I opened my eyes, and it was like I’d never left Sakura’s office. I stood just where I had before, in the same position I’d been in. I saw Sakura nearby. She sat in her chair just as before. Only now, her eyes had a distant, vacant look to them. She looked like she had been somewhere far distant, and only now was consciousness returning to her body. I was pretty sure I wasn’t being figu...
2022-10-15 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
I remember you guys requesting some artwork of Argona, so I had some made (specifically, I drew a rough sketch on my ipad, paid an artist to draw a nicer sketch out of it, then used an AI art program to redraw it in color, then hired a different artist to fix the broken anatomy (which is why the left hand and parts of the goggles are drawn in a slightly different style than the rest of the pict...
2022-10-14 16:44:12 +0000 UTC View Post‘Some discomfort’ was a damn lie.
That’s what I probably would have been thinking if I could think about anything except extraordinary, excruciating pain. Every cell in my body was being ripped apart, scanned, and reassembled again. I couldn’t move, breathe, or even think about anything other than the pain. It was an unnatural kind of agony, like it was the kind of pain my mind kn...
2022-10-13 15:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostYears have passed since that day. I graduated from college, found a job, and moved on with my life. But I never forgot Myrina or what I’d seen that day.
There were things out there we didn’t understand. But sooner or later, this apocalypse would come to Earth.
So I prepared. I built myself a little mountain hideaway, complete with everything I might need for such a disaster. It ...
2022-10-12 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe following morning, Alvin noticed there were a lot of swords at his wedding. That wasn’t too surprising, considering how dueling culture was alive and well on this world. Alvin was even more surprised when he was provided a sword as well.
“Your dress rapier, Baron Aldrich,” said one of Count Grandhill’s knights after Mabel’s own mother finished dressing him. Alvin thought he ...
2022-10-10 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostTrue to Bert’s promise, Mabel’s other brother and sister arrived several hours late. Her brother rode a horse in at sunset and was surrounded by several knights in armor. He looked almost regal. At least until he got close enough that Alvin could see him swaying in his saddle.
“My lord, we’ve arrived.”
“Huh?” Mabel’s brother blinked in confusion before sliding backwa...
2022-10-08 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
These things are getting good. Really, scary, good once you know how to feed the right prompts and sketches into the image generation model. I wanted to share some of my better renders with you guys. (Read the captions for character names.)
Quite a few are actually colorations of sketches I had done by human artists and then rejected before finalizing a cover, so you can see the cover art...
2022-10-07 19:14:52 +0000 UTC View PostDing-Dong!
“Hello? Anyone there? It’s Carter from chemistry class!”
I stood before a luxurious private townhouse, neatly tucked between two larger buildings. There was something ever so slightly off about the structure that was hard to put my finger on. It blended into the buildings around it so well that I’d passed by it three times, and the picture my GPS showed o...
2022-10-07 05:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostDays passed quickly, with Mabel joining Alvin nearly every night alongside Clover and Firebrand. Mabel wasn’t particularly talented at seeing mana, but she was talented at working with Firebrand, and the fire spirit was now even able to light candles through Mabel’s body in the real world.
At first, Alvin had been a bit worried about the two of them after the whole possession incident...
2022-10-05 15:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostIn Alvin’s original body, Aldrich was not doing well back on Earth. Contacting his other half across the vast span between worlds had gone mostly as planned.
Clover had been difficult to work with, but once he told her he planned to switch bodies with his other self, he happily agreed. For all her talk of having served him in a past life, she didn’t seem like a loyal spirit. Not like ...
2022-10-03 15:06:41 +0000 UTC View PostAlright guys, I'm sick of trying to figure out which chapter 1 you guys would like better, so I'm making you decide! I narrowed things down to these two, but I might do one more rewrite depending on what you guys say.
If you could, please read this version and tell me which of the chapter 1's is better! Thank you!
Finding Clover turned out to be surprisingly simple and easy. The servant’s quarters she’d been given were supposed to be those of the lady-in-waiting, the first servant to the lady of the manor. That meant her room was essentially Mabel’s closet.
“Yay, I’m so happy for the two of you. Marriages are nice. I remember you had a couple of good ones, Master!”
“A couple of ...
2022-10-01 15:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostAlvin thought recent events in East Water had been dramatic and nerve-racking. First, the town had been under military occupation, then had to deal with Magus Terrance from the Spirit Realm Monastery. Then shortly after that, they had to deal with covering up Magus Terrance’s untimely demise within their realm. With so much chaos at home, he’d made the mistake of thinking all was well in th...
2022-09-28 15:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe next few days passed in relative peace. Magus Terrance’s death was swiftly fading from living memory as no new evidence of demons walking among the people of East Water resurfaced. The villagers started walking around after dark again without fear, and the guards had settled back down to their usual routine. General speculation suggested that the demon wouldn’t attack unless they provok...
2022-09-26 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostFar from East Water, sitting on an isolated hill atop a lush valley, sat a monastery with towers that stretched taller than the highest castle. The walls were made of sturdy stone and weren’t the sort of thing any ordinary prince or lord in the lands could create. It had taken many Spirit Masters and their bound demons centuries to craft these halls.
And that ancient legacy was shown on...
2022-09-24 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostMabel returned a few minutes later after clearing out the guards from the surrounding area.
