C. W. Maurer

@cwmaurerwrites

Author of epic fantasy and low-tech sci-fi. Engineer, coach, gamer, mom, and hobby collector in New England. Writer of "Tunesdays With Maurer" video game music discussion blog. (She/her) Linktr.ee/christenawmaurer ✉️ christenawmaurer[at]gmail[dot]com

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C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· 4d

The writer's study for the week while I'm up in Maine on vacation with the family. It's a rough life, but it would have been rude not to join them, ya know?

A desk in the corner of a room, with a window on each wall at the corner. Beyond the window, the tops of trees are visible.

View of what's beyond one of the windows next to the desk. A deck overlooks a forest, and water from the harbor is visible in the distance. There are fun picturesque sailboats out there, but you'll have to trust me because my phone camera doesn't zoom well.

View from other part of the deck, still overlooking the forest, with harbor and mountains visible in the distance

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· 9d

New Tunesday Chat post is up! This month, I interviewed Travis Taylor, dev and composer of Chronos Trials RPG & founder of Harmonic Harbour, a platform to help audio freelancers find collaborators and projects. If you are or know a composer who'd like to be featured in a future post, let me know!

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· 11d

If there's one thing I hate more than having to rush out to the hardware store for a single item mid-house-project, it's having to do so twice in one day. Fortunately, the hardware store cats showed up (and/or snuggled in) to support me in my time of grief.

Brown and black cat sitting on hardware store floor, wondering if we were going to pick up one of its toys to play with it or just stand there doing nothing useful all day.

Gray, black, and white cat in loaf position on hardware store floor, being scritched a little behind the ears. A rare moment, indeed, as this one is usually hiding back on one of the employees' desks.

Same brown and black cat as before, this time curled up sleeping in a cozy cat bed, front paws extended to best display toe beans.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· 15d

Green bean season had a rough start in the garden this year, but it's getting into gear now. Cute but unhelpful bunnies didn't leave enough plants for us to be able to toss bags at passersby just to get rid of them like we have in the past, but we should have plenty for us and some sharing. 🌱

Cattle panel arbor with green beans hanging from it.

Pinkish-purple flower of rattlesnake bean plant against a backdrop of the greenery (and more pretty purple on some stems) of the elderberry plant.

Plastic container containing standard "green" green beans and rattlesnake beans (same size, but have some purple/brown stripey patterns)

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· 18d

It's also handy for supplying all the local birds with nesting materials when he's shedding his winter coat. We get Baltimore orioles that nest around the yard every year, and I think it's partly because of the Appa fluff.

Big white fluffy dog sitting on a shaded grassy hill in front of a porch, carefully watching the neighborhood. Said hill is covered with a whole bunch of little fluff piles from blowdrying his coat after his recent bath.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· 18d

We have one, and it helps 90% of the time. Ours would love to be somewhere where it ever gets over 70F, so when he starts getting too warm, "normal speed" ends up being too fast. So summer is a lot of making portions smaller and trying to get him to drink more water than he seems to think he needs.

Big white fluffy dog in the hole he's been digging under the porch to keep cool this summer.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Jul 9

Appa doesnt always get to go on long car rides with us, but when he does, he basically gets to sleep the whole time while being within convenient reach of scritches.

Big white fluffy dog sleeping with face all scrunched up, as seen looking back between driver and passenger seats.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Jun 30

Strawberries are nearing the end of their harvest for this year, but black raspberries are eager to jump in to fill the spot for the next bunch of weeks.

On left, plastic Tupperware half full of ripe black raspberries. On right, Tupperware full of ripe strawberries.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Jun 24

Three weeks after the last strawberry update, and they're still going strong in the garden We've made jam, syrup (for strawberry cardamom iced tea and strawberry lemonade), the amazing Serious Eats strawberry ice cream (link below), and now strawberry shortcake. And have frozen a ton. 🍓 success.

White bowl containing shortcake biscuit topped with strawberries and whipped cream.

Garden photo. Hand is holding aside some leaves and presenting a bunch of eight strawberries at various stages of ripeness. Some vivid red, some still small and green.

8 jars of strawberry jam set on a cutting board to cool.

