#update

For the past three or four or however many years now, I've been struggling to answer one simple question: What's the best medium for me to tell my story? I tried writing it as a book, but it quickly became apparent to me that the story wanted to be told through a visual medium. "No problem," I thought, "I'll make it a webcomic! I love comics, and I've been meaning to get into visual art, so this is the perfect chance to do it!"
  Cue *Curb Your Enthusiasm* theme. Learning to draw is good and all, but when I think about the sheer quantity of work it would take to illustrate a story as long as thing one, it really makes me question that decision. Earlier this year I tried again to squeeze the story into a purely written medium, but I wasn't really pleased with the result. But then, I had an epiphany. There was a simple solution to all of my problems, one that had been staring me in the face for years. Ladies, gents, and non-binary friends, I am pleased to announce that Tales from the Imaginary Tavern is going to be (drum roll please)…
  A visual novel.
  Yeah, honestly, I wish I had thought of this sooner. It really is the best of both worlds: I get to tell my story visually as God intended, but with a significantly reduced workload. It gives me an excuse to do coding (which, unlike visual art, I already know how to do), and it even opens the door for some interactive storytelling elements. Plus, marketing an indie game is much more in my wheelhouse than marketing an indie book or indie comic.
  For the first time, this project feels less like a pipe dream and more like something I can actually accomplish. This is the most optimistic I've been about one of my projects basically ever, and words cannot describe how excited I am. I will let you know more as soon as there is more to know. Until then, watch this space.
  #visualnovel #update

“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright…“
 

-Someone Elsewood

  hear the clip
 

Hello, wonderful people. Today's Update is a bonus for everyone to read: both paying subscribers and free followers!

  I am so grateful to you all for being awesome and supporting me throughout this journey, Not only have some of you been subscribing, but adding one-off donations which is just so amazing. Special shout out to Dreamcartographer for donating to my Ko-Fi the other day while I was streaming on Twitch! <3
  I have been trying to be less shy about promoting my projects and soliciting donations as of late. Right now, I am not in the best financial situation, but I appreciate what I have. I know that it is not at all anything to take for granted. Still, it would be lovely to be a bit more comfortable and not worry as much. Especially considering that I am about to get laid off from my primary place of employment at the end of January. I still haven’t found any substantially promising substitute. Last time I got laid off from my main income source, I tried to see if it was a sign to maybe start doing my creative gigs full-time and figure out if I could survive from that alone. Unfortunately, it didn’t really take off as much as I needed it to. It was not enough to sustain me, so I had to scramble and find another “real” job. I suppose we’ll see what happens this time.
  I love to support people, but, sometimes, it seems that I am giving more than I am receiving. I need to work something out if I want to be balanced and successful. I suppose I’m just trying to treat people the way I want to be treated, but the golden rule can sometimes make me lose all my gold, unfortunately lol. Perhaps it will get paid back to me one day. Until then, I just have to keep praying and keep going.
  Though I’ve been attempting to improve, I should strive harder to become even better at self-promotion. It’s something that I have been trying so very diligently to work on. I am attempting to find a balance between being wayyyy too passive and being a total nuisance who begs people for donations every time they look up. It seems that neither of those strategies has worked incredibly well for me so far. Either I am doing nothing and asking nothing and getting nothing, or I am doing things and asking things and not getting too many things. Some people have complained about not having a lot of success, only selling a few hundred copies a year lol. I can’t even say I’ve done anything close to that. I know everyone’s situation is different, but, from what I’ve gathered, I feel like people looking at me from the outside think I am more successful and well-off than I really am.
  I am thinking of starting a fundraiser project to see how much I can collect. I really want to build up the hype around Someone’s birthday next year, and drafting up a goal to earn a bit of money will ensure the festivities will be really super extra special! I have a lot of things planned; short audio dramas, story snippets, cool surprise streams, and more! I want at least one piece of new content published every day in February leading up to the big shebang on the 29th itself.
  A lot of people don’t actually notice how expensive it is to do all the things that I do. And I do this a whole lot, most of the time offering it to everyone for free. It takes up a lot of my time and attention. It also costs a lot of money to compensate the voice actors satisfactorily. I want to pay them well because they do an absolutely spectacular job! But I’m also doing some of the voices, along with editing and publishing, producing, advertising, designing, writing, and everything else, but I am not compensated. It’s fun and all, but working seven days a week and still trying to find a way to get things together can be very taxing and costly. I know this, but I don’t really know a solution to the problem that I can implement on my own. I don’t want to stop doing it, but I need to figure something out. People suggest I delegate, but delegation costs money. That’s another reason why I do a lot of things myself.
  Sorry for this lengthy rant. I say this to say thanks to all of you who are following me, paid or not, because you help to motivate me and keep me doing these things for you all. I truly appreciate and cherish your generous support. Words cannot describe how much you mean to me. Still, the inevitable mention is that, like it or not, money makes the world go round. This is one of the reasons I may take a hiatus on certain projects. Thank you for understanding.
  If you are able to support, I will be eternally grateful. If not, but you know people who might be willing to chip in a bit or two to help me out, I would really be honored if you shared my links--my projects--any of my works with anybody. And if there are any perks you’d love to see to help you feel more compelled to contribute to my efforts, please shout them out. I’m going to try to get merch up and stuff like that. I already have some things going that have been established for a while, but I don’t do enough advertising. Perhaps I’ll be changing that soon but hopefully not to the point of painfully unbearable annoyance lol.
  I love each and every one of you so very much! God bless and great success to you with all the stuff! Sending so many prayers and hugs. <3
  #writerslife #update #support #love

