Happy May! Where has the time gone? I know for me, April was very busy. At least it felt that way; I know there are lots of people who are busier than I am.
On one of my walks or runs in April, I listened to the Columbidology episode of Ologies — yes, columbidae = pigeons! It was actually quite fascinating, especially how much modern pigeons are a result of human intervention. Something to think about the next time you see a puffed up, iridescent cooer trying to attract the ladies.
The episode also talked about the use of pigeons to carry messages during war. They were even awarded medals for their highly successful — and sometimes lifesaving — efforts. Of course, when I heard the phrase “war pigeons”, my mind went somewhere else entirely … like oil paintings of regal pigeons in fantastic armour. Although I still have some discomfort about how AIs have been trained that competes with the thought it’s here and I need to get used to that, can we all agree that this is a good use of AI:
Please can we agree? I would never have had these images of fantastic warrior pigeons otherwise. My art skills are nowhere near that good.
Writing update
I’ve finished the unrelated to anything short story that I was working on — that’ll show up on Armchair Alien soon (in the meantime.
Now it’s on to book 4 of The Lyra Cycle, and I have some ideas to address issues I had when I was last working on it. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish that soon. Then it’ll be moving on to wrapping up that series, though I have ideas for more in that universe. Space archaeology anyone?
What I’m reading
I don’t want to mention what I’m reading right now because I probably wouldn’t recommend it. I’m persevering despite it being a bit of a hot mess. However, I did have cause to take the ferry recently, and one of the things I do is visit the store to see if there are any interesting books. I’m a captive audience so I might as well spend it with books.
Books for your TBR list
Usual I spotlight books by other independent authors here. However, this time this newsletter is brought to you by the Armchair Alien shop.
Why buy directly from authors? If you have an author you love and they have a shop, I urge you to check it out. It supports authors even more than buying from an online retailer since we don’t have to share the royalties with them. However, I’m just happy for you to enjoy my books, wherever you buy them.
Happy reading!
— CR
Where to find my books
If you’d like to read any of my sci-fi or urban fantasy books, you can find them at your favourite online retailers. Or you can buy them direct from me on the Armchair Alien store (and get special offers and discounts).
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