Category: Rhys Ford

Author, LGBTQ, Mysteries, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Dreamspinner Press, LAMBDA finalist, M/M Romance

Today’s Borking Report! And a Purple Sweet Potato…

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Today’s Borking Report!

It is a fine morning for Borking Potatoes, the sun wasn’t out when he left but showed some promise of appearing on the way back. Or at least we could tell he was on his way back. He will get his first Friday bork this week and then there will be a pause while I go to GRL and Auntie Paige goes to Portugal, which humourous because well, that is one of the lands of my people. And she’s headed to the right cities to visit my relatives. Well, except for my grandfather’s family on the Southern point but it’ll do 😀

Gus was VERY excited to head out today and for once, it wasn’t me holding him up but instead Andi and Paige were chatting. There was a bit of scolding done and out they went. He’s good for about 30 seconds of talking when he’s about to go on a bork but that’s his limit. After that, his opinion is made known and the door is expected to open so he can make his rounds.

He came back so happy and a bit tired but he rolled around and frolicked while we all talked. Now, he’s asleep in his bed and his cat is lounging in front of the back screen door… so all is right in the world of the Potato.

From his Auntie Paige:
Gus had a mighty Bork at any and all passerbys. The first person we saw with several dogs seemed to know Gus and said hello from across the street, and Gus borked in reply.

Thank you so much!
Best, Paige

Today’s Borking Report… and the Potato is Enraged by a Lawn Ornament

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Today’s BORKING REPORT!

Well, the Potato’s schedule will be changing next week from Mon and Weds to Mon and Friday. Weds will be becoming a work day at about the time Gus needs to get kitted up and I could have switched him to the afternoon but there are more people walking about in the afternoon and it does get hotter. Mornings are better and then he can spend the day sleeping off the long haul.

It’s not really a long haul. He goes to the end of the block and back. It’s a good chance for him to stretch his legs, get a run in, and most of all… roll about in wet grass.

The Potato does have a curious behaviour when he’s out and kitted up. If he comes across something he feels is dangerous and you step closer, he will butt you in the shin with his nose to push you back. Because you have to be protected at all costs and since you obviously cannot see the danger, he is there to tell you to step away… so he can scare it off.

He did come home after scolding a lawn decoration for existing and promptly rolled around the living room like a katamari damacy ball. Grinning the entire time. He’s a dork.

From his Auntie Paige
Here is the ghost as promised. Gus did not like it and wanted me to stay away from it. My knight in shining armor!

Thank you so much! Best, Paige

Embracing and celebrating our Māhū past and present. Ka Wai Ola Link to Kapaemahu

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Māhū is a problematic word. It’s been appropriated by people who don’t understand its meaning and used as a “hateful” attack against gays for a long time now. It’s not a word for non-Hawaiians to “claw back”. Doing that is kind of like Randall taking back a certain racist slur in Clerks 2.
Māhū doesn’t necessarily mean homosexual although that’s rolled into it. It’s also kind of a societal function, a place in the Hawaiian society that bridges male and female. A third gender state.
That all being said, we are only whole when we embrace the presence of namāhū in our culture and celebrate their presence in our myths, legends and society. For too long our culture was under attack and being erased to white-wash us out of existence. As we strengthen who we are, we must also remember to acknowledge and give love to all of our people.

End of September Borking Report! And Tengu Goes To The Spa….

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Today’s BORKING REPORT!

Ah, today’s weather is fantastic and the Borking Potato was up with the birds this morning. Mind you, he went to the bathroom and then went right back to bed but… he was awake!

It’s been a busy morning here in The Cabin. Auntie Paige came by and the Potato went out for a MIGHTY bork. He told quite a few people what he thought of them and then… he came back to discover the landscapers had been next door….

And MOWED the freshly irrigated lawn.

Much rolling apparently happened and if you look closely at his at home picture, notice the Potato’s feet. It’ll come off pretty easily but… oh he was so smug and happy when he came home.

Tengu the Firebird has been towed down to the Automotive Spa for cleaning up and a new battery. His Uncle Bryan will be driving him around for a few days to get him all lubed up and road-happy again. I will be released from my tubal prison on Oct 4th so I’m looking forward to being behind the wheel again. Zoom Zoom.