Plastic dish full of bright red strawberries.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Jun 3

So begins the 2026 season of trying to get as many strawberries as possible before the robins and catbirds grab the fruit tax they claim for eating all the garden bugs.

Nearly-ripe strawberry bright red against a background of bright green leaves

Unripe strawberry that some sort of garden critter has been snacking on.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Mar 21

Free spoon has been acquired! It's a fun spoon. Certainly worth trying weird pizza soup for. The pizza soup is...not an abomination? Without the weird pepperoni chunks, it would be an entirely acceptable pre-packaged tomato soup. If we were more of a soup household, I'd try their other flavors 🤷‍♀️

Soup spoon held over a bowl of pizza soup. The spoon has "happy spoon * happy you" etched into the spoon-bowl around a smiling spoon.

Spoons within spoons within spoons.

The convex side of the spoon bowl, which has a smiley face etched in the metal. Behind it is the same bowl as the other photo, now empty of soup

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Mar 7

9 y.o. seems to find it physically painful to leave a store with a single dollar of spending money left in his pocket, so we don't go to Target except in emergencies. Like forgetting about a friend's birthday party that is tomorrow I think I know where all his savings will be going this year...

Shadow the Hedgehog Batmobile from DC/Sonic crossover series.

DC/Sonic crossover series toys: Cyborg Tails on left. Shadow the Bat-Hedgehog in center. Super Knuckles on right.

Action figures from DC/Sonic crossover series.
From left to right:
Sonic-Flash, Flash, Wonder-Amy, Wonder Woman, Silver Lantern, Green Lantern

Action figures from DC/Sonic crossover series.
From left to right:
Sonic-Flash, Shadow the Bat-Hedgehog, Silver Lantern

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Mar 4

Now it's just mocking me.

Phone weather app "significant snowfall" notification:
"Significant snowfall expected Thursday evening"

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Mar 3

Purchased this abomination at Aldi, partly because I was intrigued by the offer of a free spoon with purchase. Turns out they're pretty nice spoons. But it requires a Walmart receipt for the offer 😭 I have sent them a sad email, so we will see what happens.

Pouch of "Pizza Soup" with a picture of a slice of pizza on the front. Advertises "pepperoni, tomato, and cheese" and "11g protein" and has a "craveable creations" sticker on it.

I have many questions.

And I want the spoon they promised me.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Feb 27

I always forget how fun aquarium visits are. 🐙🐧🐢🦭

Reddish pink octopus in front of bluish-brown rocks with two tentacles lifted up in front of it, showing suction-cups on their undersides.

Two African penguins on rocks in aquarium exhibit. The one in front is standing facing the camera. The one behind it is sort of perched on its stomach having a little snooze

Sea turtle in big aquarium tank looking at the camera.

Harbor seal in tank floating almost entirely vertically with just its head sticking out of the water, and generally looking very dignified.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Feb 17

Was going to crochet a gift for a friend's new little girl, but remembered the scraps of pink/purple/teal dino fabric I had in the fabric stash. So, I dug out the sewing machine and went back to the patchwork pillow tradition Now, to start thinking about quilts for another friend who's due soon

Patchwork pillow in an assortment of pink, teal, purple, and navy fabrics in the shape of a four-legged animal (usually assumed to be a dog. Some recipients have insisted it's a horse. One proudly claims it's a llama. I like to leave the options open).

It's facing to the right.

Opposite side of the same patchwork pillow in an assortment of pink, teal, purple, and navy fabrics in the shape of a four-legged animal (usually assumed to be a dog. Some recipients have insisted it's a horse. One proudly claims it's a llama. I like to leave the options open.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Feb 14

Temperatures were slightly above freezing, so we went to see what was going on at the beach. (Got to see many dogs out for walkies, which is always nice) Winter coastlines are quite something.

Photo along the beach with ice shards marking where high tide hit.

Lighthouse surrounded by snow on a rocky island. There's a narrow sliver of clear bluish-pink sky in the distance between dramatic gray clouds above and dark water below.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Jan 31

Meanwhile, Appa is outside quite literally just chilling. (To be fair, it is now above 0)

Great pyrenees (big fluffy white doggo) relaxing in a snowy yard in unnecessarily cold temperatures.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Jan 28

Our tree has become a "How many bluebirds can you find?" puzzle while the little puffballs wait for me to refresh the mealworm supply.

