Coop - Coup

Quote by AnnaMayZing

I have just discovered that Within Temptation also has a new album release on 20th October 2023.

It is entitled Bleed Out.

There's a couple singles out now. Sounding like quite the album. Sharon and Robert (the married couple who do most of the writing and are the band's founders) went quite political on this one, with a lot of focus on Ukraine but Bleed Out is about women's rights.

"Wireless" was the first release.

Quote by verbal
The High Lonesome

Sounds like a Western? Or maybe s-f?

I finally took the bait and started reading Saga last night. I've been hearing good buzz about it for years but have never plunged in. It's an ongoing comic series since 2012 (but with a hiatus from 2018 to 2022) about a mismatched couple from warring societies on the run from both their nations with their newborn in tow (who also narrates as an adult, giving the whole thing a bit of a flashback feel). Every bit as good as I heard. Good pair of lead characters, some humourous touches in spite of the general darkness of the setting (basically a galaxy in perpetual war with lots of nasty people around), interesting supporting cast including some seriously weird aliens. Even has magic which is why I class it as fantasy rather than s-f, even though it has lots of s-f elements. There's a compendium edition covering the entire period (54 issues) prior to the hiatus which is what I am reading now, then the ongoing comics get compiled into graphic novels every so many issues so I'll use those to catch up once I've finished the compendium. Authors are Brian K. Vaughan (writer) and Fiona Staples (Artist)

Brow - Crow

I've been hearing about Finnish metallers Battle Beast for a while now, but finally partook. Excellent band. Lead singer Noora Louhimo belts, shouts, and screams with the best of them.

Quote by verbal
Damned Thing

Possible title? 😉 I mean, it's not original (Ambrose Bierce wrote one called "That Damned Thing") but you could do much worse. 😋

So I awoke up at 2am, used the loo, and then barely slept after that. Feel like (censored) today. Don't even want to consume copious amounts of caffeine because that might disrupt me tonight.

Crew - Brew

Tempting as it is given the new Trek shows, I don't have Paramount+. Might get there eventually.

And Gil, sounds fine on the cold drinks. Just find they don't go down as fast when things get cooler.

Good morning! Coffee is brewing and there's tea in the teapots. Cold drinks are refreshed.

See you around.

Depends what I am doing. For reading a book or even magazine (we have e-subs to a couple magazines), tablet. For writing, surfing, etc., laptop. Really, I should probably be trying a convertible or "Pro" tablet with a keyboard base but they're a bit pricey.

Listen to music while writing or just quiet?

Elyse, the only person who could go on Price Is Right, win big, and be disappointed because her prize wasn't Drew. 🤣 I should tune it in someday when I'm working from home just to see what it is like with him. Except I don't have any access to regular TV right now due to cutting the cord. 😊

Chow - Chew (Yep, I know chows. They probably chew things, too. 😊)

Quote by verbal
Woke up early for frikk mowers and weed walkers.

Yeesh, what time do people start in your neck of the woods. Other than traffic and the odd contractor starting work, I rarely hear much before 9 or so here. Or is that early for you?

New week is here! Happy Monday!

Coffee is brewing. For today, we have Presidents Choice West Coast Dark Roast. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and Black Currant. Not sure cold beverages are needed anymore, but I'll keep them up for one more week and then probably break out the hot chocolate come October.

See ya'

Quote by DenimAngel
Spooky cookies start Oct 1

Good afternoon. Been busy. Went out for a midday dinner then a boatload of shopping. Are Costcos as bad on Saturday elsewhere as around here? Just getting parking was starting to look like needle in a haystack territory. And the scariest thing in Costco was not the Halloween decorations. It was ... duh duh duh ... the Christmas decorations. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Sun, as long as it is not too hot.

Swimming pool or head for a lake/ocean beach?

Show - Dhow (seriously, it's a type of boat)

Quote by verbal
Spooky season is upon us!

One more week, man. Halloween is October for me.

Quote by verbal
the End of Watch trilogy

I have no idea what this is. That's how out of the loop I am with King.

EDIT: Ah, booksellers and the publisher call it the Bill Hodges trilogy. That's what confused me.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

I was very sad to hear of his passing while I was away. Although The Last Farewell was his most noteworthy hit, and one of my favourites, he was also well known for his amazing whistling. Here, he accompanies the late, great Des O'Connor (in the UK at least) with The Skye Boat Song.

