This one is a doozy—not too bad, if you want to hibernate like a bear for 3 days. And maybe a little worse if you have neuropathy from chemotherapy. My hands and feet reacted somewhat painfully, but that was ok, it only lasted while I was too sleepy to function. All better this morning. Who knows? Maybe it will help it, eh?
Had a barely discernible headache. And general stupidity.
Which still lingers. Feeling very much better today, I tackled making coffee. Now, granted this new coffeepot requires filling the carafe as a measure, which I’m not used to (I’ve had a measuring pitcher), but then sticking the carafe full of water into the receiving bay of the ‘maker, pushing the button and dimly thinking ‘is there some kind of siphon by which it gets the water out of the carafe?’ is abysmally dim. (I hastily retrieved the carafe, POURED the water into the top, as with any of that sort of maker, and was rewarded with good coffee.) On the other hand there is hope, since I realized that the weak coffee I had yesterday might (doh!) be due to the fact this is a fourteen cup instead of a twelve cup pot.
And then I followed that mixed performance by taking out the garbage, carefully gathering the recyclables—then putting them into the non-recyclable bin.
It’s that kind of day. I got the shot Thursday night. I Had misplaced my glasses, and became aware of it Friday night. I looked in all the usual places. Saturday night, as I began to come out of the fog, I abruptly remembering taking them off (they’re reading glasses, half-sies, which are kind of like the bottom half of bifocals, but a nuisance when I’m not reading) at the clinic, and putting them in my purse. And there they were.
Followed by my performance this morning with the coffee pot and the garbage. I do not think I should do much editing today.
LA-LA-LA I got my fingers in my ears and can’t hear you!
(I get my second shot in a couple of weeks.)
Hope you feel better soon!
Just do it, Steve! It’s soooo much better than getting the disease. And it’s a great story to tell your family and friends – you can compete over who had the best side effects. I’ve lost that battle – my side effects were a lame headache and general muscle soreness.
Oh, no worries. I’m getting the second shot.
So pleased to read this, I hope you feel better from the side effects asap though.
Good, our Ambasador to Alliance/Union and the Atevi is protected now.
Just two weeks, and a tad, to go for my first!
My first shot got shot practically into the joint space of my shoulder, and my whole arm was very unhappy with me for days because of it. My second shot was given in the proper place, and I had a big knot there that was locally tender, but otherwise was not that bad. However, I have a history of not reacting very much to immunizations. Evidently, I have a pretty robust immune system — it’s like: Oh. Right. Got it.
CJ, chemo does a number on your whole body. It knocks everything all cattywompus. It’s like lobbing a large rock into a pond. Takes a while for all the ripples to calm down, especially if more little rocks get tossed into the pond in the meantime like COVID vaccine.
Hares 🐇 and Rabbits 🐇.
Here’s to a Happy March! 🐇
On Friday I got word from my town with appointment for Covid shot. It”s a week and a half away, but I grabbed it. RI has not been the greatest in its distribution.
It’s the Moderna. Has anyone experience any difference in reactions to the different companies’ formulations?
Happy to hear you are vaccinated.
I had the “honor” of having a nursing student give me the last shot. It was her first time giving shots and a former student in my English Comp. 1 course.
I am SO happy to be “safe”; at any given time 3 to 5 students in my courses are on quarantine or diagnosed.
Glad to hear you will soon be a lot safer, when the full protection is activated.
I hadn’t heard that brain fog was a possible symptom – if dad starts panic-calling me again because he can’t find stuff, I’ll know what to blame it on ;). Doing some simple things till that wears off looks like a wise plan.
How is Jane doing with her surgery-recovery? Has she been scheduled for getting her shots, or does the operation interfere with that planning?
Off-topic but just a short fun link: it’s now officially (agriculturally) spring in the Netherlands, as the fields have dried enough that the cows can leave the barn for the first time since autumn, so they’ve had their cow dance. Always makes me smile to see how happy they are.
Then in 6 weeks, the fresh grass milk makes the best cheese, lovely mild tasting “graskaas” (grass cheese) with lots of healthy Omega-3.
