Posted on Leave a comment

Happy New Year, 2021 is Here!

Okay, at the time of writing this 2021 is technically still hours away, but I can’t wait for 2020 to be over so I’m gonna pretend I’m already there. Perks of being a writer.

So, during the last year we’ve had a lot of updates. We’ve revamped the entire design of my creations, websites, logos, graphics, covers, pretty much everything. You find the little asterism of sites and social media accounts here https://mythographystudios.com/check-out-the-new-look-and-the-mythography-pages/

As for gifts, you can download our 2021 Mythography Calendar for free. And you can grab a print version for your wall, Zazzle allows you to customise the calendar dynamically with your local holidays and such. https://mythographystudios.com/download-your-mythography-2021-calendar/

What we have done is we’ve expanded into a lot of translations. They’re not even all listed there, you can find them on Amazon mostly. Expect a steady flow of translations in Spanish and German since those seem to get a bit of traction. https://mythographystudios.com/translations/

For audiobooks, it has been a wonky year. We’re ditching Audible exclusivity for any and all newer titles, so they’re not confined there. This doesn’t change anything for Audible listeners, it just becomes more accessible to people listening from other sources. We’ve added Bandcamp, which we love, and Bookfunnel delivery for our store sales. You can find all the audiobooks on this constantly-updated page https://mythographystudios.com/audiobooks/

Since we mentioned the Mythography Shop, there’s been more content in there than ever. You can shop directly from us and we’ll give you tribute points you can exchange for a discount at your next order, just because you’re awesome. https://mythographystudios.com/introducing-tribute-points/

The Mythographers have grown to… *checks notes* 71 thousand! Holy Zeus’ balls. That’s a lot. We always love to chat with you, but since that’s not always possible, you can chat amongst yourselves. You can hang out with the Certified Mythographers on our Facebook group and/or Discord https://mythographystudios.com/hang-out-with-the-mythographers/

As for the future? You can expect more stories, especially in our more popular series, Cyberpink, Mean Gods, Futagen, Antigravel. More audiobooks, more translations for all you Mythographers out there, and pretty much more of what we’re already doing. We have streamlined the process quite a bit so everything is running smoothly. If you’re not already in the Certified Mythographers, join here and get the free starting library https://mythographystudios.com/join-the-mythographers/

We’re continuing on with our gamble of bringing you Greek mythology and speculative fiction together in various stories and various genres. The overwhelming response shows us that we were right, and we’re finding new ways to tell a story that you’d enjoy. There will be a few visual novels in the future, maybe? We’re not sure yet, but it’s on the table.

During the past year we’ve become possibly the most technologically advanced entertainment studio in Greece. Instead of fearing new technology, we’ve embraced it whenever and wherever it was possible. We’re utilising AI and machine learning tools inside all steps of the creation process to bring you stories at a rate never seen before. With OpenAI’s GPT-2 and now GPT-3, with visual enhancements for graphics, with audio voice synthesis, a virtual Medusa mascot (Say hi to Gorgocutie! https://gorgocutie.com/) and so much more under the hood.

What this means for you is that you’re getting more entertainment at a faster pace and at a cheaper rate. So, it’s a win for everyone. It’s also quite interesting to see where it all leads.

Have a happy and healthy new year!

That’s all,

George Saoulidis, Athens 2021.

Posted on Leave a comment

This is Our Official Reaction to the National Emergency Library

Recently the Archive organization opened up the front-end library restrictions. This happened for a lot of reasons, mainly because the actual libraries were shut down due to the Coronavirus.

This sparked a huge debate about publishing rights and all that crap.

It’s all just noise. It’s just rights holders nagging about people having access to information. The archive states that they offer ebook versions of scanned paper books. They have a right to do that in order to preserve information. Bit rot is real. Digital obsolescence is real. Information is getting lost already, we’ve lost computer code, recordings, video games, so much stuff, and if we don’t take steps to preserve what we make it will all be gone in an instant.

Nothing is backwards compatible. Google books is preserving a massive library of information and has been attacked for the same reason. It’s not cutting into your sales, and it’s not cutting into our sales. In fact, the Archive is an actual credible library, meaning they pay their dues and we, as rights holders, receive royalties for that. They simply opened up the restrictions and many people can borrow the ebook at a single time.

