“Do you think the data is real?” Sean asked.
We were walking through the short dim hallway side by side. Beast trailed me, and Gorvar trotted by Sean’s side. The two animals had decided to ignore each other’s existence, concentrating on guarding us instead.
“Kosandion is Caldenia’s nephew, so he’s devious enough to manufacture this energy reading and use it to manipulate us. But why bother? He could’ve simply asked me to hand the ratings off to Caldenia. I would do it because he is a guest. Instead, he felt that there was a value attached to me running this errand, and he compensated me for my effort.”
Sean’s frown deepened.
I had taken the data to Caldenia right after my conversation with Kosandion. I found Her Grace enjoying a lovely breakfast on our back patio. I’d placed the cube on the table and told her Kosandion wanted her to have it. She raised her eyebrows and said, “He did, did he?” She scanned the cube with her reader, and then she smiled with all her teeth, and I’d been low-key haunted by that smile ever since.
We stopped before a dark wall blocking our way. Sean’s eyes were still grim. I reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry.”
He blinked.
“We don’t really know anything. We don’t know who is behind the corrupted ad-hal that took Wilmos, why he was taken, if he is still alive, and the not knowing is awful. I know that you really want to go and look for him, and instead we have to do this.”
“It’s not that. I’m used to the ‘do A to get B,’ because that’s what I want or need to do. This is different. All of this is because of me. I got us into this mess, and it keeps getting worse and worse.”
“Nothing really changed,” I said. “When we took this job, we knew we had to keep Kosandion safe. This assassination plot doesn’t alter that. We knew Caldenia and Kosandion have a complicated history. Predictably, their present relationship is complicated.”
He made a low growling noise in his throat. Gorvar’s ears twitched.
“And that’s exactly what I find surprising. What is the nature of their relationship? Is she plotting to kill him? Did he pick our inn because he is planning to punish her for the murder of his father? If I were him, I would arrange to be here and provoke her until she snaps and makes her play. When she fails, you and I will have to expel her from the inn. She would be done. The bounties on her head are still sky-high. I checked.”
“Sometimes you say things that make me wonder about you.”
“No need to wonder. I’m a simple man. I love you and I will protect you, even if I have to murder everyone in this inn to do it.”
I stood on my toes and kissed him. “What if we don’t murder anybody?”
The corners of his mouth curved. “No promises.”
“Are we ready?”
“As ready as we’re going to be.”
I touched the wall in front of us with my broom. Glowing dots of light pulsed from the broom, drawing an outline of a huge double door in the wall. The once solid surface split down the middle and the two halves of the door swung open, letting a flood of sunshine bathe us.
A large round arena spread before us, bordered by a raised amphitheater that was divided into fourteen sections, one for each delegation, one for Kosandion and his retinue, and the last for the observers. Each section was freestanding, raised thirty feet above the arena’s floor and separated from the adjoining sections by a thirty-foot gap. A short safety wall secured the sections. We had shamelessly stolen the idea from the Old Arena at Baha-char.
Ideally, I would have encircled each section by an impenetrable barrier, the same way I had secured Kosandion’s balcony. Unfortunately, maintaining that many barriers simultaneously was beyond Gertrude Hunt’s capacity. They also caused a distortion in the sensors, and since the whole thing had to be recorded, I settled for the wide gaps and bringing Gertrude Hunt to high alert. If the delegates as much as twitched toward each other, the inn would pluck them right out of their seats and toss them back into their respective quarters.
“What about the moderator platform?” I asked.
We needed a moderator for the debate, and Sean volunteered to make a special platform for him.
“I’m working on it,” Sean said.
He raised his head to the brilliant blue sky and squinted at the sunshine. In reality, the arena was deep inside the inn. I had done some serious damage to dimensional physics. The sky above us was real, but if someone flew a drone over the inn, they would find only the worn roof of an ordinary ornate Victorian.
Even a year ago, expending that much energy would have been impossible for me. Each inn had a finite capacity for energy storage. That’s why a constant stream of guests was better than occasional large groups. A steady flow was much preferable to the feast or famine scenario Gertrude Hunt had to endure for the last couple of years. Our reputation was spreading, and we’d had more visitors in the past few months than ever, each of them more troublesome than a typical inn guest but very much welcome. These guests allowed our inn a chance to grow, but its energy reserves were still insufficient to contain the massive influx of this event. It was a use it or lose it situation, so I used it to give the trials a wow factor.
Tony had shaken his head at the arena and told me I was working too hard. According to him, a college auditorium would have been “appropriate and fine” for the event. However, this spousal selection was broadcast across multiple star systems. The reputation of the Earth’s inns was on the line, and I had no doubt the Innkeeper Assembly was watching it and evaluating our performance. As Caldenia once told me, life gave us few opportunities to put our best foot forward, so when a chance to shine presented itself, it was best to take it. A little bit of showmanship didn’t hurt.
A chime pealed through the arena. It was time.
Sean tapped his spear on the floor. Huge screens descended seemingly from the clear sky offering each section a chance to view the action up close.
I planted my broom into the stone tiles, formed a tunnel between the closest section and House Meer’s quarters, and opened their doors.
#
“Greetings, my fellow beings!”
Gaston cut a stunning figure in the middle of the arena’s floor. He’d traded his trademark black and white clothes for a stunning white and grey outfit, embroidered with silver-blue thread that complimented his silver eyes. It fit him like a glove while still projecting the air of what he called “gentlemanly menace.” He looked like a space pirate before. Now he looked like a space pirate prince who had done very well for himself.
His voice matched his new for-TV persona, resonant and smooth, as it blasted from the hidden speakers. It took him exactly four words to get everyone’s attention. Sean a few yards away might as well have been invisible, despite his robe, his rather obvious spear, and his tendency to loom.
“Welcome to the First Trial!” Gaston announced.
The 12 delegations cheered, stomped, and made species-appropriate noises. Even Kosandion in the chair to my right clapped politely. Gaston clearly missed his true calling.
Sean’s voice murmured in my ear through the communicator. “If the words ‘are you ready to rumble’ come out of his mouth, I’m pulling him out.”
I hid a smile.
“I know all of you have been waiting to find out how our contestants will showcase their talents today. Are you ready?”
I braced, but he didn’t add rumble to it. Good that he stopped there.
The delegations roared to indicate they were most definitely ready.
“He’s turning it into a spectacle,” Resven murmured.
“It is meant to be one,” Kosandion told him. “People love a good show.”
“Today’s challenge is…. DEBATE!”
The alien equivalent of “wooo!” was rather loud.
