The Wordsmith's Forge

 meeks has updated "Ayla's Change" again.  The lines are sharper now, especially the girls' faces.  This one has 12 linkbacks, wow!

Also confirmed is the plan to work on the sketch for my story "Without Fail," which should be ready to submit to the Canon Board at Torn World some time this weekend.  I'm really looking forward to seeing that.

Crested pigeon, plus other critters. 

 This system may have a planet with water.

Check out the new article about Torn World over on Shared Story Worlds.  It mentions sea monster month and our first anthology.

Today's sea monster article is "The Thunder-Whale."  I designed this creature based on Terran cetaceans along with some myths about Leviathan.  The first part of its name refers to its powerful sonic attack.

If you like this article and want to see more like it, please consider sending me credits or karma through Torn World's crowdfunding options.  Not a Torn World member, but still want to support the work? I have a permanent PayPal button on my LJ profile page.

my_partner_doug tipped me to this video, "George Takei vs. Tennessee's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill."  This is a heartwarming use of social influence, and a very clever linguistic maneuver.  I have long admired George Takei's public speaking skills and acting ability.  I am now even further impressed with his social engineering.  I hope this catches on.  It would be an apt mark on history.

The May Sketch Fest is opening soon.  Everyone is welcome to leave prompts.  Artists can claim prompts and do sketches.  Watch for details about sponsoring sketches -- the artists have various parameters for how much and what they'll do, like the way some offer blocks of time for refining a sketch further.

So earlier I wrote this post, "The End Is Near...Do You Have Your Pr0n?"

One of my friends sent me a virtual gift on LJ.  I checked my profile.  It's a cute little shrimp ...

... otherwise known as a prawn.

Have prawn, will apocalypse.

I love linguistic humor.  I love my audience.  I am now imagining hordes of people showing up at the pearly gates, shrimp in one hand, erotica in the other, and St. Peter saying to me, "You did it again, you batty witch!  You're supposed to stay out  of our events!"

Oh for Pete's sake, how could I resist?  I didn't really start any of this, I just sort of ... boosted the signal.

xjenavivex is talking about her latest article, "Life, Death, and Water Mythology."  Among other things her background post references some of my poetry and other work.  The main article offers ideas that could be transferred from myth to science fiction.  Cool.

 Wow, these really pop.  Must remember that combination of marigolds and blue lobelia.

You can now read my post "Sea Monsters D-F" over on torn_world for more exciting words about things that want to eat you.

This reconstructed megalodon jaw is an example of the inspiration I used in creating Torn World's sea monsters.  I love natural history.

wordslinger introduces a story about a talking Pig who is a bard.  I like this twist on the usual fantasy.