Seems I love stepping on toes, and this post will be no different. 🤣😂
The other day I was looking at book trailers in a Facebook group I’d joined just for that purpose, when I ran across a newbie author. While I watched the trailer, glaring editing errors leaped out at me. WTF? If they couldn’t edit their trailer correctly, how badly is the book written? I even left a comment to that effect.
For the love of god, indie authors, learn proper grammar and punctuations. And telling us that English is your second language doesn’t fly. Either you learn how to write a proper book, or PAY for a good editor.
As much as I love ranting, I also like to help people. That’s why, back in 2017, I started a blog series called Weekly Useful Writer Stuff. It was based on the blogs I followed, back then, with stuff I needed to learn to write a decent book. Im not sure if some of the links are still active, but check it out anyway.
However, just reading blog posts isn’t going to help. If you really want to publish a book, you need to study. You need to LEARN. You need to put in the HARD WORK. And even if you write an amazing book that earns a lot of 5-sttar reviews, the odds of you making it rich are Nil. There is no money in publishing a book unless you put time, and money, into it yourself. PERIOD!
Here are some books that are a MOST HAVE to help you become an amazing writer. Most indie authors have no money, so start with only one book, or wait for them to go on sale.
And a word of advice. As with any industry, there are scammers in this one as well. People who will take your dollars with no credibility to their names. So, before you put your money behind a supposedly top earning author, check out their books and ranking. How long has it been since they published a new one. See if they put their money where their mouth is.
100% of the RPG games I’ve completed have been a turn-based combat system. My old brain just couldn’t get around the mechanics of real-time. With so much fighting going on, which of your party members do you focus on? However, I really wanted to learn as there are so many really cool games out there I wanted to play. Like Dragon Age Origins. So, I sat down and learned and I’m so glad I did. Maybe the combat mechanics of this game is easier, but I’ll see with my next one.
The rating system for games is different than books. You give either a thumbs up or down. Then you rate from 0 to 10. For me, this a definite thumbs up and I’ll explain below.
Art/Graphics – 10/10
We get so wrapped up in our traveling and fighting enemies that we don’t always take the time to look around. I found many stunning areas and marveled at how real it all looked.
Voice Overs – 10/10
Most of the narration was spot-on for the characters and there’s voice-over for every interaction. No text to read, but you can enable sub-titles if needed.
Storyline / Plot – 9/10
As an author, this is very important to me, and one of the reasons I love RPG games. Most of them have rich storylines. Dragon Age Origins was exceptional with the detail in the background of the world and the people who inhabit it. There are tones of codex’s to read. With that said, I did find some plot holes between things I’d been told and then what actually transpired.
And, if you’re a player who loves quests, this game is for you. I do know from watching another gaming channel that I didn’t trigger all the side quests I should’ve. But that’s the point of RPG games. You go where you want, interact with the PCP’s and hope you did it right. LOL.
Party Members – 10/10
There are a lot of them and who you chooses changes the story as you go. I found out the hard way that you need to take each of them out to get their companion quests. I didn’t and then got betrayed. And, if you didn’t buy the Ultimate Edition, you won’t get Shale. I loved her character and I’m so glad I got to met her.
As you travel around with your party members, certain areas will trigger conversations between them. The banter between Morrigan and Alistair was fun to listen too. It’s hard for me to chose my favorite one, but I will miss them and they will stay in my mind for a while. I even had tears at the end, when we said good-bye. Just like a good book.
Path Finding / Mechanics – 6/10
As much as I loved this game, I almost gave up on it several times. The game kept crashing, over and over. Sometimes it took ten attempts to even get the game to start. UGH. This is an older game and it does have issues with newer computer systems. I play on a Windows 11 computer with all the bells and whistles for video editing, so it wasn’t an issue on my end.
As for the path finding, steps can be a problem and I got stuck on plenty of them. In fact, during a horrendous fight in one of the DLC areas, I got stuck while disarming a trap and couldn’t move. I couldn’t shot at enemies, and they couldn’t attack me. Thankfully. But once the fight was over, I was still stuck there, hanging in the air. I had to restart the game and redo that horrible battle. It took me several tries just to get there the first time. If you’re on an older computer system, you should be fine. Hopefully. LOL.
If I’ve inspired you to try the game, check out my Let’s Play below and enjoy.
Nightmares. We’ve all suffered from them. But what if one came true?
During a terrible thunderstorm, a man is awakened by a presence in his bedroom. Though scared out his wits, his curiosity gets the better of him, and he follows his hallucination into the storm. What he sees is beyond even his wildest dreams.
Now, a woman is missing and he’s the only suspect. But, no one will believe his story.
Was it his imagination, or did he really witness what happened to her?
