RMHash

Doctor Nina Ma'atanoa has just achieved her lifelong dream: to be the first human woman to set foot on the lush alien world of Dreenai. Surrounded by its incredible natural beauty and eight-foot-tall, semiaquatic humanoid inhabitants, Nina participates in a first-of-its-kind exchange program overseen by the tall, dark, vaguely frightening Doctor Ardus. From the start Doctor Ardus seems none too happy to have Nina around, but after Nina proposes that they become friends the strained atmosphere turns steamy, like a hurricane about to make landfall.

STARFISH is the first in a series of sci-fi stories that take place in an alternate future universe of my own creation, populated by humans and (so far) half a dozen original alien species. Each story takes place at different points in this future and they all focus on different planets, cultures and characters. I make references to real history such as the Voyager probes and Apollo missions, major scientific figures and research in biology, astronomy/cosmology, physics and military tech.

Fun fact, I've made it my personal mission to reference Women of Color in STEM and spaceflight in every book I write for this series. I name spacecraft, colonies, stations and more after not just American women, but women from Chinese, Indian, Soviet/Russian, Japanese, Saudi and other space exploration programs so that their names and accomplishments will be right up there with Sally Ride and Christina McAuliffe.

STARFISH is only $3 on Ko-fi because I'd rather be entertaining than rich, but I also understand that some folks may not be 100% sure they'll like what I do, so there's a free sample of the first five chapters that you can download to try out! Furthermore, since I'm not depending on book sales to make ends meet I'm also open to accepting pics of receipts (with personal and banking info redacted) in exchange for free FULL copies! I'm currently vetting other charities, these are just the first I could think of. DM me a picture of your receipt and I'll generate a unique, single-use Ko-fi code for you and you'll get your copy!

Stand With Minnesota - Help Minnesotans evading ICE cover rent, bills and groceries

ACLU - Defend free speech, human rights, immigrants rights, racial justice, transgender rights, privacy rights, disability rights, reproductive freedom, religious liberty and more

Planned Parenthood - Defend reproductive and transgender healthcare access

Last Prisoner Project - Help free people serving time for cannabis-related crimes long after those laws have been overturned

Doctors Without Borders - Provide medical care for people affected by war, disease outbreaks, natural disasters and more

International Rescue Committee - Take your pick from education, food aid and medical aid, community rebuilding efforts and birth control access for rural women

NAACP - Defend racial equity and justice

Feeding America - Fight food insecurity and waste

National Coalition Against Censorship - Defend freedom of speech and expression

STARFISH is protected by copyright and registered with the United States Copyright Office in Washington, DC. I own all rights and privileges and I do not give permission to copy, distribute or sell and I FORBID feeding it into any AI program for ANY reason. My certificate of copyright states that I am the original creator of the work and entitles me to up to $15,000 in damages.

If she fits, she sits.

Miss Penelope Jane has Been Through It this last week and a half - she started pawing at her face and mouth, which got us wondering if she had something stuck in her teeth, but a peek with a flashlight yielded no critical discovery so we let her be for a couple of days to see how she behaved. Then her face started to swell and I went into full Cat Mom Panic Mode. Two anxious vet visits and five extractions later (😭 my POOR SEMI-TOOTHLESS BABY) she's back to her normal shenanigans - such as trying to climb INSIDE my ribcage while I'm using the computer to pay bills & try to work on my WIP.

I have tried to stuff her inside sweaters as I'm wearing them, thinking she just wants to be warm and near me, but I almost lost 2 fingers in the attempt and value my digits too much to be trying that again. MPJ is quite the squirmy little thing and came from the rescue fully equipped with 20 razor-sharp Baby's First Switchblades.

Solution? BOX. In this case, a cardboard tray that used to hold cans of peas. MPJ took to it IMMEDIATELY, which means I can now type normally while still having a smol fuzzy head within arm's reach to pat for inspiration 🥰 Since one of the main characters of said WIP can and does purr when he's happy, it is terribly convenient to have such an amenable little friend nearby to confirm that yes, you can feel the vibration through the furniture 😁

Friendly reminder that this blog recognizes that the LGBTQIA+ community has always been with us and will always be with us. You are not broken, you are not made wrong, you are not defective, you are not dangerous and you are not alone. We have each other, we'll get through this together 🫂

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩵🩷🦄🌈✨️

Go get coffee because A, I require it to function as a human, and B, I can avoid human interaction for a few more minutes while the complicated, rusty non-OSHA-compliant machinery of my brain comes to accept that I'm awake and have to Do Things.