All winter, the fields are so wet the cows would just trample them into mud, killing the grass, and get fungus on their feet, if they were let into the meadows. So they stay in the barn (byre?) for months – I guess that happens in all cold weather dairy farms? I know they do the same in Switzerland, you can’t put the cows out to pasture in the snow; but even without snow the cold and muddy weather keeps them inside.
Happy, happy cows! That’s a fun video link—thanks! And, “byre” is a Scots word. I don’t think it’s used in English. Certainly in American English, we use Barn.
We certainly used that word on my uncles (plural) farms. But that was close to the border so the language boundary could be a little soft and not really bound by geography.
Scots & Northern English are really closely related dialects/same language more or less, so -yes- byre makes perfect sense for Northern England. I’m not an expert in farming terminology of England (esp. Southern English dialects) so really don’t know for that area of the island.
Apropos of linguistic terminology for parent languages, I’ve often wished that we had a name other than “English” for the common language ancestor of both Scots & English rather than saying that Scots is a descendant of Old English (or Anglian), etc. They are both equal descendants of an older shared, ancestral tongue… rather than Scots being an odd side shoot off the main, English line.
Hi raesan, Are you a northerner (Uk) too? I’m a Mancunian or technically stopfordian myself… and I recognise Byre as a word if that helps.
Neat word! All that occurs to me is a bier (sp?), which I think of as related to a bower, both for a sort of love-nest, particularly used of birds or poetically. I have the impression, probably false, that a bier and a bower are etymologically related, but I haven’t looked up either one, or hmm, a byre for a barn, or for that matter, the etymology on barn.
I recall kyne as the old plural for cows, cattle, no longer really used in standard English, but probably still used dialectically somewhere, esp. in northern England.
Somehow, this has me in mind to look up kith and kin and kindred. IIRC, kith is from an older form, kinth, but I may be mis-remembering that.
—–
The cats’ vet appt. was a no-go today and I’m trying to get ahold of the vet’s office to reschedule for Thursday, but their line’s (still) busy. Goober’s a bit better, yesterday and today, and I think the vet may suggest trying treatment, if Goober doesn’t have some dire problem more than what I’m seeing. If he has a chance still, I want to try, as he still has plenty will to live. As long as it’s not some large expense and as long as his prognosis can be to stabilize so he has a better quality of life, then that’s fine. I’ve been managing with him this long. I’m just not sure what’s keeping him together, he’s so thin and having this problem chronically.
Brindle has not had the chance to get out into the parking lot since her last misadventure, but hasn’t seemed bothered or as keen on it. Maybe she got her fill that time. She did get out front briefly, but it was easy to pick her up and get her back in. Even so, oh boy, does she need her shots and to schedule for spay/neuter asap.
(I had forgotten where I’d put my camera, but finally located it and felt silly. Now I hope I’ll remember. I intend to get a couple of photos of the two cats with their new collars and tags.)
I wasn’t here, but happy belated birthday, Ben!
Thanks, Joe! — Good to see you again!
I always react pretty strongly to shots and the flu shot and tetanus shot I got last year (oh boy that tetanus shot) wiped me out for several days. I’m planning on taking the day afterwards off so I can just lean into it. I can’t wait to go into allergy season not having to be all “That you, ‘rona?” every time my chest gets tight. We are starting to lap ourselves in the pandemic calendar year. I’ve been getting déjà vu a lot.
Well done for getting the second one done.
Second shot first thing tomorrow morning (Wednesday)! I’m planning ahead, just in case, and have a few errands to finish today, then I can lie about and be happy to have my shot even if I’m miserable.
This salad congratulates you on the shot – and also on the Heinlein Award!
( http://file770.com/c-j-cherryh-wins-2021-robert-a-heinlein-award/ )
Congratulations, CJ. I for one sure appreciate what you’ve written about the possibility of humanity’s future in Space.
Glad you got the second jab, and many congrats on the Heinlein award!
