Every month, Jennifer and I host a board game day with various friends. Last weekend, we played a game called Mosaic, one of those games that takes a long time to set up and learn how to play, but once you get going, it goes quickly. There’s strategy involved, but also quite a bit of luck; and it was a lack of luck that lost me the session last Sunday. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it. I was trying to build a civilization of philosopher kings like Plato had once envisioned millennia ago, and while I did do that, I also failed to get any stonemasonry cards at first, so I was unable to create any structures to hold my people. And that was just the luck of the draw. It wasn’t until late in the game that I drew stonework, and by then Jennifer was already the clear frontrunner.

I lost, by a substantial margin, but I had a lot of fun, as did everyone else. I really recommend this game. You can find it on Amazon (I searched high and low for an official website for Forbidden Games, the manufacturer of this game, but was unable to find one).

But during my wanderings around the web, hunting for an official website for Forbidden Games, I encountered my new favorite band: The Real McKenzies, a Celtic punk band from Canada, who performed this lovely rendition of “Scotland the Brave”, from their album Songs of the Highlands, Songs of the Sea:

If you know me, you know that this kind of music really calls to me. I’m a fan of Celtic punk, from the Pogues to Dropkick Murphys, to Flogging Molly. (I’m also a fan of classic Punk like the Ramones, but that’s a different story).

In other news, life remains pretty much the same. I’m still working on my refugee Fae novel Witness to the Scourge. A few weeks ago, a fellow SFWA member suggested changing the POV character, and that has really helped. I’ve been reading a number of books and articles about fairy tales (including Fairy Tales 101 by Jeana Jorgensen, and that’s been fueling my novel’s fire as well.

I’ve also been working on various short stories, revising a couple from last year’s 2025 Commitment, and submitting them to various short fiction markets. No nibbles yet, but a few rejections, which I take as a good sign, because it means I’m still a working writer.

Here’s hoping you’re all having a splendid day. Stay kind, stay punk.