The wind blew him west, till he found himself before a sight he had never imagined. Even the largest lake he had witnessed was nothing like this. The waves were higher, frothing with whitecaps under the insistent hand of the wind, seaweed and kelp and salt staining his lips even as he stared into a blue-green horizon that stretched for as far as the eye could see and still kept going.
The...
2022-09-13 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostWalking out of the hall, Arthur made his way straight to the hostel. He paid for an additional ten day, wincing at the lost of a full Credit before he went up to his room. Better to pay for extra time and get a credit on file than to find himself under and get thrown out while he was in the midst of something important. And he did have something important to do. Important and stupid.
Mayb...
2022-09-10 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostHours of flying through the air, hours of fleeing through the night sky, the wind at his back. He kept running for three days, leaving behind the ice palace he had spotted, the dragon and the wisps of heavenly chi that he had sensed.
Three days, without eating, without sleep. He fled, from fear, from shame, from chastisement. From his own failure whilst headed towards a future of his own ...
2022-09-09 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the big pieces of news recently was Barnes & Noble and the way they are changing how they are purchasing for their stores.
To summarise, B&N is removing corporate level support for debut and midlist authors by not ordering such works in hardcover. Now, supposedly, on a branch level, the branch managers have more control so that they can purchase and adjust inventory t...
2022-09-07 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostWinter in the north was a different beast. It was, perhaps, a good thing that Wu Ying was a Body Cultivator and one with a wind body. The colder it grew, the easier it was to tap into the north wind, to understand it and the howling mass of snow and ice that it brought. He felt his understanding of the form and the wind grow with each moment, enlightenment dancing on the edges as he lounged in ...
2022-09-06 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThankfully, Arthur noted that all the information about techniques was categorized. First things first, he checked the pill information. There were literally only three pills, the cheapest as mentioned was worth ten credits, the other two even more. A glance at the information the pad pulled up showed that he could expect roughly the equivalent level of upgrade in his refined energy, except wit...
2022-09-03 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostRunning away was an option. Running away was easy. Running away might even be considered wise. The possibilities and the demands from the tribe if he stayed spiraled into a series of choices that might see him rooted. A child, a wife, friends and family that had to be protected, a feud with other northerners. Studies about spirits, new spiritual herbs to catalogue and gather.
So run. Leav...
2022-09-02 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostLet's talking about the industry. I'm seeing a huge shift and whilst it's been happening for a long time, but we're going to focus on some of the most recent signs and what it might mean.
So, to start... let's talk about
The Pengiun Random House and Simon and Schuster Merger and the DoJ case
There's a LOT of great discussion about this already out there (...
2022-08-31 15:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostWeeks flew by, the harvest put into the ground grown to its full-extent before being harvested. Vegetables and root products taken from the land, heads chopped and tilled back into the earth. Fields all around the village had been eaten and cropped down to the barest nubs by the grazing herds, such that the herdsmen were forced to take their flock farther and farther out each day.
Each da...
2022-08-30 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Let’s see, Arthur Chua. Fifty nine Credits total.” The attendant was reading the information from the scrolling tablet he had before him, eyeing the information idly before gesturing and handing the tablet over to Arthur. “There you go. Shop items are now listed up to sixty Credits. I can expand further, if you want to look at saving up for more; but considering you’re brand new and ...
2022-08-27 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostWu Ying drifted down a little and forwards, letting the wind carry him to the edge of the encampment and then a little further. As he chose to move, the spirits of the horses that had obscured his image rode upwards, rejoining Ogdai high above.
To his surprise, as he passed the outer boundaries, he felt a slight prickling of his aura. Then, a stronger defense appeared behind him as ghostl...
2022-08-26 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostA minor thought came up from the previous post that I wanted to explore further. That is, the current launch (or non-launch) strategies conducted by indie authors and publishers.
I'm going to term them Hard and Soft Launches. Sort of the difference between hard and soft openings for a retail store/ business.
Hard Launches
Now, in this parlance, a ha...
2022-08-24 15:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostWeeks of cultivation, not just to compress and create the necessary Core layer within his body; but also to consolidate his cultivation afterwards. Weeks to draw in the ever-present wind chi from around him, to layer it in his dantian so that he had energy to progress, all of it aided by the simple cultivation aids – even the Twice Cooked Dog Kidney and Wolf Liver Pill.
Cultivation this...
2022-08-23 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostEntering the armoury was an interesting experience. The armoury itself was connected to the beginner hall, what with the two sharing access to the same warehouse. In the early days, a number of enterprising fools had attempted to break in, only to find themselves caught and slain. Since then, no one dared to even consider stealing from the first floor guardians. Rather, everyone just lined up q...
2022-08-20 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostRecognition of what you cannot change. Acceptance of the world as it was. Embrace of an individual’s circumstances. And, finally, a stubborn refusal to bow to the tragedies one might encounter. All were hallmarks of one who had accepted the greater Dao in their soul.
Pity it was so difficult to achieve.
