L. E. Alfaro followed Ricardo Henriquez
Ricardo Henriquez
Winner of the Crypt TV Horror contest. Author of The Catcher’s Trap series and Bad Medicine: Slay it...
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Ricardo Henriquez liked an update for Exile, Magus

Happy Wednesday everybody!  I hope it finds you well.

I had originally intended to talk a bit about the Frost Giants of my world today, but over the past week I went on a bit of a map converting spree.  As a result I have two maps to share with you all, one today and the other this time next week.  My talk on Frost Giants will thus be postponed until Friday.  Now to the map!

I know, not a lot of land on this one.  Unfortunately the large southwestern peninsula stabbing so far into the ocean forced that to be the case.  That peninsula is known as the Blade for what I feel are fairly obvious reasons.  The large port town indicated on the tip of the Blade is called Lyceria, and it is where Llargas takes  Pentaz and Buscidia to during the Cruise section of the book (read it here for more insight on that), and they travel inland through the jungle from there where they eventually settle in with a tribe of Wilder Elves so that Pentaz can further his magical training along with a small cast of other Magi under the tribe’s shamaness, Laohna (you can read a bit about that in the Academy section of the book which starts here).

The jungle is home to a number of different sylvan races and tribes, no one group holding so much sway as to form a true nation.  The centaurs, satyrs, nymphs, dryads, wilder elves, gnomes, and other assorted fey/sylvan peoples prefer it that way, valuing their freedom above all else.  The closest thing to a true nation are those human tribes who have formed alliances with one another, most prominent among these being the Taehls.

The Taehls originally formed their alliance in defense against a Zaltruscan invasion over 4 centuries ago.  According to the legends, a group of Zaltruscan noblemen had decided to saddle up their dragons and lead their armies to conquer the Blade.  The many jungle nations banded together to resist, with the bulk of the fighting occurring in the northern Blade.  Ultimately the battle was only won by the inhabitants of the Blade thanks to the awakening of their guardian spirit, the massive and magnificent rainbow winged serpent Quzaeltical.

Normally a non-physical nature spirit, it is said that Quzaeltical takes a physical form once every thousand years in times of great need.  In this instance it slew all of the nobles and their dragons, and all but obliterated the Zaltruscan army before withdrawing into a deep and still, undisturbed slumber in order to heal the grievous wounds it had suffered that day.  Whether this slumber is in its physical form or a return to its physical form the tribesman will not say.

Some of the tribes left the alliance after the threat was over, but many stayed and the alliance is still the strongest power in the region today.  The tribes have a distinct caste system, with everyone being born into their life roles.  The ruling caste are the spirit guides, those said to be able to commune with all nature spirits, especially Quzaeltical.  Through this bond they have also learned to use magic which enables them to take on the shapes of the various beasts of the jungle, a feat which Quelzhumi Taehls puts to great use during the Graduation section of the book (which you can read starting here).

Quelzhumi is not just a spirit guide, but next in line as chief spirit guide for the most powerful tribe in the alliance, making him for all intents the heir to the throne, albeit a throne with less direct control over the tribal nation than one finds in the kingdoms of the "civilized" world outside the Blade.  He has come to the Academy to expand his magical knowledge, hoping that his people can learn more than just their shapeshifting magic and become more able to defend themselves should Zaltruscas ever invade again.

The next notable students are D’naeshira.  A human, she was left abandoned in the jungles by her Lycerian parents when she began to manifest as a Wyrdlim.  Most humans can learn to use magic, but are not especially talented at it.  Occasionally a human will be born with a deeper connection to the world’s energies, such that they can use primal magics in much the same way as dragons and giants can.  Unlike giants and dragons, however, the Wyrdlim find it very hard to control these magics, which has led to chaotic (and occasionally catastrophic) outbursts over the ages.  For this reason most "civilized" human cultures view Wyrdlim with a great deal of superstition, and tend to punish them even to the point of execution for being born.

