rainstardragon | Entries tagged with news

The minions have been hard at work behind the scenes to rewrite the game from the ground up. There are numerous changes more than can be listed and some stuff is probably broken or has been forgotten. If you find anything raise a help ticket by clicking "Help" in the menu, or messaging me here! Dragon fangs are on a two for one sale to celebrate the relaunch.

www.DragonHeartsRPG.com

Redoing the game from the bottom up for Dragon Hearts 2.0 has been a years-long project. We've relaunched the gamesite. It looks very different than 1.0 did. For older players it may be a bit confusing. For new players it is hopefully easier to navigate.

Amehana (Teresa Garcia) will be working on a tutorial video and intends to have it ready soon.

Thank you to all the players that have been submitting things they've found that slipped by everyone in beta.

Last month did not give me the opportunity to keep up with the haiku a day challenge. However, my uncle seemed to be getting better when I went to visit him with my mother. We saw another of her brothers and other various family members along the way. Due to this, we did not have to have as many hotel rooms as we might have had to.

We also got a good reminder of what happens when I push too far at driving, and of what exhaustion can induce. I was not allowed to drive as much as I would have shouldered otherwise.

With that out of the way, it is time to at least catch up and post enough haiku to make up for last month's derailed attempt. I will not partake in March of Robots this year though. I have too many other things on my plate, including a very exciting prospective one.

15

The rushing winter

Fingers, combs a stony face.

Wind carving time out

16

Expand, contract, wait

Thaw, freeze, stretch, crack, chip, crumble

Fall, Tumble, Change, Grow

17

Bittersweet darkness

Languid in a mobile pool

Embraces daydreams

18

Constantly rolling

Miles fall away swift behind

Yet more always loom

19

Floating high above

Shining mantles spread across

A cobalt steel sky

20

Steel lace froths across

Satin smooth waters deep and dark

Where dreams lay rest

21

One leaf, then the next

Turns and falls away upon

The spine once tight bound

22

Drop by steady drop

Her fringe grows long, clear, and pure

Above empty eyes

23

A path winding down

Never knows until the day

The drop from the end

24

Frost sparkle skin lays

Glowing below sun fingers

Waiting to be marred

25

A blanket of green

Drowses beneath the empty boles

Spring slowly waking

26

Lights dance within the

Gash of the eager cavern

Moss hiding the path

27

A Mountain Maiden

Presides above the valley

Granting her water

28

A claw rakes paper

Watching as the ink spreads out

And a month ends dark

If these haiku have been appreciated, you can support me at my Patreon, or feel free to Venmo, Cashapp, or even send tips via Square and Paypal which can all be found at my Linktree. https://www.linktr.ee/Amehana

I have recently submitted the final files for "Enneagram: A Complete Guide to Understanding Your Personality and Improving Your Relationship" by David Gain. Running the figures on this title for all the hours I put in on it versus my per finished hour pay I will earn less than minimum wage, though part of it was because of having to do some re-recording before I even submitted.

When stressed, I have discovered the mic picks up my electric field very well...

A long overdue project has also been finished. I have finally gotten the audio done for an audiobook version of my neice's poetry book. It will be on my Gumroad store, ACX/Audible, and Findaway Voices is to distribute it to many platforms for me. Elizabeth be collecting half of the royalties from me. Patreon Patrons at or above the $5 tier have the option to collect a copy.

There is a possible book already knocking at my door. Hopefully that will go easily. I'm taking all the jobs I can trying to make up for the lost income. It's nice to have titles coming to me instead of chasing for auditions. We'll see how that goes. The trick is getting everything balanced once things start rolling well without negatively impacting family/health needs, my longstanding testing/writing client, and my longstanding illustration client.

I'm waiting for the yes or no on the redone art sample for Hannah Hashbrown to find out when/if to start blazing my way through the panels.

I'm trying to have time to write for the poetry and Selkies' Skins projects, though that rush audiobook kind of killed that the past few days. It would have been a busy several days anyway with the Halloween events in SL and RL, as well as the Silent Supper and Lacy's memorial. All of those events went well.

