 I have something from kitarella_imagines

i. Look at your last 10** fics.

ii. Make a list of their first lines of dialogue, with any necessary description. No cheating, I mean don't go through your fics looking for the best line of dialogue.

iii. Post them and we'll see if we can guess what the story will be about from the dialogue.

Kitarella also mentioned it's okay to go back further than the last 10 if the opening dialogue isn't that interesting.

Feel free to play along

( here's mine )

Made it to PA. Forgot my damn onion sets for the parents. Guess I'll be growing onions... And I didn't even bid at fandomtrumpshate didn't realize it was that fast and I'm slightly salty about that. We didn't even get half a weekend to deal with this. Yes there were other days but jobs are a thing and so is time. Oh well. Oddly I don't really care that much. I can whip my money to charities on my own and there is always next year. Hope all my friends who DID manage to manage their time better than me got good requests and got the ones you were bidding on.

I have no thoughts for the writing side of things but I do have Ezio's character sheet done. Been noodling it (and letting it show me where the world building needs to happen) Ezio wasn't meant to be a central character but at this point I see 2 overarching story arcs and his is one. We meet him almost immediately after one of his dancers is murdered. I'd love opinions on this if you have time.

( Meet Ezio Zucca )


Open Calls

The Best Noir Sci-Fi-Horror of 2026 Mixing speculative fiction and police or military stories

The Gren-Wode Stories based in the world and legends of Robin Hood

Savagery on the Salty Seas, Volume 1. Maritime-themed horror has a high word count

Solar Punk Magazine April 2026 Window Works that stir readers with themes of defiance, change, and achievement

Otherside April 2026 Window Speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by self-identified members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community

Stone’s Throw April 2026 Window SCHOOLS OUT (FOREVER)

Ten Manuscript Publishers Open to Submissions in March 2026

45 Themed Submission Calls and Contests for March 2026



From Around the web

The Official Manuscript Wish List Website a wishlist from agents

Putting in the Work (from the woman who runs that author zoom I go to)

The Opening Mystery: Creating Curiosity before the Inciting Incident

Keep the audience engaged as you keep secrets.

Five Quick Ways to Level Up Your Manuscript

How to Write a Gripping Psychological Thriller

Embodied Writing: How to Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Story

How to Get and Keep Amazon Reviews Without Getting Banned

Goals, Conflicts, & Stakes: Why Plots Need All Three

Authors Guild Expands “Human Authored” Certification Program to All U.S. Authors

3 Common Mistakes Committed by Self-Published Novelists

nothing from Betty this week. I wasn't the only one with a con this weekend.

The day started with a nightmare. I dreamed I was in my dad's workshop in his basement screaming at him that no one liked him and he was crying. Mom was yelling at me why did you do this and I said he was hitting my SiL and I lost it (to be clear he would never do that).

I go to work shocked everyone actually showed up except a few trapped by flooding (ah spring). It was going well...and then I got two emails (I wasn't even going to look at them but I needed to get any late submissions of work due today) about more cheating. And it IS more, in a different class. One has only heard about the girls bragging about it and doesn't want in trouble and the other came to speak to me since she was on campus and she said the same thing they're bragging about it. She doesn't know the student's name but from her description I know exactly who it is (another athlete)

Since I didn't catch them and there's no proof, I can't kick it up the chain. I DID tell the dean and I plan on talking to the heads of their departments to get some help. Not saying a word to them, just making them all put their phones in a box. They get them back at the end of the exam. No warning. Let's see what happens then. And other one hasn't been to lab...ever. Just has excuses and asks to make them up. Guess that's going away.

So now I'm an hour late getting home. Then the GI track says yeah you ain't leaving the bathroom. Once that fit was pitched I started getting ready and my sugar crashes out. Eye roll. Rocket tried to get in the bedroom and hide. FINALLY I'm out of the house. It's now after 230 and I haven't had lunch.

I have to go to Jackson to get a book from the library before it's sent back so I'll go to Sonic's. Get there. It's 240 and there are NINE cars in line. I nope out, stop for KFC and then go to Tim Horton's, the new one and this is the third time the guys on the window can't figure out a drink order (caramel machiatto, it's your standard fing menu) so I might be done with this place.

