“Idiot boys,” Fairy Yang Fa Yuan said, arms crossed underneath her breasts as she stared at the bandaged patient and the hovering friend beside his bed in the physician’s hut. “Were you trying to kill one another?”
“We were trying to be careful!” Wu Ying protested, guilt driving him to attempt to justify what they had done. “I wasn’t even using Ren.”
“Would have been easier to treat, if you had,” Physician Gu said, packing away the ointments and bandages he...
2023-10-31 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Tou He, staff raised began to stalk forward. The mountain that had appeared while he was fighting Wu Ying had faded at first, the dao formation from sand and earth disappearing as he no longer wielded his staff. However, at his opponent’s words, energy exploded from around him and filled the arena as a new image overlaid the mountain, turning the entire mountain aflame.
“Showoff,” Wu Ying said, eyes glimmering with humor as he raised his sword. Weapon pointed at his friend, the wi...
2023-10-27 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Because I'm not busy enough (or my employees); we decided to put together the Toronto Indie Author Conference (https://torontoindieauthorcon.com/). Scheduled for May 4-5, 2024; it's a smaller version of the various conferences I've been going to like NinC and 20booksto50k where the focus is to bring as many high-level, successful speakers to provide what information they can to new authors.
The focus is very mu...
2023-10-25 15:00:06 +0000 UTC
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**Author Note: Preview chapters are rough/first drafts. These chapters have not been edited, expect that there may be errors - however, feel free to point out consistency issues!*
Wu Ying drew a deep breath and let it out, cycling chi through his meridians as he sat there. High above, the clouds had begun to break up, the unnatural configuration released. In the distance, Wu Ying could sense rain falling, washing into the numerous streams and waterfalls that made up th...
2023-10-24 13:00:03 +0000 UTC
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“Do you never get tired of soaking in those?” Tou He asked, head tilting to the side. Light glinted off the smooth, shaved top of his head, his aura suffusing the environment and warming the bathhouse further. He sat across from the circular bathtub that Wu Ying lounged within on a raised dias to view his friend as the smell of soaking herbs and plants permeated the air.
“This should be the last time,” Wu Ying said, a little gleefully. The pain from the caustic substances within...
2023-10-20 13:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Figured I'd talk about CanCon 2023 since there's a lot of business stuff I learnt about while going here. And it might be a nice view into the other kind of conventions available.
So, CanCon is a weird scifi/fantasy convention that reminds me a lot of Discon or the World Fantasy Con. It's mostly filled with writers, even the programming is more geared towards writers rather than readers. In that sense, I guess, it's not particularly useful for meeting new readers, unlike something like ...
2023-10-18 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
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What Came Before
Once banished, Long Wu Ying has returned to the Verdant Green Waters sect. His time away has seen him acquire knowledge of six of the seven winds and receive grievous injuries in the kingdom of Nanyue to the south.
Upon his return to the sect, Wu Ying finds that his presence is unwelcome to some. Too strong to be ignored, he is maneuvered by Guardian Pang and the Sect Head into forming the Department of Wandering Gatherers, much to the chagrin o...
2023-10-17 13:34:26 +0000 UTC
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I went to NinC's (Novellists Incorporated) 2023 conference again this year. For those that don't know, Ninc was created by a breakaway group from the RWA and thus, for the first part, the majority of their members are romance authors. That's a good thing, because romance authors are generally at the forefront of marketing and improvements. If you want to know what's working, talk to them - because they've likely tried it.
The NinC concerence is held in St. Pete's, Florida in a very beau...
2023-10-11 14:36:19 +0000 UTC
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Seeing people ask how to start, what they should do, etc. to promote themselves. Since that seems to be a regular questions, I'm going to write out my suggestions here.
Start slow
You won't find a lot of ROI doing advertising, so you can (mostly) ignore it. If you don't have the background for marketing / advertising, make sure you learn each area individually before you move on and add to your task list.
In general, you want 3 books in a series before you a...
2023-10-04 18:59:00 +0000 UTC
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Not sure I even did a proper September update, so this one is going to be a big update. Lots to talk about here, and I'll try to cover it as best I can.
Holiday Over & Dragoncon and Conventions!
As many of you might know, I took a few months off to visit my family in Malaysia. Got lots of inspiration for the Hidden Dishes works in the future as well as 2023-10-03 14:09:56 +0000 UTC
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Summer, fall, winter, spring. Over and over again, the seasons turned.
Xia Hui returned, none the worst for wear. He had to leave again, late spring to gather even more herbs for the pills. They were working, though breaking through his meridians at his advanced age required significant amounts of pills, which would result in additional issues during the Core Formation stage. Pill corruption and the poisons inherent in the production and consumption of such pills would eventually slow a...
2023-10-03 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Winter passed swiftly and peacefully. Lessons continued apace, with the group of wandering gatherers becoming a common sight leaving or returning to the sect, in teams alone or with their Elder following them. As much as he might wish to review their field work, Wu Ying was also forced to rest as the tempo of the medicinal baths increased as the items procured by Yang Mu began to arrive.
Along with the baths were letters, from the young lady herself, from old friends and acquaintances t...
2023-09-29 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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As book 10 comes to an end, I wanted to give an update on when you can expect preview chapters for book 11.
Currently book 10 will conclude at 36 chapters, as mentioned in other posts, I added an additional 20,000 words to this book. Which means when the final e-book releases there will be a lot more information than what was previewed here.
As for book 11 chapters. Those will begin releasing about 2 weeks after the last chapter is posted. For Master Class and above chapters w...
2023-09-28 13:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Alright, let's talk about the recent news from Bill Williamson, copyright and how it all plays into this.
Let's be clear, not a lawyer, all this is just me puling information from things I've read and what I know. I might be wrong in my analysis and frankly, some of these questions are things that are going to get settled in court anyway.
I'll give the quick background that I understand it, what it means and then how it plays out / what it means for us as indie writers (or what it...
2023-09-27 15:59:01 +0000 UTC
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His students were quiet as they followed him up the mountain. The wind swirled around them, brushing against exhausted limbs and wicking away sweat from tired brows. Yet none of them dared complain, not after a month of exhausting work in the wilds, not even as the tension they had been under slowly increased under the disproving silence they laboured under.
Pointed fingers and whispered words followed the group as they ascended through the paifang and the outer sect grounds. Mischievou...
2023-09-26 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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The trap had gone off as planned to begin with. The xing tian had wandered into the midst of the clearing, drawn by the tempting scents of butchered and slightly rotting meat. The sounder of demonic boars had been chosen as bait, first lured and then murdered to provide bait for their true prey.
The xing tian had entered the clearing unaware, formation flags ready to trigger when the entire family was present. A simple plan, but the beauty in its simplicity allowed them to adjust for po...
2023-09-22 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Apocalypse Grit, the third book in the System Apocalypse - Relentless series is now available in e-book format for you to enjoy! The manuscript has been sent off to the narrator, we're hoping to have the audiobook done by the end of the year.
Download your copy here: https://BookHip.com/WXLNZNC
*Note - the download link will be active till the end of this month. October 1st is when the e-book ...
2023-09-21 13:00:05 +0000 UTC
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As I'm writing this, the Fool's Play Kickstarter is going on. We are funding a lot slower than usual for it, especially compared to the Climbing the Ranks Kickstarter that we ran a few months ago. For a book one in a new series, the slow funding is a pain; though we expect we'll still manage to hit our goal (and possibly not much more).
Now, there's a lot of reasons this ...
2023-09-20 19:00:04 +0000 UTC
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I wanted to do a more fun behind-the-scenes introduction of Fool's Play, and the series it's kicking off, System Apocalypse: Kismet so here's a feature on the characters, the art, my new co-author and more!
Fool (left) and Jackal (right) a...
2023-09-20 15:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Contrary to the beliefs of his students, Wu Ying was not cultivating. Instead, he wielded the full strength of his wind dao, calling upon the seven winds to inform him of movements within their spheres. The central wind co-ordinated the scents, parsing the details to the wind cultivator while the Heavenly wind whispered of broken demonic spirits and the winds of Hell laughed at Wu Ying’s commands.
Through the night, only stopping long enough to sup on the meals offered to him, Wu Ying...
2023-09-19 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Wu Ying swept his gaze over the gathered cultivators, the remaining members of his department. He had gathered them at the department building, insisting that they pack for a longer expedition. When queried for exact length, he had but smiled.
As he stared at the group, sweeping his gaze over their gathered forms, he wondered how many had packed for a winter expedition. It was hard to tell with the introduction of storage rings, though he had no plans on staying outdoors that long. Even...
2023-09-15 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Alright, a long time ago (hah! 2 years, but it was pandemic time, so more like 11 years); I did a post about burnout.
At that time, I was trying to figure out the balance. I've done many things since then. Hired staff, shifted to slower release schedules, pushed my releases out by 6 months so I am no longer writing and publishing in short order so I no longer chase after deadlines.
And a l...
2023-09-13 20:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“This kind of action is a mockery of the tournament itself, it strips the tournament of all dignity!” Elder Mo was raving, gesturing with his hands wildly at Wu Ying.
Not long after Rou Gang had applied his concoction – a concoction that Wu Ying had recognized almost immediately thanks to the winds offering a very strong hint – the Elders who were not actively in charge of the tournament had come stomping over. The majority of the group crowded around him were part of Elder Mo a...
2023-09-12 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Alright, here's the link everyone! You should be able to view this in Patreon directly or if you follow the link, onto Youtube.
2023-09-12 01:02:04 +0000 UTC
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Wu Ying sat high in the benches, in the partitioned area meant for Elders. There were not many of them here, for the outer sect tournament was something that few Elders saw the point in attending unless they had their own nominees within.
Summer and fall had passed in a blur of teaching, cultivating and healing. Once more, at the start of autumn, he had undertook the medicinal bath. It had been no less painful or debilitating as the last time, leaving mind, body and soul broken down and...
2023-09-08 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Alright everyone. Let's try this again. 9pm EST on Monday, Sept 11, 2023. Livestream of me writing and hopefully, this time, there's no issue....
I should have recovered from concrud and coming back and will be able to do this.
2023-09-06 20:39:12 +0000 UTC
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So Dragoncon came and went and I figured I'd (re)start the Business Post by talking about the convention itself.
I've previously written about how there are two types of conventions really (or three, depending on how you count them). The business focused writer conventions (20booksto50k, NinC, Inkerscon, etc.) and the fan focused conventions (Dragoncon).
Doing these conventions, your focus and how and what you want to do will vary. Now, Dragoncon is slightly different, becau...
2023-09-06 19:39:38 +0000 UTC
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Early morning light, morning dew and the sweep of blade through humid air. Long Wu Ying flowed through his forms, slowly and carefully, practicing the forms of the Wandering Dragon. Memorising each motion, each step. Never throwing the full extent of his chi or dao understanding into the motions, but attempting to understand the jian that he held further.
It was foolish to push himself too far, not when he was still injure. Folly to tempt further injury, but restlessness had overtaken t...
2023-09-05 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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It's been a while since we've last had a new short story in the System Apocalypse universe. Enjoy!
Will there be an audiobook?
Yes, it's being recorded.
Will you also share the audiobook when it's ready?
Of course!
Happy reading!
https://BookHip.com/RKQHJSC
***
Sometimes what you're buying isn't what they're expecting to sell
Earth as a new Dungeon World m...
2023-09-03 13:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“You’re looking better,” Yang Mu said, nearly a week later.
Wu Ying had conducted the first of his classes that day since his bath. Rather than stress himself too greatly, he had quizzed his students about the plants and herbs that they were meant to have studied. It had been quite relaxing really, though from the sweating faces of the cultivators as he forced them to cultivate and answer his questions while holding their auras tight, it had only been so for him.
That there ...
2023-09-01 13:00:04 +0000 UTC
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