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Aaron Sher

@aaronsher.bsky.social

470 followers 350 following 1.3K posts

Fantasy author, martial artist, software engineer, cook, ally, and cat minion. Not necessarily in that order. (he/him) http://aaronsher.com

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · Jun 22

“This isn’t just magic in a trench coat. It’s magic on a job site.” - Goodreads reviewer

Applied Leverage is an award-winning urban fantasy novel starring a snarky telekinetic locksmith in a world of magic. On Kindle, KU, and Audible. books2read.com/AppliedLever...

#fantasy #books #booksky

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 8h

It was a deliberate strategy. Right, of course it was.

A snippet from Applied Leverage, book one of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

Nia was in the back seat with her first-aid kit
open, wrapping some bandages around Elise's chest. I carefully did not look in the mirror at Elise with her shirt off. Adrenaline does all kinds of things to a person. To distract myself, I said in an only-somewhat-squeaky voice,
"What in the living hell was that? What kind of mage can do that kind of thing?"
Nia responded without looking up from her task,
"Don't ask me. What I want to know is, how did he dodge my fucking bullets?"
"He was a psi, a teep. He was reading your mind,
maybe also screwing with your aim," I told her. "I distracted him by occupying my mind fully with how deeply screwed we were just long enough to get a shot in."

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 8h

Who’d have thought there would be so many possibilities with those three letters?

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 23h

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 1d

Blake's pipe smoke is always interesting and rarely involves tobacco.

A snippet from Mechanical Advantage, book two of the urban fantasy series Origin Key. #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

Blake was ensconced in DeRose's commandeered office, somehow effortlessly making the guest chair look like the one on the correct side of the desk and the Grand Magister seem like a visitor. They were dressed today in a different gray silk suit, a bit more loungewear than boardroom but still by far the most elegant thing in the room. The pipe was firmly in place and filling the room with a sweet not-quite-tobacco smoke. They gave me a warm smile.
"Connor, I wanted to thank you for letting me know that my old friend James was here."
DeRose, impassive as always, leaned back in his chair. He made it look casual, but I suspected he was trying to get away from the pipe smoke. "Now," he said in his rich voice, "as pleasant as this visit has been, perhaps we can come to the point? Time is rather pressing."
Between DeRose with his power and his leather-and-brandy voice and Blake with their whole secret-society Shakespearean-actor thing, I felt like the country cousin in this room.

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 1d

I mean, it’s not a high bar.

Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 2d

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 2d

Magic *is* annoying.

A snippet from Applied Leverage, book one of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

As we moved, I reached out and triggered the don't-look focus in Nia's pocket. Nia might have been able to do it herself; lots of people can trigger focuses even if they don't have enough energy to do anything overt with it.
In this case, though, we hadn't wanted to try it for obvious reasons and this didn't seem like the time to experiment.
It's really, really difficult not to sneak in a situation
like that. With no cover it's totally pointless—if they're going to see you, crouching down and acting furtive will only announce that you're up to something but the instinct is strong. Following Nia's lead and resisting the temptation with all my might, I walked quickly but calmly in her shadow up to the house. The patrol was a good hundred yards away but all they'd have had to do was to glance in our direction —we were in the middle of a flat, manicured lawn, under a bank of floodlights that would do the Patriots proud. They never did, though, so I had to assume the focus was working. Or maybe it was just luck.
Magic is annoying.

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 2d

Full cover reveal this weekend! If you were a subscriber to my newsletter you'd have seen it already - go to aaronsher.com to sign up.

Teaser image for the cover of Mechanical Advantage, Origin Key book two.

Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 3d

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 3d

Entré: Jeeves. He will be important, suit and all.

A snippet from Applied Leverage, book one of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

"Folks here aren't likely to be all that friendly," I
warned. "They get a bit touchy about mun... people without special abilities coming in." The word "mundane" while common in the community, wasn't all that polite.
"Don't care," she replied. "Fuck 'em." She watched
the mages playing fireball-catch with fascination, leaning back with her hands behind her head. How do you lean back comfortably on a stool? Abs of steel, that's how.
This was going to go badly, I knew it. At that moment, though, my client showed up. Standing inside the door and peering into the dimness, he looked like a crow in a flock of pigeonsI mean, he was wearing a three-piece suit. The last time somebody wore a tie in Byrne's, they were probably on their way to a funeral.
Possibly for Paul Revere.

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 4d

Stupid London with their stupid rational gun laws.