In the mean time the gas station's are changing their prices by 50 cents so I get my library book, race back across town to where they haven't got that message yet. Off I go. It's now 3 pm. I was supposed to BE here by now.

Luckily it was an easy drive and this Best Western has been recently redone. It's nice, clean...and the bathroom is an afterthought. You come in the door and immediately is a curtain pretending an alcove is the closet (at least there's a half dozen hangers not that I need them for 1 day) and the bathroom is SO small the toilet and tub nearly touch and the sink is in another part of the room outside the bathroom door.... BUT it has a fridge and microwave which the last two expensive hotels I've stayed at did not manage to have.

Everyone and their grandma is in the pool. Glad I didn't plan on that but this place is...well let's just say I love living in the country but I DO miss having options. I had researched, as I always do, best places to eat and planned to go to Dolsot Bistro as there is NO Korean food within 60 miles of me. I get to the strip mall and in it side by side is Korean, Chinese, Boba place, Indian place, juice joint and Phoenican/middle east food and a huge stand alone Mexican place. WOW. AND in the 2 miles from my hotel to hear it was nothing but food and strip malls including three other Korean places and a Greek place right across the street.

I got some goonmandu (fried dumplings that were amazing) and tofu doenjang dolsot (fine cut tofu, basically a sweetish red miso, veggies and a lightly fried egg on the rice. man crispy rice is a different, tastier experience (yes I'm not meant to have rice but...this is once in like 2 years for me as far as Korean food goes). Also they had a sliver of their pancakes on the kimchi tray and man I wish that app wasn't the price of dinner or I'd gotten that. It was amazing.

In theory I get breakfast free here and they have the daily specials written out. Every day is the same thing....ha. If it sucks we share a parking lot with the Waffle House.

And if something goes sideways with the festival I'll just drop down to Cincinnati and do fun stuff.


I did write something.

Title: She’s on the Ball
<
Summary: Angel has lost track of his belongings. At least Niffty knows what’s going on.

Rating: teen

Notes:Written for the allbingo prompt of scrapbooking and for spikesgirl58’s six words challenge. The words were Song, Finger, Unhealthy, Righteous, School, & Optimize and was inspired by Sarajayechan’s three sentence ficathon’s prompt of Hazbin Hotel, Niffty /& anyone, sometimes they forget that for all her chaotic murders she's the most organized housekeeper this side of the Pride Ring but I didn’t share it there because it was less Niffty than I think was wanted, gifting it here anyhow.

( Story above or under here )

Fannish 50 recs


Starsky's Flowers Starsky & Hutch

but turn it does The Murderbot Diaries

The Art of Selling Yourself Profitably Hazbin Hotel

Persistence Torchwood

Strikethrough Hazbin Hotel

Escape to the Beta Site Stargate Atlantis

Downward Spiral The Owl House

Letting Hope In Hazbin Hotel

Topless Hazbin Hotel

Episode 4: Right Here, Where I Don’t Belong UglyDolls

Born To Be Wild. 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney

Endings And Beginnings Torchwood

Watching The Professionals

listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness Helluva Boss

Gently Growing Together Inspector George Gently

The Truth Exposed. Stargate Atlantis

you were beautiful back then, but so lonely Hazbin Hotel

God Sends Meat And The Devils Send Cooks Hazbin Hotel

There's No Aftercare in Hell Hazbin Hotel

in heaven an angel is nobody in particular Hazbin Hotel

So the police and fire dept show up IN my office today. Where's the gas leak?

Me....it was someone with gasoline on their shoes.

Cop/FD - you are KIDDING?

Me - don't I wish.

What happened someone showed up to class reeking so the prof moved them to my lab because it was empty and had windows (class rooms do not) some student apparently texted a parent who heard gas leak and phoned it in to the fire department...

