Subtle Musings on a Monday

I have been balancing some spinning plates and it’s a challenge to keep them all up in the air.

These are the ones you know about:

– I have a substack, it’s on my “about me” page.

– I have a novella and associated short fiction in the works from H’rothgar’s Universe. (It was a novel, and now it’s short stories and a Novella.) I’m moving all the extraneous dry stuff to an appendix for people who like those things, and making it skippable for those that don’t.

– I’m still poking at Bluebird and Battlefield when I remember to do so and have inertia. I’m probably going to write it tonight.

– I started a branch of the Dr. Sketchy’s Burlesque Drawing Club here in Everett. Yup, the one running those annoying ads is me.  Are you a Burlesque, Cabaret, Draglesque/DragDarling Performer who would like to be sketched in costume? Reach out to me on my Dr. Sketchy’s Everett Facebook Page

– I’m learning Japanese, because apparently writing isn’t a legitimate way to spend my time. It’s not actually a hobby, but it’s “just a hobby” if I try to monetize it with my small buisness, so go try and figure that one out.

– I HAVE A FRIGGIN JOB NOW!!! IT’S IN MY WHEELHOUSE AS A CUSTOMER SERVICE/CASHIER/BOOKHOUND/ARTIST AND I LOVE IT.

– I also have an anime blog. I’m going to update it when I finish watching Monster, so keep an eye on http://animebinge.wordpress.com if you are into that sort of thing.

I’m visiting local open mic nights and Karaoke. You can follow my exploits on Threads, I guess. And join me if you’re local. I guess.

An article for Substack about Love, Mystery, and Nostalgia…

Tracking {Nostalgia} – Holding Out! is an article I wrote for The Prompt Magazine about a personal ad in 1996 featuring an affluent bachelor looking for his soulmate.

Check it out, leave comments, restack, etc!

Birthday post – The Douglas Adams Birthday Year – Big 42

Things have changed a lot for me over the last year, and a few things have stayed the same.

I’m going to poetry night every Monday, including this one. I’m not sure what poems I’ll be reading but I expect it to be a bit of a mix.

I’m working on an article that is going to take some serious research and I have a small team assembled to help me with it in St. Louis. If it comes to fruition, I promise to pop a link in a post.

I’m learning Japanese. I am SLOWLY learning, that is. It’s going to take time and I’m being patient with myself but it’s difficult to stay focused on it sometimes.

Oof. “I, I, I.” I sound like a ridiculously self-centered individual right now, but it IS my birthday, so I should give myself a little grace.

Having a birthday around Mother’s Day is always a great time. I bought myself a flower at the local florist shoppe, and visited with my son yesterday for the Mother’s Day Holiday. Unfortunately, the bus missed me when I waited to get picked up. I was LIVID. I was literally checking my phone to make sure the bus hadn’t been through already when it careened past me and didn’t even slow down.

I don’t like to ask my ex for anything, but he and my son picked me up and drove me near the next closest consistent bus stop, a stop next to Trillium for the Green Line, and it took me to the Safeway near the Mariner Park and Ride so I could get home on an earlier bus than waiting for the #106 to pick me up (assuming it didn’t decide to skip me twice in a row).

Time to get going! I’m going to poetry night, woohoo! 

New Year, New Post

I skipped posting in January as I focused my energy on getting the Dr. Sketchy’s Everett Club off the ground. Dr. Sketchy’s is a drawing club that focuses on fun and funky models that have a penchant for entertaiment such as burlesque.

Why?

Dr. Sketchy’s was started to be an alternative to classic drawing scenarios and has been in closed-bar locations and open-bar locations (for tipsy sketchin’). The Everett club is starting in a non-liquor/dry location but it’s still got plenty of room and various places to display the model.

Also, the Seattle Dr. Sketchy’s location is too far away for me at this point of time, but I reached out to them for guidance and they were super supportive.

Where?

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/first-dr-sketchys-event-in-everett-wa-tickets-1980167482244?aff=oddtdtcreator

When?

February 25th, 2026, and every “Last Wednesday” until it’s proven to not be feasable and/or I can no longer afford to

How much?

Ok, so – Initial pricing was $12 (which became $15 with taxes and fees) and $15 (which became $20, same reasons).

The $15 dollar seats are for clipboard or stiff-journal artists, or easel artists. It’s called bench seating because that’s what it is… a bench, no table unless you bring one.

The $20 seats are table seating, which is perfect for artists that prefer to have a hardbacked non-moving surface and don’t like easels.

I hope to see you at the event!!

Another Crimson Tears Chapter: Spellbound by Solstice

I wrote this vignette a little over a year ago, I think, but it’s still timely for a little bit longer. As the pandemic starts to fade in our consciousness, we no longer wear masks everyday, every time we go out.

And in the world of Crimson Tears, where vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and hunters all focus on the community that they have built together, we join them for a conclave.

https://open.substack.com/pub/promptmag/p/spellbound-by-solstice-a-crimson?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1r2f76

Leave me a comment if you want more Crimson Tears or Kiringa.

What I Learned This Year at Marketingland…

Chicken nuggets are the unofficial mascot of Marketing.

