Michael Spearwater
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michaelspearwater.bsky.social
Michael Spearwater
@michaelspearwater.bsky.social
46 followers 50 following 180 posts
alt account here for my less child-friendly titles

currently in edits for #romantasy #dystopic and #creaturefeature fiction
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michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Nov. 11 is 'burger'

Any burger can be a good burger

But sometimes the timing's just bad
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'burger' is highlighted twice --- “Er, hello,” the man said as he approached. “Fancy meeting you here, ha-ha. You wouldn’t happen to, er, how best to ask…” “If you’re here about monsters,” Reggie said quickly and quietly, “then you’ve come to the right place.” More loudly, she added, “Hey, can we get a menu for our friend here?” “No need, ha-ha,” Mr. Henderson protested as he waved to the waitress, an older woman who looked like she should be named Flo, no matter what the nametag said. “Ahem, you have a vegetarian menu, yes? Then I’d like a soy burger, no cheese, extra pickles, if you’d please. Side of fries and a glass of water. Yes…” he said as ‘Flo’ walked away with the order. “I suppose we were all looking for one another after all. That was, er, your video I came across on the internet, yes?” “One of a few,” Reggie confirmed. “We haven’t uploaded the rest yet.” “Excellent work, sir,” Mr. Henderson said to Braskell. The deputy snorted. “I’m not the one you should be saying that to. I’ve never even seen one of these things alive. These two are your local experts.” He flashed a thumb’s-up at the teens. “Credit where it’s due.” “Amazing…” Mr. Henderson shook his head. “I’d assumed an adult or at least someone with experience with hunting and trapping, to catch one of those creatures, and of that size. Someone like your father.” He nodded to JB. Braskell’s laugh was sharp and dry. The young man took a long sip from his glass of iced cola. “Dunno what impression Pop gave you on Friday, but a hunter he wasn’t. Pretty much the opposite.” Next to him, Reggie shrank back into her seat and shivered. “Ah… I am missing something, aren’t I?” Reggie brought up the correct window on the old laptop, so that it now showed the worst-moments reel of the past few days. “Like I said, we haven’t uploaded everything, and for good reason. Can hardly bear to look at it, even. You’ll, ah, wanna…
November 11, 2025 at 9:19 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Nov. 10 is 'local'

Our protagonist here is fed up with supporting local athletes, because the local in question was an awful boyfriend

Too bad certain people just can't let it go
#creaturefeature #horror #lookingforbetareaders
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'local' is highlighted --- “Sure! Fine! Whatever you say, Gina!” Melody’s arms waved in improbably geometric forms as her nerves gave motion to her stress. “Just break up with one of our better football players…” “Better is relative,” Regina pointed out. “…barely a week before a game! When we need to be spreading school spirit and getting people to support our local athletes…” “Because, of course, even if we can’t all be athletes, we can at least be athletic supporters, right?” she added quickly. “Yes! Er, what?” Mel paused in mid-tirade as the other girls in the room tittered. “Gina! You know what I mean. Who’s going to root for poor Jake, now that he’s got this, this cloud over his head!” “Dude should’ve thought of that before he started with the stories about me and his head,” Regina stated. “I was willing to make this a peaceful and quiet breakup—” Mel was shaking her head. “No, no, no! No breakups just yet! It’s bad for morale!” “I dunno, I’m feeling pretty good about it.”
November 10, 2025 at 9:56 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Nov. 5 is 'trail'

"Trouble on the trail" is technically true for our protagonists here. There's a lot of lying by omission, tho

#creaturefeature #horror
an excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'trail' is highlighted -- God only know what they looked like, stumbling into the convenience store with a bloody JB between them. God and the clerk at the register, who was staring at them with a face not unlike some nameless extra in the first five minutes of a George Romero movie. “Um, is your friend doing okay?” the woman asked, clearly expecting a negative response. She was only a few years older than JB or Reggie, with frizzy hair and a nametag that said ‘Clara.’ “He took a fall,” the doc explained. “Nighttime hike, couldn’t see the trail well, tumbled a bit. You know how it is, ha-ha.” “Er, ha ah?” The one thing the clerk didn’t sound was certain. “Do you, um, need a first-aid kit or something?” “That would be marvelous, thank you. Come along, JB. To the washroom with you.”
November 6, 2025 at 2:23 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Oct. 31 is... 'monster'...

