Making Book

[rolanni]

kinzel and I aspire to open a Snippet Shop in Second Life (SL), there to push snippets of chapbooks into the hands of unsuspecting avatars, and thereby induce them to visit SRM Publisher's catalog page in Real Life (RL) and purchase lotsa stuff.

This is, at least, our Cunning Plan.

Which means that we have to make books that are readable in SL. Fortunately, someone else had already figured out how to do this -- several someones, apparently -- and the script is freely available. However, the conversion is not labor-free. In fact, it requires a good bit of hand-carrying stuff from RL to SL, which activity occasionally crashes my computer. Formatting needs to happen in-world and various permissions set, and a bunch of other noodling and toodling that is not, alas, First or even Fifth Nature with me yet.

What I'm saying here is that it takes me a Good Long Time to make a snippet book. However, I'm pleased to report that I have now made two booklets -- Changeling and Master Walk. At this rate, it will be Quite Some Time before the Snippet Store has enough stock to open, but I remain optimistic that I will get more nimble with time. Or perhaps find a way to automate.

In other SL news, I have become quite fond of the Independent Nation of Caledon. Not fond enough to shift house, but entirely fond enough to become a frequent visitor. You can find things in Caledon (a Victorian themed sim) that you can find nowhere else in SL. Anyone will sell you an in-world working laptop (eek!), but only in Caledon will you find a fountain pen. Digital clocks abound, but only at Smith and Tinker's in Caledon will you find grandfather clocks -- which Master Sprocket will kindly adjust to chime the half-hour and hour, at no extra charge. There are working telescopes to be had in Caledon. Oh, and an Adventurer's Club. It's quite wonderful. Do go, the next time you're in SL.

To return to our narrative, having begun early to make book in SL, I hithered myself to the post office, where another 50-odd Crystal Dragon orders went into the mail. After that, I finished making the book in SL, and rose into RL, where I took over packing books from kinzel while he made us a wonderful salmon lunch.

Book packing done for the day, I repaired to my office, and wrote a few words. We're taking the evening off to watch a movie -- hmmm. I wonder which? Howl's Moving Castle, Third Rock from the Sun, or Cry of the Snow Lion... Choices, choices....

Progress on the Book Without a Name

34,520 / 98,000 (35.2%)

Comments

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

You're making SL sound very appealing, at least to this Asheron's Call escapee. Is it all peaceful activity, or can one go and do something like monster-hunting when they're feeling less sociable?

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Is it all peaceful activity, or can one go and do something like monster-hunting when they're feeling less sociable?

There is monster-hunting available, and whole sims dedicated to war craft. The sex shops of Amsterdam are a teleport away. You can go to university, a live concert, a strip club, or a seminar on how learning takes place in SL. There are a lot of casinos and places advertising "free money" because part of how you get income in SL is through "dwell" based on the number of people visiting your land.

What is/was Asheron's Call?

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

AC is a massively multiplayer roleplaying game with a very dungeons and dragons kind of bent--a lot of monster hunting & quests and less of a focus on the civilian activities. Here's a good link to a player site:

http://www.thejackcat.com/

Wheee!!! :)

[(Anonymous)]

A slightly topical question: is Howls Moving Castle out on DVD already? Ive been wanting to watch (Loved the book as a child) but missed it when it was in the theaters. . . .

In other news . . . I just got my copy of _Crystal Dragon via a special order from Barnes & Noble and am on page 35 *wheee* Its been quite a ride so far and quite intriguing. I had to stop for a bit tho' for foodage and packing for a trip. A perfect book to bring on a plane ride :) (get me to totally ignore take-off and landing and whatsis.)

Aargh!

[origamilady.livejournal.com]

Hrmmm that last post was from me *grump* I swear I was logged in just a few minutes ago *sigh* At any rate :) I will hopefully be able to get y'all to sign my copy of _Crystal Dragon_ at PenguiCon :)

Re: Aargh!

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

is Howls Moving Castle out on DVD already?

Got it from Netflix. Excellent, by the way, but you might want to forget everything you know about the book before viewing it.

I just got my copy of _Crystal Dragon via a special order from Barnes & Noble and am on page 35 *wheee* Its been quite a ride so far and quite intriguing.

Whew.

I will hopefully be able to get y'all to sign my copy of _Crystal Dragon_ at PenguiCon :)

We'll be there, and we'll have pens. See you soon!

[(Anonymous)]

*crossing my fingers and hpoing that the Book Without a Name is a sequel for The Tomorrow Log*

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

The title of the sequel to The Tomorrow Log is Web of the Trident and Steve is working on that now. The Book Without a Name is a separate, self-indulgent project that I'm working on because, y'know, I Just Wanna. I'll need to put it away at the end of May when it's my turn with Trident; I'm looking for a completed first draft by then -- and a title, too.