What song do you think this choir loves to sing?

This is depressing. Perfectly good alternatives to all Adobe have existed for many years and are used at pro level, but someone hallucinates some code with claude (which I hear was trained on code of programs like gimp and inkscape) and suddenly everyone is raving about it being the end of Adobe, though the thing they praise is at best entry level stuff. But like other snake oil sellers, they claim it will get there, though their "in one month" is now "many months" #artcraft #foss

It is #halloween month and on 1st Nov I will re-release my first collection of stories, A Killing in the Sun. It has enough horror stories to keep you up and frightened all night, with monster mosquitoes, aliens, serial killers, zombies, and your favourite ghosts. The book is now on pre-order in all stores, but you can read a sample story here:
https://www.ododopress.com/short-story-collection/a-killing-in-the-sun/

#books #bookstodon #horror #sff #writing #writingcommunity #amreading

#silentsunday

Off season fruits are so annoying. Either bland or sour. All the fruits I bought this week, mangoes, pawpaw, pineapple, taste like their creator forgot about sugar. So I'm turning them into juice, at least that's drinkable.

And the pawpaw, I haven't met this species before, looks like an alient nest. I'm used to all the seeds stuffed in one pouch in the middle, not in a ring of holes around a middle part that...wtf did this come from?

Lack of sleep is making me grumpy and ranting about fruits

Yesterday I gifted a wallpaper to my patrons. I made it from the cover of my new book. These are some of the thank-you artworks I make for those who support me. Others include a new short story every month, an ebook regularly (at least once a quarter) and a print book once every six months. Yes, and a short film every so often (once a year at least) If you have spare $$, do donate

https://www.patreon.com/dilstories/posts/rewards-eater-of-171150251

#patreon #crowdfunding #kickstarter #art #artist #fedigiftshop #writing #writingcommunity

Life hack. Sprinking salt on a candle increases its lifespan. It burns slower, and longer. I learned this as a kid, growing up with constant loadshedding and candles being a bit too pricey. These days candles are rare as people prefer eletric lights, the harsh blue of phone screens or flat brightness of torches, but there is a charm that candles give, making you think of warmth and solitude.

#lifehack #life #lifestyle

RE: https://bookstodon.com/@ododopress/117324471061537506

So here is my third collection, and unlike the first two where the publishers largely picked the stories, I selected these, opting for a horror theme as I have a large stockpile of stories in that genre waiting to see the light of day. A lot are my earliest works so it will be exciting to revisit those ideas.

There is a sample story that will open the book, on this page, where you can also pre-order.

https://www.ododopress.com/short-story-collection/eater-of-happiness/

#amwriting #AmWritingSFF #books #bookstodon #sff #horror #art

I'm locked out of my own website. I set up 2FA but when I hit send verification code to my email, the email never comes through so I can't log in....

There should be a less frustrating way to do websites other than #wordpress

:-((

Not sure what is happening, but wordpress dashboard is unbearably slow. It takes me an hour or more to post a blog that should have taken 15 minutes or less. Most of the time I'm staring at the whitescreen of blankness. Tried talking to BlueHost but they say they can't find any issues. Now installing a caching plugin and see if it improves.

#wordpress

Yay. I got paperback copies of my novella, The Blossoming of the Big Tree, in the UK, after another author offered to help sell indie books at cons around that country. So the first stop is PictCon in Scotland, 17th Oct, but if you won't attend and are in the UK and want a copy, email Kate via peachfieldpress(at)proton.me

If you are an indie author and want to consider their services, check them out https://peachfieldpress.uk/selling-your-self-published-books/

#solarpunk #books #bookstodon #writingcommunity #writing #sff

Is there a fediverse equivalent to Twitter Spaces? Someone posted in a chat I'm in about missing it, and I was wondering if there is something that can enable a hangout with voice calls, and doesn't require sign in? Like, anyone with the link can simply join in on the conversation. That would be something.

#fediverse #fedi

I keep reading that it is now possible to indent the first line of a paragraph in wordpress using the paragraph block but I failed to do it. Would love to use it on articles longer than 1k words as it looks smarter.

#wordpress

A few days ago I rewarded my patrons with this #wip short story, which I had a bit of fun writing. It is a romance, sort of, but also a whodunit where the two lovers going through a break up find an excuse to work together to solve a murder. Set in the same #solarpunk world as my novella, The Blossoming of the Big Tree.

If you support me on #patreon you get a short story every month, among other perks.
https://www.patreon.com/dilstories/posts/rewards-short-169510745

#patreon #crowdfunding #sff #writingcommunity #writing #blog

This sweater too, bought around the same time. It still keeps me warm on chilly nights and this I can wear it outside of home. It is a Northface product. I had three of them, but the others got lost (one I forgot in a taxi).

Not sure why I'm thinking of these clothes, but they have lasted this long so they deserve a moment of recognition.

I bought this trouser in 2010 when I was in Nepal, and I still wear it. Fits nicely, though feels a little tite. It is still strong, not sure of the material, but its is stretchy, feels like silk, and hasn't faded since. Some of the seams are coming apart now, but it is still wearable. I wear it indoors now, when I'm at home and need something to throw on.

This bird makes the ugliest sound, and so, so loud. The first time I heard it I got nigthmares, of birds with big beaks, and long sharp beaks, coming at me. I think I saw a hornbill that same day (they too make terrifying sounds) but their names are cute. Ibis. Hornbill. You'd think it is something regal, or maybe even a deity.

So here is a sneak into my (backbreaking) process of building a #solarpunk village, which will be the backdrop for my next film, #windshortFilm https://tv.dilstories.com/w/9KBGpnoJkRNpCi6iepg3BM

And over on patreon I've shared some few images of what the streets of this village will look like, and an aerial view of the place. It's been two months of gnashing my teeth and I'm at that point where I want to get this film done with so I can get my life back!
https://www.patreon.com/dilstories/posts/wip-building-168794765

#wip #film #art #patreon

Looking for a #solarpunk book? Here's a review of The Blossoming of the Big Tree, the story of a grandma who coordinates the defense of her decentralized country when a colonizer invades.

“This was a very interesting novella. Science fiction that presents a new world always is… All in all: If Dilman Dila’s goal was to create an interesting and engaging world, then he definitely succeeded.” Limfic review.

Read sample chapter https://www.ododopress.com/novellas/the-blossoming-of-the-big-tree/

#books #bookstodon #sff #scifi #amreading

This scammer almost got me. I was looking at another invite when their email came, and I thought this was genuine since they normally bait us with publishing or promotions offers, not festival invites. What made me frown was the "tell me about your book" and then the give away was that, "all I need from you is a one line response" . Ha! Then I checked the email, and its a gmail address, and I beat myself for almost responding.

#writingcommunity #writing