Absolutely Zero AI

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The use of AI (artificial intelligence) in the generation of content is growing at an exponential rate. It has reached the point where :.ab.:users can draft lengthy blocks of text and have their work rewritten by AI at the click of a button. There is little doubt that books and other media generated entirely by AI are sneaking into the marketplace–and the rate of its infiltration will only grow in coming years.

This is why we at Verdant Angle Press feel the need to make our stance against AI clear:

Verdant Angle Press and its writers, contractors, and contributors will NEVER use AI in the creation of books and other media. This includes but is not limited to: writing (i.e. text, composition, plot, idea generation), artwork (i.e. cover art, illustrations, graphics), suggestions and feedback, and professional correspondence (i.e. emails, blog posts, ads). The <only> possible exceptions are the use of “spellcheck” and/or “grammar check” functions in word processors, if those word processors use or will someday use AI to perform these standard tasks, and potentially for the aggregation of public data for otherwise human-based marketing decisions and deployment. We do not and will not use third party AI-based software such as Grammarly to edit or refine our works.

Let it be known that Verdant Angle Press and its authors, contractors, and contributors use ABSOLUTELY ZERO AI in the creation of our texts–from pen and paper to print. We are and always will be human–however flawed that may reveal us to be.

New Release: ALTing in Japan

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With the goal of helping educate the masses, we at Verdant Angle Press have decided to branch out in to the realm of non-fiction. Our first non-fiction release is a rather niche category, but one with which we have ample firsthand experience–nearly a decade of it, in fact: ALTing (or “assistant” language teaching) in Japan.

ALTing in Japan: Zero to Classroom Hero is available right now in digital (PDF) format here. Digital is the cheapest option to get a great, in-depth resource on teaching English in Japan, chock-full of information, advice and classroom activities. Alternatively, the book is also available in print on the Amazon marketplace of your choosing. While this version is more expensive, it is printed in full color on the best quality paper robust enough to withstand however strong a pen or highlighter you choose to throw at it.

We hope that any new, prospective, curious, or stuck English teachers will take a look at this book and gain the knowledge and inspiration to take their craft of language teaching to the next level.

Irons in the Fire

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The time has come, I think, to finally break the silence. Heaven knows it’s been a while.

We’re working, in our way, on too many projects. Too many prospects. We are a brain overflowing with unharnessed inspirations gushing out in myriad directions. We have a sizable book in the raw :.Edison.:, part commentary on recent times and part Lit-RPG, following a rather unlikable addict of a sort in his insatiable quest to ride the bleeding edge of Progress. It’s big. It’s niche. It’s exhausting. It’s the second novel set in the city of Antwood.

Speaking of Antwood… in my attempt to explain what became of Miss Elena Parker and her (haunted) dollhouse at the conclusion of The Smith, I started a short story which accidentally turned into a 16k word novelette. (If anyone is interested in reading it, drop us a line. We are currently contemplating just where and how to publish it… it might have to wait for an anthology.)

There are (prominently) two inchoate tales knocking on my door at odd hours, taking turns according to the weather. Missing Embers (working title) will be the second book in the Lamp Land series, featuring a new character in addition to our returning heroine, Verdigris, and a click toward noir.

The other tale, Sanitation Run (working title), once more takes us into the city of Antwood and into a new pair of (running) shoes. The protagonist, Vale, comes to the forefront of my mind every time I put on my headphones and step outside for a run. Music propels her, and the narrative is driven by a soundtrack that copyright law will prohibit us to anything more than hint at. This snag makes me angry. YouTubers and Vloggers can use snippets of song and video for the purposes of commentary in accordance with “Fair Use” provisions, but heaven forbid a novel contain a single line from a song. So we’ll make it into a game and drop heavy-handed clues within each chapter and see if the reader can’t divine the song which served its basis.

We’re nothing if not unique.

Peace be with you.

The Smith Emerges

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Welcome to Antwood.

A man loses his wallet, loses his job, loses his mind–and finds so much more. The city he’s inhabited for north of a decade is a reservoir of secrets unknown to most of its residents. There are places no one goes, and neighborhoods of which no one knows. Harlan Smith is about to go–and know–to extremes never thought possible.