*looks at title of current WIP*

um...

*word search function turns up 178 instances*

OK... let's just go with the first four and see how that goes.

All on page 15?

Well, then...
page 15 of "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater The word 'monster' is highlighted four times. On the left, there is a word search side bar open. It is showing result "1 out of 178" for 'monster' It says "There are too many results to show here" (in the preview) --- “Here!” Reggie was dragging the pressure cleaner over, pushing the lance into his hands. With a firm grip on the handle, JB stabbed the business end between those metal jaws and let ‘er rip. Whoosh. And he almost lost it, then and there. The dial on the engine must’ve been cranked to 11, because the force of pressure nearly launched the thing from his hands. As it was, he was sure to have some bruises out of this. What that blast of water did to the trashcan monster, he’d rather not have seen for himself. Metal sides bulged at the point of impact where the water was punching from the inside. After a few seconds, the deeper-than-rust-red metal buckled outward, ripping and peeling back as a gush of brownish green muck flooded out. Much of it was the usual trash he’d expect to find, but there were also bones—small ones, thankfully—like the monster had chomped a cat of some other family pet. “Oh, gawd…” Reggie made retching noises behind him. Releasing the trigger button on the water lance, he pulled the tool from the monster’s mouth. There were scratched and gouges all the way down the length of metal. The monster’s little toes twitched, and some of those beady purple marbles shifted to follow his movements. “Reggie,” he said slowly, with a calm he wasn’t really feeling, deep down. “Need you to get some more stuff outta Rodney…”
October 31, 2025 at 3:20 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
And the #WIPSnips for Oct. 30 is 'spell'

...this #creaturefeature is nominally #sciencefiction / #horror, not fantasy, so I shall have to go with the non-magical meaning here

Good spelling online is practically magic, I suppose
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the 'spell' in 'spelled' is highlighted --- Back at the house, there was more to distract him. Dishes had sat unwashed for over a day now, and he had a strange and sudden urge to vacuum. Reggie helped by pouring herself a glass of tea and pointing out which spots he’d missed. On its cubby desk in the living room, the old laptop whirred along. Like many things in his life, it was second-hand and heavily refurbished, but it did the bare minimum he needed. Right now, that meant email. “Huh, got something,” Reggie announced, squinting at the screen. “Another conspiracy nut, or someone looking for a bit part in this supposed horror movie they think we’re making?” “Neither.” She read it over again. “Well, maybe a conspiracy guy, but if so then he’s more coherent than most. Everything’s spelled properly, no mention of aliens or government mind control, and not an exclamation point in sight. Pretty reasonable, all in all.”
October 30, 2025 at 8:54 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
Oops, almost forgot the #WIPSnips for Oct. 29, 'broomstick'

This shows up several times in clusters in my #creaturefeature, oddly enough

Here's the last few times
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'broomstick' is highlighted three times --- JB hadn’t wanted to leave his bed for nothing. He skipped lunch, ignored a message from Reggie, and generally pretended that the real world didn’t exist. He couldn’t keep it up, though. He’d left the thing down there, and he had to make sure it stayed left. So there he was, broomstick in hand, making sure. In the old pen area of the junkyard, the trashcan did not move. This was perfectly ordinary for a squat cylinder of battered sheet metal, regardless of its contents, and JB could not find it in his head to take the thing at its appearance. Once more, for the two dozenth time, he poked it with the round end of the broomstick. For the two dozenth time, this failed to produce any result beyond a light rocking and a thick sloshing sound which he refused to think too much about. His phone sat in his pocket, used once and then ignored. What was he supposed to do with it, take selfies with… with… No. That was beyond morbid. No selfies, no fun, no celebrating the execution. And most definitely no distractions, just in case the trashcan was only playing dead. He jabbed it with the broomstick for the two dozenth and first time. Light rocking, thick sloshing, no murder-tentacles.
October 30, 2025 at 8:49 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Oct. 28, and the topical word for the day is 'costume'

