SquarePeg Books

Some of my best ideas for stories are traced back to dreams or objects.

A few years ago, I saw this stationary set in my local post office:

My mom squealed that she remembers that children’s book. I really don’t remember what she told me about the story. I assume it’s some tale about children larking about in the snow, ending with coming inside to a nice warm house for cookies and hot chocolate, but I can’t promise that’s correct.

All I see, no matter how many times I have looked at this picture over the years, is “Jawas on Hoth.”

I sent the picture to my husband with that caption. He’s a gamemaster.

A few hours later, he casually mentioned that the Star Wars game he’s running actually doesn’t seem to have a lot about Jawas. They exist, but that’s about it.

Before I realized it, I was dreaming up and rambling on about  a universe in which Jawas are the prime scavengers of tech in space and on any planet they can get to.  On Hoth, they follow the herds of taun-tauns around because the planet is littered with tech junk from past battles, and taun-tauns, like many arctic and antarctic species, can hear the chasms ahead of them that are covered by only a thin layer of ice. The taun-tauns tolerate them after a while because the wampas don’t get too close to this bizarre caravan of Jawas (those weapons hurt!).

Jawas have starships that travel throughout the galaxy to sell the results of their scavenging, or to trade with planetary Jawas groups. While Jawas will take anyone they can for all the money they have, they won’t stiff each other, even if they come from rival groups.

When they’re alone, especially on space stations, they smoke cigarettes or cigars, because the tall creatures STINK to them.

Jawas smuggling people on their scavenger routes through space because NO ONE wants to search a Jawas ship. But if you don’t have the money to move from point a directly to point b, that’s fine, they’ll work with you, so long as you understand that you are now beholden to Their schedule, so it might be a few years of you working site security or something for them while they move from one wreckage to another before point b crosses their flight path.

And on and on and on.

And as sure as the sun sets in the west, Brandon snatched up my idea to use in his Star Wars game to flesh out the jawa culture more to his liking.

I inspire others pretty well, it seems.

Now I just need to find a way to more consistently use my powers for my own evil intentions….