[sticky entry] Sticky: Hello!

Apr. 28th, 2022 03:10 pm
telophase: (Default)
Welcome to anyone showing up from the Productivity Alchemy podcast or any other place you've seen me online. Feel free to follow me here if you want, or unfollow me at any time.

You can find me at:

Augusta Scarlett--Scarlett Ebooks book cover website (I do print covers also, despite the name!) -- book covers for indie authors. I am open for bookings, but I do have to book several months in advance. I get cancellations from time to time, so it's worth asking if you need something sooner. Use the email address on that website, rather than DMs here, thanks.

My Officiamal Book Cover Art Portfolio for (hopefully soon) trad published books.

My Artstation

AO3: [archiveofourown.org profile] telophase (art and writing) and [archiveofourown.org profile] irusu (art only)

Twitter: [twitter.com profile] telophase and [twitter.com profile] scarlettcovers

Magatsu Random Generator site for art and story prompts, titles, sandwiches, etc.
telophase: (Default)
One of the things I have been doing with myself in the last three months is watching videos in an online interior design course, mostly because various things about the house bother me in a way I can't quite put my finger on. It's not mean to be a pro-level course, and there's various things I already know, but it's helped me figure out one room so far, by forcing me to slow down and first think about who uses the room, what for and how it's used.

It's the laundry room. One would think, "Laundry, duh." But it's also circulation space, because it connects the house to the garage which is the door we use 99% of the time, and it's also storage space. And I would like it to be hang-dry space as well, because the other options for hanging clothes to dry are untenable for various reasons:

1) the first and foremost is my ADHD. The more steps I have to do, the less likely it is to get done. Get out the drying rack, take it somewhere in the house or back porch, set it up, hang clothes, check if they're dry, collect them, bring them in, break down the drying rack, and put it back where it's stored? OH HELL NO.

2) drying outside also makes the clothes smell like the outside and I've never had problems with this before, but both [personal profile] myrialux and I concur that the outdoors smell we get on clothes here is not appealing. Plus, we live in POLLEN CENTRAL and would like to not be allergic to our clothes.

3) the best place to dry inside is the spare room/gym and if clothes are hanging there that I need to move before working out, I won't work out (ADHD again). The spare bath is taken up by the litterbox, and the main bath is back to issue #1, with the added problem of fitting the drying rack in the tub. Any other room gets HUMID and GROSS.

So! I have a PLAN for the laundry room, once we get the $$$ saved up. Steps:

1) hire our neighborhood appliance handyman company to stack the washer and dryer on one side of the TINY room and swap the dryer door to open on the same side as the washer.

2) measure the back wall, to allow for power and water outlets and the dryer vent in the next step, which is...

3) install simple shelving of the rails-screwed-into-studs with shelves on them type, adroitly avoiding the outlets and vents above, as well as pegboard on part of it, to allow for...

4) the wall-mounted drying racks that will require a bit of space to extend/fold out. And then finally...

5) a closet rod installed across the room for clothing that can be put on hangers and hung.

SIMPLY RENDERED PEECTURES BELOW THE CUT...
you know you want to know more about my laundry room )

*snore*

Sep. 4th, 2025 02:56 pm
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It's been a mildly eventful few weeks, mostly because I ended up with a cold for a week and a half. Other than that, nothing too hairy happening.

I did get baby's first AO3 scam comment! It enthused over my story, especially the way I brought the world and the characters to life, making it real and immersive, pulling the reader in. And, of course, sparked creative ideas of their own and they wanted me to talk to them on Telegram or whatnot, presumably to try to scam me out of money for fanart that'll never arrive. Blocked, deleted, reported.

This, uh, is the work that they loved so much. You can see the GLARING PROBLEM with the bot's comment about my...story. XD
telophase: (Default)
I am mulling ideas for a client's cover in my backbrain and poking at my elevator pitch generator, which I updated with some more elements last night.

Okaaaay...:

An uncanny, rollicking novelette, this eldritch horror post-apocalyptic fable is what you'd get if you mashed up The Vampire Diaries with Schindler's List.

This timely media tie-in, a transcendant contemporary fantasy narrative, is the result of mashing up Conan and Mutiny on the Bounty.

