Jan Karlsson
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jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Jan Karlsson
@jangoeswriting.bsky.social
2.4K followers 1.5K following 5.8K posts
Watty Award winner 2021, 6x shortlisted. Ambys Award winner 2024 & 2x 2023. 4x ONC Award shortlisted. Writer (🤔).

(⛔️No DM’s⛔️. I’m too damned old to be verifying my damned age!)
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jangoeswriting.bsky.social
‘Slow’ instead of ‘impede’ today.

From ‘House Rules’.

#WiPSnips
She had had to grow up pretty fast. Then she had had to slow down a lot. Being a child was a rollercoaster sometimes, though she had no idea what one of those was. That was a throwback to the time when she was part ineffable artefact of near ultimate power and part brattish child who thought she knew everything. Which she did, but when that ineffable artefact had been removed, the brattish child had remained and she had to learn how to act without the ability to wipe beings and objects out of existence due to her petulance. She’d been a lot happier since, understandably.
November 26, 2025 at 9:14 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Only me channeling a little bit of Wodehouse in a Discworld sort of story. 🙄
“You know, Couthly, I’m beginning to think that sleep is the bane of all mortalkind.” Without thinking, and with a groan from Couthly, Boulder chose the exact wrong spoon and cracked the top off the egg to find it soft-boiled to perfection. “No sooner has a chap got used to the whole idea of being awake and gadding about doing things than we have to hunker down in our cloth sanctum sanctorums and lie around doing nothing for hours. It’s all a dashed waste. Better to stay awake all the time, or sleep all the time if you ask me. Make a choice.” Boulder paused with a finger of bread firmly dipped in the egg and frowned. That wasn’t how he talked. He didn’t talk like that at all. And the dread thought began to bubble up in a brain that wasn’t used to such things and really needed a little practice before doing such things in the future. A little thought preparation before doing the actual thinking. He was getting used to it all. He didn’t want to get used to it all. He couldn’t get comfortable with all this comfort, it discomforted him. Absentmindedly, he chewed the egg-dipped bread. “Indeed, sir. However, one could say that were there more hours in the day with which to partake of greater amounts of activities, one would find that one required yet more time.” Couthly wiped Boulder’s mouth with one cloth and tucked another into the top of Boulder’s silk pyjamas, spreading it out to catch any detritus from the breakfast. “As to remaining awake, or asleep, throughout the entirety of the day and night, I would conjecture that all of one thing and none of another would prove quite deleterious to one’s health, sir. Chin up.” “Well, you would say that.” Boulder lifted his chin as Couthly wiped it again, the soft-boiled egg clearly malfunctioning.
November 25, 2025 at 10:49 PM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Good Tallheart is, perhaps, not quite a royalist …

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
“Goody Tallheart.” A neighbour, Flirty forgot which, gave a respectful bow as she passed. “Which queen would be receiving your endorsement, mistress?” “None.” Flirty concentrated on the woman’s face but her name escaped her. “Monarchies are nothing more than an archaic, anachronistic, systemic method of oppressing the masses and leeching off their bones. The people should govern themselves with duly elected representatives held in check by strict and stringent laws that favour the people.” “That’d never work.” She was probably right, but it was better than kings and queens. Possibly. “So, you’ll be favouring Queen Parsimony, then. You’ll be wanting a pin.”
November 25, 2025 at 9:12 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
‘Start’ instead of ‘debut’. Not really close, but … 🤷🏻‍♂️

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
Thirteen of them. Thirteen little ogres with their own personalities but a shared obsession with shoes, for some reason. Quite fascinating, really, but not at all her area of expertise. Now, spriggans, she could understand. Well, not so much understand, as such, but they were plant-like creatures. Flirty knew where she was with plants. She turned over the page, back to the start of the entry, and read from the beginning, taking a sip of cold tea, regretting it, then taking another sip.
November 24, 2025 at 9:16 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
‘World’ instead of ‘globe’, and warlocks have a reputation to keep … mostly …

From ‘House Rules’.

