BlaiseCorvin

Delvers LLC 4 is live

I'm going to stagger these announcements in various places, but I wanted to let you all know ASAP.

Delvers 4 is live.  I'll include links at the end of this post.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the launch, because everyone says it's fun, they just want more...and I'm working on that.

There will be new, Delvers LLC 5 chapters posted to Patreon starting tomorrow.

Thank you for all of your advice about this book.  You've helped me make it as good as I could...

Patreon Patrons who haven't read Delvers 4 yet:

*Quick reminder that all the chapters for Delvers LLC are coming down in a day or two.

That aside...

Who wants a beta copy?  I can send 2-3 people who haven't read the story yet an early version just to make sure I haven't missed anything, and there aren't any egregious errors.

If you're interested, please message me here on Patreon.  Also, please remember I am only sending out a few copies, and a lot of Patreon Patrons will get ebooks when the book is released in...

Writing Workshop: Emotions Chart

This isn't mine, but I figured it'd be fun to share for posterity. :)

It's actually a pretty good tool.

Updated news on Delvers LLC

This post is part blog, part confession, part discussion, and part marching orders addressed to myself.

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Okay everyone, I've listened to your opinions and figured out what I'm going to do.

As most of you have seen, I've already included another chapter for Delvers 4.  I believe this makes the books many, many times better because readers can intuit that Delvers 5 is going to be /nuts/.  

Also, at the end of Delvers 4, I'm going to inform readers that...

Thank you

There is no doubt that this has been a tough year.  Honestly, this has been one of the most challenging years of my life, especially professionally.

I've noticed that a bunch of people on Patreon have lowered their pledges over time, but most of you are still here, and I am eternally grateful for that.  Thank you for sticking around.  I've said this before, and I'll say it again, all of you being here helps me write better books.  I take your opinions very seriously...

Cover 1 of Engineering Ludus, final

This is the first cover,  We'll probably use this for promos.

More importantly, now Steve has an image he can use to promote his future book. :)

What really sold me on this one is how in a thumbnail, the author's name is laser-clear, and the art looks really interesting and mysterious.

Keep in mind that whenever an experienced author is sourcing cover art, they always need to think about how it looks in multiple sizes.

Teaser for new art

I have something super, super exciting in the works for some new art to share on here, and eventually to help with the Delvers LLC release.  It'll be the most expensive art project that I have ever commissioned.

This is super exciting.  I promise to keep everyone in the loop.

Hint:  I've reached out to a famous artist to create something truly iconic. :)

Anyone have any guesses about what I'm doing?

Engineering Ludus covers (semifinal)

So we decided to go with two different cover variations. Neither are completely done yet, they will be refined and the type may change, but this is pretty close.

Thoughts?

Right now we're thinking about using the darker one as a promo, and the lighter one as the book.

A reminder that we have facemonger art.

It was done a while ago, but we have facemongers!  

Post about one of my swords

This is a quick writeup about the centerpiece of my collection.

I own the sword of Berkeley Vincent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Vincent

The sword has obvious signs of its long campaigning life, including extensive re-sharpening.

The sword itself Started life as a Royal Horse Artillery sword when Vincent ...

Jake's Story, ch 12

The next chapter is going to be really, really fun.

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About an hour or two later, Jake was eyeing the bullet wound on his arm when he felt the train slowing down.  He stuck his head out of the boxcar to figure out where he was, but he wasn’t familiar with the area.  It’d been lucky that he’d recognized Valdosta before.  After Purple Rain in his first life, he had been to Valdosta a few times.  This place d...

Engineering Ludus cover, newest iteration

Our artist for the Engineering Ludus cover has been having some hardware problems, so it's slow going.  However, I think it's moving in the right direction.

So spoiler:  We're actually having two pieces of art made.  One will be the cover, and one is going to be promotional art.  I'm still not sure which will be which yet.

What do you all think?  It's not done yet, but do you think it's too light? Too dark?  Just right?

-BC

Writing workshop - a thought about the necessity of delivering technical minutia

I have a bad habit of assuming that people who are interested in the same stuff I am into also know as much as I know about these subjects.

Social media helps me remember this is not always true.

This post is actually meant to be sincere, not snarky or self-aggrandizing. Anyway, these reminders help me while working on a book to explain things better. Explanations or descriptions need to be for folks who don't know about something--which I usually try to include--but ...

BC Writing Workshop #6 Business Plan-- Financials and Revisions

Business Plan Financials

This is the part that some of you who have been reading my advice have been waiting to see...and I get it.

There are several ways I could tackle this section, but I think probably the most practical and the most helpful would be a breakdown of actual indie costs.

So let's go down the rabbit hole, shall we?

Covers

The first thing people think about regarding book costs in the cover.  However, this is one example ...

