The Nuts and Bolts of Writing

Hi everyone! This week, we’ll look at the Sun in my tarot deck, the Fortunus Games tarot deck.

The Sun features Lina Williams from my graphic novel, Sam in New York.

She's a good fit for this card since The Sun portends good fortune, happiness, success, and joy.

And this is what she sets out to accomplish in Sam in New York as well as in Finding Sam. In all timelines, she wants to be a designer and create her own path, rather than "just" a rich girl looking for a good marriage match. She wants to define herself and not let her family, family status, and others around her define her.

Guess who is behind her, playing the Sun...! It's Sam, of course. He plays a large role in her story (as does she in his), which we got a glimpse of in Finding Sam.

The white horse is a sign of strength and purity. In most portrayals of this card, the rider of the horse is a young child, who represents innocence and the being connected with your inner spirit.

Listen on YouTube.

Today, R.N. Roveleh (Instagram: @helevorn_bor) talk about her short story, "The Insufferable Slave." You can read it here.  

We explore how she wrote this story and what it says about two of her characters in particular, Asvald and Aidan.

Art in the thumbnail is by R.N. Roveleh.

Read the full transcript here.

The Moon features Katya Luneva from my graphic novel, Sam in New York.

This card represents imagination contrasted with day-to-day life. The dog and wolf represent the tame side of our nature versus the wilder and more instinctual aspects of our humanity. This card also represents intuition and the early stages of consciousness unfolding. The crayfish at the very bottom is actually us at the beginning of our journey. As we move on land and through the mountains and navigate both the tame and wild sides of our human nature, we learn more and more about ourselves and those around us.

Katya is a good fit for this card because she is very imaginative, instinctual (@tete.depunk's Andrei can attest to that!), and curious about her surroundings. She spends much of her limited free time daydreaming about possibilities and is very much into mythology and fantasy. She is also one of the most sexually confident female characters, seeing sensuality as a way to express herself as well as to understand others.

Watch on YouTube.

This week, R.N. Roveleh (Instagram: @helevorn_bor) and I talk about her newest short story, "The Sellsword from Iceland." You can read it here. 

We explore the characters and themes of this short story, especially what it says about the main character, Yngvar, and how he sees the world.

Art in the thumbnail is by R.N. Roveleh.

Watch this on YouTube.

Read the transcript here.

Hi everyone! This week, we’ll look at the Star in my tarot deck, the Fortunus Games tarot deck.

The Star features Raisa Abramova from my graphic novel, Sam in New York, who is the protagonist Sam’s mother.

She's pouring water onto the land and into the pool. The container she's using to pour water onto the land indicates nourishment, which Raisa provides for her family through her emotional intelligence.

On the other hand, the other container (that's pouring water into the pool) and her foot in the pool indicates that she has a lot of inner strength. In "Sam in New York," we see how her inner strength and emotional intelligence have supported she and her husband's business, Abramov Printing House, even in the toughest of times.

The large star and the seven smaller stars (which represent the seven chakras) represent the will to live and the strength to carry on with her life.

Watch on YouTube with visuals.

Watch all of me and Tete's DC crossover roleplays here.

In this Sims 4 roleplay, me and @tete.depunk roleplay as Sam Abramov from my graphic novel, "Sam in New York" (me) and Lex Luthor from the Snyderverse DC movies (Tete).  Find out what these two are getting up to and what that machine in the thumbnail is for!

Watch on YouTube.

Read the full transcript here. 

Learn more about the Fortunus Games Tarot Deck. 

The Tower features Tom Melbourne from my graphic novel, Sam in New York, falling from a lighthouse. On one side of the card, we see New York City (where he's moved to pursue law school), and on the other side, we see where he grew up in rural Alaska.   

In my graphic novel, "Sam in New York," Tom goes through many changes after moving to New York City, discovering more about himself, humanity, and some rather unpleasant truths about both as he goes through law school.  The lightning represents the sudden surge of energy that Tom gets as he has these revelations. The little pieces at the top are tongues of fire in the shape of the Hebrew letter yod, symbolizing the presence of the Divine even during these tough times.

Watch this roleplay on YouTube with visuals! You'll be able to see the Sims moving and talking to each other as me and Tete roleplay.

In this Sims 4 roleplay, me and @tete.depunk continue off from where we left off last time here. 

Watch all of me and Tete's DC crossover roleplays here.

Once again, I roleplay as Joel Farber from my graphic novel, "The Book of Joel" while Tete.Depunk roleplays as Bruce Wayne/Batman from DC Comics.

Watch on YouTube.

Read the full transcript here. 

Learn more about the Fortunus Games Tarot Deck here.

Hi everyone! This week, we’ll look at the Devil in my tarot deck, the Fortunus Games tarot deck.

Who else other than Ardalion Mayakov, the enigmatic and darkly seductive owner of the adult anarchist bookstore, "Ardalion Books and Gifts," would be the Devil?

Ardalion is a character from my graphic novel, "Sam in New York."

Like the Devil in the Major Arcana, Ardalion stands for sexuality and the shadow self. As we’ve seen in my short story, “Mephistopheles Tips His Hat,” (which was published in The Victoria Review 2019 Anthology), Ardalion is the ultimate Devil’s advocate. He likes to challenge people’s deep-seated views, especially if doing so makes them uncomfortable. He is obsessed with breaking down barriers (usually discretely) and he wants to challenge all norms, especially sexual ones.

Like traditional portrays of the Devil in the Major Arcana, Ardalion is shown as Baphomet or the Horned Goat of Mendes, a creature that is half goat, half man. Although Baphomet originally symbolized the balance between opposites like male and female, human and animal, and good and evil, it’s recently been linked to the occult. As such, it’s become symbolic of all things “evil.”

Watch this on YouTube! You'll be able to see our Sims move and interact with each other as we roleplay.

Watch all of me and Tete's DC crossover roleplays here.

In this Sims 4 roleplay, me and @tete.depunk roleplay as Malka Spitzer and Joel Farber from my graphic novel, "The Book of Joel" (me) and Golden Age Lois Lane from DC Comics (Tete).   

Note that Tete has modified and added to Lois Lane's character because she's writing an improved version of the Red Son Superman movie.  

Find out how they meet and what these three learn about each other!