When I found out about it, I actually reached out and asked the Archive how I could preserve my own stories. I thought it’d be an automated process, just give them permission or something. They gave me access to upload, it’s not that hard, but the process was very time-consuming and I have better things to do with my life than struggle with library uploads. All my stories are already available through all of the worldwide and official library systems already, and those that are not will be in there soon. I don’t have time to upload to yet another system, one that can pull my stories from their existing partners.

I think it was Quentin Tarantino who said that when you store a movie in any format, you have to put a VCR or an equivalent player in the box with it. He famously almost lost one of his early films due to an obsolete storage format, and some fan from around the world found out about it and sent him the player so he could watch it again and record it into something else.

Not everyone will have that chance. Not all creators are famous, and not all are still alive. Things like the Disney Vault, DRM (which is crap), and other platform-specific restrictions will end up in huge loss of data. Not all of it is useful, but not all of it is worthless at the same time. You never know what will become influential in the future.

And the digital age will be known as the time that we lost so much of our world’s culture.

George Saoulidis

Athens, 2020.

Posted on Leave a comment

Quarantine Coupon is Over, Quarantine Time is Still Going On

As soon as the quarantine hit we tried to make it easier for you by just giving out everything for free. Take it all, gobble it all up, if it’ll help you stay home and flatten the curve.

This was two months ago. It was actually very interesting to see some newsletter subscribers object to the blunt emails we sent out advising you to self-quarantine yourselves before the official measures took place. That was before the bloody morons in the US managed to accumulate 1 million confirmed cases.

We hope those of you reading this are safe, or pulling through this unprecedented event. Yes, even the American readers, we like all of you.

Here’s some advice from Paracelsus, your friendly neighbourhood plague doctor.

Also, please understand that even if your country lifts the quarantine measures, you still need to follow physical distancing and wearing masks for a few months. There’s a second wave of infections coming right after summer, there’s historical precedent about it.

We gave out about 7900 ebooks and 1000 audiobooks across most platforms.

It was lots of fun seeing your reactions to the massive giveaway. We got lots of emails and nice comments about it, and we hope that our fiction made and is still making quarantine a little bit easier.

Quarantine in Greece is being lifted 4th of May (May the Fourth be With You!) but it’s still going on in lots of places around the world. Talk is cheap, so we donated a significant chunk of our latest profit to Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans frontières) Covid-19 Relief effort. You can chip in a few euros if you want.

As for our quarantine coupon, it expires at 1st of May. We know we don’t seem like it, but we’re still a business, after all. You can use the CERTIFIEDMYTHOGRAPHER coupon on our store, just type it in at checkout.

We’ve also added some cool designs on our Zazzle store for face masks, you can see them all here: https://www.zazzle.com/store/mythographystudios

The Smashwords Authors Give Back sale is extended until the 31st of March. You can get most of our stories at 60% off here.

We’re giving you all, yes ALL our audiobooks on Audible for free. There’s no easy way to include them all in a post and this is clunky, but you’re clever, you’ll figure it out. The codes are in this link:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1slrAXRrIfb-QKwkSkESQQFfK4PDVthku

First come first served. Codes updated 30th of April.
Audible COM codes, redeem at https://audible.com/acx-promo 
Audible UK codes, redeem at https://audible.co.uk/acx-promo

And that’s all for now. Join the Mythographers if you haven’t done so already so you can stay up to date and get all the nifty offers.

Posted on Leave a comment

Happy Easter 2020

Yes, Easter is this week. No, we don’t care when the other ones take place.

We wanted to let you know that the QUARANTINE coupon will be active until the end of this month, April. That should be enough reading to get you through this whole deal to flatten the curve.

Here it is, Wash Your Hands, Read a Book.

We’ll leave the audiobook codes up there until they’re all claimed. When April is over, and hopefully the quarantine with it, we’ll disable the Smashwords and the other giveaways as well and maybe we can get back to normal.

Also, we have some handy advice against coronavirus from our friendly neighbourhood plague doctor, Paracelsus.

You might wanna check out our Zazzle Store, we added some face mask prints and if you like them, let us know and we’ll add more.