This rambunctious trilogy, a rollicking romantasy narrative, is the result of mashing up Murderbot and Titanic.

Recommended for fans of big swords and true love.

Reminiscent of James Patterson and Lord Dunsany, this debut biopunk book is a fast-moving novel.

If Evan Winters mixed Slaughterhouse-Five with a touch of Casablanca, the result would be this numinous tour-de-force.

Fans of Rebecca and Fury Road will resonate with this suspense story that seriously examines loss.

If Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Man in the High Castle, this striking saga is what you'd get.

What would happen if Nicholas Sparks wrote The Expanse?


I would read these:

Full of delicious food, love transcending all, and bears.

Takes readers into a haunting and haunted world of mutants and Faustian bargains.

An extraordinary Murderbot meets Fallout and tackles issues of determinism in this darkly comic novel.

A breathtaking, contemporary novelette, this folktale is what you'd get if Umberto Eco wrote The Planet of the Apes.


I would read the ebook sample of these:

The Maltese Falcon meets Ninefox Gambit in this wonderful neo-classic book. Recommended for readers who want medieval settings and circuses.

A surprising, endearing series, this cozy mystery series successfully mixes YA fantasy and legal thriller with layered characters.

A transcendant paranormal romance, this Stabby Award-winning trilogy is like Friday the 13th, but with extra bears.
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Sorry for no other real update but I have just been "bleh" at the thought of sitting down and typing when I have other things to do. Oops.

ANYWAY. I did seven pictures for the May the 4th Star Wars fanworks exchange! And I received 3 stories!

WHAT I GOT: )

The seven pictures I did, in no particular order:

Stolen Moment (0 words) by Irusu
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order Series (Video Games), Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Cal Kestis/Merrin the Nightsister
Characters: Cal Kestis, Merrin the Nightsister (Star Wars)
Additional Tags: Fanart
Summary:

It will have to be enough



Irresistable Force Meets a Movable Object (0 words) by Irusu
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Leia Organa
Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Leia Organa
Additional Tags: Fanart
Summary:

I know that feel, Obi-Wan.



Target Practice (0 words) by Irusu
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Cartoon)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: CT-9904 | Crosshair & Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch)
Characters: CT-9904 | Crosshair, Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch)
Additional Tags: Fanart, Treat
Summary:

A little practice never hurt anyone. Well maybe not *anyone*...



Guardian (0 words) by Irusu
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jocasta Nu
Additional Tags: Fanart
Summary:

She would guard it with her life...and did.



Formal Portrait (0 words) by Irusu
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Leia Organa
Additional Tags: Fanart
Summary:

What would young Leia choose for her first senatorial portrait?



A Fistful of Credits (0 words) by Irusu
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Character & Original Character
Characters: Original Sith, Original Jedi
Additional Tags: love them western vibes, Space Cowboys - Freeform, Fanart, Treat
Summary:

It's the first holodrama of its kind! It won't be the last!



Dark Seduction (39 words) by Irusu
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Corran Horn/Exar Kun
Characters: Corran Horn, Exar Kun
Additional Tags: Fanart
Summary:

Prompt: "That scene where he appears to Corran at night but sexy"

telophase: (Default)
The archive for the [community profile] maythe4thbewithyou fanworks exchange has opened with over a hundred works of prose and art featuring your favorite characters from the full breadth of the Star Wars pantheon! Go forth and enjoy!

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Maythe4thBeWithYou2025

We’re still in the anonymous phase and creators will be revealed in a week. Start speculating what I’m responsible for. :D

Lists

Apr. 15th, 2025 02:38 pm
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I have succumbed to the Tumblr (and Discord) trend of making a list of books that were foundational to me, so you can see how many you've read. Or not. I'm not your boss.

https://www.listchallenges.com/telophases-foundational-books

It's got a lot of kids and YA books, as that's when I encountered them. I could have put a lot more on there, and for me if there's a book 1, it's probably representative of the full series. You can decide how you want to check it off--have you read the whole book, did you DNF it, whatever.
telophase: (Default)

Thursday: drive to in-laws, visit, eat dinner, drive to Mom’s place. Friday: brunch with Mom, drive home, grocery and food prep. Today: finish prep and cleanup, have friends over for third Thanksgiving meal. Tomorrow: collapse in exhaustion. Friday: start digging out from under a mountain of email.

