Dandelyon's Worlds

I am a filker, a writer, an artist, a dreamer.

For the 2014 A-Z challenge, I did ficlets in a new fantasy world, featuring catkin and other fantastic beings. Here is the A-Z prompt list, with links to the posts as I write them.

I also do online Tarot readings here. You are always welcome to ask if I'm up to doing a paid reading, but I periodically offer to draw a free card for people as well. The landing page is here.

Life was chaotic in the next few years (siding falling off house, roof leaks, Aunt and Mom dying, covid, and more) and my creative output has suffered. I was finally getting going again when I caught the Covid, and was left with a bad case of Long Covid.  That slowed me down even more, but I'm still here.

I have a Patreon over here, which lately has been mostly poetry and songs. But I write about the creative process, share bits of works in progress, share my photos, and more over there.  And now you can join my patreon as a free member, while you consider whether to upgrade to a paid membership.  I am working on getting the lyrics to all my songs over there, and lyric posts are always open to the public.  I hope to have more music recordings for paid members there soon.

I also have a bandcamp:  https://wylddandelyon.bandcamp.com/

You can find links to my flash fiction, to my serialized story, Fireborn, and to my poetry and songs over at my (still under construction, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, in suspended animation) website, www.wyld-dandelyon.com.

You used to be able to find some of my fiction, poetry, worldbuilding, and artwork over at www.tornworld.net, along with the fiction, poetry, world-building, and art of my talented co-creators there. Sadly, at some point the html code was updated in ways that broke the site, and we haven't had the money to hire someone for the many, many hours of work that would be needed to bring the site up to date.  I do have a cozy mystery written in that world, and most of a second one, and hope to do a kickstarter and get it out in the world, but that hasn't happened yet.  I plan to copy a lot of my art and stories over into my Patreon, because i'm proud of them and don't want them to remain unavailable.

If you miss my old, long-winded landing page, you can find it and the landing pages for various projects by searching on the "landing" tag.

What with the blizzard in the news, and it being full moon tonight, it feels right to do another card draw. Come on in, have some tea or hot chocolate, and I'll draw a card for you. I hope you'll understand if you have to pour for yourself; I can only get so close to having you physically in my warm, friendly home. That does have some positive aspects--if you're allergic, the cats (always curious when magick is afoot) won't make you sneeze!

Today, for free one card readings, you can pick from the Brian Froud's Faeries Oracle, my combined Susan Seddon Boulet Animal Spirits and Goddesses cards, or the Shapeshifter Tarot. You can ask a question, ask for a Guide, for inspiration, or you can just ask for a card. You can also ask for a card or Guide for one of your characters or in some other way ask for advice or inspiration for a creative project.

The first card is free (though tips are always appreciated). Tips also let you ask me to use any of my other decks, to request a private reading, or to draw a clarifying card. If you want a longer reading, send a direct message so we can agree on the type of reading and rate.

I've written before about why I do readings and some of the decks I use here, feel free to hop over and check me out. I'll wait.

Please consider dropping something in the guitar case below. Readings take time and energy, and even though Milwaukee isn't enclosed in the blizzard, winter heat is pricey.

Signal boosts are very much appreciated, and earn you the right to ask for a clarifying card.

I understand all too well that sometimes people don't have cash or spoons, and it is generally during those times when people most need inspiration! Don't be afraid to ask for a card if you can't tip.

If you tip, it's helpful to me for you to mention it here so I can connect your paypal information with your request.

Tips should be at least $1 (Paypal charges fees). Alternatively, you can tip in Torn World/EMG credits. If neither of these work for you, drop me a message and we'll work something out.

I will reply to all requests. In the highly unlikely event that the number of requests nears my limits, I'll close this One Card Draw (by adding a clear note at the top of the post) rather than risk leaving anyone without a response.

Thank you, and Blessed Be!

As always, these readings are for entertainment and inspiration only. See my "Dandelyon's Readings" page if you have questions.

The Crowdfunding Community is hosting a Creative Jam--people leave prompts, and people of all skill levels are welcome to stop by and use those prompts to create something--anything. Sketches, paintings, poetry, songs, stories, pottery, whatever.

Please stop by and leave some prompts. Each participating creator decides how and whether to share their work, but some of us privately share with the prompter first, regardless of what else we do.

Also, you are welcome to use any of the prompts to create something. As a creator, you can choose whether and how to share their work--you can share for free, sell your work, offer to publish your work for a sponsorship or even set it aside to submit in the traditional fashion.

Whether making things is work or play (or a bit of both) for you, why don't you stop by?

In other news, My Angel's feeling miserable again today; the antibiotics that seemed to be working so well yesterday aren't doing such a good job today. I hope I'll be able to participate in the jam, instead of heading back to Urgent Care with her.

Just saying, tomorrow, can I have a day where nothing interrupts the interruptions that interrupted my interruptions?

Having worked, done errands, eventually had dinner, and read some (but sadly not all) of my flist I'm starting to feel focused again, and relaxed enough to think I could possibly do some real writing.

Just in time to head to bed.

*sigh*

Over here: http://haikujaguar.livejournal.com/812871.html there's a discussion of alternate ways to compensate artists and writers for their effort and skill. Stop by and share your thoughts!

