Jackson Allen's Blog, page 3

Authors and Social Media – Find the Joy

Let’s distill Caroline Campton’s 4500-word essay on why ‘I’m Done with Social Media’ into three words: Find the Joy. Caroline couldn’t find the joy of social media in her author promotion, and offers up herself as a cautionary tale. My advice is simple – let Taylor Swift and influencers own social media. Connecting with readers is about finding your joy. Everything else I’m about to say comes back to that point.

I’m grateful to Campton for her vulnerability and honesty about her struggle – it’s made me feel less crazy. Every trouble, every experiment she describes in trying to find a sustainable social media system? I’ve tried those, too. When they didn’t work, I had to ask myself – is it me? What am I doing wrong? Why does this feel so uncomfortable? I find myself in tremendous gratitude for her essay – it’s given me some critical emotional context.

Author Promotion: Nightmare Equation

Consider the nightmare equation of author promotion from three different angles. First – problem of finding new authors, new books to read, from the readers’ perspective. They lead busy, noisy lives – they’d love to find something they can disappear into. If you want to find *a* book – 200,000 titles are released every year on Amazon and that number climbs ever year thanks to AI slop. How do you find *the* book, *the* author?

Now, let’s talk finding new authors, new readers from the publishers’ perspective. Shareholders demand growth. Growth demands sales. Your limited budget competes with every other publishing budget, plus endless competition from every TikToker who shows her booty and blows up the Internet. Where do you spend that budget, where do you spend that time championing new authors who you believe in?

Finally, consider the problem from you – the author. Until you’ve got *the* audience, you’re building *an* audience. Audiences are built one reader at a time. Your ability to write is dependent on your ability to sell what you write, and every hour you’re selling is an hour you aren’t writing. And sales creativity ain’t the same as writing creativity. They’re both difficult businesses with really smart people. Competing in either arena – writing your chosen genre to writing marketing copy? That requires a mental gear-shift and you must switch back and forth without sacrificing quality in either. 

Sound like fun? I didn’t think so. Let’s take a step back and cut ourselves some slack. We’re not machines, nor are we Stephen Colbert. Since this game seems to be a marathon, not a sprint, let’s drop some weight baggage. Focus on what we can do, not what we can’t do. It’s time to realize that we don’t have to be the king / queen of any social media platform. In fact, all we really need to do is *be there.*

Must Be Present to Win

What’s that mean? I’ll explain. Posting content on different platforms – whether it goes viral or not – is still valuable for the people who are looking for you. You’re showcasing your ‘work while also building a supportive community of readers and peers.’ If you want to find your readers and peers – you go onto the platforms where you think they live. That means asking yourself  ‘who are my readers?’

When I think about my readers, I want to connect with thoughtful non-algorithm-driven human beings. Where do those TNADH’s live? Not on TikTok, that’s for sure.  I can’t justify being on a platform that’s been proven to damage people’s brain development. 

None of that is possible if I’m not on those platforms. Someone else would have to take my content – like this blog post for example – and post it there. Which means they need a compelling reason to do so, in the face of everything else they have going on. That assumes people obsess over me, and that I’m okay with people obsessing over me. None of that works for me.

Instead, I’d rather focus on a message that says ‘C’mon – let’s be happy and find joy together.’ I’d rather talk to the kids or other middle-grade readers who say ‘I can’t be on there, but what am I supposed to DO/READ/SEE?’ Yo, that’s me. Over here. Let’s be happy and find joy together.

So rather than focus on being ‘viral,’ focus on being ‘present.’ You’re here on BlueSky or Mastodon or Goodreads – just being here and finding joy and being social on this social media. The right people will find you, because you’ve got something authentic to say.

Authors, Social Media, and Joy

So in conclusion – let Taylor Swift and influencers own social media while you find your own joy. Social media consultants can say what they want, they aren’t you. They don’t own your life. Taking the road less traveled makes all the difference, you have to trust that the path will take you where you want to go.

 

The post Authors and Social Media – Find the Joy appeared first on Inkican.

New Scifi Short Story – Newlyweds

Happy to announce a new short story: Newlyweds. This Martian space western fits within the ‘Battle of Victoria Crater’ and ‘Mons City Obituary’ universe and you’re going to love it. Here’s why: Jakob and Yasmine are two of the least-likely people you’ll ever think could fall in love. Then they do. But then people can’t keep their mouth shut. Then the rest of the story happens. Here’s a brief description:

On the edge of human civilization, Jakob is a man running from his past—twenty years of heartbreak, suspicion, and exile. Mars is supposed to be a fresh start, but even on the Red Planet, old wounds and rumors follow. When Jakob marries Yasmine—a woman he’s only met through a handful of video calls—their union is a leap of faith in a world where hope is as rare as water.

