This is an interesting story arc: The usual redemption arc continues until redemption. Getting halfway there and going off the rails back to the original personality is probably far more common in real life, but it’s very unusual in fiction. I haven’t gotten to the “Ends badly” step, yet, but I’ve read the April seriesContinue reading “Redemption Interrupted”
Author Archives: Mark
My First Jelly
While I wait in hunger for the bread to cool, it occurred to me that I haven’t posted since before my computer died (power supply bit it). So, here we are. Much like the peas, this is not for self-sufficiency. I mainly want to cover up a chain-link fence, so why not grape vines? That’sContinue reading “My First Jelly”
The Fenris Effect
Not the self-fulfilling prophecy part. I’m not sure if my universe will have prophecy/divination or not, yet, but I really don’t like it. Dune did a good job with it, so it is possible. I just don’t like the idea of it. It makes the future and free will weird. I’m talking about the “I’mContinue reading “The Fenris Effect”
Specific and Particular 2
Yet another “two”. They may not be AI indicators. The most recent book I read used “particular” a lot. Perhaps it’s regional? British maybe? There were also a few “sorted” as in “resolved/straightened out”. Americans don’t say that. There were enough Archmage Reborn that they caught my attention, but I didn’t make explicit note ofContinue reading “Specific and Particular 2”
It Must Be True 1
I’m numbering this one. It seems like a recurring theme. That picture is cropped from a YouTube AI music track. I call fake. The POV is the guy in the back. He clearly has an IR light, not just passive night vision. Why would only the guy in the back have his IR light on?Continue reading “It Must Be True 1”
The Stupid – It Burns
I read The Kitchen Habits That Are Truly Dangerous and the Ones That Are Just Gross the other day. I didn’t think much about it. I just had a piece of leftover pizza for second breakfast, which reminded me of it and I actually thought about it. Pizza, in particular, may seem more acceptable toContinue reading “The Stupid – It Burns”
Intra-Chapter Breaks 2
See! There’s always a second one. This is an example of what I’m doing: Using a small image as the intra-chapter break. The question is: Do I have the same background problem? That’s from the PC Kindle Reader (which gets worse with every release). I have the theme set to Sepia. It’s obvious the backgroundContinue reading “Intra-Chapter Breaks 2”
Drawing a Line
But where? The problem with non-standard fonts is that the data must be put somewhere. What’s the data? Who knows? That could be a rendered bitmap or the entire font. Where is somewhere? Who knows? That could be embedded in the book itself or it could be a reference to AWS data, which makes theContinue reading “Drawing a Line”
Magic is Hard
Marcy has already noticed this. The specific problem now is momentum. I’ve made the decision that magic manifests wherever the caster wants it to (and can “reach”). This is dandy if you want to fry someone with plasma. It’s less dandy with things that need momentum. For Marcy, that would be something such as anContinue reading “Magic is Hard”
My Competition 3
I wouldn’t write this: The wind, a fickle and capricious force, whispered through the leaves, carrying with it the scent of pine, damp earth, and something else… something wild and untamed. The branches of the ancient trees groaned and creaked under the wind’s unseen hand, a chorus of mournful sounds that echoed through the silentContinue reading “My Competition 3”
Marked Up 