I’m kidding!!! Kidding! But the chat really did blow up about Mc Donald’s chicken nuggets after a keynote case study and it never really recovered.

I am not a huge marketer, myself. I have to regularly push myself to remember to post to my Instagram, make art, post writing to Threads, make more poems, record myself for Youtube, post it. And the algorithm isn’t a complete black box to me: I had a hint at some outdated tips and tricks from my time on a collaboration channel that is now defunct.

So when I saw Marketingland was free in 2025, I jumped on it. (It’s free next year, too, so link at the end.)

And I can’t pretend like some of the case studies didn’t go over my head. But I learned more than I forgot. And in one particular case, I broke out my Google Docs to take notes.

Takeaways from Marketingland

(Hit me up in the comments if any of these are incorrect.)

• By creating a sense of gratitude in your target audience, customers are likely to spend more
• The difference between an ad and a brochure is that a brochure gives you ALL the information, and an ad whets the appetite
• Even Duolingo has to delete posts sometimes – it’s better to not sweat deleting a post than leaving it out there sometimes.
• Per the Storytelling Panel by Hookpoint, The key to going viral is nuanced, but usually has to do with the format you choose, plus preparation and the ability to pivot your formatting if you gain better traction in one format over another.
  • It’s not strictly based on luck
  • It’s grounded in science
  • Do your homework!!!

If you are sorry you missed the McNugget chat and have FOMO, you can sign up for alerts for next year’s Marketingland Here.

Second Draft Blues

I’m in the gully of depression after finishing my second draft. It’s the low that comes after the high of living in that universe for months on end, and being between projects. I could be working on Bluebird and Battlefield right now, but I’m perfectly happy just taking a vacation from everything right now. 

I’m thinking again about who my audience is for “H’rothgar Says”. I wrote it with my teenage son in mind but not as the primary audience. Is Ender’s Game YA fiction? Probably, even though I read it as an adult. Is the only difference between an adult audience and a YA audience is purple prose around murder, sex, or violence? Things that I steer away from?

I’m poking at Gravity’s Rainbow while I am in the deep lows of catharsis and am only about fifty pages in. I still have to read The Pardaillan and am about three chapters in, but it’s hidden under my matress, I think. Reading is challenging with my narcolepsy, but today is a coffee day, so I should be able to spend some time buckling down and buzzing to caffination.

I don’t drink coffee all the time. But on days when I do, I am more productive in most cases and can stay focused long enough to complete certain tasks that are challenging without long stretches of time focusing.

I think I’m going to share my Cutober poetry on Substack in October. I should check to see what the prompt lists are for October prompts for Cutober and if I don’t see one, I might just make one myself.

I’m sitting at a cafe today…

I’m sitting at a cafe today, thinking about this past ten years. They have been challenging to navigate, and from 2015 to 2025, I’ve given my all to my mental health and pushing for more traction on my art and writing. Little by little, I’m seeing changes, and I want to continue to expand on those changes to bring positive movement into my life and into the lives of others.

I’m writing poetry on threads pretty regularly as I adapt to the new microblogging platform. I still have my X accounts, but using them? Eh. Ick. And I’m not interested in starting over on Bluesky or even Substack half as much as the traction I get on Threads. Facebook- or rather, Meta- knows one thing pretty well, and that’s how to make an algorithm work in a community setting.

(I’m not saying they don’t know other things as well, but as Threads picks up traction with new formats like spoilers and a “trending” list, you have to wonder if it is going to get as bloated as some other apps or if it will stay slim and simple.

But I digress.)

Between 2015 and 2025, I worked for a diamond and jewelry company, an office supply store, and a credit union. I learned how to love frozen grapes like mini popsicles, and play Hearthstone for my son. Actually- Play Hearthstone, Roblox, and Munchkin Warhammer/Munchkin Cthulhu with my son. 

I had a mental breakdown, was diagnosed with Schizophreniform, and have been taking antipsychotics regularly to prevent potential delusions. I made and broke connections, had my art on display in a debut, and then had it on display in a consignment shop.

It’s been a busy ten years. I’m only 41. I just finished the second draft of my science fiction novel from 2019. I have so much more to do.

A Poem about Excellence and Mentoring

https://open.substack.com/pub/promptmag/p/poetry-pinnacle-of-us?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1r2f76

This week a poem went live.

I write a lot for The Prompt Magazine. Sometimes I’ll miss a prompt or two, but on average I hit more than I miss.

This poem is very “Victoria on LinkedIn circa 2012”, but I can’t help but still maintain the wide-eyed enthusiasm of someone reaching out looking for a mentor and climbing up towards a goal.

Feel free to check out the poem, And subscribe to the new substack for the Prompt Magazine…

And I hear you ask… What’s Substack?

Sub stack is a mailing list. It delivers articles to your inbox… But unlike some lists, it only puts them behind a paywall if the author requires it.

Links to my Substack:

The Poem:
https://open.substack.com/pub/moueska/p/mrpc-color-palette-on-a-summers-day

Behind The Scenes:
https://open.substack.com/pub/moueska/p/the-dangers-and-pleasures-of-using

Take a peek and like/share/subscribe if you are moved to do so.