Six Eastern Bluebirds perched among the bare limbs of a tree.

The same six Eastern bluebirds in the branches of a tree, but circled in blue on the photo.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Jan 1

As a chronic overthinker, honestly this could be a shift in a helpful direction 😂

Merriam-Webster "Your 2026 Word" screenshot meme.

It selected "slapdash"

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Jan 1

No cheating, reskeet with the most recent photo of your pet. Most animals when its 18*F out: "Nope." Appa: living his best life.

White fluffy dog flopped down on his back in a snowy yard with legs all splayed out in all directions.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Nov 20

He's not sleeping. He's just resting his eyes.

Big white fluffy dog (Great Pyrenees) on couch next to blanket covered human, his head resting against the back of the couch and eyes shut, with front paw on human for convenient swatting in case scritches pause for too long.

Totally not napping. Very alert.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Nov 15

And another photo, because my phone wouldn't let me put them both in the same post for reasons unknown.

Photo of yard next to driveway with a brown and black cat sitting in the driveway carefully watching the brush in the yard for anything worth hunting.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Nov 15

I get to celebrate Caturday this week, as we had one of the neighborhood wanderers stop by to scope out the small rodent situation in our upper yard. The dog was...not pleased, so I went out to shoo the kitty away, only to have him/her rub against my legs and flop down for scritches. #caturday

Brown and black cat with white belly and green eyes rolled over onto its back to "request belly scritches"

I may not be a cat person, but I have seen enough memes to know this is a trap.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Nov 8

Traditional Halloween Eldritch Horror game was delayed a week because of kid activities, but snacks and tea have been served, and it's time to watch the world fall into chaos. But the board game version, so it's fun Lovecraftian chaos.

Eldritch Horror game board set to play, with a mug of tea and plate of cheese, salami, and crackers next to it.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Nov 6

Appa says that it is time for scritches, not naps.

Big white fluffy dog (great pyrenees) on the other end of the couch, already squashing my feet under a blanket and staring me down, with intentions to paw at me until he gets some scritches.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Oct 31

A plus of living in an old New England town is that the mill buildings house all sorts of fun businesses and workspaces. Like the women's club/co-work/makerspace I got around to joining so that I can write without laundry threatening from the next room. 10/10 Autumn sky through old window views.

View of bright blue sky with picturesque clouds as seen through a big ol' paned window from inside an old repurposed textile mill building.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Oct 25

My wind ensemble does a costumed fall concert every year, which I love because I *usually* go with slightly obscure nerdy costumes, and they're more likely to recognize them in that crowd. I don't think that will be an issue this year. This year we're gonna be ✨️Golden✨️ 💃🎶

Right side view of costume jacket for KPop Demon Hunters Rumi costume on a dress form.

Black cropped jacket with ALL the gold trim and gold pauldron (with MORE trim) on right shoulder.

Gold chain belt around "waist" of dress form waiting to go over the rest of the costume.

Left-side view of costume jacket for KPop Demon Hunters Rumi costume on a dress form.

Black cropped jacket with ALL the gold trim and gold pauldron (with MORE trim) on right shoulder.

Gold chain belt around "waist" of dress form waiting to go over the rest of the costume.

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Oct 17

Anyone want to purchase my handmade version, which I have been developing for years to best meet the needs of modern individuals, and didn’t throw together in 30sec? Classic, intuitive checkmark system! 2-sided cards for flexibility! Color-coded to assign tasks to categories! On sale $89.98

A bunch of brightly colored 3×5 notecards propped up in a plastic container on a desk with notebooks on the shelves behind it.

Front card is pink, with "Things to do" written at the top and a numbered list below with question marks by each number except 1. Idea ✔️, 6. Tea ✔️ 9. Profit

C. W. Maurer@cwmaurerwrites· Oct 1

Garden green beans are still going strong, but kiddo is pretty tired of them Today's strategy: turn "green bean/ground beef tart" (GBx2 plus onion, cheese, herbs on puff pastry on sheet pan) into a "pizza pocket" (same things but folded up in pizza dough, then dip in marinara) Bets on how it goes?