Gaston waved them on, inviting more noise, then made a sweeping gesture that somehow brought instant silence.
“Our spousal candidates will face off in randomly selected pairs. Both candidates from a single pair will be asked the same question. One will respond first, and the other will reply. The winner will be determined by a combination of popular vote, Sovereign’s opinion, and feedback from our esteemed debate moderator.”
He gave them a moment to digest and went on.
“Our debate moderator is truly a scholar of great renown. He has devoted himself to contemplating the mysteries of the universe. Beings from every corner of the Galaxy travel thousands of light years to seek his advice.”
The floor behind Gaston split and an SUV-sized metal egg positioned on its side with the narrow end toward the centre of the arena rose from under the floor on a metal stalk.
He didn’t.
Yes, yes, he did. As soon as this debate was over, I would find him, and I would make him pay. There would be no escape.
“Recipient of the Starlight Quill, Sage of Great Tree, Vanquisher of the Sphinx, First Scholar Thek!”
The stone egg split in half lengthwise. The top half retracted, revealing the First Scholar in all of his glory, holding his teaching stick, his hat firmly on his noggin with the glittering white feather attached to it. His two assistants dutifully stood behind him, looking down and playing the part of modest disciples.
“An egg?” I hissed into the mike.
“It’s funny.”
Ugh.
The arena greeted the First Scholar with resounding applause. He nodded to them, waving his hand-claw benevolently.
The original moderator had encountered unexpected travel delays because his second wife kidnapped him and now his other four wives were having their own debate on the merits of rescuing him. We needed a substitute in a hurry, and First Scholar Thek was the talk of the Galaxy after the Sphinx escapade. Orata practically drooled when Sean suggested him.
They didn’t have to twist Thek’s wings. He demurred at first, but I had a conversation with Orata prior to her visiting him, and once she told him that it was a chance to illuminate millions of minds with the wisdom of scholarship, he was all in.
“I keep waiting for his hat to slide off,” Sean murmured.
He was right, the headdress should’ve slipped off his feathers by now. “Whatever his disciples did, it seems to be working.”
“Maybe they glued it.”
“Universe, I hope not.”
The First Scholar preened at the show of support and waved his teaching stick. His voice rolled out of the speakers.
“Let us begin.”
yay
First trophy!
First?
First?
Third. Best I’ve managed yet! 😁
I wuv Fwidays.
I wuw them too
💕💕💕💕💕💕
I’m in Australia and I have to wait until Saturday for Innkeeper updates! 😫 Alas!
almost. yes getting there 🙂
Second. Thx for gift on Friday the 13th,needed it after medical procedure.
I needed this after being home with Covid all week.
Cheers!
Get well soon!
Thank you! 😁
FRIDAY! YES! Thank you
Space Chickens to the rescue again!
Philosophy saves the day once again! 😀
Space Chickens presented IN AN EGG! I laughed hysterically. Good thing I work from home because if I still work on site, they would be calling our psych unit to ask if we had a free spot.
So this answers part of the universal/galactic ” which came first the chicken or the egg ” debate….
The egg. Something that was similar to, but not completely, a chicken laid it. A chicken hatched out of it.
Thus spake Charles Darwin
CACKLING…..
Egg-cellent introduction.
I’ll never get 1st, but at least I’m in the top 100 today 🙂
Woot! Let the games begin… love Fridays so much!
Thank you HA!
Okay. I am now team dark horse Gaston for spousal selection.
Exactly my thought when I read about the showmanship!!
Me too what a fantastic idea!!
Yes!!!!
Woot! Yay for space chicken scholarship
Thanks again for your generosity with this House Andrews!
I adore the space chickens.
Thank you so much.
Caldenia has the best sayings. In my dream world I would love a book of all her pithy quotes. I imagine they would be equal parts genius and terrifying.
How awesome would a Caldenia memoir be? ::Wise Words for Life: an Epicurean’s Philosophy:: ?
Each chapter would start with an awesome pearl of wisdom from Caldenia, followed by a hair-raising tale from Caldenia’s POV to illustrate each one lol
Like: All Beings Must Rest After Great Labors, A Time of Renewal!
…learned from my shock troops who, after slaughtering their way through entrenched enemies [gore redacted] … Even these great warriors required self-care, a time of reflection in the nest, hatching chicks…
From the notebooks of Letere Olivione …
Is that anything like The Notebook of Lazarus Long?
Something along those lines!
Bullseye.
Caldenia rules that kind of stuff
+1
Possibly even some good wine pairings to have when eating certain sentient species along with anecdotes and opinion on what is just not tasteful.
And a special recipe from Oreo!
Fava beans with a nice Chianti?
🙂
Delighted to see the first scholar again.
And love Gaston’s expanded skill set!
Oh, no. You made my mind go …Snort and Snorkle… right to the lyrics I did… (with a winsome Hugh Jackman singing the part.)
No one’s slick as Gaston
No one’s quick as Gaston
No one’s neck’s as incredibly thick as Gaston’s
For there’s no man in town half as manly
Perfect, a pure paragon!
You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley
And they’ll tell you whose team they prefer to be on
Lefou and Chorus:
No one’s been like Gaston
A king pin like Gaston
LeFou:
No one’s got a swell cleft in his chin like Gaston
Gaston:
As a specimen, yes, I’m intimidating!
Lefou and Chorus:
My what a guy, that Gaston!
Give five “hurrahs!”
Give twelve “hip-hips!”
LeFou:
Gaston is the best
And the rest is all drips
Chorus:
No one fights like Gaston
Douses lights like Gaston
LeFou:
In a wrestling match nobody bites like Gaston!
Bravo!
Chortle! Guess this answers the chicken or the egg question. Can’t wait to read the first debate question. Thek is great!
+1
the same thing occurred to me, heh
Thank you House Andrews. I loved the description of how the inns use energy. Someone is totally going to try something. And yeah, please tell us about Caldenia’s relationship with the Sovereign! Awesome job!
Yay, return of the space chickens!
Return of the Space Chickens sounds like a double feature with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
Don’t you mean Murder Birds? I mean, they’re already there and everything.
Does the name mean they murder birds or they’re birds that murder? Either way, it does not bode well for the Space Chickens.
Chickens in Spaceeeeeee! (Ghost in Space, Lost in Space; same genre)
Birds that murder 🙂. The Zinera are avian.