For some reason, the Roger Whittaker collection I was listening to had that recording greyed out on Amazon Music. Apparently they don't have Canadian rights for it or something? Because that's a lovely version of the song. Too many current versions use the Bear McCreary Outlander version as a starting point rather than the original folk song.

And some new metal from today. Dianne van Giersbergen has been teasing the second single from her upcoming first solo album for a few days and now it is out. Almost a bit over the top as symphonic metal goes but with her powerful soprano, it works. Some nice guitar work from Timo Somers, who has played in a number of bands over the years.

Good morning! I'll get to your new poem in a bit, Drew ... er ... JustAnotherSapphic. Your avatar confused me for a moment.😉

There's some Costa Rican dark roast brewing in the coffee pot. Teas are Darjeeling and Russian Caravan. Fresh pitchers of lemonade and iced tea are out.

How goes the battle, folks?

And some more cafe-suitable music from the lovely voice of Laufey, who is quite accomplished on several instruments as well as being an amazing singer.

Stop - Shop

Quote by verbal
Holly is wonderful, a thriller, nothing supernatural so far

Some of my favourite King back in the day fit this. The Body (aka Stand By Me) and Shawshank Redemption are both non-supernatural. Maybe I need to try some of his later stuff to break out of my reading rut. I kind of burned out on him at one point and haven't read anything since other than the Dark Tower series.

It is the penultimate day of the work week, the day holy to the great god (or superhero if you swing that way) Thor. So happy Thor's Day, all you peeps.

I've put some Tobermory Grotto on in the coffee pot. Teas are English Breakfast and Sunday Tea.

English baritone folk-pop singer Roger Whittaker was a very popular in my family and I remain fond of his work for that reason even if i don't listen to him much anymore. He passed away recently at 87.

Probably his best known original song is "The Last Farewell".

Petrol still, though I might go electric if I ever need to replace it. That said, the guy who serviced it last year says I should get a lot more years out of it so hopefully it lasts until I move away.

Water the lawn or just rely on the rain?

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood Morning!!! Hope you have a wonderful day ahead.

For coffee, there's some dark roast Nicaraguan from Las Chicas. I've put Red Rose and Earl Grey in the teapots. Cold drinks are mixed up, though I notice they are going down more slowly as Fall finally sets in. Marshmallows and hot chocolate are ordered.

Toying with a story and setting but no idea where to go yet. Probably keep writing and see what happens. So far I've got dinosaur-like predators, a group of refugees who are part of a religious group called the Seveners, and a badass woman with a bolt-action .30-06. I'm thinking this will be a weird Western-fantasy a la King's The Gunslinger but we'll see.

Hot air balloon. At least I'm in a basket. Hanging from the bottom of what is basically a big kite would likely be lethal for me.

Annuals or perennials?

Quote by gillianleeza
He loves super spicy things, so it must be extremely hot.

There's hot and then there's OMGWTF MY MOUTH IS ABLAZE!!!! I haven't that very often. The beef stirfry we had at a roadside restaurant in Szechuan province China, though. Holy hell, the so-called Szechuan cuisine here has nothing on the real thing. Also had yak for dinner one night (there's an ethnic Tibetan enclave in the area where we were) and it was no slouch on the heat, either.

Our government keeps edging closer and closer to adding at least basic dental care to our medicare system but progress is slow. It's only finally happening because the current government is being kept in power by support from the New Democrats who are the party that originated medicare in the first place. My work's health insurance is good for basics but doesn't do much for implants and that sort of thing.

Nice weather here, too, finally. Was a bit meh the last couple days. At least the summer heat is gone, though we didn't get it too bad this year. I shudder at what I was hearing from the US. My heat tolerance is low at the best of times.

Quote by verbal
I might be writing a book.

About the horrors haunting someone with a dead person's bone in their jaw? 😉

Israeli metal band Scardust is led by a powerful singer named Noa Gruman, who also directs the Hellscore choir which sings on their work and works with other bands as well. Their latest single came out today.

I think I've posted lists like this from AP before. Certainly, some of the markets have turned up on their lists multiple times (e.g. Escape Pod, which publishes both print and podcasts with separate arms for s-f, fantasy, and horror). Lots of options here. Got a mystery to sell? Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine. A fan of a certain overdone vampire? Dracula Beyond Stoker may be your place. Speculative fiction romance? Heartlines Spec (has the added bonus of being Canadian 😉). So have a look. Maybe there's a place on here for your next story.

https://authorspublish.com/30-magazines-paying-for-genre-fiction/