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Jesse Bartel's avatar

Nimona was such a treat this year

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Vanessa Glau's avatar

Happy new year! I absolutely loved Citizen Sleeper & it makes sense that you enjoyed it too. It's full of interesting ideas & the story, art, music, it all comes together so well. I would also recommend a brilliant indie game: I Was A Teenage Exocolonist, in which you get to work & live alongside your friends on an alien planet colony. It can be emotionally intense but there are trigger warnings on the website & the story is fascinating, designed to be played through several times to uncover all the secrets.

And I'd be interested in a deep dive in serial writing on Substack! I'm gearing up for the 2nd arc of my low fantasy intrigue story Requiem of the Moth so advice from a "pro" would be very much appreciated.

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Simon K Jones's avatar

That looks intriguing - I've added it to my wishlist.

Have you played Signs of the Sojourner? That was a fascinating narrative experiment in which the conversations are card-based. It's very clever, taking a deck builder and applying it to social interactions. If you have a very different deck of cards to your 'opponent', the conversation is awkward and stilted. At the end of each conversation you take a card from your opponent, which means the next time you speak to them you have a better chance of hitting a good rapport. As a metaphor for empathy and socialising it's really fascinating.

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Vanessa Glau's avatar

That is an interesting concept, thank you for the rec! Even though the art style isn't what I usually go for.

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ROB ESQUIVEL's avatar

May 2024 be a year of successfully facing the challenges ahead; Thanks for sharing your experiences, Simon.

Keep the faith.

Rob in Yautepec

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Kelly Thompson's avatar

Thanks so much, Simon!

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Joan Spilman's avatar

Wishing you and your family the best in 2024! I'm still not on Substack because, though I've got the material, it's a steep learning curve. I've given your videos to the Geek Squad and one of their employees in particular is learning from them. I should be set up soon. Have you thought of offering your services to businesses of this sort? Yours are the most instructive.

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Simon K Jones's avatar

Thanks, Joan! I think at this point the timings wouldn't work out: my newsletter has to it in around the day job and it's a challenge as it is. Providing more formal training/services would require a serious rethinking of how I allocate my time, which my brain isn't quite prepared for. :)

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Joan Spilman's avatar

Just a thought. You're helping a lot of people!

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Simon K Jones's avatar

Thanks!

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Mike Miller's avatar

I've always appreciated a Simon tutorial. You have a warm vocal tone, and explain things concisely.

I've said it before, and will say it again here - with my own tutorials, I always hoped to present my material as well as you (or Axel, for that matter), but never did.

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Charlotte Dune's avatar

Loved Banshees of Ishirin also.

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WS Wiist's avatar

I've never used Affinity Publisher suite. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for all the tips. Good luck in the new year!

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Simon K Jones's avatar

I've been impressed by it, especially if you have all three. They complement each other nicely.

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WS Wiist's avatar

I subscribed for the free 30 day trial. Love to ditch Adobe at home. I am curious how it can handle book design. That’s my day job.

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Simon K Jones's avatar

It's good to still have an option that isn't subscription-based.

I'm very much a noob, but thoroughly enjoyed designing the book with Affinity. Would be interested to hear your take from a much more experienced point of view!

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Mike Miller's avatar

Good list of stuff and things.

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