“ We used their presence to contain the Zinera, otherwise known as Murder-beaks. Avian, flightless, and armed with huge beaks and powerful clawed feet, the Zinera would’ve given Earth’s prehistoric Terror Birds a run for their money. They had a strong prey drive and killed for sport. Fortunately, they had tried to invade the Gaheas, who were their immediate neighbors in space. The Murder-beaks knew exactly what a focused mind wave could do to their brains. They minded their beaks and talons. from Chapter 10 Part 2 https://ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-10-part-2-2/
Where’s Foghorn Leghorn when you need him?
I say, I say, I say!
I am so excited I don’t have the words
I rather imagine a “rumble” of some sort is coming. So much fun watching th procedings!
Yay!! More Space Chicken!
I might have missed this if it was said in previous installments. Whichever candidate loses does the entire delegate party leave the Inn or do they get to stay and watch the rest of the spousal selection? I was thinking that if the losers do not have to leave that could allow an assassin to bide their time among a group that is not likely to win. Or if they have to leave the Inn it would mean less people to watch which would be nice for Dina and Sean and crew.
I was wondering the same thing. And whether they still get their date if eliminated in a challenge.
Yaaassss! 2.30am in Aus and it’s landed! I love me some space chickens.
They glue it. I’m sure.
My money is on feather extensions 😀
I am thinking magnets.
I love it when we get to talking logistics.
+1 So entertaining.
I was so much into work and going through the day day after day that I forgot how awesome the BDH is
So glad I am on vacation and get to enjoy you all, so funny,
I am laughing alone in public reading through all the comments 😂😇
+1
Intergalactic duct tape? That would be awesome, but painful to remove off of feathers.
How about space glue to go with the space chicken? 😀
They must have AquaNet for sale in Baha-char. You can get a ‘do to hold still in hurricane winds with that stuff so it could definitely hold a head dress in place.
+10
Perfect choice of moderator! House Andrews just made this Friday so much better, and we are grateful.
Love that Gaston is part of the story and expanding his role.
Love Thek! First Scholar Thek for spouse…
I love the twists and turns of event! Love seeing the First Scholar again!
Somehow the best part of this chapter for me was what happened to first moderator.
If the four other wives have to debate whether to rescue their husband, the answer is “No.”
Courtenay, I agree!
That was my immediate reaction, too!
Yes, this is the part where I laughed the most.
+1 Totally.
Hahahaha, agreed! But then I have to wonder why would the second wife have kidnapped him in the first place?
To test the dungeon?
The four wives could give the wife who kidnapped him with something lovely in thanks.
One wife is enough, if you get the right one — as Gordon did.
An egg!
Am I in the the top 100? I read the chapter first (nervous)
You’re in the top 40! Early comer!
What a point to stop….. what’re the questions going to be?
Star Trek or Star Wars?
Murder before or after lunch?
If you were a corrupted Ad-hal, why would you kidnap Wilmos?
(Excellent as always, thank you HA!)
And where can you find Sébastien North?
And what’s the cat up to? I think of the Ripper of Souls more than Gorvar & Beast lol
I am out of words to describe how good this story is. Is it next Friday yet? I can’t wait until then, I need more of the story now.
Thank you for this interesting part of the weekly reading. I was expecting Gaston to say rumble at the end of “Are you ready?” Why do I have a feeling that there will be a rumble when the last three are relegated out of the competition?
Debate as the first round? This is going to be interesting. 🙂
perfect.
I love these Friday treats!
First Scholar Thek is my hero. I’m so happy he’s getting the credit and attention he deserves. 🤣
I am deeply concerned for his head feathers, though.
Clapping madly.
Love the visuals this snippet provided! When Sean said ready to rumble, made me laugh out loud!
I wish the snippet was longer to help me avoid doing chores 😁
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
That is why you need to re-read from the beginning each week. To keep things fresh in the mind.
Thanks for the good idea!
I have a feeling it will be debate (how well can you get your view across species differences), some form of mental puzzle (how you think or the process you use to come to a decision), and then some physical challenge.
No swimsuit competition?
OMG YES, PLEASE!
Heh, the fish would win.
Awesome.
This book just keeps getting better each week.
In my head the arena is the Quidditch World Cup (Harry Potter and the Triwizard Tournament). I wonder if Quidditch could be played on some intergalactic world. They get the idea from reading Earth novels ie Harry Potter and the Horde or Vampires play. I would pick a Lee to get the snitch and then negotiate with the opposing team.
My devote inner nerd is horrified. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. My bad.
Yes !
Space Chickens !!!
🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓
Awesome
Omg his teaching stick. Love it!
It is amazing to see how far Gaston has grown ever since the edge books. And it’s amazing that you keep bringing it back to other characters that you have had in different facets of your different series and I find that intriguing. How do you play ball with so many worlds and universes? I’ve always loved the Inn series even though I did come in late to the game and I love it just as much as your Kate books.
First Scholar!!!!! I am seeing that page with his picture in full colour!! Ooh!! That is awesome!
I spent a good portion of the week trying to think of dates that the candidates might have with Kosandion. Twelve walks through the grounds would be boring.
Jazz fins could do a swim through the underwater garden in her quarters.
The Warrior types could have sparring matches or a display of athleticism.
Dina could source images and create an art gallery for some of the intellectual types.
Other intellectual types might go for the galactic version of a Ted Talk.
Aggressive dryad would likely “Netflix and chill”…or at least try to.
Lady Wexyn, well nothing portentous, pretentious, or anything else the stuffed shirt might approve of. A comedy or musical would work. Dina could craft a theater, which would work for the “Ted Talk” too.
Awesome Friday 13 special treat!! Today happens to be my older son’s birthday, and yes, he was also born on Friday 13! Going to celebrate with dinner tonight – me and my hubby and him with his wife. And the spousal poll and the next section of the story – can’t ask for a more perfect Friday 13!
Loved finding out more about inns and energy! But I hope Gertrude Hunt retains the use of anything created during times of plenty, such as this venue.
I am so excited to see the First Scholar back, and the egg (which I suspect offends Dinah more than the First Scholar, ha ha) made me laugh!
So wonderful!
Was it First Scholar Thek or Sean who came up with the egg, I wonder?
“We needed a moderator for the debate, and Sean volunteered to make a special platform for him.”
I think, given his propensity to call them chickens, much to Dina’s exasperation, this one was all Sean 😀
Snicker, chortle, guffaw!
Thank you. I came in drained from the heat, with sunburn and bugbites, to this. The first scholar always puts a smile on my face.
It was funny!
I imagine you two rolling on the floor, laughing as you developed this section. Eggcelent!
“Eggcelent” !!! 😂😂😂😂😂
Every week I think, “I love this, it can’t possibly get better” and then it does :). Thank you for putting a smile on my face today.
