Eggplant.place

1y

“[I]f you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially some piece of writing or paper-work, you should acquire a cat.”

—Nancy Hawkins, the majestic narrator of Muriel Spark’s A FAR CRY FROM KENSINGTON, on why a writer should own a cat

Today, 8 August, is International Cat Day (don’t tell them) 🐈‍⬛

1/3

#Scottish #literature #writing #cats #InternationalCatDay #MurielSpark

So I passed him some very good advice, that if you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially some piece of writing or paper-work, you should acquire a cat. Alone with the cat in the room where you work, I explained, the cat will invariably get up on your desk and settle placidly under the desk-lamp. The light from a lamp, I explained, gives a cat great satisfaction. The cat will settle down and be serene, with a serenity that passes all understanding. And the tranquillity of the cat will gradually come to affect you, sitting there at your desk, so that all the excitable qualities that impede your concentration compose themselves and give your mind back the self-command it has lost. You need not watch the cat all the time. Its presence alone is enough. The effect of a cat on your concentration is remarkable, very mysterious.

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244d

Chapter 16 of Princess of Kurg is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city

Nicole takes center stage for the dress rehearsal of the command performance, but she has an odd little ache in her neck, the whole time...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #actionadventure #fiction #fairies #webseries

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205d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TymeDarkMoon

On a world long thought to have no moon, its sudden appearance inspires wonder and terror. Hasty research links the full moon and catastrophe, revealing the existence of the so-called ‘Harbingers of Doom’, creatures from the moon that harvest souls. Can everyone survive or will they become part of the dark harvest?

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of dark moon, by Owen Tyme, illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

In the foreground, a redheaded witch and a dark haired wizard fight back to back, holding some rather large pistols. The witch is in a black dress and the wizard is in a black robe with golden decorations. Both looked a bit purple, due to the lighting. The witch's hair blows on the wind and she wears a necklace of bone beads.

Behind them, there's dust, mist and fog lit by twilight as a moon rises, framing their heads. Objects that look like shooting stars fall from the moon and there's a few visible impacts.

(Right) A white moon, on a background of the stars of space, with the following quote over the top of it:

“Idiot! You’ve likely killed us both, leaving us stuck out in the open like this.”

“We’ve got incoming. I know you’re angry and I suppose you’ve got every right to be, but we need to defend ourselves.”

“ ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’, for now, and then we decide what to do about the conflict between us.”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TymeDarkMoon

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220d

Ebook and print: https://books2read.com/SheHuntsDemons

She’s small and cute, but this half-demon New Yorker lives to exterminate demons, because they murdered her parents. The demonic curse preventing her from saying anything but “it’s a secret” only fuels her desire for revenge.

@bookstodon
#indieauthor #writing #fantasy #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of She Hunts Demons, by Owen Tyme, illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

Sitting on the roof of a building in New York City is a teenage girl wearing an old, black dress, fingerless, elbow-length black gloves and a battered, black top hat, with a blue rose attached to the band. The tearing of her clothes hints that she's recently been in a fight. Her hair is short, but messy. Her eyes are blue.

In her hands is a wakizashi, a short sword of Japanese design. The tsuba, or hilt guard, is in the shape of an opening, blue rose. The blade shines blue.

The image is black and white, aside from the details in blue, hinting at film-noir influences in the art.

(Right) An image of a dog with glowing, red eyes, with the following text laid over it:

“Will we ever be safe again?”

“Your people call you traitor, as do mine. Hunted by Heaven and Hell alike, there’s nowhere we could turn for peace.”

“Will our daughter ever know peace?”

“I pray she will.”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/SheHuntsDemons

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1y

What kind of maniac launches their website on a Friday?!

Hi, hello there, it's me. I'm that kind of maniac. How you doin'.

Today, I'm excited to launch the place where I'll be putting my energy where my mouth is, the website where I'll show (AND tell) you what I've learned.

It is my great honor to invite you to check out www.Get-Frosty.com

This is just a sample of what I've got cooking; there's more to come. Stay, and I cannot stress this enough, tuned.

#TTRPG #Gaming #3dPrinting #Writing

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183d

Chapter 42 of Princess of Kurg is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city

Umak hand-delivers a wax stamped and sealed letter from Kazic, which Nicole is quite excited to read, because it's a formal invitation to some mysterious event...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #actionadventure #fiction #fairies #webseries

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242d

Chapter 1 of She Consumes Poison is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/153820/scarlet-eye

Back in 1922, Silver Dollar wakes in Hell, after a particular half-demon smashed her skull.

