{"id":43692,"date":"2022-05-12T08:55:25","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T12:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/?p=43692"},"modified":"2022-05-12T08:55:25","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T12:55:25","slug":"in-which-i-gesticulate-wildly-at-you-for-a-variety-of-reasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2022\/05\/12\/in-which-i-gesticulate-wildly-at-you-for-a-variety-of-reasons\/","title":{"rendered":"In Which I Gesticulate Wildly At You For A Variety Of Reasons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"672\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"42613\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2022\/02\/25\/updates-in-the-void\/aaatboa-reprint-front-cover\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover-scaled.jpg?fit=1344%2C2048&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1344,2048\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"aaaTBoA reprint front cover\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover-scaled.jpg?fit=197%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover-scaled.jpg?fit=672%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover.jpg?resize=672%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover-scaled.jpg?resize=672%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 672w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover-scaled.jpg?resize=197%2C300&amp;ssl=1 197w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1170&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover-scaled.jpg?resize=1008%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1008w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/aaaTBoA-reprint-front-cover-scaled.jpg?w=1344&amp;ssl=1 1344w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Why yes, it is time for one of those shotgun-blast slapdash news-updates. I have more, um, cogent bloggery in mind, but I am currently under<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*does a quick count*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>the yoke of FOUR DIFFERENT PROJECTS right now, and am a little bit<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*eye twitches*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>overburdened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(To explain, the four projects are: first draft of the Evil Apple book, second draft of my TBA new writing book, page proofs of <strong>Wayward<\/strong>, and outlines for a secret li&#8217;l comics project. Three of these things hit <em>this month<\/em>, while I am, as noted, trying to write a first draft of the new book. AHHHHHH.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But! There be news, just the same, should you care to bear it &#8212;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First up, <strong>The Book of Accidents<\/strong> has been nominated for a Locus Award in Best Horror, holy crap. (That&#8217;s now in addition to being nominated for a Stoker, as well, hot damn.) You can find the list <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/locusmag.com\/2022\/05\/2022-locus-awards-top-ten-finalists\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a> &#8212; I&#8217;ll note that in horror I share the space with some amazing finalists: Premee Mohamed, Grady Hendrix, Stephen Graham Jones, Stephen King, Rivers Solomon, Daryl Gregory, Caitlin Starling, and Champion Joe Lansdale. It&#8217;s fucking cool. I&#8217;m very lucky. TBOA has gone back for another printing in paperback already, by the way, and continues to sell really well and that&#8217;s thanks to you, and to all the great booksellers and librarians who are out there shoving my MIND VIRUS I mean COOL HORROR NOVEL into people&#8217;s eyes. Thank you for that. If you&#8217;ve read the book and care to leave a nice review somewhere, I&#8217;d be thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, the SFWA is running their silent auction with Worldbuilders, and you can find that auction <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biddingforgood.com\/auction\/item\/browse.action?auctionId=341699488\" target=\"_blank\">right here<\/a>. But you&#8217;ll also find a couple WENDIG-SPECIFIC auction items, including <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biddingforgood.com\/auction\/item\/browse.action?auctionId=341699488\" target=\"_blank\">this lot of signed\/personalized books<\/a>, as well as <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biddingforgood.com\/auction\/item\/browse.action?auctionId=341699488&amp;searchTerm=wendig&amp;search=Search&amp;_sourcePage=1BR1XDSQVJlLYsuDKS9t0adu0wt2lnOlBiTONnwlpGE%3D&amp;__fp=h3NwY-HRFgY%3D\" target=\"_blank\">seats for a virtual kaffeeklatsch<\/a> (which is German for, &#8220;a caffeinated chat in which you are trapped in a virtual room with me and you cannot leave until your time is up&#8221;). The auction runs for the next four days, so get in and bid to support the good work done by the SFWA. Good work like, for instance, the #DisneyMustPay initiative, which LA Times just did a piece on &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/story\/2022-05-11\/disney-star-wars-writers-of-royalties\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">read it here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Third, we&#8217;re looking for new ideas for cool WENDIGIAN VOIDMERCH. You can find what we&#8217;ve got already cooked up thanks to designer Jordan Shiveley <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/voidmerch.threadless.com\/collections\/wendig-x-voidmerch\" target=\"_blank\">right here<\/a> &#8212; Black Swan shirts, Art Harder, Welcome to Ramble Rocks, and so forth. But! If you have cool Wendig- or terribleminds-themed things you want emblazoned upon clothing or bags or YOUR VERY SOUL, umm, you know, drop a note in the comments below. A new Certified Penmonkey shirt maybe? An Ashe &amp; Grim Solemnities logo shirt? Scream it so the cheap seats can hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"519\" data-attachment-id=\"42337\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2022\/02\/07\/merch-merch\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?fit=2048%2C1517&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2048,1517\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"wendig_voidmerch_samplepage\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C222&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?fit=700%2C519&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage.jpg?resize=700%2C519&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C759&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C222&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C569&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1138&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/wendig_voidmerch_samplepage-scaled.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Elden Ring Update<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So, Elden Ring ended up one of my favorite games. Had a lot of fun with it. Again, my goal was basically this: run all the way past the scariest shit, and then scoop up all the good items I could while also leveling up along the way, and then when I was of significant level, I&#8217;d go back to the scary shit to basically just kick the big bosses&#8217; assholes inside out. It was a fun way to play &#8212; focused largely on exploration and late-game conquest. It worked. It ended up not being a very hard game at the end of that, really. Except, well, at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The end game of Elden Ring is, in my mind, bullshit. I know, I know: GIT GUD. Well, I thought I did &#8220;git gud.&#8221; I was able to basically waltz my way through nearly all of the late-game bosses &#8212; Melania stumped me, couldn&#8217;t beat her to save my life, no matter what strategy I used. But then I came to the Elden Beast and no matter what I do, no matter how pumped up I am, the Beast fucking slaughters me in a hit or two. I can kick Radagon&#8217;s ass easy. But then the EB shows up and just rains hell on my face while my Mimic Tears kinda&#8230; just waits around. It sucks. I hate it. So I gave up on that. The end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AND THAT&#8217;S ALL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More when I have it. Or when I&#8217;ve climbed out of this WORK HOLE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*waves*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why yes, it is time for one of those shotgun-blast slapdash news-updates. I have more, um, cogent bloggery in mind, but I am currently under *does a quick count* the yoke of FOUR DIFFERENT PROJECTS right now, and am a little bit *eye twitches* overburdened. (To explain, the four projects are: first draft of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-theramble","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pv7MR-bmI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43692"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43696,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43692\/revisions\/43696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}