...which doesn't appear in my #creaturefeature about monsters that 'disguise' themselves as everyday objects, so I guess that substitution will have to do
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'disguise' is highlighted in lieu of 'costume --- Even starting on a full charge that morning, Regina’s smartphone was on track to be in its last gasps at the end of the day, because she’d had the diviner app running on it the entire damn time. Whenever it seemed like there was a free moment or safe opportunity to be had, she used her phone’s camera to scope out anything that could be a monster in disguise, which was damn near everything. So far, she hadn’t had any positives, though there were lingering doubts over the nature of Mr. Siebert’s toupee.
October 29, 2025 at 12:02 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Oct. 27 is "blood-curdling", which my #creaturefeature #horror story does not have, but there are plenty of 'shriek' and 'scream' to go around
an excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'shriek' is highlighted -- Something fell over at the other end of the alley, clanking on the concrete. Regina shrieked, surprised out of her apathy and into a momentary trip back to those moments behind the school the other day. At her side, Jake winced as he held his left ear. “Damn, baby. A little louder next time, why don’tcha? Probably just a cat… Yeah, see?” He nodded as a black-furred shape with a white muzzle and mittens hopped past the pile of old paint cans it had overturned. A soft mew hovered past them. “Nothing to worry about, Gina. Just a cute kitty—” The paint cans split open, on one end six-bladed flowers spreading to reveal ravenous little mouths, while at the other end they fragmented into dozens of tiny legs. They piled on the poor feline, clamping metal jaws onto its tail and flanks. The only thing louder than the cat’s wails of painful demise were Jake’s screams as he caught his own dick in his zipper and ran out the alley as fast as he could.
October 27, 2025 at 8:36 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Oct. 21 is 'second', which makes one wonder why it wasn't slotted for the 22nd?

Seconds matter, of course, but not always in a good way
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'second' is highlighted --- Sunday morning was… JB couldn’t be sure what adjectives to place there. Better? Hardly. Though the pain had dulled a bit, it still throbbed and hurt more than the bruises he’d got from the kick of the shotgun. But comparisons were all relative, and the word ‘better’ could only compare to the day before, which had been a brand of awful normally reserved for sale at the gift store on the eighth circle of Hell. Taken by that measure, Sunday morning truly was ‘better.’ It was only the second worst day of his life. There were woods out back behind the scrapyard, fenced with barbed wire and NO TRESPASSING signs. The owners were friends of Pop’s, and they traded him occasional favors in exchange for watching over the property. To his credit, Pop had only taken mild advantage of this, using the woods as a target practice range, a site for a still that had only produced a few bottles before self-detonating, and a failure of a grow-op that had gone to seed. Considering all the stuff hidden in those ninety-five acres, it seemed appropriate that Pop himself ended up there, too.
October 21, 2025 at 10:43 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
The #WIPSnips for Oct. 20 is 'field'

There's a broad field of meaning for that word, and in this case, it includes 'cover story'
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'field' is highlighted --- Reggie only shrugged her shoulders when he looked her way, so JB’s brain had to scramble to organize the details properly before they ran through his mouth. “Um, we’re helping out this guy. Doc… Dr. Henderson. He’s a wildlife specialist, um, doing field work. Surveys.” The doc’s own cover story fitted in well enough, so he stuck with it. “We, er, met him last week, when he stopped by… by Pop’s store, to pick up some extra traps.” “Coach Paxton said we could get some extra credit for it,” said Reggie. “Cuz you know how he gets about wildlife stuff. Plus, it’s pretty interesting to see what all is actually out there in the woods at night. In fact, Dr. Henderson said he could use some help sorting samples if we could find the time.”
October 20, 2025 at 10:24 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
For #WIPSnips Oct. 19, the word is 'trial'

...which is something the heroine of my #upcoming #creaturefeature isn't interested in giving to any monsters at the moment

