Chel's Corner

Best of 2022

2023.01.01

2022 was a shit year for the most part but improved significantly towards the end: new job, new car, my coming out… and without a doubt the best gift of all, adopting my little Mochi.

She’s approximately four years old and went through several homes, so it was important to give her a forever home that would be loving, quiet and secure. To the pleasant surprise of the shelter folks, who thought it would take her time to trust someone again after all these setbacks, she adopted me immediately, coming for pets, purring, exploring, and being overall playful and confident around the flat after just a few days. January 2_^nd marks three months with her and I couldn’t be happier. I love her to bits, she’s the sweetest cat you could imagine. It took me ten years to be ready to adopt again after losing Gally, and I guess that’s how much time the world needed to to find her a worthy successor! Well, we found each other, at last, and I feel incredibly lucky about that.

So thank you 2022, you still sucked… but you weren’t all bad.

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Victory! (and other updates)

2022.12.25

The Ascalon paperbacks are live again at last on Amazon! Thanks for the xmas gift KDP!

With this update now complete, I will now restore the corresponding pages here as well as the Planes of Ascalon companion pieces in the downloads section.

As for future works, 2022 having been the annus horribilis that it was, all my timelines have shifted more or less a year. Next year right now is looking to be pretty much entirely focused on sci-fi, as I really want to complete the first draft of TUW and send it for editing before the year is out, for a revised target publication date of 2024. I’m pushing The Commodore’s Gold a bit farther down the line as a result; however, French Ascalon fans rejoice, as the French translation of The Dragon Run will hit the shelves some time this year, probably in time for the summer holidays.

Posted in ascalon circle series, the commodore's gold, the dragon run, the kerguelen cat, The Uncertain War, update, writing | No Comments »

Blue skies

2022.12.15

It is with great sadness that I learned today that Bernard Chabbert had passed away, aged 78.

Chabbert was a legend in the European aviation scene, a pilot, a journalist and writer, but most of all an incredibly talented storyteller, and a staple of many airshows for decades, captivating crowds all over Europe with his stories, his anecdotes, his passion for flying machines and the men and women who build, maintain and pilot them.

Back in the 90’s, he created and presented a TV program called Pégase, and it was through this show that I learned about the incredible adventures of how the 747 and the Concorde came to be, or how some guy in Spain was building his own plane from scratch in his garage, that I discovered the Waco, probably the most stylish biplane ever made (the footage of a red Waco taking off from a grassy strip on a misty morning is burned in my memory…), that I watched gliders soar over the Alps, powered by nothing but wind and air pressure… and so many other things

I listened to him tell his stories in so many airshows… the Rassemblement International d’Hydravions de Biscarrosse show in 2012, Flying Legends at Duxford in 2015, our very own Féria de l’Air in Nîmes in 2015 which I helped organize, the Temps des Hélices at Ferté-Alais in 2018, Air Legends in Melun in 2021… But I only had the chance to meet him once, when he was signing, along with illustrator Romain Hugault, his book about Saint-Exupéry, at that last meeting in Melun, in 2021. It was, in every sense, like meeting a childhood hero. He signed my book and we exchanged a few words, then the same happened with Hugault, and I walked on clouds for the rest of the day. It’s no exaggeration to say that airshows won’t be the same without him.

I was hoping there would be more opportunities. I will cherish the one I did have.

Blue skies, Bernard. And thanks for the memories.

Posted in flying, journalism, news | No Comments »

loading…

2022.12.07

Done! Ebooks are resubmitted and paperback proofs are underway. If everything checks out, I could have all versions back on sale like before as soon as next week. Stay tuned!

Posted in ascalon circle series, the dragon run, the kerguelen cat, update, writing | No Comments »

Update on book listings

2022.11.30

Okay, so updating names on Amazon kinda worked… but kinda didn’t. As it turns out, once published, the print version of a book cannot be unpublished (something something second-hand sales as per KDP support), so the versions with my birth name on them are going to stay there indefinitely it seems, unless I file a copyright claim against… myself. Which yeah, is ridiculous.

Anyway, long story short, I registered a brand new author profile on KDP, and I will resubmit my books for publication from this new profile in the coming days. This way, while the other versions might appear in search results, at least they won’t be listed side by side with the new when someone visits my author profile.

While all this is going on, sorry for any inconvenience caused. (Let’s face, given the popularity of my titles, I don’t think I’m losing any sale anyway! Ha ha *sad laugh*).

Fingers crossed that I’m not flagged for impersonating myself in a different profile, given what I’ve seen of how everything works that’s a risk I guess… At some point, after I publish Ascalon #3 and my profile is more established, I might file that copyright claim and nuke the original profile.

To be continued.

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this is 43

2022.11.25

Last year, I stood at a threshold, unsure of what would happen after I walked through. I set to make my 42nd round around the sun the year where I would “build my own answer” to Life, the Universe, and Everything that is, in a wink to Douglas Adams.

