I'm not super consistent with these posts, as many of you know. But here it is, a 2023 Year in Review Post.
Let's do a quick update on what I actually wrote this year and what it looks like compared to previous years:
2017* (published and mostly written) | 334,589
2018* (published) | 445,260
2019* (published) | 403,611
2020* (pub...
2024-01-03 05:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostLate at night, and the hunting parties had returned. They had never managed to even come close to the settlement, still multiple li away even at their furthest point of search. To some extent, the distance these parties could stand to journey outwards was dictated by their mortal failings and their movement speed. In addition, of course, there were concerns about potential clashes, for this lan...
2024-01-02 14:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe meeting did not begin immediately. To Wu Ying's private amusement, after the deep posturing of bringing multiple large and expensive flying vehicles to the negotiation, by unspoken agreement each of these instruments were spaced out and landed. The negotiations, after all, could take weeks, perhaps even months. Keeping such buildings aloft during that period would harm even the finances of ...
2023-12-29 14:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostIt took them just over two days to arrive at their destination, slowing on the second day to deal when the cultivators of the State of Wei had arrived, having gone ahead on spirit horses and flying swords and floating carriages to meet with their own men and the larger flying instrument. A minor fortress, a keep that had been rebuilt upon a floating stone platform. It was a powerful weapon of w...
2023-12-26 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe pair of spirit instruments broke away from the Third Grand Palace of the Wei the next morning. Not without another half-day of pomp and ceremony, one filled with musical instruments played to the slow departure of the buildings, vast vases of flower petals strewn across the walkways and the droning voices of bureaucrats attempting to justify their existence.
Wu Ying was grateful...
2023-12-22 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe cultivators and politicans of the Kingdom of Shen gathered. Elders of the Verdant Green Waters sect and Yang Mu, the princes and generals all in the inner sanctum of the kingdom's flying pagoda. Wu Ying flicked his gazed over the group, taking in those around, many showing minor signs of exhaustion; in particular the cultivators. Days and days of celebration had exhausted the cultivators es...
2023-12-19 14:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post**Author Note: Preview chapters are rough/first drafts. These chapters have not been edited, expect that there may be errors - however, feel free to point out consistency issues!*
Wu Ying shifted a little, trying to settle his body, relax his mind and body in the formal robes he was forced to wear. The ceremonies had run for the last two hours, various speeches, rituals a...
2023-12-15 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Featuring the cover reveal for Fool's Bond, book 2 of System Apocalypse: Kismet series co-authored with David R. Packer.
Blurb for Fool's Bond:
Even in the apocalypse, some people just get more annoying.
Fool and Jackal returned, triumphant from their latest mission. A...
2023-12-14 18:00:47 +0000 UTC View PostLast week, I pulled some information on backlist sales and the like. And realised, while I was doing that, there was a bunch of information that people might like. Of course, there was also a ton of data thta I don't necessarily want to go out, so I'm doing a Patreon only business post.
Truthfully, I'm blacking out total revenue amounts anyway, because I don't necessarily feel comfortable...
2023-12-13 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe duelling grounds were expansive, warded and protected against even the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator if necessary. Yet, only the more basic of protections were activated, glowing formations to block edged cuts and blade projections. After all, the cultivators that were gathering at the bottom of the hexagon-shaped duelling arena had already agreed to constrain their attacks and stre...
2023-12-12 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostThis is going to be a short update since I've already done one a few weeks ago and then there'll be a larger update for the end of the year where I'll go into a bunch of thoughts. So this is just a quick review of what has been going on, what I intend to get done by the end of the year (not a lot maybe) and what else is coming.
Though a lot of that i think I'll be leaving for the End of Y...
2023-12-08 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostIt took three days for the fallout of the attack to sort itself out. It only took three days because the entire mission was under significant time pressure, and so matters like precedence, security and pride had to be rushed. In the end, the first Prince of the State of Wei was replaced as the personage they would meet..
Rather than the first Prince, now they met the King of Wei himself, ...
2023-12-08 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostRecently did a post about what I've written or published, just because I have wanted this data for a bit and hadn't a chance to grab it all. Finally did, and this was what I came up with.
But some words written stats. Earlier years are based off what I wrote and published, later years are tracked on a spreadsheet.
2017* (published and mostly written) | 334,589
2018* (pub...
2023-12-06 20:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostWhat was nearly as good as a successful assassination? A failed one. At least, when it came to disrupting the careful protocols and procedures that had been developed over the course of months for this very meeting. Once the shielding formation had been dismissed, the royal entourage and the Prince themselves returned to their residence, the questions and the demands had arisen. The quick flash...
2023-12-05 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostOn the third day of flight, the pair of spiritual instruments finally arrived at the meeting point arranged by the officials. The pair of flying contraptions had slowed their passage through the second day to ensure that on the morning of the third day, as the dawn was rising they would arrive before the peaking of the constant heat. All through the spring and in the winter too, the lack of moi...