How exciting! I never know where the story’s going to go next. I can’t wait for next Friday!
Oh dear lord, I laughed out loud reading this. Pure brilliance, House Andrews!!
Thank you!!
I loved the way the images and descriptions are presented in Chapter 14 – this is really helpful. I did go back and read several candidate descriptions over again in the previous posts. It was great that we could vote! You’re so generous to your readers. I love Chapter 14, part 1.5!
I love that Dina made the arena so spectacular – to impress the Innkeeper Assembly, and so that all the beings watching can see how great the Inn is. Perhaps Dina’s parents are watching? I’m soooo enjoying this story. Looking very forward to the next installment.
The top space chicken moderating the selection debate. Genius! 🤣
OH MY!!! Can we PLEASE get a drawing of the First Scholar on his platform? PLEEESEEEE!!! I am rolling over here…..LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
Fridays are the best! Even if I work tomorrow…just because another chapter will be online! Wowooow you rock!
the space chickens are back! 😀
For some reason the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch is all I could imagine for the arena 🤦🏻♀️
Of course it must be glue!! I love that First Scholar is back with us. And Caldenia showed all her teeth in a smile? Uh oh. I’m dying to find out what’s happening there.
Another very fun chapter, thanks so much! Great start to my weekend.
I laughed so hard at this update. I’m having a morning where my choices are manic energy or despair, so it was very welcome.
The information about inn energy storage was highly revealing.
Gaston will never get that quiet shop now. His showbiz career is a given.
Dear God… You know just what to do to make us laugh!🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for the chappy!!!🤣
Today, I have been listening to Fate’s Edge, after listening to Bayou Moon. Boy! Gaston has grown up! Lol 😃
I also like the reference to the energy reserves.
I’m not sure being a game show host is “growing up.”
thank you for more chicken philosophers!!! Friday complete!
Oh, this is good!!
“low-key haunted” comment had me cackling!
And the Great Scholar is back! What a joy!
First scholar Thek, this I knew in my bones after I read the word debate. Have I mentioned I love innkeeper? Because I do.
Have you tried staples?
That is what the glue comment made me think of! Gotta love Bill Murray in Scrooged.
Is it next week yet so we can get to the debate !
For those of you who were Babylon 5 fans, I wonder if the first moderator was a nod to Ambassador Londo Mollari. Remember how his wives argued about saving him when he was poisoned?
Yes, I do remember that episode of Babylon 5. I doubt they were thinking of Londo when they came up with First Scholar Thek, but now that you’ve put the idea in our heads, ….
It does bring back memories. And now I am seeing Londo’s head on a chicken body…
I remember that episode. I also remember the episode where Londo chose one wife from the three he had. I love that episode. I couldn’t stop laughing.
+1000!!
Can’t wait for the next installment – and amazed I can be excited for the DEBATE! challenge. 😉
Hahaha 🤣. I just hope like tge candidTes have limited time to talk, they also give Thek limited time.
Thanks for the chapter.
*the candidates
Darn you chubby fingers…
Thank you!
Space Chickens !!!!!! 🐔🐔🐔
Glad the First Scholar is joining the event.
This should be interesting…….
Wheee! Philosophy Chicken for the WIN!
So many good things happening in this chapter!!
First Scholar Thek reminds me of some of the older professors when I was in college. Dignified and formal, but with that occasional twinkle in the eye.
And Gaston as the ringmaster of the debate event!!
I don’t watch dating shows but if Gaston starts setting up dates and handing out roses, I’m going to snort my tea.
🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂!!! Gaston needs to say let’s get ready to ruuuuummmmmble if they have to fight to show their skills!!!! I love the First Scholar lol!!! It just keeps getting better and better!
Why do I get the feeling that Caldenia murdered Kosandian’s father to protect him? Or, at the very least, for the greater good? I know it seems out of character, but nothing else really makes sense, either.
Me too! The whole dynastic protection thing makes me think we’re not looking at the actions from a far enough time horizon. Much like Victoria Tremaine “nurturing” Catalina in a crucible.
Making something seem so out of character by acting completely self-interested and amoral would be a really good way to cover up true intentions. It would require planning ahead, but we do know that’s well within Caldenia’s capabilities.
I was thinking the same thing. She was protecting her nephew. So she murderer her brother- lol
It’s possible, but everyone seems to want Caldenia to be one way or the other. Most people are both. There’s a point in the Deed Of Paksennarion series where one character tells Paks, more or less: You want Barra to be a good person deep down because you like her. You keep making excuses for her, but you need to see who she really is or she’s going to get you into real trouble.
Caldenia is fun, but she’s quite capable of doing horrible things for her own selfish reasons. We haven’t seen nearly as much of Kosandion yet as we have of her. We don’t have enough data to understand why he acts the way he does. For all we know, he was planning to assassinate his own father, and Caldenia did him a favor by beating him to it. We know even less about Kosandion’s father than we do about Kosandion. He could have been a perfectly inoffensive person who was unlucky in his family members.
It may well be that Kosandion and Caldenia have a common enemy, and blood being thicker than water, in the current situation he respects her acumen enough to overlook her previous behavior and take advantage of her political savvy. Meanwhile she doesn’t have a hope of regaining the throne, but might rather see her own nephew on it than an outsider. None of that need excuse her for fratricide.
An excellent analysis.
Yes, Caldenia probably likes the methods she has used and has very strong appetites. We will have to see if either appetites or objectives weigh more in her decisions.
I really, really cannot wait to see the debate pairs. I’m trying really hard not to beg for more by posting cute gifs of cats. But I will respect the boundaries House Andrews has set, even though I feel like a dushegub in a pit right now.
It just gets better every week
I just love Gaston. And First Scholar Threk as moderator? *chef’s kiss*
Yes! Always a good day when space chickens arrive. Thank you.
So much LOVE!!! 🥰 These contests are going to be SO MUCH FUN! And I love how devious and yet focussed Sean and Dina are!
After the debates, who decides which three candidates leave, the sovereign or his people voting? Also when does sovereign go on his one-on-one dates? Before he eliminates anyone? Thanks for letting us vote on the candidates. The pictures were awesome.
Oh boy. Why do you aways stop when it’s about to be interresting as hell ? 😅
Because pretty much any where they stop it is about to get interesting as hell…
Cliffhanger! Again! Love it!
How perfect, soothing magical this episode is for me!
Tooth infection. Pain all night. Frozen corn in a bag inside a bigger plastic bag, stuck to my cheek all night. Husband found old antibiotics and I risk life and limb and took them.
