#October 2023 Book Releases

[perfectionistwannabe]

38 New Books Releasing in October

There are a lot of new books coming out this month. A LOT!!! From horror to cookbooks to Native American stories, you will find a whole array of new titles you will want to get your hands on. One of my favorite new titles this month is Jo Nesbo’s The Night House. Want to get into the mind of a horror writer, plus throw Inception on top of it all? This one will creep you out. It is a great read…

[owlbookworld]

October 2023 Book releases

Hey everyone and welcome to Owl Book World! Are you looking for some October 2023 book releases? If you’re new here then welcome! I love having you here and would love for you to stay. October 2023 book releases is a new series that I’m actually starting this month. I’ve noticed that I’m a little out of the loop when it comes to new books and what’s coming out. Since I’m a book blogger and I…

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases! (October 17th, 2023)

___

Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

___

New Standalones/First in a Series:

Unholy Terrors by Lyndall Clipstone

All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters

If You'll Have Me by Eunnie

At the End of the World by Nadia Mikail

Flower & Thorn by Rati Mehrotra

Our Divine Mischief by Hanna Howard

Thin Air by Kellie M. Parker

A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli

All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology by Various

One Hundred Days by Alice Pung

New Sequels:

Wild Wishes & Windswept Kisses (Singh Sisters #2) by Maya Prasad

___

Happy reading!

[hrina]

@the anon who recommended the crowns of nyaxia series to me yesterday OK I LIED AGAIN IM SO SORRY SKDNSNDNSJD I HAVE ONE (1) MORE BOOK TO READ BEFORE I START THE DUOLOGY BUT ONCE IM DONE I PROMISE TSATWON IS NEXT ON MY LIST!!!! 🫶🏻

[feypact]

public libraries in the usa offering free digital library cards to people not in their areas (as of october 2023):

brooklyn (13-21yo us residents)

seattle (13-26yo us residents)

boston (13-26yo us residents, EDIT: just commonly banned books)

los angeles (13-18yo california residents)

san diego (12-26yo us residents, not the whole collection just commonly banned books)

these books unbanned cards (unless otherwise stated) get you access to each library's complete libby/cloud library collection, no hoopla/kanopy/physical copies included.

ebook collections are expensive to maintain (many american libraries have annual fees for non-residents because of this) but because of an uptick in book banning (particularly brutal in mississippi last summer) larger libraries have opened their doors more, which is very kind of them!

i've used my seattle card for the last several months and their libby collection has about three times the books that my local library does, which is wonderful for accessing more niche titles or skipping a waiting list. would love to hear of similar ebook initiatives internationally!

i use library extension (firefox/chrome/edge compatible) to check all my collections (+ the internet archive) at once, works for several different countries highly recommend it.

spotify seems to be offering 15hrs/month of audiobook listening to premium subscribers and while that does seem useful if you're already paying and are after a new release with a long library waitlist, libraries are better for everything else.

[artbysconnor]

ZombieCleo x Versace

Part 1/18 of LifeStyle: A Life Series Fashion Zine

-

I had so much fun working on this personal zine and art book, and Cleo was the first piece I did for it, all the way back in October of 2023. 19 illustrations later, it's finally being released in all it's half-toned, high fashioned glory!

[janedoeremi]

Tumblr Memes of 2023

January: Polls, Bug Race, Tumblr Sexyman Round 2, No Fly List Leak

February: Vanilla Extract, Tumblr Sexywoman Polls, Homestuck Fandom Commiting Voter Fraud, Miette decimating Todoroki in Blorbo Polls, Just so many polls

March: Dean Winchester and his Time Traveling Impala in The Winchesters, Celebrating Ides of March a week early, March 14th: The Day Krabs Fries, Ides of March, Autism Swag Poll, Ultimate Cat Girl (Gender Neutral) Poll, Putin having a warrent for his arrest, The Bots returned with a vengance

April: April Fools Day, Sonic the Hedgehog died, Trumps arrest, Barbie Arresting Trump, Everyone getting a Barbie description, Poll with Nina Tucker and Alexander needs them to tie to move on together, hyperspecific polls, Misha Collins assigned Bisexual by the WB, Elon Musk being the victim of Murphy's Law, It's gonna be May

May: Dracula Daily cast is stuck in a time loop, Trigun stan causes book: This Is How You Lose the Time War to become a bestseller, whatever the fuck happened with Eurovision, TOTK releases and gave us our feral Link back, Barbie and Ken arrested template.

