Category: Update

December 2023 Update: Breakthroughs and Backlogs

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Writing

Actual progress on the novel has been slow this month, but thanks to positive feedback from my colleagues at DIYMFA I am encouraged to keep going! I feel like I’ve got more gas in the tank and I’m looking forward to seeing this project through to completion. I also had a breakthrough on my narrative voice, also thanks to a class from DIYMFA, so I’m feeling very grateful for that community.

Science Fantasy Awesome

Continuing to make weekly videos for the YouTube channel always takes more time when there are school breaks because I have to record multiple videos per week in order to have a backlog to cover weeks when I can’t record. Fortunately, Starforged is a blast to play, I’m really enjoying the system, it’s just so smooth. I’m also working on some things on the backend for the Gone Solo series, but I’ll talk about those more when they’re finished.

I also received some fanart this month from a viewer in Germany! Check out the YouTube shorts or my Instagram to see it.

Acting

Three improv gigs this month! Whew! It’s been a lot of late nights and disruptions to my sleep routine, but I’m taking on more responsibility by hosting and casting, so it feels worth it. It’s encouraging to be able to walk into a room of strangers and keep them laughing and entertained all evening. Even after so many years of performing, that’s not a skill I would have named for myself until this month.

November Update: Cleric Mechanics! Pretend Waiters!

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Last month was a slower one for me. Illness and school breaks cost me time. But, slow progress is still progress.

Writing

The novel keeps expanding. I’m always surprised how, when a scene feels lacking, I discover something later on in the book that helps fill that scene. It’s a wonderful process of discovery.

I am also continuing my classes through DIY MFA. I’m still learning and absorbing new information, and it’s so helpful in shaping this current novel.

Science Fantasy Awesome

I am on my fifth series of Gono Solo campaigns, this time playing Starforged. My main character is Zakia Vayan, Cleric of the Church of the Closed Circuit, and she’s basically a holy mechanic who fixes machines with the help of her god, Ampereon. I’ve already got a few episodes in the backlog, and they are fun to make and I’m excited about where this series is going.

The channel keeps growing steadily! It always feels good when I get a notification about a new subscriber.

Acting

I booked another background gig this month, for a financial institution (honestly, sometimes no one tells you what the commercials are for and you don’t care enough to ask). I played a waiter!

October 2023 Update: Subscribers Double! Sea Vampires! Background Gigs!

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Science Fantasy Awesome

My channel has recently seen a big boost in subscribers thanks to a recent video, which I created in response to a viewer question, called “Solo RPGs: How to Start?” I anticipated that this kind of instructional content would bode well in the YouTube algorithms and I was right! I’ve seen my subscriber count nearly double since that video released. I’m planning on making more videos in an instructional vein to be of service to the solo RPG community (and to get eyeballs on the channel), but my priority is still the weekly actual play series.

Speaking of which: it’s spooky season, and my new series of Thousand Year Old Vampire is live! I’m so excited to play this game again, as it the the game that got me into solo RPGs and it has a special place in my heart. I’m very excited to find out where the adventures of Levi McKinney, ratcatcher and sea vampire, take us!

Writing

Progress on the wizard apprentice android novel continues. I feel like I’ve cracked it and I am turning out prose that I’m really pleased with. This feeling doesn’t last long in writers, so I’m enjoying it while it lasts! I recently realized what kind of daily progress I need to be making to stay on the schedule I envisioned for this series, and that’s been a strong motivator.

I also recently signed up for an online class called DIY MFA 101. I’ve been really craving community with other writers and discussions on craft and so far my expectations and needs have been met. Looking forward to more!

Acting

I mentioned last month about a commercial shoot in a yoga studio, and just a few days ago we got the go ahead to post the final product. I put a clip on my Instagram. I’m in the background! Doing yoga! It’s always fun to see how projects turn out.

Magpie Tarot Project

I’ve also been working on a little magpie tarot related project that I’m very excited to share, but it’s going to be several months until my collaborator is ready to launch. It has extremely niche appeal but I’m pleased with how it has turned out. You could say it’s “Dreamy.” Stay tuned for details!

