Website Stuff

Get Ready for Some Changes

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Get Ready for Some Changes

Wow. It has been a while, hasn’t it?

Well, if anyone is still reading this, get ready for some changes. I’m going to get back to blogging a little more frequently than “once every few years.” One thing I’m going to be doing is to expand people’s knowledge of more obscure parts of history like Byzantium and Scottish mythology from the pre-Christian era.

I’ll also probably be revamping some of the features around here and updating the links.

*chisels the dust off*

Well, hell, it’s about time, isn’t it?

— G.K.

Holy Crap, I’m Back

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Holy Crap, I'm Back

Okay, so it’s been a while. As in almost a year and a half. What can I say? Life began kicking my ass in mid-2015 and I was too exhausted to deal with it. However, things have been (slowly) getting better and I’m kind of getting over it. That said, there’s no way I’m going to be able to keep up a five or six day a week posting schedule. Three is going to be pushing it but that’s what I’m aiming for.

Yes, one of those three will be a story update on one of my short serials in the future. Probably not for the next few weeks, though, because I need to go back and re-read them and find my notes for them. Instead, I’ll be doing an extra review or posting about writing or something until I get a few chapters in the bag on each story so that I’m not posting with nothing in the bank.

Also, my reviews will continue to have the recommended dosage of 100% USDA Grade A Prime Choice Zebracorn. Because zebracorns are awesome.

So, let’s get started again, shall we?

— G.K.

Fanfic Friday — Star Trek Voyager: Inosculation Updated!

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Fanfic Friday -- Star Trek Voyager: Inosculation Updated!

So, fingers crossed because today is a big day. I have an interview lined up that could be interesting. And, while I’m off doing that, here’s the second chapter of my Voyager fanfic for those of you who have been asking me about it. Yes, Star Trek Voyager: Inosculation has been updated. I will be updating this story every Friday. If you’re curious, my current plan is to update The Masterminds on Monday, The Search for the Seven Scepters on Tuesday, In the Shadow of Yggdrasil on Wednesday, Risen Ash on Thursday, and Star Trek Voyager: Inosculation on Friday. A couple of people have been pinging me about getting Alayne’s Story (my insanely, epically-long World of Warcraft fanfic that I wrote over the course of five years) up on this site. A few others have been asking if I’m planning to put Adrift up here as well and a few are asking if I’ve posted it over at AO3. The answers to those questions are: yes. I am planning to add them to this site and I did post Adrift to AO3. No, I’m not going to put them up on Tumblr (the formatting is too big a PITA). There are a few problems with Alayne’s Story that need to be ironed out first but it will be up here once those are taken care of and I’ve had time to get a cover image done for it. I’ll also be adding it to Fanfiction.net and Wattpad as well as AO3.

I’ve had a couple-of-five of you email me via my contact form to ask if I’ll be putting any of my fanfics up on Amazon for 0.00. Short answer in universal sign language below:

I know that Amazon said they were working something out where fanfics could be distributed for free or sold if the rights-holders agreed. I don’t know what came of that (I’ve not kept up with it at all). In theory, I could *probably* give them away in Kindle format via Amazon (again, I *really* need to research the terms of that. I’m not promising a damned thing) or via this website (definitely could do that last one) so long as I credit the original source. The problem is that some places are pretty cool with derivative-work fan creators (Blizzard) and don’t mind too much if they have a tip jar or are selling other things or have a premium access area on their site so long as they don’t actually sell the fanwork itself. Other places (CBS, Paramount, Auntie Beeb) are a little less far down the “cool” spectrum and G.K. can’t afford awesomesauce lawyers. Factor in that, technically, fanfics are a form of copyright infringement and trademark dilution and if I were to profit from it those guys really have no choice but to come after me with a fifty-ton hammer of smiting and it’s just a headache I’m not sure I want to deal with.

Why do you think I’m not running ads on this site? It’s not because I couldn’t use the money. It’s because I’m fucking terrified that if I did, I’d have the BBC and Blizzard suing me for money I don’t fucking have and will never fucking get. We’ll ignore, for now, the fact that I’m also personally liable to David Tennant, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Helmsworth, Anthony Hopkins, AMC, Alexander Enderberg, Norman Reedus, Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Melissa McBride, and Eric Calderone (among countless others) for unauthorized use of their names and/or personal likenesses. Never mind that I took those likenesses from photos that were released to the public domain by their press representatives or publicists. Technically, the argument could be made and G.K. Masterson and family does not have the money to make a convincing counter-argument before a judge in the US or the UK.

