Was never really happy with the original cover for ARIA, so I made this one...

Okay, I try to avoid foul language on here these days, but WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE FUCK, @support.bsky.team??

Got an email from my 89 year-old dad this morning that he stayed up until 3:30AM to finish ARIA. Okay, I'll take that as a compliment, lol! 😎 authormichaelhicks.com/aria/

Amen...

If this guy time travelled back to the 1930s, he'd appear as Neville Chamberlain. newrepublic.com/post/202938/...

Breaking away from the world's insanity, I didn't get much done on author stuff today other than hammering through more chapters of Reaping The Harvest to bone up on the background before I start book 4. 1/2

Shaheen and the rest of the Dem Quislings (and this goes beyond just those who voted with the Nazis; this was no doubt orchestrated by Schumer) are working hard to convince you that shit sandwiches taste GOOD and you should love the thought of eating a lot more of them.

THERE IS NO NEGOTIATING WITH NAZIS. Europe learned that the hard way in the late 1930s. Democrats were actually winning the battle for hearts and minds on this one. And here's the bitter reality: there is NO getting out of this without a huge amount of pain... 1/2

Okay, enough raging (for now) against the Democrats helping the Nazis consign who knows how many Americans to death. I've got to try and do something productive for a while lest I pop a vessel.

Just a clarification. The Dems didn't cave to the Nazis over "your right to affordable healthcare." They agreed to let the Nazis move forward with their plans to KILL US. That is what is happening here. The Republicans and their Democratic Party enablers ARE KILLING US. Not hyperbole, folks.

If you keep "voting Blue not matter who," shit like what just happened to your healthcare is going to keep happening. THE DNC DOES NOT WORK FOR YOU, they work for Big Money. Find people like Mamdani with a *track record* of supporting social democratic policies and vote for them. 🖕 to the DNC.

Okay, the draft of Clíodhna's Refuge is off to the beta readers. Now I'm splitting my available time between hunting for a cover for it, reading through Reaping The Harvest before starting Harvest book 4, and working on the audiobook for First Contact... #AuthorAccountability

No downsides detected.

I've got a few more spots open for beta readers for "Clíodhna's Refuge," which is what I'll tentatively call a current-day action/adventure romance. It has a bit of spice and a non-trivial amount of violence. So if you're interested, let me know (note: this not a paid gig).

Cat wakes me up at 4AM: she's hungry. There's still food left in the platter I put out for her at night (she typically goes through 3 servings overnight). No, she doesn't want that. I stumble downstairs and give her a fresh serving and stagger back to bed. 5AM: she's hungry...🤦‍♂️

24 chapters reviewed and five to go on a romance novel I'll be sending off to beta readers early next week... #WritingCommunity

Just a periodic reminder that Mike Johnson and the other 138 Republicans in the House and 8 in the Senate who made up the Sedition Caucus should all be in prison.

After a ridiculously early wake-up, it's now time to move to my office (aka the kitchen table) to get back to reviewing the current novel draft... #AuthorAccountability #WritingCommunity #AmWriting

Author accountability post: while I didn't get the cover image for the hardcover version of Legend Of The Sword uploaded to Amazon, I did manage to update the format for the romance novel - working title is "Clìodhna's Refuge" - and make all the changes indicated by the editor.

Now scheduled to get flu and COVID vax on the 18th. Was hoping to be able to get Novavax, but apparently it's not currently available to us where we are in France, so we're getting the Pfizer vax.

Leek and potato soup for dinner. Boy, is this stuff good! www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/pota...

I decided to pause working on some of the other things I've been focused on (getting hardcover editions and audiobooks underway for my In Her Name series) and publish a romance novel I've been sitting on since late 2023. #AuthorCommunity #AmWriting

Yeah, the Democrats *should* worry about the fallout: that voters across the country might wake up to the fact that voting for candidates with a democratic socialist platform is a good thing, and that the Democratic Party has made itself irrelevent. www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/m...

