Bound by Stone Circles has been updated over in the Stories section. I've tried something a bit different this time. There's a PDF and an Epub version of the story, and they should provide different reading experiences.

The PDF format is intended to be for final document outputs and distribution, so is intended to maintain the designer's formatting and not be re-wrapped or re-flowed. While it works on PCs and tablets, this causes problems when viewed on phones. It IS possible to setup a PDF so it does re-flow, but from what I've seen it's finicky and some PDF viewers don't support it.

The Epub format is designed for reading on the move. It's not so good for professional layouts due to its flexibility shifting elements around depending on the viewer, which can break some things. However, for phones and other portable devices, this isn't a big issue. It also doesn't have as much browser support as PDF, so you might have to download a plugin or find a dedicated reader.

I was hoping to get some feedback on which version readers prefer. They're both straightforward enough to produce, so there's no real problem producing either. So, PDF or Epub? Fight!

 There should be a new update coming soon. It's basically done and there're just a few loose ends to tie up, but there've been issues with my job security. I'm still waiting to hear if I'm going to get laid off, so that's still a dark cloud hanging over everything :/ But, I'll try to get something posted soon™.

Better late than...no, it's not, really.

 

An update to Bound by Stone Circles exists. It's in the stories section. And the observant amongst you will have noticed two things:

A) It's late.

B) The name has changed.

TBH, I liked the initial name. It resonates better. However, it sort of promised something that won't be happening in this instalment. I've been playing around this options, and this works, but not quite as well. I'm still working on it, and might go so far as to change the name of the Mediator's home city to Endless Circles. It is located on Lake Endless, and the title does fit the premise of the story. It just might get confusing. Anyway, it's just the title, and it's malleable.

A reason this was late is that I have been playing around with some LLMs, and seeing what sort of a breast they are. They are powerful, but they don't offer the flexibility of doing it yourself. If you have a subtle pose or message in mind, then it can be tricky to get the software to portray it. But, you're never going to get a work of genius from these things - they are like an advanced autocomplete system: they will work with what they've been trained on, but they will never go beyond that. They're handy for quick and dirty visualization though. I'll put up a few samples in the elusive images page.

Anyway the update to Stand in Stone Circles Bound by Stone Circles is up in the stories section. I know where this story is going, there is a resolution, and there are reunions and recriminations to come in the future.

Oh, and Merry Holiday Xmas Seasons to all.

I'm not dead yet!

Still kicking. I've been lax at updating this site, but there's more content to come. Finally got COVID (beginning of the year was another family member), which pretty much killed productivity for a month. But, seem to be tracking again. There'll be an update soon(ish)

In other news, my bank has decided that checks are benighted holdovers from a primitive and savage era and no longer accept them. That was how Amazon paid, so... will have to work around that. Wise might work there. And PayPal decided they didn't like donations, so... will have to work around that as well :/

That time of year again.

 Going to be a quiet holiday this year. Found out at the last second we've got that gift that keeps on giving in the family. Yep, covid in da house. So, it'll have to be a postponed family get-together this year. Le sigh.

In other news: there's a new story in the story section. Stand in Stone Circles has a few pages started. It's a v1, so there will be revisions and errors will abound. And I do have minor updates for Borderlines, but that will be posted later.  I do want to use the holiday season to do some cover artwork for LIRL and also do more work on Borderlines.

Anyway, these words are boring. More interesting ones in story section. Merry etc etc.

Sept 29

 Just letting people know I'm still here. And still writing.

Things have been a bit busy, with work and life and cancer in the family and all the horrible shit that goes along with that. I've been writing where I can, and have made some progress. The next chapter in the Life of Riley series is underway and is currently titled Stand in Stone Circles. There's also been progress on Borderlines, although that's slow going. I know where I want to go with the story and how it's going to end, it's just that writing two completely different styles of books requires different mindsets for each, and switching from one to another sometimes doesn't come easily.

And I keep thinking 'I'll just polish this chapter up then post it', and that chapter becomes another and then another and next thing I know another month has gone by. And I've still got to work on the epub and cover art for Lies in Red Leaves. And, yes, I have looked at some of the AI options popping up out there, and can safely say they won't be replacing artists yet. They can make pretty pictures, but getting a specific image rendered out the way the artist imagines it, that they can't do. Yet. Could be handy for layout and viz work though.

But I will get something posted. Soon. Just have to get this chapter finished... 

 That took longer than I wanted.

I''ve been poking and prodding at Lies in Red Leaves for a couple of months, trying to polish the ending to a suitable standard. Still not quite there, I think, but I wanted to get this out before Christmas. So... Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and enjoy the final part of the penultimate installment of the Life of Riley, now available in the local stories section. There's one book left to come, tentatively titled Stand in Endless Circle, but that might be... some time away. In the meantime, I want to catch up on some unfinished business in some different universes.