Their first days together are a trial by fire: whispered gossip, buried secrets, and the ever-present threat of being cast out. But when Jakob stands up for Yasmine in front of the entire colony, risking everything for a chance at love and dignity, the Outpost is changed forever.

Newlyweds is a gripping, heartfelt story of finding connection in the last place you’d expect. It’s about the courage to fight for belonging, the power of community, and the simple, breathtaking hope that even on Mars, you can find home in another person. If you’ve ever longed for a second chance—or wondered if love can survive in the harshest places—this is the story for you.

Here’s the first page:

They met over video before the wedding. Three videos: two to get to know each other, one for the proposal. She said yes, just like the Matchmaker promised. Marriage meant moving out of the bunkhouse and into his first Martian stateroom. A video wedding ceremony, then to the paymaster for a three-month advance on his salary for transit from Mons City.

This is crazy. This is insane. You don’t know her. She doesn’t know you. Of all the stupid things you’ve ever done …

Jakob wondered if he was crazy, thinking he could exchange the desolate isolation of West A319 for reassuring refuge. He heard the buzz of approaching hovercraft engines over faint whispers of Martian winds. Butterflies in his stomach. What would he say? How would it start? Would they be happy? How would it end? What would it look like when they were sad? Could they beat the odds – stay together forever? He swallowed back the spit in his mouth and unclenched his jaw. Yasmine – his wife – was here.

She smiled at him, nervous, cycling through the airlock. Fair skin, light green eyes, and brown hair. Round face, high cheekbones. He smiled back, wanting to apologize for their grubby outpost, unable to afford proper passenger tramways.

“Yasmine looks pretty,” Kidd said. “Just like her pictures.”

Jakob nodded. Kidd was his personal AI companion – something they gave you on arrival – help settlers regulate their isolated emotions. Something about another voice to talk to before lights out. No family of his own, Jakob settled on Kidd, his own personal younger cousin or nephew. Someone to talk to when there was nothing to listen to except the snores, murmurs or farts of the bunkhouse.

Nothing about Jakob suggested companionship or hope. Twenty years of despair and deprivation left him with bleak brown eyes, streaks of gray in his curly hair.

“She’s a farm tech?” Kidd continued. “Hope she likes the smell of poop.”

“Shut up, already. You talk too much.”

The subject matter really spoke to me because I’ve often wondered if I’ll ever find someone to share my life with again. It’s also about what happens when you’re waiting for something to happen. Maybe that’s something you’ve thought about, too.

Newlyweds is a love story among the sunblasted ruins of Martian regolith that shows anything is possible and that love will always win, no matter what.  It’s now available on your favorite e-book platform with more coming soon!

       

Getting back to work on re-writing Mike.Sierra.Echo – some exciting updates to share soon!

The post New Scifi Short Story – Newlyweds appeared first on Inkican.

Great Scifi Storytelling – The Wild Robot

Taking a break from editing Mike.Sierra.Echo to talk about ‘The Wild Robot’ and great scifi storytelling. I’m not shy about telling you if a scifi story is good, bad, or ugly – and I love when a story breaks through good to become ‘great.’ That’s what The Wild Robot did, and it compels us to take a moment to study, discuss, learn. What can this story teach us about the craft of storytelling?

What’s The Wild Robot About?

I won’t spoil the plot, but essentially The Wild Robot is a fish-out-of-water meets ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ with a little bit of Wall-E on the side. Per IMDB, The Wild Robot’s plot is: After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island’s animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

The Wild Robot doesn’t shy away from grown-up topics like loss, growth, and acceptance. Kids likely had a lot of questions after the movie ended (“Mommy, what did they mean when the Mommy Possum said she had ‘seven kids,’ and then she had ‘six?'”)

Along the way, TWR makes excellent use of its voice cast, including Pedro Pascal, Lupita Nyong’o, Kit Connor, Ving Rhames, Catherine O’Hara, and Mark Hamill. Hamill, for me, is the standout. You’re capitivated by growly gravitas you don’t recognize and then you look it up: Hamill’s created yet-another standalone, signature character with nothing more than his vocal cords. Guy’s talented, give him credit.

What Makes The Wild Robot a Great Story?

Here’s what makes The Wild Robot into great scifi storytelling. You start out thinking ‘ho-hum, another kid’s movie with glacial pacing and hitting you over the head with a moral like an inflatable hammer.’ Then the movie slams you into a hysterical action sequence pitting our protagonist against a thousand chaotically-comical raccoons. Then a hair-raising escape, then a tragic loss, then a shot at redemption – now the real story begins.

