All twelve chapters of The Patience of Hope have now been released! I ended it a day later than planned because I had to take one of the days off, but with the last chapter having just been posted, that wraps up this story, which clocks in at 18,280 words and tips into novella land. If you like explicitly autistic characters, hopeful themes and surety of Christian love, you might like this story.

A couple of acknowledgements - thanks to both @graycedelfin and @stealingmyplaceinthesun, who helped me with betareading. Thanks also to the @inklings-challenge; I wouldn't have written this story without the Christmas challenge it's for.

I love this story so much, and I'm delighted to share it with y'all, even though it's far from its best, having had perhaps not enough time to marinate before I shared it. I hope to edit it in future.

Each chapter was set one day after the previous one. Don't squint too hard at the worldbuilding, either, because it was sort of set in the present time but also sort of not really.

Chapter one: Nativity was for Christmas day itself. Chapter two: Stephen introduced a character and plotline that featured heavily in the rest of the story. In chapter three: John, there was a somewhat difficult conversation, and a kind-of-sort-of cliffhanger. Chapter four: Innocents looked more at how the results of that conversation were going to affect Patience. Next up, chapter five: Shepherds brought a surprising situation into the mix. Chapter six: Joseph had a spot of conflict, as well as much-needed reassurance for Patience. Chapter seven: Magi brought more fluff, as well as a necessary conversation. Chapter eight: David showed one of Patience's favourite things, knitting for people. Chapter nine: Baptism was shorter than I would have liked, and I intend to revise to add another scene at a later date, but it's okay as it is. Chapter ten: James briefly brought back a character sidelined in an earlier chapter. In chapter eleven: Mysteries, her father returned to take care of Patience and try to clarify the situation she was in. Finally, the chapter that just released (chapter twelve: Epiphany) contained a hard conversation, surrounded by discussions of Bible verses and wordplay, and closed the story on a hopeful note.

Thanks for reading, and please reblog this post, and please tell me what you think of the story! Also see the most recent story on this post (or one of my most recent tumblr posts), for a short story from Rhona's POV during the events of Patience, Changing, "Patience in Recovery"!

Do you like sexy ghosts?

(Yes, you do. This is Tumblr.)

So, I've got like this job actually writing books and trying to get people to buy them. But right now, I'm giving one away for free! (I'm like the anti-Aziraphale here.)

It's a ghost romance set in late 19th century Ireland, with a curse, a heroine with OCD and related social anxiety, and a total sweetheart of a ghost hero. They spend the whole story being cute together and helping one another. A greedy capitalist is the villain. It's lots of awww with a dash of spooky.

It's going out to my newsletter subscribers tomorrow, and you can sign up here: catsteinbooks.com/newsletter

(Secret tip: Obviously, I hope you'll stick around and check out my books and whatever, but there's not actually any penalty for signing up, getting the book, and unsubscribing.)

Six Sentence Sunday — Midnight

Every Sunday I share Six Sentences from one of my books or current WIP This excerpt comes from the free New Year’s themed novella where four guys scheme to get the midnight kiss from Layla. “Now, I believe the best way to show who is the most deserving of the New Year’s kiss is with a—”“We don’t have time for a fivesome,” Calvin wrongly insisted. “A contest,” I finished with, and snapped my…

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Heretic Dreams is on itch!

I've transferred my dark fantasy/horror Twine game Heretic Dreams over to my itch page to play for free/pay what you want!

No one knows you swallowed the power of a god, but it will break you apart as you guide your mining party to icy disaster.

Make hard decisions. Bond with your captain. Sacrifice yourself or others. Reach many endings, none good.

First published in sub-Q Magazine, 2016.

Contains sexual references and animal and human death.

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Play more short free IF on my itch page!

Baby’s second Novella? Baby’s SECOND Novella!

I can't believe I somehow timed it just right! It's almost like an anniversary! Luck and Bounty book 2 is finished! 

Do you like fantasy adventures with Percy Jackson vibes? Luck and Bounty may be the short read for you!

You’ve seen them here, and now you can read about them too! Please go check it out! https://minimoonp.gumroad.com/l/bounty2

i have like 100 pages of girl flesh left and i WILL finish it tonight <- affirmations chanted in front of the mirror

I LIVED BITCH

sometimes I wonder what this is referring to

Please tell us about Fly By Night 👀

okay. in a universe of signals that crackle and metal that rusts, where buttons click and brakes screech, we are in the midst of the wreckage of war. ten years ago, the perennial empire- slow, clinging, suffocating- was overthrown by the luminous fleet, a group of flashy revolutionaries better at words than actions. for the people on the outskirts, however, nothing much has changed, new words for new leaders, but still the same hardships. the galaxy is still full of the wreckage of this war, with more hulking, twisted ruins emerging into the skies above planets every day, bringing mangled ghosts to scream across torn horizons.

