Weekend Lounge ~ The Third Place

Welcome back!

The weekend's here, so lets have a bit of fun.

There's been much discussion recently of reclaiming smaller things we've forgotten over the years, perhaps even subtle things we hadn't even considered before. One of the recent discussions has centered around "slop" and what we've allowed our entertainment and art to fall into. We've essentially given up trying or aiming for anything higher, our priorities on other things.

Another related and yet less talked about topic, is the loss of the Third Place. One might argue the loss is at the crux of everything we've been going through since Cultural Ground Zero put a wrecking ball to everything so long ago.

If you've been interested in the decay we've been going through for any amount of time by now then you've almost certainly heard of Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, a book that came out a quarter of a century ago which saw all the patterns that had already formed and the cracks that led to pale artificial replacements like "Geek Culture" to consume an entire cohort of youth into a New Religion and way of life. The problem became centered on the "Normie" and the solution was to relate to those who consumed the same product you did instead. There was nothing else to it. You were a Victim and everyone was out to get you.

And, obviously, that mentality didn't work out too well.

One of the expressions no one had really brought up over this quarter century was the idea of the "Third Place" in life, something Bowling Alone described as its main thesis, and something which has faded away into irrelevance in the war on everything that is modern life. All this despite the fact that we clearly desire connection while fighting hard against finding it at the same time. It's a giant mess, but we're used to it by now. We don't want to accept it's not normal or healthy, for whatever reason. And we're paying for it.

The video above gives a good description of the topic. The Third Place is, as described, the third important place in life. The first being Home and the second being Work. Home is where we can relax and recharge on our own and with those closest to us. Work is where we show another side of ourselves, using effort to achieve something separate from Home and our relationships there. You know how you always felt awkward as a kid when your parents talked to your teachers? There's a reason for that. Instinctively, you knew those two places should be separate. Mashing those together hasn't been all too great a change either, but that's not the topic today.

The Third Place is a neutral public space between the other two where we can connect with other people away from the others. In fact, part of the three places that makes them important is that it disconnects us from the other two and gives us a break and a way to discover new sides of ourselves. All three are important.

The third can be as simple as a restaurant, a bar, or a club, a place where you are detached somewhat from the other two places, throwing in some unpredictability and odd comfort into your day to day routine. And it no longer exists in the modern world.

The issue is that all three places have been heavily damaged in recent years. Home has turned into a bunker from the world, a place where Work is not only brought into but made the place where it is frequently done the most. Work has no stability and therefore contains no trust or growth of basic work relationships beyond tentative trust for as long as your inevitably short employment exists for. The Third Place, however, is completely gone and destroyed from modern life, taken out back and shot. And we're feeling its effects today.

There is no public neutral place to go, and they are rapidly dying out. In the process, we are losing community connections and turning into a block of strangers who sometimes see each other when we dare go out to... well, to do what? Going out is now seen as an annoyance, taking you away from your bunker. It's a nuisance, not a break. Eventually, the way things are going. we won't even need to go out to get groceries anymore. Then what happens?

All of this is killing community worse than Putnam ever imagined it would. Remember, his book was written before social media, lockdown world, and door dash. We've fought hard to kill off connection since Bowling Alone first released, and we're not quite turning it around yet. Local life is dying everywhere as we anticipate plugging into the cloud instead.

I know where I am the streets are fairly deserted and even the weekend makes no difference anymore. It is a ghost town of door dash drivers and empty buildings and sidewalks. There are no clubs, no hobby groups, not even church gatherings, anymore. It's just a large concentrated block of people who do everything they can to avoid each other. That's all it is and all it has become.

What is being built up by this attitude? What is the purpose of burrowing away into ourselves at the expense of both our own health and everyone else around us? We all know the answer to that, and we're well aware of where we're going is not anywhere good.

On the plus side, this topic is being brought up again more and more in discourse, because now there is no one who doesn't know, and doesn't pretend, that any of this is leading to a healthier society. We know it's not. We just have yet to figure out a solution beyond fancy words and promises. We need more than that. The answer involves bringing back the Third Place, and until we do, we'll be trapped circling the drain.

That's all for this week! Have yourself a good rest and get ready for March! We're almost there and out of the endless winter.

I can't wait until we finally are.

Check out Cirsova #20! My story of a man on a motorcycle with a mission against witches is inside! I hope you like bullets, because you'll get them!

