... from lesson 1 of the online tutorial, though my sub's prettier than theirs ...
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Rik the Unproductive?
It's amazing what happens when Rik manages to distract himself from the writing.
First there was the whole publishing stuff to Kindle thing (publishing the Tome (UKians go here) was easy; working out how to publish poetry was a right bugger).
Then there was the idea of doing a booktrailer to promote the Tome - well, lotsa people are getting a Kindle for crimbo, so why not get them to read the Tome in the new year? Which led Rik to downloading a whole host of new software for making the booktrailer: FotoMorph for mucking around with photos, OpenMPT for composing a soundtrack to the potential video (hollow logs and blowing-over-milk-bottles stuff, if you're asking), MS Expression Encoder 4 for capturing video of a spinning (GoogleEarth) globe of Rik's constructed world - because it's cool, 'kay, etc, etc, etc. Which all needs to be learned and mastered before Rik getsdown to the actual building the booktrailer thing.
Is that enough distraction-from-writing-books to be getting on with? Of course not! Rik's latest idea is to have a stunning booktrailer showing people some of the story ... which, as Rik doesn't have money for actors and the like, means doing it in animation. But not any old animation, oh no. Rik has to do it in proper 3D raytraced animation, which means he's downloaded that granddaddy of bastard software packages to learn - Blender - and he's already 3 days into learning how to model like an old pro.
So Rik apologises for not writing and editing more of the work-in-progress. He cannot resist the shiny.
First there was the whole publishing stuff to Kindle thing (publishing the Tome (UKians go here) was easy; working out how to publish poetry was a right bugger).
Then there was the idea of doing a booktrailer to promote the Tome - well, lotsa people are getting a Kindle for crimbo, so why not get them to read the Tome in the new year? Which led Rik to downloading a whole host of new software for making the booktrailer: FotoMorph for mucking around with photos, OpenMPT for composing a soundtrack to the potential video (hollow logs and blowing-over-milk-bottles stuff, if you're asking), MS Expression Encoder 4 for capturing video of a spinning (GoogleEarth) globe of Rik's constructed world - because it's cool, 'kay, etc, etc, etc. Which all needs to be learned and mastered before Rik getsdown to the actual building the booktrailer thing.
Is that enough distraction-from-writing-books to be getting on with? Of course not! Rik's latest idea is to have a stunning booktrailer showing people some of the story ... which, as Rik doesn't have money for actors and the like, means doing it in animation. But not any old animation, oh no. Rik has to do it in proper 3D raytraced animation, which means he's downloaded that granddaddy of bastard software packages to learn - Blender - and he's already 3 days into learning how to model like an old pro.
So Rik apologises for not writing and editing more of the work-in-progress. He cannot resist the shiny.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The RikVerse on Kindle
Hot on the heels of my first Kindle eChap, I'm releasing the other four chaps as a single book. This is possibly silly, as maybe people would prefer to download 22 poems rather than have to wade through 88. And apparently (according to some) the more books you have for sale on Amazon, the more sales you're likely to make. But what the heck.
The RikVerse Volume 1 for US Kindlians ($4.99ish, hopefully cheaper)
The RikVerse Volume 1 for UK Kindlians (£3.67)
The RikVerse Volume 1 for US Kindlians ($4.99ish, hopefully cheaper)
The RikVerse Volume 1 for UK Kindlians (£3.67)
Saturday, December 18, 2010
'To Posterity' and the Kindle
Kindle is shit for poetry, but I've been experimenting and may have come up with a way of showing linebreaks and strophe breaks that doesn't make the eyes bleed (too much).
Painting
|
| Walls are not blank. They soak in lives, each pore
| in the mortar a pit to house outbursts and tears.
|—
| We chose the scheme together: a brush of faint cream;
| a slice of simnel; a feather of fresh-hatched chick.
|—
| And so we paint: this emulsion stroke shall cover
| the time we argued the length of a bottle of whisky.
|—
| I texture the colour with cobwebs, old nets to catch
| forgotten meals, parties; the husks of anniversaries.
|—
| As the room grows in its new coat I follow your lines:
| dab wet gloss on the skirting, wipe spats from my hair.
|—
| When it is done, we make a good memory - a kiss -
| for the walls to record. A cat-hair glides in the fume.