And finally, George made a Venus de Milo wallpaper for your phone where the goddess reminds you to wash your hands every time you pick it up. You can get the images at this post right here.

That’s all for now. We hope you’re okay in quarantine, keeping busy and enjoying stories.

Posted on Leave a comment

Paracelsus’ Advice Against Coronavirus

Always read the official guidelines https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

If you need something to do while in quarantine, check out our coupon code for everything at our shop. https://mythographystudios.com/wash-your-hands-read-a-book/

Posted on Leave a comment

Let’s Support the Relief Efforts for Australia’s Wildfires

The #prayforaustralia hashtag is weak, because talk is cheap. We’re donating all our January earnings from the Mythography shop to the following fundraiser that has gone viral and absolutely bonkers:

Fundraiser for The Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service & Brigades Donations Fund by Celeste Barber

https://www.facebook.com/donate/1010958179269977/3060600614164295/

There are also other instructions in this article on how you can help:

Bushfire relief: How you can help those in need
Australia is reeling as firefighters battle relentless blazes around the nation. Here’s how to help those affected by the devastation.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/bushfire-relief-how-you-can-help-those-in-need/news-story/a0476ac3538b8c373f281ea6be204421

Buy from the Mythography shop to help out:

Posted on Leave a comment

Find Us on These Social Media Accounts

Here’s how you can stay up to date and never miss anything we might put out there:

And of course, join the Mythographers to get the deals, discounts, new releases and a bunch of cool stuff.

Posted on Leave a comment

Some Serious Reading on How the Veil, Or Augmented Reality Will Shape Humanity

“This is the most comprehensive and useful guide into Augmented Reality I have ever seen. Not only did I learn a lot, I will apply it to our work.”

Let’s design for the best of humanity and the best of technology.

Augmented Reality (AR) blurs the boundary between the physical and digital worlds. In AR’s current exploration phase, innovators are beginning to create compelling and contextually rich applications that enhance a user’s everyday experiences. In this book, Dr. Helen Papagiannis — a world-leading expert in the field — introduces you to AR: how it’s evolving, where the opportunities are, and where it’s headed.

If you’re a designer, developer, entrepreneur, student, educator, business leader, artist, or simply curious about AR’s possibilities, this insightful guide explains how you can become involved with this exciting, fast-moving technology.

— STEFAN SAGMEISTER, DESIGNER AND COFOUNDER SAGMEISTER & WALSH INC.

About the author

Dr. Helen Papagiannis

Dr. Helen Papagiannis is internationally recognized as a leading expert in Augmented Reality (AR). Her work spans over a decade in the field as a researcher, designer, and technology evangelist. She is the former Chief Innovation Officer at Infinity Augmented Reality Inc. (New York and Tel Aviv), and was a Senior Research Associate at York University’s Augmented Reality Lab (Toronto).

Dr. Papagiannis’s presentations and exhibitions include TEDx (Technology, Entertainment, Design), ISMAR (International Society for Mixed and Augmented Reality), and ISEA (International Symposium for Electronic Art). Her TEDx 2011 talk was featured among the Top 10 Talks on AR, and in 2016 she was a finalist for the prestigious World Technology Award. Prior to her augmented life, Dr. Papagiannis was a member of Bruce Mau Design where she was project lead on “Massive Change: The Future of Global Design”, a groundbreaking exhibition and best-selling book (Phaidon, 2004) examining the new inventions and technologies changing the world.

Read more: www.arstories.com

It’s not just about augmenting reality, it’s about augmenting humanity.

You’ll explore how:

  • Computer vision, machine learning, cameras, sensors, and wearables change the way you see the world 
  • Haptic technology syncs what you see with how something feels
  • Augmented sound and hearables alter the way you listen to your environment
  • Digital smell and taste augment the way you share and receive information
  • New approaches to storytelling immerse and engage users more deeply 
  • Users can augment their bodies with electronic textiles, embedded technology, and brain-controlled interfaces 
  • Human avatars can learn our behaviors and act on our behalf

Get it on Amazon COM

Get it on Amazon UK

Get it on iTunes

Get it on Google Play books

Also a great article of the top 8 uses of AR in 2018.