I’m doing my best to stay well under the radar when it comes to my fanworks. I had actually seriously considered sending some of my legit work to a few of my favorite actors as a way of saying “thanks” for the countless hours of entertainment and inspiration they’ve afforded me. However, once I realized how trivial it would be for them to link my legit works to my fanworks (and that was a dumbass move on my part there) and just how liable I was on that, I ditched that idea. The repository sites like Fanfiction.net, AO3, and Wattpad can get away with it because of how they function and because of the terms they present to users. I can also post my own works here as an archive. But selling them, even at 0.00, via Amazon or anything like that…well, it gets really, really tricky when there’s a remote chance of “profiting” from the work at all even if it’s just “someone read my fanfic and bought my legit work while on my website.”

tl;dr — It’s a hassle and, tbh, I have enough stress in my life already so I’ll pass for now, thanks.

Anyway, go on and enjoy this week’s chapter of Star Trek Voyager: Inosculation!

— G.K.

Zombie Apocalypse, Epic Fantasy, Police Thriller — Oh My!

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Zombie Apocalypse, Epic Fantasy, Police Thriller -- Oh My!

Good news, everyone! I haven’t forgotten you all this week. I just have had an insanely crazy-hectic-oh-my-God-it’s-been-weird kind of week and weekend preceding it which meant that I didn’t have time to get the updates I had finished integrated until this Wednesday night. However, hopefully things will be turning around soon-ish so my life will be a bit more stable and you’ll be getting your chapters on a more predictable time-frame. That said, all is not puppies, kittens, and rainbows in Warden’s Keep. Rooster and Pig’s other owner has had a serious medical emergency. He’s okay but I’m scrambling to take care of getting this quarter’s royalty statements done and sent out as well as finishing up the new R&P website and eCommerce site. There’s also a good bit of trying to figure out who’s doing what, when, and all and trying to take care of my own side of things.

Sometimes I think Sisyphus is a slacker, yo.

Anyway, the latest chapters of The Masterminds, The Search for the Seven Scepters, In the Shadow of Yggdrasil, and Risen Ash are up for all of you who are looking to scratch your zombie apocalypse, epic fantasy, or police thriller itches or cravings. So go and get your reads on!





Don’t forget that you can back me on Patreon or support my writing habit by getting a membership here now!

— G.K.

New Chapters Up for Two out of Four

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New Chapters Up for Two out of Four

So, I’ve just added new chapters for The Masterminds and In The Shadow of Yggdrasil. Go on and get to reading. I’m finishing up the last bits of the other two and will have them posted in a few hours so stay tuned! For now, I have some work to do!




Go on, get reading. And remember, you can always subscribe or back me on Patreon if you want to read more things more often!

— G.K.

So, couple of announcements…

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So, couple of announcements...

*taps microphone* Is this thing on?

So, as you can see, I’ve been a bit busy in the background completely redesigning this site from the ground up. Don’t get me wrong — I liked the old theme and all but it was getting a little dated and I wanted something more mobile friendly. Also, I decided to tackle a new venture: Patreon.

That’s right. I’m going to be posting my short stories and serials here and over there as well. You can get them here for free (as you have always been able to do with any of my non-published short-form work or my fanfics). But, if you want to go there and back me, you’ll get some pretty cool rewards for doing so. It’s a bit like Kickstarter…only, different.

And, as you can also see, I’ve been working on a lot of new writing projects. I’m just tweaking some layout bugs tonight but tomorrow you guys are going to see some of the stuff I’ve been writing in the background. If I can get enough support via Patreon, I’ll be able to write more frequently and provide more updates. Other writers, comic artists, and musicians have made it work for them so I figure I might as well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

— G.K.

Getting Back to Basics

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Getting Back to Basics

It’s been ages since I’ve posted an update. I know, I’m horrible. I wish I could say I’d spent a lot of time working on Midnight of Lanar’ya but the truth is I haven’t. Things with my job have been hectic and most evenings, by the time I get home, I just veg out playing video games or watching movies or TV shows (Doctor Who being my current favorite).