The final notable student is Kitden Zutden, a sylvan gnome.  His pack(as they like to be called) wander the jungles constantly, being seen only when they want to and never laying their head down in the same spot as any previous night.  Unlike their "civilized" cousins, they do not feel the need to endlessly invent new machines.  Instead they channel their nervous energy into endless pranks and other shenanigans.

After the events of the Academy and Graduation sections, Pentaz and Buscidia leave the Blade behind traveling east to the region known as the Badlands, going through the outer reaches of the Restless Bog to reach the small walled community known as Last Stop before following the trail to the closest thing the Badlands has to a capital city, Caasan.

This update has gone on a bit longer than I intended, so I’ll leave my discussion of the Badlands for the next week when I post the next map.  You can read a bit more about the Badlands(mainly the Restless Bog and Caasan) starting here if you want.

As always, thanks for your time and support!  Keep reading and enjoying!
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    Ricardo Henriquez liked an update for Tears of the Assassin

    My generous supporters and enthusiastic readers. I am writing with news that the publication date for Tears of the Assassin has been rescheduled for February 7th 2017. Like you, I was anticipating a near-Christmas release, but Inkshares has grown faster than they could’ve imagined.  Good news for the company, but the production process of my book is slowed by the books ahead of me. Inkshares wants to make certain that all the books they publish are of the highest quality.  

    In the meantime, I am working on a sequel which you will get to read after Tears of the Assassin becomes a published success.  I urge all of you following me, who have yet to purchase, to take the step, read the eight chapters I’ve posted on Inkshares and make that purchase.  For those who have purchased, please share this novel with one friend. Just one. If each person, who has purchased, successfully introduces a friend, who purchases, sales of Tears of the Assassin would double.  I know it’s a lot to hope for but just remember your enthusiasm is far more convincing to your friends than mine. I appreciate your efforts and I look forward to February when the book is published and in your hands.  

    All links go to the Inkshares website: Tears of the Assassin

    Gratefully yours,

    William Schiele   

    ����

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      Ricardo Henriquez liked an update for Witherfist

      Witherfist is now in the Geek & Sundry contest top 10. This is a huge milestone, as it’s the first time since the beginning of the contest back in August that the book has broken into the top 10.  In a contest with over 380 entrants, it’s a real honour to be up there and in the company of so many other brilliant authors and their books.

      How did this happen? Over this past weekend, Inkshares syndicates - groups of like-minded readers who band together to support books - began choosing their monthly picks. Witherfist was fortunate enough to be nominated and chosen by the members of the ’Break the Bechdel’ syndicate, whose support added a whopping 32 new preorders to the preorder total. A massive thank you goes to Tahani Nelson, author of The Last Faoii, for putting Witherfist forward and for all of the syndicate members who voted to make this possible.

      What does that mean?  If you visit the contest page, you’ll  now see the Witherfist cover listed along with the rest of the top 10 entries. This will give the book extra visibility to contest visitors and, should it be fortunate enough to stay in the top 10, this ranking will remain frozen in place once the contest ends on November 1st.

      Does this mean Witherfist will be published?  It certainly helps towards that goal! We are now 50% of the way to the 250 copies needed for publication and being in the top 10 puts Witherfist one step closer to the top 3 (who are all guaranteed a full publishing deal). Although the Geek & Sundry contest ends at the beginning of next month, Witherfist has until December 31st to reach the big 250.

      We’re now halfway there. 

      We can do this.

      ~ Jenny

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        Ricardo Henriquez liked the forum thread, Words of encouragement for those funding (and everyone else.)

        Read this article by Eric Barker and thought of my time funding ’Rune of the Apprentice.’ Hope it is helpful to anyone currently funding... or anyone still trying to be productive!


        How To Be Productive Without Being Miserable: 8 Proven Secrets


        Click here to read the post on the blog or keep scrolling to read.



        There’s plenty of good advice on how to be productive. But most of it makes you feel like you need to turn yourself into a machine. You don’t want to be Robby the Robot.

        Here’s the thing: you often don’t need help with the doing part. You know what to do. Sit down and finish the damn task. But you don’t. Why? Often it’s about feelings.