The Smith is the first glimpse of Antwood to emerge from the bunker :.smile.: and venture out into the light of day. It’s a place of mystery and magic and wonder. It’s a nexus. It’s a warren. It’s a tumor above a mycelial underground. Above all, it’s a place of possibility. And don’t forget: the river Shellborn runs through it.

The Smith is now AVAILABLE–so avail yourself of the tale and venture forth into Antwood.

Antwood

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Antwood is the title of our first series–or rather the “home” of it. Antwood is a bizarre city rife with guilds and secret societies most inhabitants simply don’t know about. This tends to change, however, for the protagonists the books are centered around.

The “first” book in this series–coming in 2023–is The Smith, which follows the freshly unemployed man, Harlan Smith, as he learns to channel a talent he’s been unwittingly utilizing all these years…

Later will come a work entitled Ed, and then another with the working title, Sanitation Run. All of these works take place within the City of Antwood–a place designed to be the home for many more tales to come.

In the Works

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The next work coming down the pipe is looking to land sometime in 2023. The Smith is a wild venture into magical realism, following the down-on-his-luck, lame-as-a-duck middle-aged man Harlan Smith as he gets mugged, loses his job, and is promptly swept up into an underworld of treasure hunters in the strange city of Antwood.

Harlan Smith discovers that he has a knack for putting things in “order,” unwittingly righting wrongs (or wronging the occasional right), building clues, and conjuring items that shouldn’t–or didn’t previously–exist. But there’s more to the hunt than simply supporting Sanders, the charismatic conman who gets him into this racket, and helping navigate them to the final treasure. There’s a young woman in deep trouble for a heinous misdeed, and while she’s no damsel (she’d be the first to tell you that!), she certainly needs help.

The Smith is on deck.

Following perhaps sometime in 2024 is a rough sequel that also takes place in the strange city of Antwood, Ed, details to be released at a later time.

Lamp Land: Now Available

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A seed planted and roots inked in the summer of 2018 has finally bloomed. It is our utmost pleasure to announce that Lamp Land (I. B. Hippe) is available for purchase in both PRINT and eBOOK.

Lamp Land follows the tale of Verdigris, a young girl who embarks upon an adventure within an ancient djinn’s lamp, side-stepping peril at every turn on her way to the distant wizard’s tower. What sort of world resides within a djinn’s lamp? What ominous power does the girl hold within the scarab talisman strung from her neck? And to what end does she travel? Discover these things and more within.

The work extends beyond text, incorporating several gorgeous illustrations by the great artist Bradley Kachnowicz that really bring the book to life. In this way Lamp Land is a mixed-media work of art–one of which we are rather proud.

Lamp Land Release

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Great things are coming May 1st.

It’s been so long (and so long again) and now it’ll be here oh-so soon.

Lamp Land is a tale of a young girl (Verdigris) who ventures inside an ancient djinn’s lamp to partake in a mission of (unknowingly) dire consequences.

What is it like inside a djinn’s lamp? You may ask. Verdigris will tell you it’s hot and rather sandy.

What is the true nature of this metallic scarab in the girl’s possession? It’s arcane and just as alive as it is seemingly inanimate.

Lamp Land features (8) primary illustrations hand-drawn by the artist Bradley Kachnowicz specifically for this work.

Lamp Land is coming May 1st in print and eBook formats.

It’s a quick and snappy adventure the whole family can enjoy.

Your Price for SHELL

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We want you to see it.

We want you to read it.

We want you to :.feel.: it.

SHELL is available now at Smashwords for your price. Pay what you want for the eBook and discover the foundation :.the veins.: of our oeuvre. Reach out–give it a roll–and pay it forward.

We stride into the future.

Digital Frontiers

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SHELL is now available in eBook format!

If you’re still on the fence, pop on over to the product page and check out the first 7 plus chapters or so in the eBook “Look Inside” feature. (Yes, the chapters are short and snappy, as befitting the tale.)

Physical, concrete objects are in our opinion far superior–they are safer, let’s say, from corruption. They’re easier on the eyes, and there’s nothing quite like assembling your own library in your home.

That said, digital formats take up infinitely less space, are received instantaneously, and are more convenient for the majority of people in this day-in-age. In this case, they are also much cheaper and more “economical” (if slightly less, in our opinion, pleasurable).

So SHELL has broken into the digital space, as will Lamp Land when the time comes.

This spring, yes, as we turn the final screws…