THANK YOU, NEW YORK CITY! Nice to see some good news for a change!!!

May he burn in Hell for all eternity alongside Kissinger. apnews.com/article/dick...

I know a lot of folks have been making "author transparency" posts about their sales, but I'm going to start doing "author accountability" posts for myself to motivate me (hopefully!) to do some "author stuff" every day. 1/3

Time to watch the Resident Evil movies again...

Kim Kardashian. What an absolute fucking idiot.

Does anyone know off the top of their head of a KN95/FFP2 mask in the style of the Breatheteq here that's available in France/EU? TIA! breatheteq.com/products/bre...

🎯🎯🎯🎯

The more I see and hear from Mamdani, the more I like him. If the Democratic Party wasn't so owned by monied interests - especially AIPAC - they could learn how to consistently win elections in a landslide from him.

I made a little correction (red arrow) to this list of "to-do's" from Doctor on Demand in an email they sent out, but it was at least gratifying to see them adding masking as a preventative measure...

We have a Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) plan that's through United Healthcare that I carried into retirement. Not only are the premiums and deductibles going up, but they're dropping coverage for gender-affirming care. Fuck you, UHC.

Time to check over the digital drafts of the next gaggle of paperbacks before ordering proof copies... #WritingCommunity

One should assume, if one had not already, that every single thing the GOP has to say about pretty much anything is a lie or fabrication.

It's a crappy pic, but I made coq au vin and parsley potatoes for dinner. OMNOMNOM!

Schumer if he was teleported back to Germany, 1933: "I want to say to Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Reinhard Heydrich: come to the Riechstag, sit down in public, and debate us on the healthcare crisis..." The Dem leadership is singularly incapable of meeting this moment in our history.

Kinda wondering where all the ammosexuals who've been hoarding weapons and ammo for decades are. You know, the guys who are terrified of helicopters carrying loads of jack-booted thugs coming for them in the middle of the night? Where are you freedom-loving patriots? Kind of a mystery, I guess...

Finally picked up the Amazon KDP hardcover proof (book on the right) from the post office. I already knew the margins for the text on the cover were off, but I didn't expect the text margins to be so narrow on the back. 1/2 #SciFi #WritingCommunity

Okay, enough of politics for a bit. Back to formatting my books for print. Oh, did I mention BOOKS? If you enjoy sci-fi, space opera, thrillers, alternate history, or romance, click on the link to my site, below, to check 'em out: authormichaelhicks.com/my-books/

Speaking as a former Army officer and DOD civilian who spent a career in the intelligence community, I have to say that Hegseth and Trump's harangue of our senior military officers and enlisted members was one of the most odious and disgusting displays I've ever witnessed.

Yay! We now have our residency permits for France!

Look what came in the mail today! Proof copy of the new print version of FIRST CONTACT. So, a question for you: on the interior pages of print books, do you prefer white or cream colored paper??

Having to relearn everything I'd long since forgotten about formatting covers for print books, lol!

Just a random pic of the Basilique Notre-Dame du Roncier here in Josselin when we were out for a walk yesterday through the bois (a wooded area that's like a park adjacent to the town)...

Yay! My (and hopefully my wife's) French residency permit is ready for pickup!

Seen on a post along the Nantes-Brest Canal here in Josselin. Generally not a fan of slapping stickers on stuff in public places, but this is a worthy exception...

Our first local Indian Foodapalooza was a success! Chana masala, dal makhani, aloo gobi, curry chicken (it was supposed to be chicken tikka masala but veered off course; it was still quite good!), and naan. Wanted to make chicken biryani, onion bahjis, and samosas, but sorta ran out of time. D'oh!

Aaaaand the Amazon KDP paperback proof of FIRST CONTACT is on its way and should be in my hands on 1 October! Next up: the non-Amazon version...

I hope the boulangerie doesn't close early tomorrow: gotta make sure we have a fresh baguette to take with us for the #Rapture!