It's November, which means food and it's also the point in the year where everyone at work starts disappearing for holiday festivities. I cannot wait for Turkey Day. The PWHL also returns this month, so you all need to mentally prepare for me to talk about hockey in future posts until about June or July.
New to the blog, TL:DR. Click the link and you'll jump to a summary of the blog post. Not AI-generated. Just me calling out the important things in the post.
I don't plan for this to be a long post, just trying to get back into the habit of posting. Still working on Grisly Politics. I've only been able to work on this book in the mornings on the weekends due to the course I'm taking and work, but once I finish my course in the next week or so, I'll be able to dedicate more time to it. I'm actually getting close to the first inciting incident of the book. If you know me, I like to have a couple or a few of those depending on the book. This is excluding the Last Pureblood books. Those will vary in the number of inciting incidents due to the overall arching story. Gosh that series is such a behemoth. Clearly, I just distracted myself and I will be talking about that next because obviously my brain has some thoughts it'd like to get out, but let's get back to the topic at hand.
Full disclosure, and I'm going to have to mention this a few times before I release the book, but the first inciting incident is intense. It's emotional, it's messy, and it's human. With what we know about Dax and Eliza, how could it not be? But you have been warned, and I'm only going to give 3 of those. Possibly 4 if I can't stand the level of emotion I provoke with this incident. But yeah that's what's going on with Grisly Politics.
As soon as I pass my certification exam, I'm going dive head first into Fate Unseen and start re-familiarizing myself with whatever I was trying to get accomplished with that story. And since I can't remember what all I've revealed about this book, I'm going to remain silent.When I start my read of it, I'm sure it's all going to come rushing back. I hope with reading the story, it'll amp my brain up to edit it because that's what I had to do to get back into Grisly Politics. Gotta find the joy before I can do anything, which is a little nice. My brain only wants to do things that makes it happy. Aww.
I've been meaning to mention this, but I kept forgetting. However, now that I'm having multiple conversations a day or having this shit shoved down my throat, I felt the need to make a public announcement.
DJ SMALL HATES GENERATIVE AI.
DJ SMALL DOES NOT UTILIZE ANY TYPE OF GENERATIVE AI.
DJ SMALL DOES NOT WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO USE GENERATIVE AI.
DJ SMALL BELIEVES WHOLEHEARTEDLY THAT GENERATIVE AI HAS NO PLACE IN CREATIVE WORK.*
(*Unless the creative work is some sort commentary on AI then in that case it's all right, but within reason.)
If there are any questions about the above statements, please, reach out. I hate Gen AI with a passion and the fact that it's permeating almost every facet of life is just gross.I have no problem with assistive AI, such as spelling or grammar checks or AI used to adjust the volume on a TV when theme song is at 20 for volume, and the show is at a 3. That I'm fine with. Shitty art and books generated with the shit because someone couldn't take the time to try, fail, and then learn from their mistakes is not art. It's a shortcut and it's unsustainable because evil begets more evil. Like, I know I'm not the only one who knows that. I'm hoping Mr. Cory Doctorow is right in his assessment that the AI bubble is going to pop soon, and based on the facts he's provided, it's quite likely. This is all I have to say about Gen AI.
Here's a pallet cleanser:
There. Are we in a better headspace? If no, give it another listen. If yes, let's move on.
I am participating in SWAG4GCLS with five other fantastic authors, who I shouldn't even be on the same team with. At least from a writing standpoint. This is a fun little event The Golden Crown Literary Society is doing to raise some funds for the organization, which is non-profit, as well as having an event for writers to take part in during November so they can achieve their writing goals now that NaNoWriMo is an extinguished dumpster fire. At least one was put out. I'm being glib about it because I don't know the whole story, but from what I've read, it sounded like a dumpster fire.And it's tragic because a lot of authors use this month to really focus on their goals and what not because having others hold you accountable or at least to check-in with is definitely helpful for that process.
For SWAG4GCLS, I will be focused on completing edits for Grisly Politics, so if you want to raise money for a great organization while giving me encouragement to stick with my editing, go ahead and donate.
Since we're ending on a giving note, if you are not aware or live outside the US, there is currently a government shutdown due to Republicans wanting to snatch healthcare from US citizens, and the Democrats are not rolling over and letting that happen. Because of this many people are going to be without food to feed their families due to them not getting paid or not being able to receive their government assistance. Either way, this is no longer about politics, and its about helping people. If you are able to put your politics aside, and donate to either your local food banks/pantries orgs or even national organizations like Feeding America, I urge you to do so. If you are not financially available to do that, then please promote them. With the holidays arriving, some people and families are going to be stretched financially, and not because of commercialism but due to the shutdown, and, unfortunately, some are not going to recover. So, put your politics, opinions, and whatever aside and help those in need.
And because I am on a soapbox about this, through the month of November if you donate to a local food bank/pantry or a national organization, and you send me proof, I will give you one of my books for free, and you can decide if you want a signed paperback or an ebook. There are some limitations: one (1) book per person. There are no multiple entries. If you enter more than twice for whatever reason, the first entry will be chosen. No payments for shipping. And you have to be 18+.
There, I feel like that sounds reasonable. To enter just fill out this form, which is going to capture your name, email, year of birth to make sure you over 18, and a place for you upload your proof of donation. If opting for a signed paperback, you'll also be asked for the mailing address you would like your book sent to because how else am I going to get it to you? For peace of mind, all books will come in a USPS or a UPS box or packaging. I haven't decided which shipper I'm going with.
So, that's that on that. I know there are a lot of asks in this post, but this is a cause and a org near and dear to my heart, which is saying a lot because I have many of those.
This ended up longer than anticipated, but yay! Main takeaways from this post:
- Grisly Politics is still being worked on, and I'm hoping for a late winter, early-Spring release.
- Donate to my team, The Uncrustables, for SWAG4GCLS to support GCLS and motivate us to achieve our writing goals.
- Lastly, donate to either a local food bank/pantry or a national one and fill out this form, and I'll send you either a ebook of your choosing or a signed paperback of your choosing. You can only pick 1. Not both and all entries are limited to 1 book as well.
All right, time to end this. Remember to review the books you read especially those by indie authors. And until next time folks!
-DJ Small
