Amidala Skywalker

“And now for a religion piece,” the holonet news anchor said, shuffling his papers. “In the past few months, a new religion seems to have sprung up in the Outer Rim. A growing number of followers have begun worshipping a deity known as The Gray Hermit, a mysterious and eccentric humanoid figure with a large red beard. Followers believe that the beard is a living entity with an enormous appetite that must be fed to appease the deity. When pleased, The Gray Hermit bestows on his followers fantastical gifts of creative technology, running from ships, to armor, to weapons, to other more exotic tech. Devotees can be seen wearing long fur coats with high collars, or attempting to grow beards of their own. Those interested in learning more about this new cult can contact Jamesir Bensonmum of Rantil III.” Attempting to avoid looking perturbed and utterly failing, the news anchor quickly changed the subject. “In other news, pop sensation Ammi Wolfstar…”

Ashley, this is totally from forever ago--but that last poem is so great for being from Emily's perspective with what is going on for her in the RP right now! Creepy, lol!

Sorry I'm late seeing this! Congrats, Hou-Jo! I remember Final Vendetta well! What a great accomplishment. And good to see you again, too.

Nice stuff!!! Enjoying this. Keep it up!!

Whew! That felt like a long chapter. But the conversation was solid, and you really captured the Anakin/Obi-Wan banter well there at the end. One grammar thing: Run-on sentence. Good stuff, friend! Keep it coming!

Hmmm, yeah, I can see what you mean. He doesn't read like Anakin, so you don't have to worry about that. But Dark Obi-Wan is such a strange idea that it does feel a little forced/strained. I like that you're writing him as ice instead of fire. I think that's definitely the right choice. And I think it's right that he fell because of his attachments. I think maybe it's in his treatment of others where it gets a little strained. I think his lifelong habits would be more ingrained in him, and I think it'd be a slower change there. I think he'd be fully capable of killing Ventress and her assistant, but the way he was threatening the other prisoners and the droid seemed a little sudden. I would see it as his actions still being "kind"--setting the prisoners free, even taking them off world with him. But he'd probably be realizing that he doesn't really care about them anymore, that they don't really concern him anymore like they used to. Or even maybe if you had had him not even think about the other prisoners until after he was already off planet, and then he was like 'oh, there were probably other prisoners there, why didn't I even consider them?' Falling to the dark side is rough--I think it's partly a switch that gets flipped, but I think it's also a learned thing. Like he'd start off a little dark, and then quickly become darker and darker one decision at a time. *shrugs* I dunno, maybe you have another opinion? Anyway, this is a great idea, and I'll definitely be reading!!

Obi-Q! I haven't gotten the chance to welcome you back yet!! Welcome back!!! It's so good to "see" you--and to read your writing again! This is going to be a fun fic to read, I can tell! You know Obi-Wan is my favorite character, so I'm very intrigued to see where you go with this!

That's actually a great idea about crowd funding, SH. I'll definitely have to consider it. I actually mentioned it to a friend and she said she'd love to be an "investor", so maybe there would be others out there who were interested. Thanks for your encouragement, friends.

Hey friends! So I'm finally moving forward in publishing my first novel. I told myself it was going to be one of my goals for this year. I've been working on it, and I feel it's finally ready. I found a company that will work with me to self-publish it, and it seems like it's going to be a good fit for me. But now comes the money. Overall, I'm pleased with the prices, but there is something significant with facing having to pay $2600 for it to be published. The money is comprehensive and includes a lot of different services, including professional editing, cover design, etc. It's a great package. But it's also a lot of money for me. I'm torn. I could go ahead and do it...or I could save up for a few months and do it later...or I could just hold off longer. I don't know. What do you think? Those of you who have published, was it worth the cost? I don't expect to ever really make up the money in royalties, because I'm not thinking I'll actually sell many copies, but I'm okay with that.

Ah feels just like old times!!! Good start! I think this is going to be really fun to read. I think you captured Poe's character pretty well for us having about 15 minutes of him in the movie. Looking forward to more!

I like how the response is "Huh??" I've seen that idea before, and I've always thought it awesome. If you ladies continue this, I will be reading!

...

If you consider 4 posts in the last 6 years to be "still hounding you", then yes, we are still hounding you. I will never say no to more of this if you post it.

Okay, that's really cool. I was just asking because my novel is finally getting around to the point where I need to think about publishing, if I'm going to pursue it. I have certainly thought about self-publishing. I guess I just need to ask myself what I want.

I've always wondered, what are the benefits of self-publishing? I mean, it's cheaper, and you don't have to find an agent and go through all the rejection by multiple publishing agencies, but does it feel the same? Do you still feel like you published a book? Do people actually buy it besides people you know? How do you promote it without it taking up your whole life?

That's awesome, Lee! Congratulations! How was the self-publishing process? LOL, love the "he's a good man, and thorough" part on your bio.

You've got an interesting start here. I'm not completely arrested or sucked in quite yet, but your imagery is good, and I loved that opening with the hunted mage. Actually, all in all, I think it started better than it is now. I was really kind of confused as to what was going on, who was talking, and where Figgus came from right there at the end of chapter 2. I think if you just clean that scene up a bit, it'll be okay, but I got the impression of being a little lost in the fog. One thing: Is that supposed to be a pun? Because the rest of the paragraph is talking about how wet and soggy she and everything else is.

I agree with Brendo--the abstract nature of this piece is really interesting and unique, without being so bizarre that the reader is completely lost. I was a bit lost here and there, but then you always pulled me back again with the next sentence or two. I'll definitely look forward to the last installment.

I've said before--you're a solid writer. This little bit just shows that really well. I like your detail and word choice, and I'm curious to learn what is going on. I can't say too much because it was just a short blurb, but I'd be interested in the rest for sure! Thanks for sharing!

It totally did not suck. It was a sweet, fun, light read. Summer-y. Very nice short story, Ash! Thanks for sharing it!

Ah! I love that...Great mix of happy and sad and relief and worry. I actually don't have much to say...I am loving this! Edit: okay I was thinking about it some more and I was pondering over why Aeva slapped Zae. On one hand it makes sense. But Zae would have nothing to do with the ritual going wrong. Wouldn't Aeva be angrier at the priests? They are the ones who ruined her marriage. Or maybe I don't have enough background on how marriages work in this universe to understand fully what happened. Of course, Aeva could just have been venting some of her pent up dislike of Zae and acted in the moment. Edit 2: I also realize that we've come back to the beginning of the story now. The circle is complete...and I'm so interested to see where it goes.

Augh....so good and so terrible at the same time...Tell him or you'll lose him forever!!! But at the same time I know why she isn't... I need more. It's like a book I don't want to put down until I get resolution!

Yeah, I like the word Brendo used--"raw". This post felt raw, but in the best way. The emotions felt real, and I think as readers we can completely understand Zae's reasoning and where she's coming from. You described that stage of awkwardness between friends and something more very well, but I like that you didn't dwell on it too much in this post. I've been re-reading The Hunger Games and there's almost endless dwelling on that. Loved your little description "suddenly finding my hands extremely interesting". Perfect!

Well, after wading through that extremely complicated summary of several seasons of a show... It was good. I liked it. Nothing spectacular, in my opinion, but maybe that's because I don't have any previous connection with the characters. You did a really good job though with Olivia's emotions. She seems a little unstable. I don't know if that's deliberate or what, but it's kinda cool. Glad to see you writing again!

WOW! That was a great start Ash! I'm so intrigued!!!