#WiPSnips
“Excellent! Soon, my young apprentice, we shall stride across this world and our enemies will cower at our combined power!” The Dread Lord grinned, maniacally, then adjusted Hedric’s thick black robes. “I’ve packed you a good two dozen handkerchiefs, your cuddly bat and your security blanket. And I really wish you’d let me get you a new one. A warlock’s security blanket should always be black, not a faded grey-ish brown.” “But I like that blanket! I mean …” Hedric coughed, making his voice growl as he tilted one shoulder and squinted one eye, evilly. “… but I like that pitiful and weak blanket, Dread Lord! The nightmares it has beheld are particularly … gruesome.”
November 23, 2025 at 9:12 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
I thought I wouldn’t have this … I was happily wrong.☺️

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
“But … I j’s … wanted …” “It doesn’t matter what you ‘just wanted’. It’s an incredibly stupid thing to do.” Flirty rubbed her forehead. This wasn’t her area of expertise, but she wasn’t going to get a quiet life until all this nonsense was stopped. “No more trying to catch a Festive Boy. It’s dangerous. Do you understand?” “‘s.” “What was that?” She tilted her head, exaggerating trying to hear him, lips pursed, eyes wide. She probably looked as mad as they were all acting. “I said, do you understand?” “‘s … m’str’ss.” He nodded, still picking at his fingers while his wife had now brought a shiny crystal toward Flirty, a strange, pleading grin in her face. “Good. Well.” This had gone far better than she had expected. Brushing down her skirts, she gave an emphatic nod. “That’s alright then.”
November 22, 2025 at 9:11 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Dedication to one’s job, or a singularly useless talent …

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
Despite all his best efforts, including nudging the guard’s arm with his elbow and saying in his most persuasive voice ‘Go on. No-one will notice’, pointing in some random direction and shouting ‘What the Hel’s that!’ while Goody Tallheart readied to rush Argum away to safety, and, finally, simply repeating ‘Please?” over and over again, the guard remained steadfastly staring away. Not replying. Not retorting. Not re-ing anything. Boulder had started to believe the guard had mastered the art of sleeping upright with his eyes open.
November 21, 2025 at 9:11 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
I think I’ve used this passage before, but it’s the only ’special’, outside of ‘especially’, that I have,… 😬

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
With little else to do, Boulder sat at the table, looking at Pippy as she grinned at everything around her. Wellie continued to dress a complaining Parsimony behind the curtain, the curtain fluttering every time Parsimony shouted ‘I can do it myself!’, and Trillomena began to put out servings of food on the good plates that Parsimony had never used, saving them for a special occasion. He ate tentatively, preferring Parsimony’s cooking but admitting to himself that Trillomena wasn’t half bad.
November 20, 2025 at 9:08 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
And so, ‘House Rules’ begins, and a new school of interdisciplinary magic comes to my world.

What could possibly go wrong? 🙄
Lightning forked across the sky in a ballet of brutal ferocity, lighting the four towers of the castle that stood, stark and alone on the edge of an unforgiving abyss. A fortress of some impressive size, the castle teetered at the very tip of oblivion, the cliff face beneath it sloping back, inward, leaving the castle sat atop an overhang that appeared ready to collapse at any moment, as it had for millennia. The storm clouds hung above, like the fury of the gods readying to burst upon the cold stone. “Can we do something about the weather?” Ilbnot Lunklake tilted his head as another fork of lightning stabbed down toward the castle. “It’s a little bit ominous for a school, don’t you think?” “I’m afraid the weather is not under our control, Secretary. Though, worry not, it isn’t a regular occurrence.” The other mage waved toward the gates to the castle. “Shall we?”
November 19, 2025 at 8:13 PM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Family planning in a small village …

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
“Renny Puddlebottom is about due.” She linked her fingers upon her belly, slowly rocking back and forth. “It’s been a hard one for the girl. Soon be done and no doubt they’ll get to starting on the next.” A column of smoke blew lazily from Boulder’s lips toward the fire, the faintly blue smoke combining with that from the log, crackling and spitting in the grate. That would be the Puddlebottoms’ third. Families came large in the farmlands and, and Boulder hated thinking like this, but it was true, it was always worthwhile having more to spare. Life was hard on children. Get them past a certain age and they could expect a long life. Those early years, though? They could be harsh on families.
November 19, 2025 at 9:12 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
And with that writing session, ‘The Big Feat’ is finished (Editing and rewriting bits and tidying up notwithstanding), at just over 104k words.