Sept 2023 Update: Flesh Drafts, Book Clubs, and Yoga Days

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Writing

It’s amazing to me that I announced my new writing project just a month ago because I have already made so much progress. I am already on the second draft of the first book. This first draft was a very quick skeleton draft, so this second draft is the muscle draft: fleshing out ideas, expanding scenes, adding subplots. Both the AI tools and the tarot deck continue to be of service in generating ideas and keeping momentum and there is still a lot to discover about these characters and this world.

The Creative Act on LHRB Podcast

I got another chance to chat with my good friend JD Lopez on his podcast Left Hand Right Brain. We talked about the book The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. We’re going to talk about more books in the future, like our own little book club. There is a video version of the podcast here or you can search for Left Hand Right Brain wherever you get your podcasts. We had a great chat, and I also talk about my writing project so check it out if you’re interested in that!

Science Fantasy Awesome

I continue to get new videos out every Wednesday for Gone Solo: GOZR. We are definitely getting close to the end of this series, I can feel it. This is one of the tricky parts of improvised game-based storytelling. It is hard to make exact plans about when one series will end because there might be one episode left or five, it just all depends on how the dice roll. I already have the system picked out for my next series so we will be ready to go whenever this one wraps up, but of course I will keep that secret for the reveal video when the time comes.

Acting

It’s had been a while since I’ve booked any gigs, so I was glad to spend a day as background for a credit union commercial. It was in a yoga studio and we were doing yoga all day, actually a pretty good workout and a calming way to spend the day! I also got to host an improvised murder mystery for a San Francisco-based tech company on their corporate retreat. I’ve done several of these mystery parties and they are always a blast.

Aug 2023 Update: First Sponsorship and a New Writing Project

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Science Fantasy Awesome

My solo RPG channel Science Fantasy Awesome continues to grow at a steady rate, with new episodes of Gone Solo GOZR still releasing weekly. I also had the opportunity to do my first sponsored content video for a solo system called Overpowered. I hadn’t really considered sponsored content for this channel before, but it opened my eyes to possible ways to defray my costs. Plus, it was fun to make!

Writing

With both of my children now in childcare part time, my schedule has opened up and I have started writing again. I wrote and self-published a novel under a penname during the pandemic, and intended to write and release the next book in the series right away. That didn’t happen as planned, and I diverted my energy into other projects, most notably Tarot of the Trunk.

In anticipation of my new availability, I began making notes about writing in that series again. Due to some other factors, I had already decided to abandon the penname and rerelease the first book in the series under my own name. But a lot of my thoughts on the series had evolved, and I was planning on making major revisions to the first book.

At a certain point, I realized that re-working the first book was not something I wanted to do right now. The series is really close to my heart, and I knew it was going to be slow-going. With re-launching my author business under my own name, I wanted to start building momentum straight away. So I decided the better move would be to write a new series based on a idea that was less precious to me, so I could move faster and finish and release the series sooner, start to generate an audience, to give the original series a better footing.

So, I’m working on a new series about a wizard’s apprentice who gets replaced by an android. In an homage to the mix of science fiction and fantasy genres, I am using both AI tools (technology) and a tarot deck (magic) to generate ideas and speed up the writing process. So far, even with limited time, I have been able to write very quickly, so I am very excited about the good start for this new project.

July Update: Gone Solo GOZR and AlleyFOLK Clocks Booster

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I’ve just returned from a two week family vacation. It’s always nice to step away from things, shake up the routine and schedule, and reset. Of course, I came back with an idea for a new divination project that will have to be postponed as I’ve already scheduled my time to get back into writing. But, I’m excited to loop around to this next project at some point in the future.

Science Fantasy Awesome

I pre-recorded several episodes of Gone Solo GOZR to continue my weekly release schedule even while I was away. I am very excited to jump back into making new episodes because I want to find out what happens next, and I can’t find out unless I play!

AlleyFOLK Suit of Clocks, next projects

When I took over organizing the AlleyFOLK projects, I inherited several unfinished collaborations that I was very interested in seeing through to the end. One of those was the Suit of Clocks booster, the first AlleyFOLK booster organized around a guiding theme, in this case, fleshing out a “Suit of Clocks” to go with the Nine of Clocks card from the Alleyman’s Tarot. Many of these cards had been sitting in a Google Drive for months so I was excited to see them released and shared with the community.