A snippet from Mechanical Advantage, book two of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

"What do you think he's going to be able to do?
Surely he can't take on the whole London chapter by himself, right?" I wasn't at all sure of that, in fact.
"No, I... don't think so." She didn't sound sure either. "He and Andrews are in conference, they'll figure something out. Of course, if your idea to get help from Fox works out, that would make things a lot easier."
Her smile made me feel warm. She had such
confidence in me. I wish I felt like I deserved it.
"I hope he's willing to help. I'm going to have to
pitch it to him just right, I think. Ultimately, though, I don't see how this doesn't come down to a fight, and if there are forty or fifty of them like Andrews said then we're seriously outgunned. And we don't even have guns."
"I may have an idea about that. I need to work on it some more." I knew that look. She was coming up with
some magic gizmo or something that nobody had ever heard of before.

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 4d

Wordle 1,578 3/6

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 5d

Wordle 1,577 3/6

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 5d

And then came the zombies…

A snippet from Mechanical Advantage, book two of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

"You ready?" she asked.
"Not remotely," I said. "But let's do it anyway."
And then the zombies were on us.
I ducked under a swinging arm, put a mental push
on a knee to buckle it, and brought my enchanted cane down on the back of a skull. The explosive rebound sent the cane back up in time to catch a skeleton's leap from beneath there wasn't much power in the strike, but the
force of the spell put a big hole through its ribcage anyway. It fell at my feet and I kicked it hard in the head, but it bit at my boot and didn't stop moving until I brought the cane down on its upper spine and split it into several pieces.

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 6d

Almost barbecued, just lightly browned on the outside.

A snippet from Applied Leverage, book one of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

Nia eyed me skeptically. "You almost got barbecued and then trampled. You sure you're OK?"
"Almost is the key word there. Almost barbecued, almost trampled. Not actually barbecued or trampled. That goon was just a hothead, nothing to worry about."
'''Hothead', nice. Well, hopefully he gets what he deserves for that. I spotted what you did there, spoiling his aim with that bit of teek, but I don't think anybody else did." Nia misses nothing.
"Joe can't exactly call the cops, so banning the guy
is probably the best he can do." I sat down on the steps of her building, trying to make it look like I was just relaxing and not because I wasn't sure my legs would hold me. I knew I wasn't fooling her, but I also knew that she'd take the effort for what it was and pretend right along with me.
"Why can't he?" she asked. "The guy tried to kill
you."

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 6d

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 6d

Nobody replied - do I take that to mean nobody got the joke, or everybody got it?

Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 7d

Wordle 1,575 2/6

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 7d

This bathtub is easily big enough for my 5’10” overweight self. These two are Maine Coons, and neither is full grown (2 and 1 years old respectively).

Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 7d

AI would do a better job.

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 7d

Who actually gets this joke? I may have gone a bit too obscure with this one. If you don’t, does it bother you?

A snippet from Mechanical Advantage, book two of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

Towing her rather large suitcase, Elise forged her way through the crowd to where the man waited and said,
"I'm Elise Vaughn."
The man said, "Welcome to London, Ms. Vaughn.
My name is Edwards and I'll be your driver for today." He paid Nia and me no attention whatsoever. "If you'll come this way, the car is waiting."
No Marx Brothers straight line for me. Defeated, I
trailed along in the wake left by the man and Elise's suitcase. Nia brought up the rear; I couldn't tell if she was truly alert or if that's just what her face did when she was acutely sleep-deprived. That might have more to do with me than with her, though.

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 8d

😡

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 8d

I used this one before, but it’s the only “prize” in two books.

A snippet from Mechanical Advantage, book two of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

"Disciples get to take initiative, Initiates don't,"
Elise said. "This is a gray area since I'm still doing exactly what Uncle James wanted me to do, though I think if he knew the details he'd tell me to back off. But if I do that, then I don't find the answer:"
"And you just can't stand not knowing the
answer," Nia said, smirking.
"Could you?"
"Hey, I was in the Army. You get told what you need to know, when you need to know it, and then you're supposed to forget it to make space for the next thing.
Initiative is, let's say, not highly prized, at least at the lower ranks."
There was a lull in the conversation. By this point
we'd finished eating and were all just sitting around, so "Shall we?" I asked.

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 9d

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Aaron Sher @aaronsher.bsky.social · 9d

Fox enjoys his job.

A snippet from Mechanical Advantage, book two of the urban fantasy series Origin Key (see my pinned post). #amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #fantasy 📚💙

"Like trickle-charging a battery, I get it. Could we maybe take the golem there and tap into the network? No, that would be wildly conspicuous, there's no place on that street to casually park a big flatbed truck." I trailed off, trying to come up with a solution.
"Rourke!" came a shout from out in the main area
of the shop.
I left Elise staring glumly into the hole in the
golem and went out to see what was going on.
It was Fox. When he saw me he gave me that sharp grin that always made me feel like there was a joke at my expense somewhere.
"I did the thing," he said without introduction.
"What did you find out?" I asked.
"Bugger all," he said, seeming satisfied. "Bloody
nothing."

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