Now, of course The Wild Robot started out as a novel by Peter Brown. As a ‘deceptively simple and emotionally complex’ story, The Wild Robot pays homage to scifi stories. You’ll catch the movie winking to Wall-E, The Iron Giant, The Giving Tree, and Ice Age while breaking its own ground with humor and humanity. The pacing of the story – the hilariously high-speed pratfalls and deadpan asides – they keep even the most jaded movie watcher emotionally hooked. Kinetic action sequences, three-dimensional peril and escape. You never know where the next laugh or loss is coming from.

When the critics say ‘big feelings and great beauty,’ they aren’t kidding. Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood was absolutely right when he said: “If Spielberg‘s E.T. had been an animated film instead, it might resemble what writer-director Chris Sanders has created here.” The Wild Robot truly offer ‘the type of all-ages-welcome animated entertainment that will delight kids and leave a lump in one’s throat.’

Humor, Humanity, and High-Speed Action

Now we get to the ‘What do we learn about scifi storytelling from The Wild Robot?’ question. TWR is a ‘unique blend of survival, friendship, and personal discovery, all set against the backdrop of the natural world. It beautifully illustrates themes of belonging, family, and adaptation.’ Additionally, it reminds us that sacrifice is necessary part of growth and that answering big questions requires big adventures.

The Wild Robot is a wonderful, palate-cleansing scifi sorbet for those tired of superfluous superhero movies and residuary reboots. Even Disney is getting tired of being told ‘we want original scifi’ when people refuse to support original scifi. Dreamworks sidestepped the entire question by saying ‘here’s something new and beautiful to enjoy.’ Bravo.

So if you’re studying scifi storytelling craft? Here’s my suggestion: go study The Wild Robot like screenwriters study ‘The Godfather.’ Watch it to enjoy, watch it to understand, watch it so you can learn how to tell a story well. Nice job, folks.

The post Great Scifi Storytelling – The Wild Robot appeared first on Inkican.

Author Interview: S.Z. Estavillo – Feminist Thrillers

Time for another Author Interview – S.Z. Estavillo writes Feminist Thrillers and sat down with me for a conversation about writing, thrillers, and surviving trauma. I really enjoyed the experience and I think you will, too. Here’s what you should care about:

Number one, S.Z. Estavillo is an accomplished author with several published titles. Number two, Twilight of the Serpent sucks you in from the word ‘go.’ Here’s a quick description:

Some predators hide in plain sight. Others hunt from the shadows.

Merrick Winslow is a decorated Army officer, a man of discipline and honor—or so he claims. When he reports that his ex-wife, Cheonsa Soo-Min, has been stalking him, no one questions his story. He paints her as unstable, vengeful, and dangerous, a woman consumed by obsession. But when two officers are gunned down with her own weapon, the truth becomes harder to see. With the law closing in, Cheonsa vanishes, fleeing to Rio de Janeiro, where she is taken in by Von Schlange, the vigilante thought to have disappeared for good.

Von has retired her vengeful ways, leaving behind a life of bloodshed to run a quiet veterinary clinic. But when Cheonsa’s past collides with Winslow’s lies, the two women begin to unravel a deadly deception—one that turns predator into prey. By the time Von uncovers the truth, an innocent life has already been taken.

Now, there’s only one thing left to do: find the real monster and make him pay.

Sounds like fun! Let’s learn more about Twilight of the Serpent’s author, S.Z. Estavillo –  it was a delight to learn more about her and her characters:

Author Interview – Begin!

Who are you?

I’m S.Z. Estavillo, a feminist thriller author drawn to morally gray stories — especially the spaces where justice fails and women rise. My work explores trauma, revenge, and the brutal cost of survival.

What’s your latest project? 

My latest novel, Twilight of the Serpent, the third in the Serpent Series. It follows Detective Anaya Nazario and vigilante Von Schlange as they unravel a deadly conspiracy tied to a military officer who isn’t what he seems.

What got you into writing thrillers?

I was stalked for years. Writing thrillers gave me a way to reclaim the narrative, to give power back to women who are often silenced or disbelieved. I write to process, to provoke, and to fight back.

That’s inspiring. What’s one thing you’d tell Past You to help you get through that nightmare?

I’d tell past me: Don’t wait to report it. I spent a long time doubting whether what I was experiencing “counted” as stalking, or if I had “enough” to take action. My stalker was actually my ex-husband—a high-ranking military officer—who inspired a character in Twilight of the Serpent.

