Tag: Afterthoughts

Skin Hunger Q&A

Well, not too many questions asked, but interesting results to the polls- First and foremost, Jormungandr won a frankly stunning number of votes, and came in first! Also it made me realize I didn’t have her in the fucking Stranger in Paradise poll! Whoopsie. Our recurring characters had the good scores one would expect, and the new characters- by and large- seemed to get some actual decent responses, particularly Ku and the ever-mysterious Grandmother Spider!

As for how people like Li best, 6 votes for as a girl, 3 for as a guy, 3 for as- well, something else. Highly egalitarian, everyone!

What next? There will be updates, with any luck, up to Tuesday the 16th- First a two-part thing I wrote for Christmas for the next two days, then the January first chapter, and finally, a two-parter showing some of the adventures of Oliver and Randall Creed, back in their monster-hunting days.

After that? Gonna depend a lot on what my work schedule looks like. I’m currently working 55 hours a week, so my writing output is variable. The next novel is Actus Deus, an Atina LeRoux story, revolving around the fairy courts, a murder charge (what other kind is there), and swords. I’ll keep you guys updated on my progress as I work my ass through it.

Skin Hunger Afterthoughts

Another novel finished! Good times as always. As always, there will be a brief period before the next story starts- This one, for me to write the next story. I know I’ve fallen behind; Work has been a bear, and relationships more so. Nonetheless, there will still be regular content, and if you can’t stand the lack of my writing- Well, there’s always my patreon! Shilling aside, I’d love to hear any questions or comments people have; I always enjoy talking about my work, and hearing people ask questions shows me that people care enough to think about it, so please, contact me, either in the comments, or via mgexaminer@gmail.com

A few notable things about this story…

The twist- with Ku-Thule being Howard- was something I only really came up with relatively late in the story, but I adjusted it a bit after coming up with it to foreshadow it more- same for Walter having his heart on the wrong side of his body, and a few other things. This is part of why I don’t post the chapters as soon as I finish them- There’s nothing like proper foreshadowing, for me!

One of the things I hate in a lot of modern fantasy stuff is how the magical stuff is somehow magically always kept out of the eye of the public. Like, if any of those things are acknowledged, the rest will all naturally have to come out, and it will become an entirely different kind of genre. I wanted to avoid that- which is why the Atlanteans emerged. I want them to have a real impact on the setting- But in a way that remains nonetheless realistic to how our world might change if weird fish people who are biologically human and who have a culture and technology oriented around divine power were to appear. We’re good at making the amazing seem mundane. But we’re also good at realizing how amazing the mundane can be. I’m looking forward to that, a lot.

While writing this, I had a lot of thoughts leading up to chapter 12 about how, exactly, Horace was going to respond to Betty. For quite a while, I strongly considered having her weakened by him having a lack of faith in her. That he would be wounded by everything that happened, and let her down. I’m very glad I said to hell with that notion, because in a very real way, sometimes, it’s just Horace and Betty against a cold and uncaring cosmos.

Also, you’ll notice, I’ve been foreshadowing the whole ‘Longfish’ thing for quite a long time. I like foreshadowing. Wonder what minor references I’ll be turning into a full story next!

Our usual character polls follow. Remember, this is particularly important because it may very well influence what kind of novellas I suggest for the patreon! You can vote for up to five characters you enjoyed! http://www.strawpoll.me/14687626

And the usual super-serious poll question. http://www.strawpoll.me/14687645

Once again; ask questions all you like!

One last thing: For those who’d like to know exactly when I update, I’ve set up a twitter feed, so any new posts can be found instantly on my twitter, here. https://twitter.com/Helskichinsink

A Stranger in Paradise Afterthoughts

Phew, and there we go- the finish of A Stranger in Paradise, the culmination of my work… thus far! Even as soon as I’d finished A Serpent in Zion, I’d started thinking about this story a lot- but it changed quite substantially in the year and a half between writing A Serpent in Paradise and starting on A Stranger in Paradise. The Prester John and Paradise aspects were fairly set, but my initial thinking had involved a US accountant being sent to Prester John, and discovering that he was Famine’s pawn; I had this idea that he’d be a power-stealing kind of guy, but this wound up becoming more Nash’s hat, and so I decided to tie together Betty into it.

