Firlefanz

Firlefanz, 8 hours ago to random

Guten Morgen, Freunde.

Another public holiday. And more Valheim.

Yes, I'm just as addicted as before. Mostly, I've been constructing a new base for the main game, and since we played together yesterday (yay!), I could tackle the construction of a new kitchen/bedroom hall/tower today. Even survived two Events (draugr / trolls).

It's not an architectural marvel, but I am rather proud of it.

And now I'll give Sun some much deserved attention.

#WritingCommunity
#AuthorLife
#Valheim

Firlefanz, 2 days ago to random German

#PhantastikPrompts 17.5.
Wie bist du auf den Titel deiner Geschichte gekommen und was findest du wichtig bei der Wahl eines guten Titels?

Als sich die Winds und Pillars Serie eines Nachts in meinem Kopf bildete, waren die Titel auch alle schon gleich klar.

Ich muss aber sagen, dass mir bei Sun Burns ein Lied im Kopf herumspukte: "Alarmsignal. Die Sonne brennt. Heißer als man sie kennt." (Na, wer kennt das noch?)

Sun Burns, Pillars of the Empire 3

#WritingCommunity
#EpiFantasy

1/2

Firlefanz, 4 days ago to random

If you like noblebright stories (ones that emphasize kindness and hope, as well as good feelings), I have a small, curated list of books from Bookfunnel that you can get for free in exchange for your email.

My South Breaks is in it, because yes, my stories are noblebright.

The books will be up there until the 20th of May.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/noblebrightalliance/exts3c0cgz

#WritingCommunity
#Noblebright
#FreeBooks

(Whatever happened to the bookstodon group?)

Firlefanz, 8 days ago to random

Huge news!

"South Breaks" made it into SPFBO 10.

It was basically a 50% chance, with almost 600 submissions and 300 books in the running.

I'm very excited. Of course, we will wait for the finalized list, and then we'll wait even longer for the reviews to trickle in. Eventually, each reviewer will list three favorites, and the final winner will be chosen from those 30 books.

I doubt South will be among those, but one can dream.

#WritingCommunity
#SPFBO10

Firlefanz, 8 days ago to random

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/12: How do you market your work?

Mostly through posting here on Mastodon in the writing games. It's really the most fun.

But I also run some Amazon Ads (to my free first in series) and I have a subscription with Fussy Librarian that happens every second month.

Oh, and I have a newsletter that goes out on every 13th of the month. (Yes, tomorrow.) And I'm building my own store.

I know it's not enough. But it's what I can afford and do.

#WritingCommunity

Firlefanz, 10 days ago (edited 8 days ago) to random

EDIT: It's closed. Almost 600 entries. 300 will be randomly picked.

Today is SPFBO day.

Doesn't mean a thing to you?

It's the biggest indie fantasy award, and you can submit your book today. Only today. It's open for 24h, starting at 1pm GMT.

And yes, maybe it is foolish to up the competition and invite even more authors, but I believe in sharing. I believe we're all in it together.

So check it out here:
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-official-self-published-fantasy.html

#WritingCommunity
#SPFBO10

Firlefanz, 11 days ago to random

Guten Morgen!

Fun thing happened this morning.

It's quiet outside. City is still asleep, clearly. I'm up early, sitting on the balcony, enjoying birdsong and the scream of seagulls.

It's very peaceful, except for a ship tooting its horn every few minutes out in the fjord. I don't mind, it's kind of cool.

Very sleepy, very grumpy noise from next door: "Hey. It's a public holiday, could you quit that?!"

#Kiel
#AscensionDay

Firlefanz, 11 days ago to random

Gute Nacht, Freunde.

Today, I proofread 20 pages, took good care of myself, even cooked a meal.

No writing, alas. No brain space for it. But I have a long weekend now, and I hope I can finally dig into Sun and finish his story.

Of course, there's Valheim. Need to get back into the Swamp, after avoiding that for a while. (It's so dark and icky there.) Saw my first sea serpent and got it killed by a troll. Hah!

Life is good.

#WritingCommunity
#AuthorLife

Firlefanz, 12 days ago to random

And Valheim...

I am so freaking proud of my new base. It's really lovely and I had so much fun building it.

This game has such potential for creativity. The building blocks are much like Lego, really. And playing it helps me gain more confidence with problem solving, project management and tenaciousness. Never thought I'd get that much out of a simple game.

Have a look at my base. No, it's not perfect, but it's mine, as they say.

#Valheim

Firlefanz, 13 days ago to random

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/7: Do you add a copyright statement to your work? How comprehensive is it?

Of course, I do when I publish a book. Indicating copyright is part of the German law for publication, and it affects me as a German citizen.

For my English-language books, I use US terminology - that's what people are familiar and comfortable with.

For all the good it does, I just want to follow the law. Copyright has never stopped any pirates...

#WritingCommunity

Firlefanz, 14 days ago to random

#PennedPossibilities 306 — Are there any characters that you WISH you killed off in a series or standalone story?

No.

I try to make even my bad characters personal, with understandable motivations and decisions. Even if they go insane, basically.

That in turn means I don't hate them. I often feel pity or compassion for them. I give them chances to change. But often enough, they dig their own grave - and that matters for their story. I don't waste those moments.

#WritingCommunity

Firlefanz, 15 days ago to random

Gute Nacht, Freunde.

Spent the day gaming. The world is so getting me down. Feels like greed and ego are winning, and those who could wield some power for good refuse to do so.

So I did some good in Valheim. And survived the first troll attack on our home with little damage. Still a scary moment.

I hope I'll feel better tomorrow. I know what I want to write.

#WritingCommunity
#AuthorLife

Firlefanz, 19 days ago to random

Here's a very new thing: Indie Authors running their own stores.