By this point, she's fed up, burnt out, and ready to move on to 'summary execution' if need be
excerpt from 'Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'trial' is highlighted -- Late in the night, in the silence of a sleeping house, Regina stepped quietly into the garage. It was not a long trip, only a few yards from her room to the door, but it had all the somber gravity of a funeral march weighing down her feet. In her hands was a bucket, and in that, the little bottlecap monster skittered in confusion. As soon as she had the door shut and a towel from the laundry stuck along the bottom to block any light, Regina set up the stands and the cables and one of the lighting gizmos that the doc had in his collection. A pair of thick-glassed welding goggles went over her eyes. Then, by excruciating trial and error, she spent half the night determining exactly which combination of frequencies and intensities of light would best reduce the vile little abomination to a state of fatal crispiness. The tears hurt her eyes more than the flashes did.
October 19, 2025 at 3:00 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips Oct.14, and it's time for the "ultimate"... what?

Looking through, I see that the only time that word appears for me is at the end of a villainous conversation

How appropriate.
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'ultimate' is highlighted --- “Again, yes. A behemoth to dwarf behemoths, a leviathan in fact. Completely unnecessary for our ultimate goals, but what do I know, I’m just the one with the brain…” The man stood calmly in the center of the room, unperturbed by shakes and cracks. “Now, I have said my piece, and you two have had a nice breather, so it is time for us to kill each other, I’m afraid.”
October 14, 2025 at 8:22 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Oct. 13, and some characters are 'push'-ing their luck a little too far

The heroine of this #upcoming #creaturefeature is finding nearly-ex-boyfriends more annoying to deal with than things that go bump in the night
an excerpt from "Monsters Among Us : Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater The word 'push' is highlighted -- “And the rumor?” she pressed. Her eyes were stabbing at him. “Um…” He had this nervous pose sometimes, where he folded both his arms behind his back and somehow reached up to scratch the nape of his neck at the same time. “I… didn’t actually say it that way, or at all. Um, I was still a bit sore that morning, y’know, but I couldn’t really explain it to the guys. Like, where to even start? So they had fun making their own guesses and… and… I didn’t say no to any of ‘em. The whole team came up with the final product, I guess you could say.” She stared at him, daring him to say more, but he maintained his embarrassed silence. The sigh that departed her lungs was only the ghost of her annoyance, given limited voice in the world, but it still made him jump. “I can imagine that, unfortunately,” she said. “So you’ll forgive me?” He practically bounced at the thought. “I’ll keep it under consideration,” she said. “That much pissed-off ain’t vanishing so easily. But.” Regina extended a hand. “Make peace, not war, and all that.” “I thought it was ‘Make love, not war’?” And that damn grin was back. “Don’t push your luck.”
October 13, 2025 at 3:12 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
It's #selfpromosaturday for me (hurray for time zones)

So it's time to promote my #travelogue #romantasy!

"A Wager for Wanderlust", like what Jules Verne would've written if he were into high fantasy and playful #spicy content

Still legal to own in most states!

www.amazon.com/dp/B0FBZMX7MP
Front cover of "A Wager for Wanderlust" by Michael Spearwater cover art by LykosVTuber It shows an artistically messy gentleman's desk with sketches of fantastical nudes, a pocket watch, various writing implements, etc. In the background there are statues and portraits, a bookshelf, and books on the floor A portrait of a satyr-like girl, topless and poised for dance. With one hand, she beckons someone to join
October 3, 2025 at 3:09 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
The #WIPSnips for Sept. 29 is 'bear'

The MC of this #creaturefeature has to bear with his father all too often
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us 1: Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'bear' is highlighted --- Navigating through the rear of the store was an art. The shelves were balanced on wheels that allowed them to be pushed and pulled whenever it suited Pop. Rarely did it convenience anyone else. Today, the best path to the front lay through the vintage miliary apparel selection, because old coats were easier to push through. JB’s current jacket had come from there, same as the ones before it. As expected, Pop was leaning on the counter by the cash register, schmoozing with the latest wallet on legs to mistake this fine establishment for a serious place of business. From the looks of it, the guy was loading up for bear, or maybe elephant. “Boy!” Pop shouted as soon as JB stepped up. “Where the hell ya been?”
September 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Sept. 24 is 'leave'

JB doesn't get out much, but he's always willing to leave the house for a good reason. Like waffles. Waffles are nice.

