Category: Behind the scenes

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A Course Correction as the Year 2017 Comes to an End

This is a short update on our future. Things have changed in the publishing world, and we’ve grown a lot these past couple of years.

That’s a gamer’s hand placement, don’t think we don’t know that, hand model.

We’re reviewing what we’ve done and what we haven’t done. We needed to, cause there’s now 5000 of you.

ZOMG, what?

Yup. Five. Thousand. Mythographers. How awesome is that?

In short:

  • The serialized format that was popular 2 years ago is gone now. So we’re revamping some series into the classic trilogy format. Namely, Maniai Case Files and Heartbreaker. Expect those to be fattened up, you’ll get an email when that happens. If you delete the file from your ereader and redownload you’ll get the new version.
  • We’re focusing on print editions. People seem to still like paper books, go figure! We’ve started making these available to you, first title to become available will be The Impossible Quest of Hailing a Taxi on Christmas Eve, very soon. Like this week, soon.
  • Upcoming titles and draft chapters are up on Patreon. If you want the polished stuff, do nothing and shop on Amazon or the other retailers from us. But if you want to be in all the crazy, read draft chapters, give feedback and get heard, get on Patreon and open the bags of Aeolus.
  • Audiobooks are here to stay. We love audiobooks, and some of you like them too. We’ll keep bringing titles in audio, with some of the novels slotted for production early 2018.
  • You seem to really like the omnibus, Myth Gods Tech. It was an afterthought for us but it seems to be quite popular. Maybe it’s the big letters or something. We’ll update it soon with our new content and keep it DLC enabled, meaning that you can redownload it and it will contain the updated version. If you bought it, there’s no added cost, ever.
  • We’re consolidating our social media channels. The most active accounts are on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If you’re on there, follow us so you get all the new stuff and the offers. If you want to hang out, we also have a chat room on Discord (Unmoderated, probably NSFW.)
  • We’ve started new partnerships with excellent artists in various fields. Narrators, illustrators (check out Antune Sketch.)
  • We messed up the Mystery Loot Chest but it was funny and you seemed to like it, so we’re keeping it. It was a 2 a.m. brain fart that worked out nicely. We’re giving a hint on the Loot Chest page on what to expect inside. It will always be an unpublished short story, taking place somewhere near our other stories. For now it’s the same first chest, but we’ll let you know when it updates.
  • We’re ditching Kindle Unlimited, or Kindle Select. We know some people really like Amazon’s Unlimited offer, but it requires exclusivity and we just can’t do that. The world is big, bigger than just the US. We tried it out, it didn’t fit our goals and now we’re rolling everything out of it. For non KU members this changes nothing. For KU members, well, we can’t do anything unless the exclusivity clause is lifted. Boo hoo. Send your woes to Amazon in email format.
  • We’ve launched official torrents. “You what? Really?” Yes, really. Read the page if you want to find out why we’re doing that.

What to expect in 2018?

Expect more Nanodaemons, more Muses and the zany new series Cyberpink. Expect some titles to be tightened up and published into trilogies. Now that we’ve gotten excellent feedback from you, we can focus our efforts in stories that you like.

Make sure you’re in the Certified Mythographers so don’t miss an email.

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10 Things You Didn’t Know About Slow Up

The novel Slow Up has a lot of things going on. While knowing these is not a necessity in enjoying the story, a deep background in the possible technologies and techniques involved will make it a much better read.

10. Rapid Serial Visual Representation

Can you read it?

It’s a speed-reading trick where text is parced into single point. Some speed readers like it, others do not.

Here’s an online tool to try it out.

9. Most of the IT Scenes Are Inspired by my Own Job at Wind Telecommunications HQ

Most of the tickets came in at a frantic pace, just like in the novel.

The scenes have nothing to do with real persons and situations. But the feeling of an uphill battle, that Sisyphean task of fixing hundreds of computers every day is there in Galene’s job.

8. For More on Nootropics, Check Out Reddit

Nootropics are real and have measurable effects. If you want to try them out, consult an expert. There is a lot of info online, but don’t push yourself too hard. Again, consult a doctor, not the marketing brochure.

Nothing is like the movie Limitless of course, that was a magic pill with insane powers. Real nootropics help you focus, help with creativity, memory.

Read up about Nootropics on Reddit.

7. Polyphasic Sleep is Real But You Should Take it Slow

 

Going directly at Uberman will most probably make you a zombieman.

We’ve all heard about geniuses who simply skipped sleep like Leonardo Da Vinci. That is not actually possible, of course, they only took short naps, powernaps as they call them now, to help their brain recharge.

My opinion is that getting good sleep is more important that gaining a few drowsy hours. I’ve seen that sleep deprivation cuts down on creative thinking. And there are serious medical risks involved.