Weekend Lounge ~ Animated Past

Welcome back! I hope the new year is working out well for you!

For 2025's first proper post, lets take a look at the above video. It shows a bit of the evolution and changes of the animation industry in both the US and Japanese animation industries. Why certain things happened and why others did not. It's more of a general summary and history, so you won't get specific details on certain things, but the general gist of why things happened the way they did. Worth the watch just for the comparison.

That said, the main thrust of it can be gathered pretty clearly. Japan thought of animation as a medium to explore with stories and new techniques while the US never really considered animation as anything but kid stuff. This didn't change as the years went on. Even the "adult" animation we talk about these days was simply "adult" because it was subversive and winking at you that it was doing what it was because it was playing in a "kid" medium. As a consequence, exceptions aside, it never really grew up. It neve really wanted to.

I'll go a bit further than the video and name at least one of the culprits. If you've read here for a while than you probably know who I'm going to blame.

The US industry was also run by secular prudes like Peggy Charren since near the beginning, and this is an unavoidable subject. People that fought for complete censorship (No shooting villains, showing blood or death) for children while simultaneously fighting for complete freedom for adults to watch everything short of (and it would eventually include) pornography after a certain timeslot for adults. Where such people got the idea that poison stopped negatively affected you just because you turned a certain age is a mystery, but also completely nonsensical for moral crusaders to believe in. This is what happens when your morality is empty on the base of it. This helped contribute to the oddly stunted maturity of the industry that never really, and still hasn't, ever tried to grow up. This is what has led it into the wall it crashed into some time ago.

Of course, Japan has its own issues with over-corporatization and an increasingly rigid reliance on tired formulas, but it doesn't change that their base is still a lot stronger under them. They can still make things like Pluto or Frieren. This side of the pond can't make anything but "Billion dollar corpo/ nostalgia franchise slathered in late 20th century grey morality" which runs out of steam incredibly fast every time. The only new thing it has is cramming ever-changing modern sexual morality into whatever they do to make it more predictable. It cannot compete with the East, and we all know it. It can't even compete with its own past, at this juncture.

The most exciting US animation is entirely underground at this point and done by people who are passionate about the medium in a way the mainstream simply isn't (some examples here), despite how the individual workers might feel. The US isn't hopeless or finished in regards to the medium, but they are behind, and thankfully the newer generation, the one least enthralled with nostalgic throwbacks to dead days and constant subversion, are looking ahead. They are the ones who will steer the ship in the right direction.

Despite what the tone of this post might indicate, I am vey optimistic for the future of the medium, but I do think all the more interesting projects at this point (particularly in regards to the US) are coming from the younger generation in the indie sphere. Such seems to be the case for a lot of things these days, but it's particularly true here.

What we need going forward is our entertainment industries run by people who not only want to push things to the next level, but also hold no bitterness towards the past; people who think art has a meaning or purpose being consuming or giving the finger to someone they are bitter towards. Create something new, something fresh, and want to show it to both the young and old. Art can bring us together, it does not always have to divide or tear down.

Until we figure that out, I'm afraid a lot of industries are just going to remain stuck. So here's hoping 2025 is the year we make strides to turn that around.

Thanks for joining me in this fresh new year! It's going to be a good one.

Don't forget to pick up (and review!) some issues of Cirsova! Few better ways to spend the doldrums of January!

Thanks for 2024!

One last go for 2024! It's been a strange year for me so I'd like to go over some of it. Enjoy the wild video above and then stay for the rest of the post.

I should also say that the next episode of the Letters from the Wasteland podcast is up on the Patreon. The topic is AI and it's both an hour long and the first of a two-parter, so be sure to check that one out. It went on a bit longer than I was expecting it to. The second part will be out next week.

Also, in case you missed the recent update, I'm in the next issue of Cirsova out next month. We're starting 2025 off with a bang!

All that aside, the last year has been a bit wild for me. I had a very unexpected upheaval in my personal life the exact moment I put up the Patreon and yet at the same time still tried to simultaneously keep this place updated (keeping Cannon Cruisers, Wasteland & Sky, AND the Substack all updated was a bit of a time sink) along with making sure I was writing wasn't the easiest. You know what they say, everything always seems to hit at once.

