"Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets."
— W. Edwards Deming, Don Berwick, and/or Dr. Paul Batalden
The first time I heard this quote, it was less a call for systematic improvement and more of a high-minded dismissal of my concerns. I worry that you might find me u...
2025-11-16 19:57:13 +0000 UTC View PostI patted the back of my head awkwardly as Nora made her way to the center of the chamber. “I only meant that any alternative showing up would be far worse. I don’t think this is the place to get into it with any of the other demon lords or—wait, what are you doing?”
Nora flinched, her free hand starting to stretch out towards one o...
2025-11-15 14:25:48 +0000 UTC View PostLocked in darkness long after the vision ended, I could only stand in the void, unshed tears burning at the corners of my eyes. A scream of frustration swirled from somewhere before fading into silence—a screaming that I had heard back in Turri, where I almost succumbed to animus overload. Then, there was nothing but silence.
“Ambr...
2025-11-14 17:51:04 +0000 UTC View Post“As I told you,” I growled at Aina, “Nora is my best friend and not a threat! She’s literally half the reason I’m here!”
Well, half rounded up, anyway.
Aina flickered, revealing herself as a projection of some sort. When she spoke again, her tone flattened. “I recognize your emotional attachment to Nora. Howeve...
2025-11-08 02:16:28 +0000 UTC View PostThis time, there was no feeling of tearing through space. It was as if the world rendered a small, dark, and digital airlock around us, complete with runes floating in the air as if they were suspended code caught in an invisible matrix. However, the first thing that hit us wasn’t the visual.
It was the sound.
A klaxon bla...
2025-11-03 22:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostBefore I could put together any initial talking points to defend my decision to let Sparkles decide her own fate, the shallow stone basin beneath Relias and me rang out with another quake. Unlike the brief tremors before, this one lingered, its vibrations deepening and rippling outward from its heart. The runes scratched across the stone’s sur...
2025-10-28 22:56:40 +0000 UTC View PostWith a bright flash of starlight white, Sparkles shifted from her grand draconic form into that of an older woman cloaked in simple white robes. Her hair was a fine, fiber-optic gray, with faint rainbows shimmering through several strands. A white opal, about half the size of my palm, rested at the center of her forehead, its light pulsing with ...
2025-10-19 23:48:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe sheer slope of the mountain turned from rock to glass about halfway through my stumbling descent. It wasn’t the slick, tempered kind; it was a scratchy, hastily hardened layer of bubbly slag that said plenty about the range of Sparkles’ breath weapon.
Oh, and speaking of things that were spoken, I would like to reiterate f...
2025-10-18 18:01:15 +0000 UTC View PostBefore Morin was even out of earshot, Relias insisted that we stop by the church. The abandoned buildings of southern Atramentis were silent save for the crunch of our boots on ice, and I was already chafing under the thought of yet another delay.
“You and I should seek all blessings available,” he called from behind. “And night will...
2025-10-05 21:45:48 +0000 UTC View PostAs Captain Morin predicted, the temperature plunged that night, from cold to unbearable. Ice formed along the rigging, with small shards snapping off and shattering on the deck above. The deck itself groaned under the onslaught, each crack echoing through the hull. Sleep wasn’t happening, so I turned to Nora and filled her in on the day’s pr...
2025-10-03 17:49:32 +0000 UTC View PostHello:
I re-paused for one more month.
I'm currently in the midst of developmental edits for Book 2. Tess Irondale will be narrating Book 2 in her Discord sometime in March (more details to come!).
I also had a short LitRPG story accepted into an anthology and anticipate making edits on that this month. Here's a teaser image: 2025-10-01 16:25:51 +0000 UTC View Post
To be honest, I don’t know if concern or guilt was the primary driver that led me to seek out Relias next. There was always a vague discomfort about how I had been handling our relationship, but a fresh veneer had been recently applied.
As the frontliner, I shouldn’t have let that tentacle get past me.
I failed to protect the...
2025-09-27 19:09:53 +0000 UTC View PostMorin stomped, his boot ringing metal. “Sneak aboard my ship in borrowed skins, will you? To what end? I told Procul plain! No clergy meddling in my rigging!”
“I suppose his murder muddled your memo,” Oliver quipped, his staff snapping into his hand with a hollow thump. His robes slithered down his shoulders, flar...
2025-09-23 21:12:32 +0000 UTC View PostWhile the rising sea monster summoned more of its long and barbed tentacles, I armed myself with sword, shield, and aura.
“I’ll admit it’s no kraken, but a sea anemone? That’s stretching language to the breaking point.”
Oliver shrugged, summoning his staff. “I don’t think it cares what you would call it, even if you did...
2025-09-21 18:59:55 +0000 UTC View PostOur first few hours at sea were filled with vague tension. Relias made it quite clear he would brook no nonsense from the twin princes, only for Morin to assign them the very task of keeping a close eye on us. With Nora under the weather, however, it was clear that jamming all five of us into our assigned quarters would do her no favors.