Many thanks to my followers and patrons for your patience. My full novel, In Spite of the Inevitable, is now available in Manuscripts for my Patreon patrons! Which means no more notifications about it. (I tried to spread it out so as to not overwhelm anyone.)   This novel will be available for sale on 17 November, 2023. More Details Here.   For those who can't wait, or who are looking for a free copy, applications are still open for Advanced Review Copies. More details below:   (For other opportunities for free books, keep an eye on my website! Or join my mailing list, and get a free novella prequel to my novel!)   Follow Vazdimet for more updates!   #Vazdimet #Update #Inevitable #Free

It has been a long time since I've written an update, and a lot has happened, but I'll attempt to be concise (and likely fail miserably).  

Vazdimet

 

Vazdimet Studios

I have officially made the decision to self publish my novels, rather than submit them to traditional publishers. This allows me a lot more freedom, while also guaranteeing I can tell all the stories I wish to tell - provided I have enough time to write them all down of course!  

Website and Mailing List

With this new decision comes a new publisher name and a new website! Visit vazdimet.com to check it out, and maybe even sign up for my new mailing list while you're there. As you can tell from my lack of updates here, I won't spam you. I do have some great plans on behind the scenes looks into the publishing process, in addition to the usual posts about upcoming books. Currently I am drafting one about TJ's design process for my book cover.  

Novels!

Speaking of which... I am in love. TJ Trewin is amazing. Everything he touches. Check out how world of Melior if you haven't run across it yet   Mordena Dawn Book 1: In Spite of the Inevitable, coming in 2023!   I have slowed down in worldbuilding in favor of writing the actual novels. Book 3 is in work, and the magnificent Dani is working the edits for Book 1 this month. (Check out her world of Luridity, if you haven't yet! Wholesome Romance for a better world.)  

Discussion Boards

The Vazdimet Discussion Boards are also alive and well. Check them out of you'd like to interact with the characters of Vazdimet. We have quite a few threads going.  

Personal Life

In more personal news, things have gotten hectic here. My day job has been... Stressful to put it simply. And then last week I slipped down the stairs so I am home on bedrest with two sprained ankles. Nothing broken thankfully! I did get x-rays at the ER. Won't know much else until next week when I finally have a follow up appointment with an Orthopedic specialist. Everyone else was booked until the end of October.   The pain has subsided, as long as I avoid walking (can't put weight on my left foot at all), although the swelling is lingering. My husband has been phenomenal in taking care of both me and the kids.   This too will pass. Maybe I will even get more time to write, who knows.   I hope you are all doing well! Keep writing!   #Update #Goals #Vazdimet

This has been a busy but productive week. I decided to delay launching my Kickstarter until 2022 (I have a longer writeup in my Patreon if you are seeking more details), which will allow me more opportunity to flesh out the core aspects of Fillimet while also better supporting those in our WorldAnvil community who will be Kickstarting this year.   This week I also released three articles detailing the technology of cryonic freezing, and some corollary articles to dove into different aspects of its effects on Fillimet.   This week expect to see more details about the different classifications of Divine Magic in Fillimet. I have already written about Necromancy, Metamagic, Divination, and Chronomancy, but I have many more planned!  
I also had the opportunity to catch up on my reading this past week. Here are several articles that really stood out to me:   And also a few articles from a Secret Santa, where members of the WorldAnvil community have written stories or adventures in another member's worlds. These are definitely worth reading!     #Vazdimet #Fillimet #Update