After that, start planning Christmas, which we’re hosting because of new house.

So much socializing. So, so much (we’re both introverts, as you might have guessed by now!)

Sent from my Apple ][e

Woo!

Nov. 25th, 2024 11:40 am
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Another romantasy premade book cover up on Etsy! And it's not muddy-dark like so many of the ones I see online are! Which might be a mistake if that's what sells! Wheeeeee!

And I screwed up my wrist--left, thankfully, as I'm right-handed--yesterday making over half a gallon of béchamel sauce for lasagna for our friend gathering next Saturday. I dislike the texture of ricotta and prefer the variant that uses béchamel instead, and needed to make A LOT. My right arm got tired of whisking as I was doing the slowly-pour-milk-into-the-flour-and-butter-mixture thing, so I swapped to my left. Which was apparently the wrong thing to do. Not that I knew anything about that immediately. My left---argh this wrist brace keeps hitting the control key and the windows key--my left wrist was tired, and I had to very quickly call for backup from [personal profile] myrialux instead. But I woke up this morning with something on the outer edge of my wrist hurting when I do things like HOLD MY PHONE or APPLY PRESSURE WITH MY RING FINGER (as I apparently do when allcapsing). [personal profile] myrialux hunted up one of our wrist braces for me, and I have been finding out what movements hurt.

Hopefully it'll get better shortly as I would love to make deviled eggs for Saturday, my favorite finger food. Lasagnas (yes, 3--two 9x13" pans and one 8x8" when it became clear there was too much Stuff to fit into 2 pans) are in the freezer to be defrosted ahead of time and baked, there are plans afoot for Caesar salad, as we've got a recipe we know to be good, and friends are bringing other things.

We used this recipe, which is meant to be a shortcut, faking a Bolognese sauce with jarred marinara, and zhuzhed it up with fresh herbs, a can of Mutti pizza sauce to round out the marinara (it wanted 4 32-oz jars and our store carries 24-oz jars) and one of those small bottles of red wine you can get in 4-packs. Yum! Add the béchamel, Parmesan, and two pounds of cubed mozzarella because we couldn't find the Cuisinart to round it out and I think it'll be good.

How do you misplace a Cuisinart? No idea. We don't remember tossing it (it's a little bit busted and we do plan to replace it), but apparently it was packed...somewhere? And maybe not unpacked yet? We're down to just a few boxes and thought we already got all the ones that were labeled "kitchen" but who knows?
telophase: (Default)
In posting here about my premade covers over on Etsy (for SEO purposes).

I've been spending the past couple of months running ads on Etsy and making covers to see what people like, as calculated by visits and favorites. And using a plugin that I subscribed to for a year to analyze whatever stats it can grab from public Etsy stuff. Which is not TOTALLY accurate but at least gives me a rough idea of what might sell.

Also, I've joined the Etsy Black Friday sale, in which you'll get 30% off if you spend over $100. I have CUNNINGLY PRICED most of my ebook covers at $99 to tempt buyers into adding on a paperback or hardcover that way. Woo. (If it's over $99, it should be a full wrap cover already created. I also have a variety of prices in order to see what price points appeal and are workable for me, although I haven't sold enough to have any real data. :D

Anyway, here's a list of new premade covers. Apologies in advance for the terribly SEO-centric titles, but these days it's all about the ~Algorithm~ and Etsy has some specific things it responds to when grabbing listings and presenting them as search results. And honestly not that many people are judging by the few characters of the title visible in the search listings; they're looking at the picture. (Some of them have "No AI" in the title, just to see if that attracts people or not. None of them are made with AI.) You're getting the full glory of the titles because I'm hoping search engine spiders will pick them up.

In chronological order, from the oldest to the most recent.

Full wrap Regency Christmas cover, in an illustrated style:
Premade Book Cover: Christmas Regency Romance with an illustrated couple embracing under mistletoe. Customizable. No AI.

Regency Christmas ebook cover with the usual photomontage.
Premade Ebook Cover: Christmas Regency Romance with a lord and lady in front of a Christmas tree. Customizable. No AI.

