Prepping a talk on child language acquisition, pidgins, and creoles, and the old question of whether English itself went through creolization. Now eyeing McWhorter's "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue" for my birthday list. #linguistics

Added 2,000 words to chapter 4 of The Merlin Murders this week. Agnes is deepening. Revised chapters 1-3 are coming to Patrons soon. #amwriting

Spent Saturday in LaConner with Alison, gorgeous day. Sat in on a poetry workshop at the NoMA, and walked out with an ekphrastic poem. Will share it on Patreon's free tier soon. #poetry #ekphrastic

First chapter of my new cozy mystery, "The Changeling in the Tree", is now available for Patreon subscribers:
www.patreon.com/post...

#fantasy #cozymystery #fiction

Why nonviolent resistance beats violent force in effecting social, political change Harvard Professor Erica Chenoweth discovers nonviolent civil resistance is far more successful in effecting change than violent campaigns.

Find the truth.
Resist anything that is not truth.
Be willing to suffer courageously and compassionately until your enemy recognizes that truth.
This is nonviolence, and it is now, and has always been, the most effective peacemaker.
news.harvard.edu/gaz...
druidjournal.net/202...

Update on writing projects (free post) on my Patreon.
TL;DR: Finally finished all revisions for my near-future scifi about telepathic computing, Axon, Inc. And making good progress on the cozy mystery book.

www.patreon.com/post...

Worldbuilding Through Universal Fantasy: Creating a Cozy Mystery Setting in Arthurian Oxford What happens when you drop King Arthur's court into medieval Oxford for a summer? And how do you, as an author, find out? Using Universal Fantasy in worldbuilding.

The things that evoke a cozy setting can also make it deadly. How I used Universal Fantasy to build my Arthurian mystery, and ended up with enough motives for a dozen books.

A screenshot of the program in action

Made a little program which translates the latin alphabet into my fictional cipher, used for my conlang.

#godotengine #conlang #degenaissance

Our ruffed black cat, Ash.
Don’t let his haughty demeanor fool you; he is a complete goober who likes tummy rubs and drools when he purrs.

Heartbreaking!

More markedness musing. I was explaining markedness to a colleague, and she said, well, doesn't that mean that some language out there is *least marked*? Perhaps so. Maybe the creole languages as a group; or maybe Hawaiian (with its small phoneme inventory and limited syllable shapes). Thoughts?

Been thinking a bit about markedness the last few weeks. Eg English 3rdSg -s: why mark the most "neutral" person? Maybe because it’s not just marking person, but habitual?
I.e. -s shows "multiplicity" of action (pluractionality), mirroring the noun plural. -s always means "more than one!"

Perhaps, like "scarecrow", it is one who woke the scolds? (Is there a Sanskrit term for that one?)

Bearded man in sweatshirt smiling with a black cat snuggled on his chest

It's been such a busy few days, I've had no time at all for creative projects. I only have time to post this because I'm waiting for code to run. But I have an amazing family, a roof overhead, and tea. And I'm under a cat.

Had a lot of fun creating this Celt-inspired dragon for my planning journal.

#dragon #journaling #sketching

Thanks!! I literally don't remember where we got it! :D :D :D

My cat has conquered my to-be-read pile.

Axon | Collection from Jeff Lilly | 9 posts | Patreon Get more from Jeff Lilly on Patreon

Now that Crown of Crows is finished and published, I'm getting back to Axon, Inc.: near-future telepathic computing scifi. 51% revised, 49% to go. First 9 parts available here: www.patreon.com/coll... and I'll be posting more every week until the book is done! #fiction #scifi

3. My ~400 New English Words from last year collected into a book
4. A cozy mystery, why not?
5. If there's time, a sequel to Crown of Crows (tentative title: The Green Witch)
6. Maybe a book on the Tarot? (Expanding on blog content)
2/2

Planning my potential writing projects for the year. In rough order:
1. Finishing Axon, Inc., the novel about telepathic computing I've been working on since Amazon traumatized me in 2013
2. Five of my best short stories expanded into novellas
1/2

Omyatloko update Omyatloko Logosyllabary There are now 1163 logograms, and a new method of numeral annotation. This will likely be the last update to this script for a great long while. Although, I do intend to use…

A beautiful and inspiring work of true craft by @tlacamazatl.bsky.social :

Omyatloko update footballbatsandmore.wordpress.com/2026/01/04/o...

#NewWordsDaily2025 Dec 31
#conlang
brauthar
/bɹɔəðəɹ/
Middle English bruathar, Old English bruæþer.
From Proto-Germanic /vɹuazθeɹ/, from PIE root bhruH-H₂ster-.
Beam + Star.
Sirius, which reaches its northernmost point at the turn of the year.
Ex. The Brauthar is the brightest star in the sky.

#NewWordsDaily2025 Dec 30
#conlang
thayeck
/θɔjək/
Middle English thuayeuck, Old English þuægewc.
From Proto-Germanic /θuajewk/, from PIE root tu-yewg-.
You + Yoke.
A promise to oneself; a resolution to change behavior.
Ex. My New Year's thayeck is to stop doing this word thing every single day.

#NewWordsDaily2025 Dec 29
#conlang
ulfavute
/ulfəvjut/
Middle English ulfaveut, Old English wlafæfewt.
From Proto-Germanic /wlafavewt/, from PIE root wl(o)p-bhewd-.
Fox + Strike.
A sneaky, clever attack.
Ex. She executed a flawless ulfavute, checkmated him, and cinched the victory.

#NewWordsDaily2025 Dec 28
#conlang
gemaren
/ɡeməɹən/
Mid Eng gemarun, OE gemarun.
PGmc /ɣemazun/, from PIE root ĝʰyem-,suHnú-.
Winter + Son.
A child born in winter; also, serious, driven individuals.
Ex. She was a gemaren who worked long hours and expected a lot from everyone she worked with.

#NewWordsDaily2025 Dec 27
#conlang
lithargh
/liðəɹ/
Mid Eng licathargh, Old English ligcaþærh.
From Proto-Germanic /lijkaθaɹɣ/, from PIE root leyg-tark-.
Jump + Twist.
To spin or twist in the air while jumping.
Ex. The dolphin rose out of the water with a lithargh and caught the fish in the air.

#NewWordsDaily2025 Dec 26
#conlang
felvet
/felvət/
Mid Eng felavate, OE felafæt.
From Proto-Germanic /felavat/, from PIE root pel-bhad-.
Skin + Good.
Burdock salve, or any other balm used to soothe or smooth the skin.
Ex. The gift was a collection of sweet smelling felvet boxed in sandalwood.

“You can't give her that!' she screamed. 'It's not safe!'
IT'S A SWORD, said the Savather. THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO BE SAFE.
'She's a child!'
IT'S EDUCATIONAL.
'What if she cuts herself?'
THAT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT LESSON.”
― T. Pratchett, [Hogfather](www.goodreads.com/wo...)
2/2

#NewWordsDaily2025 Dec 25
#conlang
Savather
/sævəθər/
Middle English sævathar, Old English susæfaþer.
From Proto-Germanic /susævθe:r/, from PIE root suHs-pH₂atér.
Pig + Father.
A mythical being who grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight and brings them presents.
1/2

#NewWordsDaily2025 Dec 24
#conlang
myanth
/miənð/
Middle English myanauth, Old English migianæwþ.
From Proto-Germanic /miɣianaɣwθz/, from PIE root H₁meĝʰinokʷts.
Me + Night.
A night of solitary meditation, relaxation, and self-care.
Ex. I can't come to the party -- I desperately need a myanth.