From his Auntie Paige:
Green Gus! I noticed his green paws weren’t as green by the time I left. So he won’t be as ready for St. Patrick’s Day as I thought. 🙂

Thank you so much!
Best, Paige

Of Characters and Things: Miki St. John… also, open to Q&A!

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Of Characters and Things: Miki St. John
Miki St. John actually came into existence on the front stoop of an imaginary Victorian house in San Francisco. I had a love interest in mind for him, a maybe-detective or maybe-professor named Quinn Morgan and Miki had suffered a great tragedy with the loss of his bandmates. He also had an alley cat.
If you’ve read the books, the only thing that stayed the same was his name and the bandmates and well, the ending of Sinners’ Gin put that all to a lie.
So… Miki.
Miki is built off of a lot of my life experiences as well as my stint as a counselor for a juvie hall / halfway house for teens. I’m not going to say the world is a shitty place because honestly, it isn’t. There are people out there who love their kids and try to do their best by them. And there also is a large percentage of people who view their children as disposable meat, something to be used both sexually and sadistically in order to satisfy some craven itch they have. Their own kids. Other peoples’ kids. It doesn’t matter to those people. But they are there.
I didn’t want to focus on … the horrors of being caught in that nightmare but rather someone who survived it but was broken around the edges. Because no matter how much therapy one gets, they’re never going to achieve that baseline solid foundation someone gets when raised by someone who loves them.
Trust me on that.
Once that slab of faith is broken, it’s constantly in a state of crumble and there’s a lot of internal energy spent on trying to keep everything from falling apart.
Enter Miki St. John, abandoned in a city park then torn from the future he’d worked hard to achieve following the deaths of three young men he called brothers. His family. His foundation.
Of course losing Damien really dominated his loss. He’d found an anchor and a purpose but now, there was nothing there. Just pain and words and music he couldn’t stop from pouring out of him. There was no escaping who he’d become, who he’d grown into but there was no joy in it. Not wallowing per se but more of… it hurt to take his next breath and Miki seriously contemplated if that next breath was really worth it.
That’s where I started. A fractured, too-pretty young man who’d spent nearly all of his childhood as a victim of a horrific situation and then worked thru the struggles of becoming a damned good musician only for that to be lost. But he needed an anchor, not a person because that’s what the book would be about and he would have to go thru the trusting stages again but certainly an anchor that was as independent as he was.
Enter Dude.
The dog that Miki does NOT own. He just moved in and lives there now. Dude eventually became a friend but for Miki, the dog simply decided to be there. And in true Miki fashion, he accepted that and well, figured he might as well make sure the intruder got fed… and then possibly bathed once in a while. But it did take time for him to accept Dude as being a part of his life and a friend because… Mike has learned that once you love something, it will be taken from you and destroyed in front of your eyes. His heart couldn’t take much more of that. So Dude was an… eventual companion.
Dude felt otherwise. He spotted this broken human and said, Welp, that’s why I exist. And eventually slept next to Miki in bed, followed him on his rambles and more importantly, figured out the large, muscular Irish man who seemed to like playing with REALLY LARGE sticks, could fit into the emptiness Miki carried around with him.
But who is Miki as a person?
His behavior is shaped by circumstance and the gritty environment he was raised in but beneath the rough and snarling badger lies someone a bit different. Miki’s curious. About everything. In a lot of ways, he’s wary to show interest in something because that usually led to it being weaponized and used against him but now out in the world and essentially being free to do as he pleases, he can sink himself into his thirst for knowledge.
And music. Because honestly, Miki is pretty much drenched in a love for music. It takes him places. And he can take others with him by creating his own. Music is like an endless set of wings he can craft out of emotion and desire, allowing him to soar and weave through his emotions. The ultimate freedom no one can actually touch or steal from him.
He’s very protective of his inner self. To the point of being abrasive if someone gets too close. And of course Kane fully intended to get close. Miki fascinated him. A bit of a street rat with a heartbreakingly gorgeous face and sharp teeth / words skilled at keeping people at bay.
And there’s nothing Kane Morgan loves more than a challenge. He’s kind of like Brigid that way. He pursued Miki’s secretive tenderness. Opened Miki up to trusting him and then stroked at the raw, bleeding edges of Miki’s soul until Miki relaxed against him and learned it was okay too be held. That it was okay to be loved.
Especially since Kane proved he wasn’t going to go anywhere. Abandoning Miki never crossed Kane’s mind. Miki was a piece of his own soul, a tether to a glorious love he knew lurked beneath Miki’s diamond hard surface because once Miki loved someone, he loved fully.
And Kane wanted that love. Wanted to give back that love.
He also really loves the tender, gentle Miki he can unwrap out of the hard, foul-mouthed rock star the world saw.
Now without going too deeply into Miki’s soul, I wanted to create a very what you see is what you get kind of character. Yes, he has hidden depths but everything that he is or how he thinks actually is right on the surface. Miki’s a very much… Got a problem so finding the easiest, on-hand solution. Hungry? Uncooked ramen noodles chased with a can of root beer solves that problem so he can go back to gaming or writing music. He loves food. Loves eating different things but he’s not overly bothered to make sure he gets a meat and two veg on a plate.
Food focus is actually something imperative to Miki’s development because he was always food insecure. Meals were spotty while he was growing up and really the band couldn’t afford more than what was pretty much a college kid’s diet. He hoards things like ramen and other pantry items because it gives him security.
Just like buying a HUGE bag of dog food for Dude means he can provide for his furry best friend. Miki doesn’t trust that he has money and he acts accordingly. He’s not a big spender and will make do with what he’s got.
Then of course, he’s got a lot now… including, Kane, Damien, and of course, Dude….
And I’m going to actually do something different for this Of Characters and Things….