Or take off your coat and stay a while.  Have some chocolate.  Tell me what you've been up to.  Share your favorite mental aperitif.  And bring a friend!  Even when I'm tired and frazzled, I'm glad when you visit.

Cool Birthday Project

xjenavivex has a really cool birthday request -- she's asking her friends to check out other friends who are artists, writers, poets, photographers, and the like. As a result, she's compiling a list of really cool people, some known pretty well here on LJ (such as Seanan McGuire) and others who should become much more well-known (like haikujaguar ).

Her initial post is at: http://xjenavivex.livejournal.com/346086.html, though she expects to be updating her list of cool creative people to check out throughout the month of August.

What a cool idea! I should do this too--no, wait, my birthday is also in August.

Redundancy is sometimes useful, but one source in a month of friends-of-friends recommendations seems to be quite sufficient. So instead, I'll pimp her efforts. You should go check this out. There's enough links that everyone should be able to find something they enjoy.

Welcomes

Welcome to new friends, flutterbychild jdoggiedogg upstart_crow m_stiefvater morvashepley mount_oregano agrbk red_trillium jolantru patesden sythyry miintikwa and xjenavivex

Wow, I guess it's been too long since I did a welcome post! And if I missed anyone, welcome to you too!


Garden Update

As to the garden, I promised a picture or two of the mulberry tree. I'm not particularly satisfied with the pictures; somehow it was easier to see the tree that shall be in the twilight. Perhaps that was inevitable; twilight is a good time for dreams, after all. But I promised.<input ... ></input><input ... >

I want to say welcome to my new friends here.  I look forward to reading your comments and having some good conversations here.

Actually, I want to say more than that, but having done a little market research for places to submit stories and a bunch of hunting for jobs to apply for, I find I'm nodding over the keyboard.  So, more (hopefully interesting) verbiage another day!  Sleep well, or wake well, as the case may be, gentle readers.

It's really very cool to know I'm not just talking to the electronic equivalent of a wall. Thanks for friending me, and for reading.

I'd love it, if you're willing to share, to hear what drew you here.

And in return, I'll offer to answer questions. I can't promise to answer quickly (some questions deserve thinking before typing), and there's things that aren't mine to share, but I do promise to respond to all of my friends' questions.

Welcome to my journal, where I share a bit about my life and a lot of the creative things I do.

I love friends, and good conversation.  I look forward to talking with you all. 

The purpose of the rest of this post is to help you navigate my journal if you're looking for specific things.  Or you can simply scroll down and start reading.

I don't (yet) have an index for stuff like daily life, the wonders of job-hunting in this post-Bush economy, My Life In Micropoetry (a/k/a my Twitter posts that I think are most worth sharing), pictures of my garden and my travels, or art in progress. Some things are best experienced in the moment, after all.

But other things...

FICTION:  FIREBORN  Imagine a world where people have been adapted to different ecosystems, where some can fly, some can breathe water, some are comfortable in desert sands or deep caves. This is the world of the fireborn, who can be of any of the shapes that humans can be, with an added extra--the firesense, the ability to do magic. The fireborn are relied upon in times of crisis--and feared for their power, for the fact that they are different, though the differences are hidden. It is also the world of the shifters, people who have more than one native form. You can find links to Fireborn, the novel I'm serializing, and other stories set in this world here.



FLASH FICTION Exploring the world of Twitter, I came across #fridayflash, people who share their flash fiction on some un-named day of the week. Here you will find links to my flash fiction that I'm publishing herein, for #fridayflash and, occasionally, for other occasions.


The stories are set in different worlds, and different genres.  They range from lighthearted to serious. 






You can also find some of my work at TORNWORLD.NET.  Torn World is a shared world science fantasy setting, with all sorts of exciting creative work going on, including but not limited to fiction, art, and poetry.

BUSKING IN CYBERLAND Since I was laid off in January of 2009, I started exploring non-traditional publishing venues, including the new-to-me terms, crowdfunding and crowdsourcing. It's definitely a learning process--and one that there are not yet any established experts to learn from, though I've found a few guiding stars. It isn't the first time I've braved publicly performing in the hopes that I'll get some income.  Here are my Busking in Cyberland posts, where I discuss what I've learned, and what I'm still trying to discover.

Speaking of which--please keep in mind that, as I write this, I still do not have a day job. If you like what you read, and can afford it, I'd appreciate it if you would choose to become an active patron of the arts. Michelangelo had popes--a series of them. I have--YOU.  All of my fiction, my profile, and some of my other material has a donation hat for Paypal; if you want to buy me dinner or a drink, and don't choose to use Paypal, let me know and we'll figure out what will work for you.  And thank you!

Dandelyon's Verse  I have haiku, song lyrics, and other poetry listed here.


I want to note how honored I am to have been nominated for all these Rose & Bay awards.  For further information on them, please see the post in Busking in Cyberland about the awards.  I'd sneak the links in here, but as I write this LJ is having some issues with embedding links.

To all my readers, thank you for dropping by!

This blog won a Superior Scribbler Award in September of 2009.  You can read more about the award, and see who I nominated for the award, in this post.    I'm very honored, and I will try to continue to live up to this honor, even after I once again have a day job.