June: Pride month, Across the Spiderverse... just all of it, trump getting arrested...again, The Great Reddit Migration & r/196, Horse Race, Meows Morales, The week long Titanic Oceangate Iron Lung Clusterfuck, Destial 'i love you' news meme trends at least 4 different times for different reasons, Papyrus says fuck day

July: Twitter post rationing causing Tumblr Migration 2: Electric Boogaloo, ao3 went down for 2 days, ao3 readers debating on going back to wattpad/ff.net, Barbieheimer double feature, Tree Law invoked, Elon renamed Twitter to X

August: Tiktok trying and failing to make their own Goncharov: Zepotha, Destiel confirmed canon again by not-so-rouge translator, Riverdale polycule finale, Trump mugshot, One Piece Live Action Pirate-Clown annoys Tumblr users

September: Mole Interest, Ice King became a Tumblr Sexyman again, 21st of September.

October: Spooky month, Merlin Twitter updates for first time in years to show streaming options confusing fans, The Amazing Digital Circus and Nerdy Prudes Must Die both trend for a week straight, trying to insert Markipler into the FNAF Movie

November: Nov. 5th 3rd year anniversary, Zach and Cody get their dinner reservation after 15 years. Goncharovs 1st 50th anniversary.

December: Gavle Goat being devoured by Jackdaws, Hbomberguy lives up to his name and nukes James Somerton's plagerism ridden channel, Its Dec 10th, We're gonna have to kill this guy template, almost Christmas, one more sleep til Christmas (screams internally), Halloween trends on Christmas Eve

[fandom]

It’s that time again. It’s Tumblr’s 2022 Year in Review!

Every year, the team behind Fandometrics analyzes, categorizes, and ranks all the most discussed things on Tumblr—that’s a year’s worth of your tags, searches, posts, likes, and reblogs—and packages them up into a little thing we like to call Year in Review.

Tumblr’s Year in Review contains a full 365 days’ worth of data, but it runs from October 21, 2021, to October 20, 2022. Tragically, this means Goncharov (1973), the greatest mafia movie ever made, will not appear on the lists this year. We’re just as disappointed as you are, but that gives us all something to look forward to in 2023—especially if @vancityreynolds’ remake gets a release date.

This Year in Review has all your classics like Movies, Web Series, and Anime & Manga. It's also got last year’s new lists (because, frankly, what would a Year in Review in 2022 be without Genshin Impact Characters and Minecraft Streamers?). And we’ve added some new lists for you this year, too—a brand new Formula 1 list and a few special editorial deep dives.

Stay tuned this month. There may be a few surprises along the way. Maybe even an exciting launch next week. Who knows! We certainly don’t! Not a clue. For now, here's Tumblr’s Year in Review for you to dig into.

Top 22 of 2022 Ships TV Shows Movies Celebs Stranger Things Tumblr Communities Dashboard Diving Things We Care About Space! Solo Artists Music Groups K-Pop K-Pop Stars Minecraft Streamers Web Celebs Web Series Athletes Formula 1 Memes Genshin Impact Characters Video Games Mobile Games Video Game Characters Deltarune Anime & Manga Anime & Manga Characters Books Queer TV

[taurusdesign]

"Our Little Ones" Collection

Hi beloved simmers!

I'm finally here. I'm sorry the set is delayed again. When I look at your supportive comments, although these delays are not a problem for you, I still feel bad. 