        What really gets in your way?
        • "It scares me."
        • "I don’t feel like it right now."
        • "This sucks and I don’t wanna do it."
        Those are feelings. And if you don’t deal with those feelings, all the mechanistic lifehacks in the world aren’t going to help you scratch things off your to-do list.

        The best productivity system is the one you stick with. And if a system makes you miserable, it’s not going to last. End of story. So can you be more productive without turning into Siri or Hal 9000?

        The research and experts say the answer is, "Yes." Let’s get to it...


        Start The Day Happy


        The sound of the alarm clock should not signal, "Time for the pain to begin."

        So indulge yourself a little in the morning. Whatever puts you in a good mood, allow yourself some of that. TV, video games, something tasty -- whatever.

        Research shows your mood in the morning affects your productivity all day:

        Researchers found that employees’ moods when they clocked in tended to affect how they felt the rest of the day. Early mood was linked to their perceptions of customers and to how they reacted to customers’ moods. And most important to managers, employee mood had a clear impact on performance, including both how much work employees did and how well they did it.

        You’ll never be as productive as you could be if you don’t make a little effort to improve your mornings.

        (To learn the 7 step morning ritual that will keep you happy all day, click here.)

        Okay, you’re starting the day off happy and that leads to productivity. But how can you come up with new ideas and clever solutions to problems without a machine-like 27 step brainstorming process?

        This answer is easy, fun, and feels great...


        Scrub Your Way To Creativity


        Research shows there’s a strong relationship between feeling relaxed and being creative. And what’s the most relaxing part of the average person’s day? That morning shower.

        Scott Barry Kaufman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, found that 72% of people have new ideas in the shower — in fact, far more often than when they’re at work. Here’s Scott:

        We did this international study and found that more people reported having great insights in their shower than they did at work. Disconcerting, I guess. It seemed like there’s definitely some benefits to being in a relaxed state.

        So step into the shower with more than soap -- bring a problem to noodle on. You’re primed to be at your most creative, so take advantage of the opportunity.

        (To learn what Harvard research says will make you happier and more successful, click here.)

        Your rubber ducky is giving you the "Eureka" moment you needed. But bad feelings can be an obstacle to getting things done once you hit the office.

        Your mind can be filled with worries that play over and over like a song stuck in your head. This common condition has a name. And a solution...


        Close Loops To Kill Worries


        Researchers call it the Zeigarnik effect. But nobody can pronounce that so you and I will just call it, "Oh-Lord-God-Please-Make-The-Anxiety-Stop."

        When you’ve got something you know you need to take care of but you haven’t done anything about it, your brain is like an annoying smartphone app that won’t stop with the notifications.

        And guess what? The problem is even worse than you thought. Those constant worries aren’t just annoying and anxiety-inducing, studies show they also make you stupid:

        Five studies examined whether the processes associated with unfulfilled goals would interfere with tasks that require the executive function, which has a limited focal capacity and can pursue only one goal at a time. In Studies [Study 1] and [Study 2], activating a goal nonconsciously and then manipulating unfulfillment caused impairments on later tasks requiring fluid intelligence (solving anagrams; Study 1) and impulse control (dieting; Study 2).

        So how do you clear your head? Write down the concern along with a quick plan of what you’re going to do to address it.

        Once you’ve done that, your brain can relax. It closes the loop and ends the Zeigarnik effect:

        Committing to a specific plan for a goal may therefore not only facilitate attainment of the goal but may also free cognitive resources for other pursuits. Once a plan is made, the drive to attain a goal is suspended–allowing goal-related cognitive activity to cease–and is resumed at the specified later time.

        (To learn how to use writing to overcome anxiety, tragedy or heartache, click here.)

        You’re happy, creative and your head is clear. But now the task in front of you is filling you with dread. How can you get motivated to start something you absolutely do not feel like doing?


        Make Awful Tasks Your Own


        Dan Pink, bestselling author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, says the research shows one of the keys to motivation is a feeling of autonomy.