I just got an email from the Baltimore Science Fiction Society saying you won the Heinlein Award this year! Congratulations! I’ll sign up again for the virtual con this year and hope we’ll be able to have an in-person con next year.
Finally found appointments for my husband and me to get our first COVID-19 vaccination shots last night after midnight. A pharmacy in the next county over had appointments so I signed us both up for tomorrow morning. We’ve been eligible since Jan. 25th but haven’t been able to get an appointment here in MD because no one had any vaccine to administer. No appointment yet for the 2nd dose, but I’ll worry about that later.
I wish the Merovingen Nights books were available in ebook and audiobook, and reprints in “pbook” (haha, printed books). I had started reading the first volume, but life sidelined me (twice) so I’m going to find the book and restart it.
I usually like space science fiction, starships, stations, and so on. But every once in a while, I get hungry for a good fantasy / sword-and-sorcery tale, anywhere from the ancient / classical to the medieval periods, or, oh heck, I’m not really picky about it when I want such a story. I recall CJ had a story in an anthology which was something like Swords and Magic or Sword and Sorcery, for the anthology title. Her story involved a young wizards apprentice who had the sniffles, allergies, along with whatever else was going on. I’m going to find that and reread it.
I think what my mind is wishing for is a fantasy book by CJ. But she’s very occupied with the second Alliance Rising book and the next Foreigner book, so a third is probably wishful thinking, however felicitous it might be. Heh.
I listend to the audiobook of The Paladin by CJ during my long hiatus, and really enjoyed it.
Hmm, I wonder what CJ would do with the usual fantasy tropes and species, or if she’d come up with something else altogether. What would CJ do with the likes of Tarzan, or Mowgli, or a Martian fantasy, or… Hmm, I have the feeling we’d get something really neat. Ooh what would CJ do with Kim, or other Kipling stories? (Hey, Heinlein and Alan Dean Foster both had SF takes on Kim, so there’s grounds (space?) for more….)
Maybe it’s also because I loved Andre Norton’s adventures as a kid and teen. (My mom didn’t care for the Witch World books, but we both read a lot of her SF and other fantasies.)
I think I’d better satisfy this reading itch. I’ve also found myself wanting to reread her Visible Light short story anthology. I still like short stories quite a lot. I can’t recall if she had a short in the Catfantastic series.
I finally managed to schedule my initial Moderna shot. I was checking my e-mail during one of our interminable admin meetings, and found that the online site for getting a vaccination reservation was enabled; I quickly signed up, and as soon as the meeting was done, told everyone to get themselves signed up as well if they hadn’t already. I’ve been checking the link randomly for the last 3 weeks and this was the first time it was active.
ReadyGuy and I get our second Moderna jabs on the 25th. In the meanwhile, I have my first eye surgery on the 17th and the second eye on the 7th of April, then new glasses for reading. Our finances are taking an unexpected hit. Originally I expected surgery in July. It never rains, but it pours!
At least I’ll be able to read comfortably once everything is healed
Still no luck getting a cab to get the cats to the vet. I’ve had to re-reschedule the vet appt. I’ve tried everything. Either the cabbies don’t get my msgs or don’t read them. Blast Uber and their designated pickup spot, wherever the heck it is. So infuriating and so discouraging not to be able to do something that ought to be danged simple to fix. Frell. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve had this same problem with getting a cab to my door. 45 min. wasted again today attempting. Frell. 3rd appt. is Tuesday, a week since the 1st appt. attempted. Nice as the vet’s office is, they won’t send someone to give me a ride either direction, about 10 minutes travel time. But it’s better than the time the cabbie tried to drop me off in the middle of the esplanade. Uh, no, that is definitely not my apartment. The vet’s office were very dismayed to see me arrive back there, as it was the only other place that particular cabbie would take me. (No, the issue wasn’t money, it was some glitch on their end, or the cabbie himself, being a jerk.)
We had better luck with Lyft, if one must use a cab-app.