I need to finish those last images for the Inktober prompts, and I need to bang up the Christmas/Yule challenge for Dragon Hearts, a higher priority of course on Dragon Hearts than my personal art.

Crossposts: https://rainstardragon.livejournal.com/1184825.html

Well, this is rather concerning given how close my house is to the volcano, the fact that there's been fighting recently on the property (with my home always being a bit of a shrine in part TO the spirit of this particular volcano... and things having happened here that would certainly annoy a volatile spirit). I doubt that's what triggered the slow change in groundwater type or the earthquakes... but don't add to it...

Yes, you may eyeroll at my superstition.

https://activenorcal.com/5-earthquakes-recorded-near-mount-shasta

Crossposts: https://rainstardragon.livejournal.com/1183486.html

I'm almost ready to release the next installment of Selkies' Skins: Temple and Skinquest. That's not today though.

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I have some big news that I've been quiet about other than with a very tiny handful until the contract was signed. An author that I met in one of my author and book club books alerted me that Pen It! Publications was looking for an illustrator. I immediately turned around and sent an application as I had some free slots in my client space. Each client, long or short term, makes it that much easier to make ends meet. I was very certain I'd have time to do work for them as well.

A bit of back and forth conversation ensued. The result: I signed the contract when it came in and sent it back. I found word today that it's been received, logged, and accepted.

I'm now on staff for Pen It! Publications as well.

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This should not impact my writing or personal projects. I won't be posting work for Pen It! on my Patreon, as projects received through them will be for books, though I retain rights to my work. I will be posting though when books I've illustrated through them go to print and are available (and where to get them), and probably include a sample or something similar.

I am still available for editing, freelance illustration, services through THG StarDragon Publishing (starting prenegotiation rates are posted on the Facebook page, but are not on the site yet due to life events), and narration.

Crossposts: http://rainstardragon.livejournal.com/1158025.html

Most of you know that the good laptop died. The motherboard on my newer Toshiba died after the dvd drive driver problem started, leaving me on my older Toshiba that does not handle the heavier tasks well (or in some cases, at all). Several people have been helping me out by sending me links to good deals on laptops that would fit my needs. I ended up buying one off of the Microsoft store that I was pointed to, as well as a stylus/brush for tablet/touchscreen for the artwork. I managed to save about $200 that way, which as everyone knows goes a long way.
At about $650 or so though the new laptop will still take a few payments to my credit card company to pay off. At least I have one and so was able to get one fairly quickly, certainly much faster than if I'd not. Part of the Patreon funds that I receive are going to go toward paying that off in my tally of income and expenditures, and part will be set aside to help with getting the office built, probably during the deck revamp (none of us are happy with the big hole in it, but at least it is safe to walk on now, unlike when the house was bought). The laptop came in earlier than I expected. Today. The stylus will hopefully arrive tomorrow. I already unboxed the laptop. My room is still in such chaos trying to get all my office, bedroom, and closet things settled that I will spare you the bags and boxes. I will, however, attempt to have things cleared enough to do a short video with it in the next few days, probably AFTER the weekend, so that it can be seen where the combined funds are going. I probably don't need to do so, but I do enjoy being able to show that what you are so generous to give me to help truly does go to things for work and to help with the care of the kids.

Man, do those kids eat...

With the end of the moving tasks approaching and the arrival of the laptop that also means more writing time is in the future (finally, right?) and thus more poetry and more Selkies' Skins. Hopefully soon I'll also be able to do a recording of the other poems for Youtube. Sadly I haven't gotten a chance to check on if the latest edits of the readings that had been meant for Halloween are in my backup hard drive, or on the laptop waiting for me to reclaim with the data backup that was done in shop.

Crossposts: http://rainstardragon.livejournal.com/1141332.html

The art for the print edition's cover was delivered to me on the 17th, St Paddy's day. There have been a few complications at home that slowed getting the text elements laid onto it...but it is ready and the proof will be on the way very soon.

For those that would like a poster version of the artwork without the bookcover's textual elements, it is available on Zazzle to purchase for $19.90. Proceeds from any sales of the poster art will be split between myself and the artist, Samantha Buckley.
http://www.zazzle.com/kirsty_the_half_selkie_and_lady_maras_rage-228898304578051264