The universe is not a kind place. But humans have thrived by forging tightknit mutually supportive communities.

Oligarchs: what if we shattered those communities and sold a toxic replacement back to people on a subscription basis in exchange for their labor?

By the way, I write Romantasy novels with happily ever afters… 😅

I understand the need for religion. A bunch of monkeys decided to make social intelligence their killer app. This proved successful. But the monkeys also got smart enough to ask: what is all this for?And there was no answer. So the monkeys invented an answer, and also a thing to give the answer. It’s impossible to miss that the underlying justification for existence that religion gives always seems to match up with the needs of the people in power.But the need for religion remains. We we need an answer for when we stare into the yawning abyss. Now more than ever. The catch, for me, is that I understand this. Hard to believe in religious ideology when its purpose is laid bare. What’s that Jesus? “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.”Isn’t that convenient? So now what? I need to deal with the emptiness of existence. I wake in pain. I work a job I don’t like, to pay for food and shelter, so I can do it all again tomorrow. All while people with more money than the Pharoahs try to take away what few rights and comforts I have. Where do I find meaning in this? I think the typical answer is to find meaning in our friends and family, the loved ones in our lives. Great. But I look at them; they are stuck in this same bullshit system, being ground up by patriarchy and capitalism. Is it compassion to want people to remain, to persist, in this unjust system? We have techbros salivating for a return to feudalism. We have evangelists fighting for a return to theocracy. Fascists are rounding up brown folks. Transphobes are legislating trans people out of public spaces.Is it even ethical to find a way to carry on as normal? Isn’t something more required? I don’t pretend to have an answer to this. This is what pulls me down on bad days. What are we to do?

It’s Monday. And so we are back hard at work. The clock has struck two and I am six hundred words deeper into episode six of the Last Paladin. I hope to have it done by Friday.

So it’s the new year now, 2026. Things to look out for. The next episode of the Last Paladin should be up before the end of January. The Husband Poisoning Society should conclude mid May. And I hope to have a Star Sentinels of Cerberus ready fairly early in the new year.

I also plan to put more of my material up on itch.io and archive.org, to make epub versions more readily available.

plenty to look forward to. I hope you all enjoy it.

Reminder. I’m writing The Plight of the Last Paladin as a 13 episode anime season. And we’re up to episode 5 now! Starting to hit big story beats. It’s free on my Patreon. No sign up required, but all sign ups deeply appreciated.

The fourth episode of Paladin is up on the patreon. Another episode is in the bag and just being proof red now. So look for that one shortly as well. https://www.patreon.com/ddwardiswriting.

My wife is just about better now. But it has been quite the week. COVID booster, flu shot, dental appointment, wife sick, roommate out of town. Lots going on.

Chapter 24 of The Husband Poisoning Society went up Friday.

• On Patreon
• On Blogspot

And if you are a member of the Patreon, free or paid, there is a preview of the Star Sentinels of Cerberus on the Patreon.

So the title says it all. I have been away from the computer, because my wife got a chest cold and I have been looking after her. Don’t worry, the cold was nothing serious. She had a fever and was congested, but nothing worse than that. She’s sleeping at the moment, so I have time to tap out a little update.

There is a survey on the Patreon, if you would like to take part. And The Husband Poisoning Society, Chapter 24 is up on the Patreon as well. I hope you all enjoy.

Stay safe!

-DD Ward

Taking stock of the Moonlight Hearts Series.

• Daughters Of The Digital Empire: Posted, Available.
• The Husband Poisoning Society: Posting, Mostly Available.
• Captured By The Crimson Countess: Outlined, WIP 50%ish
• Insurrection on the Capital Express: Written, Not Posted.
• Island of the Serpentine Secret: Outlined, WIP 50ish.
• The Wyvern, The Wife, And The Winter Moon: Outlined, WIP 15%ish.
• Coed from Another World: Outlined, WIP 5%ish.
• Something Dead This Day Rises: Pitched.
• A Tale Told By Dying Light: Pitched.
• The Hunter Who Came into the Fold: Pitched.
• Wrath And Righteousness: Pitched, No Outline, WIP 5%.
• Souls On The Wings of Doves: Pitched, No Outline, WIP 5%.
• The Frat Boy Who Would be Queen: Outlined 50%ish, WIP 25%ish.

We wrote Insurrection on the Capital Express thinking it would be book two. But realized we wanted some character development between the first book and it.

And so we plotted two more novels.

We have these things plotted out to 2035…

That’s it. That’s the post. I wrote seven hundred words yesterday. For those wondering, I aim for 1600 words per day. One hundred when I wake up. And three sets of five hundred. I don’t try to marathon through my writing. I space it out in smaller sets. It seems to help.

I’ve done my one hundred words for this morning already, if you’re curious. I also uploaded the new chapters all the way to the first week of December. So that’s out of the way.

I’m still mulling over how best to include the lore about the stories without making a single monolithic page. I may need to look into a World Anvil page or a private wiki. But we will see.

Until then though, stay safe!

-DD Ward