Hands dug into the earth of the field he was clearing, a quartet of farmers ha...
2022-08-19 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostBusiness posts are going to be on-off for a bit since I'm not entirely sure what to write. I've begun to hit a point where most of my thoughts on the general business has either been said better by other writers or isn't that interesting (in my view). I might just do a bigger overall call for topics in a bit...
But that being said, I wanted to comment on Amazon ranking again because it's ...
2022-08-17 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostDays blended together. Wu Ying rarely saw Khan Erdene. She spent many of her days in her ger high above. He had no reason to ask what she was doing, for the constant pull of chi towards the ger spoke of her cultivation. Such was the strength of her soul that it created a minor storm as they passed, the stone turtles trundling along; the massive gers taken apart and put together every sunrise an...
2022-08-16 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostA month later, Arthur stumbled out of the woods along the clearing of space that led to the gathering of tents around the newbie village. The ensuing month had seen the creation of even more buildings, even more permanent locations. Yet, the gathering of tents for those who could not afford more permanent accommodation was still present.
As he wove his way through the unorganized mess of ...
2022-08-13 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe inside of the massive ger, meant to host the Khan was both warmer and more comfortable than what Wu Ying had expected and more rustic for what was, in effect, a permanent building. Very few pieces of furniture within, only a series of furs for sitting on the chilly, smooth shell. A pair of large chest sat next the only, short-statured, reclining chair in the room, enchantments spiralling ou...
2022-08-12 13:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostI'm giving away a signed copy of A Fist Full of Credits!
Want a chance to win? Enter the giveaway now: https://bit.ly/3d7SnqD
Heaven’s wind. It blew everywhere, from up high in the tallest and coldest of peaks to the lowest valleys that flooded with each spring. Wu Ying followed the wind that gusted through the dry western desert north, letting it take him to the steppes where the snow had let to loosen its grasp.
Along the way, he met other cultivators, other clans and mortals.
Some meetings were amicab...
2022-08-09 13:01:04 +0000 UTC View PostDays later, Arthur finally cracked his eyes open. His side still hurt, but at least he was able to function. The only reason he chose to stop the process of cultivating more energy was a desire to find his missing equipment. Already, it had rained once during the time he had been here, and he desperately hoped that he could at least locate his equipment before it was scattered by wild animals, ...
2022-08-06 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostDid it surprise Wu Ying that instead of a simple bare spot on the ground outside the town, there was now a crowd and a cleared circular location for the fight? A little. Not in the actuality of the event, for the wind and his spiritual senses had picked out the changes long before the pair of them arrived. But more in the presence of the gawkers, the curious and the bettors.
Really, the e...
2022-08-05 13:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostRepurposing a rather long reply in another group for this.
So, let's preface this with the fact that no one can stop you from writing whatever you want. Nor should they.
You also cannot please everyone and often, you'll annoy someone, somewhere.
Why and how you write is entirely up to the individual author. 2022-08-03 16:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Time to do an overall writing update. So, let's see:
System Apocalypse
Still waiting for final word that book 12 is recorded. Nick announced he's working on it a few weeks ago, but we haven't had further word since then, so we're just waiting. Hopefully we'll see the book soon.
2022-08-02 21:25:42 +0000 UTC View PostRoutine was important when training a novice, but so was alteration of routine to ensure muscles and mind did not grow too anchored. Morning began with a run, one that traversed the narrow pathway up and down the canyon walls, from one edge to the next before returning in a long circuitous route. Rather than have Shi Min chase Wu Ying, the wind cultivator chose to practice his own control, send...
2022-08-02 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostSome scrambling around once he finished using the last of the refined energy in his body allowed Arthur to find the parang that Budo had dropped. He pulled it along with him as he headed for another spot further along the wall, searching for a way back up. The cliff face was more steep than sheer, and with the amount of greenery growing off it, he could probably climb it.
If he wasn’t, ...
2022-07-30 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostLate at night, under the crescent moon, the desert canyons were a stark gray and white painting. Deep shadowy canyons a steep drop along the unmarked pathway they strode upon, beasts prowling along the edges. Not many – the desert was too stark, too difficult to survive to be replete with animals and monsters. Not, at least, in comparison to the bountiful southern kingdoms and forests Wu Ying...
2022-07-29 13:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostWe went to BreakoutCon which was a gaming convention a few weeks ago to try to sell some books. It's a board gaming convention local to Toronto, and since tables were very cheap, we figured we'd try it out.
Let me save you the trouble of scrolling down if you're wondering how it went - badly. We sold 7 books in total which meant we didn't even cover our table cost, nevermind the time cost...
2022-07-28 02:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostIt took the demonic wolves an hour to find them. Two hours, after howling their presence and stalking the pair, to decide to attack. They had tracked them for an hour, shadows in the dim moonlit night, flitting from outcropping to outcropping. It took the boy till their first cry before he realized they were being stalked, another fifteen minutes to locate them. The spike of fear, the stench of...
2022-07-26 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post