The set contains a total of 50 items for infants, toddlers, kids and pets. Although there are mostly items for kids, there are also a nice amount of items for the rest. I also tried to do elements on the set that I hadn't seen on the sim before. It's like a Pillow Fort, a Tea Party Set, a Pet House that can be embedded in the wall. I would have loved to have made the tea party functional. But it's functional as a dollhouse. So it might look like your little sims are having a tea party with their toys.

My inspiration on the set was the Pottery Barn's Catalina set. Of course, since everything I wanted was not available in this set, I designed many things myself.

The items included in the set are below:

Babies (Infants and Toddlers)

2 types of Toddler Beds

Bedding for Toddler Beds

2 types of Cribs

Changing Station

Drawer Chest

Dresser

Extra-Wide Dresser

High Chair

Nightstand

Potty Chair

Rocking Chair (Growing Together Required)

Wall Mirror

Kids

4 types of Single Beds

4 types of Double Beds

2 types of Bunk Beds *

Bedding for Single Beds

Bedding for Double Beds

Bedding for Bunk Beds *

Bookcase

2 types of Books for Bookcase

Chair with Backpack

Desk Storage

Desk Storage with Hutch

Desk Storage with Smart Hutch

Decor for Desk Storage with Hutch

Writing Desk

Dresser

Nightstand

Shelves

Skateboard with Books

Tea Party Set

Toy Box

Pillow Fort ** (Dream Home Decorator Required)

Wardrobe

Pets (Cats and Dogs Required)

Pets Bowl ***

Cat Tree

Pet House

Litter Box

Pet Bed ****

Scratch Post

* If the bunks cannot be used by your sim, please place them as follows.

1. Place top bunk bedding

2. Place bottom bedding

3. Place frames

** I recommend that you reduce the size by 1 when placing the pillow fort. You can also use the normal size. Fully optional. 

*** When you fill the food into the pet bowl, the bowl on the far right fills with water.

**** I wanted to make this item in pet size, but it became a regular loveseat size. I don't know how it happened.

I hope you like it and it's worth the wait. 💖💖💖

Special thanks to one of my favorite CC creator @myshunosun for fabric texture ❤️

Bedding patterns:

Kids Pattern Vectors by Vecteezy

Animals Vectors by Vecteezy

Animals Vectors by Vecteezy

Animals Vectors by Vecteezy

Animals Vectors by Vecteezy

Animals Vectors by Vecteezy

Animals Vectors by Vecteezy

Summer Pattern Vectors by Vecteezy

Animals Vectors by Vecteezy

Public Release: October 9, 2023

AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE!

DOWNLOAD AT:

CURSEFORGE

PATREON

[eunnieboo]

IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING!! ✨

hi everyone, i’m so excited to share the cover and release date for If You’ll Have Me!

IYHM is my debut graphic novel, a YA sapphic romcom about insecurities, growth, and the tender uncertainty of new love. it’s the kind of story i wanted to read in college - something sweet, comforting, and a little silly too. i can’t wait for you to discover who these girls are and what makes them fit together so well ❤️

the book comes out october 17, 2023 and you can preorder it right now!!

[woonhakist]

FIVE NIGHTS AT JAEHYUN’S

SYNOPSIS — the rumors about your local pizzeria having haunted animatronics didn’t stop you from drooling over minimum wage, so settling for the guard job was easy—until a certain animatronic did get a bit quirky at night.

GENRE — social media au, fnaf au, crack, maybe SLIGHTLY scary for 2 mins, romance, fun for everyone

PAIRING — myung jaehyun x fem!reader

CHARACTERS — mainly y/n + boynextdoor, mark + johnny + doyoung of nct

WARNINGS — this will NOT be that lore accurate its just for the funs (faz)bear with me, cursing, sexual innuendos/jokes (probably), drug jokes (probably), mostly crack, ignore timestamps, characters are works of fiction NOT an accurate representation of the people used (extra warnings in future chapters)

TAGLIST — (CLOSED)

STATUS — complete!