Though, despite all of that, I did manage to put out my two books for the year. The first was Star Wanderers (please leave a review on amazon if you have not) and the second was Phantom Mission on the Patreon, on top of the short stories in Sidearm & Sorcery Volume Three, Cirsova #20, and Silence & Starsong #4. Despite the increase in distractions, my output remained more or less the same. I've also got stories coming for 2025, as well as others in the can for 2026(!). Yes, I plan on doing this for the long haul.

My plan going forward for 2025 is going to be a bit different, though not that crazy or out there. I'm planning to take the early months of the year, which are typically dead activity-wise anyway, to focus purely on writing and editing. For my two books in 2025 I'm planning to finish off Phantom War on the Patreon with Book 2 and 3, and finally release Book 1 wide on places like Amazon after getting to the edits I've still got to attend to. Like I said, there's a backlog of stuff I have to get through and some things I still have to figure out. Perhaps a Kickstarter for Phantom Mission to get a nice illustrated cover? We will see. That is still a bit of a ways out as of this writing.

On the other side of the spectrum, I have a few short stories already submitted and waiting to release, and others on the side waiting for submissions to open (including some by request, so it's really a waiting game for a lot of this). Writing-wise, I have a few short stories I absolutely must get done ASAP to complete a few projects and then start planning on the next ones. The first quarter of the year is going to be a heavy focus on all of those above all else, then hopefully business as usual once spring rolls around and my schedule can return to normal. Or I suppose as normal as a writer's schedule can get, anyway.

In other words, there is a lot on the way, and a lot I've got to get through sooner than later. That's a warning that blog posting will still be a bit slower for awhile, in order for me to catch up with myself, but it'll still exist. I enjoy the weekend lounge posts, and I hope to continue those. Longer posts will still go up on the Patreon first before coming out here at least a month later. Keeping all of this in balance is going to be a bit of a challenge, but that's part of the fun.

Otherwise, the plan is business as usual. 2025 will feature me still chugging along, God Willing, and putting out some projects I've been very excited for. There's a few things I'm very eager to get done and show you. It's going to be a fun time.

That's all for this year. 2024 has been a weird one, and I am a bit sad to see it go, oddly enough, but there's good times ahead. I'm excited to see what's coming down the pike.

Also, before I forget, thank you very much for 10 years of Wasteland & Sky! Yes, it's been over a decade since I started this journey. I never expected my original stomping grounds would last so long, even with alternative sites like the Substack around now.

I appreciate anyone who has taken time out of their day to stop by, even if you haven't been around long. It's been a long ride this past decade, and I hope to continue on for at least another ten years more. I've got plenty of things to do, and I hope you'll join me as I get through it.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, everyone!

Have a great holiday. You deserve it.

For more of my writings, you can support me on the Patreon! There's a lot on the way!

Weekend Lounge ~ Times Change

Welcome to the weekend! We're a mere ten days away from Christmas!

As we get ready to head towards the halfway point of the '20s, and as the internet begins closing in and breaking down, now is probably the time to take a good look at just how wild it was back then. Remind yourself on just how different it was. What better way to do that than with this look back at the figure who probably best represents the way it was in the old days, the ever-controversial, and very Gen Y, Mister Metokur AKA The Internet Aristocrat AKA . . . a lot of names!

This might be harder for younger folks to understand in an age where the internet is overrun by insane schoolmarms with loopy rules and puritans for the lame status quo of Current Year, but as infamous as the man called Jim might be for those who know him, he was actually a pretty common personality for those who grew up Gen Y and spent their late teens and early adulthood engaged in the early days of mass internet adoption. That was back when the internet was still a wild frontier yet to be conquered by the most boring people imaginable.

How was it different? In many ways.

Basically, everyone knew the internet was not real. It still isn't real, but we used to know that more deeply. You went on to blow off steam, find some cool corner of the internet that showed you things you didn't know, hang out with other like minded fellows, then you disconnected. It wasn't your life, it was more like a hobby to engage in when going out or calling friends just wasn't feasible. This was in fact how it was throughout the '00s. Gen Y, still under the yolk of the soon too be fractured Geek Culture, got together and shared their favorite products and events, and even messed with each other like guys used to do once upon a time. Things are different now, though, unfortunately, not in a better way.

What you should see in the above video of Mister Metokur's rise and . . . well, not fall--he's still around and still popular in certain circles, is someone who sees the digital world for what it is. It's a playground with endless possibilities where you can find anything. You might not disagree with how he spends his time on it, but it's clear that his approach was one we once understood long ago before we started following Influencers with Platforms, thought leaders on social media, and nauseating artificiality like that. Back before buzzword culture, we were just having fun.