Well, poop. There was an earthquake in the South Pacific, close to NZ, and they are looking to see if we can expect a tsunami. We won’t see it until nearly 4:30 local time, so if one were on the Australia coast or NZ, that would be of greater concern. So far, projected wave heights seem to be under 1m, so if one must have a tsunami, that is the way to go!
8.1 will do one some hurt!
All tsunami alerts have been canceled except for Vanuatu and the NE coast of NZ. Two hours ago at lunch, there were alerts for people in that area of NZ to get inland.
Whew, I’m glad folks are safe!
I’m back to the last third or so of Chanur’s Homecoming. I was tired enough and immersed in the story so that I neglected to note down several names and other alien words. I want to do a thorough pass on all five books and get every alien word, with species, any sentences, noting names of persons, ships, places, concepts, and so on. I intend to update my Chanur fan site pages, currently still offline, and when I get the glossary done, I’ll be happy to send a copy to Ker CJ and na Spence for reference and any analysis or corrections, and inclusion in na Spence’s hani dictionary, if there are any entries not already there.
Likely, this will require at least another pass, book by book.
IIRC, na Spence had also done a little on kifish. I don’t know if anyone has done anything on mahen chase, since Ker Vetch at Sheridan had last worked with it. — Na Spence, I don’t know if I still have your email address. I still have the (old?) link to the website pages you had on hani and kifish. If those are now elsewhere, would you please send me a link so I can update the links on my Chanur fan pages? Thanks.
@CJ — I ran across where you’d explained gtst (gtst, gtsta, gtste, gtsto, gtstisi) and gtstisi, but then I saw gtstosi in the vet, which you hadn’t translated. That appears to be a different suffix than -oshi in stshoshi, so what, please, is gtstosi? But if there are forms gtsti and gtstu, and what they mean, as well as what gtstosi means, I don’t have those. What are they, please?
Sure about gtstosi, BCS? The books are online, limited access. Google finds gtstisi, but not gtstosi. The Wikipedia article mentions everything except gtstosi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chanur_novels
Yes, I’m sure of it, but I didn’t copy down the book, chapter, and page references. It’s attested at least twice in one of the books, and I think it may get attested in another of the books, either in The Kif Strike Back or in Chanur’s Homecoming. (I’m about to start my re-listen of Chanur’s Legacy.)
Gtstosi is attested in a passage of stsho speech, where a stsho, possibly Stle Stles Stlen or gtst translator, but possibly another official, is arguing with Pyanfar, after someone has Phased from the stress. — But this is well before the final confrontation between Sikkukkut and Py and Jik, in which Sikkukkut brings forth the former Stle Stles Stlen and gtst translator and questions gtst to prove things, then threatens to attack Anuurn.
I have the note where I’d asked CJ before about forms of gtst, and she’d explained them, but hadn’t specified gtsti beyond being a form. (It may be a plural.)
I haven’t found gtstu attested, but since the other cardinal vowels are there, I thought it might be possible.
Here’s what I’d copied down from CJ before; I believe I’d added the note as to where gtsto was from Chanur’s Legacy, but on rereading, I think it occurs in one or more of the previous books.
{
gtst: neuter (active)
gtstisi: phasing/indeterminate
gtsto: something like “male” (source: Chanur’s Legacy)
gtste: something like “female” (logical extension of above)
gtsta: neuter (postmenopausal) – a revered/holy elder
}
Well, phooey. I don’t see a way to have the Kindle app search the _entire_ book’s contents. I came up with 0 matches for gtstosi or gtstisi in both the 3rd and 4th books, and only some 6 matches for gtst in one book and 20 matches for gtst in the other, so I’m dubious whether it’s finding all matches throughout a given book’s text.
IIRC, it’s possible to have either BBEdit (Mac) or CoffeeCup’s editor (Win) search all the text files under a given folder, inckuding subfolders. I’m tempted to try that on a copy of the two ebook files.
Note: Also not confusing gtstosi with stshoshi, the stsho language.
Note 2: This would seem to give -isi, -osi, -oshi as various suffixes besides a zero suffix or any of the five cardinal vowels.
