Year in Review

by on December 28, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I’ve had a good year when it comes to my writing. I did another editing pass on my first novel, and released it in dead tree format. And I’ve gone over my other stories as well. I also was involved in a multi-author science fiction anthology that went to print, writing a short story for that. It is placed some seventy years after The War, and will be the genesis for a story I intend to get to in the future. And I recently wrote another short story for the next planned anthology, placed a mere five years after The War began. It showcases a more mature Jack, on his first meeting with a certain alien species. And of course, I’ve begun major work on Wolfenheim again. It is shaping up to be a fun story to write, and to read I hope. The characters are certainly keeping me busy with their points of view on what they should do next. Which for me, is a good clue that I’m stuck with them and wanting to let my fingers fly with their words. Writer’s block? I no. I have no issue with that right now. 😉

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Year in Review

by on December 27, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

This has been a good year for me in what many people like to call our real lives. Better in many ways than last year. No appendix blowing up on me. No motorcycle accident breaking five ribs. Though I did get the joy of dealing with Obamacare. Going from a 100 dollar a month plan before Obamacare to a 700 dollar a month plan was a serious adjustment to make for one. And the fact that it denies paying for a rather large amount of “covered” expenses was another shocker. I’m left paying several thousand dollars beyond the monthly payments, to the point that I’m rather thinking I might have just been better off if I’d not gotten the plan at all and just paid off my visits as I went to them. On the plus side, I’ll be on a company plan next month that is just over 100 bucks a month. With better coverage than the State Obamacare I have now. So, things are looking up for me going into the New Year.

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San Lucas Cats

by on December 26, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The jaguar-descended cats of San Lucas originally came from the northern highlands of their western continent. They built a powerful civilization called the Uaithni Empire to rule their lands and crossed the mountain range to the south. They conquered the barbarian panther-derived cats, and held control for thousands of years. But as with all great empires of history, they became decadent and slow to respond to threats. What could threaten them after all? First they began to hire local Gangani to secure the southern lands for the empire, and then to supplement their northern troops. In time the Uaithni made up a distinct minority of their own military, though they jealously guarded the command ranks. That imbalance would prove fatal to them.

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Merry Christmas From Jack of Harts to You

by on December 25, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

This a season of holidays from many religions, from giving thanks to God for a good harvest, to celebrating the new solstice or the New Year. The Jews celebrate the rededication of their temple in Jerusalem, and the Muslims celebrate Mohammad’s revelations.

And in one of the most uniquely Japanese of all traditions, they celebrate Christmas by having Kentucky Fried Chicken for their family dinner. Europeans go to the movies. Many Americans go out to eat Christmas morning, and the Chinese restaurants generally do rather well to the amusement of many. But it is still a tradition to stay mostly at home in celebration of the reason for the season.

We celebrate the birth of Christ. We celebrate God coming down to dwell with us, to teach us, and to bring us a new covenant. That would all come later, of course. But today, we celebrate His arrival in a common manger, surrounded by farm animals and shepherds.

It was His way of saying that he wasn’t here for the great Kings to fawn over. He came for the common man. He came to talk with us, to attend birthday parties with us, and to drink some wine with us. That is how much he loved us. And so we celebrate his birth on this day.

And so Jack of Harts would like to wish you…

A Very Merry Christmas.

High rez version available for free on Patreon

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San Lucas

by on December 24, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

The New Andes Mountains are the tallest mountain range on San Lucas. They bisect the New Andes/Gangani continent from western to eastern shores, and even continue as underwater ranges for hundreds of kilometers into the twin oceans surrounding the continent. They are tectonically-active on their northern face, with several living volcanoes slowly encroaching onto the surrounding highlands. Extinct volcanoes and jagged mountains dominate the southern edges looking over the lowland rainforests. It is a wild and treacherous area, with deep mountain valleys the only link between the northern forests and the southern jungles. Those valleys and the roads built into them are what the Gangani used to conquer the north, and are still major highways of trade to this day.

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