        From Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us:

        Think for a moment about the great artists of the last hundred years and how they worked—people like Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Jackson Pollock... Nobody told them: "You must paint this sort of picture. You must begin painting precisely at eight-thirty A.M. You must paint with the people we select to work with you. And you must paint this way." The very idea is ludicrous.

        So take five minutes and find a way to make an awful task your own. Rather that mechanistically following a standard process, think about what you can bring to this. How will you choose to handle it?

        How much of yourself can you inject into the process? What will make this more interesting? How can you leverage your strengths or your abilities to do it your way?

        The more you make the work something uniquely "you", the more motivated you’ll be.

        (To learn more from Dan on how to motivate yourself, click here.)

        The dread is dead. But you still might procrastinate. You can make a task your own but you might be downright afraid of it, overwhelmed or just insecure about your ability to handle the project.

        How do you get those awful feelings out of the way so you can unleash the kind of productivity that will put a dent in the Earth?


        Break Down Procrastination


        Anything that increases your perception of control over a situation — whether it actually increases your control or not — can substantially decrease your stress level.

        Via Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long:

        Steve Maier at the University of Boulder, in Colorado, says that the degree of control that organisms can exert over something that creates stress determines whether the stressor alters the organism’s functioning... Over and over, scientists see that the perception of control over a stressor alters the stressor’s impact.

        And don’t just trust the research. Astronauts, Special Forces soldiers and even Samurai agree: a feeling of calm control can reduce how much you stress about a task.

        But what’s an easy way to get that control flowing through your veins?

        David Allen, the guy behind the popular Getting Things Done productivity system, says we often feel stressed because projects seem too big and scary. So break intimidating tasks down into tiny steps that you can easily manage.

        From Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity:

        Defining your work entails clearing up your in-tray, your digital messages, and your meeting notes, and breaking down new projects into actionable steps.

        I’m pretty sure Genghis Khan’s to-do list didn’t say, "Remember to conquer Asia tomorrow." Whoa. Too big.

        The post-it note on his desk probably said, "Just decimate the tribe next door." And then the next tribe. And then the next. That’s manageable. And before you know it, you’ve got your own continent.

        (To learn how to stop being lazy, click here.)

        Okay, you’re conquering the bad feelings that prevent accomplishment. But how do you increase the good feelings to get even more done? It’s not hard...


        Keep Progress Visible


        You probably have a "to-do" list. But I’ll bet you don’t have a "did-it" list.

        When I spoke to the awesome Josh Kaufman, bestselling author ofThe Personal MBA, he said a "did-it" list is a critical tool.

        It allows you to see your progress. And Teresa Amabile‘s research at Harvard found that the single most motivating thing is progress in meaningful work.

        Via The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work:

        This pattern is what we call the progress principle: of all the positive events that influence inner work life, the single most powerful is progress in meaningful work; of all the negative events, the single most powerful is the opposite of progress—setbacks in the work.

        So keep a list of all the things you’ve accomplished today where you can see it. That’s dehydrated concentrate of motivation, that’s what that is.

        You might think, "Well, I know what I did today." That’s not enough. Write it down. Take a tip from the happiness research. When you take a moment to write down the things that made you happy that day, they have more power.

        (To learn the best way to manage your time, click here.)

        So you do all these things... but you’re still not as productive as you need to be. And that makes you feel lousy. How do you prevent those feelings from putting you back in the productivity doghouse?


        Forgiveness Keeps You Going


        When you don’t get everything done that you expected to, the most common reaction is to beat yourself up. Again, mood and productivity are connected. And guess what?

        Beating yourself up only makes it harder for you to get things done.

        Forgiving yourself is like a miracle drug. Instead of "letting you off the hook" and making you lazy, research shows it actually reduces future procrastination, increases creativity, and boosts self-control.