My own dentist quit during covid. Saw guy who bought practice last month, who charged $300 for X-rays then said he cannot help me. Yet. Call him this morning. He recommends dentist to call. They fit me in at noon. Lovely staff, and doc, who says he is also the wrong dentist but at least writes a antibiotic script and gives me name of possible right dentist.
I moan all the way home, in so much pain I cannot even read the chapter. Took pain meds, chance reading and..THEK. THEK THEK!! Peckity peck THEK.
I love when a small character jumps up, waves to authorlords and moves up the ranks of beloved story characters.
I haven’t squee’d this much since Shelly Laurenston (g.a.Aiken) added a honey badger side character who grabbed the plot and ran.
Thank you thank you 💕💕💕💕💕
So, are they deleting all six losers at this pass or do the losers get to debate each other in a lightning round?
We don’t even know is there is an elimination yet after challenges. It could just be all candidates get a chance at all challenges and stay until the end but only the 1st spot wins 🙂
“As you know, the candidates face three challenges. The three least popular delegations are eliminated after each challenge until only three candidates remain for the final ceremony.”
Kosandion
Chapter 13
Good spot! 👍🏻
I get worried when I see the word “eliminated,” given that Kosandion is related to Caldenia…
OMG. This is fantastic!
Lol this is too too good! Thank you❤️
My my my….we are in for a treat!
The House of Andrews has the best sense of H U M O U R ever!
My brain positively screeched with joy to see Thek as the moderator!! Oh I can’t IMAGINE how these debates will go, but it’s going to be delightful!
So many giggle worthy moments (Sean’s ‘tendency to loom’ drew an actual audible chuckle) and my mental soundtrack threw out ‘let’s get ready to ruuuumble’ about a half second before I got to the line. 100% joy all around.
I do find it interesting that Dina and Sean haven’t brought up a certain guest from a clan of assassins with regards to this potential plot…or did Cookie return to Baha-Char?
This was great! I was instantly reminded of the jousting scene from “A Knight’s Tale” with Paul Bettany, as Geoffrey Chaucer, eloquently introducing Heath Ledger, as Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein, into the lists. “……In Greece he spent a year in silence just to better understand the sound of a whisper. And so without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you, the seeker of serenity, the protector of Italian virginity, the enforcer of our Lord God, the one, the only, Sir Ulllrrrich von Lichtenstein! [crowd roars] Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week.” I wonder if Gaston watched this movie!!
That was the first thing I thought of, too!
Paul Bettany basically ran away with that show… one of those instances when a side character makes more impact than the protagonists!
(another one was Christian Slater as Will Scarlett in Prince of Thieves…)
Fabulous comment! Thank you for the reminder of that great movie!!! And I loved the very last scene, the beer drinking scene, after the credits rolled. Smiles! Thanks for bring that to mind.
I love that movie and Paul Bettany and his commentary in that of brilliant
I love this, I just love it. The scholar chickens are the best, and the idea that the First Scholar would be adored by the inhabitants of the known galaxy is first rate. I was going to say “delicious” but that would be in bad taste.
Ok, I snort-laughed. (This is my Friday afternoon treat. While there is tea, there is NOT the drinking of said tea while I read. That never ends well.)
So much goodness:
–My beloved Gaston in his full dashing and gentlemanly menacing glory.
–Space chickens!
–The tantalizing morsel of imagining what happened to the first moderator and the debate about rescuing him.
–Sean casually offering to murder EVERYONE if needed to protect Dina. (Swoon.)
–Contemplating the layers and layers of deviousness and strategizing and manipulating currently employed by both Kosandion and Caldenia.
Swoon indeed ~
You and me both my dear
Yay Thek! This is like Hunger Games + the Bachelor + are you smarter than a 4th grader all rolled into one. I LOVE IT!!
Thank you Authorlords!
HOW IS IT ALWAYS SO GOOD?!?!
This will not be a skimpy book. Will be worth buying to keep savoring all over again in one big gulp.
This whole amazing section with such brilliant descriptions that it flows effortlessly through my head and at the end, what’s my brain’s reaction? “WOOO, SPACE CHICKENS!”
I suspect your writing is wasted on me.
I think you’re getting the idea entirely, myself.
I just got the notification of the post from twitter and there are already 133 comments! Wow
But this is a first for me, reading the post on a Friday rather then the Saturday morning. Of to read it now 🙂
Gaston and the Ko-koo – I love the set up!!
The pairings, let alone the questions, will be a hoot (couldn’t resist more bird humor).
Each chapter is such a treat to read! Thank you – HA is amazingly talented!
RETURN OF THE SPACE CHICKENS!!!!!
I might be excited.
Glued on. Hahaha
If the first moderator’s wives are debating whether or not to rescue him, it does not bode well for him…unless the debate is rescue vs. ransom…
I was thinking the same 😂
I forget who Orata is?
Orata is Kosandion’s Head of PR- she delivered the Dominion ratings in the previous episode 🙂 https://www.ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-13/
Right! Thank you!
I wuv Fridays too! And this is just way too perfect to have to wait until next Friday….the chicken or the egg?
Bahahhaha!!! Thank you so much and I love the nod to a favorite debatable question, which came first the chicken or the egg?? 🤣🤣🤣 space chicken in an egg for the win!!!
Truly the best part of the week!
I am so excited that the first challenge is a debate. I wonder if any being can debate harmoniously?
Awww, Sean – “I’m a simple man. I love you and I will protect you, even if I have to murder everyone in this inn to do it.” No hyperbole from this guy – gotta love it 🙂
Smiles, this is such fun! Thank you so much for this fabulous story! I am intoxicated with delightful mental visuals … not the least of which is Gaston.
Speaking of visuals, the images of the candidates were superb. I am so glad I don’t know where you select those images from! I’d be tempted to spend some time browsing there (for relaxation, of course, per the advice of Allesandro Sagredo … smiles).
Meanwhile, I voted for the psionic … Given the need to govern a dozen planets of diverse cultures, attitudes, and murderous proclivities, I’d much rather have the friendship, support, and hopefully an affectionate relationship with a psionic (and therefore, a planet full of psionics) on my side when dealing with any treachery or uprising.
Hahahahahahahahahaha! Long week, needed this. Can’t be bobby pins holding on the headdress, cause they never work for long. Maybe a pin like when you would pin Barbie’s hat on before she went on a date with Ken.
