You can't stop. We need MOAR hot takes on S&S! ⚔️😀

. . . choose the wrong idea? What if I invest two years in something that hits the market like a wet fart? Brain seems to think doing nothing is preferable to another failed novel.

That's where I'm at, tonight. Trying to find something with claws, that will grab on to my brain and not let go.

. . . but the cheap gilt rubs off and Brain is left with another sullen lump of lead. I've gone through dozens since wrapping up The Doom of Odin in 2023. Made a few short stories, but the long-form work continues to elude me.

Part of it is definitely executive function paralysis: what if I . . .

Thanks!

I haven't, because these are WAAAAAY outside their wheelhouse.

I'd love to partner with a publisher, but none have shown interest, sooo . . .

This would be another fine art cover, interior layout via Reedsy, and no illustrations (no budget). I'm not considering anything like Kickstarter -- because a successful KS requires a budget.

Opinions? Advice?

2/2

martial skills. Sultan al-Salih acquires him, he's assessed and assigned to the elite Bahriyya regiment under Aktay. He rises quickly to be Aktay's second, and by Mansura he's got the skills and the reputation to back it up.

What I think happened: Baibars was older than a child when he was captured, possibly 19 or 20; he already had experience fighting the Mongols, some scars, and a violent disposition. Al-Bundaqdari buys him, recognizes a diamond in the rough, and converts him while sharpening his already formidable

Addendum: I have a sneaking suspicion, totally unfounded of course, that his early life and service are propaganda devised in his lifetime to make his usurpation more palatable, overall.

about 5 years. So, who puts a newly-minted Mamluk in command of an elite regiment in 1250? Was he already trained by the time al-Salih takes possession of him? Was he already a formidable warrior when he was captured in Crimea? The military-school-child-prodigy thing makes no sense.

Thanks!

bring the crown prince, Turanshah, to Egypt). So, he's approximately 27 at Mansura. But, and here's where I get confused: he's not captured and enslaved until sometime around 1242 CE, and not transferred to al-Salih until 1245 or so (perhaps even 1247). Training in the Bahriyya regiment takes