He gaslit, manipulated, and refused to take no for an answer. When I blocked him on one account, he created another. I’d block his phone number—he’d generate a new one and keep texting, keep harassing. He tracked down my email addresses, even after I deleted and replaced them. He used aliases and countless social media accounts to digitally stalk me. It was a relentless nightmare that lasted seven long years. It only stopped after I finally secured a Military Protection Order (MPO) against him. He’s now prohibited from contacting me at all—or I get to report him directly to his commanding officer.

What I’ve learned is that stalking is incredibly hard to prove. You need everything—emails, screenshots, texts. Hundreds, sometimes thousands. And even then, the legal system doesn’t always move unless someone is physically harmed or worse. I wish I had known early on not to delete those messages, even when they made me sick to see. You want to forget it’s happening—but the truth is, you need the proof.

So if I could go back, I’d tell myself: Save everything. Document everything. Trust your instincts. And speak up sooner. You don’t need to wait for the situation to escalate to be taken seriously. You deserve safety, peace, and protection—before the damage is done.

Wow, okay thanks – let’s shift gears a bit. What made you interested in writing stories about the future and beyond?

While my stories are grounded in the present, the idea of confronting what could happen — the extremes of power, corruption, and resilience — always drives me. My characters are haunted by pasts, but what matters is what they’ll risk for the future.

How do you make up cool worlds for your stories?

I start with character — then build the world that would test them the most. From elite task forces to corrupt police precincts, everything is crafted to push my characters to
their moral and emotional limits.

Can you tell us how you create those amazing places we read about in your books?

I combine real-life research with lived experience. L.A. isn’t just a backdrop — it’s a pressure cooker. In Book 4, I explore Alaska’s isolation and underground drug routes to contrast the chaos in Los Angeles.

Do you have a favorite character you’ve written?

Von Schlange. No contest. She’s violent, brilliant, and emotionally wrecked — but she kills for the right reasons. I love her contradictions.

Is there one character you really love writing about? What makes them special to you?

Yes — Von. She’s not looking for redemption. She’s not trying to be liked. She just is, and that raw honesty makes her dangerous and irresistible.

What lessons or messages do you try to share through your stories?

That justice isn’t always legal — and the law isn’t always just. Also, survival is messy. Sometimes the only way out is through the fire.

Do you have a main idea or a message you hope your readers take away from your books?

You’re not crazy for feeling unsafe. And if you’ve survived something — that doesn’t make you weak. It makes you lethal.

What cool inventions in your stories do you think might someday become real?

In my books, the closest thing to “invention” is the systemic rot behind modern law enforcement. But I explore next-gen surveillance, synthetic drugs, and covert tech that already blurs the line between fiction and reality.

Are there any gadgets or inventions in your stories that you think could actually exist one day?

Absolutely. In Book 4, I include a synthetic opioid deadlier than fentanyl — and the terrifying part is, that already could exist. I just gave it a darker twist.

From a writing craft perspective, tell me about your process – how do you bring a story together?

I outline emotionally first — what hurts the most, who’s breaking, and what truths they can’t outrun. Then I build the plot around that. My chapters are built in beats, like scenes in a film.

How do you start writing a book, and how do you make it awesome from beginning to end?

I start with a question that haunts me. Then I put a woman in danger — and give her the power to fight back. I focus on momentum, tension, and emotional payoff.

Who are your favorite thriller writers?

Gillian Flynn, Don Winslow, and Tana French. They each balance grit with psychological depth, which is what I strive for in my own writing.

So, like, what makes their stories so great?

Flynn for her interiority. Winslow for his pacing. French for her atmosphere. Their stories hit like gut punches — that’s my bar.

Interesting … What do you think the future of thrillers looks like?

Hybrid genres — thrillers with vigilante justice, psychological trauma, or espionage angles. Readers want layered characters and breakneck plots. We’re moving past formula.

Huh … What’s your definition of “trauma-informed” when it comes to the future of fiction?

To me, trauma-informed fiction means writing stories that truly understand the weight of trauma—not just including it for dramatic effect, but respecting how deeply it affects a person’s life, body, relationships, and sense of self.

It means being mindful of how trauma is portrayed—avoiding shock for shock’s sake—but also not sugarcoating it. If something is serious enough to alter someone’s life or put it at risk, then that reality deserves to be told with truth. Fiction shouldn’t censor the stakes or soften the truth just to make it more palatable. Part of being trauma-informed is acknowledging just how devastating and dangerous certain experiences can be. Honesty matters.

At the same time, it’s about handling that honesty with care. You can be truthful without being gratuitous. You can show the emotional fallout without forcing readers to relive every detail. That balance—between unflinching truth and emotional responsibility—is what makes trauma-informed fiction so powerful.