Gaston’s “gentlemanly menace” and Sean’s “tendency to loom” are prime examples of Ilona and Gordon’s masterful wordcraft. It’s one of the things that make reading and rereading their stories such a delight, these little gems of descriptive prose we reread and smile at just for the pleasure of finding “le mot juste” tossed seemingly casually into the narrative. It’s a skill too few authors possess but Ilona Andrews has it in abundance.
Anne in Virginia
Moderator for a debate? Of course only Thek will do. I’m just surprised he arrived with only 2 attendants!
First Scholar Thek is my favorite. I have the drawing as my screensaver at work. He would be a fantastic choice for a parent!
Friyay!
Love it. Just one small question, what has happened to Dina’s cat? haven’t seen anything written about him for quite awhile. Sorry I am a cat person.
We heard from him in Chapter 4 https://www.ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-4-part-2/ . As much as we love them all, each weekly instalment cannot contain the entire cast of characters 🙂.
I’m just waiting for Gaston to announce “Olasard-list of titles” and have a bunch of vampires looking around wildly as a Maine coon calmly walks up the aisle and hops onto the grand ecclesiarch’s lap.
They really need to make movies out of this series. The visuals alone would be spectacular. Can only hope.
So I have a theory about Caldenia and Kosandion… So Caldenia had to have known that if she killed Kosandion’s parents he would be next in line to rule right? My theory is that they planned it together, she assassinated them to clear the way for him to rule, knowing that it means sacrificing her own freedom… Kosandion was very young at the time so maybe she thought she could control him and rule through him or maybe he promised her something, but I get the feeling Kosandion is more like his aunt than he lets on… or maybe I just went full tinfoil hat here with zero proof 🤔
Remember, there was the Assassination Wars? Most likely between Caldenia and Kosandion because he was the heir. Caldenia loves control, power, and political games. She held that power until she lost the war. Curious what caused her to lose. Sounds like the people are like a collective, so she probably couldn’t hold the power if the people didn’t support/connect to her.
Given her social and political acumen, I’m certain that Caldenia would have reasonably predicted the war as a likely outcome of killing her brother. Therefore she must have had a sufficient incentive and/or potential benefit from it to make it worth her while. She may not have had a *nice* reason, she’s a ruthless and bloody galactic tyrant perfectly willing to eat other sentient beings after all, but she certainly had a reason that equaled or exceeded her personal risk of war+deposition+bounty hunters.
Space Chickens!! Huzzah for First Scholar Thek! And Gaston is killing it!
So good, looking forward to the debate. Next week I’ll have to have my cell phone opened on everyone’s pictures while reading the debate responses. 🥰
Fridays have become my favorite day for more reasons than one! Thank you for an excellent start to my weekend.
Woooooooooooooo! Brilliant 😆🙌🏻🥰
Aww(esome) First Scholar – Vanquisher of the Sphinx! Really looking forward to the first challenge aka Debate.
Also wondering why Caldenia had to see the polls….
Lovely chapter.
Thek’s hat has to be held on with old fashioned hat pins under the feathers. That or sewn on!
Thank you! So much in so few words, what a treat 😀
I was watching a channel where a woman was cosplaying as a maiko. The person doing her makeup and hair was stitching the half-wig on with paper ties.
So cool! I love the First Scholar!
Thank you! Thank you, thank you!
First Scholar Thek! Excellent.
If ever you decide to publish a collection of unused/newly imagined short stores/sidebars to the Innkeeper series, First Scholar Thek is surely worthy of a chapter or short story of his very own.
🤣🤣
Love it!
Sorry if someone already suggested this but since I am NEVER going to be first blogger, I want to be commentator-before-reading.
So here goes:
Anyone else think that “what came first, the chicken or the egg” would be a hellofa Debate question?
Sorry, sorry sorry. I will now just step back and snort chuckle to my heart’s content.
And another question: can the debate include weapons? Because some candidates would have an unfair advantage just by reason of being themselves. KittyKat, for example, always has claws.
The answer for chicken vs egg may be a tad too obvious, at least for species which experience evolution 🙂. It may also be too on the 👃 hehe
Dina did that one already, when the Koo-Ko tried telling her there was no issue not worth debating. She shut them down kids argument by telling them it didn’t matter. No bets on what happened after they left the inn, though.
Thank you for writing these wonderfully worded chapters and posting them! My Saturday’s or Fridays are always a little brighter because of them!
Made my day. Thank you
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Thank you so much!!! I needed that laugh!
Wonderful as usual! Thank you so much.
I love all the exposition and side comments. It makes the “texture” of the story so much richer. I do hope that the editing process does not eliminate too much of it.
Welcome to the First Scholar. The cast of old friends is growing…
I keep waiting for Dina to be told that Klaus has been found. I would of thought it would of been seen as a big deal that he’s been found but Karat didn’t even mention it! We’re 14 chapters in and nada.
Has the inn stopped growing? They haven’t mentioned needing more firewood. Is the female werewolf still hanging out outside? Maud got married a month after Sweep of the Blade ended. Did Dina not go? Did Dina introduce Sean to the innkeepers assembly? They said that she would need to do so soon in the last book…
Hi L,
Has the Inn stopped growing?
It’s explained that the Inn is positively swimming in energy at the moment in this very chapter 🙂. It has only been 5 days in book time since they fed it loads and loads of wood, plus any materials that may have been given as part of the preparations for the event off-page. The book isn’t a play by play of each second, it would become boring very soon 😅. Gertrude Hunt is primed for growth.
Is the female werewolf still hanging outside?
I think you’re a bit confused, she wasn’t hanging outside the Inn, she was watching the entrance from Baha Char.
I kept waiting for Dina to be told Klaus has been found.
Dina now knows Klaus is an Arbitrator and not lost. See Chapter 6 https://ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-6-part-1/
If Karat and Maud haven’t mentioned Klaus, there must be a good reason. Patience 🙂.
Maud got married a month after Sweep of the Blade. Did Dina not go?
Maud’s wedding was *planned* for a month after Sweep of the Blade. The best laid schemes o’ vampires an’ men…you know this one 😉.
Did Dina introduce Sean to the Innkeeper Assembly? They said they would need to soon in the last book.
I think you may be missing a book ☺️- have you read Sweep with Me? But yes, Sean has met Brian Rodriguez who is part of the Assembly and was on official mission from them in Chapter 7 here https://ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-7/
Here is a link to all the chapters so far if you want a reread https://ilona-andrews.com/category/innkeeper-chronicles/sweep-of-the-heart/ , a lot of your questions are covered in the text 🙂.