…Or I’d search it if I could get to the file. The Kindle for Mac app’s Prefs show the directory (folder) names truncated, and as nearly as I can tell, some of these are invisible in the directory structure, so I can’t locate where the Kindle is storing its ebook files, even though I can sort of guess, multiple levels down. There should be a way to get to them, but I don’t know it. On Windows, it stores in some similar folder structure, but it (used to be) easier to get to. OK, I’m stumped on that route, but I could re-listen to the two audiobooks or reread the ebook versions. It’s in there, I’ve heard the narrator distinctly, and I’ve seen it in print before. But pinpointing where is proving to be difficult. Definitely gtstosi, not -oshi, and separate from -isi.
,.,……………..
@ben: https://strengthofthehills.tripod.com/hanilanguageandculturepage/
Thanks, na Spence! — Aha, I think that’s the same as the URL I had, but I think also, the ebook store is new from when I’d last visited. Thanks again!
Kitten 1, Clothes Rack –1! Both cats are fine; in fact, the kitten is quite pleased with herself and still desperate to play and explore, which was the source of the downed clothes rack. But said heavy duty, snap-together metal (aluminum?) and plastic frame…is now deformed past fixing, so I’ve had to order another. The wet clothes are spread all over the living room sofa to attempt to dry. Heh. I can’t even be mad at the kitten, there’s no point to it. Wacky day.
No unpleasant side effects from the second shot, ready to head south to my “winter” apartment, although I’m leaving much later this year. Didn’t want to risk trying to get the vaccine in a state where I’m not a legal resident.
Temperature was up a degree, but I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been checking periodically after the shot.
Congratulations on receiving the Robert A. Heinlein Award!
@BlueCatShip You said: “I listend to the audiobook of The Paladin by CJ during my long hiatus, and really enjoyed it.”
I’m so envious!
I really like that novel, but I can no longer read physical books because of eye problems.
Tantor audio has published several C. J. Cherryh audiobooks these past few years. The latest one only a few weeks ago (Two Alliance-Union novels under the name Alliance Space which include Merchanter’s Luck and Forty Thousand in Gehenna) but here’s the problem; They don’t allow non-americans to buy or listen. That means I can’t even get them through Audible. And Audible region locked Regenesis, too, even though they recorded it themselves and Cyteen was available.
I’m really sad about this.
Does anyone have any news about the Audible Foreigner series recordings?
I know some authors have had problems with them had have decided to try and finance recordings of their own (Kristine Kathryn Rusch is one) and I haven’t heard any news about Lee & Miller’s latest Liaden novel.
I live in Europe, and I haven’t had anyone close to me infected by covid-19. I guess I can call myself lucky. The library I work at has had to close the doors and disallow visitors but people can still access our books by mailing lists to us, phoning or just coming to the door and press the door bell.
@ericf — Hi, I’m Ben, BlueCatShip, and I’m legally blind, low-vision, vision-impaired. I h’m American, in Texas, and I’ve increasingly been using audiobooks and ebooks rather than my printed books. — I wish I knew some good news for European and other international fans, regarding ebooks and audiobooks of CJ’s work, but I don’t know of any new availability for readers and listeners outside the USA. — You might want to try sending an email to CJ’s publisher, DAW books, and to Audible and Amazon. I know other fans, both sighted and blind/impaired folks, would love to get CJ’s books overseas. There are several UK, European, Australian, and other fans here who may be able to give you some better news. Also check for the link to email CJ herself. Perhaps if she can show her publisher there is a real need from fans who would love to read and listen to her books outside of America, something might be worked out with European and other publishing arms. I know fans keep asking because they want the books there, in print, ebook, and audio. — CJ has my email address, as do other fans here. You’ be welcome to email me.
Have you signed up for the Library of Congress/BARD system? My dad, who is also legally blind, uses his BARD credentials to order audio books. I “borrowed” his credentials to look up CJ in the BARD database. They list 47 titles. BARD productions are not going to be as polished as the audio books Audible produces, but Dad says they’re more than adequate…and they’re free once you’ve gone through their application process
The Library of Congress books also are delivered straight to your door, postage free, once you get an account set up through your local library. Another possibility is the self-contained Playaway books, which are essentially an audio file on a flash drive powered by a battery. Plug in headphones to the jack, and there you go! Sadly, none of C.J.’s books are available on Playaways, but many other things are.