#creaturefeature novel in re-drafts
Excerpt from "Monsters Among Us 1: Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater The word 'leave' is highlighted It's also obviously been pieced together in MS Paint, so my apologies for the artifacting along the top -- “What are you eating right now, huh? Toaster waffles out of the freezer, that’s what I’m betting.” “What if I am?” The chunks of mediocre breakfast food went down his throat in a self-conscious lump. “Well, Mom’s got the waffle iron out, and she’s mixing up a bowl of that Belgian batter mix, and Dad’s frying some of the nice sausages, and we’ve got maple syrup…” There was a time to hold ‘em, a time to fold ‘em, and a time to waffle—or not. “Tell your mom I’ll be there in half an hour,” he said. “Gotta make myself presentable.” “Yay! I’ll keep Pammy from eating it all before you get here. See you soon!” After a brief trip halfway up the stairs to the wash his face and other visible parts, then all the way up for a better change of clothes, he felt ready to leave the house. He spent more time in front of the mirror examining his attempt at a moustache than anything else. Reggie was right; it did look like a caterpillar died on his face. He would shave it off, but then she’d be insufferable about it for the next week.
September 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Sept. 23

Even when you have no 'skill', you can have a 'trick'
Remembering the trick is a skill in itself
an excerpt from "Monsters Among Us 1: Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'trick' is highlighted in place of 'skill' --- There was a funny thing about jumper cables: it was really hard to give someone a jolt with one. Pop used to do this trick where he’d lick the palm of his hands and press them down on the two electrodes of a car battery, then describe the tingly feeling he got. This had gotten itself a mention in a science class a few years back, and JB had really learned from that one. High amperage, low voltage in a car battery meant that it couldn’t push that hard through flesh and bone, but if you accidentally made a direct contact with a piece of metal, then whoo-ee…
September 23, 2025 at 9:42 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
For #WIPSnips Sept. 21, we can all agree to 'disagree'

From my #creaturefeature story in re-drafts

Suffice to say, but the main character disagrees with his father more often than not
Excerpt from "Monsters Among Us 1: Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater The word 'disagree' is highlighted ---- Arthur Collins, known as Pop to his boy and Coll to his friends, was an easy man to get along with, as long as one remembered the ground rules. First, never disagree with him to his face without a smile, a joke, and a pat on the back to distract him until the conversation had moved on. Second, always be complimentary to his favorite teams, no matter how much they sucked. Coll took great pride in his guys, and only he was allowed to talk shit about them. Third, buy him a beer—then a couple more after that. A few drinks went a long way towards getting past any difficulties caused by ignoring rules one and two. JB, being a teenage boy with little interest in sports and no legal means of purchasing booze, often got the short end of the stick in their relationship, but the kid had it coming to him, Coll always figured. Be tough, be true, and the boy would straighten out of any nancy habits he’d picked up. It’d worked for his old man well enough, right?
September 21, 2025 at 10:30 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips Sept. 20 is 'obvious'

The art of not being obvious takes practice

#creaturefeature WIP, currently in redrafts
excerpt from "Monsters Among Us 1: Teenage Wasteland" by Michael Spearwater the word 'obvious' is highlighted --- “Just keep your head up and your path straight, young man. None of us would like to see you end up in the bottom of a bottle like your old man.” “Sir, if I never drink a beer in my life, it’ll be too soon,” he reaffirmed. Most of his classmates liked to laugh and joke through all the public service anti-drug presentations they’d been forced to sit through over the years, but none of them had to live with the reality of a truly bad example. “So, um, Pamela,” he said to Reggie’s little sister. “How’s life in sixth grade?” “Pretty good. This past week we learned how to properly change the topic of a conversation without being too obvious about it.” The girl stuck out her tongue a blew a quick raspberry at him. JB shrugged. “Useful thing to learn. Coulda done with that sort of lesson in middle school.” “I was being facetious, meathead. You even know what that word means?” Reggie brought her knuckles down on her sister’s head to deliver a noogie like only a family member could get away with. “Hey now, I happen to know he passed that vocabulary quiz, so there!”
September 21, 2025 at 2:05 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
For #WIPSnips 2025.9.8, we have 'ability'

