David R Packer
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randypacker.bsky.social
David R Packer
@randypacker.bsky.social
Did you know "Novelist" is an official job title in Canada?
Queer Enby SFWA swordfighting scifi/fantasy mountain village living blacksmith and occasional cartwheeler.
https://boxwrestlefence.com/works/
Pinned
Here's the Starter Packs I've been included on. Check em out for other cool authors.

SFWA folks:
go.bsky.app/w69YDP
Queer authors writing queer fiction:
go.bsky.app/urdJqE
West coast writers:
go.bsky.app/GZwLQFg
Aspec writers:
go.bsky.app/E1G83Qq
THIS is a must read.

Not just the best summation of the current crisis, but also the beginning of the right kind of rally to put an end to it.
The rise of end times fascism
The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them
www.theguardian.com
April 13, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Hm. All four of my books showed up in the libgen training database. Thanks for the theft, meta. Glad I helped make billionaires more rich without costing them a penny.
March 20, 2025 at 4:04 PM
It's a special kind of annoyance dealing with US lefties, when they insist that I explicitly except them from complaints about american fuckery, and follow-up by saying that we shouldn't take it seriously, because they'll just vote out l'orange next time.

Arg.
March 20, 2025 at 3:53 PM
You know you live in the mountains when it's +7, sunny...and snowing.
March 11, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Ugh that terrible moment when you accidentally taste your meds. Bleaugh.
March 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Bloodwork yesterday as part of a special diabetes program I'm in. Checked my results this AM...brilliant across the board. A1c absolutely in control.

Urate levels were up, though. Of course, the attack of gout that started in my sleep last night was also an indicator.

Back on the no meat train...
March 6, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Well, I do believe I'm getting right tired of condescending US #SFWA authors and their "gosh, it's not that bad, stop making it sound unpleasant!" comments.

You don't have to look very hard at all to see what the rest of the world sees, and expects. Enjoy your privilege, I guess?
March 4, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Already pulled my novel out of Kindle Unlimited, and cancelled prime and all subscriptions to anything american. I'll get Anubis War digital on other markets as soon as I'm able. I'm going to prioritize buying books from Canadian indie authors, or other indie authors not american.
March 4, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by David R Packer
Lunch sketch.
February 25, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Second fantastic espresso/americano (gotta find a new word for that) in two days.
Turns out, the best beans I could buy resulted in only tolerable results. Roasting my own? Glorious. Rich, smooth, creamy-chocolate/caramel flavours.

Dark roasts can fuck off and die.
February 25, 2025 at 6:34 PM
My newly roasted coffee came into rotation this morning. I think I nailed the roast profile, but not as described. Costa Rica Caturra, Molasses ferment. Should be fruity, but it's...rich with the aroma of fresh-hot-from-the-oven brownies, and tastes the same.
Yum.
February 22, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Good bit of writing advice I saw today, along the lines of "if no one wants to beta/pre-read your book: the premise sucks."

Painful truth, there. Always accounting that friends/followers may not be your market, but a good sign to maybe just get to work on the next one.
February 19, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Old plotting method:
Setting, character, goal - build arcs, break into acts and chapters. Write.
New plotting method (zettelkasten-based):
Every single tidbit of thought onto cards. Link cards via context. Review cards to see what thoughts have the most links/cards.
Write from this new context.
February 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Philosophy is an essential tool of swordplay.

It's a method to help us understand how our perceptions can be flawed, and can provide us with tools to correct those flaws.
February 17, 2025 at 12:59 AM
A thing I've learned repeatedly in martial arts, that's very applicable to things in the coming days.

Trying to be smarter than the opponent is sometimes a dead end.

Sometimes the smartest thing to do is just punch them in the face.

Do the thing they think you are too smart to do.
February 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by David R Packer
Allow me to clarify:

YOUR COUNTRY JUST DECLARED ECONOMIC WAR ON OURS. THE FUCK DID YOU THINK CANADA WOULD DO? BE NICE?

WE SURE AS FUCK DIDN'T VOTE FOR YOUR GOVERNMENT. FUCKING HELL. YOU DO NOT GET TO PLAY THE VICTIM.

I hope that clarifies my stance.
February 2, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Reposted by David R Packer
watching Trudeau and he might be the first person to ever tell some Americans that their actions have consequences
February 2, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Reposted by David R Packer
Canadian anger is a cold and slow anger that freezes right in the bones.
February 2, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Reposted by David R Packer
My debut novel: Anubis War, just got cut in the first round of the SPSFC competition. www.tarvolon.com/2025/01/14/t...
No arguments on the review, and the noted weakness is one I've already worked to improve. The comment on the strength of the worldbuilding kinda made my day, though!
www.tarvolon.com
January 14, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Doing a little math, after reading @taowong.bsky.social's year end post.

If you start out writing just 3 words today, and tomorrow write 6, and keep up at that pace?

By the year's end you will be writing about 1000 words/day. You will have written over 200k words for the year.

2 novels.

Go.
January 1, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Now this is a lovely deal.
Get all the first books in the System Apocalypse and spin-off series, including mine, all in one package. Grab it while you can!
www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DRPS4M24
January 1, 2025 at 6:53 PM
R/Fantasy book sale.
600 books.
For every 50 books downloaded, $1 gets donated to the Mary Cariola Children's Center. www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/

Tons of new and indie authors on there, so I'm going to ask: Any recommendations from that list?
December 26, 2024 at 6:36 PM
Just asked the AI how to build a five year physical rehab plan for an aging martial artist in poor shape but with excellent proprioception and technical skills, but very poor motivation.

#$%#@$%-ing thing told me I should start teaching again.
December 23, 2024 at 8:49 PM