I’ve been the sole creator of book trailers for Norns, but now I have an apprentice. I’m THE BOSS. 🤣😂 Here’s the trailer Dusty did for my short story. I thought he did an amazing job. Enjoy.
Unicorns aren’t real. Everyone knows that. Mike doesn’t believe in them either. Why should he?
Then, one day, a mysterious woman appears, riding on the back of a cat and declaring she’s the Keeper of the Unicorns.
What Unicorns?
As if that wasn’t looney enough, the cranky lady instructs Mike to tell her story to the world. Baffled, the young man refuses. He’s not crazy, after all – or is he?
Suddenly finding himself stuck in the worst nightmare imaginable, Mike is left wondering whether he’s even awake. The monstrous cockroach crawling toward him sure looks real enough, but any rational person knows that’s impossible… right?
For me, the rocks that attracted me were the ones with fool’s gold. I loved the lure of the gold twinkling up at me. Oh, if only it were real. What I didn’t know was that it really is real. Not like gold, darn, but it’s a form of crystal and has it’s own value.
Rock hounds think of the stones they collect as rocks or minerals. Some even fashion them into tumbles or place them in jewelry. This would include semi-precious stones like jade, opals, turquois, etc.
Myself, I’ve always loved jade and turquois. Real turquois is hard to find on the market as there’s such a high demand for it and the scammers have learned how to fake it. So, buyer, beware. ☹😥
Then, one day, while cruising TikTok to increase our subs for Norns, I ran across a channel doing scoops for crystals. Oh My! 😲😲 I spent a few days watching, and then, I couldn’t resist any longer and had to order some. Once I got those crystals in my hands, BANG!, addicted. Sigh.
So, now I’m a crystal collector. Which is a glorified term for rock collector. 😂🤣 But is it really?
Crystal collectors don’t just see that pretty rock, stone, or mineral. Oh, No. We feel the stone. We are attracted to it. It calls to us. WE HAVE TO HAVE IT! You know? The Precious?
And that’s because crystal have a vibrational frequency that WE pick up on. Everything in nature vibrates, including humans. So when our frequency is in alignment with a crystals, we say it’s calling to us. Sometimes, it’s to help us, other times, to just make us feel better. Which is what crystal healing is all about.
You know all those rock hound nuts? What they don’t know is they’re crystal collectors too. They also feel the pull of that favorite stone they always have to hold or dig up. They just don’t understand it. However, we do.
Learning about crystals, and what they do, is very daunting. Too many types and so many of them marry with other materials. How do we keep track of them all? This is the journey I will be sharing with further post.
If you’re also a crystal collector, which material is your favorite and why? Till next time, may abundance and prosperity flow over you.
What if a machine took over the world – and nobody knew?
A dark dystopian tale unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
A machine that has predicted the future. A man who tries to out-think it. And three innocent boys whose lives will be scattered forever.
Conall Hubbert is a future scientist, possessed with the last prediction of his genius algorithm: The Prometheus Prophecy. He has to be the first to find Prometheus and protect him from the hands of the global government and terrorist fanatics.
Conall puts on a mask to infiltrate a village in the Scottish Highlands where poverty and ancient beliefs rule the society. But he is not the only one: Both his greatest rival and a terrorist group have their spies already in place.
The life and friendship of three innocent boys from thsi village are forever disrupted and jeopardized by a global power scheme. Will Conall fulfill the prophecy and protect the kids, or has he only unleashed a race that will destroy all of them?
Manifesto the Great comes from a dynasty of leaders who treat women like breeding machines. When his father dies, he must take over as leader, but will he be able to control the women?
Planet Hy Man is a planet as pure as a baby’s belly button until a spaceship arrives. A spaceship full of celibate men and women hungry for all things ‘earthy’.
They hurl themselves into a frenzy of real meat, real air, and procreation until a leader emerges to create order, civilization, and a sewage system.
Manifesto the Great watches as his forefathers pollute the planet, treat women like they are walking wombs, and design dodgy robots until that is, it’s his turn.
Will he rise over the tidal wave of discontented women, or will he drown under a sea of underwire and estrogen?
I’ve always lived by strict rules. Never stay out late. Never go past the city line. Never excel at sports.
Never let anyone in on our secret.
You see, I’m not an ordinary girl. I’m also a wolf. I live in Little Creek with my mom and dad. I go to school, and at night I run through the forest, but I never howl. I’m told it’s too dangerous. But what’s the point of having these gifts if I can’t do any good with them?
Then one day, I sensed something. Another wolf.
I feel drawn to Will instantly. What girl wouldn’t be? He’s tall, insanely hot with broad shoulders and soulful hazel brown eyes.
Unlike my parents, Will isn’t afraid to tell me the truth. He teaches me about my culture and my history, and he shows me that there’s far more to this world than I ever believed.
My parents aren’t going to be happy, but they’ve been holding me back.
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