Club High Castle Pre-Pandemic

Write a story in six words--the ultimate way to put your brain to the test! I got this idea after browsing around the web one mindless evening. It's like @VeryShortStory on Twitter, only shorter! However, the idea of writing a tiny splash of fiction is much older than the Internet. Earnest Hemingway won a bet over it. You can read the Wikipedia article if you're curious. I took some pictures and used them as prompts. I'm no Hemingway, but I had fun!   “One to beam-” cried the redshirt.  Took a selfie…lost my phone.  Too stubborn for change, late notice. Last seen at the lunch counter. Wanted: a fitting meme and catnip! **** Take a shot at your own!  [ Your six word story is waiting. ]

Since I've had a lot of text heavy posts lately, I've decided to mix it up a little bit by doing a picture post--a postagram! I gathered a few random pictures from here and there. The only thing these images have in coming is that they are over 10 years old. Woody - She belonged to my step dad and was the first car I drove around town. Half the radio stations didn't work, but she will always have a soft spot in my heart. I'm not sure if I want to reveal this picture's age... Tech School - I was studying hard for a test! Think of it as a boarding school for adults, but add the entire military thing. The Ziggurat - Located in the ancient city of Ur (modern day Iraq). Me standing at the steps. This is believed to be the house of Abraham. The local government was working on restoring it at the time. I wonder what it looks like now because this picture is 10 years old. Cricket - The best cat in the universe (R.I.P.). He was a childhood ...

The pieces are finally starting to fall into place, and the finish line is within site. World Domination Cat has nothing on me! Since I’m thrilled that The Year is Now is almost here, I decided to throw a contest with awesome prizes! The winners will be revealed when I release the cover! “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” - Neil Armstrong, 21 July 1969 .  I want you to create something based on that epic quote. The universe is the limit. If you knit, let those needles take off! Draw? Awesome; I want to see it! Can you sew? Make a wreath? A diorama? Dress your pet up? Make a meme? Do it! Entries will be judged on effort and creativity Prizes! I'm giving out: 1 signed copy of The Year is Now!  2 beanies or 2 (3in by 3in) mini paintings 3 personalized digital character cards. Put yourself in Elly's shoes!  3 personalized wooden peg dolls! GRAND PRIZE 1 Signed copy of The Year is Now 1 Mini painting or bea...

April is going to be an exciting month for The Command Deck! For those of you who are Americans, we all know what day is just around the corner, so let's kick the weekend off with something awesome! It's not a World Domination Cat and Flying Astronaut T-shirt, but if you are bored or stuck in a waiting room somewhere, it will keep you entertained! My latest eBook is available for FREE! If your computer cannot read eBooks, I can send you the PDF version. Just send an email to thecommanddeck [at] outlook [dot] com (replace the brackets/etc with their symbols). Have this as your subject: Donner Lake Disaster PDF.  Say hi to me, and I'll send you the PDF version. Donner Lake Disaster The year is Y.E. 0417, and Captain Montgomery Wilfred is about to discover the most horrific crime the empire has ever seen since The Great War. When a routine visit to an outlander reserve takes a turn for the unexpected, he finds that his sanity will never be the same. Montgomery and h...

A sneak peak at The Year is Now and other images from around the empire! Updated: 22 December, 2014 Elly and Major Pierson - Images of the two main characters The Year is Now - Images of the novel itself Things Around the Empire - Images that don't fit into either category Elly and Major Pierson Sketches: *** The Year is Now *** Things Around the Empire The card looks nice in a frame!  #Selfie with my Elly cards !   Elly card  Major Pierson as a dictator cat. It's now hanging on my wall. Major Pierson is a main character in The Year is Now . A sneak peak at something that has long since been altered and changed

So you want to make a space photo with epic clips of cats, planets, and your favorite things in it, do you? Remember this? Here's how I made the base image. The first step is to gather your images. Wikipedia, NASA, and US government sources are my favorite resources. Why? Wikipedia lists the copyright information when you click on an image (plus, it’s a great way to find images), and most NASA/GOV images are in the public domain because they are usually taken by a government employee while on duty.  All right! We have our background base image, a beautiful image to enhance it with, and our items (astronaut, planet, and cat). Open photoshop (or your graphics program of choice). Create a new document with your desired dimensions. World Domination Cat and Flying Astronaut is 1,000 by 800 pixels (or 14in by 11in) with a 72 resolution (you won’t need to worry about that; 72 is the most common for web images). Open your images. Select the image you are going to use as the...