"And the Seventh Aetus poured his book into the air and said, 'It is finished.'" I just completed the draft of The Bonding. Next step is to go back through it, flesh out some areas, and then it will go to beta readers. I think it's reasonable to expect it will be out by November. :>
Finished a trip to Louisiana to surgically implant trackers in mottled ducks. Will be back in a month to do more. Good, short trip with lots of Louisiana charm. #birdsofmastodon #birds #duck #veterinary #Conservation
I’m on closing paragraphs of The Bonding, but slowing down to tidy up worldbuilding stuff, standardize terms, formalize Mamyrskin conlang, other odds & ends. I really like this part. See progress (spoiler-free) on the official wiki: wiki.aetusart.com, but don’t be surprised if it changes.
A new cover for Eric Malves' second book in his Anima Series. Lyall has lived as a wild hawk for a year, but injures a wing & goes to a wildlife center. Check it out at https://www.amazon.com/Anima-Broken-Wing-Eric-Malves/dp/B0DJ9C5QTK
When I do a reverse image search, I find the maker: In Costume Media, which has photos of this partial fursuit from 2016. Some further tracking led to this page, which has to be the same suit, based on the attached photo that includes the same wings as your image: tristangryph.tumblr.com
Nice to be able to reach over from my kitchen chair, open the window, & snip off some basil when I need it. Also OMG this basil just doesn’t quit! It grows faster than I can eat it.
New cover for Eric Malves' book "The Birdhouse," about people slowly turning into birds (and other animals) due to a mysterious transformation syndrome. I loved the book and wholeheartedly recommend reading it. Check it out on https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKMY97B1
Kickin around #Chicago today and tomorrow with my honeybird, @colinstu.birdbutt.com and @ferobird.bsky.social
One of the eagles I examined today. She’s a beauty and full of feist. #baldeagles
Off to Alaska again, this time just a few days to check on some captive eagles, owls, and hawk. Looking forward to a break after this trip. I’m working on The Bonding today as I travel, writing the closing scenes. #indieauthor #FurryWriting
Had an annoying website issue that appears to have interfered with a few sales. If you experienced problems with a very possessive cookies-policy bar getting in the way of checking out, try it again now. Should be all good. I've also opened up guest checkout to give that a try.
Here’s how the Caprese salad and keto-friendly chicken piccata turned out using my homegrown basil. Tasted great.
On my way out to the Alaska bush today so orders placed on aetusart.com this week will be fulfilled next week. I’ll be helping bird researchers study emperor geese.
Is there an official -phobia word for describing someone in mortal terror of allowing Microsoft to update their installation of Windows 11? Could be renovatiophobia if we stick with Latin. Or fenestrasundeciumphobia if you want specificity. I think I prefer microslopophobia or just slopiphobia.
On my way home a few days early from Canada, where I implanted trackers in female canvasback ducks for biologists to follow their movements. 30 surgeries in 3 days. Went well and the area was so splendid with bird diversity.
Saw this at an ice cream shop recently and it still lives rent-free in my mind. So simple and cute.
A hearty thank-you to my friend Barnibu for graciously donating hours of help on Saturday with my coding project. It was a significant stretch of my mental muscles & I couldn't have done it without him.
I made some needed upgrades to the Cooputer (runs heating, cooling, & door on chicken coop) over the weekend. It looks up local civil twilight times from NOAA API instead of calculating, which proved inaccurate. Also added more commands, more feedback on the web interface, & a reboot option.
I had factual bird work this week, preparing for surgeries on canvasback ducks next week. But I did some more writing last night. I'm on final few chapters of The Bonding & wish I could talk about it, but you'll just have to wait a bit longer. The Bonding's Eve Ball is turning out to be lots of fun!
Suppose for a second you poured yourself a cup of coffee (or boiling water for tea) on Mars. Half of it would flash to vapor instantly (and violently), the rest would freeze and more slowly sublimate away. No coffee but, then, your eyes would freeze-dry so you couldn't watch anyway.
This could be applied to so many things that the AI I never asked for vomits up when I'm just trying to search the internets.
Barbi’s Seabeck Cafe, my fav old work spot in Kitsap, is running again after years of being closed. Was writing on The Bonding, listening to purple martens, & watching eagles & ospreys fish this morning.