2016

Okay, guys. First week of April is here, and I think I’m finally back on schedule. Last weekend’s blog serial will be posted on Monday and the second episode this upcoming Friday at its appointed time. I’m amassing content once again so this should flow smoothly.

In case you hadn’t picked it up, I’ll post the official schedule that I’m working with so you know what to count on:

  • Reviews = Mondays, 12PM: I do a report on a book, game, item or such and give you an opinion on it.
    Storytime = Thursdays, 6 PM: I reach into my life experience and share a story of some sort with you.
    Blog Serial = Fridays, 12PM: I pen a fictional story about Heather, a troubled, clingy and anxious girl who has a tendency to tangle with the paranormal. Set in the same universe as “Endless Sky” and after the main story.
    Tutorials = TBA: I’ve been asked, told and been piling up some tutorials for various things in the last year. These are too hectic to post every week, so they will be posted once monthly. Have not decided on a date, but as soon as I finish one for posting I’ll let you know (and update this entry)
    Other Topics = As Needed: There are smaller various topics I’ll post from time to time. Smaller fiction pieces, announcements, life happenings and so on. These are random and sporadic, not set to a firm schedule.

In other happenings, I’ll be looking into changing the template for my site at some point. I’ve had some users complain that the text is not enlargeable on an iPad and makes it hard to read, especially my blog serial. I’ll definitely be looking to resolve this so I don’t lose my reader base. I do listen to your suggestions!

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After a long and stressful battle with attempting to get this edited and the delays with no results, I finally am at a point that I believe that I’m happy with it after doing what I should’ve done in the first place, edit it myself. With great joy I’m pleased to announce that The Haunting of Rotherwood was released onto Amazon and Smashwords today, which will filter down to most major retailers in the next couple of days. I’ve also gotten it up on Gumroad, too! I’m overjoyed and relieved that my first solo 20,000+ word fiction piece is finally available for people to read and check out.

I sincerely do regret that this wasn’t ready for you to read around Halloween of last year. At least you now know the story behind my banner image of the two girls around the guy with the lamp. 🙂 Enjoy!

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B01DONGHLK

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/626660

Gumroad: http://gumroad.com/l/mjYG

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Heather stood at the outside of the blacksmith’s shop, her thoughts a total mess. She had elected to wait outside, letting Janus return the rope they had borrowed. The last thing she wanted to do was to explain to someone what had happened. And she knew that the friendly blacksmith would ask her questions of what she actually did with the rope.

The door creaked open, Janus coming out down the steps.

“Did he take it?”

Janus nodded. He looked a bit somber himself, as if the joy had been wiped from his face. That look alone made Heather’s heart ache, hanging her head as she shuffled along behind him.

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Heather could hear Janus making his way down the hole. She waited pensively, feeling quite alone. How far had Janus gone in? Would he be all right? What was making the glow?

She wished he could’ve taken a lantern with him. Heather didn’t doubt that he had a source of light to go by, but it would’ve put her mind in ease. Her mind was overthinking what could happen or lie in wait.

She paced back and forth a little, listening the best she could. After a moment she looked up back at the hole.

“How are you doing? Are you all right?”

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This is a joke that I decided to visualize into a comic. Back when recording lines for Dawnstar in 2011, Sophia’s voice actor Megan Swecker came up with the colloquialism of “snuggling the ruins”. While years have passed by, we jab the joke at each other occasionally and it still holds merit with the character, I would think.

 

So consider this partially canon, that Sophia loves to hug up her ruins. Who knows?

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An update is well-warranted at this point. Probably sounding too stern, but some serious stuff has happened in the last two weeks and need to catch you all up on what’s happening. Do note this was composed two days ago and is now being auto-posted on Saturday.

First, hours at my job has significantly decreased. This hasn’t changed for almost a month now, so I am on the search for either new employment for full-time work online. Most of my waking hours has been spent in such avenues. I have been semi-successful with the latter, so when I’m not looking for a job, I’m doing other work online.

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Hi everyone,

Recently I had a 90-day exclusive agreement with Amazon regarding the distribution of the first Michiko Bates book. This has recently ended, allowing me to push the book to other major retailers.

bookcover_ad_Michikob

Cosplay courtesy of China Barbie.

Book one hit the three major outlets of iTunes, the Nook store and Kobo a few days ago, including Smashwords and Scribd. All are linked below:

The book will show up in other spots such as the Gardners Library, Oyster, Flipkart and a handful of other outlets that Smashwords distributes to.

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“What do we do now?” Heather asked softly. The question was mostly to herself.

“What do you mean? You’re the one who wanted to come out here.” Janus’ voice had a bit of scolding in his voice.

Heather’s cheeks flushed. “Just…thinking out loud to myself, I suppose.”

She straightened her posture a bit and went forward, coming to the edge of the well. It had aged, covered with a bit of moss and lichens. The mouth was six feet across, cobblestone cemented together. Heather gripped the mouth, looking over.

The well went down a ways, but she could make out a puddle reflecting light out on the bottom. The walls also seemed to narrow but didn’t match up with the dirt that was barely visible.

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Around December of 2007, I was browsing Big Lots when I found a clearance CD of Sid Meier’s: Civilization 3. I had seen this game in action a year earlier, loving how the game played and never had gotten the chance to own it for myself. For $3, it was a bargain.

About two months later, I found the Gold edition in Target for $20. Nice cardboard box, 3 CD’s, even a manual. This had two expansion packs and even a map editor, something that my original game didn’t have.

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Congratulations! I’m reviewing an eBook today! It’s the first time I’m doing one, so let the good times roll. (Supreme Commander reference, though it may have come from somewhere else).

For March, I’m actually going to go with a theme this time around instead of random items. All are books, all are timeslip/time travel books. Good? Okay! For our first week, we’re going to take a peek at The Far Journey.

This was an eBook I bought on impulse (okay, not really impulse. But it wasn’t a thought-out, deliberated purchase) while looking for some satisfying time travel stories dealing with the Wild West. I didn’t hit my craving for people from the past ending up in modern times that night, but I found plenty of people ending up in the past. This seemed like more of the hands-on sensible types, so I gave it a go.

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