And now the internet is on the way out. It probably won't even have proper recordings of how things really were before it went off the rails, so be sure to remember for yourself. It's only through building on what worked that we can build something better. And we're going to be building a lot in the years to come. We're going to have to.

Also, if you can, please send prayers his way. Jim has a sickness that has sidelined him heavily over the past few years, putting him on his deathbed more than a few times, though it's miraculously dulled none of his humor. That is a trait we would do well to imitate. Gen Y might be having a rough go at it, but I believe we are just now hitting our prime years on this Earth. Pray that we might all not only make it, but thrive and show the world just what we are capable of.

There is no limit to what we can do, a lesson that early internet should have taught us before we fell in line with those wanting to destroy it for clout and a couple of bucks. Let's finally go anywhere and do what we need to do. We've still got a decade to salvage.

That's all this week, and I'll see you next time!

My story, Mirage Carousal, is in the Fall issue of Cirsova! Bullets, hidden casinos, motorcycles, mist-covered towns, and monsters! Check it out today!

Rising from the Ashes

Welcome back! I've been doing a lot of running around recently and waiting for the Star Wanderers proofs to arrive in the mail, so I've not had much time to write here. That said, there have been some strange happenings, one of which I want to speak on today.

We've been speaking a lot about independent spaces where creatives are truly flourishing away from the rote and puerile corpo scene for years at this point. Sure we've gone on puffing our chests and talking about this change, but has there been much in the way of results? While the old industries fall away, is there actually something rising to take it's place?

It turns out that the answer, regardless of what industry you might be thinking of, is yes. If there is any form of art and entertainment you enjoy, there is an example of its independent space dwarfing what the mainstream has to offer. Such a thing would be unthinkable a decade ago and not even thought of as possible 20 years before. Of course these means a lot more curation is needed, an obvious downside to the death of failed gatekeepers, but that is just the reality of things.

The fact of the matter is the duty of gatekeeping industries is to shine a spotlight on quality first and foremost, to allow it the chance to shine and connect with wider audiences. However, the position being warped and used as a way to reward political allies who deliver bomb after bomb to the market while ignoring the rest of the world has repelled the mass audience away from every "professional" space. The trust that had accumulated over the years is now gone, and said industries are on their back foot. A good portion of the will probably do little but shrink and circle the drain until they are eventually dead. This is what happens when you fail to adapt.

Once the audience leaves, they don't come back. Deliberately chasing them out is suicide, and now we see it in full bloom today.

So then what of independent spaces? Are they still looked at as "vanity" projects, or for folks that "couldn't make it" in the mainstream, or has that perception changed? If the audience is walking away from failing mainstream industries, where are they going now?

You might have already guessed it, but the answer is that the independent world is no longer considered fringe or lesser to the majority of the audience that has moved on. It is now seen as a direct competitor, and anyone paying attention not only considers that fact, they also vastly prefer the new space that is currently growing at rapid speed.

Which industry does this refer to? That's the bizarre part--it's all of them. There isn't one creative space where the folks independent from the old system isn't outdoing said old system on just about every account besides budget, and budget has quickly become a dirty word in most artistic endeavors in modern day. The old industries threw too much money, overblew budgets, and polished everything until nothing remained but sheen blinding the audience to anything original that might have once existed. Every old industry is like this now, and they are all dying.

Despite that, of course it isn't all sunshine and roses. Most of the newer alternatives are still scraping by and still gaining steam and support. Again, without a marketing budget or an entire system behind them (as gutted as it has been from misuse in Current Year), these new spaces are still growing about as slowly as the old industries are falling in on themselves. The way the wind is blowing is obvious, and most have either accepted it and made the change accordingly or refuse to face reality.

It might be slow going, but we all know where this is eventually going. The only question is how long it will take to finally get there.

However, one example of an independent space growing so big it has actually pierced the mainstream and seized the wheel, is video games. While every other industry might still be slowly making strides to change itself, games have already done it. In fact, they did it so well that most people have yet to really notice it already has.

As the AAA industry burns to ash in the mainstream, video games have had a resurgence. There has not only been an increase in new ideas and approaches, but also in formerly abandoned genres that were once industry standards but were thrown aside for the AAA slop. Now that is actually acceptable to say how bad the industry is, especially after an entire console gen of literally nothing, audience are now realizing where they are getting their entertainment from, and it's not the big dogs.

