Ink Raindrops

As predicted, the combination of forward movement in Way of the Dragon, combined with a somewhat cliffhanger-ish ending, conspired to make it the winning option this month.  Here’s to hoping I can keep doing it justice!  I confess that this story is the one that I have the least foreknowledge of – that is to say, I have very loose ideas as to where it is going, so I’m trying to pull waypoints out of what I’ve written as much as possible.  The good news is that the last chapter helped me get an idea of where to go next, as much as it interested you, so that’s a double win!

Also, expect to see some minor changes and updates to the blog as a whole.  I realized it has been quite some time since I updated the notes, overviews and other information for my stories.  There shouldn’t be a whole lot new, but keep your eyes peeled just in case.

As you can see, I have changed the layout of Ink Raindrops once again.  I apologize for the schizophrenia, but I am finding it difficult to locate a free blog design that does everything I want it to.  My knowledge of web design is from a much earlier era, and thus the CSS and web skills it would require to modify these into something perfect for me, is sadly elusive.  Short of expending time on learning these things, or finding someone willing to help me out, I’m stuck switching each time I find something that appeals more to me than my latest choice.  I prefer to keep my focus on writing for now, so there you have it.  I would, at some juncture, like to have something more unique and professional though.  Covers shouldn’t sell books, but unfortunately they do all the time.

I (and Way of the Dragon) will see you on the first!  Enjoy the final month of summer.  Personally, I’m eager for fall.

Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?  It’s not even midnight on the east coast, this time!

I hope you enjoy this month’s update.  It’s longer than most of my chapters, particularly for WotD, but the weaving and necessary information were all too tight to separate it into two.  I guess you can consider it one and a half!  Things are moving at last for Master Mikhail’s students, but not in a direction that any of them expected…

I have the funny feeling I’ll be revisiting WotD next month as well, but we’ll see what the votes say!  Oh, and my apologies for not having a chance to announce the winner this month as I usually do.  I got an announcement up on Facebook, but didn’t have a chance to get it here before a combination of impending vacation and sickness got in the way.  Someday I will have this blog organized so that perhaps such things can be visible to everyone, rather than to just my friends.  For now, it’ll have to do!

I really must break the habit of posting mere minutes before midnight on the first of each month.  It’s been a complicated few weeks, both positive and negative.  Suffice to say I had forgotten everything that happens at the end of May in my life!  I have been duly reminded.

I’ll keep it short and sweet.  Onward to July’s update!  And do let me know if the poll isn’t working as expected, or if anything else goes wrong.  I’ll keep an eye on it as best I can.

This month’s winner, that is.  It was a showdown between the most juvenile and adult stories on Ink Raindrops this month, but the dice decided in favor of blood.  I have a good idea for where this next chapter will go, for a change, so I’m eager to get it done.  I can’t bother to procrastinate this time, either, as my beloved husband and editor has a birthday at the end of May.  Time to knock this one out of the park, so that we can spend the long Memorial Day weekend trying to grill in the rain.  Anyone for chicken with rain-chili glaze?

Oh yes – some business, while you have a moment.  It has come to my attention that my World of Warcraft fanfic, Shadow and Flame, rarely receives votes.  When it does get them, it’s from my husband, who will admit to these things if pressed.  I suspect that most of my current readers aren’t involved with WoW, and that may be part of the reason.  In a fit of egotism, I also choose to consider the possibility that my original concepts are more enjoyable and interesting.  (Correct me, at length, if my assumptions are false.)  This, combined with the massive overhauling of the game itself via the next expansion, will render pretty much everything I have written nonexistent.  It will be a peek into WoW’s past, but I can no longer accurately look at what I am writing once that happens, and I fear that will impact my progress.

So here’s my thought.  I don’t want to remove it from the site, since it’s good writing and something I enjoyed doing.  However, I’m not sure that there’s any merit in keeping it available for votes when it doesn’t seem to be a priority for you all (or, really, for me.)  Unless there are any firm objections, I’m planning on taking it the way of Blank Slate – that is to say, I will leave it up, but only for posterity.  There will not be any further updates or continuations unless I someday decide to change my mind.  That is, after all, what it is currently doing.  If you like the number four, I guess you’ll just have to vote for a new story…  otherwise, the usual suspects are lined up and ready to rock!

…for a very important date!  By my clock I have 48 minutes to spare.  I promise you that the chapter was done and edited as of last night, but a troublesome headache sent me to bed rather than trying to post as I should have.  Here it is now, at least: one spiffy new chapter of Liar’s Dice!

How is a raven like a writing desk?  I don’t know either, but I’ll be thinking about it until I see you next month.  Onward to May 20th!