Communication is an important ability in a #travelogue #romantasy, but it can't always stretch far enough, given the distances traveled
an excerpt from 'A Wager for Wanderlust' by Michael Spearwater the word 'ability' is highlighted -- A loud shout erupted to his left, full of the sharp little syllables of the local tongue. He knew not one word of that language, but he understood “Watch out!” and “Get out of the way!” well enough. Ollover jumped aside as a locomotor carriage puttered past. The driver, a Teocelec of heavy shoulders and thickened arms, bared his fangs as he passed by. Trouble was a thing to avoid. That should be as easily done as said, and yet he had no confidence in his ability to do so. “Are you all right?” his lady asked as he stepped to her side. “Naught damaged save for my dignity,” he assured her. “And that is well-worn at best. Ah, but I should apologise, if I had the words.” “We have that guidebook with the glossary,” she pointed out. “Aye, and I sound like I'm gargling rocks when I attempt to read aught aloud from it.” “Perhaps you should try, in any case.” She was looking past his shoulder as she said it. Did he wish to turn around? No, not at all. He did so anyway.
September 8, 2025 at 12:55 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Sept 5 is 'event'

Well, there are events and then there are... events
an excerpt from 'A Wager for Wanderlust' by Michael Spearwater the word 'event' is highlighted -- The winding lane took a long curve along a terrace at the base of the King's Seat, the stepped pyramid structure at the heart of the mobile city. Its size was impressive, but basic logic told him that it was certainly hollow on the inside, and the application of deductive reasoning suggested that the immense levator engines which kept the city aloft were housed inside it. With guardsmæn at every entrance, it was unlikely that he would ever have the opportunity to verify it, even if he were to find himself with the need to do so. Here, they revered the lesser cats of the fields, and so made efforts to provide proper burial in the event that a feline were killed by curiosity. Were he in the cat's place, they would toss the body to the crocodiles in the river below.
September 5, 2025 at 7:46 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for Sept. 4 is 'coffee'

In the #travelogue #romantasy, there's a lot of the stuff, just not by that name. Fantasy world etymologies, etc.

It's actually named for an in-story city that's based on the real city of Mokha, crossed with Java

It's often referred to as 'blend' or 'brew
page from 'A Wager for Wanderlust' by Michael Spearwater the word 'blend' is highlighted in place of 'coffee' -- Chapter Five In Which Ollover Experiences A Change Of Scenery At this moment of the year, hardly two weeks into spring as a period of time and even less into it as a season, the rising sun was hardly a morning one, himself. Ollover shared the bright one’s reluctance to rise and shine at the unhealthy hour which he now found himself inhabiting. He had not the need to wake up so early since his days in Moorsdon's 37th, and happily not so. His first task for the morning had been to brew a pot of the young master's preferred javoch bean blend, of which the second cup had been his own. That was another thing he'd not missed since his days in the army: the deep black ichor of morn, as bitter in its truth as the evening's wine was sweet in its lies. It had him up and moving, at the least, which was how he had come to the dock of Gransails before the sun. The streets along the pier were lit with the iconic Lombarti gas-lamps, whose eternal flickers were fuelled by the ventilation ducts of the sewers below. In passing, he saw his fellow skurlmæn open a drop-hole and descend into the depths at the end of a dæmon-driven wind pump—likely to investigate why a nearby lamp was not remaining lit. It was honest work, but not clean; such was the lot of his kind, more often than otherwise. He felt some pang of guilt as he returned the salute which the maintenance crew sent him as he and the young master walked past. excerpt from 'A Wager for Wanderlust' by Michael Spearwater the word 'brew' is highlighted in place of 'coffee' -- Chapter Twenty-One In Which Brume Turns Down A Business Proposal In the fine public schools of Lydigard, the young pupils were given these words of wisdom: Never meet your heroes. Like most such wisdom come from high places, Brume had found it to be true only on occasion. He had met many a personal hero and seen their flaws up close, but with that came the realization that this made them heroic in spite of their faults. Rarely had he regretted the meeting. He rather regretted this one, or rather regretted being in this place, this ancient city that had lent its name to the bitter brew he so adored. Dzaboq'a might once have been a city of trade and culture, but that was far in the past, before the Kingdom fell. The dzinnemæn used that event as the anchor of their calendar, counting all years from that point as a slide downhill to ruin and iniquity. And Dzaboq'a was a dingy example of the depths of that slide. “No,” he repeated to the dzinnelyng who had seen fit to interrupt his afternoon cup of brew. “No and a thousand times again no, they are not for sale. What is so difficult about these words, that the lump upon your neck cannot handle them? Are those ears merely for decoration?”
September 5, 2025 at 12:00 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
Iʻd like to thank @bad4pple.bsky.social for this lovely commission of Temisia, one of the main characters in my #travelogue #romantasy, "A Wager for Wanderlust"
A portrait of a satyr-like girl, topless and poised for dance. With one hand, she beckons someone to join
August 31, 2025 at 4:48 AM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
#WIPSnips, August 20, is 'career'

