← Feed

Posts

• Post #4480002

  #ScribesAndMakers 10/08: How willing are you to take risks with your creative work? Well, the only risk I'm taking is that my books won't sell. That's not a huge risk, if you ask me. So yeah, I'm willing to take that risk if it means I can write what I enjoy to write (and read). Because writing needs to be fun. Maybe that's the bigger risk - writing becoming a chore instead of fun because I'm chasing money. #WritingCommunity

• Post #4479996

  #WritersCoffeeClub 8/10 Do you reuse characters? Well, of course. I write mostly in series, which means you get recurring characters. Both the Wolves and the Winds & Pillars feature different characters as MCs in each book, but the familiar ones show up all the time. That is the great fun in series, right? You get to stay with beloved characters for longer. I hope I don't "recycle" chars, as in writing the same type over and over again. (But even that might not be bad.) #W...

• Post #4470692

  #WritersCoffeeClub 8/9: What’s a subject you’d like to write about, but haven’t yet? I have a near-future vampire urban fantasy on the backburner, planned as trilogy. Done quite a bit of world-building (the world will change quite noticeably in the next 15-20 years), but the story isn't... coming together. I started writing it twice, turning it from noir to near-future. Still not working. And the covers I bought are worthless. *sigh* #WritingCommunity

• Post #4465106

  Gute Nacht, Freunde. Ran around with Hammer Twink and found a spot of Mountain at the beach. Very strange. Maybe this will become Deep North at one point. I still need to find more fragments to unlock the Queen. *sigh* #Valheim

• Post #4346910

  Guten Morgen. Edit: It seems to be vespula vulgaris, the "common wasp", which is anything but common to me. Does anyone know a good app to identify this wasp? It's noticeably smaller than the usual ones, gentler, more inquisitive. They've been around my town apartment for two months or so now. #Kiel Northern Germany Apologies, my phone is very bad at close-ups.

• Post #4286144

  Today is the last day you can get West Flows for half price in my store - and only in my store. (It ends at midnight MEST, aka in a few hours.) Book 1, South Breaks, is actually free. So skip over there, use this coupon code : Jeko and enjoy an adventure that others have called "enchanting". https://shop.hannah-steenbock.de/b/westwinds #Reading #EpicFantasy

• Post #4251161

  @jensclasen@mastodon.social Ich habe drei Jahre mit einem fürchterlichen, narzisstischem Vorgesetzten verbracht. Es war gruslig, viele Kolleg:innen sind traumatisiert, ich hatte das Glück, selten in der Schusslinie zu sein. Offenbar ist Reiche ähnlich unangenehm. Der Schaden, den sie im Ministerium anrichtet, wird erst Jahre später wirklich sichtbar werden. Ich wünschen allen Mitarbeitenden dort viel Glück - und einen baldigen Wechsel.

• Post #4205824

  #PennedPossibilities 1084 In your universe, what happens to people when they die? They get buried. The traditions vary, but coming back from death is not actually a thing in the world of the Winds & Pillars. The sacrificed Winds & Pillars retain a bit of personality when their energy is siphoned into the Veil, but that is slowly diluted when more energy arrives. #WritingCommunity #EpicFantasy

• Post #4132703

  #ScribesAndMakers 7/27. Do you feel your creative work leans more towards reflecting life as it is or as you would like it to be? Uh, kind of? I mean, yes, I'd love to have similar happy endings to what my Wolves get, but that's about it. I honestly don't want to live in the fantasy worlds I create, I'm definitely not cut out to be the heroine. (I'm overweight, lazy and old. Hmm. Should I write a heroine like that?) But there is justice in my worlds, and that is nice. #W...