The community voted on the next themed booster and decided on “Gates and Ways,” a booster themed around doors, pathways, and portals. I like the looser theme, I think it will help inspire artists in a different way. Several of the slots are already claimed.

The AlleyFOLK Hanafuda is the other unfinished AlleyFOLK project. I would also like to see this one finished, but the original enthusiasm from months ago has died down. It’s a bigger ask since each artist has had to contribute four cards instead of one. All we need is a few more artists to commit to creating cards and we can finish it. I’ve posted about it a couple times but haven’t gotten that interest fully piqued. We’ll get there.

June Update: The Ragged Ringmaster and Gone Solo: Troika Finale!

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Tarot of the Trunk

The GameCrafter divination sale for Tarot of the Trunk has come and gone. I sold a good number of decks and expansions, and I’m pleased! My total profit is miniscule in comparison to the amount of time I’ve spent on this project, but I’m glad that decks and cards are going out to people. This was also the first time I tried advertising, on both Facebook and Reddit. There is a lot to learn on that front, but I was glad to get my feet wet and get an idea of how that process goes.

The Ragged Ringmaster

I also did my first live readings at a local market last weekend! It was circus themed, so I came up with a ringmaster character. The plan was to do one card readings from my patchwork deck to engage with people and talk about Tarot of the Trunk, and also to sell full readings, Multiverse of Magic cards, and loose tarot and oracle cards from my patchwork collection. While I didn’t make enough to cover what I spent on my table fee, I did sell a couple readings, and I got to talk to a lot of people about Tarot of the Trunk. I also sold quite a few Multiverse of Magic cards, and it was fun to see people responding to the card even if they weren’t particularly interested in patchwork tarot.

I’m not sure what the way forward is on this, for both Tarot of the Trunk and for reading tarot for others. While I did enjoy doing readings for people, the weekend was very draining overall. For now, I’m going to redirect energy away from tarot-related projects for a while and focus more on Science Fantasy Awesome (see below). Then when I’m feeling fresher I’ll decide where I want to go next.

Science Fantasy Awesome

My unbroken streak of weekly solo RPG videos continues! This last Wednesday, I released the final episode for Gone Solo: Troika! which wraps up that series for now. I’ll talk about what’s coming next for the channel in next week’s video, and I don’t want to spoil it here, but rest assured that weekly videos will continue!

I also recently had a request to share the tables I used for solo play for Troika so I made a blog post here.

I’ve also had a request for a video for general tips for solo play, but I’m still gathering my thoughts about that topic.

I’m really please with how the Troika campaign turned out and I’m really excited about what’s coming next!

May Update: Podcast, AlleyFOLK Wave 4, and more!

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First of all, if you haven’t seen the big Tarot of the Trunk announcements, go read about those. New expansion, new products, and a VERY exciting development for the project. It’s basically its an update all its own.

What else is new?

Podcast Appearance

If you haven’t listened already, I had a chance to talk to my good friend JD Lopez on his podcast Left Hand Right Brain. You can listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

The whole conversation is worth listening to, but if you’re interested in specific topics check out these timestamps:

Discussion on the Alleyman’s tarot and patchwork tarot in general runs approx. 9:10-16:30

Then I do a three card reading for the audience from my patchwork deck approx. 42:00-49:00 (you can see the cards in the image below)

I talk about my solo RPG video series Science Fantasy Awesome approx. 28:10 – 42:00

AlleyFOLK Wave 4 is Live!

The AlleyFOLK Wave 4 Booster is the first launch since I took over organizing the AlleyFOLK projects not too long ago. I was really excited to get this fan project back up any running so to get a new booster out is really fun and exciting. I’ve also been organizing a lot of things in the background like updating shop images. Next, I hope we can finish the Suit of Clocks booster and get the Hanfuda deck finally finished, and after that, we’ll have to see what the community is interested in doing.

The community has also had a long conversation about how to handle A.I. art submissions, and we have decided to not allow A.I. art at this time. I’m pleased with how the conversation has handled and how we made a decision.