Jake's Story, ch 11

:)

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The girl woke up about a half hour later.  She blinked owlishly, put a hand to her head, groaned, turned, and screamed when she saw Jake.  While she’d been unconscious, Jake had considered doing something to keep her from jumping off the moving train, but decided he didn’t have the means or the will.  If she was dumb enough to do something like that,  she wouldn’t be his problem anymore.

Jake just p...

Jake's Story, ch 10

Jake woke up in the forest, covered with dirt, and he was still a zombie.  The Morrigan was gone--likely long gone.  After trying to remember what had happened, he could feel what was different now.

Unlike before, he could sense his own existence in a way he never would have been able to explain.  After thinking about it briefly, he settled down to sit against a tree and meditated.  Since he was dead, he still couldn’t cultivate properly, but now he fe...

Engineering Ludus cover progress! And an apology

Hey everyone,

The cover for Engineering Ludus is moving along.  We might even actually use this art as a promotional image.  The characters are going to be moved and adjusted, so that's not going to be an issue for the final.

Thoughts?

Also, I know it's taken me a while to get the next chapter out.  I hate to give excuses, but I have a couple.

First, as many of you know, I started a diet a week ago.  The first few days were really rough, and eve...

Signed book sale

First off, this sale does not apply to Asgard Awakening 2 or First Song 2 for the patrons who will be getting those books via Patreon pledges.  You know who you are, and I have not forgotten.  Part of the motivation for this sale was actually because we had to orders some books for you guys anyway.

All the books we're going to be shipping out will be bought in the next few days, then we'll just have to get them in the mail before signing and sending them out.

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Housekeeping question for the community

Patreon recently made it possible to offer full year subscriptions.

What do you all think about it?  Should I spend the time looking into it?  Is this something any of you would want?

I'm honestly curious about this, because I want to make sure you guys get what you all want, but I assumed this would be a non-starter this year because of 2020 being 2020.

Thoughts?

Engineering Ludus art/cover rough draft

We're not sure yet whether this is going to be the cover or promo art, but this is what we have so far. :)

A crude visual of how Henry's new pistol works

I got some questions about this, so this might help clear up any confusion among engineering/technically minded readers. :)

Jake's Story, Ch 9

I stayed up too late to write this.  Now that editing is done, I'm going back to reading Delvers. :)

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After turning on his borrowed phone and literally using it until the battery ran out, sending emails, and doing everything he could think of to help survivors or reach future movers and shakers, Jake knew it was time to get moving again.  He pulled himself out of his hole in the ground with a great deal of difficulty and frus...

Final office pics

This took months to put together, mainly because all I usually do it work...but it's finally done.

While the lockdown continues, this will be my primary creative space, and likely where I finish Delvers LLC 4, and Jake's Story.

Most of the office speaks for itself, but you may be confused by the second desk with the lamp.  That desk came with the built in bookshelves on both sides of the room, and I've elected to turn it into a space I've always wanted; one dedicated to the...

The new Patreon video is done

I'd been meaning to do this for more than two years--I'm sure some of you remember me stressing about it.

I finally got around to doing it because Melli said she'd help.  This is the result.

What do you all think?

-BC

Current WIP

Melli and I have been working on updating the video for the Patreon page.

There have been...a lot of outtakes. :P

This is my first time loading audio on Patreon.  Let me know if it worked!

-BC

Opinions about the new banner

Do you all like the new banner, or should I switch it back to the map of Ludus?

This banner was actually put together for the website, but it might work here too.

Thoughts?

Also, I think we're finally getting around to fixing the video. :)

-BC

Jake's Story ch 8

This is where Jake's story really begins.

Enjoy!

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Pursuit, other monsters, and every other way Jake’s unlife might end made him decide to find shelter.  He really needed some relative peace to do some thinking.

The cave he found to hide in was more of a hole in a hill, and he could barely fit into it.  Low crawling into it head-first was the only way to go.  If he’d still been alive, he would have suf...

Office Status, and WIP update

Hi everyone!

My office is almost done.  I figure it'll be finished in about... 5 days.  I'm waiting for some canvas prints to come with some of my book covers on them.

As you can see, I've surrounded myself with things I love, and sometimes Melli hangs out with me to help motivate me to write.  She takes my chair from my knife sharpening station and hangs out with me at my desk.

My house is almost put together now, and we just had family over, so that helpe...

Arcade Cabinet Progress

They still need to add the marquee, but the progress pic for my arcade cabinet is looking absolutely amazing thus far.

Wow.

On one hand, I really shouldn't have spent this kind of money with 'Rona going on and hurting my sales.  On the other hand, this is going to be fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Owning it

Hey everyone, I screwed up and I'm owning it.  If you can see this, I'm talking directly to you.

I screwed up and I need to own up to it and apologize.

This is not about that fact that a minority of readers see Narnaste's bare ass in the cover art of Asgard Awakening 2, and that I need to fix it.  Stuff like this happens and it's sort of unavoidable.  I /still/ have a hard time seeing it, and nobody here saw it that way, either.

No, where I screwed up was m...