Again, Reddit has a nice beginner library on polyphasic sleep.

6. The Cybathlon is a Sports Event for Augmented People Where Doping and Pushing the Limits is Kind of the Whole Point

Credits: Angel Giuffria, Bionic Actress. Cybathlon. The Spartan Race. Oscar Pistorius.

The logical next step in athletic events is to have augmented races. Some augmentations actually give an advantage over other athletes, like in swimming. Especially with world-powers sending out troops at stupid wars and having young veterans come back disabled all the time, the day where augmentations are common-place is today.

The Cybathlon is not quite an Olympic-level event yet. But it showcases what can be done, and it won’t be long before augmented athletes can compete side-by-side with regular ones, like Pistorius did in the Summer Olympics of 2012. Yes, we know what he did afterwards, that’s not the point.

You can watch the scene mentioned by Gregoris in the novel, where the winner shows unprecedented evgenis amilla (fair game spirit) and swaps out his number with Oscar’s so he can be the winner:

5. Humans With Amplified Intelligence Could Be More Powerful Than AI

Artificial intelligence is all well and good, but there are those who believe that we can expand the limits of our intellect and reach amazing levels.

Frankly, a merge of mind and machine where a trained user can hook up and amplify his intelligence for short amounts of time is what we consider most plausible.

Another archetype of this is the Mentat from Dune. Human Computers that crave information and can help with decisions.

Wacky hair is a must

From David Lynch’s Dune, we got the Mentat Mantra (It’s not from the Frank Herbert novels but fits so well it got adopted instantly):

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the juice of sapho that thoughts acquire speed,
the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning.
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

And now you’ll say it too.

4. Mean Girls is a Must Watch

Mean Girls quotes can be applied to any situation

Nuff said. Watch it.

3. Unlike Wanted’s Turning Bullets, Turning Arrows Are Real

It seems crazy but it’s true. An expert archer can shoot turning arrows around corners.

2. You Can Speed up Online Videos, Audiobooks and Video Files for Faster Input

It might seem weird at first, but the mind adapts very quickly.

Here are some tools with pitch correction:

Chrome plugin for online videos.

Video file speed control with VLC

Audible Narration speed control

1. The Tech is Real: Artificial Wombs

It looks adorable. The real-live version, not so much.

External wombs are being researched and seem to work just fine. There are many real medical conditions where external wombs would be suitable. Of course, that opens up a can of worms, since humans could be raised from prime genetic material without people knowing. It’s almost like a dystopian sci-fi story.

Slow Up is Available to Read Now

Limitless meets Black Mirror in this novel that pushes the limits of a couple’s minds.

When Galene meets a man who’s only goal in life is to make his mind go faster, she ends up falling for him. But will she manage to keep the relationship going at the top of the glass tower, when in reality she’s too much of a slob and is bogged down with all her unfinished goals, when their age difference becomes too much of a problem, and when his work places them in the sights of an unforgiving huntress?

Do you want to know what’s next for the computer geek Galene? Do you wanna meet Artemis? Then read this bittersweet story in a world where thinking too swiftly can get you killed.

Read Slow Up
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I Have a Patreon Now. Patreons Are Cool.

Patronage. Just like the practice of old, we’ve resurrected the model into a digital mold, more fitting to the age.

I’m new to this. Be gentle.

Micropatronage, having a bunch of regular people pitching in small amounts instead of one wealthy patron, is being successful with plenty of examples.

What I had was a PILE of story ideas sitting on my projects folder. Some have merit, some are simply the butt of a joke. Others are pretty damn brilliant, I might say.

I took all that and decided to squeeze out at least one short story per month. That way, I can see the works-in-progress slowly thinning down, I can test them with real people and real readers, and see which one’s a winner and which one’s a dud.

I’ve been doing that already with the Epic Poets, but to be honest, I firmly believe in putting one’s money where one’s mouth is. Feedback from fans is excellent, but feedback from people who have paid a dollar carries much more weight.

Also, I have plenty of ideas that fall into fantasy or urban fantasy. At some point, as I burn through the sci-fi ones, I’ll eventually work on those too. Having patrons will provide a steady and verifiable metric that my output will be worth the time invested. I’m bound to change a lot of this on my Patreon page, I just threw one up quickly.

There’s a short story waiting for you right now, called “Life Coach.”

So, click the orange button to get a steady flow of speculative fiction short stories. I’m your story-dealer. Be patronizing. Or just share the post with your friends.

Become a Patron!