NOTES — i HAD to release something silly for october/halloween so HERE IT IS! i’ll return to bloxian banter and who! later …

PROFILES (1) | PROFILES (2)

CHAPTERS

NIGHT 0: PROLOGUE

NIGHT 1

1. commander bootybrawler on duty

2. I Am Freddy

BONUS: johnny puth

NIGHT 2

1. soul finding by Kim Woonhak

2. IWANTOKISSROBOTITIS

NIGHT 3

1. greasing for the rusty fur

2. freddy fazbear is an iphone user???

BONUS: doyoung’s babysitting business (CALL 1-800-KYS-NOW TO BOOK)

NIGHT 4

1. The Unveiling.

2. what came first, the chica or the egg?

NIGHT 5

1. beauty and the bear

2. how to get a girl in five nights (at freddy’s)

BONUS: job quitters: the trilogy

NIGHT 6: EPILOGUE

start — 10/9/23

end — 6/20/24

© woonhakist 2023

[candysims4]

CC DROP | OCT 2023

BUY MODE EDITION

After taking a long break from posting Buy Mode cc, I put together a few random projects in my WIP folder and finished them. The result is this cc drop for October, which includes 13 clutter decor pieces.

THE DESCRIPTION OF EACH ITEM PLUS THE CREATOR’S NOTES BELOW THE CUT.

ALL ITEMS ARE:

BASE GAME COMPATIBLE

NON-DEFAULT

THUMBNAILS (HOSTED IN IMGUR)

MY SITE (NO AD.FLY): THE TRIO PAINTINGS (TWO VERSIONS) | CARINHA PLANT POT AND BOOKS | EQUILÍBRIO BOOKS (TWO VERSIONS) | OLD TIMES TRAY WITH LETTERS | ARGILA PLANTS | COMPANHIA BOXES (TWO VERSIONS) | UNEXPECTED UMBRELLA KEEPER | SUNKISSED SUNGLASSES Free release on 11th November 2023

PATREON EARLY ACCESS + MERGED OPTIONS

TERMS OF USE | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | REPORT AN ISSUE

Thanks to all the cc creators that I used in the pic. And thanks to @maxismatchccworld, @simblrcollective, @s4library​, @wewantmods​, and everybody who reblog this post!

If you’re a cc finds and want to be tagged when I post, please, let me know. You can send me an ask or in DM.

With your help, more people can know about my work! 💖 Love you all, XOXO 💖

DESCRIPTION OF EACH ITEM:

THE TRIO PAINTINGS (TWO VERSIONS) You can search "The Trio Paintings" OR/AND “CandySims4″

WALL VERSION

38 swatches

138 polygons

§ 200

You will find in DECORATIONS/WALL

FLOOR VERSION

38 swatches

132 polygons

§ 200

You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER

CARINHA PLANT POT AND BOOKS

32 swatches

978 polygons

§ 150

You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER OR/AND PLANT

You can search by "Carinha Plant Pot and Books" or/and “CandySims4″

EQUILÍBRIO BOOKS (TWO VERSIONS)

14 swatches

578 polygons

§ 40

You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER OR/AND STORAGE/BOOKSHELF

You can search by "Equilibrio Books" or/and “CandySims4″

OLD TIMES TRAY WITH LETTERS

35 swatches

70 polygons

§ 15

You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER

You can search by "Old Times Tray with Letters" or/and “CandySims4″

ARGILA PLANTS You can search by "Argila Leafy Plant/Cactus/Succulent" or/and “CandySims4″

LEAFY PLANT

20 swatches

494 polygons

§ 38

You will find in DECORATIONS/PLANTS

CACTUS

20 swatches

262 polygons

§ 24

You will find in DECORATIONS/PLANTS

​SUCCULENT

20 swatches

298 polygons

§ 24

You will find in DECORATIONS/PLANTS

COMPANHIA BOXES (TWO VERSIONS)

