A Change of Plans

In my Review and Preview 2023/2024 I got carried away to the following statement:

The third and final chapter of Skeleton Crew is currently in the making, and I have a short (and this time I do mean short) ponygirl story up my sleeve to bridge the gap. After that I will concentrate on Ponygirl Vet.

Good plan. Doesn’t work, though. Given not only the overall length of the final chapter of Skeleton Crew, but also its complexity in terms of tone, atmosphere and technical details, I have to switch it with at least one part of Ponygirl Vet to free up some time.

10th Anniversary of Pony Boot Camp — “It was either this, or…”

Yep, 10 years sounds about right. Although for Seventeen it would feel more like 26 days. 7^th November, to be precise, as I cunningly use a chart with dates, key events and so on to keep track of what’s going down at the DACC.

Right now everybody’s favourite ponygirl is still stuck in Part LX, not that this is a bad thing. Much effort I put into this, the so far latest chapter to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Pony Boot Camp. In passing it also cracked the 160,000 words barrier, which may serve as an answer as to why it took me a decade to get our anti-heroine to where she is now. My initial layout predicted about 20,000 words, and featured next to none of the intricate character relationships which now carry the narration (together with the occasional fetish overload, that is). Had I known what I was getting myself into, I would have probably opt out and done something else with my leisure time. Breeding ponies, for example.

Sneak Peek: Skeleton Crew — Chapter Two

It is now a given that every story of mine comes by default in an extended version. So word count has of course exploded on me with the second chapter of Skeleton Crew. I see early next week as a realistic posting date. And to make the wait just a bit harder for everybody, here’s a little preview of what to expect:

Reuß would load upon him the sin of lie if he would claim that the woman’s attitude wasn’t intriguing him. He turned his face towards the bulkhead, but not without fetching the satchel that had been placed on her cape and clearly belonged to her. From behind the rustling of her shirt reached him.

Alterations for Midriél and Evandolas (I)

Greetings traveller,

Tired you look from wandering the digital wastelands of the internet. Rest and sit by the fire, and be welcomed to listen to wise and true words that illume the ancient tale of Midriél and Evandolas (including “what the fuck did I just read?” and “how can I delete my browser history?”).

~

Part I

Dark brethren to the sylvan race in eras of yore, they had taken to the night and to the blood, eventually seeking mastery over Death herself.

is commented as follows:

Just as with the ponygirl fetish, I found myself intrigued by the idea of exploring the vampire myth from different angles. In modern fantasy Dark Elves already have a number of vampiric characteristics attributed to them, such as inclinations towards cruelty and gloom (literally or metaphorically) – not to mention longevity. Therefore it was not so big a leap to merge both concepts and see what happens

Sneak Peek: Pony Boot Camp — Part Fifty-Four

Month’s end has once more snuck up on me and had me faced with the choice of either hastening my writing or postponing the next chapter into the first week of September. Guess what? Right: One cannot rush art. Part LIV will be more plot-oriented again, giving the story arc of Seventeen’s escape plan another boost.

Alterations for Pony Boot Camp (VIII)

Since I did a little retconning on PBC, we can have some more fun with Roman numerals (because I once adopted them for the chapters to match the Alterations posts’ method of counting and am now stuck with ’em)!

~

Part XXX

Just for the records, I like castles and stuff. They’ve got something brooding, especially the razed ones. But I don’t wet myself over them like those “Lord of the Ice and Fire” fanboys do.

has a part added:

Just for the records, I like castles and stuff. They’ve got something brooding, especially the razed ones. But I don’t wet myself over them like those “Lord of the Ice and Fire” fanboys do. I know what I’m writing about; Sandrine’s and my next-door neighbours once had hunted us down with foam swords for intercepting their Chinese delivery. Turned out hardcore RPG nerds didn’t take well to having their level 15 Spring Rolls of Doom get nicked.

Alterations for Neon Virus (I)

SPOILERS AHEAD!

~

Seems those wanna-be zombies are not the only problem in Neon Virus…

~

Mikaere’s slug got him in the rib cage, flinging him through the room. What had once been a bloke dreaming of a better life as a hacker, a programmer, a pro-gamer, was battered into the dispenser and left wheezing on the ground before it.

is changed into:

Mikaere’s slug got him in the rib cage, knocking him off balance. What had once been a bloke dreaming of a better life as a hacker, a programmer, a pro-gamer, stumbled back into the dispenser and slumped wheezing onto the ground before it.

Alterations for Æquinoctium (II)

Earlier on I pondered the possibility of retrofitting the chapters I – III of Æquinoctium with individual titles and was literally buried under one reply. This being approving of my idea, I now have to come up with some witty headings – because that’s how democracy works, y’all!

CHAPTER ONE

Anomalous Materials

It is with the making-up of a super-rare element called Tristanium that our charming redhead heroine sets the whole story in motion. So of course the first title is predestined to reflect this vital plot point. “Anomalous Materials” is also the first level of the video game classic Half-Life (1998), not counting the intro.

Sitrep

Greetings, everyone!

I am aware that the last story (or in this case, chapter) took its sweet time to find its way to the World Wide Web. Therefore I’m eager to re-establish a certain flow in my postings. I cannot promise to deliver a new story/part this month, but there is a so far 2,000 words strong one in the pipeline. I can already tell, though, that this is going to be another biggie; no way I am able to stay below 10,000 words. Perhaps I will postpone this longer narration in favour of a short story I just recently got inspired to.

Whatever it will be in the end: no worries!

Sneak Peek: Soul in Chains

First of all: The story you are about to get a glimpse of is ready to roll, so you won’t have to starve through yet another month without new content. I reckon to submit it somewhere next week. Of course there is a certain reason for this delay: Soul in Chains was written on commission. But halfway through the very fruitful contact with the person who had requested it broke off, now leaving me with a work in need of final clearance. Although I believe to have hit all the right notes, I welcome said person to do the Final Cut.