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Teaser Chapter: Slow Up

Teaser Chapter: Moirai – Brains operating @ 12 times normal human speed

Two weeks ago:

It was a secure white room, in a nondescript basement owned by Moiragetis Holdings. The three women were perched upon their marble pedestals, mumbling and threading the flow of information.
The women, dressed in white, seemed aged beyond their years. Their thin hair barely flowed, their frail hands moving, twitching, as if working the air with purpose.

The Fates by Toradh

Bundles of flashing and glowing optic fibres were feeding into their backs, directly into their spine. They connected them to the server at the room below, an unlisted supercomputer with a singular purpose.

Their eyes were glazed white, for they could not see in the conventional sense. Their optic nerves had been claimed by the stream of data. In front of their eyes, it was as if the internet was the Earth’s seas and rivers, and you had struck a blow in the rockface and made a marvellous shower erupt, the rays of the sun making rainbows in the mist. It was like that, each second of each day, for the three Moirai.

Klotho, to weave the thread of data.
Lachesis, to measure the thread and assign it to its proper owner,
And Atropos, to cut the thread at its proper place.

For data was fate and fate was data. For if one person or three could see the twists and turns of fate, they could see the immediate future and seeing the future meant seizing it. Snatching it out of the infinite possibilities and probabilities in the quantum foam of the universe and forcing it to gel into existence, an Observer making electrons decide on molecular trajectories by the mere push of his gaze.

There was one misunderstanding, though.

Fate was not tailored to a person, as it was commonly believed. No. Fate was a given constant, only the person it was assigned to was the thing to be decided.

Take the Twelve Labors of Hercules, for example. One might think that Fate came with the life of the person itself, the demigod, despised by Hera and forced to endure endless tragedies. In truth, the Fate of Hercules was a constant, and it happened to befall upon the poor man. Like a story looking for its protagonist.

“Sister?” Klotho wheezed.
“Yes, my dear?” Lachesis replied in the same rasping whisper.
“Take note of this particular thread of Fate,” Klotho said and passed the data on to her left.
“Oh, my, what a nasty one this is!” Lachesis rasped and measured the thread of data.
Klotho turned her cataract eyes to her sister, watching with interest as she worked the thread. “To whom shall we assign this, Sister?”
“Give it to me,” snapped Atropos, the nastiest and oldest sister, as she snatched the thread from them. “Yes,” she said with delight as she cut the thread. “Yes, yes, yes.” She picked up another thread of data from the folds of her white dress, it seemed as if she was saving it for a special occasion. She spun and weaved the smaller thread to the original one, matching twists and making ends disappear. It was an expert’s work.

The younger sisters turned to her side, dreading to interfere. A woman’s face showed up in the shower of Augmented Reality they saw, along with every bit of data about her. Every keystroke she ever pushed, every step she ever took, every frame of video she ever watched and was in. Her life, digitised. They gasped. “Can she endure it?” the two sisters said in unison.

Atropos, finally done with her work, smiled.

The story Slow Up is available. Click here to buy on Amazon
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3 Things You Didn’t Know About Cosmophobia

Who is watching the stars, every second of every day, so we can better understand the universe?

Inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope which will be launched and deployed in 2018. It will hopefully be as invaluable as Hubble was, opening our eyes to the cosmos.

This short story was awarded 2nd place in the Science Fiction category, in the Athens Fantasticon 2016 competition.

Where Did That Competition Happen?

The event was the 2016 Athens Fantasticon, which is basically a nerd convention. Comics, Books, Sci-fi and Fantasy, figurines, tabletop games, cosplay, Star Trek events, it all took place there.

If you happen to be interested for the next convention, get in touch with the organizers here https://en.fantasticon.gr/aboutus/

What are the Lagrange Points?

Lagrange points are equilibrium locations in every celestial body pair. They are helpful, because for example at L2 point we can hang a telescope that will be constantly in perpetual darkness, eclipsed by our Earth.

The story and the JWST is at L2, a place of perpetual darkness.

James Webb Space Telescope will be positioned there, a place of near perfect lack of light-pollution, so it can gaze into the universe.
Another funny fact is that the points that exist on the celestial bodies’ axis are not stable, force is required to keep a body balanced there. In contrast, the L4 and L5 points are stable and are considered prime real estate for space stations and stuff like that.
But on L2, Atlas needs to constantly readjust to remain in the shade.

What is the James Webb Space Telescope?

The story is inspired by the new telescope, which will be deployed in 2018. You can follow NASA’s official Facebook page here, for some amazing pics and updates.

It’s big, as you can see.

We hope that the JWST, just like Hubble, will open our eyes to the cosmos. We really have no clue what wonders to expect, and hopefully it will be a leap forward just like its predecessor. This video explains some of the mission parameters.

Where can I read Cosmophobia?

You can read it on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and pretty much every major ebook retailer.