If you write or paint or do anything creative, you reach a point where you pretty much need to put it out there and invite people to take potshots give their opinion about it. Unless you keep your work locked into a closet somewhere, of course – but that seems both selfish and cowardly, and ultimately unfulfilling.

It’s a bit like being naked in public. Yes, that dream, that horrible dream where you’re in class and you’ve forgotten your homework and everyone is laughing at you because you’re naked. That one, exactly.

So I imposed on family and asked them to read my poor book. And then I almost had a panic attack. Sitting in class naked? It would almost be easier.

Part One is located here.

The following two videos are what I assume is the conclusion of the Sith Inquisitor Andronikos Revel storyline. (According to the forums, once you get married that’s pretty much it. Your companion won’t talk to you anymore, rather like some real-life scenarios.) The romance-novel relationship continues, with Andronikos being very romantic…beware, if you have diabetes, you may want to avoid these videos. :)

Unfortunately, both characters had hoods on in the first video – by the time I realised, I was afraid to back out of the conversation.

Spoilers after the cut.

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And again, new covers. It is amusing me how difficult this actually is…none of these are right, even now. There is no urgency, of course…just the frustration of wanting to get it right. Some or the artwork is rough/not fully painted, as these are mockups. The initial covers are here.

Revised and new versions:

Well, the book seems to be stuck with the working title, as I’ve got absolutely nothing else. Title fail.

Below are two covers that I have been thinking about, one more literal and one a bit more simple/abstract. The story is (without giving away what it’s a retelling of) an it-happened-all-in-one-night mad chase through various fairytales and through the middle of a war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. It is steampunk fantasy, and would be placed somewhere between Middle Grade (as in the first Harry Potter book) and YA (as in the darker books which the series ended with).

Which cover would you be prompted to click through to if you saw it on Amazon? Which would catch your eye, and why? I think I fell into a quite unexpected trap, which is that I am having trouble visualising a cover for my own work because I am too close to it. In a recent post by Joel Friedlander, Book Cover Design and the Problem of Symbolism, he writes:

The problem is that authors are so attached to their own symbolism or to an image they have lodged in their mind that would be “perfect” for the book cover, they lose sight of the role their book cover is intended to play. One of the quickest ways to kill any good effect of your book cover is to include too many elements. In fact, this is one of the most common failures of amateur designers.

Yep, I’m there right now. So since I can evidently no longer see this objectively, what do you think? Images after the cut.

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First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak out because I was Protestant.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

According to Wikipedia, which is black today in protest against SOPA, “First they came…” is a famous statement attributed to pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power.

If you think that SOPA doesn’t apply to you, and you have a gaming or any other kind of pop culture blog, you are very much mistaken. They are definitely coming for you. Those screenshots and frapsed video? Definitely someone else’s intellectual property. You could try and argue fair use, but I think that the pockets of most bloggers are much shallower than those of game companies.

If you post strong opinions about businesses or politicians, or if you review books or movies, SOPA applies to you.

Even if you live in a country which allows you to do things like post links to other sites (even if you are not providing pirated property at all) SOPA will apply to you. America (or rather the corporations behind every politician) have already won the right to extradite people who have committed no crime in their own country.

Posting lolcats? Better not. Ok, that is taking things to a silly extreme of course, but the point is that anyone will have the right to take your site down without hearing or proof. And they will do it.

The Oatmeal had the best anti-SOPA protest today; this says it all.

On a minor level, I’ve seen my own artwork pirated. I’ve seen it used on other sites and presented as other people’s work. I’ve written some nasty emails and had work taken down. If I was making any money at all from my art, then that would theoretically be costing me money. Would I stand behind something as corrupt as SOPA and PIPA to keep that from happening? Not in a million years.

Yes, I am a Bad Person. I admit that I do download things like TV shows and some music. But you know what? I wouldn’t be doing it if this media was sold at a fair price, or (in the case of TV shows) sold to a global market. Do you think that I want to watch my favourite shows a full season behind the US, after I’ve already read tons of spoilers? No, I want to experience it at the same time as everyone else. I would totally pay for ALL music if I didn’t feel that it was morally corrupt – the artist will be getting a few pence from every CD sold, and the music and movie industry is full of asshats. I don’t want to feel dirty – give me a way to buy music without supporting corporations that do so much harm in the world.

If I was prosecuted for downloading the odd Castle or True Blood episode, I would have to hold my hand up and say “yes, I did that and I knew it was wrong.” But having my site taken down because I post a negative review of a game and add some screenshots? Wrong.

So speak out. Don’t wait until there is no one left to speak for you.