If you have a question about Miki, please leave it in the comments and I will try to answer them. It’s hard to write kind of blindly about Sinjun because well, it’s like describing a piece of your brain. 😃 But if there’s something specific you were wondering about, drop it in the comments so I can take a stab at it. 😃

So… Back from the Hospital. Again.

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Long story short… I got sepsis and it hit hard last Thursday. Kinda sketchy for the first couple of days because well, it was like being run over by a train… very sharp pain, like being sliced by a ringing cymbal and deep chills. High temp and general fuckery. But strong antibiotics helped calm it down and I was released on Sunday.

I still feel like I’ve been run over by a train. Go figure.

You all are probably as sick of hearing about medical stuff as I am experiencing it so let’s talk about other things.

I do feel like my brain is slowly cracking loose of the shell formed aroouond it. Yeah, it’s been a hard haul these past few years but the grey matter has shown signs of arousal… excitement even about writing. or rather at least constructing scenarios which is always good.

On the reading front, I’m going through the JJ Graves series which are a nice light cozy set about a small town coroner and her sheriff husband. Good constructed plots. Nice twists. There’s a bit of a twee thing going on with a faux-sentient laptop but I’m hoping that dies down soon. It’s kinda icky. It’s bordering on being a Cousin Oliver so I’m just sort of skimming at those bits but the rest of it is damned solid for a brain delve.

Finished TA Moore’s Dirty Job (Book 2 of the Dirty Deeds series) I really love that the MCs are not good guys. I do. Link to it here. Honestly, go check out the series. Such tight writing.

The Potato went to the vet on the same day I was entrenched in the ER. He has a fungal AND a bacteria skin infection so he has all the drugs as well as eye stuff because on top of everything else, his tear ducts don’t work.

Been playing Pokemon. Trust me. When you’re stuck in a hospital room, you either Pokemon or Read and Pokemon was easier because I hurt too damned much to keep anything I read. I’m getting kind of bored with the selection of pokemon popping up in the game. Needs a bit more excitement. Okay, for me it’s like stamp collecting.

That’s been pretty much my week. My arms are mottled with bruises from IVs and attempts to IV and also blood draws…and attempts to draw blood. Better than it was the last time but still, I come home looking like some kid got at me with a purple marker. Do not eat the food at the hospital. That’s all I’m gonna say.