Cop leaves muttering and now I have to write this up...


meanwhile a coworker's wife's h.s. was put on lockdown and then evacutated. he's not sure why. And yesterday they played bomb threats on the radio hoping someone knows the voice as someone keeps calling them in to a local high school.

I did go to get my EKG done. I wasn't sure. They said you could just walk in no schedulling required and damned if i didn't. nothing in the portal yet

Went to yoga but I really hurt now. I can half ass the seated/standing stuff but the stuff on my knees beyond cat or cow is killing me. My knee made such a lough cracking sound everyone looked. I'm like nope not doing that one. I may give it up entirely if water aerobic goes off. we went from 14 to 5 sign ups and we're not even started. sigh


FINALLY got my hotel (again) for the Loveland Frogman Festival on Saturday. I'm so busy I feel guilty for going but I plan to have fun, buy shit I don't need and see friends



What I Just Finished Reading:

Check Please sticks and scones - It wasn't as good as book one, tried to cover too much with no depth (like Jack goes from joining the team to winning the cup without much in between) and the fact that Jack is drawn like he's 40 (he's 22-24 I think) and Bittle is drawn looking 14 instead of 21 made it...uncomfortable

gave back the Y man without reading

Between the Shades of Grey - way too dark to be enjoyable for me


What I am Currently Reading:

Got these on interlibrary loan - With Friends Like These, The Snow Child, At Death's Dough and Violet Thistlewaite is not a villain any more so I'm trying to bull thru all four at once (because that makes sense)

The Final Problem - mystery set in the 60s welcome to the name dropping hour


What I Plan to Read Next: La Grand Familia, and Luna Park history

I've been looking at what's been going on at Ohio U for things to do and relax at. Somehow even though it's linked to the literature festival ongoing there, it was never mentioned on their site. Tomorrow LeVar Burton is at OU. OMFG. It's FREE first come first serve b ut that's the rub. I wish there were tickets (even free) because it's an hour drive with nightmare parking so I am not sure I want to go out (into the icy rain) drive 40 miles, park, walk blocks only to find out it's sold out. Sigh.

How did I find out? I was telling the new admin assistant about the Irish Storyteller at the library next week (I can't go) and he's like so did you hear about LeVar? Sigh. If I had known earlier, I could have had local friends get us seats. Ah well

Today was the rescheduled writers group zoom. It was very productive.

And now I need to hurriedly submit one more story. It's about time. It took me until March to submit anything.

It's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is 16 a song that calms you down Share your faves too.

( I didn't have time to really think this one thru so I went with an old standard )





here's the whole prompt list

( It's under here )

allbingo's craft fest month

Knitting Needles	Writing	Lacking Storage	Colored Pencils	Picnic Basket
Calligraphy	Ribbon	Embroidery	Painting	Tangles
Warm Knitted Sweater	Small Spaces	FREE SPACE	Patchwork	Time
Scrapbooking	Tension	Rope	Drawing	Ceramic Mug
Jewelry	Yarn	Velvet	Sewing	Laptop

Five years ago today I fell. I nearly lost my leg. I was in the hospital/care home for months. It was horrible. Care homes are awful. It seemed like I'd be there forever. But there was still hope.

I taught my classes online from my bed. I helped interview for a new professor from that same bed.

And I had THIS community. You made that time better by checking in with me. You sent me gifts. You sent me stories. The Prodigal Son community made this most amazing art out of one of my stories and I took it back and forth to the hospital every time I had to return for more surgeries because I was afraid the care home would lose it and it was precious to me (It's in my office on top of the file cabinet today).

I'm not sure you know how much you meant to me as I learned to walk again. As I went through all this pain (If you want a visual, go look at the pictures Lindsey Vonn has been posting of her leg and external fixator, my leg looked exactly like that). And I feel sad that one of my biggest supporters, spikedluv isn't here to read this. But so many others did so much and more, especially evil_little_dog. It meant everything and I appreciate all of you. Thank you.

I'm doing good. I hike when I can. I'm not in terrible pain for the most part but the leg is weak and the nerve pain I do have is not fun. But I'm here. This is not stopping me.