“I see you took care of the problem,” Mabel said as she closed the door firmly behind her and took in Alvin’s blood-soaked hands.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Alvin said, grimacing as he wiped his fingers off on a handkerchief laying on the desk.
Mabel stepped up to ...
2022-09-21 15:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“I’ll never understand while fools like you think they can become spirit masters on their own. If you had just offered your entire being up to the Spirit Realm Monastery, we could have taught you everything you could possibly need to know. Sure, you would lose your barony to us, but that doesn’t seem to hurt you too much anyway.” Magus Terrance chuckled darkly. “But now your foolishne...
2022-09-19 15:00:16 +0000 UTC View Post“Aldrich!” Mabel cried once more, and this time Alvin heard the ringing of steel against steel.
He still stood beside the bed, covered in sweat from the heat in the room, though most of that was starting to disperse now that Magus Terrance’s spirit wasn’t powering an inferno in the Dreamrealm. His hand rested on Clover’s bare waist. She was still sleeping, but he could see her c...
2022-09-17 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Paladin of the Sigil Book 3: Paladin of the Spirit is live now (or should be soon, depending on your location.)
Join him again as he and his women battle their way through Hell. There, Darren shall raise an army unlike any other and gather the power he needs to defeat his true foe, th...
Clover wasn’t the only one to sense Alvin’s presence. Magus Terrance was no fool, and even though Alvin couldn’t see the man himself, the trembling earth and the raging fire were clearly his work.
“Clover, jump into my arms!” Alvin shouted.
Clover obeyed without hesitation. She leaped through the flames, though they licked her pale legs. She landed in Alvin’s grip, and h...
2022-09-14 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
I accidentally deleted this while removing the Paladin 3 chapters so Amazon wouldn't get mad at me. Since I'm pretty sure I won't use it as a cover and I'm re-uploading it anyway, here it is typography-free and in high resolution. Feel free to use it as a wallpaper or something.
2022-09-14 02:07:15 +0000 UTC View PostFinding Clover’s hut proved to be quite the challenge. All Alvin had to go by was a verbal description and Clover’s own unreliable description. Fortunately, the two of them didn’t mind riding hard, and Mable had already scouted the area surrounding East Water prior to her force’s invasion, so there were only a few places to search.
They eventually found a hut that vaguely matched ...
2022-09-12 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Alright guys, I'm in art mode again. Been sitting on this one a month or two, but I had Regina redone again. I ended up sticking with normal colored hair instead of the light blue color I had on the previous ones.
I've got one more coming of Sarah, and when AA 1 is launching I'll use whichever one looks better.
I've gotten a bunch of work done on Long Live the Emperor and some on Sp...
2022-09-08 16:58:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Alright, so this was the commission I was waiting for, initially planned for book 4, but now I'm going to use it for book 3. It's an image of Ashe in her seraph form. It's a bit early for this since as of book 3 we haven't really seen her in battle (this was supposed to be for book 4), but I like the image overall. I will have to cut the sides off it, since this one is a landscape instead of a ...
2022-09-07 09:02:00 +0000 UTC View PostAlvin needed Clover, but she was nowhere to be found.
She’d been lounging naked in his room for a week, but now she’d suddenly vanished. There was only one explanation Alvin could think of. She’d sensed Magus Terrance’s arrival and hid. He’d need to get away from the manor if he wanted to meet with her.
Alvin was pretty sure he knew where to find her. The herbalist whose b...
2022-09-04 15:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostAlvin grumbled a little as they walked back to the manor. It was a shame to get the romantic walk he had planned cut short.
Mabel patted his back as he grumbled and mistook it for anger at the carriage driver. “It’s okay. It was just some careless driver. We’ll have you cleaned up. I’ll sneak you through the side entrance near the practice yard. That way, the townsfolk won’t see...
2022-09-01 15:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostMabel knocked on Alvin’s door early in the morning. Alvin had been expecting her. She’d been asking him if he wanted to go to the practice field every morning before training, and he could practically set his clock to her visits. Or rather, that’s what he’d do if he had a clock. The locals had a few decent ways of telling time, most of which involved sundials and loudly hitting a bell.<...
2022-08-28 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostDespite no longer being the baron in charge, Alvin found there was no end of work for him to do. The first thing Alvin did was check his library for fiction and held his breath in hope. He wasn’t sure if he’d find what he was looking for, but Aldrich hadn’t wasted all his money on books little better than infomercials.
There were a few romance novels tucked away on the bottom of his...
2022-08-21 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAlright, I had some trouble with the next chapter and I've got some editing/rewriting for Paladin to focus on, so we're doing the poll now.
Rate these ideas in order from most awesome to least awesome. I'm going to try to do more than one thing, but before I do any plotting for what the middle of the story is going to look like I want to see what you guys are interested in.
By full ...
2022-08-18 16:23:04 +0000 UTC View PostIt didn’t take Alvin long to realize where he was being taken. There were only so many rooms in his manor, and he’d already explored most of them. Count Grandhill had set himself up in Aldrich’s study.
The guards standing before the door were clearly of a greater caliber than those who’d been watching Aldrich’s door. These were heavily armored, and they wore full plate armor ins...
2022-08-16 14:41:58 +0000 UTC View Post