This question/comment totally outside the current topic. We’re told Dina’s parents AND their inn disappeared- how was the absence of inn & people explained to the police , authorities, residents of the community where the inn has existed presumably for hundreds of years ; & the Demilles
Had lived for decades?
Maybe the real debate will be between the philosophers Thek and Caledonia…. That would be a added spectacle.
Lovely.
😂 fantastic HA!!!!
And now I DEFINITELY have the 2Unlimited tune stuck in my head
😂😂
Also, with Gaston’s growing celebrity, and perfect application of the role, I’m even more fully committed to shipping him with Konsandion!!!!
He has definitely emerged as a crowd favourite for the BDH candidate 😃
Maybe Gaston will get to show off his mad martial and skulduggery skillz during the assassination attempt and the Dominion will be clamoring for him too. Why should cousin Sophie get all the international power & glory?!
Oh my gosh! I started crying when I read this. Tears of laughter I promise. 🤣🤣🤣 I can’t believe they got the esteemed space chickens into this twice. ❤️
So, so good. These chapters
are my Friday escape from the world of useless “news” and silly debate of less than important goings on. HUM – perhaps debate fodder?
Thanks!
So good, had to read it three times, gotta catch every nuance!!
I really appreciate the character that first scholar Thek has grown into. He could have been a one-time visitor but he’s really come into his own and been a huge help to the Inn.
If I was participating in voting for this event, I would immediately vote for Thek as the spousal candidate.
He is intelligent, well known, and after the events of “Sweep with Me” likely values harmony more than any of the other candidates.
I’m also looking forwards to how the Graphic Audio people will develop this book as this scene seems perfect for them!
Thanks for a good laugh!
Problem: There’s NO WAY Thek would go for “harmony” as one of his goals.
After this one for sure that “Gertrud Hunt” will be consecrated as for the entire Cosmic Universe as the Inn of Impossible Causes 😂😂😂😂
Like, do you have a price on your head for every possible galaxy? Are there hundreds of assassins hunting you everywhere? Has your species suffered mass genocide and has no more hope of survival? Want to sign peace agreements between species that have been killing and hating each other for decades? Do you want to get married without ending up murdered before or after the “accepted”? Come to “Gertrud Hunt” the Inn of Impossible Causes! With Innkeepers Dina The Miraculous and Sean The Head Impaler! We solve your problems, We offer every possible luxury and first class food! We liquidated and decapitated your enemies, and even put their heads on stakes! (just kidding! it’s just sometimes) And best of all you still get out of this alive! (ps.: don’t forget to give us 5 stars when you leave and don’t harm our apple trees!)
LMAO!
Oh yes great Commerce lol
Love this! And what an epic ad campaign you’re running!!
Lol.
😂😂😂😂
Satisfied sigh of enjoyment.
ARGH! No, I wasn’t ready for it to stop! Now I’m stuck in an anticipatory state with no satisfaction in sight. That’s just wrong.
I love that First Scholar Thek is part of this. He is such a great character.
Why do I get the feeling that HA has a hat that they randomly draw slips of paper from for story ideas. “Okay it needs more *pulls out paper* space chickens.
Thank you for the bright spot of the day.
😂 you’re probably right on this one! I adore the visual!!
Space chickens’ time to shiiiiine
I wonder if Sean is ticklish – I foresee a tickle torture session incoming for his egg-tastic platform ;P
I Hope the Assassin’s ist Not the Help in the Kirchen or Gaston , but i have the Feeling we will get are suprise Bye thus .
I Wish to be have are room in the Inn and to have are Fantasy slepp place Like the room for the Dinas sister daugther.
I don’t want Gaston as the assassin but I could totally see some hidden agenda/task assigned by George. And it would be something like “keep an eye on the fish and their pretty jazz fins”.
Or “Steal candidate with the jazz fins and let Orro make sushi.” Yeah, I know he’s not supposed to cook sentient beings, but given that it’s sushi, maybe that’s a loophole…?
So, what came first ? The moderator or the idea of the egg?
Bring it on!
What fun, many thanks 🙂
I am so happy to see Thek again and love that Gaston is getting to be a “ringmaster” for this circus!This is so much fun and makes me laugh. So very glad that this is going to be a book versus a novella because there’s so very much going on! Thank you so much!
Thank you. This was a needed bright spot.
I typically read one of your books in a day or two at the most. this format is either driving my crazy or teaching me patience. Not sure which.
Ugh! Absolutely delicious! Smiled from beginning to end!😁
Yaahh haha sooo good
Thanks
Thank you, Ilona Andrews, for the hilarious snippet.
Yesssss. Love it. Love seeing Gaston in the spotlight and radiating charm. And the intrigue keeps dialing up!
Sooo good! I might have a teensy crush on Gaston.
Ditto. And I don’t normally go for short guys. 😀
This is such an amazing story!
Love it! Love it! LOVE IT!!!! This story just keeps getting better.
Awesome
This whole book has a “Wait for it, wait for it” vibe! I don’t even want to think what’s next, because I couldn’t guess. “Phasers on stun, please”
I do love all your books and I am looking forward to the newer Darker series. But I am hoping that Innkeeper will be one of those series you keep returning to on occasion whenever you need something lighter . Like a really good refreshing desert after a heavy meal. There is something so joyful about Innkeeper it lifts the spirits. Also the whole idea of an Inn just opens up a world of stories. Destination Weddings, witness safe houses, (with sneakier threats doesn’t need a full out war), Roman Holiday sort of stories, Rented for a intergalactic movie set etc etc. and with your imaginations being so much better than mine Who knows what you would come up with? I will be here along for the ride
I was waiting for that bug space chicken….
Caldania would say he would taste delicious….
What an entrance! Right?! I think Caldenia would find him very tasty! So funny!
I laughed so hard I woke up my partner. Thank you. Thank you for this gift of a chapter.
I just want to thank you both for this gift of your writing. it’s like a calorie free dessert every weekend and such a blessing as we move through the world as it is right now. I really appreciate y’all.
I also really appreciate that one of your characters is Gullah/Geechee (in Kate’s series) and you treat him with such respect. It warms my heart.
I am having so much FUN!!!
Yay for the return of First Scholar Them!
Or Thek, if auto-corrupt is overruled…
Very much enjoyed. Looking forward to further publication
Brilliant still chuckling an egg 😁
I am one of those people who sits and reads a book in 1 sitting. I can’t handle waiting. I often refuse to start series unless they are already finished. What was I thinking starting a book that was barely even started?!?
Sooo glad I did though!
