February Update + AMA

SP

Thank you!

Sarah Lin

Poetry and nonfiction are very different fields, so while I can try to say a few things, I'm not really the best person to ask. For example, with fiction being a part of Kindle Unlimited is essential, but with your sort of work, you don't necessarily need to be Amazon-only. I'd suggest that you begin with making sure that you're happy with the books you're getting. For ebooks it's almost all about formatting and the Kindle Create program can try to guide you through it. Depending on how much elaborate formatting the poetry has, you might need to go to more effort on that end, setting up a PDF with everything right. That would also help down the road when you do the paperback formatting, presuming you want those. Not sure what else I have to offer. Amazon doesn't support poetry or nonfiction very well, so I'd focus on creating something your father loves.

SP

Hi! Also a bit late but I'm trying to get my father to start to publish his own book of poems and some other more nonfiction work that he's had written for a while. Do you have any tips about self publishing, especially through Amazon that you'd be willing to share? We both are totally new to the industry and would love to avoid any common pitfalls that you've experienced or heard about. Thanks!

Alexander Dupree

Ah yeah it's also possible I just related to that introvert feature so it seemed more real.

Sarah Lin

No, I wouldn't say Fiyu is modeled on myself (outside of very basic things common to introverts). I did intend to show a contrast with her comfort in her own soulhome, or maybe I just need to put more energy into the others.

Alexander Dupree

Hey Sarah Lin. Sort of personal so if you don't want to respond that's OK but did you model Fiyu's personality after yourself? I just noticed in her soul home scene she seemed somehow more alive than the other two. Or maybe just more nuanced.

Thanks for replying so quickly! Good to know that there is still a chance for more SC/NGM in the future :)

Sarah Lin

SC/NGM: Though I haven't closed the door on either, I'm not currently writing or prepping for books in either series. Ichili: Close relatives travel together at all times, in Fiyu's case her master. Friends are a close but lesser category.

Hi Sarah, thanks for taking the time to host an AMA! I am enjoying TWC quite a bit, and looking forward to the next book(s?) in the universe, but I have a question about your previous series - Street Cultivation and NG- - do you have any plans to continue writing in any of these universes? I'd love to read a lot more stories in both (and to be honest I am really curious how Rick came to be as powerful as he was in the epilogue). And one more question, if I may - how do the Ichili actually work as a society? Considering Fiyu mentioned that she would normally see her closest friends a few times a year, how does she have a master to teach her soulcrafting and help with sublime materials?

Sarah Lin

You'll have to wait quite a while for companions, but they'll show up eventually. ^-^

Hammy

Thank you for the quick reply. Now I am going to sit here and hope the MC gets an awesome canine companion!

Sarah Lin

Thanks, glad you're enjoying it! Both the things you mention are possible, but not easy. You can't just plant a fruit tree and grow a bunch of fruit, that requires an advanced soulhome and rare materials. There's sort of a hierarchy: most sublime materials generate cantae, far more powerful materials are required to generate anything physical like food, and sublime materials that generate new sublime materials are rarest of all. There are no sublime animals running around like there are sublime rocks or plants. However, there are rare animals that can live in a soulhome, and it's possible to generate an animal-like companion that is linked to your soul.

Sarah Lin

I intend to keep responding to questions until there's a new post here! This has been an intense writing month for me, so I haven't watched much of anything. For non-fiction, I read Entangled Life, which was an enjoyable book about fungi that gave me some ideas for alternate soulhomes. For fiction, I read Blood Song, which made me think I could probably enjoy writing a coming of age fantasy.

Hammy

Hi Sarah, I have to say i am really enjoying this series and the new take on cultivation story. My question is in regards to soul homes, you mention that soil matter and house etc matter. My question is two part, One can I grow trees/grass/crops/plants that produce food in it? And second can you store a sublime equivalent to animals in your soul home to help with said growth or to other benefits?

Cybernetic Panettone

Hi Sarah, I'm a bit late to the party, hopefully you'll see this anyway! Have your read / watched anything recently that you enjoyed or inspired you?

Sarah Lin

You've already seen several tools used for soulcrafting, and there are many others for different purposes. Rooms to process sublime materials definitely exist and most soulcrafters need them eventually (just not in the early tiers when space is at a premium). Reusable molds would be a thing, yeah.

Luke

Since theres an industry for refinement, are there also specialized tools? Do craftsfolk build rooms in their own soulhomes to facilitate better refinement of materials like a dedicated forge or workshop? Perhaps reusable molds to cast sublime metals into ornamentation?

Sarah Lin

Yes, yes, and no. The more you integrate a material into your soulhome, the more entrenched it becomes and the less useful it is to others if extracted. However, you can refine materials internally without integrating them, then remove them enhanced. There's an industry for this and it will also be critical for (far) future soulcrafting. Someone at the end of their life probably has a highly entrenched soulhome, so they can't easily give away all their work. However, see my answer to Runcible Technician: there are certain things that can be done to benefit family or allies.

Sarah Lin

There are actions you can take that would cause dust/decay, but it won't happen naturally. How much upkeep is required depends on how heavily you're using your soulhome. If you're doing nothing with it, there's no upkeep. There is absolutely an answer about what happens to soulhomes at death. I'm going to leave that to be revealed in the books, other than to hint that there's a natural cycle to sublime materials.

Sarah Lin

I'm doing alright. As a writer, it's easy to social distance effectively. Since I'm young/healthy I'll probably have to wait quite a while for the vaccine.

Luke

We've seen unrefined items removed from soulhomes, but can a refined/crafted item also be removed? Is there an industry of craftspeople who take in raw materials and produce well-engraved, finely crafted items fit for high-tier soulhomes? Could someone near the end of their life empty their soulhome as an inheritance to those they care for?

Runcible Technician

Do objects inside soulhomes gather dust or decay? I am curious how much of the system is spiritual or symbolic vs. physical. Like, do they need upkeep? new roof shingles? Also, is there an in-lore answer for what happens when people die with enormous soulhomes? I can't help but think that there is a titanic amount of actual physical matter just missing from the nine worlds after all these people just suck the stuff in then die in an epic kung fu fight somewhere. I'm also laughing at the thought of bubbles of debris just floating around in sub-space.

Pickle

How are you doing, pandemic-wise? Vaccine in the queue, or not yet? My parents and at-risk friends have just gotten their first shots recently, so I'm starting to breathe easier.