It also means centering a character’s response to trauma, not just the trauma itself. Their agency. Their coping. Their pain, yes—but also their fight to survive and heal. It’s not about tying everything up in a neat bow, but about giving characters the space to be fully human in the aftermath.

As someone who’s experienced trauma firsthand, I believe readers deserve stories that don’t minimize what they’ve been through—but also don’t exploit it. A trauma-informed future in fiction means we tell the truth, we hold space for it, and we write with empathy, not just impact.

Okay, cool – Where do you think thrillers are headed in the next few years? Any cool new ideas or trends?

More morally gray protagonists. More trauma-informed plots. Less “perfect victim” narratives. I think we’re finally letting rage and realism take center stage.

If you could visit any world from your books, where would you go?

I wouldn’t want to live in Von’s world — but I’d want to stand beside her. Just once. To see what true fearlessness looks like.

If you could jump into one of your own stories, which world would you want to explore, and why?

I’d follow Detective Nazario and Wilson in Twilight of the Serpent. Watching them untangle a murder tied to corruption and domestic violence would feel like stepping into the heart of the storm.

What’s your funniest ‘Author’ story?

A man once told me I didn’t “look like” someone who writes violent books. I just smiled and said, “Good. Neither does my main character.”

What else would you like to tell us?

I don’t write escapism. I write reckoning. These books aren’t just thrillers — they’re survival stories disguised as entertainment.

Go nuts — tell me something you think we should know about.

Von Schlange is the heart of this series — but she was never meant to return. The readers brought her back. They demanded blood. So I gave it to them.

There you go folks – S.Z. Estavillo is a new friend of Inkican that you should definitely get to know. Twilight of the Serpent is one of those books you read when you need someone who understands what you’re going through, and gives you a voice for fighting back. Thanks for the chat, S.Z. – looking forward to the millionth-copy of Twilight of the Serpent, signed!

Really fun interview – I’d love to interview more authors – feel free to reach out if you’d like to connect.

 

The post Author Interview: S.Z. Estavillo – Feminist Thrillers appeared first on Inkican.

PSA: Please Don’t Touch Adam Savage’s Butt

Quick PSA for the kids out there – Please Don’t Touch Adam Savage’s Butt. I’m sorry that this is necessary to say, I sincerely wish it wasn’t. But when you see Adam Savage, and you see Adam Savage’s butt – please do us all a favor and keep your hands to yourself. Here’s the video that precipitated this public service annoucement:



As bad as this is, it’s not 1% of what female celebrities have to put up with, as Adam is quick to point out. Can we all agree on something? God forbid I become famous and you see me in public, I want you to remember: my bum is 150% *off limits.* Got it?

I’m sorry I have to say this, I wish that I don’t – this is one of the reasons I have no interest in being any kind of a celebrity. I feel the video speaks for itself but in case you need to hear it again: please don’t touch my butt. Please don’t touch Adam Savage’s butt. Touching other people’s butts – without their permission or approval – is not cool. It’s a party foul. It’s what gets you banned from most relationships – and it should get you banned from civilization, too.

We don’t want that, right? Good – thanks – glad we had this discussion. Please don’t touch Adam Savage’s butt. Hands to yourself. It’s okay to enjoy Mythbusters, it’s okay to tell Adam Savage that you appreciate his work. Butt touching? No bueno. Please don’t. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

The post PSA: Please Don’t Touch Adam Savage’s Butt appeared first on Inkican.

Trust Your Struggle – New Video Essay

Cool beans, a new video essay is out this morning – Trust Your Struggle is ready for viewing on YouTube now. This essay explores the human emotions of growth and change, I wrote it back in April and am delighted to share it with you here. Take a look:



 

I’m rumbling through my Day Two with GSBCW, Mike.Sierra.Echo, and other projects. As Ed Zitron said, sincerity and accountability win the war, and this is me being sincere and accountable. The only way for me to learn from my mistakes is to talk about it, and what I’ve learned. Talking about how it makes me feel is therapy for me, and you’ll pick up some insights for you, too.

As I said in the description: “Day One is thrilling, but Day Two is where most people give up. Drawing inspiration from Brené Brown’s Rising Strong, he breaks down why discomfort, doubt, and discipline are unavoidable—and how embracing them is the only way to reach your goals.”

With this new video come some new elements – I try to step my game up for every video I produce. Quick reminder – if you’re looking for voice talent, please reach out to Tim Rowe (timothyrowe@gmail.com) – he’s *marvelous* to work with. His voice – as Linda Richman was fond of saying – is like *buttah!*

I’m not the only one talking about this.

 

The post Trust Your Struggle – New Video Essay appeared first on Inkican.

