Nov 7, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
A letter written by a student to his mother in Babylon about 3,800 years ago shows that children’s behavior has not changed much, as Silvia S., demonstrates on Quora. Can you imagine you are the archeologist who unearthed this tablet, wondering what marvelous...
Oct 3, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
“On the morning of April 14, 1561, at dawn, a dreadful apparition occurred in the sky. This was seen in Nuremberg in the city, before the gates and in the country, by many men and women.” So begins a broadsheet news article printed in April 1561....
Sep 29, 2023 | AI writing, Writing
With all the recent hullabaloo about AI and its use for purposes such as the KENP scam and to create massive numbers of AI-generated books, one may wonder if writing is about to become obsolete. And yet, I use AI daily for a number of tasks, from researching and...
Sep 27, 2023 | Publishing
Audiobooks have been among the fastest-growing segments of publishing for a while now. Which is hardly surprising, as anyone spending long hours commuting will attest to. However, buying audiobook after audiobook can become quite the expensive hobby after a while. And...
Sep 25, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
I still remember my visit to Florence, where the missus and I went to a lovely Medieval palazzo, smack in the middle of the city. The massive doors could be bolted from the inside. The staircase leading to the bedrooms was overlooked by an interior balcony that...
Sep 19, 2023 | AI writing, Publishing
It’s funny how fast things are shaking up in the publishing industry. Barely a week ago I was telling you how Amazon is taking its first step against AI-generated books in the form of a new questionnaire you must answer when publishing a title regarding your use...
Sep 13, 2023 | AI writing, Publishing
Following the flood of AI-generated books and the KENP scam I was discussing a couple of weeks ago, Amazon has started taking action — just as I had predicted. As the Goodreader reports, Amazon KDP has recently introduced new content guidelines specifically addressing...
Sep 11, 2023 | Random Musings
Every year, this is a post I wish I didn’t have to write. So much evil has stemmed from this action… Remembering 9/11Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This...
Sep 6, 2023 | AI writing, Writing
You may recall how I recently discussed the KENP Scam, whereby AI-generated books are flooding Amazon in a blatant attempt to collect KENP royalties. You may have wondered just how easy it is to do so in practice — write a whole book from scratch. Geeky Gadgets and...
Aug 23, 2023 | Publishing
In my previous post, I explained how Jane Friedman’s name was used in a bunch of AI-generated books. Today, I’ll explain how this may be part of a larger scam. As TechRadar reports, a shockingly high number of AI-generated books have appeared. As an indie...
Aug 20, 2023 | Publishing
Earlier this month, famous author Jane Friedman was in for a nasty surprise: several copies of books supposedly written by her were listed for sale on Amazon. Just as bad, they were listed under her Goodreads page as well. As Friedman explains, after 25+ years in the...
Aug 14, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
Both fantasy and historical fiction love knights. And, as everyone knows, knights often mean armor. Plate armor, to be precise. The problem is that some seem to think that plate armor was practically weightless while others have knights flailing helplessly on the...
Aug 10, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
Witcher fans will recognize this handsome fellow immediately: One striking thing about Geralt of Rivia is the way he carries his swords on his back. While it looks pretty cool, though, how accurate is it? Can you, indeed, carry around your sword like this? Murphy...