38 swatches

92 polygons

§ 25

You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER

You can search by "Companhia Boxes" or/and “CandySims4″

UNEXPECTED UMBRELLA KEEPER

40 swatches

796 polygons

§ 120

You will find in DECORATIONS/MISC

You can search by "Unexpected Umbrella Keeper" or/and “CandySims4″

Functional as an "umbrella rack"

SUNKISSED SUNGLASSES

38 swatches

992 polygons

§ 12

You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER

You can search by "SunkissedSunglasses" or/and “CandySims4″

CREATOR’S NOTES:

I'll try to keep this creator's notes as short as possible, so let's right up start talking about the items individually, beginning with "The Trio Paintings." These paintings are absolutely stunning - they come in a variety of swatches, patterns, and landscapes (all Sims-themed, of course). You have two options to choose from: one that's wall-mounted and another that leans against the wall on the floor. Both options come with the exact same swatches.   

"Companhia Boxes" also come in two versions - one where they're side by side and one where they're stacked on top of each other. All of the swatches are color combinations, and few have patterns. They're different between the versions as they're made to complement one to the other. 

Name translation (from PT-BR): "Companhia" can mean a few things, but in this case, it is being used in the meaning of "companionship." Which totally makes sense to me because these boxes are always together.

"Old Times Tray with Letters" is a very random idea I had. I enjoy the aesthetic of letters, and I thought it would be cute to use as decor in a compartment, as a small place to leave the received mail when coming home.  My focus on it was the letters; I tried my best to make it very game-friendly with even tiny weenie stamps. 

"Sunkissed Sunglasses" are a simple yet stylish design, a wayfarer sunglasses folded. This versatile decor can go from adding a beachy vibe to your pool area to sprucing up your closet with some fun flair.

"Equilibrio Books" is another item that comes in two versions. The first version has all the books leaning towards each other and standing upright, while the second version is part stacked and part leaning in with the other books. Both versions have the same swatches with color/print variations.  I'm a big fan of these books' prints- they're so beautiful and game-friendly! It took me a while to make the diffuse for them because some of the base images were so tiny that I had to redraw them, but it was worth it in the end. Plus, they're functional as bookshelves.

Name translation (from PT-BR): "Equilíbrio" means "balance" in English.

The "Unexpected Umbrella Keeper" was a must-have for my game, and I hope it will be for yours too. Since there's only one in the game, I thought having something different would be awesome.  My idea for it was to be a decorative jar that was repurposed as an umbrella rack (from this concept came the name).  Not only is it a cool decoration, but it's also functional! You can click on it to grab an umbrella for your Sim, which makes it perfect for the hallway. 

"Argila Plants" has three plant varieties. A leafy plant, a cactus, and a succulent, all snugly placed in plant pots made of clay (or "argila" in Portuguese-BR). The leafy plant is comparatively bigger than the others, so it comes in a bigger pot. They all come in the same color swatches, so you can mix and match them however you like.

Last but would never be least, my favorite piece of this cc drop is the "Carinha Plant Pot and Books." I stumbled upon some images of similar plant pots on Pinterest and was so inspired that I knew I had to create one of my own! But, I wasn't feeling too confident in my skills, so I decided to design one that was more my speed and also low poly. And let me tell you, the end result is beautiful and adorable! I just love the little smile on its face. It's the cutest thing ever!

Name translation (from PT-BR): The term "carinha" is the diminutive of "cara"; it's a slang term that indicates or calls a person informally.  According to Google Translate in English, it's translated to "dude." 

I created these items at different times, so they all have their own unique designs and uses. Although I was never inspired to put them together in sets, I thought putting them in a cc drop would be better than posting them separately. I hope you don't find it too messy and can find something you like here. 

Even though they have different designs, I think they can all be used together without any problem. Personally, I'm really proud of how they turned out and all the hard work that went into them. I love every detail of them, and I'm especially happy that they're mainly low poly but still look nice.