They’re also called “talking books” – the application is online, if you search on that term. (My grandmother got them back in the 70s, when they were on 16 1/6 rpm records.)
@threadbender (Lynn?) and @chondrite — Oh, thank you! Huh, I had not even heard of Playaway, and my local Lighthouse for the Blind might not be aware of that, though I can’t think why they wouldn’t be aware of it. That sounds like a neat idea, if not ideal, still good. Regarding the Library of Congress, I’ll need to check again for which is my nearest local library branch (besides the two I recall) and get my card updated, then do the LoC signup.
Is there anything comparable in the EU or on a country-by-country basis within the EU, for ericf and others? Hanneke might be able to find out, or other European Continental and UK fans. I’d almost expect several countries might have a similar program, either from their public library systems, or some other public access.
Note too — If there’s a typed manuscript or a computer file of same, better, I could record audio as a narrator or voice actor. I have never done so as a paying gig, but for a few fan audio podcast dramas, I’ve done bit parts and one larger part, and have recorded audio for amateur stories before. I’d be thrilled to help record science fiction or any fiction, poetry, whatever, paid or free. (Ahem, paid would sure help my current circumstances, but hey, the need to help the community outweighs even that.) Besides, I really enjoyed doing the audio I had done. (Star Trek: Hidden Frontiers audio, Star Trek: Excelsior audio, a large part in a never-completed Star Trek mirror universe project, two episodes were completed; I did a Russian accent there. Others.)
BCS, did you see Sweetbo’s recommendation of a good place to sign up to get jobs narrating audiobooks?
I copied it in my letter to you of 11 February, I’d hoped that would have arrived by now but maybe the snow hiatus is still causing disruptions.
Here it is:
On https://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/tested-clean/ Sweetbo on January 14, 2021 at 10:06 pm : If recording/narration is an option for BCS I have a friend who has good luck working from home for years now by doing narration work via ACX. She does a ton of romance novels as there’s a big market for that, but I imagine there’s all types and lengths needing narrators as Audible, iTunes etc is ever growing. Recording some samples and starting small is key as it’s a marketplace that match up authors and narrators of various budgets and quality and building a good rep. Having reliable internet would still be an issue. Here’s the link to ACX https://www.acx.com/help/narrators/200484550
It seems like a good idea to try this; not just to create a profile and upload some samples, but also to actively audition for books you’ld like to record by sending in samples. If you start by auditioning for some shorter works by unknown authors, for which there is less competition, you can start building a good reputation for your reading work, even if the books you read don’t become bestsellers. It’s a way to start creating an income flow while working from home that is less dependent on your sight than the font-creation.
It also could have a lot faster and more certain income return on your time investment than hoping your writing career will take off, or that you can design and sell a complex (Dungeons and Dragons-like) online- or boardgame when you’ve not done much gaming nor game developing beforehand. I would guess that that is a market in which many experienced gamers already compete; and it needs both a good story, interesting game mechanics, and appealing visuals, which would need a lot of time for you to develop.
That is not to say “don’t try it”, but I’d suggest keeping the storytelling (whether as short stories, books or games) as a sideline for now, as you need a faster route to a source of income. They could still be part of a long-term plan to expand beyond the immediately needed solutions.
@sweetbo and @Hanneke — Oh my gosh, I had completely missed that post! Thank you! I will check out that link. I’d like to do audio work, and starting out small and working up, getting an income, is absolutely needed.
It’ll be a few days between whenever I can start straightening out between the current web hosting company and the new (and former) one, in order to move my website domains, and then re-upload my websites, but that’s needed in order to have a home base for my audio as well as any fonts and past or future writing.