Nowhere is this shift more obvious than in the FPS genre. What was once a genre of kings back in the '90s before being overtaken by AAA throughout the '00s, eventually, like everything else, had its core removed, its edges sanded off, and turned into safe corporate AAA product. The days of Duke Nukem and even Half Life were long over. This all changed throughout the '10s, eventually building into a new scene that has just recently finally managed to burst out and take over the landscape.

We've gone over this before, but the scene has only gotten better with the passage of years. If that old piece is hopeful, the reality turned out even better.

Let us go into an example of how things have improved.

The above video at the top of the post is a review of a DOOM II "mod" (and I use the term "mod" extremely loosely) called Ashes: 2063, a completely free download of a post-apocalyptic adventure that has more depth, replayability, and ambition than anything the mainstream is putting out. There are multiple episodes, each offering different approaches and refinements of the original concept, making it a wholly original game that using the term "mod" is almost insulting. They fashioned an entirely new game out of John Carmack's masterpiece of an engine, showing just how ahead of time DOOM really was for its time. Even now it impresses.

For a full breakdown on what the game is and why it's so impressive, I highly recommend watching the above video. Simply putting it into words won't work when a visual comparison or a visual medium will do that much better. Needless to say, there is much more to the project than you might think and it is very representative of how the scene operates today. 

And, again, it's free.

However, that is not all. Ashes is just one example in a wave of new creators taking over from the failing old industry.

On top of the above was a recent stream for an FPS game showcase. It might not seem like a big deal unless you understand hoe much things have changed in a mere few years. This one stream put the last decade and a half of E3 shows to shame on its own. Not only was there 70(!) games presented, all recent and new releases, it's almost all entirely pure gameplay and with minimal filler to be found in its massive length.

You can see this stream below. If you have any interest in video games or the genre you will be blown away by the sheer amount on offer, most of it looking top notch. While the AAA industry struggles to even release games at all anymore, the indie space is putting this out:

For those who don't want to watch or skim the stream, it is several hours long and contains nothing but wall to wall game footage with minimal channel ads for the host. It's almost like a throwback to another age of the industry that no longer exists.

One of the projects shown off is even the newest instalment in the Ashes saga, Ashes: Hard Reset. As someone who was watching when it was shown off, the chat exploded with excitement at the gameplay reveal. It was almost like watching those old E3 shows again. That thrill is still there--it's just no longer in the mainstream.

That's a common theme today. The old spirit still exists, it just no longer resides in the old industry. It doesn't matter what medium this refers to--that is simply the reality of it.

The book industry, while not at the level of video games (we have a lot more work to do to make up for decades of failure, after all) is one such industry that has long since lapped the old one. The visibility problem might be bigger, but that just comes with the territory of operating in a weaker industry. It has to be built up again from almost the ground level.

I highlighted a few crowdfunds at the beginning of the month, and since then there have been a few that have popped up in just the short time. For instance, Cirsova has put out a limited campaign to sell 100 copies of the Illustrated Stark omnibus by Leigh Brackett. Over half have already been sold, so you might want to jump on that while you still can. That aside, there is something new showing up almost every day. No one can really keep up with it all, though that is a better option than the alternative. No one wants to go back to that dead end state.

So if you're feeling discouraged by the state of things, you might want to reconsider exactly where we are and what is going on outside your window. There is a vibe shift happening and we have evidence of it everywhere. Even those who have stuck by the ever-declining mainstream can no longer avoid the obvious and are now changing their tune after years, even decades, of ignoring what can no longer be ignored. The winds of change are blowing harder everyday.

You might want to pay attention to it now, because who knows where it will go next.

A retro spy adventure inspired by the classics! Check out "The Other Fellow" Kickstarter by William Hastings!

Weekend Lounge ~ Interface

Welcome to the weekend!

Not much this week to share, other than I wish the weather would settle down. It's been all over the place and very hard to do anything because of. It's a shame because after a winter that was far less intense than the last few I was hoping to get into the spring easier. But alas . . .

Anyway, this week I wanted to share a bizarre animated film shared with me called Interface. It's a throwback to the old cable TV and rental store days with both its animation style and aspect ratio. It feels like both an obscure lost VHS movie and a modern generation flick at the same time, which, if that's what you go for, might be up your alley.