Anyway, that's all I wanted to share for now. Thanks so much for reading my notes! I hope you have a fantastic day/night. XOXO

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases! (October 31st, 2023)

___

Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

___

New Standalones/First in a Series:

An Unexpected Party by Various

The Space Between Here & Now by Sarah Suk

Sinner's Isle by Angela Montoya

The Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed

People to Follow by Olivia Worley

The Totally True Story of Gracie Byrne by Shannon Takaoka

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

New Sequels:

Outcasts (Ferryman #3) by Claire McFall

___

Happy reading!

[notmysophie]

Hozier reading list

Literary references in Hozier music

Alighieri, Dante; Inferno

The story of Francesca da Rimini as told in canto V inspired the song Francesca.

The album Unreal Unearth is arranged as a journey through nine circles of hell as they are described in the Inferno part of the Divine Comedy.

The title of the song Through Me (the flood) is a reference to the first lines of canto III.

Hozier read the translation by Robert Pinsky (https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22285692/) 

Beckett, Samuel; Endgame

The song Wasteland, Baby! Takes inspiration from this play. (5 september 2023) (https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/hozier/cover-story-hozier-unreal-unearth) 

O'Brien, Flann; the Third Policeman

The character of de Selby in the Third Policeman inspired the songs de Selby part 1 and 2.

Heaney, Seamus; At the Wellhead

The song To Noise Making (Sing) contains a8n audio fragment of Heaney reading this poem.

Heaney, Seamus; The Cure at Troy

The line "Or honey hope even on this side of the grave again?" In the song "To Noise Making (Sing) " is inspired by the line "History says, Don't hope / On this side of the grave."  in this poem.

Joyce, James; A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

The line "Shaking the wings of their terrible youths" in the song Angel of Small Death & the Codeine Scene is derived from a line in this book. As mentioned in the interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music (august 28, 2023) (https://youtu.be/y5JpgNIkOz4?si=Yg1GVewfZlHkdVm1)  

Also mentioned as general inspiration in an interview with the Daily Meal (october 28, 2014) (https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel)

Mack, dr. Katie

Astrophysicist dr. Katie Mack is mentioned by name in the song No Plan. A quote from the song is used in her book The End of Everything (Astrophysically speaking)

Neruda, Pablo, Sonnet XVII

The songs de Selby part 1 and part 2 take some inspiration from this poem. (Mentioned when introducing the song during a concert)

Ovid, Metamorphoses

The story of Icarus is mentioned in the song Sunlight and inspired the song I, Carrion (Icarian).

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is mentioned in the song Talk.

Plato; The Allegory of the Cave

The phrase "Adding shadows to the walls of the cave" in the song Sedated refers to this story.

Swift, Jonathan; A Modest Proposal

Inspiration for the song Eat Your Young.

Wilde, Oscar; Chanson

The line "a rope in hand for your other man to hang from a tree" in the song From Eden" is inspired by the line "And a hempen rope for your own love / To hang upon a tree." in this poem.

Yeats, W. B.; The Second Coming

The line "To Bethlehem it slouched" in the song NFWMB is almost directly copied from this poem.

Yeats, W. B.; Leda and the Swan

Inspiration for the song Swan Upon Leda

Other books recommended/mentioned by Hozier

Amis, Martin; The Zone of Interest

Recommended by Hozier in an 'Ask Me Anything' before the release of the album Wasteland, baby! on reddit in 2019

Beckett, Samuel; Not I

Hozier joked the album Unreal Unearth would contain four tracks, two of them being recordings of him reading this play with his mouth full of marshmallows.

The cover art of Unreal Unearth is said to reference this play.

Bukowski, Charles

Mentioned as a teenage favorite (https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA)

Ó Cadhain, Máirtín; Graveyard Clay (Cré Na Cille)

Mentioned as his current read in an instagram Q&A on December 1, 2021

Eliot, T. S.

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel 

Heaney, Marie; Over Nine Waves, a Book of Irish Legends

(Source? Mentioned on social media?)