I enjoyed writing that one and Murple is one of my favourite characters.

Next up: ‘House Rules’ …
“Sergeant.” She nodded at him, noticing Eedith, Nygel and, to her surprise, Wakeful Welling following him into the now tightly packed office. “Thank you for noticing, Ma’am. Fastest promotion in history, I’m told.” Though you couldn’t see his face, not that he had one, Murple imagined him blushing at that. “I can’t stay long, Ma’am. I’m supervising the construction of a Watch House in the Wallows.” “Well, thy deserves it, lad. Thy’ll make a good officer. Best in Laandan, I’s reck’n. Not that thy has any competition, mind, but the compliment stands.” She leaned forward, trying to see why he held his hands behind him and why the others were grinning. “What can I’s do for thee?” “Well, Ma’am. It’s what I can do for you, really. As a thanks. From us all, really, Ma’am.” He turned, bumping into everybody. Because he was so big and the room wasn’t. “It took a while, but we found them and had them cleaned and, well … here, Ma’am.” With a certain amount of acrobatics and the logistical skills of an army quartermaster, the group of them managed to move and arrange themselves in such a way as Garderobe could bring a box from behind him to place on her desk. It had a badly tied ribbon on the lid and Murple didn’t stand on ceremony to open it. When she did, she almost felt emotional, her hand rising to her mouth. “Ee, that’s grand.” She could, if she were inclined, which she wasn’t, cry. “That’s rayt grand.” It was her hat and pipe.
November 18, 2025 at 8:28 PM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
‘Backward’ instead of ‘retrograde’ today …

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
At the top of the ladder, he set the trunk to the side to get into a position to climb down and didn’t think twice about the shape that seemed to just appear in front of him. He didn’t see anything, to be fair, considering he had swiftly become very much dead and had proceeded to fall backward to the remains of the dock where, a little later, he would be found with a lifetime pass to Madame Gakeford’s House of Hirsute Heavies, just off Parkin Lane with the sign of a grinning, bearded gentleman of larger proportions hanging outside, in his pocket.
November 18, 2025 at 9:10 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Garderobe considers Murple’s intentions.

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
Nor did he think that Mistress Hurkull had stereotyped him. She wasn’t the kind for that sort of nonsense and she seemed to have a head for strategy. He was simply the best sapient slime for the job. No, what really got his proverbial goat, was the blatant abuse of local fly-tipping laws that he could, possibly literally, spend days cataloguing and investigating the people that had dumped their rubbish down here. At the moment, however, it wasn’t his job to do anything about it. But, later, he would perform his civic duty to the letter, the very letter, of the law.
November 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Welling evaluates his chances of getting away … they’re not good …

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
Ducking under a series of flying bottles, some, disgustingly, were still full and thus wasting good alcohol, Welling made his way back toward Murple’s office. At least the temperance movement would be happy about the wasted alcohol, even if no-one else was. Ducking down a side-alley, Welling took a short cut closer to the docks. He wasn’t getting paid nearly enough for this. Then he stopped, mid-rush, and realised he wasn’t getting paid for this at all and licked his lips in thought. A shake of the head precipitated his run onwards. Murple would hunt him down if he failed to do what she asked and he’d rather have her, possibly not on his side, as such, but certainly not as an enemy.
November 16, 2025 at 9:13 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Things are a’changin’ and Boulder doesn’t like it …