2023-12-01 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostFigured I'd talk about something I've noticed, which is the creation of new apps and websites, the first mover advantage and the difficulty in making people change habits and actions, due to the increased mental load.
We all know what this means, we've all done it after all. But let's talk about this in more detail.
New Apps, Websites and Services
There's been...
2023-11-29 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostOnce could not have a diplomatic envoy without the actual government. Though their presence was uneeded and superflous in some ways, with the cultivators bearing the greatest degree of martial strength, the local government was not entirely without its own strength. More importantly, the cultivators neither had the authority nor right to speak for the regular people, the mortals and nobles, of ...
2023-11-28 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostPassage on the floating pagoda was more convenient, though after the first few hours, significantly more boring and slower. At least, for the wind cultivator. Then again, Wu Ying knew that not all cultivators could fly through the air with as great ease as he could. Even for most Core Formation cultivators, the act of flying through space required the constant use of chi from their core. It hel...
2023-11-24 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAlright, so some tasks about building up a publishing business. This is mostly useful as you grow larger - or just find that you can't handle some tasks and are earning enough, or could earn enough - that you can outsource tasks. It's also worth creating these mental buckets as you go along, so that eventually, you can just hand over tasks list.
Why do you want to outsource or delegate? B...
2023-11-22 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostFor all the urgency of the initial request, final preparations for their trip to the State of Wei took longer than Wu Ying had expected. Negotiations had to be conducted for the safe passage of the sect members involved, multiple names bandied back and forth, added and removed from the embassy that would make their way to their former enemies capital. The politics of that, and the eventual smal...
2023-11-21 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
In this gripping continuation of the saga, we reunite with Wu Ying, who returns to the Verdant Green Waters sect after a decade of exile. Faced with jealous rivals, ancient wounds, and the pursuit of immortality, Wu Ying's quest for power takes a thrilling turn in this latest installment. As he navigates the intricate web of power struggles and personal redemption, the stakes are higher than ev...
2023-11-17 15:39:43 +0000 UTC View Post**Author Note: Preview chapters are rough/first drafts. These chapters have not been edited, expect that there may be errors - however, feel free to point out consistency issues!**
Wu Ying stood stunned for a moment, before he shook his head. He could have - did in fact - guess that such talks might occur. After all, diplomacy was always tried before the start of a war. ...
Well, that's a wrap. I went to the last 20booksto50k last week, and while the conference will go on, it has been renamed as Authors Nation and has a different group running it. It won't be Craig Martelle's baby, which will change it. Hopefully for the better, including some aspects like having a more robust organisational chart and code of conduct outlines. We'll see, but this discussion is abo...
2023-11-15 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostWow, times flies. It's nearly the middle of the month and I'd meant to do this update at the start. Tells you how busy things are, even though it doesn't feel like it at times. Then again, I've been doing a bunch of conventions. Maybe I'll do an end of the year post and discuss everything then.
But let's talk about the writing (and publishing).
System Apocalypse
... 2023-11-14 18:00:22 +0000 UTC View PostWu Ying trained, pulling at the extremes of his wind body, testing the bounds of his new immortal body and existence. He spun through the air and around the empty cavern, flitting between massive spires of rock as he fought imaginary opponents with every growing speed. In the distance, at the end of the gorge that contained the spires and Wu Ying, an open clearing lay where a single massive col...
2023-11-14 14:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostLessons, the personal lessons that Wu Ying conducted, for his most advanced of students were no longer conducted in the classroom. His personal students had long ago passed such hand holding, the Department of Wandering Gatherers having grown to such a size that his oldest students now carried out such menial chores.
No, the lessons that Wu Ying had to impart was best done in-person and o...
2023-11-10 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostBeen thinking about the various stages that an indie author goes through, and figured I'd try listing the ones that I'm seeing here. Also, the various business and marketing / promotional things that one might want to focus upon, when you're within each of these stages.
A lot of new writers are here. Mostly, they're in the midst of writing a book (or books). Some might ...
2023-11-08 18:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post“A half-step Immortal,” Sect Head Yan Shu Ren said, the older man – barely, it seemed, at least by appearance. Early forty’s at best, if he had been a plain mortal. Of course, Wu Ying knew better for the man had been in the Nascent Soul stage for many years, gaining the concurrent extension of lifespan that occurred when the immortal soul began to merge with mortal body.
“I have...
2023-11-07 14:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostLater that evening, when other pleasantries were over, the pair lounged in Wu Ying’s bedroom with trays of purloined dishes, transferred through the simple application of wind and dao inspirations. The pair were now picking at the meals, a light sheen of sweat drying as a breeze cleansed the room of lingering scents.
“Ying…” When Wu Ying looked over, Fa Yuan continued, her voice g...
2023-11-03 13:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostRecently had to go over a number of contracts for others and realised, well, I should probably create a post and/or document to make use of as a checklist for things to watch for.
Firstly, and most importantly, I'm not a lawyer. Please do not take any of this as legal advice, beyond the basics of - hey, this is something to look at. I always recommend that anyone I speak to also speak wit...
2023-11-01 15:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post