Context and history The original inhabitants of the islands of Hawai'i were and still are the Kanaka Maoli (also known as Kanaka ‘Ōiwi)--aboriginal people who are styled "Native Hawaiians" by the occupying U.S. "state" and federal governments. This term is also in common use, though not everyone understands its political and social implications (and I…
In The Guild of Ornamental Hermits, the Elsewherian known only as The Lawyer™ is a secret devotee of "the Cosmic Soccer Mom," the dreaded (yet sometimes strangely merciful) multi-dimensional goddess, Mal-i-Bu Bar-Bee. The Lawyer™ is startled to find representations of his beloved goddess in toy store windows on Earth, and understands that these supposed children's…
The Incredible Unstrung Band, Deep Pahoa Jungle Concert. L to R: Roz, Sybil, Jennifer, Maximus, Maxine, Oyster, & Frank. Depicted via HeroForge.com. Hermitville has its own community band, The Incredible Unstrung Band. The band usually consists of eight multi-instrumentalists, though sometimes additional musicians or dancers perform with them. The band's playlist is eclectic, consisting of…
Today I am sharing two illustrations I commissioned from my youngest son, Paul F.S. Bauer, for The Dire Deeds of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits. There is a scene in the book where the Elves teach divination using the Elder Futhark runes, and I wanted the results illustrated. Paul added the additional design elements based…
I am back firmly in fantasy novelist mode! This past weekend I put some character and plot development changes in place and continued the final edit on Dire Deeds. I revised the list of 29 genders of the Elf world; and sorted and organized files of character "faces" (a form of fantasy "casting" that helps…
This is a coming out post. Even as a child I never liked my first name, preferring often to simply use the letter "A." I used to think it was because "Amy" seemed too wimpy and I also resented being named after a character in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (yes, my parents did that).…
Artwork via HeroForge.com Excerpt from The Queerest Quest of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits: To hear Lucky tell it, he’d spent a chunk of time hobnobbing with the poshest Sonoma county growers (grapes, not cannabis) and had known Ginger’s parents as well as Ginger. He’d lived on this property as a sort of unofficial caretaker, off…
[Note: This is similar to the original post at one of my other blogs.] A handful of activists have ensured that Max Dashu, now known as someone who holds certain transphobic views, has been disinvited as a PantheaCon presenter. As a mother, as a sexologist, as a writer, as a neopagan, as a person--I'm glad. As…
November 1st (my birthday) is also the start of each year's National Novel Writing Month, fondly known as NaNoWriMo. In NaNoWriMo 2016, I launched my fantasy novel, The Dire Deeds of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits, and continued to write all year. In NaNoWriMo 2017, I continued work on Dire Deeds and then revised and completed…
Lucky LaFey is a new main character who appears in the third volume of The Guild of Ornamental Hermits series, The Queerest Quest of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits. This third book takes place in Lake County, CA. Lucky LaFey is a drifter. He wears his mileage lightly though he's travelled the roughest of roads. However his…
The Guild of Ornamental Hermits 