STL: The Three-Card Monte of AI

Let’s explore AI and the ancient game of Three-Card Monte. I think once you learn the rules/play of Three-Card Monte, some eerily similar behaviors are going to become manifest when it comes to the business of AI.

Three-card monte – also known as find the lady and three-card trick – is a confidence game in which the victims, or “marks”, are tricked into betting a sum of money on the assumption that they can find the “money card” among three face-down playing cards. To play three-card monte, a dealer places three cards face down on a table. The dealer shows that one of the cards is the target card, e.g., the queen of hearts, and then rearranges the cards quickly to confuse the player about which card is which. The player is then given an opportunity to select one of the three cards. If the player correctly identifies the target card, the player gets the amount bet (the “stake”) back, plus the same amount again; otherwise, the stake is lost.

How Three-Card Monte Takes the Mark

As a classic street-con game, three-card monte usually includes shill pretends to conspire with the mark to cheat the dealer, while in fact doing the reverse. The dealer and shills act as if they do not know each other. The mark will come upon a game –  with the dealer engaged in his role, with a shill betting money. The first shill probably will win, leading the mark to think ‘easy money.’ Then the con begins.

If the mark enters the game, they get got any number of ways. Dealers employ sleight of hand and misdirection to prevent the mark from finding the queen. The dealer will pick up one of the cards with one hand, and two with the other. If a mark finds the right card by chance, one of the shills will simply post a higher bid, which the dealer immediately accepts, announcing that he will accept only the highest bid. If the winning card was selected, a “Mexican Turnover” – flipping over a card on the table and replacing it with a card in the hand while doing so – is used to switch the two cards.

When the dealer and the shills have taken the mark, a lookout, the dealer, or a shill acting as an observer will claim to have spotted the police. The dealer will quickly pack up the game and disperse along with the shills.

Dealers, shills, and marks have been playing with Three-Card Monte since the 15th century, according to Wikipedia. As a con, the psychology of Three-Card Monte is showing up in discussions about AI, too.

Here’s My Point

Here’s why I told you all that. Last week, Jensen Huang ‘criticized Anthropic head Dario Amodei over his recent claims that 50% of all entry-level white-collar jobs could be wiped out by artificial intelligence, causing unemployment to jump to 20% within the next five years.’ If you read the Fortune article, you see Huang throwing shade at Amodei’s predictions with little or no substance from either party to support their conclusions.

Taking a step back from this particular article, one can’t help but ask: “When are you going to provide some data to back up your claims?” Where’s the research? How will you measure AI-induced job loss or creation? What are the metrics of success for AI? So far, the pie-in-the-sky predictions on how AI will change the future come in the form of fast hot takes, and quick quips.

All this fast talk is a classic Three-Card Monte move. You can’t spot the red, the cards are moving too quickly. A blur of motion, a flash of indecision. No one’s exactly sure where the red card is except for the dealer. All these conversations are saying ‘I know where the red card is going to be. Listen to me, don’t listen to the other guy.’ We’re getting distracted by the two-cards of ‘job loss’ and the ‘Mexican turnover’ of job creation. Who’s right? Who is wrong? We can’t tell – the cards are moving too fast.

If we – by chance – pick the right ‘card?’ In steps the shill to ‘bid higher.’ Our success isn’t legitimate – the dealer is only taking the high bid! Your dreams of social mobility via this new tool were used to suck you into the game. Sorry kid – better luck next time.

How The AI ‘Three-Card Monte’ Works

Now let’s go back to you and me – little people – and the ‘AI will take your job’ or ‘AI will make you rich’ boogeymen. As has been reported elsewhere – ‘Amodei didn’t cite any research or evidence for that 50% estimate. And that was just one of many of the wild claims he made that are increasingly part of a Silicon Valley script: AI will fix everything, but first it has to ruin everything. Why? Just trust us.’

“This isn’t a story,” as Ed Zitron said. “It is ‘guy said thing,’ and ‘guy’ happens to be ‘billionaire behind multi-billion dollar Large Language Model company,’ and said company has made exactly ******* as far as software that can actually replace workers. ”

That’s all this is, folks – the Anthropic story is nothing but a gish gallop of factoids designed to overwhelm the senses and leave you thinking ‘I better buy into what this guy is doing, because it looks like I can win!’

Congratulations, you’re the mark.

Use AI to Defeat Three-Card Monte

Did you know that AI itself can help you avoid ‘Three-Card Monte’ traps? Sure – let’s count the ways. First – we plug the original statement into AI. ‘Last week, Jensen Huang ‘criticized Anthropic head Dario Amodei over his recent claims that 50% of all entry-level white-collar jobs could be wiped out by artificial intelligence, causing unemployment to jump to 20% within the next five years.’ Then we ask: ‘What are some smart questions to ask about this article?’

