Ah, the happy life in Mountain Hole. Drink, gamble, exist. But all good things must come to an end. It’s not the first time Martin has worn out his welcome, but there’s a difference this time, measured in lives lost.
Back here at the ol’ Web site, it turns out I skipped a few steps when I unleashed episode 11, so it wasn’t on the main story page and the links between episodes weren’t set up right. So if you missed episode 11 you have an extra treat waiting for you now.
I’ve been so caught up in the mechanics of this site that the story has suffered from a bit of neglect. That, and after maybe fifty-seven rewrites I finally found Martin’s way to say that every day he lingers in Mountain Hole is another day closer to violence.
But of course, Martin is a rational person and since he knows one course leads to destruction, he will take another course. Right?
Meanwhile Bags has to say goodbye to a dear friend, and Katherine has to tip a little more of her hand.
It took a while to get things set up (thanks, beta testers!) but the first chunk of patron-only content is live! Chapter 1 of Bags’ story is out, and will be followed very soon by a lot more variable-quality prose. We’ll see Bags grow up into a very dangerous kid, but some of the latter parts of the sprawling story will have to wait for a while yet. Spoilers, you see.
A note to patrons who wish to access the special content: Getting set up the first time is a two-step process. First you connect this site with your Patreon account. The magic Patreon code (that I’m really trying not to spend time improving) will then set up an account for you here. After the first link-up, you are a full-fledged member of this site, and you will log in through the normal WordPress fields after that. (Or clef, if you want to be all high-tech and secure.)
Each time you log into your account here, it will contact the Patreon mother ship and adjust which patron-only content you’re allowed to see. Its… not as intuitive as I think it could be. But the good news is that once you’re a member here, you can set the name that shows next to your comments and even upload a picture and other useless crap like that.
Some content, like Bags’ Chapter 1, is available to all Awesome Patrons at the 10ยข/episode level and above. The full backstory will be available to patrons at the Noble Supporters of Knives level and above. Mighty Benefactors of All Things Sharp and Pointy will be polled to decide whose backstory will follow Bags’.
This is my humble way of saying thank you to all who have chosen to support this project. I’m really enjoying it, and I hope you are too.
You can find links to Bags’ history here.
Episode 10 evolved quite a bit through the revision process; it grew to fill a gap in the original ‘rough-draft’ series over at Muddled Ramblings, addressing (or at least starting to address) a convenient but inexplicable reticence in some of the characters in the rambling version.
Read Episode 10: And all His Kin.
Episode 11 is coming along nicely, but still needs a good dose of stuff happening.
So I have patrons now, and I have an area on my site that is supposedly for patrons only. But does it work? Heck if I know. Someone else’s code, and whatnot. Are any of my kind and noble friends willing to help me test it? As soon as I know how it works, I’ll start posting all the backstory content I owe y’all. (Although a little of Bags’ backstory is spoiler-ish, so the last few chapters will have to wait until after a particular upcoming episode comes out.)
Meanwhile, I’ll be reaching out to the Mighty Benefactors of All Things Sharp and Pointy to determine whose backstory comes after Bags’.