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
Boulder looked to Parsimony for help, but she had, somehow, calmed down and was now supervising Trillomena as the girl continued to cook, pointing out the girl’s mistakes and nodding, satisfied in her progress. She was starting to become used to it. He had started to become used to it. And Pippy had taken to it like a fish to water, preening happily as Wellie brushed her hair in long, sweeping strokes of a brush Boulder had never seen before. Well, he wasn’t going to get used to it! With a scowl at Clod, and Gully Gawk, who both saluted him, he reached out to open the door, only to find Couthly had already opened it, standing aside, bowing from the small of his back. Boulder strode out of the house, tried, and failed, to close the door himself and, with his jaw fully set in as close to anger as he could muster, started to walk toward the village for no other reason than he wanted to be alone.
November 15, 2025 at 9:12 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Knitting skills and mythological creatures don’t mix …

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
“Oh, hey! That’s not fair!” The voice of the creature howled as Parsimony brought it closer to Boulder, who shook Dollop at it. “I’ve done my bit. By lore, you’re supposed to let me go!” The creature struggled, but Boulder would bet on Parsimony’s knitting skills over any possibly murderous fae creature any day of the week. Except Sundays. She never knitted on Sundays. There was always far too much to do. She held the creature in a tight grip and no matter how much he struggled, he wasn’t getting away from Boulder’s dear wife. He knew that feeling. Not that he had ever even considered getting away. Well, perhaps once, at eight years old, but it was surprising how fast an eight year old can accept the inevitability of a future marriage with the right kind of stare boring into him. Pippy had inherited that stare.
November 14, 2025 at 9:10 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Nygel being Nygel, again, and Welling thinking of consequences …

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
“Lissen ‘ere, copper. You don’t like me, an’ I don’t like you, but Miss Eedith’s dahn there, and M’str’ss Hurkull, too, and if’n you don’t get up off your lazy arse and …” Welling dragged Nygel away. Then pushed him further away. Nygel pointed a finger around Welling. “… I’ll give you what for, you …” Welling pressed a hand against Nygel’s mouth before he said something that only made everything worse. This was going so very badly and Welling had to wonder if it wasn’t just some exercise in futility. Maybe they were already dead? Then he’d only be wasting his time here when he could be back at the flop house to see if he’d become destitute. He’d have to start again, build up his store of information, rebuild his trust among the criminal element. Or, and this made him feel sick, get a job. “Murple Hurkull, you say?” Brohdee’s fingers drummed on the desk surface. “My, my. Murple Hurkull.”
November 13, 2025 at 9:17 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
A few frayed tempers … and cuffs …

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
“Do continue, Mister Rimsitter.” Bolsivver shook his head at Grumf as the dwarf wiggled his, or her, hirsute eyebrows at Delkin’s knees. There really did seem to be a lot of raucous noise in the next room, causing Bolsivver to frown. “Grumf, go see what that noise is about. Mister Rimsitter, if you please.” Rimsitter took a deep, long drag of his cigarette, hissing through his teeth as he leaned over again, supporting himself on his knees. That patience of Bolsivver’s, cultivated after many, many long years of dealing with the most intelligence deprived unwashed of the city, had started to not only fray at the edges, but had actively started shedding a great deal of strands through the stress of not being able to cope with a mage who had, apparently, made procrastination something of an art form. Grumf had left, meaning that if Delkin annoyed Bolsivver any more he would have to soil hus hands with the blood of another man and the last lot of blood still hadn’t washed out of the cuffs of his favourite shirt.
November 12, 2025 at 9:22 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
I had to put this in last night. 😬 No burgers in this setting, but they do have sandwiches. 😁

From ‘Reign, Dear’.