You’ll get a phone book of questions to ask – don’t worry about writing them down. What you do next is, plug the results back into AI: “Continuing to analyze this statement.What do we know so far about the future of work and AI – what should I as an individual person be thinking about for AI and the future of work, answering the questions below?” I found the answers to be fairly insightful and I invite you to test this out for yourself.

For instance, I got the following from Perplexity: ‘Huang likely counters Amodei by highlighting the adaptability of economies and the potential for job transformation rather than outright elimination, though direct quotes or data from him on this specific disagreement are not present in the search results.’

Wrapping Up

Translation: even AI knows this converastion is crap. Perplexity is an AI-driven search tool and even *it* can’t find direct quotes or data. There’s no red card in this stack. They took it out when you were misdirected.

Think about that very carefully the next time you open an ‘AI will kill your job’ article.

 

The post STL: The Three-Card Monte of AI appeared first on Inkican.

Mike.Sierra.Echo Updates and Re-Writes

Time to get into Mike.Sierra.Echo updates and re-writes now that I’m done with Superhero Shrink:Alpha. Received some more feedback on the manuscript that suggests I’m ignoring vital story opportunities that keep it from being published. Means I thought I was done but I guess I’m not. Means I need to go back to the drawing board.

As I’ve said before, writing is similar to forging steel. A blacksmith has his standards, and when it comes to writing I have mine. Yes, I thought Mike.Sierra.Echo was done before, but when it was obvious there were things that could be better, I have no choice. I have to go back and re-shape the material, especially if I expect my ‘blade’ to survive the battle.

Set the alarm clock for 5am and get an early start. Wake up at 3am because my neck hurts and I can’t sleep. Start the coffee pot early and slam 800mg of ibuprofen. Start reading, start writing. Consolidate major scenes into paragraphs:

Doctors and nurses swarmed over Mom. Nobody had any answers. My feet ached. There was no place to sit. I couldn’t leave Mom! Techs pushed a large machine into the room to scan mom’s head. I was in over my head. Mom seemed asleep – maybe that’s all she needs, I thought.

Busy doctors ignored me. Stuck in a slow-motion nightmare, feeling horrified, frustrated, and bored simultaneously.

Go back a few hours like you’re re-winding a movie. Mom – tired from last night’s Guild dinner and Rocket4 business declaring a ‘Mike Day.’ Jennifer throwing a hissy fight – why did I get a trip into Boston to see nerdy stuff after getting suspended?

I was happy – needed a break from fights in school and fighting with my sister. Stop at my ultra-rich, ultra-bossy grandma’s house. My breath smoking in the early spring air, the smell of wet earth. Grandma’s mite-sized AI drones flashing yellow to green as they scanned our faces and let us into the house.

The museum smell of Grandma’s parlor and all the original antiques inside. Don’t touch anything. Can’t sit on the furniture. A jade helmet from the Shang dynasty in the corner and a cowboy painting by some guy named Remington over the fireplace. Originals, not copies, collected by the family over three generations. Mom gave it all up to be with Dad. Then Dad ended up working for Grandma, anyway. Jennifer says this is called ‘irony.’

A million robocars zooming into Boston. Charles Hayden Planetarium. Smells of stone and wood. Echoes of a thousand voices. Near Earth Objects. Asteroids with weird names like 2008 EV 5. Total serenity in the Planetarium, stars swirling in musty air. Narrator’s voice reminding me of chocolate or coffee, reciting facts about the universe. Lots of boring stuff on rocket shipping and space travel. You can’t talk about rockets without talking about Grandma and her Rocket4 company. People hear ‘trillionaire’ and stop listening after that. No one cares that ‘ultra-rich’ means ‘can’t visit your grandkids at their house.’

Then Bang. We were at the grocery store. That’s all I know. She fell, I froze.

Angry thoughts slid around my head like my butt across the the EZ-clean vinyl passenger seat. I’m a tough guy, why didn’t I save her? I should have done more!

Some rocket guy said “Failure is not an option!” because Dad yells it all the time. He doesn’t accept excuses. To him, everything’s an engineering problem that ‘needs analysis.’ He designs rockets to ship billions in cargo every day, no room for feelings or ‘I meant for the best.’

Mom bridged those gaps between Dad and me, Grandma and everyone else. “Give it time,” Mom said. “One day you’ll see everything I love about your Dad and your Grandma, and they’ll see everything I love about you. Won’t that be a beautiful day?”