I got two notes in the mail but had set them aside, thinking I’d get to them, and then didn’t; and then when I checked last week, I had another note or two and set those to read, but got busy and tired, so they are there to read tonight. I’m sorry for the delay. I’ve been trying to catch up, but I’m run-ing behind, plus I seem to have gotten myself off-kilter somehow, the past week.
Hah, and — The kitten (or gravity?) or both cats in concert, managed to knock over the clothes rack where I had things drying. haha, nothing broken, no one’s hurt, but things are strewn over the living room to dry while I have a new clothes rack on order. The old one was bent out of all possibility of repair. Haha, I can’t even be mad at Brindle, because I’m not too sure how it happened, only that I saw them both when I heard it fall. Just glad nothing serious happened. It made for an “exciting” afternoon!
Things are going OK here, but I’ve had a lot of things break or run out in the month since I’ve been back among the rest of the world, and hat’s aggravating, plus I find myself fighting the urge to get anything else.
I do need a strong desk lamp, as my current old fluorescent lamp has turned hoist, which would be picked up by audio recording. My microphone should still be fine, but I need to update Audacity ( a free open source audio program) and get set up again and do a test recording, besides the old samples I have, and my voice in a few episodes, one larger part and a couple of smaller parts.
Sweetbo and Hanneke, thank you both. If this results in anything at all, it’s an improvement. If they like my voice, even better. I’d be happy to record for nearly any genre or author.
Note: At the end of one of the Liaden audiobooks I listened to over my hiatus, there was a very interesting interview between Sharon Lee and the narrator on doing voice work and audiobooks. Basically, it means there’s a market for readers, and if one can get established as reliable, skilled, either for various work and authors, or for repeat work for a given author or authors, it can be rewarding, both fun (if you like it) and well, it won’t make you rich, but it can help pay the bills or be a full-time job.
There is a very neat video, a short film, called I Know That Voice, which interviews many popular voice actors for anime and cartoons and other work, much of it in genres fans here would know and love. The video is available on iTunes and likely on Amazon Prime Video and elsewhere. It was a lot of fun to hear and watch, and informative on what they do and how. Really recommended for fans.
Yes, I need somethingg besides font-creation and writing, as neither is going fast enough or steadily enough to get income quickly enough or stable flow. The gaming idea is ambitious but I’m starting from zero there, no experience at gaming or game design, and I feel it needs some experience and some input from beta testers / readers to see if it’s going well, where the holes are, and so on. (I haven’t yet sat down to read through the starter set I got, to begin learning.)
From prior experience, it can take several takes to get a usable audio take, and for a short story, that can mean several stops and starts, piecing it together, or if you’re lucky, one long take without interruptions. (I’m not sure if my mike will pick up noise outside the apartment, say.) But I could get a shorter short story done in an afternoon or evening sometimes, and a longer one over a day or two, with a novella length done over several days, from a prior attempt as a volunteer at an amateur website. When I’ve done lines for fan audio parts, that can go quickly, depending on how many lines, how big a part it is, but usually, not too bad, about four or five times the work of what actually gets into the finished episode, with alternate takes, for instance. So this is doable. I had great fun doing the fan audio, and still have contacts with the ones I worked on. I wish they could be more active, but the Trek guidelines and then the economy have done a number on fan productions for Trek or for other fandoms. Fan or original stuff is a lot of work to get out an episode, and not every project makes it to completion. The ones I regularly listen to, though, have had a good track record over the years.
(I like Star Trek: Outpost and Star Trek: Excelsior, and I miss the old ScapeCast and Firefly Signal podcasts. My first fan audio work was on Star Trek: Hidden Frontiers, as a Klingon guard and a Cardassian Gul.)
Prayers for you and Jane in all things as you face and overcome health challenges. Be strong. Persevere!
I greatly appreciate “Alliance Rising” and hope you continue that series. I personally think it’s much more complex and satisfying than the Foreigner series (but that’s your bread and butter).
I may be the only one but wish you would continue your fantasy epic, the Fortress series. I think it’s some of your best writing. You once described it to me as an “orphan” but I keep being drawn back to it. I’ll bet I’ve read it 10 times. 😉