        Want to be more self-compassionate? It’s easy. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend who was feeling down about not being productive. Kristin Neff, a professor at University of Texas at Austin, explains:

        One easy way to be self-compassionate is just ask yourself, “What if I had a very close friend who was experiencing the exact same thing that I am experiencing now?” The idea is you use that same quality of warmth, support, encouragement, tenderness, understanding with yourself that you more typically show to other people.

        Be nicer to yourself when you screw up and you’ll not only feel better -- you’ll get more done.

        (To learn the schedule that the most productive people use every day, click here.)

        Alright, we’ve learned a lot. Let’s round it all up and get the final tip on the emotional path to improving productivity...


        Sum Up


        Here’s how to be productive without becoming a miserable robot:
        • Start the day happy: How you wake is how you work. Having a little fun early means better results later.
        • Scrub your way to creativity: Bring a challenge into the shower and come out with a solution.
        • Close loops to kill worries: Make a plan and write it down to silence the voice in your head.
        • Make awful tasks your own: Put your own spin on how you do something and you’ll be more motivated.
        • Break down procrastination: Conquer Asia one tribe at a time, Genghis.
        • Keep progress visible: Put a "did-it" list next to the "to-do" list for motivational rocket fuel.
        • Forgiveness keeps you going: Beating yourself up kills productivity. Treat yourself like you would a good friend.
        These days one of the biggest enemies you deal with is distraction. But there’s a fun solution to this: work near a super-productive friend.

        Even if they’re not helping you, just being around them can improve your focus. How powerful is this? Powerful enough to help people with ADHD.

        Via Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are:

        Just having friends nearby can push you toward productivity. “There’s a concept in ADHD treatment called the ‘body double,’  ” says David Nowell, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist from Worcester, Massachusetts. “Distractable people get more done when there is someone else there, even if he isn’t coaching or assisting them.” If you’re facing a task that is dull or difficult, such as cleaning out your closets or pulling together your receipts for tax time, get a friend to be your body double

        You won’t be super-productive by trying to pretend you’re a machine.

        If you really want to get things done you can’t just keep your head down. You also need to keep your smile up.
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        People who have liked this comment in the forum thread, Words of encouragement for those funding (and everyone else.)

          Ricardo Henriquez liked an update for Destiny Imperfect

          Greetings Destiny-followers,

          Events are proceeding apace in the world of Destiny Imperfect. For those of you who want an idea of where the story is going, I’ve uploaded a revised chapter 1 as well as all of chapter 2. You can find the revision and update here. As always comments on the content etc. are more than welcome. If you have yet to board the Destiny train, then follow this link to pre-order!

          And in further news, Destiny’s stable mate, Sync City, now has a publication date. For those of you with a romantic bent, this is good news, for that date is February 1st - just in time for Valentine’s Day! If you want to be the proud owner of a 1st Edition copy of Sync City, then head over to here and pre-order.

          If you have any questions on either Destiny Imperfect or Sync City, feel free to drop me a line or direct message me via Inkshares.

          Have a great day!

          Cheers,

          Peter

          like · liked by Thomas and 6 others

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            J. Graham-Jones followed Ricardo Henriquez
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            Winner of the Crypt TV Horror contest. Author of The Catcher’s Trap series and Bad Medicine: Slay it...
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            Ricardo Henriquez sent an update for Bad Medicine: Slay it queen!

            Friends

            Just a quick update to announce the winner of this week.

            But first, let’s talk about the campaign. Thanks to your support Bad Medicine is still holding second place in the contest with 107 readers. That is great news but no reason to relax. Contests are unpredictable until the last minute, and you may or may not know that I lost a Nerdist contest by 1 book, I repeat 1 book!!

            So I still need your support. Please pre-order, share the love, ask your family and friends to get a copy of this funny and scary book.

            And now the big news.

            The queen joining the colorful cast of Bad Medicine: Slay it Queen is Miss Booby Von Trapp (AKA Liz Trond)

            Booby Von Trapp is a comedy queen with a huge social media following of which she is annoyingly proud!

            Congratulations Liz!

            Have a great weekend

            "We are all born naked, the rest is drag"

            like · liked by Thomas and 2 others

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