iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 15h

"I didn't understand a thing." One of the most common lines in low-rating reviews — often paired with "it's poorly written." Could these readers be correct? 1/3

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 29/09/2026

Fear of change… or of stagnation. Desire to change, to not stagnate. The paradox of human emotions. The very same shaping what an alchemist is. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 27/09/2026

To any alchemist, the pursuit of knowledge is the only worthy quest for their endless existence. The reason they are what they are. Yet knowledge, by definition, expands what you don't know. 1/8

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 23/09/2026

Unreliability is a condition of subjectivity. Therefore, there are no truly reliable narrators (third-person limited or first-person) because if the narrator is a person, that person will be subjective--despite them claiming otherwise. Because of that, narrators are like camera lenses. 1/3

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 21/09/2026

Élan teaches ‘Aurea that emotions are atemporal—ungoverned by sequence, alive across time, returning without permission. Amok doesn't teach this. They test it. 1/6

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 18/09/2026

Emotions always have a cause. That much seems obvious. What Élan teaches Áurea in THE GENESIS OF CHANGE is a… less intuitive truth: The cause of an emotion is not constrained by time. 1/7

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 16/09/2026

What makes a human *human*? At first glance, the Gom Jabbar Test, from Frank Herbert's **Dune** suggests a simple answer: unlike an animal, a human can master their own fear in a life-or-death moment. But the conversation that unfolds before hints that this is assess something complex... 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 14/09/2026

Alchemists. Eldritch immortal beings. And yet they share three fundamental characteristics with their human source-beings 👀👇🏻 1/3

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 11/09/2026

Fear and desire shape individuals. In THE OMENS OF WAR, they also run beneath the politics of nations, the fracturing of alliances, and the slow collapse of a peace nobody quite trusts. 1/7

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 09/09/2026

Keep it foreign and preserve meaning at the cost of reading complexity... or make it legible and accessible at the cost of meaning. That's the dilemma of every translator. But either choice has a cost 👀👇🏻 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 07/09/2026

The framework Élan teaches Áurea in THE GENESIS OF CHANGE isn't contained to The Towers… and neither it is mere theory. In THE OMENS OF WAR, the same forces are already at work—as the hidden architecture of two human lives. 1/5

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 04/09/2026

Early in Áurea’s training, Élan asks her a question: "Politics. What's the underlying factor?" It sounds simple… but the answer reshapes everything. 👀👇🏻 1/9

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 02/09/2026

Descriptions are a contentious topic… …and yet most advice focuses on whether to describe rather than how the mechanics of descriptions actually work. What are those mechanics? 👀🤔 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 31/08/2026

THE GENESIS OF CHANGE is available: ➡️ As a paperback (redesigned this year!), ➡️ an audiobook (narrated by Sarah Kempton) ➡️ as ebook… and this is wide, but also free to newsletter subscribers. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 27/08/2026

“Élan,” she lingered, frowning at the mentor. “Wouldn’t existence be… by your words, a constant state across time, but… somehow volatile?” The alchemist’s answer? 👀👇🏻 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 24/08/2026

"Struggle is a forceful fight for and against identity. Struggle exists because identity exists." That’s what Verve says in THE GENESIS OF CHANGE But identity is a broader concept than it first appears. 👀👇🏻 1/6

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 21/08/2026

If the last few posts made you curious about The Towers, my alchemists, or the world of Records of the Orders… THE GENESIS OF CHANGE is where it begins. And it's free. 1/3

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 17/08/2026

“What do I need to study?” “The unexplainable” A single question rattled Verve’s mind: what could be unexplainable to the alchemist who had mastered every ounce of known knowledge by achieving all transfigurations? 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 14/08/2026

THE GENESIS OF CHANGE follows two alchemists from The Orders. Both are approximately 20,000 years old. Not the oldest (some have existed for 250,000 years), but each chosen by The Rector for reasons that are never entirely transparent. That opacity is, itself, a clue. 1/6

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 12/08/2026

When material poverty creates inner poverty, is it possible to create meaning under such conditions? And from there, what if the discovery of meaning in one's life is itself a privilege? BOOKS UNDONE latest episode dives into HOUR OF THE STAR by #ClariceLispector 👇🏻 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 11/08/2026

When plotting Records of The Orders, I knew the alchemists needed a leader. Someone so far beyond them that even immortal academics would defer without question. But how do you make a being more unfathomable than beings already beyond human comprehension? 1/8

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 09/08/2026

The Towers of The Orders of Alchemists weren’t built by humans—and so it does not obey human-made laws. Within The Towers physics does not apply. Space and time are… not.

