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On temporary and uncharacteristic bursts of optimism
I was entertained– this is genuine, I’m not trying to be passive-aggressive here– at how little attention my post about Sekiro got the other day. Clearly there isn’t a huge audience around here for wild technical musings about video games unless I’m complaining (complaining always gets attention). That said, we’re invoking the My Blog My Rules Goddammit covenant here, because my ass beat Genichiro Ashina earlier today, a feat that somehow only twenty-five percent of the players of this game have managed in the nine days since it came out, and I am damned proud of myself. So: booyah, motherfuckers.
ALSO! I have put new stuff on my Patreon twice in the last few days after ignoring it (and pausing charges to my Patrons; I don’t take your money if I don’t give you anything in return) for a couple of months. There have been two first chapters of old, abandoned projects put up– neither of those ever got finished, but if people like what they see in those first chapters, maybe I’ll revisit them. Remember, $2 a month gets you a whole book. We like books, right?
Today’s the first day of Spring Break, and while we don’t have any real plans for the week I have high hopes that I’ll get something done for the two conventions I’ll be going to this April– a new banner, at least, since the old ones are getting a little raggedy(*). I have been completely dry as far as writing fiction goes for all of 2019, basically, and dammit I’m gonna fix that this week. We’re gonna get something creative accomplished up in here if it kills me. And it’s not gonna kill me.
This is gonna be a big week, dammit. Big.
(*) ConGlomeration in Louisville, April 19-21, and LaffyCon in Lafayette on April 27 and 28. Are you near either of them? Come see me! I actually have some free tickets for LaffyCon, if anyone’s nearby and wants ’em.
In which I ask the hivemind
I need some more conventions, y’all. Right now I think the next con I’m actually signed up to attend is the next Indy Pop Con in June. I’m registered for Kokomo-Con again. And … I think that’s it? I’ve had a little bit of a run of being turned down by juried cons (I tried to get into both ConFusion in Detroit this January and a February comic convention) and I’ve decided to not apply to the Fort Wayne PopCon in between Christmas and New Year’s, mostly because … well, it’s between Christmas and New Year’s, and it’s a first-year con, and that strikes me as vaguely insane. I hope they’re successful, don’t get me wrong, and if they are I’ll be there next year, but they’re charging PopCon prices for what I’m pretty certain isn’t gonna be close to PopCon attendance and right now it’s not worth the risk.
Plus, well, check the posts at the end of December around here for any of the last six years. The weather tends to not lend itself to long road trips.
So. Anyway. If you happen to know of any science fiction conventions, comic book shows, or genre/author events in the next six months within, say, a three- or four- hour drive of northern Indiana, let me know. I’m looking at one in Louisville over Easter weekend, too, but it’s over Easter, which has its own set of complications to it.
I’ve finished a story over at Patreon, called The Caretaker, and I’m really fond of it. The story is posted in five parts and in first-draft form (I literally wrote it straight into the Patreon website; it’s not copy-pasted) and it will be posted again in .mobi and .epub form once it’s cleaned up a touch, but I like it and I think you will too. Just $1 a month gets you access to a bunch of microfictions and three or four short stories, and $2 a month gets you an entire exclusive novel. Next Patron is #15! That’s a great number! Join us!
Two weeks to winter break, y’all. There will be Christmas shopping this weekend. I can do this.
Patreon update!
I just totally recorded an audiobook, guys. Or at least whatever an audiobook short story is called? Let’s say it’s still an audiobook.
At any rate, I’m keeping it exclusive to my Patreon, at least for a while. Perhaps you’d like to pledge just a dollar month, to gain access to it and many other interesting things?
New Jayashree story!
Warrior Jayashree and the Roc is written and finished.
Oh, you don’t see it on here anywhere?
It’s because it’s the first exclusive post on my new Patreon.
Which…
Holy crap, guys, this is terrifying. I mean, I was jumpy when I released Benevolence Archives, Vol. 1 out into the wild a few years ago, but somehow the notion that I’ve gotten uppity enough to ask people to send me a little bit of money every month basically just because they like my work is humbling and terrifying and maybe I’m gonna throw up and please just one or two of you buy into this? Please?
I’ve been going back and forth on this for a while, and I think I’ve come up with a reward structure I like and a use for the page– there are going to be lots of microfiction-type stuff posted there, along with some short stories as I write them, deleted scenes, stuff like that. I might eventually post what I got written of Sunlight before it fell apart; who knows?
But anyway: I’m currently supporting about five or six people on Patreon to the tune of $2 or so a month. I would be humbled and honored if anybody out there feels like I’m worth that much, and if you happen to have some money burning holes in your pocket and want to throw in more, awesome. And hey– new Jayashree story! Everybody loves Jayashree, right?
(I love Jayashree. I might love Jayashree more than Brazel. Don’t tell him.)
Click here to view my Patreon page.
(Please?)
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