Stuck

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. It's just that all my stories are stuck, and I have no time to get them past those sticking points.

Basically, I've reached a point in every one of them where the storyline is no longer clear, and I really need to have a good stretch of uninterrupted time to work through those problems. Unfortunately, due to the other obligations in my life, all I have to work with are bits and fragments of broken time. A few minutes standing in line here, a couple more while waiting on hold there. Never enough to really hold a complex story in my head long enough to sort through the difficulties.

So from time to time I start a new story, only to have it to reach a sticking point as well. And then there are the six stories that I've finished, but would like to find another set of eyes to look them over, but just can't.

Which leaves my writing pretty much at an impasse.

Mirror, Mirror

As I'm working on Young Rene XIV, I'm realizing that the 708 Rebellion in Codyland is almost precisely contemporaneous with Sebastien's usurpation of the Cypress Throne and Rene's ouster of him. Which makes me want to work on Steam Heat in parallel with it.

There are strong parallels between the two novels, which make them an interesting study in contrasts. Both of them are about struggles against tyranny, and both stories are resolved by the restoration of a rightful leader. But what constitutes the rightful leader is very different in the two countries.

The Swamp Kingdom is a heriditary monarchy. Thus, Rene's primary claim to legitimacy rests upon his being the eldest son of the previous king. By contrast, Codyland traces its heritage to the United States and the tradition of popular sovreignty, even if formal republican government has been submerged. Thus, the legitimate ruler is the one who represents the people's will.