Reading this book in such small bites, is alightly torturous, but you all, my dear BDH, makes it all worthwhile. I feel like I have stumbled into the worlds largest book club. Reading the comments brings me hours of pleasure and gives me new insights into what is actually going on. Thanks to all you lovely interesting people!
The First Scholar must be preening! I’m on the edge of seat! Can’t wait to see how this plays out! Thank you so much for sharing.
I read Tony’s reaction to the arena and thought Dina’s parents would be SO PROUD of her.
I hope Dina’s parents have survived and will be found and maybe even that they are aware of not only her efforts to find them but of her successes as an Innkeeper.
Do you think George is tuning in to the feed? I wonder what he thinks of Gaston. I wish Gaston’s parents could see what he’s become, after disowning him as a teenager. And William, after taking him in.
George is 100% tuning into the feed…and doing three or ten other things.
I would like to take a moment to point out that everyone keeps commenting on the indecisive wives of the 1st moderator.
But…
seriously? ‘unexpected travel delays’? like being kidnapped (by his _wife_ no less) is a mere inconvenience? I seriously want to know that story!
Thank you!!!!
Fridays are the best. This is a really great story!
Will there be a romance between Beast and Gorvar culminating with puppies?
I’m really excited about it too! They would be the cutest and fiercest puppies in the world!♥️ And Wilmos coming back: “I’m already Grandpa?!”
Speaking of him, I’m so immersed in the history of the royal wedding and its intrigues that I’d forgotten about poor Wilmos My God! 😂😂😂😂
😵💫🫣 the mechanics make me wince, but once birthed, yes, cutest puppies in the galaxy!!
If they must be created, i rather hope it’s more of a gene splicing, test tube baby sort of a deal, for Beast’s sake!
Or if Beast & Gorvar also benefit from sex fluidity, I think it would be less cruel overall if Gorvar were the recipient/carrier!!
Not sure if he has those birthin’ hips, though.
Hello,
Just love it more and more…
Tchau
I can see it now. A debate between a fish and a leopard, moderated by a chicken! Absolutely hilarious! Thanks for making my day.
Nevermind my vote he’s gonna marry Gaston 😂
Hilarious!
But there’s a hum of low-grade anxiety in the back of my mind: what’s going on with the new door that Gertrude Hunt is growing? There hasn’t been an update in forever??
Lol, the Scholar strikes again! Love it!!
OK, late to the game, but I keep having this vision of Wilmos deciding that it’s time to retire after all this. (Of course they’re going to rescue him 🙂 ). And where would he retire to but the inn? Chaos then ensues . . .
Actually, considering the issues he’s already caused, I should’ve said:
MORE chaos then ensues. . .
Next book (Please?) Wilmos comes for a visit, but so does one of the Sun Horde. We haven’t seen one of those dastardly were cats yet, after all, and I’m just itching to see the fur fly!
I love scenes with Thek. The egg entrance is brilliant.
I’m laughing so much as this. “An egg?!” “it’s funny”—why yes, yes it is. Dina only made the First Scholar more famous by letting him face, and conquer, the Sphinx. I love the fun and light-hearted vibe this installment has. I know others may be less happy-fuzzy but adding scenes like this encapsulated exactly why I love y’all as authors.
Loving this story. Shout out to The Mighty Gertrude Hunt and Dina and Sean’s imagination. I wish I was present to see an orange sea, a Loch Ness type predator, and that sky. Man. GH is slaying it. Everyone should be very impressed. I hope GH comes to have a steady stream of visitors to shore up the needed energy.
Mod R, I have a “this doesn’t really matter at all” question. 😆 Why is this portion a Part 1.5? We’ve had “Part 1” and “Part 2” in the past but the 1.5 has me wondering!
Now I’m wondering about how Lady Wexyn ist going to keep her wits hidden in a debate without getting cut out of the game. Soo interesting!
Thank you… very appropriate to have the chicken and the egg… love the tongue and cheek humor… very much needed on this Monday 🙂
i know this comment is very late. but i just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you. my father was admitted to the hospital, his cancer has grown. this blog and your books are my comfort reads. Thank you.
Best wishes to you and your family. Comfort reads are the best right now.
Seriously – I think this may be shaping up to be the very best Innkeeper. Let me count the ways:
1. All of our fave characters are featured.
2. Many many exciting new species.
3. Gaston finally gets the spotlight he has always deserved.
4. BDH involvement.
5. Sean-style innkeeping magic (maybe should have been #1.)
6. George and Sophie!!! (So much squee.)
7. Dina now knows about her brother being an Arbitrator.
8. Caldenia back story.
And there is still so much more! Ah, HA – what a gift you two have.
I enjoyed your phrase *So much Squee*.
I’m going to be grinning over that one all day.
This is just too good. Thank you!
I love the superintelligent space chickens. Do they still run around if you cut their heads off? I hope we don’t find out from any we know, but it’d be an interesting bit of trivia
Reading your work gives me so much joy, in good times and bad.
Thanks for writing these cool books for us, I get an unreasonable amount of happiness from them.
Like, smiling and laughing like a maniac in an empty room amount of happiness… 😆
I am dying of laughter here 😂😂😂
Thank you very much! Can’t wait for the challenge to happen !
Take care ~~
That debate is going to be EPIC. With a scholar of that caliber (sorry if i mangled it here, english isn’t my mother tongue) how could it be not?
Loving this book. I’m a huge fan and can’t wait each week for the next part. Also waiting with bated breath for Ruby Fever
Okokokok House Andrewsn Mod R, and other Inkeeplings, I give you Earth’s Oomboles!! XD
https://fb.watch/d3VuFAMWFS/
I died.
So cute!!! XD
I thought that you might enjoy this:
NYTimes.com: Rescuing the Cuisine of Besieged Mariupol, Recipe by Family Recipe
For one Ukrainian American home cook, recording and sharing the dishes she grew up eating is an act of resistance
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/dining/ukraine-food-recipes.html?smid=url-share
Note: if you’re not a NY Times subscriber, I can gift the article to you. I would need a private email address to send it to.
I hope that you and the family (including the 4-footed ones) are all well.
Janet
Thank you for the recommendation, Janet 🙂
Am I the only one so brainwashed by Gaston in the pop cultural zeitgest, that every time I see the name Gaston I start singing:
“Gosh it disturbs me to see you, Gaston
Looking so down in the dumps
Every guy here’d love to be you, Gaston
Even when taking your lumps
There’s no man in town as admired as you
You’re everyone’s favorite guy
Everyone’s awed and inspired by you
And it’s not very hard to see why”
And at least the arena isn’t modeled off a circus tent. ^_~