I'm not sure how many people who visit Wasteland & Sky might be into this, but if you remember finding this obscure animated movies in the corner of your old rental shop where the grey carpet was a little stained and you could smell the rain leakage in the ceiling, this might jolt you back to a different time and place. Even if you weren't there, Interface has such a strange style that evokes both lost eras and uncertainty for the future that it's hard to not give it a recommendation. A story of missing self in a world that has both changed and not changed, has moved on yet remains stuck, it's a fascinating look into a present that doesn't exist but also does.

Again, if you don't like dry humor and slow pacing, or story that relies almost exclusively on visual and obscure dialogue to carry you along, Interface might not be for you. But I quite liked it, and that's why I'm sharing it with you today. This early spring time with uncertain weather is probably the best time to give it a viewing.

That's all for this week! As you know by now, I've got a project I'm putting together with Cirsova called Star Wanderers, and it's almost ready to unleash on the world. Until then, I'm still scrambling behind the scenes to keep up with myself. 2024 has been all over the place so far. Here's hoping it straightens out a bit as the year goes on.

Have a good weekend, and I will see you next time!

Sign up for Star Wanderers, a new project of action and wonder! Coming soon!

Christmas, Imagination, and Wonder

Art by Boris Vallejo, taken from Ben Espen's blog

Merry Christmas!

I don't have much to share this weekend since it is the dead center of one of the most festive times of the year, but there are a few things I wanted to mention. The first is the above image and how it perfectly encapsulates what adventure writers are trying to do. It also shows exactly who we are and what we strive to become.

There is more to life than the hamster wheel. Don't let anyone tell you and different. The only ones who don't want the prisoners dreaming of the outside world are the prison guards, after all. That said, it isn't always escapism to dream of such things. Sometimes it is just longing for the supernatural end of the natural world we were given. It is longing for what we can already know is out there but just have little idea of how to reach with our own power. Human beings both over and underestimate ourselves to strange degrees. It is what the comedy and tragedy genres are both about, after all. Sometimes we get lost in our own ambitions or vices.

Escapism can be a bad word. When being confronted by the harsher elements of reality, one can use it to avoid their problems to a harmful degree. Think drugs, alcohol, or addictions. All of those things that can be used in healthy moderation can in turn be made a vice if put on a pedestal above other things. One can really do this with anything to the point of obscuring what is important. They might even need to outright neglect of important things, in the end.

That said, the above image by Boris Vallejo perfectly encapsulates the importance of both imagination and the core mission of writers such as myself. It is to remind readers that there is more to life than this. there is more than you see on a daily basis. That is not to say there is nothing valuable in everyday life and that it all must be escaped, but to show that you as an individual are a valuable thread in the tapestry of our society and that it all connects together as one whole in ways we can't even imagine. Everything matters, and there is more to it than what you can see. Though you might think your everyday slog is worthless and a waste of time, it is not and neither are you. And just like the above barbarian, you are also secretly a strong warrior capable of much more than you or others think. It's not so much escapism, but a reminder of who you really are.

Wonder stories exist to present this key truth in the mystery of existence in ways the audience might not expect. Though we might not always see it, and those leaders in charge might forget it themselves, you do matter and you have much to offer. The job of writers is to show that there is meaning in everything, even what might seem mundane is secretly much more than that. The land of the faerie exists around every corner, behind every tree, and down every strange alley, just out of sight. Wonder tales are reminders of greater things that await in the smallest things.

Christmas does this, too. In a manger in some lowly country off in the middle of nowhere, covered in dirt and surrounded by animals, there is a Baby most would never even know was there, and that Baby is the Greatest of us all. Where you least expect it is the most valuable discovery you will ever find. This is true wonder.

So this holiday season, please remember that one truth, no matter who you are and no matter where you are in your life. We may think that we're alone or that we're fighting an endless battle, but we're really not. In fact, we've already won the most important one, and we didn't even have to do anything. In comparison, our everyday squabbles and troubles, regardless of how big they might seem to us right now, aren't quite so bad. This will all eventually pass. Besides, we're fierce warriors, aren't we? We're capable of so much more than we believe we are.

Let us, hopefully, never forget that.

Have yourself a Merry Christmas, and I will see you very soon.

I spent my year putting out a four book adventure series of magic and heroes! Check out the entire thing today!