Browsed by
Author: S.M. Carrière

When S.M. Carrière isn't brutally killing your favourite characters, she spends her time teaching martial arts, live streaming video games, and cuddling her cats. In other words, she spends her time teaching others to kill, streaming her digital kills, and cuddling furry murderers. Her most recent titles include 'Daughters of Britain' and 'Skylark.' https://www.smcarriere.com/
Books.by – A Viable Amazon Alternative?

Books.by – A Viable Amazon Alternative?

Comments 0 Comment
Image by Gaertringen from Pixabay

Good afterevenmorn!

Let’s talk self-publishing. Particularly, print on demand options.

In this particular climate, I know a number of book buyers and independent and self publishers looking to make an impact by being more mindful of where they spend their money and with whom they do business. It is, however, incredibly difficult to do any kind of individual action, given the absolute chokehold Amazon has in the book space. Those of us who are self-published know it well. Amazon is where most book buyers go when shopping online. And it’s where a large number of independent publishers go to have their books printed and shipped. Print on demand is a great technology, especially for those of us who do not have the funds to do an entire print run, and no space to store the books in any case.

…

Read More Read More

Taking the Ridiculous Seriously

Taking the Ridiculous Seriously

Comments 2 comments
Look! It’s fun! Image by Patrycja Kwiatkowska from Pixabay

Good afterevenmorn!

I hope everyone who has to suffer through the daylight savings shift Sunday are coping with losing that hour of sleep. To those to whom that does not apply, know that I am fiercely jealous of you. But let’s not dwell on our minor hardships. Today, I want to talk about writing, and very specifically how to make situations that are absolutely ridiculous on the outside feel real and very serious.

…

Read More Read More

Wizard Battles and Martial Arts: Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants

Wizard Battles and Martial Arts: Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants

Comments 4 comments

Good afterevenmorn!

So, my various social media algorithms were working overtime the past couple of months, bombarding me with clips and training videos for the Chinese movie Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants. And, of course, my interest was more than a little piqued. When I heard that the movie was getting an international release, I got more than a little excited.

…

Read More Read More

In Defence of Purple Prose

In Defence of Purple Prose

Comments 9 comments
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Good afterevenmorn, Readers!

Language is fun. The way words can mean more than one thing, depending on where the stress is placed, or its location in a sentence, and where that sentence lies within the tale. It is a playground. A song devising its own music. A melody murmured that can delight not just the eyes, but the ears. How many have paused a read simply to revel in the words just read? To read and reread a sentence? To bask in the brilliance of a cleverly turned phrase?

…

Read More Read More

How to Survive “Interesting” Times

How to Survive “Interesting” Times

Comments 4 comments
Image by Ervin Gjata from Pixabay

Good afterevenmorn (or whenever you’re reading this)!

Welp, what a start to 2025. Personally, it hasn’t been great. I kicked off the year very ill (thanks, Covid), languishing in bed wondering if this was the moment I drown without ever touching water. ‘Twas not pretty. Looking wider, the world appears to be literally on fire, or underwater, or deliberately reduced to rubble. It’s not been a good time for a whole lot of folks. I have been taking care of myself by largely staying off social media (sorry if I was missed. But I was already overwhelmed and unable to cope with my own busy-ness, let alone the worries of the world at large), and engaging in art. Not creating physically, as I’ve been very unwell, but consuming, art. Okay, I’ve been watching lots of Chinese dramas (some of which I don’t remember because I was in a feverish haze). That still counts, though.

I’ve also been daydreaming a lot, which is usually the important first step in my creative process. I have a new book in my head. All I need to do is finish the book I’m working on now, and then sit down and draw out this story word by word. I expect that it will become my next free online serial.

Though I’m sick… again (not Covid this time, just an annoying flu)… I’m in a much better place, coping-wise. And I owe that to art.

…

Read More Read More

The Convincing Villain

The Convincing Villain

Comments 4 comments
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Good afterevenmorn, Readers!

Side note, autocorrect keeps trying to fix my nonsensical greeting and it’s quite annoying. Back to the post!

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. It’s dangerous. I do not recommend it. But I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on the nature of fictional villains and morally grey heroes, and how to write them convincingly. While it’s sometimes fun to read a simple story where good and evil are very evident, and we’re all firmly on the side of the heroes here. The fight (and eventual victory) against Evil™ can sometimes be exactly the hopeful escape we need. Please note, I’m not looking down my nose at those kinds of stories. I enjoy them myself.

My favorite reads, however, are stories where good and evil is not so simple. It’s not all cut and dried. This isn’t just about creating complex characters to counter your protagonists, but also about creating a safe space to explore all the nuance that we find in real life. It’s a good, safe place to grapple with ideas of heroism, morality and villainy. What makes a hero? Or a villain, for that matter? If the end result is good, are morally questionable actions justifiable? What are we willing to sacrifice for the greater good? Is it acceptable if the answer to the previous question is, “Everything”?

…

Read More Read More

Five Things to Try When You Hit Writer’s Block

Five Things to Try When You Hit Writer’s Block

Comments 2 comments
Image by Lukas Bieri from Pixabay

Good afterevenmorn, Readers!

Well, I was struggling with what to write about in this week’s blog post. I was going to rave about a new C-Drama I just finished watching, but I figure you’re probably tired of that (though, if you don’t mind subtitles, please check out Arsenal Military Academy. It was extremely good; and unusual for me as a viewer because it involves a region of the world (China) at a time we rarely get to learn about unless you’re embarking on higher education about that particular subject (1930s). Highly recommend). That being the case, I’m going to share a few things I do whenever I feel like I’m struggling with writer’s block (which is rarely a block, and really more of a tell from my subconscious that I’m not on the right track). So here we go, my list of five things to do when experiencing writer’s block.

…

Read More Read More

Maybe I Am Romantic

Maybe I Am Romantic

Comments 8 comments
I love them.

Good afterevenmorn (whenever you happen to be reading this), Readers!

I’m still on a Chinese costume drama kick. It has been my crutch when dealing with the terribleness of the world of late. I don’t know why, but there we have it. Everyone who knows me is sick to death of me proclaiming my love for The Untamed, which remains the golden standard for serialised Chinese costume dramas for me. Since then, and since I last mentioned it here, I’ve watched a number of them (when I tell you I’ve spent the majority of my time rotting on the couch watching unfairly beautiful people swan about in obscenely beautiful clothing, I mean it). Some were silly. Most of them were entertaining. One in particular I have added to my ‘would really like to own on DVD/BluRay’ list. It has a dumb as hell title (Wonderland of Love. Had I not seen a short of one of the battle scenes in the series on YouTube, I would not have watched it at all based on that title), but was a great story. I did a review of it on my personal blog.
…

Read More Read More

I Rewatched Kindred: The Embraced So You Don’t Have To

I Rewatched Kindred: The Embraced So You Don’t Have To

Comments 13 comments
This show is so old, there are hardly any images of a suitable size to share. Ah… the memories!

Good afterevenmorn!

On the 15th of this month, or thereabouts, a book of mine celebrated a publishing anniversary. I don’t really keep track of these things, though I should, so I’m very grateful to Renaissance Press (who published it) for the reminder. Human celebrates a birthday this month.

…

Read More Read More