Albany by Night: Chapter Eight
Now for a deeper dive into the coterie, and into just how sweet and innocent Cassandra really is. The beast exists in all kindred, and it won’t stay buried forever.
Reflection: Where (Nicole) Hunts
In today’s reflection, Nicole helps us get to the root of how she chose the feeding method she used for Cassandra and it… it’s trauma. It’s always trauma. But you’re here to understand the flavor of trauma, are you not?
Albany by Night: Chapter Seven
Hunting is important for Vamps of all kinds… well mostly… While Grey was an ambush predator… Cassandra seems to need to shop at whole foods. But Gandalf has a good reason why.
NaNoWriMo Reflection
As October is coming to an end, I started to look at the things that meant the most to me in November, and realized that part of what made this book series possible no longer exists, and the horrible reasons why.
Reflection: Blood of (Nicole’s) Blood
Nicole actually had me look up the term “Pantser” for this one.
Pantser - a writer who creates a story organically without using a detailed outline, instead "flying by the seat of their pants"
I feel like this comment was a direct result of her reading about my system for writing and seeing all the spread sheets that I have for each of my books… And I feel a bit called out.
Albany by Night: Chapter Six
The power of the children of Malkov is strong, though it comes at a steep price. A few people in this chapter might be willing to admit that the price may, possibly, be worth the cost.
Luis L’hopital: Knight of Nike
A bit longer than the last one, but mostly because there were more songs, an almost Jock Rocks kinda playlist that focuses on our very own Laureled Warrior, Luis!
Reflection: Show me (Nicole’s) Fangs
Nicole reflects on letting go and standing up for herself when faced with stupid… I mean… difficult people. Right… difficult…
Albany by Night: Chapter Five
Even the kindest, meekest people can lash back when they’re pushed too far. Best not to see how far you can push the cracked mirror. You don’t know how deep that cut is going to be.
Getting Bored with D&D
Hobby burnout is a real thing when it comes to just about any hobby you can imagine. I hear it talked about most when looking at miniature painting and the wargaming hobbies, however I’ve been feeling it a lot when playing D&D lately, and I kinda wanted to talk about it.
Reflection: (Nicole’s) Touchstones
The things that keep us tied to this world are important. And I know Nicole promises happier (or at least less sad) things to come, remember that World of Darkness has that Darkness in the name. While we all love a happy ending, the brighter the light, the deeper the shadows, as they say.
Albany by Night: Chapter Four
An anchor to the living world is important to all Vampires, but to a child of Malkov, an anchor of any kind is more important than anything else in the world.
Morgan Betony: Force of Nature with Anxiety
No surprise here, but Nicole was the quickest draw to sending me her playlist, and so I was able to sit down and take a listen, giving my feedback on the songs chosen, and why I thought they were.
Reflection: What (Nicole) Fights for
Nicole reflects on the third prompt, “What I Fight For” in 2025’s MoD prompt list.
Albany by Night: Chapter Three
Nicole’s third installment in the 2025 Month of Darkness, and we’re getting closer to the new prompts coming out tomorrow, we’ll get to see Cassandra grow as behind the scenes new stories begin to brew…
Difficulties in Adapting my Friends’ Characters Over Time
I started working on a prompt that asked about difficulties that I faced when adapting my friends’ characters from character sheet to novel form, and while I did start on that path, I began to uncover a lot of the struggles I’ve been facing with this project as of late, and what I needed to be aware of while I was doing it. The wee babies you’re reading about, the burgenoning heroes I’m writing about, and the grizzled champions who I roll dice with on Wednesday nights are all very, very different people. And I wanted to take some time to explore that a bit.
Reflection: The Beast Within (Cass)
Now a little insight into the Beast within Cassandra’s (and Nicole’s) head.
Balancing Act
A reflection on a game played the other day, and seeing the effects of similar decisions I made in games of the past coming back to overwhelm the party. Here’s a few tips for making enounters more difficult for your players, or helping to ease them back a bit when you may have overshot.