Salutations!

Spring is sprung.  Maybe the last one in the US with Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time, depending on how things shake out.  I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that.  I love getting the extra hour of sunlight in the evening during the spring, summer, and early fall.  I don't like losing the hour, but it doesn't bug me as much as other folks. 

I will almost certainly dislike having standard time the whole year if we go that route.  And parents will assuredly dislike sending kids to school in the dark if we keep daylight saving time year round.  Someone is sure to be vexed.  If I'm among them, I'll suck it up.  Because what else can you do?  Maybe I'll even grow to enjoy parts of it.  Time will tell. 

That's right.  I went there.

Amethyst is a Skin Bot ally of Ed Burnhelt.  She is also the sister of Violet.  Skin Bots' minds are spawned in a virtual environment called the Playpen.  The artificial beings have families like humans and forge meaningful friendships and romances between each other.  They can choose to spend their entire lives in this synthetic paradise, but if they opt to experience more, then can enter into physical bodies and serve for a time in the Grellish Armor Corps.

Amethyst is an excellent tactician and always holds the line.  She is protective of Violet and will gladly lay down her life for her sister.

I have reached page 165 with 46,500 words on the Game War's rough draft.  Last month, I was at page 105 with 30,000 words.  That's pretty decent for my typical output.  With persistence and a little luck, I can hopefully reach at least page 200 by next month's update.

I'm enjoying laying down the groundwork for some big events later in the novel.  I'm guessing it'll clock in around 500-650 pages once I'm done with the first draft.

The Expanse (The Books and the Amazon Prime Series)

I first discovered the Expanse a few years back on the television/streaming series first two seasons.  I then listened to the audio books, and opted to wait until the series was done to watch the rest of it.  It's an interesting premise of soft sci-fi alien, physics-defying technology/biology invading a solar system of hard sci-fi where humanity is still limited to the confines of the solar system.  Some have called it Game of Thrones in space, but I think it's better than GOT.  The crew of the Rocinante are the focal points of the series, but other stand out characters like Detective Miller, Gunnery Sergeant Bobbi Draper, and Under Secretary Avasarala really round out the politics of the books and show.  I haven't gotten to the end of the show yet, but the books' finale stuck the landing.  Good stuff.

Dark Deity

This Steam game draws heavily on other turn based tactics games like Shining Force, of which I am a big fan.  The story is full of typical anime goofiness.  There are a ton of characters, and you'll end up not using about half of them, which is a slight demerit.  However, the game play is incredibly fun for anyone who likes tactics games with each attack getting a little zoom in cut scene.  It's like comfort food for my brain, and I'm totally up for a little of that right now.

That's all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim