... so I have to start posting rewards, probably Thursday.
Just noticed I made an Oopsie for the Sketchy! tier last month, duplicating an image I'd posted before. Probably have to make up for it with an extra image this month!
2019-08-07 00:19:52 +0000 UTC View Post... all the rewards are up!
Busy these days -- not only am I writing, but I'm preparing for convention appearances in August and September, one at San Jose, one in Salt Lake City, and one at the local convention of Albacon!
2019-07-31 03:32:48 +0000 UTC View Post... for this month. As usual, the Read Me Something rewards take longer!
Here we arrive at the transformational moment of Varan's life, as it was envisioned fairly early on (though not as it was in the original draft, where Varan himself was a much less likeable man).
The overall events are similar, but details are drastically changed. In particular there's a fairly long pseudotechnical discussion of what Vick is doing that was removed from later drafts. I didn't see that it added much to the actual story, but it's an interesting detail historically. 2019-07-10 00:46:06 +0000 UTC View Post
And that means that soon there will be new rewards up!
Another thanks to all of you -- new Patrons and old -- for supporting all my work here!
And, as always, please feel free to message me directly if you have any questions or requests!
2019-07-03 13:10:20 +0000 UTC View Post... will become a real book! My Kickstarter for the next Arenaverse novel has completed funding!
Note that I did not push it heavily HERE because all of you are ALREADY supporting me -- and as you probably have noticed, in the last few months that support has increased.
I can't express how uplifting, and a bit humbling, it is to see so many people willing to support my work on an ongoing basis. Sometimes it's the existence of this Patreon that gives me that little smile I need to...
The Shadows of Hyperion Kickstarter is almost halfway to its goal, but time is passing! I'm sure most of you who have any interest in the Arenaverse have already donated if you wanted to, but what you can ALSO do is make sure to share the link everywhere that people might be interested!
And if they're not sure, you can always point out that 2019-06-12 02:00:39 +0000 UTC
View Post
I'll probably have all of them except the Read Me Something up tonight. The Read Me Something rewards will likely come out next week!
2019-06-12 01:31:37 +0000 UTC View PostHere our hero Varan first meets the man who will become his nemesis, Prime Monitor Shagrath. But for several reasons, this meeting is VERY different than the final version.
This draft is early enough that I had not yet fully fleshed out the universe in several ways. Varan's character is rougher here, and neither as idealistic or patriotic in his essence as he would become -- Varan's internal dialogue here is far less respectful than it would be in future drafts.
I also...
2019-06-12 01:22:37 +0000 UTC View Post... the Read Me Something chapters WILL be up before this month is out!
The Kickstarter is now running ( at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/420370544/shadows-of-hyperion ) and past 30%. Hopefully it'll make 100%!
2019-05-31 02:07:55 +0000 UTC View Post... I've been working hard on the prep for the Arenaverse Kickstarter, but I'll be recording and posting the Read Me Something updates next week. (in fact I'll try to do the ones for next month then too, since I'm so sluggish this month).
2019-05-26 01:34:06 +0000 UTC View PostThis chapter is one of the ones that most clearly shows the weakness in the old drafts. Jearsen and the Starhawk-later-Eonwyl being both male in that particular draft just drives home the changes in the personal dynamics of the characters, but more obvious is the lack of DEPTH that came from the added viewpoints and motivations. Without Taelin, and without the viewpoint of Starhawk/Eonwyl, we don't get a look at Varan and his world from the outside. Without Varan's involveme...
2019-05-10 01:18:59 +0000 UTC View PostFor the first time, this Patreon has cracked the $500 mark! This comes at a time I really need more support (as I've mentioned previously RE my GoFundMe), so it's hugely appreciated.
I had a reasonably successful time at HELIOSphere last weekend, and this weekend I will be at Empire State Comic Con (https://www.escomiccon.com/ ) in Albany! Good thoughts appreciated!
2019-04-12 12:58:31 +0000 UTC View PostIt's a new month, so I spent tonight making sure the rewards (except for the Read Me Something tier, which takes its own night of work!) were up. Hope you enjoy them!
2019-04-10 02:03:58 +0000 UTC View PostThis is in some ways one of the most interesting old chapters; parts of this chapter are practically identical, word-for-word, with not only the published version but with the original version I wrote decades ago. The characters have changed back and forth, the technology has changed, the names of devices and even the adversaries have changed, but the basic conflict in the corridor? That's stayed pretty much exactly the same for forty years.
At the same time, this chapter is so ve...
2019-04-10 00:45:08 +0000 UTC View Post
The Speed Racer movie was, as I've written elsewhere, one of the biggest surprises of my moviegoing life. I expected it to be TERRIBLE. Instead, it was one of the best family films I've ever seen, ridiculously larger than life yet still able to hit key emotional notes in its main story, and with what I have often called one of the greatest final fight scenes of any movie -- even though, technically, it's not a fight, it's a race.
The soundtrack was also fantastic, taking ...
2019-03-29 01:31:17 +0000 UTC View PostHeliosphere's coming up in Tarrytown, NY the weekend after this one, and here's my schedule!
Friday:
Reading 3:30 - 4:45 (other authors: Keith R.A. DeCandido, Nicholas Kaufmann, Ken Altabef)
10:00pm - 11:15pm — Two Stupid Ideas Make a Story (with Alex Shvartsman, Danielle Ackley-Mcphail, B. Ketchum, Christopher Burke)
Saturday
2:30 - 3:45pm — Books-n-Brews (with Lancelot ...
In 1988, the anime Yoroiden Samurai Troopers debuted in Japan; it was later translated to American TV as Ronin Warriors. For a 1995 dub, it wasn't bad, though it very strangely changed the names of the main characters... but not to anything really more American.
Samurai Troopers was a God-Warrior show, similar to Saint Seiya and Shurato, but in some ways superior to both; the main characters were people from modern Japan and spent a lot...
2019-03-27 00:54:05 +0000 UTC View Post... to our several new Patrons! Thank you for your support, and the good thing about joining later is that you've got a lot of stuff waiting for you!
2019-03-23 02:36:48 +0000 UTC View Post
Airwolf is one of the quintessentially '80s series, the era in which Awesome Vehicles and action-adventure ruled the airwaves. The most famous of these shows, and the one that's been revived more than once, was Knight Rider, which made David Hasslehoff a household name.
Despite its greater fame, I was never terribly taken with Knight Rider. Airwolf was another story. Starring the late Jan-Michael Vincent and Earnest Borgnine, Airwolf ha...
2019-03-22 00:30:08 +0000 UTC View Post
... is the final cover for LEGEND! It's a bit busy, but I think it's gorgeous anyway! A big hand for Carol Phillips' work on this one!
2019-03-19 12:30:03 +0000 UTC View PostHere's the link!
https://www.amazon.com/LEGEND-Ryk-Spoor-ebook/dp/B07PT94G1Z
Here's a link to Retribution and to the two other volumes in the trilogy!
RETRIBUTION:
https://www.amazon.com/Demons-Past-RETRIBUTION-Ryk-Spoor-ebook/dp/B07P5H5GY1
REVELATION:
https://www.amazon.com/Revelation-Ryk-Spoor-ebook/dp/B07BZ1JXKT...
2019-03-19 11:07:17 +0000 UTC View Post.... I've posted the final chapters of Demons of the Past: RETRIBUTION, a couple days before publication.
Thus concludes a story I started writing more than 40 years ago, one that waited almost that long to be finished. It is, in some ways, the most complex story I've yet written, because the entire conclusion depends on not just tactical but psychological approaches that had to have their groundwork laid in two previous books.
I'm glad to have reached the end... th...
2019-03-17 19:45:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe last few months we were seeing old Varan draft material that time-wise came before anything in the released version of Demons of the Past; background events that, in some form, still remained in Varan's past.
Today, I'm posting the first few chapters of "Baptism of Fire", which starts about the same place as the published version of Demons of the Past: Revelation. Chapter 2 is probably the most interesting ,as it shows the character that WOULD become The Eonw...
2019-03-10 16:56:44 +0000 UTC View PostTwo years.
That's startling, and sort of humbling, for me. For two years, most of you have stuck around, supporting my writing, my dreams, and to an extent my family with constant contributions. It's a tremendously gratifying and touching thing to contemplate, and a wonderful statement to me that my writing has somehow been enough, at least for all of you, to make it worthwhile.
Last year I made a big fancy video; I had originally thought of doing that this ...
2019-03-06 01:17:06 +0000 UTC View PostWe continue looking at the earliest remaining draft of Demons of the Past. In the prior chapter, Varan and Canta had been dressed down HARD by Sergeant Helkoth, and had accepted their punishments with relative grace... after realizing how close they were to being kicked out of their respective services. But that wouldn't be the end of the incident...
-------
v.
The next two weeks went fast. Tutoring Canta in survival wa...
2019-02-06 01:22:20 +0000 UTC View Post
The manga and anime One Piece is a quirky, rambling, TITANIC piece of work, extending over 22 years, 91 tankoban volumes, and heading towards NINE HUNDRED EPISODES. Following the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy -- the self-proclaimed "Man who will be the PIRATE KING!" -- and his peculiar crew, this epic adventure is one of the greatest achievements of the shonen genre, and is still ongoing.
As with any anime, the show has background music. With twenty years of episodes, ...
2019-01-30 02:49:46 +0000 UTC View Post
The How to Train Your Dragon movies have (thus far) been really entertaining, uplifting adventures, with the second one being, surprisingly, better than the first. The music is also excellent, well-tailored to the world and the events and characters.
Some of it's also inspirational.
This piece, Two New Alphas -- at least through about 3:45 -- became the key music through which I developed one of the most dramatic scenes in Challenges of the Deeps -...
2019-01-23 01:47:08 +0000 UTC View Post... I've at least somewhat got iMovie working again, so the Read Me Something rewards should be up soon!
2019-01-23 01:33:29 +0000 UTC View Post