After learning her operations on Earth have been destroyed by the same, she contacts her master, to report her failure.

He gives her a new assignment, which chills the demon woman to the bone...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #actionadventure #fiction #witches #demons #vampires #webseries

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239d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TheThirdWish

Spies, aliens, trolls, wizards and a disowned prince use a time machine, to improve their place in history, but Levi Jacobs stands in their way, despite having just lost his parents in war. Will he stop them or will the time travelers kill his father at a pivotal moment, on which the fate of the galaxy hangs?

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of The Third Wish, by Owen Tyme, illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

A wizard in a black robe that glitters with hints of gold stands on a mountain and looks down at a city of sky scrapers covered in greenery. In his shadow lurks a creature with glowing red eyes.

In the background, the sun is setting and stars are becoming visible.

(Right Background) Four images separated by black lines, with the silhouette of a woman wielding two swords laid over them. She's outlined in black and her interior is yellow clock-based imagery that spirals outward from the center.

The upper left quarter is a queen in a red, furred robe, wearing a gold and diamond crown. She has dark eyebrows and blond hair.

Upper right is a planet seen from orbit.

Lower left is a symbolic wire frame representation of the view inside a wormhole, in green and yellow.

Lower right is dandelions among grass.

The angle of the planet, one of the woman's swords, the yellow highlights of the wormhole and some of the dandelions form a line that draws the eye along a sweeping curve.

(Right Foreground) The following quote:

He admired the flawless beauty of the insane swordswoman’s fluid movements as Ida took desperate step after step, backwards!

He felt waves of mental energy pour off the panic-stricken troll, but the energy bounced right off of Nicole’s mind, as though she’d shut herself inside a solid, red-hot, steel box of rage!

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TheThirdWish

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240d

Chapter 2 of She Consumes Poison is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/153820/scarlet-eye

Verda Bagley, the leader of the Order of Ash and Smoke, interrogates Ulmoch, getting some disturbing answers she didn't expected, regarding Silver Dollar having gained serious political power in Hell, on top of the ability to see the future...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #actionadventure #fiction #witches #demons #vampires #webseries

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241d

This is how I do most of my #writing.

Sometimes diagrams.
Mostly text.
A comfortable pen.

Coffee stains sometimes.
Circular water marks from condensation sometimes.

The sketch pad allows less ink build up on the pen.

A bad pen drags or slides.
That's not good.

Handwritten text on sketch paper, with a pen next to it:

Most of my ideas start here.
Most of my 'writing' is done this way.
Because most of my writing ^ tjinking is done...
This way.
This -- the em-dash-- I put here.
I favor ellipses... because i want the reader to
Slow
Down.
THINK.
Writing is not about technology.
That should be invisible.
It's about sharing
Ideas
Thoughts.
Trapped in words.

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238d

Author event: Tom Newlands, Natalie Jayne Clark and Elspeth Wilson
28 Feb, Central Library, Stirling. Free, booking required

Three neurodivergent debut authors discuss their different journeys to publication and their writing processes.

https://www.stirling.gov.uk/community-life-and-leisure/libraries-and-archives/libraries/what-on-in-the-libraries/#tom-newlands-elspeth-wilson-natalie-jayne-cla-1

#Scottish #literature #writing #writingcommunity #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #Stirling

AUTHOR EVENT at Central Library
Saturday 28th February, 2–3pm, FREE

Tom Newlands: Award winning author of Only Here, Only Now, a powerful coming-of-age novel about friendship, identity, and modern Scottish life.

Natalie Jayne Clark: Bloody Scotland Debut
Award-nominated author of The Whisky Murders, a gripping Scottish crime novel set in the world of whisky and small-town secrets...

Elspeth Wilson: Author of These Mortal Bodies, a powerful novel exploring love, loss, and the past. Perfect for fans of the The Secret History.

Join us for an intimate, lively blether with three neurodivergent debut authors, each with different journeys to publication, writing processes, and obsessions to share with you.

To book a space: Ask in the library, phone 01786 237760 or email centrallibrary@stirling.gov.uk

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182d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/SheSeeksPeace

The Hunter seeks peace and quiet to mourn the loss of her best friend in a world that seems bound and determined to make that task impossible. Enemies attack when she’d rather be alone, allies can’t take a hint and the arch-demon Wrath seeks the Hunter’s hand in marriage, even though she’d sooner kill him.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of She Seeks Peace, by Owen Tyme.

The background is a snow-capped, craggy mountain with green, grassy hills at its base, which feature yellow and blue flowers.

