Pat Luther

#NovemberWorldbuilders
Three black things in this image by @aureolinflax.bsky.social of a scene from Thoughtless: The walls of Del's carbonaceous asteroid home (that she's hung colorful scarves over to make it feel less oppressive), space itself (seen out the window) and their BeltSec uniforms.

#WIPSnips 11/8
Just Del being mercenary again.

#WIPSnips 11/7
Just Del being reckless again.

#NovemberWorldbuilders 6
When breaching cord is laid out on something metal, it will glow white hot while burning through it.

#NovemberWorldbuilders 5
The only thing I can think of that's Purple is Del's former bathrobe. She left it hanging on a hook in the bathroom in her old apartment when she left last time, and in all likelihood it's still there.

#WIPSnips 11/5
Searching for the word really made me realize how many times someone - especially Del - starts to say something then trails off.

Del's from Mars, and lately lives in the asteroid belt. So, having never seen more than half a dozen trees together at one point, may be severely underestimating what constitutes a "forest". But it is green.

#NovemberWorldbuilders 4
At one point, Del and Caweys (new character!) visit a new, as yet unnamed floating city on Venus. Larger than any previously built city, this one is ringed by a large park, with expanses of grass, flower gardens and even what Del considers a forest.

#WIPSnips 11/4
It's funny that out of all the things made of it (Iron and Carbon are two of the most common elements in the asteroid belt after all), I mention the word exactly once in whole book.

Yep! Lots of sulfur and other elements, including lead and bismuth (the former of which makes lead sulfide, aka galena, and "snows" on top of the mountains in the winter, which you can see from the flying cities on very clear days.)

The clouds of Venus are both yellow and orange, often in wild shifting swirling patterns. At one point, Del is watching them through Bilan's bedroom window and Bilan mentions that she never really got tired of watching them while growing up there.

#WIPSnips 11/3
Yay! It's nice to be able to talk about something nice here for a change. :)

A blonde woman flees from a bat monster. Also there is a skeletal fish in the background.

Do like sword fights? How about chases through night? How about prison breaks?

It's all there! The Husband Poisoning Society. Part lesbian love story. Part fantasy adventure!

It's free on my patreon with no sign up required (but all sign ups deeply appreciated).

www.patreon.com/ddwardiswrit...

#WIPSnips 11/2
Not a lot of cobwebs in the asteroid belt.
Definitely going with vibes for this one.

Cobalt is toxic, hence the reason it gets embedded in the carbon matrix for safety. You could skip it, and just build a container out of carbon, but then you wouldn’t get that brilliant blue color.

A flask with a closable lid is good if you’re going to be in zero-g at all. (A squeezable container with a straw is better, but harder to refill.)
Cobalt, oxygen, and carbon are super common elements in the asteroid belt, so it makes sense to use them.

The drinking flasks in Del’s ship are made from cobalt oxide with a carbon matrix (I.e., artificial diamond) overlay, and are therefore bright blue.

Submission for First Page Feedback – Pat Luther Welcome to my “First Page Feedback”

"Want feedback on the first page of your novel or story? I’ll read one submission a week—on YouTube—and offer honest, public critique. No cost, just insight. Submit yours here: buff.ly/ulE7lSh%22,%... #FirstPageCritique"

was really doing, and I think she was right to push the way she was. Not too much, perhaps, but not too little, either. She did good.
I also noticed she got no credit from the others, not even Nog. She was just happy with his recovery. I liked that detail.

I've been watching #DS9. I'm in the 7th season now, which I've never seen any of before. Just finished "It's Only a Paper Moon."
Nog's character arc in here was obvious, but Dax's is good, too. At the beginning I was annoyed at her. "Worst councilor ever" but by the end, she showed what she

#NovemberWorldbuilders
Del's previous home was inside a carbonaceous asteroid, with black stone walls. She hung colorful cloths over them. When she left, she took a vibrant red silk scarf to carry her tarot cards and her sesquicentennial printing of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles.

#WIPSnips 11/1
Happy November!
Del doesn't have any ancestors, so here's a bit from where she learns what she does have.

I have a question for all the teachers, parents, or anyone who knows any middle-school children. Did the South Park episodes cause any noticeable change in kids obsessions with Labubus or "6-7"
Are they less interested now that everyone knows about them? Or more? Or did they have any effect at all?

Heading to a Halloween party, with a quickie costume made out of leftover pieces. :)

#WIPSnips 10/31
The actual word isn't used, but I think The Rabbit qualifies. (It's a nickname, not actually a Monty Python reference. :)

Woohoo! A thousand words is definitely better than sleep. :)

#WIPSnips 10/30
A ritual is like a spell, right?
And yes, like many people, Del is a practitioner of a religion she doesn't believe in.

#WIPSnips 10/29
I almost used the word "broomstick" in Thoughtless to describe the tiny craft used to zip around in short-range trips in the asteroid belt. I eventually went with "bike" after learning that Larry Niven had beaten me to the term "broomstick" for similar craft a few decades earlier.

#WIPSnips 10/26
Well, not many people wear hats in the asteroid belt (sorry, Expanse fans) but helmets are ubiquitous. And Del is occasionally berated about hers:

Another ink cartridge drained onto the page to continue bringing Del’s adventures to life.