Science Fantasy Awesome

I continue to release weekly episodes of of improvised adventure weirdness on Science Fantasy Awesome. As always, I have more recorded than is currently released, so it’s a bit weird to talk about what’s going on, but for now I’ll say I’m excited about where the channel is headed and some ideas I have that are coming down the pipe. We’re at 80 subscribers and inching our way toward 100!

Acting

I should have taken behind-the-scenes pictures but I did get to do another background role for Furniture Row. I’ve done several of these now and it’s always great to chat with the other actors. I’ve also been submitting lots of auditions, so hopefully something else hits soon!

April 2023 Update: Fan Art, AlleyFOLK projects, #NeverHelpful

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Science Fantasy Awesome

My solo RPG actual play channel, Science Fantasy Awesome, continues to grow. As of the writing of this update, we are at 60 subscribers! It’s still a long way from where I want the channel to be and where I imagine it can go, but all the positive comments that keep coming in from across social media warm my heart and encourage me. I’m having so much fun exploring the story of the Troika campaign and the videos are a blast to make, so I’m glad that others are enjoying them as well.

Plus, we have our first fan art! Check it out!

On the left, we have Magnaza, the dancing wizard hunter by the very talented Chaocalypse. So thrilled that he took the time to make this beautiful image. Go check out his solo RPG and drawing stuff, it’s great.

On the right, we have the frostbug, drawn by my child, who was inspired after watching Episode 6: The Frostbug. Both of these images make me so, so excited.

Tarot of the Trunk guidebook

Progress continues on the guidebook for Tarot of the Trunk. Here’s a little preview snippet:

Am I having fun writing this? I might be having a little bit of fun. Working on the guidebook has inspired me to get back into swapping tarot cards for my patchwork deck. It’s always a blast to get tarot cards in the mail! Patchwork tarot is so much fun, which leads me to my next announcement…

AlleyFOLK Projects

I recently (yesterday, actually) reached out to Caleb, who had previously been organizing the AlleyFOLK projects but had stepped away several months ago, if I might take over and get the Alleyman’s Tarot fan-made booster projects up and running again. Things moved much quicker than I anticipated and I am now in charge and overseeing completion of several stalled projects. There’s a lot to get organized, but I’m taking it slow, prioritizing, and taking things one project at a time. I love the fan-created community content and I’m so glad to be a part of bringing it all back to life!

#NeverHelpful

And here’s a little clip from a commercial for Network Affiliates I got to be a part of!

March 2023 Update

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I’m reorganizing my internet presence to simplify things on my end, with the Ragamancers blog as the center of all my projects. This update is to let people know about what I’m currently working on, and potentially cross-pollinate and unify my separate audiences. 

Science Fantasy Awesome

My biggest new project is the YouTube channel Science Fantasy Awesome, where I am improvising serial science fantasy stories using role-playing games as inspiration. This has been a lot of fun for me because it brings together so many of my interests: acting, improvising, storytelling, game design, graphic design, editing. I’ve been learning a lot and adjusting my process as I go to keep improving video quality.

Tarot of the Trunk guidebook

When I released Tarot of the Trunk last summer, I decided to go ahead and publish the deck without a guidebook. I would still like there to be a guidebook, however, so I’ve been working on it slowly, but it’s too soon to say when that will be available. 

Updated Acting Reels

shot from the short film “Koselig”

It’s long overdue, but I finally updated my acting reels. I’ve worked on a lot of projects in the last few years (way more than I could show in such short videos) but I’m proud of how these turned out.

Short Play “Goblin Mode” for Curious New Voices

with some of the Curious New Voices playwrights. photo by Mario Gonzalez.

I got to write a new ten-minute play called “Goblin Mode” for This Time, a night celebrating the 20th anniversary of Curious New Voices back in January. CNV is a youth playwriting program that I participated in back when I was in high school. It was so special and very meaningful to circle back, reconnect with some of the playwrights, and see all of the amazing plays!

All the Links

Here’s a linktree with links to Ragamancers places all over the internet in case you’d like to follow along on your app of choice!