Heaney, Seamus

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/hozier-why-seamus-heaney-s-last-words-mean-so-much-to-me-1.3797926

Herbert, Frank; Dune

Mentioned as a current read/audiobook on How Long Gone podcast episode 614. March 6, 2024

Joyce, James; Ulysses

https://youtu.be/s0Ux72N4K10 

Kierkegaard, Søren; The Sickness unto Death

(Source?)

Orwell, George; 1984

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Rubin, Rick; The Creative Act

Mentioned as his current read in an interview for WNYC Radio, 17 March 2023

https://youtu.be/Cd2uxpD9Hc8?si=cJ8bKrfFeXk_WS2F 

Salinger, J. D.; Catcher in the Rye 

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Wilde, Oscar

https://youtu.be/s0Ux72N4K10 

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Williams, Niall; This Is Happiness

Mentioned as his current read at a fan meet & greet (Bristol, 6 August 2023)

Yeats, W. B.

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Poetry/stories read by Hozier in livestreams/videos (and the books he read them from)

3 July 2020 Instagram live

Seamus Heaney; Postscript (the Spirit Level)

Seamus Heaney; A Kite for Michael and Christopher (Station Island)

W. B. Yeats; No Second Troy (W. B. Yeats Poems selected by Seamus Heaney)

W. B. Yeats; To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing (W. B. Yeats Poems selected by Seamus Heaney)

Ovid, Daedalus and Icarus (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

Sinéad Morrissey; & Forgive Us Our Trespasses (Being Human edited by Neil Astley)

Also mentioned; Staying Alive edited by Neil Astley

Seen on the table; Fear Not by Stephen James Smith

10 July 2020 Instagram live

Seamus Heaney; HÖFN (District & Circle)

Seamus Heaney; District & Circle (District & Circle)

Stephen Dunn; Sadness

Stephen Dunn; Sweetness

Ovid; Orpheus and Eurydice (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

T. S. Eliot; The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (Collected Poems 1909-1962)

Brendan Kennelly; Begin 

17 July 2020 Instagram live

Ezra Pound; And the Days Are Not Full Enough

Wilfred Owen; Futility

James Joyce; A Flower Given to My Daughter

Pablo Neruda; Keeping Quiet

Langston Hughes; I, Too

Imtiaz Dharker; They'll Say She Must Be From Another Country

W. B. Yeats; When You Are Old

Stephen James Smith; On the Bus (Fear Not)

Seamus Heaney; Saint Kevin and the Blackbird

Seamus Heaney; Sweeney Praises the Trees (Sweeney Astray)

Maya Angelou; Touched by an Angel

Garrison Keillor; Supper

Pablo Neruda; Sonnet XCIV (If I Die) (100 Love Sonnets, translated by Stephen Tapscott)

T. S. Eliot; Ash Wednesday (Collected Poems 1909-1962)

Ovid, the Four Ages (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

Also mentioned; Ireland, My Ireland by Stephen James Smith

25 July 2020 Instagram live

Anne Stevenson; The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument

Katie Mack; The Slow Fade to Black (the End of Everything, Astrophysically Speaking)

Pablo Neruda; Sonnet XVII (One Hundred Love Sonnets, translated by Mark Eisner)

Kahlil Gibran; On Love (the Prophet)

Sharon Olds; True Love

Rita Ann Higgins; The Did-You-Come-Yets of the Western World

7 August 2020 Instagram live

James Joyce; Araby (Dubliners)

Also mentioned A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

17 march 2021 Tiktok live

Brendan Kennelly; Begin

Derek Mahon; Everything is Going to Be Alright

Sinéad Morrissey; & Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Faisal Mohyuddin; Prayer (The Displaced Children of Displaced Children)

Pádraig Ó Tuama; How to Be Alone

Stephen James Smith; Dublin, You Are

Paula Meehan; Seed

Various reads

Seamus Heaney; At the Wellhead

https://youtu.be/uIBpT_rqUfA

Patrick Kavanagh; Peace

https://youtu.be/Iz1OXOFua4w

W. B. Yeats; He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA

W. B. Yeats; A Coat

https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA

Seamus Heaney; Miracle

https://x.com/seamusheaneyest/status/1253626839316279296?s=20 

[elumish]

My Experience With Digital-First Royalty-Only Publishing (Part 2)

Disclaimer: just my experience, may not reflect other people's

Part 1 (What is this sort of publishing; how did I get published; what does the submission, contract, and editing process look like)

Book Release:

My [redacted] book came out in April 2024. It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the publisher's own website, where it is listed for a couple dollars less than on Amazon/B&N. It's available both digitally (in multiple different file formats) and for print (paperback).