#WiPSnips
“Forgive my interruption, sir, but I fear the evening closes in and I believe another snow shower approaches.” He had a big overcoat folded over his arm and then began wrapping it around Boulder’s shoulders. “I have taken the liberty, sir, of soliciting the service of a small cart to return us to the palace. I have a sandwich, for the return journey, and a flask of brandy, should the chill grow too frigid. After you, sir.” Boulder didn’t have the strength to fight against it. He sloped back toward where the villagers had continued to organise the search for Old Man Hobble, now that the distraction of the ‘Queen’ had gone. Good people. Proud people, who didn’t deserve to have royalty making them feel like they were lesser because of their place in society. Not even fake royalty. It was getting dark, and cold, and he accepted the brandy. He needed a drink. T’was the eleventh night of Festivus, and all through the village nothing stirred that night. Except for a large amount of people with butterfly nets. A wish was a wish, after all.
November 11, 2025 at 9:00 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
By sheer coinkidink, I happen to have used today’s #vss365 prompt word in ‘Reign, Dear’. 😅
Then he saw perhaps the only person that he could rely on to be sensible. There, still examining the remains of Old Man Hobble’s house, stood Goody Tallheart. Ignoring the protests from the villager that had little chance of having a single Big Coin, let alone a million, Boulder rushed to the witch’s side. She had a book in her hand and Boulder almost turned to run the other way, but he had to show bravery in the face of literature.
November 10, 2025 at 1:11 PM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Another Nygel moment …

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
Yet Nygel loved the place. Well, not so much ‘loved’ as didn’t hate. Well, that was debatable too, but it allowed him in, which went a long way to being considered his local. People tended to leave him alone here, which he appreciated far more than the attention he usually got, which was often insulting and casually violent. People didn’t like Nygel. He bothered them. Not Lally, though. Lally didn’t just let him hang around. Lally actively looked out for him. Protected him, sometimes. Covered up all of Nygel’s many mistakes.
November 10, 2025 at 9:06 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Nygel considers what truly makes people different …

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
He tried to remember the picture Mistress Hurkull had shown him, but found it a bit difficult because, like letters and stuff, he tended to forget things easy. It was a bloke. He felt pretty certain about that. Then again, he supposed it could be an unfortunately bloke-like looking woman. There were those that said women from places like Beeday and Vurst were ugly, and that only Brutish women were real women, but he wasn’t too sure about that, either. Near as he could tell, people were pretty much the same everywhere. Maybe they had darker skin, or different shaped eyes, and in a city like Laandan, you got to see all types, but he’d met blokes from Beeday, and Vurst, and Pastia, and they didn’t look too different. He couldn’t see the womenfolk looking that much different, either. Stood to reason.
November 9, 2025 at 9:08 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Murple considers what she’s willing to suffer for victory …

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
As Constable Garderobe set out to reach the Wallows before the storm came, and Murple wasn’t lying about that, even though she had no evidence to back up her claims, she grabbed hold of Welling’s collar, lifting him to his feet. Today, she would make progress, even if it killed her. She actually didn’t want it to kill her. She could probably do to wind that back a little. Something along the lines of, today, she would make progress, even if it mildly pained her, possibly a bit more pain than mild. She’d accept a certain degree of pain, considering that someone’s life was at stake, but not too much. She couldn’t concentrate properly when she was suffering too much pain and her knee was already aggravating her.
November 8, 2025 at 9:05 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Someone asked ChatGPT about the latest chapter of ‘The Ballad of Purgatory Ridge’.

I suppose it’s flattering. 🤔😅
November 7, 2025 at 11:39 AM
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
Words can be hard, especially when you try to sound eloquent …

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips
Behind her, she heard the sharp intakes of breath from the big men and a sudden movement, but the man turned a stiff, thick neck toward them and waved them away with an irritated scowl. Murple had the distinct feeling she had escaped a sudden, and quite accidental, stabbing. They had moved so fast and her old body, as well as her mind, had started failing her more and more. “Forgive the indolence of my boys. They see insult in many things that are merely inconsolable.” The man, with the thick Pastan accent tried gainfully to speak with learned affectation and failed horribly. He did try, though, so Murple didn’t correct everything. Her name, though, she could not abide mispronunciation. “Mistress Hurkull. Did I get that right? Good. Mistress Hurkull, I have greatly admired your work. Greatly admired. Your quite deserved reputation precludes you.”
November 7, 2025 at 8:57 AM