Betty, herself, was interesting to write for this; Putting her out of her place of power to have her face a challenge she couldn’t just claw her way through. Well, not until she got to those sandwiches. It was also interesting to tie up the Jack and Jill plot; this marks the first time I’ve had a plot-line stretching between two stories. I hope seeing them get their asses kicked was satisfying to you readers out there.

And of course, remember. People are strongest when they’re together.

So, onto the character poll! Usual rules apply, vote for as many characters as you like; I can’t promise it will guide my future writing, but it may give me thoughts. http://www.strawpoll.me/13574403

And for my more esoteric poll- Do you want the world to change? Or do you want it to stay the way it is? http://www.strawpoll.me/13569952

As per usual, if you have questions you want to answer, ask them here, or e-mail them to mgexaminers@gmail.com. Remember, your questions- no matter how foolish they may seem- matter a great deal to me. I like to make sure my work is understandable. If there are theories you have, lingering questions remaining behind, or things you’d like to know more about, ask; and you may receive!

Next up is a short story from the perspective of Jenny Nishi, on what it’s like to be an immortal goddess.

Amok Q&A

Well, not a lot in the way of questions, this time around; C’est la vie! But some decent stuff happening nonetheless. First, well, even fewer actual votes for the character poll than I’ve gotten before… Makes me wonder whether I should even bother continuing with them, but considering how low-effort they are and how they still help me get a feeling for the characters people like, I probably will anyway. Ariel got top at 7 votes; Li Fang Fen and Jack Knife got 6 each, and poor Dane only got 2. That leaves Jack Black and Jack and Jill at 1 vote each, with Jackass, Jackfruit, and Jackal at 0 each; Poor bastards. But not exactly surprising.

In more monetary terms, there’s an overwhelming preference for Patreon style things. Here’s the preview link for what I’ve put together. https://patreon.com/preview/034223a0f75f4a4c8c3955bf78b47b7c

Let me break it down

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Delectable Corpse Q&A

Well, there weren’t a whole lot of questions this time around, or votes for that matter; Always a little worrying, but I’ve been getting a lot of new readers, so I soldier ever onwards!

First up, the votes for a short story. Li Xue Zi came in first for this, but Jenny and Heather were close behind. Dean, poor bastard, lags ever behind the others. So I’ll be working on Li Xue Zi’s short story coming up.

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Delectable Corpse Afterthoughts

Hell’s Kitchen Sink will resume on Tuesday, December 20th, with Amok, a story starring Ariel from A Serpent in Zion, Dane Larson from Catfished, and Li Fang Fen from Delectable Corpse. In the meantime, we’ve got a couple things upcoming. First, and most importantly, is a poll. See, I’d like to monetize Hell’s Kitchen Sink someday, and I don’t know that I’ll ever be the right person for publishing books through a traditional publisher. Luckily, there are alternatives; Patreon, self-publishing. But I want to add a little spice to those pots, something beyond just ‘hey, pay me or I won’t write anymore.’ So in that spirit, the first poll is simple: Which character would you like to see get a short story, around the same size as the other Little Myths, covering their time between Delectable Corpse and Amok? This doesn’t include every character I’ve written- Some of them, I’m avoiding for plot reasons.

Heather, Dean, Li Xue Zi, and Jenny Nishi are the four I’ve selected for this. I also have plans for some novellas coming up to cover characters in the future, as a way to expand things a bit. You can vote for more than one, so as to make sure that every character you’re interested in gets a nod.

http://www.strawpoll.me/11842241

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