State of the TAM - April 26th
OK. I have been absent without leave for a few weeks. Between the wee pup, visitors, and a friend not being very well I’ve been a bit scattered. Izzy is a DELIGHT, but she faces life at 1000 miles an hour and with her teeth ready to chew any neglected corner.
So, I had a lovely ‘meet the pup’ surprise visit with friends (surprise for one of them, not me. That would have involved so much anxiety for me). They’ll hopefully be back later in the year to see her when she’s a bit bigger.
A BIT because Izzy is a dinky wee miss. She’s smaller at four months than Jax was at two and a half. She’s JUST graduated from XS dog jackets to Small after a growth spurt. She’s got no idea, mind. As far as she’s concerned she could fight a gorilla.
I am STARTING to get excited for UK Meet. I have swag to design and a USB to get all together, but things are IN MOTION. I have a panel and all!
GRL after that, and that’s going to be wild. Man, it’s been two years since I went ANYWHERE. Literally the only time I’ve left NI was when I went to Pettigo and accidentally veered over the border crossing the road. It’ll be so awesome to see everyone again, though.
(And for the record, I did this Tuesday night and it was almost ready to send when my laptop battery went ‘screw you, I’m out’. I was all ‘whatever, I’ll finish it on my tablet’. Then I realised that the last saved draft was from three hours before and I was already in bed and I wasn’t going to get up and wake the puppy. So…excuses!)
Pupdate of the WeekJax and Izzy enjoyed a stuffie BBQ in the unexpected post-Easter sunshine. Don’t worry! The sun has passed now and the clouds are back! My pallor is preserved! :D
Free Audio Chapter of the Week'Late Shift' by TA Moore is a Night Shift short story and a prequel to Shift Less. Find out more about who Kit Marlow was before he joined the Night Shift, and how he became the man Cade Deacon gets to meet in the books! Chapter One up now!
Written by TA Moore
Narrated by Michael Fell
If you prefer to read rather than listen, you can get Late Shift in mobi and epub on the website.
The complete Night Shift series is available on Audible, also narrated by the awesome Michael Fell.
Shout Out of the WeekYou have literally NO IDEA how far this is up my alley. I love constructs and the idea of what it means to something made to feel and think and love. Then the love interest, how do they resolve the question of what consent means when the intelligence behind it was constructed.
I was ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED with Westworld when it first came out in case y’all were wondering.
Must Read of the Week
Created by the alchemist Braxton, Levi was “born” fully grown and spends his early days learning about the monster-filled kingdom he calls home.
Even though he is just a construct pieced together from cloned parts, Levi longs to fit in with his mythical neighbors, but more than that, he wishes he could say two words to the Shadow King without stuttering.
Ashmedai has been king of what was once the Amethyst Kingdom since it was cursed a thousand years ago. Only he and Braxton know what truly happened the night of the curse, and Ash’s secret makes walking among his beloved people painful, so he rarely leaves his castle. However, with Festival Day approaching, Ash wouldn’t mind going out more often... if it means seeing more of Levi.
Ash wishes he deserved the longing looks from those strangely familiar violet eyes. He knows no one could love him after learning the truth of the curse. But if anyone can change his mind, it is the sweetly stitched young man who looks at him like he hung the moon.
I am fascinated by the idea of Guide Dog dropouts. In Cafe Nero once I was next to a guide dog foster family who were doing a catch up with the Guide Dog organization and…it was a fascinating eavesdrop, ok? If I picked it up right the dog, who was a girl, had already been dropped from the breeding program because she wasn’t big enough. There was also (I think) a chance that she was going to fall short of making it as a guide dog due to her size.
(Lovely dog. Not sure the fact she kept poking my ankle with her nose under the table when she was meant to be training said good things about her guide dogging future.)
Inside the World of Guide Dog DropoutsIn this highly competitive training, pup perfection is demanded—and not every student can make it to graduation. Here's what happens to the still very good boys who need a sudden ‘career change.’
When I meet Eddie, a yellow Labrador, at a friend’s family barbecue in Detroit, it’s clear he isn’t like other dogs. He knows how to sit, stay and walk (on- or off-leash), but his best trick is being able to read a room. Whether his role is to greet a guest, play with children or rest his head on my lap as we drink beers by the bonfire, Eddie always does the right thing. All the while, he’s never a nerd about his intrinsic obedience. “Dude, what’s your dog’s deal?” I eventually ask Delia Bryan, Eddie’s owner and a family friend.
“He’s a guide-dog-school reject,” she tells me.
I would be too!
Fesshole 🧻 @fessholeOur dog has been staying with a friend whilst we've had covid. when they dropped her back I thought it'd be like one of those videos where marines come home from a tour and their dog goes mad and everyone cries, but I just got a quick wag and a lie down. I was really hurt.April 26th 2022
16 Retweets1,581 LikesThis is actually really neat and I’m enjoying it. Not ENTIRELY sure how well the world-building is going to hold up for me once I get to episode two, but it’s interesting at least for now!
Not sure where this is going yet, but I love the energy of the art! I currently have an entirely unfounded expectation that it’s going to be this low-key No-Sleep style horror about storm chasers who find something wicked in the winds. HOWEVER there is no evidence of that to date, and I think possibly I’m projecting onto a very nice slice of storm chaser life? We’ll see. I still enjoy the art.
EKW | BECOME UNMARKETABLE @bigbigtruckHey, I have a new webcomic. It's called SHOT AND CHASER. The first 10 pages are up. Link below. 
April 19th 2022
535 Retweets1,774 LikesI wish I could draw. I’d draw so many corvids :D There are loads of young ones about at the moment, trying so hard to look dignified as they wiggle their stumpy bums around.
Josie George @porridgebrainSat in the LEGO family campus drawing rooks. What a bonkers, brilliant turn my life took four years ago, huh? 
April 12th 2022
14 Retweets1,116 LikesIzzy has not yet been to the shore. It’s definitely not going to be calm, but it should be fun!
#SmallBeautiesHour ","username":"SonzyB","name":"Sonia Boal 💙","date":"Mon Apr 11 19:24:36 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://cdn.substack.com/image/upload...
Sonia Boal 💙 @SonzyBA few seconds of calm by the shore #SmallBeautiesHour April 11th 2022
2 Retweets26 Likes