And today I realized that not only is it a bad day for me two of my favorite celebrities died on the 27th, Leonard Nimoy and Mister Rogers.

In better news...

Tried the new coffee shop in Point Pleasant. this one isn't near the mothman centric stuff. There is one there that I go to that is...okay. I'd love to say let me watch your shop for a weekend and you go to a coffee conference because even McDonalds gets more adventuresome than you. This one had a great menu but too many cold drinks (especially for winter) I liked it but it's out of the way. A student found me there. figures.

AND the on-campus Mennonite coffee shop has mushroom coffee. I was afraid to know how much it was and they named the mixed drink with it the muddy puddle....


Came home to the news of someone I went to school with losing everything when some monster burned ALL of his beehives (he makes his living with the wax/honey etc), 60 hives, tens of thousands of bees, all gone. People suck.

Sigh.


But I did write and since I'm not ready for it to be on AO3 as it's part of a longer work, I'm just putting it here. Wrote it for spikesgirl58's 6 word challenge.

( story under here )


Fannish 50 recs


Claimed Torchwood

No Time To Spare FAKE

10 Seconds Hazbin Hotel comic

Going to Visit Uncle Mer Stargate SG-1/Stargate Atlantis

The Healing Power of Touch Stargate Atlantis

Suited Torchwood


Good Boy Hazbin Hotel

Points Given, Points Taken Hazbin Hotel


Three Times The Trouble Hazbin Hotel

the greatest adventure (what lies ahead) Merlin

Punishment Torchwood

Oh Boy, You're Too Young To Burn (It'll be alright) Hazbin Hotel

A Guard on my Heart - Universe Explanations The Owl House

Letting Hope In Hazbin Hotel

God Sends Meat And The Devils Send Cooks Hazbin Hotel

There's No Aftercare in Hell Hazbin Hotel

Color Palette 9-1-1

Status Quo Hazbin Hotel

and, sometimes, she actually puts down her phone Hazbin Hotel

Down To Earth Hazbin Hotel

Confidence Is Sexy Hazbin Hotel

If A World Was Ending, You'd Come Over, Right?
Doctor Who

the arrows point in a circle, and it never ends Hazbin Hotel

our forever fall RWBY

Renewed Liaison Les liaisons dangereuses | Dangerous Liaisons - Choderlos de Laclos

There My Heart Forever Lies The Jacobite Trilogy | The Flight of the Heron Series

in the darkness with you 镇魂 | Guardian

Audio Quality Hazbin Hotel


Feverish The Professionals

with bells and brays
陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) / 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

The Good (?) Doctor Teen Wolf

Your Perfect Doll Hazbin Hotel

The Truth Exposed Stargate Atlantis

Did have to give up on doing a lot of the ones with me on my knees and I have made good on my committment to not talk bad about myself during it. I just sat down and did other things or simply waited. Not great but I can only do what I can do.

Also I am not good at this but I try

I met with the football coaches who promised to make the new football team take our classes seriously or else. After the last (which was the first) semester these brand new coaches have their work cut out for them because it was brutal and in 20 years here I've never seen so much entitlement (and see one team make an entire college hate them so fast)



What I Just Finished Reading:

Dark Life - YA book set under the ocean. the world building needed beefed up but over all enjoyable


Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - Not what I was expecting. I don't think it deserves the hype but I didn't think it was awful

This Is How You Lose the Time War - All of SF authors wrote glowing reviews. I thought it was weird for the sake of being weird but I did get into it a little


What I am Currently Reading:

Zombie Day Care - getting painful but at least it's short


The Final Problem - mystery set in the 60s (no progress because I couldn't get the netgalley app to download. FINALLY did and so far it's not freezing up_


Between the Shades of Grey - not sure I'll make it thru this. NOT the right time mentally to read about a government hauling off families for talking bad about the government and slamming them in prison.

Check Please sticks and scones - had to find one for my favorite winter olympic sport. Okay that is NOT hockey but that's what the library had and the first book was cute.

Y the Last man omnibus - not as good as I remember it

What I Plan to Read Next: La Grand Familia, and Luna Park history