Only a week after I uploaded the graphic, my first eBook finally has a new cover – although to be honest, they say each time you go through the submit process fixing other things, it restarts the queue on cover updates….

I had to have a new cover. The original "Eyes in space” cover, supposedly meant to signal SF (the space) and Telepathy (the glowing eyes) really didn’t tell you crap about the story.

My friend Sebastian worked with a simple idea I had and then after a few rounds totally blew me away, exceeding my original imagination. I wanted to show the alien character, and I wanted to show the prison situation with her. And yeah, it’s meant to be a little sexy, if you’re into that kind of thing. Which of course is a signal about the contents to those who are into that kind of thing, and a warning to those who are not.

Sarah Hoyt didn’t like it, she said it made it look like Furry Bondage Porn. But I have to be honest with myself, even with the subtle horror of telepathic manipulation going on in the story, on the physical level, that’s what it is. And in the world of Bondage Erotica, constant sex is not required. Although there is a little at the end.

Now if people would spend a buck to read it, I’d really be happy.

Much to my surprise, the little cover at the bottom of the sidebar automatically updated today.  I thought I had made a fixed image, since Minx and Amazon's Associate widgets do not play at all together.

Anyway, I'm done futzing with it.  Next year I plan to finish my first actual novel, an expansion of the "Necessity" story I submitted to the Baen Books Fantasy Short Story contest.

Posted by: Mauser at 08:11 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I thought Amagi Brilliant Park was over, but there's an episode 13?
(Update: Calling that an "episode" is downright generous. There's about a 6 episode span of the season one could insert it into with no continuity concerns - except for the presence of Ironbeard. It would be filler on a BD, but clearly this was meant to be a 13 week season.)

Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu FINALLY makes a bid for "Buy the BD" in the last episode?  (But the shot is so brief as to hardly be worth it).
(Update: I'm not so harsh on this final arc as some reviewers. The whole idea of the hero turning into his fetish so that he has an understanding that it's a lot harder than he thought is actually a good learning experience. (How many women with huge breasts wish men could appreciate the backaches and muscle soreness and other difficulties they face?) And, after all, don't all these shows have an ending that goes, as John Staton once said "all Glowy" and philosophical at the end before a massive powerup and a win?)

Commie is half a season behind on Inou Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de, so I've forgotten why I was watching it.

What madness is this?

Posted by: Mauser at 04:46 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Comments are actually really important to me.

I mean, otherwise I'm just digging a hole and telling secrets into it.

(Psst. The Czar has the ears of a goat.)

Posted by: Mauser at 05:02 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Almost two years ago I downloaded the new Lupin series. Lupin the Third - Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna (as subbed by Commie). At the time though, I couldn't watch it because my older computer simply couldn't render the frames fast enough. After the death of that computer and the creation of Himawari, I tried it, and it could be handled with ease, but I was distracted by shiny newer things. Now I'm trying to finally finish it.

But it has a lot to recommend it. And some things that you should be warned of. Starting in the titles, there's nudity, and lots of it. That should be a signal: This is not the Lupin of yesteryear, Green, Red or Blue jacket. (For the record, he's wearing green in this series). The whole show is played a lot more straight, not having read the originals, I still get the sense that it may be truer to the original source. That also includes the art style, which LOOKS like animated Manga, not the kind of Clear Line stuff meant to be animated. The use of color and hashed shading results in some really unique visuals.

It's also set in the 60's, as best I can tell. And also set before the whole crew comes together - she meets them individually through her adventures, revealing their origins as well, and as the episodes play out, they slowly coalesce.

The other major difference, since they're playing it straight, is Zenigata, who is not some wacky Inspector Clouseau, but actually highly competent. He's crossed paths with Lupin, but he's actually after a bigger case. There is also a new (to me) character in his Lieutenant, Oscar, who seems to be a closeted gay character with a secret crush on Zenigata that mostly takes the form of trying to outperform his expectations, and a hatred for women, Fujiko in particular, but he's not a major player except in two episodes. However, that's all background.

The story is really about Fujiko and her journey as a character, and it's not entirely a pretty one. From being used by her father for drug experiments, to being a sex toy for wealthy industrialists, to the things she had to do to get herself free, she's had a very warped existence, and some of the events have her on the edge of psychological collapse. She was always a mystery woman in the previous series, and since those shows were aimed at kids, if this is her background, now you know why.

I still have a couple episodes to go, so I can't say how it will end, but I get the impression it will be somewhat sombre.

And in the end, it turns out that past is all fake. Implanted memories from the doctor's real daughter, who then lived vicariously through her.

Posted by: Mauser at 12:59 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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