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Essays and Fiction by Charles Bastille, author of MagicLand, Psalm of Vampires, and Restive Souls
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My Semi-Annual or Maybe BiWeekly or Daily Food Drive

Half off for a year? Count you in!

Charles Bastille
Mar 02, 2025
1

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Well, hello there. This is where I make my bi-WheneverTheHellIFeelLikeIt attempt to extract as much money from you as humanly possible.

Get 50% off for 1 year

Base image licensed from Adobe Stock; image smashup by author

All new subscribers are being offered a half-off special, so my current subscribers should see this deal, too. It’s just a temporary thing to try to collect a few more pennies to pay my significantly expanded medical staff, who recently rescued me from near-certain death (I kid not, but won’t go into details here, even though, in the long run, I’m not too proud to whine about it at a future date).

Here’s a look at the different kinds of stuff you can find here on Ruminato to justify your support:

You can find unique takes on American politics.

For example, the threat to American youth caused by exposure to the lunacy that is Trump:

Trump’s Toxicity Will Extend for Generations

Trump’s Toxicity Will Extend for Generations

Charles Bastille
·
Feb 15
Read full story

Or the death of the Republican Party:

The Second Coming of Ronald Reagan

The Second Coming of Ronald Reagan

Charles Bastille
·
Feb 11
Read full story

And the end of politics:

The End of Politics

The End of Politics

Charles Bastille
·
Jan 27
Read full story

How about a simple DEI primer for white people?

Wokeness, CRT, and DEI — A Primer for White People

Wokeness, CRT, and DEI — A Primer for White People

Charles Bastille
·
December 31, 2024
Read full story

Or America joining a new world authoritarian Axis:

And Just Like That, the Price of Eggs Rose and Democracy Fell

And Just Like That, the Price of Eggs Rose and Democracy Fell

Charles Bastille
·
December 27, 2024
Read full story

If political humor is your thing, you’ll also find that here:

A Tour Through the Republic of Texas in 2032

A Tour Through the Republic of Texas in 2032

Charles Bastille
·
Feb 26
Read full story

I probably could have picked a better doppelganger than Brad Pitt, since he’s in trouble now, too, but if I pick some other dude, he’ll be in the news a week from now, so what’s the point?

You can even discover Moses’ rules of Waffle House fighting on Ruminato. Where else can you find that?

The Laws of Waffle House Fighting According to Moses

The Laws of Waffle House Fighting According to Moses

Charles Bastille
·
Jan 30
Read full story

Not funny at all, but did you know that Florida is dying?

Florida is Dying

Florida is Dying

Charles Bastille
·
August 19, 2024
Read full story

Some of my stuff appeared on Medium before I had 1.2K subscribers here (thank you!). For example, this story, which exposed Musk for who he is back in September (free Medium friend link):

screenshot of linked story

There’s a lot more here. Just click or tap the Ruminato Politics link at the top of every Ruminato page.

Fiction

If fiction is your thing, there’s a ton of that, too. Fiction is dear to me, partly because my characters tend to take over the storyline sometimes. One of them even visited me at a Waffle House. No lie:

Breakfast with a Vampire

Breakfast with a Vampire

Charles Bastille
·
January 23, 2024
Read full story

I guess I should spend some of my medical bill money on some good psychiatric services, but then, where would my characters go? They need a good home, too.

Much of the fiction I write is relevant to our current condition, such as this story about an Amber Alert type of message from the government that orders everyone to kill themselves within 30 minutes:

Thirty Minutes

Thirty Minutes

Charles Bastille
·
November 25, 2024
Read full story

There are stories with futuristic looks at mass incarceration:

Quantum Blues

Quantum Blues

Charles Bastille
·
December 2, 2024
Read full story

And a Valentine's Day noir vampire love story based on one of my favorite "A Psalm of Vampires" characters:

Charly and the Pink Lady

Charly and the Pink Lady

Charles Bastille
·
Feb 14
Read full story

Speaking of Psalm of Vampires, you can find the entire novel serialized here on Ruminato, beginning with Chapter One:

Psalm of Vampires

Psalm of Vampires

Charles Bastille
·
August 8, 2024
Read full story

Maybe dolphin messiahs are more your thing:

Born a Savage

Born a Savage

Charles Bastille
·
November 30, 2024
Read full story

Or the story of a man and his CRISPR past:

Gorzon the Magnificent

Gorzon the Magnificent

Charles Bastille
·
November 22, 2024
Read full story

I’ll experiment a little on Ruminato, too, with stuff that may never go beyond an initial partial draft:

Déjà Vu

Déjà Vu

Charles Bastille
·
September 22, 2024
Read full story

Much of my fiction writing has hidden meaning and Easter eggs, such as this short story about a man who works for the government to track down embedded brain bots carrying rogue AI conversation software:

Hijacked

Hijacked

Charles Bastille
·
August 5, 2024
Read full story

I’ve also been working on a novel for more than three years called Restive Souls, an alternative history novel in which slavery is abolished immediately following the failed Revolutionary War (called the Colonial Rebellion in this alternative universe). You’ll find samples here, which will sometimes disappear automagically.

This story is tangentially related to Restive Souls:

The Day the World Got Woke

The Day the World Got Woke

Charles Bastille
·
September 13, 2024
Read full story

Last night I dropped a chapter from Restive Souls, an alternative history novel that’s been in development for about three years. It’s about an African Empire that rises on the Carolina Coast:

Restive Souls: Ye Old Seeds of Flame Sample Chapter

Restive Souls: Ye Old Seeds of Flame Sample Chapter

Charles Bastille
·
Mar 1
Read full story

You may be seeing more sample chapters of Restive Souls, depending on publication status. If you’re a paid subscriber, you’ll get access to the second book of Restive Souls and a sequel to MagicLand.

Speaking of MagicLand, you can find a whole bunch of stories related to my debut novel here:

https://www.ruminato.com/s/magicland

Become an Endowment member

If you’re feeling generous about your support of the arts and the kind of fiction writing you see here, consider becoming an Endowment member. Yep, it’s expensive, but it’s also half off now, too.

Get 50% off for 1 year

This helps me market my fiction so that more eyeballs see it. It also might help pay for my next MRI, since America is still in the stone age when it comes to healthcare costs. Everybody give me a “Grrrrr!”

Alternatively, if you have a rich crazy uncle who is drunk on Trump, talk him into a Ruminato endowment as a form of punishment. It’ll make you feel giddy for weeks.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate your readership, whether through paid, free, or gift subscriptions, or just casual browsing from the interwebs.

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Today’s New York Times Hit Piece on Kamala Harris Was Extraordinary Even for Them
The New York Times today called the Kamala candidacy wishcasting without taking any responsibility for the sanewashing of a candidate who should not…
Dec 19, 2024 • 
Charles Bastille
489

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Today’s New York Times Hit Piece on Kamala Harris Was Extraordinary Even for Them
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No, Musk’s Teenage Tech Bros Can’t Rewrite the Federal Code Base in a Week
In order to fight, we must know what we are fighting against, and that ain't it.
Feb 5 • 
Charles Bastille
272

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No, Musk’s Teenage Tech Bros Can’t Rewrite the Federal Code Base in a Week
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How the Hell Is Kamala Gonna Pay for All This Shit?
Kamala wants to give you $50,000 for starting a business and $25,000 to buy your first home
Sep 15, 2024 • 
Charles Bastille
202

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How the Hell Is Kamala Gonna Pay for All This Shit?
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