If you follow the link below, you'll find 40+ fantasy and sci-fi books that you can buy directly as special deals. (One by yours truly, book 2 in the series. Book 1 is free in the store, grab it.).

This means, the authors earn more than through distributors. And you get a real file (generally delivered through BookFunnel that nobody can take away from you again.

Take a look here:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/may-fantasy-sci-fi-direct-from-the-author/th2zlg26zn

#BookSale
@bookstodon

Firlefanz, 20 days ago to sciencefiction

Also the final day for some great fantasy and SF ebook deals - free or reduced!

Yes, this is a very broad selection, but maybe there's something for everyone!

Check it out right here (and please boost, so more people get a chance to snag a deal):

https://books.bookfunnel.com/sci-fi-fantasy-sales-apr/w1okoe0oh8

#ScienceFiction
#Fantasy

Firlefanz, 21 days ago to random

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/29. Do you share your name with other writers?

I'm pretty open with my pen names. My real name is so hard to spell and pronounce for non-Germans that I knew early on I would have a nice, easy pen name. (This is it, btw.)

I also have Joanna Steenen, which is for those of my stories that have plenty of spice. Easy.

But then, I have a very secret pen name for my darkest work that only a very few select friends know about. And that's how I want it.

#WritingCommunity

Firlefanz, 23 days ago to random

All right, here's the Blurb for Sun Burns. It'll take a couple of toots, though.

A Power out of control. A Priestess changing sides. A grueling journey.

Sun Snake’s life is coming to its sacrificial end. His best friend is already gone, and he’s ready to join Moon in death.

When his Power goes rogue as the knives come out, Sun literally falls into a new life, together with the Priestess who joined him for the ritual.

1/3

Sun Burns, Pillars of the Empire 3
(WiP)

#WritingCommunity

Firlefanz, 28 days ago to random

Gute Nacht, Freunde.

Another day with a lot of Valheim - but I finished setting up the emails for my autoresponder and got some coaching for it, too. Feels very good.

And then my friend joined me in Valheim and we had an epic adventure befitting Vikings - battling a troll, graydwarves and skeletons at night in a storm. We ended up victorious and with plans for the next adventure in place. It will take some prep - and then we'll face the next big boss.

#WritingCommunity
#AuthorLife

Firlefanz, 1 month ago to random

#PennedPossibilities 290 — How do you find time to write?

Eh. I have the time. I only work part-time in a day job.

The bigger problem is actually getting into writing as much as I want to.

Right now, Valheim has an enormous pull. Love everything in the game (well, except the trolls, maybe).

Brain always needs encouragement or a firm structure to start writing. Right now, life is not helping with that. Structure is falling apart.

#WritingCommunity
#ActuallyAutistic

Firlefanz, 1 month ago to random

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/17. What genre(s) would you be terrible at writing?

I don't really like plotting, it kills all the joy in writing the story. So I doubt I could write good thrillers or mysteries that rely on plotting.

On the other hand, I do like to challenge myself somewhat with the stories I dive into. And I might not be good at those, but I do it anyway. (The Franssisi Four Chronicles are an example.)

On the other hand, I love fantasy and think I'm good at that.

#WritingCommunity

Firlefanz, 1 month ago to random

I have an author interview out today!

If you want to learn more about me, my books, and South Breaks specifically, head over to Night Beats and have a quick read.

https://nightbeatseu.ca/2024/04/16/behind-the-screens-tuesday-author-interview-100/

#WritingCommunity
#AuthorInterview

Firlefanz, 1 month ago to random German

#PhantastikPrompts 16.04. Was war das Schlimmste, was deine Hauptfigur in ihrem Leben bisher tun musste?

Sun musste seinem besten Freund, gefühlt seinem Bruder, beim Sterben zusehen. Ohne irgendetwas dagegen tun zu können.

Dieser Moment verfolgt ihn noch immer. Eigentlich hätte er Moon am nächsten Tag folgen sollen, aber seine Magie hatte etwas anderes mit ihm vor...

Sun Burns, Pillars of the Empire 3
(WiP)

#WritingCommunity
#EpicFantasy

Firlefanz, 1 month ago to random

Dictionary.com laid off all its lexicographers this month.

Presumably to replace them with AI. (My opinion.)

Sadly, thesaurus.com and dictionary.com are two of my most important resources when writing. I will look for alternatives now, because they basically decided to stop being a good service.

Enshittification is spreading at an ever increasing rate. It makes me sad. I thought we were headed towards a good future. Instead, it's turning... brown. 😬

#WritingCommunity
#AuthorLife

Firlefanz, 1 month ago to random

Gute Nacht, Freunde!

Wrote 650 words for Sun this morning, which was really cool. I hope I can slide into a structure with a regular morning writing session.

Survived the office. Walk home was great - I finally felt good and strong.

Played Valheim and made good progress with a new base. Started setting up portals after I thought up a system to keep it all straight.

And I had a coaching session which really, really helped once again. I'm starting to feel good in my skin.

#WritingCommunity

Firlefanz, 1 month ago to random

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/11. How effective are your newsletters in creating sales?

Not very. I'm not pushy.

But I want to start offering coupons for my store in them, starting this month. I aim for two things:

1. More direct sales
2. Helping readers to get used to buying direct from indie authors

I firmly believe this will be the future. And we might even go back to online lists of genre authors and their stores. Enshittifcation is a thing.

#WritingCommunity

https://www.hannah-steenbock.de/ember-alert-newsletter/

Firlefanz, 1 month ago to random

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/10. Do you have favourite words you like to use? What are they?

I'm sure I do, and I'm just as sure I'm not aware of several of them.

However, I know that my characters sigh and smile a lot.

Maybe that's not a bad thing.

#WritingCommunity