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 07/08/2026

For the past few weeks, I've shared what formed me as both a reader and writer. Now let me take you back to where that formation led: my series RECORDS OF THE ORDERS 1/6

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 05/08/2026

"Death of the author!" some readers proclaim—ironically enough, quoting an author to do so. Yet they forget that who the author was—their beliefs, their biases, their culture—is precisely what shaped the text in the first place. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 03/08/2026

Everything I've read has left a mark. Everything I've written has taken something from me and made it into something else. That’s why, for a few weeks, I’ve been telling you about myself. Because there is part of me in my stories. 1/4

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 31/07/2026

I've been sharing much these past weeks. But there's one piece I haven’t talked about. It’s a short story. Borgesian in form—with a narrator that perhaps is not fictional, in a setting that’s dubiously fictional. She is asked one question: “Who are you?” 1/3

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 29/07/2026

Rhythm is not just pertinent to poetry. Prose benefits from it just as much—perhaps even more. Yet a flowing tempo is easier to demand than to achieve 👀🤔 1/3

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 28/07/2026

DANCE WITH ME started as an #InteractiveFiction piece published in Unearthed Stories. Lyra was not a static character—your choices guided her actions. 1/6

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 25/07/2026

MEANS OF EGRESS. Another #InteractiveFiction novel I’m extremely proud of. It’s published in Unearthed Stories by @prowessgames It immerses you, the Wanderer, into a dungeon ruled by an omnipresent, narrative-prescribing Dungeon Lord. It is also a metaphor for the journey of our lives. 1/7

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 22/07/2026

Character descriptions are a contentious topic—yet regardless of editorial opinions, we can indeed find a large variety of character descriptions that seem to disagree with most ‘advice.’ The truth is that memorable descriptions all have one element in common: they appeal to narrative distance.

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 21/07/2026

Psychological horror is the subgenre I appeal to the most. It’s always blended into what I write. It’s the core of REFLECTIONS, an #InteractiveFiction novelette. A man sitting in darkness, talking... and you, listening. Controlling what part of his past you unravel. 1/7

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 19/07/2026

STATIC SIGNAL, LIVING LEGACY. Politics. Knowledge. War. Same themes, genre: near-future sci-fi. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 17/07/2026

Two sci-fi stories: ➡️ One near-future and set in Australia, ➡️ The other far-future and following a sentient robot. Same themes as my other works—conflict, war, progress—and one key detail: they’re both #InteractiveFiction stories, published in Unearthed Stories. Let me tell you about them. 1/8

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 15/07/2026

There is no piece of writing advice more frequently repeated than "show, don't tell"... yet it often comes with surprisingly little discussion of how it actually works. The truth is this: "Show don't tell" is not *a* technique, but a cumulative effect. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 14/07/2026

Do you know I write across genres? Sci-fi (near and far future). Fantasy Horror. Cosy (yes, indeed). A psychological dungeon-crawler/escape room novel. And here’s the twist: many are text-based #InteractiveFiction. Let me tell you about it 👀 1/7

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 12/07/2026

He commands the shadows to tell a tale. It may not be real… or it may be just too ancient. The one listening to it cannot say. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 11/07/2026

This weekend I’ll be back as a panelist at WriteHive’s conference, discussing: ➡️Unreliable narrators (common in my writing), and ➡️Political writing—which is another of my favourite topics. The conference is online and free to attend. You can register and attend here: writehive.org/writehive-a...

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 10/07/2026

A myth. The origin of the alchemists in RECORDS OF THE ORDERS. Told by a Storyteller who moves shadows while he speaks. But how much of it is real? 👇🏻 1/5

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 08/07/2026

What is humanity in the first place? That’s the question cyberpunk explores. So much more than “high-tech, low-life” and so pertinent to the times we live in. Join me in conversation with @trnapper.bsky.social, Dr of Cyberpunk and award-winning author. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 06/07/2026

Two more influences: Jorge Luis Borges and Gene Wolfe. Worth noting: Wolfe was a devoted admirer of Borges. I only noticed I'd followed the same lineage after the fact—which is perhaps how influence really works. 1/7

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 03/07/2026

From my cyberpunk short-story, THE BLUE DOOR: Lyon always comes back to his son. But at what cost? 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 01/07/2026

“Write short, easy sentences” is common writing advice… yet many of the most celebrated writers use long, winding sentences to extraordinary effect. So: is the advice wrong? 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 26/06/2026

Philip K. Dick. A mad genius. I encountered his work a few years ago and it blew my mind. Granted, I've not loved every book (Martian Time-Slip, anyone?) but that's always the exception. There's something of him in my writing. 1/4

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 24/06/2026

What actually changes when a story moves from omniscient narration to close third-person—or all the way into first person? My latest essay from the “wide shot” of omniscient narration to fully “handing off” the camera to the character. It includes three detailed examples from classic sci-fi. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 22/06/2026

The first speculative fiction book I picked up was #Dune. I was 12. I'd seen parts of the Lynch film and wanted to try the book. The copy was well-worn; a translation. I re-read it recently (decades later!) and it remains an influence. 1/6

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 19/06/2026

Non-fiction. I love it. Not of any type, no. War history, political theory—and then psychology, philosophy. More than once I’ve squeaked after finding a second-hand copy of a hard-to-find book (Hannah Arendt, anyone?). These books have influenced my writing the most. 1/5

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 18/06/2026

The bookish need to drop everything I'm doing (and have to finish) to rush to a second-hand bookstore before they close for the day.

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 17/06/2026

Is morality something we do, or something we tell ourselves we've done? Here are two unlike books circling this question from different angles: The Road by #McCarthy and The Shape of The Sword by #Borges. 1/2

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Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster @liviajelliot.com · 16/06/2026

Who am I? A writer, yes. But I’ve been a reader for far longer. The first books I picked up were random and based on the titles on the spines. Did it sound catchy? I picked it up—whether it was fiction, non-fiction, or even comics. Old books all of them. 1/5

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