The foreground is dominated by the round symbol for peace, in gold. Along the bottom of it are two olive branches. At the top is a dove in flight. Arranged on the lower three spokes of it are three figures based on the AIGA symbol for a woman. The figure on the right is blue. The one in the middle is a very dark gray, bordering on black, which includes a top hat. The figure on the left is red and has horns, like a demon.

(Right) The background is a view from the interior of a gun's barrel, with the rifling very apparent and the following quote over the top:

Reggie looked down the barrel of one of his own pistols, which the girl held in both hands, because the M1911 was a little large for someone so small.

There was a long, silent moment as the girl giggled and met his gaze. The murderous look was gone, replaced by something more playful, like a cat toying with a mouse.

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/SheSeeksPeace

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220d

Chapter 26 of Princess of Kurg is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city

Having enjoyed fighting Ustrina, because the event reminded her of being young again, Eden asks Nicole to take her on one of her upcoming missions, that they might share an adventure...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #actionadventure #fiction #fairies #webseries

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167d

Chapter 49 of Princess of Kurg is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city

Having lost her temper, Nicole attacks Koko, who calls for help from the Queen of Queens...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #actionadventure #fiction #fairies #webseries

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220d

RE: https://bookstodon.com/@ododopress/116243896279552093

Ha, I had fun on this cover. I wanted to depict a creature I encountered in the book, one of those that pushed me to rewrite it for a modern audience, as I had not encountered half-people anywhere, things with only one leg, one arm, one eye.... I didn't do them justice in this rendering, and will try modelling them again later, perhaps after figuring out sculpting in #blender

#writing #writingcommunity

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24d

Ebook: https://books2read.com/TheMostPowerfulWords
Audiobook: https://owentyme.bandcamp.com/album/short-of-tyme-the-most-powerful-words

Hungry and hunting alone, a goblin boy meets a bouncing, blue slime and assumes it will be dinner. Naturally, the slime has other ideas, and the boy gets his hind-end handed to him by what’s supposed to be one of the weakest monsters of the forest.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #fiction #goblin #shortstory #audiobook #prejudice

(Left) The cover of The Most Powerful Words, by Owen Tyme, which consists of a temperate forest path in twilight, with a tree on the right side, which hangs over the path. At the base of the tree is a translucent, blue slime monster, with shiny, black eyes that give it a somewhat cute appearance, while the shadow that's visible at its base almost looks like a big mouth. The air has an almosty golden look, because there's a hint of fog in it. The cover is framed with beveled stone.

(Right) The background is a bookcase with three shelves that are filled with old-looking books. Some have bookmark ribbons that stick off the edge, adding a little color. The books are largely brown, with ribbed spines. The following quote is laid over it:

“There are words so powerful, they can shake the foundations of reality or alter the fate of the world.”

“The most powerful words of all can change a man’s heart and mind about old, incorrect beliefs.”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TheMostPowerfulWords

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219d

In an updated writing version of this meme I vividly hallucinate 1s and 0s onto liquid crystals.

The future is now! 😂

@galacticwriters @writers @books @fantasy @bookstodon
@writingbooks @keepwriting @humor @humor@lemmy.world @aiop

#ReadingMemes #Meme #Memes #ReadAllTheBooks
#Reading #Readers
#WritingMemes #Meme #Memes #Humor #Humour
#Author #Authors #IndieAuthor #IndieBooks #AmWriting #Writerdons #Writers #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #Writinglife #WritersOfMastodon #Bookstodon #Books

Painting of a woman lying in bed reading a book.

Caption: Have you ever realized how surreal reading a book actually is? You stare at marked slices of tree for hours hallucinating vividly.

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219d

Ebook: https://books2read.com/TheMostPowerfulWords
Audiobook: https://owentyme.bandcamp.com/album/short-of-tyme-the-most-powerful-words

Hungry and hunting alone, a goblin boy meets a bouncing, blue slime and assumes it will be dinner. Naturally, the slime has other ideas, and the boy gets his hind-end handed to him by what’s supposed to be one of the weakest monsters of the forest.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #fiction #goblin #shortstory #audiobook #prejudice

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204d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TymeStarwitch
Audiobook: https://owentyme.bandcamp.com/album/the-book-of-newts-starwitch

The undead queen of the space pirates kidnapped Amelia’s sisters and damaged her ship, leaving her with little fuel. Amelia’s a dead woman without her sisters, forced to attack the pirate’s mountain-sized star ship, despite how slim the odds are…

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books #audiobook

(Left) The cover of Starwitch, by Owen Tyme.

In the background is a red, orange and white nebula.

