My friend Daniel and I went camping this week — off the grid, even cell phone service. One night: the campsite was forgettable, the hiking trails unpleasant, and so we built a campfire and talked writing, life, relationships, and more writing for about 9 hours straight (and several bundles of wood later). Good times.
Next we need to find some place we can get a cheap cabin for a week so we can go and each write a novel. Hm. it will happen, I swear.
I am TOTALLY envious of my friend Cedra, who got an art grant to go to the Arctic Circle to paint. I am eagerly (VERY eagerly, actually) waiting for a freelance check to come in, to pay back-rent and to pay to get a painting/drawing she’ll do on the trip. I only hope the ship doesn’t hit an iceburg and sink because then I wouldn’t get my painting out of it would miss her a lot!
Doggie!
What? Only one comment so far? This is getting exciting! And how much DID she pay for that furniture?
Oh – and happy Fathers’ Day to all that it applies too. 😀
I’m still trying to figure out how you pronounce those creatures’ name. I’m also interested in how they manage to ditch or kill them. I’m in suspense! Come on, Chris. Update! Update!
@Richard_Robertson “Dith” is pronounced like the workd “dither.” The “-erkers” sounds like you’d say “berserkers.” And updates! I’m working! I’m working! 🙂
The question for Wednesday: can the Ditherkers survive in vacuum? If not, it’ll be a bit of a short chase.
@Christopher – Yes, I understand it can be quite difficult to draw by the light of a campfire… :p
She had a window resealer and a backup resealaer? My God, does she know her sons well!
I’ve suddenly had this thought: a “see’n’say” that says “The Ditherker warbles”
And the irony of it all is that this runs just after _Father’s_ Day. 🙂
Amazing. That is *exactly* the sound my windows make when they seal themselves after a bunch of space bloodhounds rips through them! Ssseall!
@Jordan: “Any atmosphere” presumably includes none at all.
The real question is whether they have propulsion jets.
“She had a window resealer and a backup resealer?”
Any living room that opens out into deep space probably has about twelve backup levels of window sealers. Mine sure as heck would, especially if something the size of a dog can simply bust through them by jumping at them.
A small flaw in the dithERker concept: it seems kind of easy to elude a scent-tracking animal in a spacefaring society. I’m visualizing them down at the spaceport, trying to combine their funds to buy a transport ticket. All they have to do is check out every known planet until they pick up the scent again…
Kind of like the end of Hunger Games, except in space, and with a mom.
@Daniel, I still haven’t read/seen it, but I suspected it ended like that. 🙂
Cue, Ditherkers attached to the outside of the ship.
@Trim, yeah, just think of them as space barnacles. Do a Google image search for “barnacle” and you’ll see why.. Imagine those things magnified from a quarter inch across to a couple of feet across and you’ll have a diTHERker, complete with vacuum-safe shell but enough space available for their cute little teeth to munch on your fingers.
@Lukas, just substitute “tornado debris” for “a bunch of space bloodhounds” and you’re right on the mark.
scary red monsters: 06/18/12 A Mother’s Job http://t.co/delsm0Yl
scary red monsters: 06/18/12 A Mother’s Job http://t.co/delsm0Yl
Mssr. Baldwin,
I’ve been following spacetrawler almost from the first page.
I can’t be silent, though, anymore. I have to say just one think about the tale.
Thank you. It’s wonderful and I love it and I’m grateful for the time and energy you put into it. Thank you.
I just had to be sure you were aware.
I’ll just go back to silent adoration, most likely, but you’ll know I’m out here with my gratitude, cheering you in silence…
+
“Iceberg”, not “Iceburg”. Unless you’re talking about some fictional frozen German city.