• Post #4132696

  #WritersCoffeeClub 7/27 What's a writerly growing pain you're experiencing right now? Actually finding enough readers to create a decent income stream from my books. This is not truly a writing problem, admittedly, but it does feel like some very unpleasant growing pain, because it means I have to leave my comfort zone and invest time into more marketing. It also means finding a way of marketing that aligns with my morals and that I can enjoy. #WritingCommunity

• Post #3855163

  #WritersCoffeeClub 7/16 What's a trope you'd like to see subverted? Damsel in Distress. And so many others that take away agency from women. In fact, I don't even want those tropes subverted. I want them destroyed, atomized, and possibly digested into fertile soil for new, better tropes. #WritingCommunity

• Post #3736097

  #ScribesAndMakers 11/07: It all started when.. I couldn't find anything to read and decided to write the story I wanted to read. It helped that a scene was replaying in my mind and wanted out. Took me a day and 20 pages to get there, and then I was hooked. That was over 26 years ago. #WritingCommunity

• Post #3628099

  #ScribesAndMakers 7/6 Share the first sentence of the last chapter of one of your novels. *I’m sending you to the trading outpost,* the Keeper said in Sun’s mind. This will set up Sun for a really fun encounter, one that I hope readers of the series will truly enjoy. Sun Burns, Pillars of the Empire 3 (Winds & Pillars 8) #WritingCommunity #EpicFantasy

• Post #3602550

  #PhantastikPrompts 5.7. Hast du schon Erfahrung mit Lesungen? Welche Tipps kannst du Einsteigern geben? Ich hab ein paar Lesungen gemacht. 1) Habt was zu Trinken da, am besten Wasser. 2) Bereitet den Text gut vor, druck ihn vielleicht auch in großer Schrift aus. (Manche Stellen funktionieren nicht so gut beim Vorlesen, oder schreib dir Überleitungen auf.) 3) Such dir einen Punkt im Publikum, wo du beim Aufblicken hinschaust. 4) Hab so viel Spaß, wie es geht! #Schreiben #WritingCommunity

• Post #3597341

  Remember when I said one of the few good things that happened on Friday was someone buying some Winds & Pillars books? Well, that person returned them all last night. That happens about once a year. I always suspect these people are downloading the epubs, and maybe run the books through Calibre, and then - oh, so clever - get their money back while still being able to read them. It's stealing, quite simply. Those $15 they claw back are maybe $10 for me, and those actually matter. *sig...

• Post #3484799

  #ScribesAndMakers 6/30 Choose an adjective to describe how you're feeling about your creativity going into next month. Excited. I'm very close to finishing Moon. Yes, I said that at the beginning of the month, as well, and writing hasn't happened as much as I thought it would. (Story of my life.) But really, I'm closing in on the showdown, and that will be so much fun to write! Moon Rises, Winds & Pillars 8 #WritingCommunity #EpicFantasy

• Post #3484613

  Who else is selling books through the Google Play Store (Partner Center)? Do you also experience problems with sales reporting? For me, reporting has been stuck on June 13th. Customer support only said "they were on it", and that was over a week ago. Seriously, a tech giant cannot handle a sales database? Shame on them. #IndieAuthors #GooglePlay #GoogleFail

• Post #3467914

  #Phantastikprompts 28.06. Gibt es in deinen Geschichten Gefängnisse? Wie sehen diese aus? Wenn man so will, ist der Heilige Platz ein einziges Gefängnis, in dem Generationen von Magiern eingesperrt sind. Dort landet man nicht auf Grund von einer Verurteilung, nein, die Insassen leben dort weil sie magische Kräfte haben. Und weil sie dort groß geworden sind, ahnen die meisten nicht einmal, dass es ein Gefängnis ist. Winds & Pillars #Schreiben #WritingCommunity #EpicFantasy

• Post #3337470

  Not going to name names, but if all you post here on Mastodon is promo for your product, and those posts are stuff full of hashtags on top... I will mute your account. This is not Instagram, and I do not support accounts that treat Mastodon like a pond of customers. This place is for people, with people and by the people. And I will defend that by denying reach to people who treat us like an algorithm.

• Post #3316723

  #ScribesAndMakers 6/14 Most people are opposed to gatekeeping, but (aside from the obvious need to keep out AI garbage), do you think there should be any form of "quality control" when it comes to self-published work? Every author should publish the best work they could. Sometimes there is room for improvement. I've read a few books that weren't great, but the story was good enough. I do read a lot of indie authors who use editors and produce work at least as good as trad....