It’d be beautiful if you woke up, Mom. Please wake up.

Mike.Sierra.Echo updates and re-writes. There’s no way around doing your best when your best is what you’re doing. Mozart wrote his symphonies in the first draft – you aren’t Mozart right now but maybe someday. Back to the drawing board. Wake up at 3am, start the coffee pot. Start reading, start writing.

The post Mike.Sierra.Echo Updates and Re-Writes appeared first on Inkican.

Superhero Shrink: Alpha Audiobook – Scifi Superhero Audio Short

I’m pleased to release Superhero Shrink: Alpha a new scifi superhero audio short story. Listen here to the latest chapter in the wacky world of Dr. Christopher – a licensed mental and family therapist to homo praepositus – Superheroes. And if you’re a fan of true crime, therapy podcasts, or just the bizarre intersection of celebrity and mental health, you’ll feel right at home. Why Should You Listen? If you’ve ever felt out of place (or just out of patience), you’ll relate. If you love a good laugh mixed with a little pathos, this story’s for you. Listen here:

Let me tell you some more about Superhero Shrink: Alpha as an audiobook. At Inkican, we’ve been producing audio short stories for a while. This is the first time I’ve brought together a team of three voice actors for an ensemble production – Jeremiah Jones is joined by Gloria Rowe and Tim Rowe – two UK-based voice actors who lent their combined talents to create a storyscape worthy of the Marvel and DC crowd.

Along the way, you’ll meet some compelling new characters. There’s TrustFund – a Bruce Wayne-wannabe who finds out the hard way that life ain’t like the movies. Then there’s Peter – an all-powerful superhero who does the unthinkable. I don’t want to give it away, his decision and sacrifice will leave your jaw hanging.

But hold on, I’m not giving Jeremiah, Gloria, and Tim enough love – do you know how *hard* it is to take on new characters, especially ones outside your own lived experience. I’m humbled and awed at the level of talent and dedication these three actors brought to their performances. Each of them had to stretch in new ways to flesh out the characters and bring meaningful moments to life. Seriously – I’d recommend all three of them for any voice / SFX project you need talent for. Great people.

Superhero Shrink Alpha represents the toughest audiobook I’ve produced yet, and I’ve still got more to do. More new stuff for you to listen to, too! If you want to hear what happens when a therapist, a shape-shifting hero that looks like Bill Clinton, and a billionaire with a God complex walk into a high-security prison—well, you’re in the right spot. I hope you enjoy what we did to create Superhero Shrink: Alpha.

 

The post Superhero Shrink: Alpha Audiobook – Scifi Superhero Audio Short appeared first on Inkican.

GSBCW: At Least We Aren’t the Hugos

GSBCW may not be the most popular online reading event, but at least we aren’t the Hugos. I’m hitting pause on the silent book club after tomorrow. I need a break so I can focus on finishing the Superhero Shrink:Alpha audio book that’s been in production for several months. Then I have other projects that require my attention (e.g. querying for Mike.Sierra.Echo, writing shorts, etc).

Part of me is disappointed that the project isn’t more successful yet, but that’s nothing new. Inkican.com is a museum of my creative ideas and I’m proud of each of them, successful or not. This place is mine … I built it. That still matters, no matter what AI-driven content creators will tell you. Speaking of which …

I was surprised to read about some Hugo, Worldcon and AI drama the other day. What’s going on folks, need a Snickers? Then when I started reading more, the situation started to crystalize. Factionalized arguments about using AI – in any shape or form – are drawing battle lines sharper than Antietam. Only the devil and Chuck Tingle know where it all will end. Is this what you want? Is this what you got into science fiction to do? This is the hill you want to die on? Um, ‘kay …

While I’m not big enough or strong enough to figure out what’s happening with the SFWA, it’s clear that the SFWA *must* clarify what they want to get out of AI. They must say what is okay, or not okay, about AI use.  The science fiction community will kill itself with ‘purity culture’ and infighting, like Nanowrimo and the Romance Writers of America.

The Battle of Antietam isn’t just a casual metaphor – it still remains the bloodiest day in American history, with a tally of 22,727 dead, wounded, or missing on both sides. The phyrric victory might have accomplished some good points, but tell that to the eight hundred thousand soldiers who died. Is there some compelling reason that causes the Hugos and SFWA to re-visit the same pointless inhumanity?

War doesn’t decide who is right, only who is left. Let’s let cooler heads prevail, folks – if for no other reason than the vulnerable people who need scifi storytellers and other collateral damage. Anyway, that’s how I feel. Back to work.

Write on!

 

The post GSBCW: At Least We Aren’t the Hugos appeared first on Inkican.