...
2025-09-14 17:00:35 +0000 UTC View PostTranslocation from Fort Turri was bumpier than our last few sojourns, with magical turbulence a mere footnoted phenomenon seldom discussed. Apparently, it has to do with poor attunement of the destination circle to the leyline it’s connected to. As someone who’s experienced it firsthand, however, I suggest we stop treating it like a...
2025-09-13 23:42:08 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
Today I made the decision to pause billing for the next calendar month. I’m currently managing a family medical emergency as a primary caregiver and am unable to maintain a comfortable writing schedule.
I will continue to post chapters as they are written, as the billing pause gives me peace of mind while I navigate family...
2025-09-06 04:37:42 +0000 UTC View PostRelias lifted his chin, and a rather sly smirk crossed his face. “There is only one dragon. Find comfort in the knowledge that Sparkles is a faithful servant to our Goddess.”
I guess you don’t often get a chance to out-info an information handler.
“As you say…” Vulture replied, turning away to rifle through a sta...
2025-09-02 19:25:53 +0000 UTC View PostWhile I tried not to look too giddy at the thought of finally learning what the rest of the Order of Gold was up to, Nora turned a bit icy.
“Our time would be better spent gathering intel for our journey ahead,” she muttered, folding her arms.
I put my hands together in faux prayer as I glanced between them both. “But… we can...
2025-08-30 22:20:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe next few days were lost in an oddly tense haze of shadowy monotony. The rural outskirts of Fort Turri were covered in a spiderweb of fracturing dirt paths, each branch aiming at a different dense woodlet without rhyme or reason. Twisted and gnarled tree roots that broached the surface in these shadowy areas became our greatest adversaries. O...
2025-08-22 03:34:25 +0000 UTC View Post“Of course I didn’t say anything once I realized it,” Nora confirmed the following afternoon. “What was I supposed to do? Alert! Something is majorly wrong with the night sky, and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it! Be afraid, very, very afraid!” She threw up her hands. “I’m not social media, you know.”
We we...
2025-08-15 16:56:05 +0000 UTC View Post“How—” I paused, feeling Nora’s and Relias’s eyes on me. “Thoughtful… Yes. That’s exactly what I was looking for. We can put your brother’s eye in—”
“Explain something to me first,” Oliver said slowly, drawing the pouch closer to his chest. “Where did you encounter the Blight encased within?”
“Blight? ...
2025-08-11 00:48:27 +0000 UTC View PostHello!
Can you believe it's August already?
No? Neither can I.
I'm currently working on the final arc within Book 4 of The Last Rae of Hope. Progress slowed a little these past two weeks, as I mistakenly thought I would have downtime during GenCon, the largest annual tabletop gaming convention in North America. 2025-08-08 14:55:33 +0000 UTC View Post
Please enjoy these high-resolution chibi and emoji images commissioned from https://www.fiverr.com/ayaakemi
Thank you for your support!
2025-08-08 14:28:58 +0000 UTC View Post“I’ve had no contact with your brother,” the feathered demon stammered from the ground. “I-I don’t know what lies Corporal Belgaldi has told you, General, but he’s had it out for me ever since I pledged my services—”
“He is here,” the General insisted, his remaining eye flashing. “This area’s animus confirm...
2025-08-06 21:05:03 +0000 UTC View Post“The Order of Blue here in Turri would be working in coordination with White and Silver,” Relias murmured with a slight frown. “This civilian armament under your name may be a response to fears of mass demonic translocation…”
I did sort of tell them to do whatever they needed to do.
“Fears made real to these people if we...
2025-07-26 19:50:15 +0000 UTC View PostDespite my best efforts, Oliver refused to engage in anything resembling meaningful conversation.
“Haven’t we talked enough today already?” he said at one point. “With words coming out, the cake cannot go in.”
Wisdom at its finest.
He didn’t exactly eat his share, though. He poked at the half I’d reserved for him ...
2025-07-20 18:41:04 +0000 UTC View PostNora adjusted her robes several times as Master Landon continued shouting for Headmaster Jasper, his voice growing more exasperated with every call.
“Like I was saying…” she murmured with a nervous chuckle, folding her arms. “Can’t even seem to find the mute button…”
“We’re not going to give him an update?” I aske...
2025-07-15 22:23:53 +0000 UTC View PostAfter flicking the last remnants of the hazelnut onto the sanctuary floor, Oliver tucked his arms behind his shoulders and settled further into his defiant slouch.
Who just turned up his obnoxiousness?
His tail snapped against the stone floor three times. “Now that I have your attention—”
“Let’s head back to ...
2025-07-11 23:27:45 +0000 UTC View PostNora led the way through the maze of hallways with confidence, as if she had navigated them a hundred times before. I lagged behind, unintentionally scuffing my feet every time the floor decided to slope one way or another.
“So, what did you two talk about?”
“Things…” I mumbled.
“What sort of things?”
I exha...
2025-07-10 20:15:36 +0000 UTC View Post