I can't speak for whether this is standard across these sorts of publishers, but it probably isn't unusual. This does mean that the book can't be available on Kindle Unlimited, given how Kindle Unlimited's requirements work.

The timing for this sort of publishing is extremely fast compared to traditional or even small-press print publishing. I signed the contract in late August 2023 and sent in the final draft to my editor in late October 2023, and the book was released in late April 2024.

Book cover:

For designing my book cover, they pointed me towards where they pull stock images from and asked me to describe the sort of cover I would want, including possible stock images. They also asked for physical characteristics of my characters, which is when I realized that I had no clue what my characters look like.

The stock image website included AI art, as well as regular non-AI stock images. I specifically requested no AI art, including no AI-generated stock images. As far as I am aware, they respected that request.

Once they created one, they sent me a mock-up and asked about minor changes (typography, etc., from what I remember). I didn't have any changes. Overall, my cover looks like what I described to them, and I'm really happy with it.

Marketing:

My marketing experience with my publisher has been decidedly underwhelming. They seem to have started to revamp their marketing process right around when my book came out, so my book didn't receive/hasn't received a huge amount of marketing support from them.

What they gave me marketing-wise: a few marketing images for pre-release/post-release, including Twitter and FB header images, etc.; general marketing guidance for what I could/should be doing; a couple of mentions on their publisher Instagram post-release and a mention in their weekly newsletter

What they didn't give me marketing-wise: connection to reviewers, including sending an ARC or providing a list of reviewers that might be good to work with; marketing materials for sites like TikTok or Instragram; a meaningful amount of airtime/mention on their accounts; a large following of their own

Overall, the marketing is what is probably most like self-publishing--a huge amount of it is on me (and I am terrible at it). It will be interesting to see what their revamp brings, but they are starting from a minimal following and not a lot of previous activity on their accounts, and so they also need to build their reach to make their marketing on their accounts more effective.

Royalties/payment:

I get paid on a monthly basis through PayPal. I also receive a royalty statement that lists days, amount/type sold, etc. so I can reconcile with what they have paid me. From what I have seen this royalty statement is pretty standard.

So far, they've been prompt and haven't had issues with payments.

However, because of (among other things) their general lack of marketing, my royalty statements have been fairly low. So far (and, granted, the book came out less than 2 months ago) I have made very little money on this.

My Path Forward:

I've thought a lot about whether I will continue to do this sort of publishing. I am currently querying my "main" books, and I don't plan to publish them through this sort of publishing, even if the publisher would likely accept them.

My contract stipulates that my publisher has right of first refusal for the rest of the books in this series. I am currently writing book two, and I plan to also write a third, as I had initially discussed with them. Beyond that, I'm not sure. I don't mind working with them as a company, but I don't know if they have the processes in place for me to make money publishing with them.

One thing I will likely do is explore other romance publishers that accept unagented submissions. They have a much lower barrier of entry and they are often willing to accept books that trad publishers might not want to spend money/reputational risk on.

As such, I would likely submit to these publishers stories that I don't think traditional publishers/agents would likely to be willing to publish, including more niche subgenres and less standard lengths that are easier to publish digitally.

Why do I redact the name of my book?

Honestly because I'm a coward and because people are weird about romance, especially certain subgenres of romance. I also plan to use this account for my main agented publishing, if I ever reach that point, and I don't necessarily want those two pen names associated.

Any other questions about this sort of publishing?