To Posterity for US Kindlians ($2.99ish)
To Posterity for UK Kindlians (£2.21)
Painting
|
| Walls are not blank. They soak in lives, each pore
| in the mortar a pit to house outbursts and tears.
|—
| We chose the scheme together: a brush of faint cream;
| a slice of simnel; a feather of fresh-hatched chick.
|—
| And so we paint: this emulsion stroke shall cover
| the time we argued the length of a bottle of whisky.
|—
| I texture the colour with cobwebs, old nets to catch
| forgotten meals, parties; the husks of anniversaries.
|—
| As the room grows in its new coat I follow your lines:
| dab wet gloss on the skirting, wipe spats from my hair.
|—
| When it is done, we make a good memory - a kiss -
| for the walls to record. A cat-hair glides in the fume.
To Posterity for US Kindlians ($2.99ish)
To Posterity for UK Kindlians (£2.21)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Buying 'The Gods in the Jungle' for your Kindle:
USA - this page, or paste the following into your address bar and press return:
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Jungle-ebook/dp/B004GB1666
UK - this page, or paste the following into your address bar and press return:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gods-in-the-Jungle/dp/B004GB1666
Ireland - I assume you need to use the UK store
Canada - not yet listed, may be able to get it from the US
Australia/New Zealand - apparently you use the US store
Germany/France - not listed
Rest of the world - ???
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Jungle-ebook/dp/B004GB1666
UK - this page, or paste the following into your address bar and press return:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gods-in-the-Jungle/dp/B004GB1666
Ireland - I assume you need to use the UK store
Canada - not yet listed, may be able to get it from the US
Australia/New Zealand - apparently you use the US store
Germany/France - not listed
Rest of the world - ???
Monday, December 13, 2010
A Crimbo Prezzie for Both Readers of this Blog
It is the time for being un-grinchy and stuff, so I thought it would be a nice gesture for the season if I offered you both a present, as a way of saying thank you for sticking with this blog during its intermittent postings and occasional tantrums. Also, the lack of kitten photos.
So I've decided to give you both a copy of my book The Gods in the Jungle. For free. Happy Crimbotide!
All you have to do to get your crimbo prezzie is pop over to the book's homepage on Smashwords and press the buy button. When you get to the checkout, enter this coupon code ...
MC59R
... and the complete book shall be yours, gratis, forever more.
Coupons need to be redeemed on or before 24 December 2010.
Good reading, my friends, and the blessings of the season to you and yours!
So I've decided to give you both a copy of my book The Gods in the Jungle. For free. Happy Crimbotide!
All you have to do to get your crimbo prezzie is pop over to the book's homepage on Smashwords and press the buy button. When you get to the checkout, enter this coupon code ...
MC59R
... and the complete book shall be yours, gratis, forever more.
Coupons need to be redeemed on or before 24 December 2010.
Good reading, my friends, and the blessings of the season to you and yours!
All quiet on the quiet front?
Indeed no. I wish it were quieter but, since the last post, I have:
- almost completed all of my crimbotide shopping, and put up decorations and stuff
- got my teeth fixed, and a new pair of glasses
- struggled manfully through a bout of manflu (which wasn't swineflu)
- started learning about how to write stage plays for my OU creative writing course
- submitted lots of applications for lots of jobs
But the most important bits of news are that I have started investigating the possibilities of becoming self-employed, because I have been signing on for 6 months now and it's becoming obvious that there's no Rik-shaped jobs out there (I'm either overqualified or lacking a degree) ... more news on this as and when it develops.
And, most exciting of all, I'm reworking my second novel - SpinTrap. This is taking what I've done before, massively improving the writing and generally getting it back on track (I've discovered the plot! Huzzah!). The work to date can be viewed on Authonomy; comments, crits and feedback are all very generously welcomed.
- almost completed all of my crimbotide shopping, and put up decorations and stuff
- got my teeth fixed, and a new pair of glasses
- struggled manfully through a bout of manflu (which wasn't swineflu)
- started learning about how to write stage plays for my OU creative writing course
- submitted lots of applications for lots of jobs
But the most important bits of news are that I have started investigating the possibilities of becoming self-employed, because I have been signing on for 6 months now and it's becoming obvious that there's no Rik-shaped jobs out there (I'm either overqualified or lacking a degree) ... more news on this as and when it develops.
And, most exciting of all, I'm reworking my second novel - SpinTrap. This is taking what I've done before, massively improving the writing and generally getting it back on track (I've discovered the plot! Huzzah!). The work to date can be viewed on Authonomy; comments, crits and feedback are all very generously welcomed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