In the foreground is a line drawing of a red spotted newt, in white. The lines of the newt are outlined in black, to help it stand out. The interior is red, with an appearance similar to stained glass.

(Right) In the background is a red and orange galaxy, with a blue core, which bears a resemblance to an eye. It has the following text over it:

“First you turn my dog against me, then you steal my ship’s core? What’s next, pulling my teeth?”

“We didn’t ask for this! You attacked us! Why don’t you just let us go?”

“I might as well cover myself in tartar sauce, then go swimming in shark infested waters! My lieutenants would tear me to shreds, just the same!”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TymeStarwitch

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233d

25% off @ Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1667520

The Hunter seeks peace and quiet to mourn the loss of her best friend in a world that seems bound and determined to make that task impossible. Enemies attack when she’d rather be alone, allies can’t take a hint and the arch-demon Wrath seeks the Hunter’s hand in marriage, even though she’d sooner kill him.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #actionadventure #fiction #books

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294d

Finally read this essay that I saw so highly recommended — and those recommending it were right. Love heartfelt writing? Hate AI slop? Give yourself a treat to start the new year and read this glorious piece by @WeirdWriter if you haven’t done so yet.

https://sightlessscribbles.com/the-colonization-of-confidence/

h/t @mayintoronto

#writing #AI #LLM #GenAI

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156d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TheThirdWish

Spies, aliens, trolls, wizards and a disowned prince use a time machine, to improve their place in history, but Levi Jacobs stands in their way, despite having just lost his parents in war. Will he stop them or will the time travelers kill his father at a pivotal moment, on which the fate of the galaxy hangs?

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

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219d

Chapter 11 of She Consumes Poison is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/153820/scarlet-eye

Ulmoch is used to demonstrate the physical durability of demons, using more of Shaw's weapons, but the masochist demon treats the lesson like a romantic overture, enjoying the pain.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #actionadventure #fiction #witches #demons #vampires #webseries

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232d

25% off @ Smashwrods: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1657116

After encountering the worst life has to offer, including the death of his wife and child, destruction of his home world, an addiction forced on him by the one responsible and a third of the galaxy falling under the heel of that tyrant, Levi Jacobs, a wizard, seeks to unravel the secrets of time and fate.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of The Inverted Glass, by Owen Tyme.

The Background is a pink and purple nebula in space.

The foreground is largely line art, in white, with a black shadow outline.

At the center is an hourglass. The bottom has black sand, with a white figure standing in it. The top has is an inverted mirror image of the bottom, with a black figure in white sand.

The hourglass serves as the balance point for a set of scales, which hold a heart and a feather. The heart is on the left and the feather on the right. The heart is lower than the feather.

(Right) Lying in blue sand is a heart made of the same sand, full of cracks. It glows from the inside in a warm, yellow color. Over that is the following quote:

Nicole felt an extreme kind of loss, realizing she’d been stolen away from the afterlife, just before finding out if she deserved punishment or not!

“How dare you do this to me? Why?”

“I’m always in need of strong spirits and I’ve seen none stronger. You have unique talents I refuse to see go to waste.”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TheInvertedGlass

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218d

Ebook and print: https://books2read.com/SheGoesToWar

With the return of her arch-nemesis to the world in 1972, the Hunter literally goes to war, finding herself drawn to Vietnam, once more backed up by her demon-hunting allies, but as all that faced the horrors of the Vietnam War, she finds her time there trying and emotionally difficult.

@bookstodon
#indieauthor #writing #fantasy #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of She Goes to War, by Owen Tyme, illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

Three people dressed in tiger-stripe camouflage crouch near the edge of a jungle, in Veitnam. The jungle is a mixture of bamboo and ferns.

The first is a girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She wears a dress, top hat and elbow-length fingerless gloves. She points out of the jungle.

The second is a hispanic man and his skin is covered in greasepaint, to make him blend in even better. He wears a military uniform, including a hat with a round brim and leans on an AK-47 for support. His vest has pouches large enough for spare magazines for his weapon. He looks through a pair of binoculars at what the girl is pointing at.

The third is huge and has the head of a cat, with black fur and green eyes. He wears a military uniform.

(Right) The view from the back of a military cargo plane, with the rear hatch open, in flight, while cargo is dropped for descent via parachute, with the following quote over the top:

“Did you see that?”

“No! I officially *never* saw that crate! I *did not* see the flash of a sword cut the crate apart and *very specifically* didn’t see it explode into a shower of thousands of dinner rolls, with a teenage girl in the middle!”

“Good! I was afraid I was the only one that hadn’t seen that!”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/SheGoesToWar

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