However, over the past few weeks, Midnight of Lanar’ya has been demanding my attention again. So, I’ve started getting my notes organized (nearly a year between writing will make you need your notes) and I’m going back through Twilight of Lanar’ya to make certain everything is up-to-date on my notes. I’m hoping to get cracking on this novel again within the next few weeks.

I am also looking for a job that won’t drain me as much as the one I have does. Don’t get me wrong; I work hard and give my all to this job. It’s just that the hours and the environment are not really conducive to me having the energy I need to keep writing in the evenings. On top of that, my sleep apnea has been really acting up meaning I’m almost in a hypnotic state most of the time.

I’ve made a pact with myself to try to post an update here at least a couple of times a week. I’m also going to link to more author sites and try to get to know some other indie fantasy/sci-fi writers to see if they have any advice for balancing a full-time job and a writing schedule.

But, for now, I’m going to get cracking on my notes.

New Page and New Theme

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New Page and New Theme

I got sick of hacking away on a theme that just would not lay out correctly so I went and found one done along the lines of what I wanted. So, yeah, the site has a new look. I hope you like it.

I’ve also finally gotten around to fixing the Alayne’s Story: Cast pages and added a page about Mir’el Darkweaver.

I’ve been rather busy helping my mother launch her new site over at Grandparents-Rights.org, hence the paucity of posts in the past few weeks.

And now, back to work!

What’s this? A post not on a Friday?

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…I know. Be still my beating heart.

You may have noticed a few updates on the sidebar over there. Well, yeah, I finally got around to adding my Twitter feed here since I’ve actually started updating it a bit more than once-per-year. I decided that if a US Congressman can tweet pictures of his package without consequence, certainly I could Tweet about things I’m working on without getting into too much trouble.

Also, this is going to upset all five of you who were following it, but The Unexiled is shelved again. Sadly, as much as I want to work on it and finish it, I find myself having to force it too much. The concept itself is good — solid, in fact. The characters are complex and well-thought-out. However, I just don’t think I have the skills or discipline as a novelist to pull off all that I’m trying to do in that series. So, I’m putting it on hold for now (but I will not be restarting it entirely. Just setting it aside until my skills can match my ambition) and have instead started cranking out a new novel that is ridiculously easy to write.

Twilight of Lanar’ya is based extremely loosely off a campaign setting I designed and ran for my D&D group in college. By “loosely” I mean there are two organizations that are named the same thing but work in completely different manners and there’s one character from the campaign who has the same name and appearance but does different things for completely different reasons than he did in the campaign. The four other people who ran through it with me will not recognize it. I’m only naming it the same thing because the arcs are somewhat similar (while being entirely different…other writers will know what I mean) and because I like the name. I invented the name so I figure I get to use it if I want to.

I just started writing it about two and a half weeks ago and the thing has flowed like silk. I don’t have to force anything with it. I barely had to outline it at all. Just a few simple notes, a couple of references to keep my setting consistent, a map of South America since I absolutely suck at maps, and it was off to the races.

I’m hoping that once I finish this three-parter, I’ll have developed the skills and discipline I’d need as a novelist to pull off The Unexiled. I finally realized that Robert Jordan did not sit down to write The Wheel of Time as his first series. Sure, he’d had the idea for a while, but he held off committing to it until he knew he could give it the skill it needed. I have to admit that while I am an okay writer, I’m nowhere near good enough to accomplish my goals with The Unexiled just yet so I’m setting it aside until I can give it the skill it deserves.

Well, with that said, back to work! Oh — and I’m still looking for a job. If anyone knows a place that is looking for a highly-skilled web designer with extensive familiarity with web scripting, programming, and CMSes ranging from vB Publishing Suite to WordPress, Blogger, Joomla!, and phpWebSite who is also decent to adept at graphic design and content editing and they’re willing to pay at least $45k per year, feel free to point me to them!

Work work work

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So, I managed to hit 85 on Geralin and am working my way through the various dungeons while trying to make sense of the greater story in Cataclysm. I’m also playing through the Goblin and Worgen starter zones looking for tidbits to use from them.

I anticipate beginning working on Part IV this weekend and starting posting it the first week of the year. However, I will be in the US from the 18th to the 28th so my writing may be delayed a bit. I’m hoping to get the rest of the Cast of Characters page done in the meantime and I’m going to get the progress bar fixed once and for all.

At any rate, I just wanted to give you a little update in case you were wondering where I vanished.

And now, back to work.