• Post #2550073

  #WordWeavers 5/13 What role does non-romantic love play in your story? My wolf packs are basically families, and that kind of love is what holds them together. This goes beyond the romantic love that is a part of each story - this kind of love forms the backbone of wolf society. In fact, the first three books in the series revolve around the different adventures of three siblings who deeply care about each other. Wolves of the South (9 books) #WritingCommunity #WolfShifter

• Post #2495765

  Shameless promo: Do you like mythical creatures? Dragons, merfolk, vampires, even orcs? Check out this BookFunnel bundle I'm participating in: https://books.bookfunnel.com/fantasymythicalcreaturesmay26/phok3433sj Over 60 books, so pick and choose what tickles your curiosity! #Reading #IndieAuthor #BookSale #Fantasy

• Post #2326289

  #PhantastikPrompts 8.5 Handelst du manchmal mit deinen Charakteren aus, wie es in ihrer Geschichte weitergeht? Selten. Meistens setze ich weitgefasste Grenzen, und dann dürfen meine Figuren ran. Ich liebe es, wenn sie mich überraschen, auch wenn das Arbeit macht. Als West sich einfach in den Hafen gestürzt hat, war ich echt perplex. Wie geht es denn nun weiter? Und was folgte, war eine große Überraschung und der Anfang für den Plot. Winds&Pillars #Schreiben #WritingCommunity

• Post #2302287

  #WritersCoffeeClub 5/9. C&R: Share the first line of your current WIP. Everyone: How enticed are you? Moon sat outside in the yard, refusing to join the rest of her House who were hiding inside. Moon Rises, Winds& Pillars 8 #WritingCommunity #EpicFantasy

• Post #2302286

  #ScribesAndMakers 5/9 How likely are you to embrace changes to language usage? I'd say it depends somewhat on what the change actually is. It took me a bit of effort to adapt to it, but using they/them pronouns is definitely getting easier for me. It's a change I want to embrace. However, moving from "wove" to "weaved" is something I won't do, not easily. (I likes my irregular verbs!) And by now, I'm definitely not up to the...

• Post #2302277

  #PennedPossibilities 1009 Do any of your characters wear glasses? Yes, Nick Karagianidis in A Wolf's Honor wears sunglasses. I don't often do signature moves, but him pushing his sunglasses up into his unruly black hair is definitely one. Nick also rides a motorcycle (the large, traveling type), and is both cool and honorable. Wolves of the South Book 3 #WritingCommunity #WolfShifter

• Post #2302273

  Gute Nacht, Freunde. A good day today. Wrote 400 words, played some Valheim (yay, building a new base!), and read an exciting new book. (Too exciting at times, I needed to take breaks from it.) And tomorrow is another new day! #WritingCommunity

• Post #2271530

  Gute Nacht, Valheim. Ran around with Twink. Tried to find the Bog Witch, no luck. I desperately need to build a new base. The starter house is getting way too small, I have no decent kitchen or workshop... but I can't find a good stretch of land for one. Killed two sea serpents right next to the current base, so now I have a serpent shield and lots of meat I cannot cook. Yes, I'm frustrated. #Valheim

• Post #2271529

  Gute Nacht, Freunde. A slow day, still recovering from a nasty histamine bout. At least the headache is finally gone. Also need to start prep, sis is coming to stay for a week soonish. Not a fan of housework, honestly, but it now has to happen. Tomorrow is a new day! #WritingCommunity

• Post #2271528

  Book of the Month May 2026 is here! This time, I'm offering a special deal on Kraken War, book 2 of The Cloud Lands Saga. (Book 1 is free in all stores, unless Amazon throws a fit.) In this book, Dorelle and her new friend get to fight the Kraken, with a few wings of dragonriders under their command. As usual, you get fast-paced action (with kraken) but you also get good and evil dragons. Check out the deal here (only in my store): https://shop.hannah-steenbock.de/blog/book-of-the-m...