I find it odd that I only used this once in my #travelogue #romantasy, but at least it's a good scene

www.amazon.com/dp/B0FBZMX7MP
An excerpt from "A Wager for Wanderlust" by Michael Spearwater the word 'career' is highlighted -- Whilst Ollover had picked up the basics to many languages during his army career—among them Galton, Skundic, Mallandrisch, and Rehmin—the Kypreyet tongue had been as impossible to decipher as its funny rounded letters. Next to Temisia's cup, there lay a page covered in lines of the loopy little symbols, and a grin on her face reached up past her pretty eyes. Difficult or not, he was well encouraged to try. A first glance told him that the top few lines were basic sentences using plurals, which he was close to mastering. “Let's see...” he muttered between sips. “Ta míla eínai kókkina... The apples are red?” “Correct,” said his lass. “Ta louloúdia eínai lefká... The flowers are white,” he continued. “To...” There was a pause at the third line as he parsed it out. This sentence was more complicated, with a possessive pronoun and multiple adjectives, and... “To stíthos sou eína ómorfo kai téleio...” Ollover turned his eyes back to Temisia. The tytterlass was dressed modestly in local attire, but the fabrics still pulled across her figure at the right spots up top. “Yes, yes they are, indeed.” “Why, thank you,” she purred. “Now, on to the next set.” The quiz continued with variations on a theme of wanting to do things. “Thélo na fáo éna milo. I want to eat an apple. Théla na pio tsavaki...” He drank his answer to that with a jaunty salute of the cup that made the lass giggle. “Théla na se gomíso... Ah, I am not sure what this means.” Temisia leaned over to whisper the meaning into his ear, and said ear burned as the words rushed past. “I take that to be a yes?” Her laughter bubbled across the burn. “Yes, ah, yes. Always,” he stammered. “Just, ah, in private.”
August 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
michaelspearwater.bsky.social
The #travelogue #romantasy is now out, but I enjoy #WIPSnips too much to stop now

No 'razor' shown, strangely, but many a close 'shave'. Some aren't even metaphorical

www.amazon.com/dp/B0FBZMX7MP
an excerpt from "A Wager for Wanderlust" by Michael Spearwater (on sale now!) the word 'shave' is highlighted -- Chapter Thirty-Two In Which Ollover Must Overcome Misgivings This was not a normal journey. Ollover told himself this truth every morning as he shaved, and truer words were never spoken. He did it again now, addressing the self in the mirror in a voice so low and so small that it reached his ears through the jawbones rather than the air. Normal journeys did not span two continents and counting, did not require the learning of new languages on the wing, did not include calling on local potentates as an afterthought, did not... His mind gently wandered to another thing journeys did not often have, but which he and his Missi shared, whenever they were in private. A tiny smile quirked his lips. It would be nice if some things were in fact more normal to have.
August 16, 2025 at 12:14 AM