Independent Author Adventures

  • AI Art for Summer 2025

    The big news in AI art services is that MidJourney (MJ) introduced video capability. It has competition, of course, but a lot of people like me have thousands of images already generated that can be the starting place for a bit of animation. These are my adventures in AI art for summer 2025. Want more…

  • Space Opera Tech on My Wish List

    Ever had that moment when you come up with a wonderful idea for technology, then think, “Wait, why don’t we have this yet?” An interviewer recently asked me which single technology from my futuristic Central Galactic Concordance (CGC) universe I’d want in real life. They made me choose just one, but I have so many!…

  • Technology Shapes Love

    I love technology because it makes our lives better (except when it’s misbehaving). Technology is great for keeping us connected, but it also creates new challenges and opportunities. Let’s look at how future technology shapes love in my Central Galactic Concordance space opera romance series. Technology to Connect We’re all connected, right? A quick text…

  • New Author Photo for Me

    I’ve been in two businesses for a long time that require official photos. I’m not talking about photos for driver licenses or passports, or even avatars. I mean the photo that officially represents me. In the acting business, I’ve had hundreds of photos of me, and that’s not counting film or television appearances. In the…

  • Plans and Goals for 2025

    Last year was a “rebuilding year,” the euphemism I like to use when things didn’t go as planned. However, I made some changes that I hope will keep me more on track in the coming year. These are my plans and goals for 2025. Goals Are Dreams with Deadlines Dreaming big, then making attainable plans…

  • AI Art for Fall 2024

    AI-generated image services are still entertaining enough to keep me off the streets and out of the karaoke bars. The greatest hits are still dominated by MidJourney, but Ideogram and others are rising up the charts. These are my adventures in AI art for Fall 2024. Want more AI art? See these previous posts for…

  • AI Art for Spring 2024

    As far as generative AI art services, I find that MidJourney (MJ) is still the leader for most things I want to do. Not all, mind you, because sometimes MJ whiffs it. As I’ve mentioned before, the services vary significantly across the platforms in terms of prompts. What works well in one may be a…

  • Galactic Pirates Collection: A Kickstarter Special

    Announcing my first Kickstarter campaign — whee! I’m calling it the Galactic Pirates Collection, a Kickstarter special. It’s in pre-launch right now while I finalize all the parts that make it special. ❗ UPDATE 27 Feb 2024: CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED! ❗ The campaign will start a short run at the end of this month. If you…

  • AI Art for Winter 2024

    Several highly popular generative AI art services continue to roll out new versions. I primarily use MidJourney, but dabble in others, notably NightCafé. I’ve seen impressive results by others from DALL-E v. 3, but I haven’t played with it myself for over a year. The nuances of prompting — describing the image you want —…

  • How to Kickstarter a Project

    Kickstarter is an online all-or-nothing crowdfunding platform that helps people find creative projects to support. Artists offer special benefits to people who pledge support for a creative project. If the project meets its funding goal, the artist gets the funds, and the backers get the rewards. If the project doesn’t make it, no one’s credit…

  • Plans for 2024

    Most years, but not all (looking at you, horrible COVID year!), it’s fun to look ahead. I come from a long line of folks who are rather bad at looking back, so that section will be brief. The more interesting sections — to me, at any rate — are plans for 2024.  2023 Plans vs….