here, we find the crew of the grocery hauler turned renegade ship, the fly by night. seven and merrick are psychically pairbonded ex child soldiers, created by the perennial empire as part of a secret biohacking weapons programme, who became instrumental in the perennial empires destruction when merrick destroyed the perennial flagship, the assurance, by summoning a lightning storm, which almost killed both him and seven. a decade later, they're living paycheck to paycheck using their skills to hunt and cleanse ghosts from war wrecks, while doing drag performances and boxing matches (seven) and taking weird space drugs and trading life and limb for information about what happened to the rest of their programme (merrick) on the side.

enter solaire, a neon fifteen year old with dreams of becoming a racer and has no impulse control, who they rescued from a shipwreck and have been haphazardly trying to parent.

enter october, a traumatised fifteen year old with powers that they can't control, on the run from what seven and merrick quickly realise is the sequel to their own programme, who is being hunted by the remains of the perennial empire, now a desperate and cruel militia.

being forced at last to confront the horrors that they both witnessed and caused, and all the ways that's fragmented them and brought them closer together, seven and merrick have to navigate protecting their teen charges, keeping their ship running, escaping from the perennials and not murdering each other along the way.

so yes. that is my current original fiction project, working title fly by night,

Steamy Saturday — Midnight Fivesome

WARNING! A Five-Chili Steamy Scene Lurks Below!If you aren’t ready for your phone to catch on fire, click away. Layla’s left alone on New Year’s Eve as her guys plot who’s going to get the kiss at midnight. When she learns that, she punishes them in the best way. EXCERPT INCLUDES:🌶️ MFMMM🌶️ Punishing the Boys🌶️ Fivesome🌶️ No Kissing Cal
 Fuck me. Layla’s moans, her round ass drilling into my…

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I’m currently reading Alexandra Vasti‘s In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint and I cannot wait for her full length debut next year oh lord

Our mmc Ashford just got out the reading glasses for some light work and had to ("brutally"!!) pack them away again until further notice because Matilda would not stop staring at him. Just getting absolutely hot and bothered for this old man with his spectacles that she starts making him uncomfortable. Real

hear me out… changing states sequel where jeremiah… falls in love

Baby's first Novella? Baby's first Novella!

I’ve been working on this project for the past few months, and it’s finally ready!  Do you like fantasy adventures with Percy Jackson vibes? Luck and Bounty may be the short read for you!

You’ve seen them here, and now you can read about them too! Please go check it out! https://minimoonp.gumroad.com/l/Bounty

My Current Patreon Stories & Updates!

Updates!! What I'm working on & what's available on my Patreon! Princes and magical harps... unicorn shifters and family drama... secret magic and murder... You know, the normal. 😅🧐

  It’s been awhile since my last author updates here on the blog, so I figured it’d be a great time to touch on what I’ve been up to! Last year, Fate in Suspension made it out into the world as a published book, and it’s done pretty well. It’s the first new book I’ve put out in the last few years, and it was a really fun project! Then again, the stories that hit from out of the blue often are…

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self-promo: Dragon Flame

So I'm putting it here again, the novella I'm writing for Open Novella Contest on Wattpad. It's a dragon fantasy lgbtq novella with two princes as love interests. tbh I've never done an original story with romance so I'm open to feedback. For now, there's over 8k words published (since I needed it for submitting for 2nd round of the contest) but I will try to update regularly and finish it until the end of the month (which means it needs to have at least 20k words and be completed for the contest).

Click to read

Summary:

As a spare heir and hero of the last war, Wystan would like nothing more than to enjoy retirement while teaching recruits and drinking up his inheritance.

After stepping on the wrong toes, he is reinstated early and finds himself on a quest to slay a dragon in the Southern Lands of the Empire.

Unwanted and feared, the merry band of the Empire's mercenaries joins him on the journey, for they have been ordered to die with him in not so many words.

While the rumors consist of a tale of a feral, man-eating dragon, a captured princess, and a dreary, impenetrable fortress of a tower where both dwell, Wystan learns that stories are just that--stories.

The tower is not impenetrable nor dreary. On the contrary, it's quite homey with warm rugs, shiny chandeliers, and the fire roaring in every heart. The dragon ignores humans like a person would an ant. And the princess...

Is in fact a prince.

The runaway prince of the Zmaya Kingdom enjoys making Wystan's days harder. Smooth-tongued and shrewd, Alexei manages to make the mercenaries like him and then offers their party a place to stay after hearing about their grim fate. Wystan has to accept because the dragon is there and if he returns home empty-handed, the Emperor would hang him.

Now forced to cohabit in the same place as the infuriating prince, he searches for ways to kill the seemingly unkillable creature.

Click to read

The story is not marked as mature. I try to put in an author's note warning for the stuff that might be triggering.

If you're interested I would be very grateful if you'd check it out 😁

The Sussex Fretsaw Massacre

Enjoying the Pagham-on-Sea series but want more Ricky content? Or know a little something about the series and want to dip in but not sure if you want to start with the novels? This is the standalone novella for you: The Sussex Fretsaw Massacre sees five strangers doomed to die arrive at Fairwood House… but the sixth member of the party has a quite different destiny. You can buy this novella…

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