It’s been a year of transition not just in terms of my journey with gender, it’s been a transition at virtually every level in my life. A move. A breakup. A new job. A new car. A new kitty. A new relationship with my family, a new loneliness of a kind I never knew before, the closure of a secret garden, in the words of my dear Saint-Ex, and a new, secret regret that time passes relentless, and its wake sometimes hurts to the core.

It was a year of Grief, learning to live without dad. A year of Joy, learning to live as myself. A year of Light, as I stepped out of the closet…

And this year, technically, has now ended.

It’s a bit early for 2023 goals, but I’m looking ahead at that 43rd revolution as a year that will hopefully bring quietness to the turmoil. More stability and confidence, as I progress in my transition, as I settle in my new job, as I rebuild, as Najwa Zebian so beautifully says, a new home for my soul.

Here’s to a year of quiet, content growth, of warmth, and joy.

Love

Chel.

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Mini-review: Fire of Love

2022.11.23

Just finished watching “Fire of Love”, the NatGeo documentary about the lives of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft on Disney+.

The Kraffts were kinda heroes of mine as a kid, alongside Cousteau and Haroun Tazieff, and this film triggered a fair bit of nostalgia! Here we follow their journey around the globe, their love of the mineral, of volcanoes, of each other, amidst some of the most breathtaking footage you can imagine of what Mother Earth is capable of… and each step bringing them closer to that fateful day in 1991.

I remember when the radio announced the news, and I always feel emotional watching that ominous pyroclastic flow… It is interesting that from a certain point of view the lessons of St. Helens were not heeded at Unzen, despite the fact that both the Kraffts and fellow US volcanologist Harry Glicken had to learn it first hand. Yet, in both cases they set up their observation station in a place they thought was at a safe distance, only for the blast of the eruption to end up much more powerful, and going in a different direction, than anticipated. This is not to blame them for being there, mind, but it goes to show how treacherous and deadly these explosive volcanoes can be…

A poignant and fantastic film, and very recommended!

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Quick note about the past

2022.11.04

So I’m working on getting the listings updated and the pictures on the website will reflect that, but at the same time, I will not be deleting or editing past promo pictures here or on IG. They’re also me, if not the whole me, and they’re part of my writing journey. Sone of them also contain some of my earliest reviews, and that’s very dear to me. Long story short, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been there first. I just expect y’all to be understanding and respectful, and not use the name on these pictures going forward. Just so we’re clear.

Posted in update, writing | No Comments »

KDP update

2022.11.03

As you may have noticed, my books went offline yesterday as I’m the process of republishing them under my real name. This means that the ISBN, listing and URL will be new. This also means, unfortunately, that I am losing the ratings and reviews that I had so far.

The new books have been sent and the links will be updated as soon as the review process clears. For now both TDR and TKC will be only available as ebooks. I need to locate the source files for the paperback covers and this is going to take some additional time. The companion PDFs will be updated accordingly as soon as the books are live at the latest.

The French translation of TDR was scheduled for publication in time for the end-of-year holidays but I am no longer sure I can make the schedule, sorry. There’s been a lot more change behind the scenes than the transition and I barely had time to review it.

That’s all for today. Later folks!

Posted in ascalon circle series, the dragon run, the kerguelen cat, update, writing | No Comments »

And the chrysalis opened…

2022.11.01

So the secret’s out, at long last! No, this is not a joke. The time has finally come for the world to know.

My name is Rachel, I’m transgender. I have been quietly working on transitioning for several months now. What does this mean? It means that, while I was born with a boy’s body, I have always felt like a girl wearing an ill-fitting “boy-suit”. This is something that I’ve been feeling on some level for my entire life, even though it took me until my late 30s to realize what those feelings meant.

I won’t go into the details of transition, but starting HRT last year was a like a fog lifting after a dark night. It was as if I could suddenly see everything in a bright, clear new light. See in full, bright colors, after years of grey. I suddenly cared about my body and what I put into it, about my health, and appearance… I’m happier in my own skin now than I have ever been.

What does this mean going forward? Well, to start with, there will be the obvious adjustments in names and pronouns when talking to/referring to me. My name is Rachel Louise Relat. You can call me Rachel or just Chel, feel free to find whatever is most comfortable and easiest for you to adjust to. My pronouns are she/her.

Other than that, I’m pretty much the same person I’ve always been, just happier and more open about myself. I still like writing and photography and video games and reading and old planes and sailing. I’m still working on the Uncertain War trilogy and on the third book in the Ascalon series (and way behind schedule on both!). I’ll need a bit of time to get the listings updated on Amazon and I haven’t quite decided if I’m keeping the site as is or if I’ll change it, but that’s about the only small delays I can foresee…

Most of all, I’m glad to finally have this out in the open so I can start 2023 as myself!

If you got this far, thank you for taking the time to read this. If you want to find out more about Trans people in general, check out this website http://transwhat.org/confused/, or feel free to ask me!

Love

Chel.

Posted in lgbtq, news, transgender | No Comments »