Mystery or thriller full wrap cover:
Premade Thriller or Mystery Book Cover. Suspense, mystery or action. Ebook and paperback. Customizable.

Mystery/thriller/spy ebook cover:
Premade Book Cover: Thriller, Mystery or Spy Ebook Cover | Suspense | Action | Customizable

Historical Christmas romance (yes, you can tell what my biggest sellers have been to date)
Premade Book Cover: Christmas Historical Romance with a lord and lady in front of a Christmas tree. Customizable. No AI.

For a bit of a change, some rendered crowns as transparent PNGs to plop onto your characters' or photo clients' heads.
Royal crowns for queen or princess. Digital overlay PNG. Fantasy, Medieval, Historical, Romance, Magical. Instant download.

What is this? A Regency romance cover that isn't Christmas??? I disbelieve.
Premade Book Cover: Romance Regency / Historical / Victorian / Romantasy A woman standing in front of an atmospheric morning landscape

Then I branched out into romantasy and dark romance. Here we have my currently Most Popular (as judged by favorites) cover. It has never had a different title, so I'm judging this a Success for Etsy searches and am pretty much using the formula for the others. Sorry!
Premade Book Cover | Romantasy & Dark Romance | Fairy Tale | Fantasy YA Aesthetic | Ethereal Atmospheric Design for Young Adults

These next two were an experiment to see if I could replicate the uncanny valley feel of AI images using 3D renders and the type of post-processing in Photoshop that turns people's skin plastic. Visually, I succeeded, I think. Are the covers popular? Not that much, mostly because if you've got a person's face on the cover it's got to match the author's mental image of their character so it's a harder sell. But I proved the concept, so they fulfilled their purpose.
Premade Book Cover | Romantasy & Dark Romance | Fairy Tale | Elf | Fantasy | Ethereal Atmospheric Design
and
Premade Book Cover | Romantasy & New Adult | Fairy Tale + Dark Romance | Fantasy YA Aesthetic | Atmospheric Ethereal Design for Young Adults

Back to the formula of the popular one above, with flowers and a sword this time.
Premade Book Cover: Romantasy | Fantasy | Flowers & Sword | Dark Romance | Aesthetic | Atmospheric | Ethereal

I wanted to try to picture a rose frozen in ice. I did it, stood back and went "Um...yeah that's absolutely the cover of a spicy romance, not a sweet one." (If you ever wonder if the entendre on the cover of a romance is accidental...no, they know damn well that it's there.)
Premade Book Cover: Romantasy | Dark Romance & Fantasy | YA | Young Adult | Aesthetic | Atmospheric | Frost and Ice

Replicating the popular one without copying it exactly.
Premade Book Cover | Dark Romance | Romantasy & Fairy Tale | Fantasy YA Aesthetic | Ethereal Atmospheric Design for Young Adults

And the one I finished today, a more flat illustrated look. I learned how to make seamless patterns in Photoshop with this one!
Premade Book Cover | Romantasy | Fairy Tale & Dark Romance | Fantasy YA Aesthetic | Atmospheric Custom Design for Young Adults

If you ever wanted to know what my most popular items are, they're these, digital backdrops of Santa's toy workshop. I got the most sales during the height of the pandemic as professional Santas and grandparents wanted appropriate Zoom backgrounds for calls with kids, and then a few sales at the end of each year since as photographers professional and amateur wanted backdrops to composite their subjects into for holiday photos.

Digital Background - Santa's Toy Workshop Christmas Scene, Festive Holiday Backdrop for Photography, Instant Download

Digital Backdrop - Santa's Workshop Christmas Scene, Festive Photography Background, Winter Wonderland Backdrop

Recipe!

Nov. 17th, 2024 07:18 pm
telophase: (Default)
Both [personal profile] myrialux and I dislike zucchini and eggplant (among other things, thanks supertasting), but have found that if offending ingredients are cooked long enough with other ingredients so that they all meld together, often the results are perfectly acceptable. And we both want to expand our culinary horizons.

I bought the cookbook Bohème Cooking: French Vegetarian Recipes by Carrie Solomon, and found this rustic ratatouille recipe, which we tried tonight. It was good! It all blended together so we couldn’t taste the individual offensive vegetables, becoming more than the sum of its parts.

Recipe under the cut.

Read more... )

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