Argon: Blog

Hi, everybody,
I just posted the first two chapters of my newest novella, Bitter Pills. It is set in Philadelphia, the Di Rosas feature a little bit, but it is mostly a story of a couple driven apart by the pressures of their jobs, who struggle to rekindle their love and careers. I hope you will enjoy it a little.
The book was submitted to Bookapy, too, for those wishing to read it in one sitting (it's only 33,500 words) and willing to pay a small contribution for that privilege. Don't know when it'll be available.
In other matters, I have revised a number of older stories, and I am still rewriting or adding to others. In The Navy will see a second coming, with added chapters and a longer timeline. It will also be fit for younger readers (at Finestories) while those who enjoy the caffeinated, older version will still find that on SOL.
Ellen will see a complete rewrite of the first five or six chapters, to correct continuity and probability issues. Again, the original version will remain available on SOL.
My next new opus, The Adventures of Will Potter, is nearing its completion. The going has been slow in the last year, mostly because my impending retirement had me focus on wrapping up things at work, but I have the plot for the last chapters now, and I am plodding along with the draft.
That's it; I'm alive and writing, and I plan to be around for some time, health and viability permitting. My heart surgery in 2021 went very well, and the old pump is chugging nicely and regularly now. I am very grateful for living in the 21st century and in a country with mandatory health insurance!

… to be awarded a Classic Clitoris. Not that she hadn't a busy one all along, but a Golden Clitoris is rare even in British Aristocracy.
When I started "Ellen", I was still in the middle of In The Navy, having just finished the late Gisele, and my writing was still very raw. Yet, the increasing exposure of Ellen to the Regency's higher society forced me to invest more and more time into the research of the epoch, an effort that bore fruit with many of my subsequent stories. It is a source of constant amazement how well "Ellen" was and is received by SOL's readership, given the often cheesy plot of the early chapters. Then again, a gorgeous blonde who matures into a woman of character and strength is certainly a draw, and it does not hurt that her somewhat immature lover and husband also grows into a man worthy of her. (Note to self: remember that principle for future stories!!)
Anyway, a great, big thank you to the readers for voting "Ellen" as recipient of the Classic Clitoris 2021!
It will certainly motivate me to finish my current main project, "The Adventures of Will Potter". Will is an orphan and merchant's apprentice who is forced to volunteer into the Royal Navy, early in the Revolutionary Wars. With good luck and dedication he becomes first a purser's steward in a small sloop, and then attains the coveted purser's warrant himself, finding a sweet young wife in the bargain. ETA: sometime in late summer or early fall.
That's it. Thanks, you guys!

This morning I posted Chapter 14 of DoN. Chapters 15 and 16 returned from editing and will undergo final preparation over the weekend. They will be posted together since #16 is rather short. That will finish the story.

I have no clue which of my ongoing projects will be finished next. My money is on The Story of Will Potter, another naval yarn, but from the viewpoint of a young man who volunteers for the Navy to avoid flogging and possibly prison. No knighthoods for that young man, but rather a landsman's rating in a tiny sloop headed for New South Wales.

Another possibility will be Hot Chocolate, a story in my Knights and Commoners universe, about a young merchant whose most popular merchandise are cocoa beans from New Spain.

Ricky Rover, often referenced and featured briefly in SRK, will also have his story told at one point.

Have fun with the final chapters of DoN!

The final two chapters of Double or Nothing will be delayed. I sent off chapter 14 yesterday evening for editing, and chapter 15, the final chapter has not been written yet. Therefore, for the time being, no new chapters will come forth. Sorry.

This is in fact the first time since I finished Ellen that I started posting an unfinished story, and this delay is one of the primary drawbacks of the approach.

Yet, the strategy has its advantages, too. For instance, I was able to react to readers' ideas and suggestions (see Chapter 13). I was also able to maintain my focus on the story much better without the distraction of another four stories in various stages of development.

To those, who wait for the last chapters of DoN, my apologies. I shall finish it as fast as I can, but I don't want to neglect research and quality over rushing out chapters. Good editing and finalising also takes time, so please, be patient!

Added: Thank you for the understanding!

This is a premiere for me. I took a story off this site. All About Gisele is gone, from SOL and hopefully from the collective memory of my readers. It is bad. It is cheesy. It is constructed. It represents what I dislike in other people's stories. I hung on to it all these years out of nostalgia. After all, for a day after its posting, it had held a perfect score of 10, back when scores were inflated, in May, 2006. Yet, when I looked it up again after years of ignoring it, I positively cringed.
Do not worry (or get hopeful?) - I shan't pull any other stories. I like the remaining ones.