iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Sometimes, we forget things we knew back in our much-younger years . . . soden.substack.com/p/know-thyse...

soden.substack.com

Know Thyself

Sometimes, Age Does Beget Wisdom

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I've tried to recall some anecdotes I've not blathered on about for years. Also, my new phone's camera is LIT 🔥! soden.substack.com/p/the-early-... #BookSky #AncientHistoricals #MedievalSky

Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It was inspired by REH's "Gates of Empire" 🫡

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

"The Lion of Cairo reads like a cross between the Arabian Nights and a Hollywood blockbuster." —Steven Pressfield, New York Times bestselling author of Gates of Fire Digital edition available here: ko-fi.com/s/399addb237

The Cover of THE LION OF CAIRO. This one features art by the incomparable Maxfield Parrish -- brooding Prince Cassim sits among the spoils of the Forty Thieves, chin on fist and a jeweled scimitar in his hand.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

“An eloquent and captivating historical thriller.” – Publisher's Weekly Digital edition available here: ko-fi.com/s/5641d2702b

The cover of MEMNON. This one makes use of a close-up detail of a Roman-era mosaic from Pompeii depicting the face and shoulders of Alexander the Great.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

“Profound and tragic . . . Oden’s masterful story of bloody battles, political intrigues, betrayal and romance offers a gripping portrait of the collapse of an empire.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Digital edition available here: ko-fi.com/s/183218df64

The cover to MEN OF BRONZE, featuring Thomas Cole's penultimate panel in his masterful "Course of Empire" painting -- the fall of a Rome-like city, with statues toppling and buildings burning, and chaos in the streets.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Remember: you can grab digital copies of my early books at my Ko-Fi store (and only there; they're not on the 'Zon). Men of Bronze, Memnon, or The Lion of Cairo! ko-fi.com/K3K72OC14

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I love the narrative of the losing side. This is why I keep circling back to my manuscript on Darius III. There is great drama and melancholy in the shadow of Alexander . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Added digital editions of my early books to my Ko-Fi store! Grab PDF/EPUB editions of Men of Bronze, Memnon, or The Lion of Cairo! ko-fi.com/K3K72OC14

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Giving this a re-share. Five tales of monsters, orcs, goblins, and the indomitable Grimnir! soden.substack.com/p/brothers-o...

soden.substack.com

Brothers of the Serpent

Five Monstrous Tales

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

. . . at the point where it turned at right angles with its former course, and flowed westward to empty at last into the distant sea. So, Kuthchemes should be northeast of the bend of the Styx.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

People always put Kuthchemes in the wrong place. Per "Black Colossus": A few days' ride on camel-back to the southwest, as Shevatas knew, would bring the traveller within sight of the great river Styx . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Dropping a collection of monster tales! Grimnir and his kin, with orcs and goblins galore . . . just in time for the spooky season! soden.substack.com/p/brothers-o...

soden.substack.com

Brothers of the Serpent

Five Monstrous Tales

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I FINALLY got a reader positioning scammer email! I was beginning to worry . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This is me. Burned out so bad I don't even feel like reading . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

It's what idiots think a genius must be.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

From cave paintings to the early 1900s, there are millions of pieces of public domain art, out there. All it takes is a little patience and a little time and you WILL find something that would make a banging cover . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I am wholly burned out. Going to take some time to reassess, renew, and maybe find a new creative outlet . . . soden.substack.com/p/a-hiatus?r...

soden.substack.com

A Hiatus . . .

Friends, I am burned out.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

be inclined to offer: www.paypal.com/donate/?host... And if you happen to know of any job openings for human garden gnomes, let me know!

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I'd kill for a job that lets me drive around the local wildlife refuge in a golf cart, picking up trash . . . or something with books. BUT, we have one library and one book store, and they're not hiring. For now, though, I'm just going to drop my donation link and ask for any help you might . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

entry-level fry cook at McDonalds. It's bonkers. So, I've been putting out applications. The other problem: no one wants to hire 59-year old dudes. And . . . I don't want a *job*, I'd like something a bit more congenial to my soul, but that pays a decent wage.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I don't know why I stay in the job I currently have. It will cover either the bills or the groceries, but never both. So, why am I wasting my time (I know why, and it's a complex personality issue that can be boiled down to "I hate change")? I've been there 11 years and make less than an . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Something #cozy and #whimsical for #BookSky: A YEAR IN THE GARDEN Claude Moreau's gentle observations on the mice that dwell in his grandmother's garden . . . tea and starlight, moonbeams and memories. And a goblin or two . . . www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/...

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A YEAR IN THE GARDEN - PDF/EPUB

In a certain garden, not terribly far from here, Claude Moreau chronicles a year of gentle wonders for those with patient hearts and curious minds . . . A cozy and episodic novel set in the whimsical...

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I've not been visited by the luck fairies, thus far in my career (which has spanned 21 years, by the way). I'm not certain I'll ever entertain those nebulous beings, either . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Waitaminute! You already follow me. When the heck did that happen!? :)

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Hey! No jerk, here, just a dude that writes stuff (claim to fame: wrote prose-pastiche of Conan that sounds eerily similar to the Master, himself, according to some reviews). Now, to microwave some tea! :)

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

For tonight, at least, I'll eat some oven spaghetti, drink tea, maybe listen to music, and go to bed. Tomorrow . . . who knows. Tomorrow will have to take care of itself . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

There's a growing part of me that thinks I'm just done. I tried, had some slight success, and now it's time to slip gracefully into oblivion. In a perfect world, probably some therapy and drugs would fix the issue. But, this isn't a perfect world. It's a dystopian hell-scape.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I see everyone else talking up their books and their projects, sharing their triumphs and their let-downs, and I wonder where I went wrong? Nothing's stopping me from any of that, except everything's stopping me. I touch grass daily, and not even that helps.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I should blog, I tell myself. I should put together a new collection of my previously published stories, I mutter. I should write. The thought of writing fills me with sadness and dread. Why bother? It's just going to go into the trash bin of the ages. Really, just go nap . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Used to, I could read a favorite book, watch a favorite movie, even write something and I could feel the enjoyment, the pleasure, stirring in my breast. Now? All I want is a nap. The world is too exhausting. Too expensive. Too dream-crushing.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I have reached that point where nothing at all provokes enjoyment. Not reading, not writing . . . all I want to do is eat and sleep. I think I'm broken 😥

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

You can tell, though, that that's a foreign knock-off. No god-fearin' Murican soda's goin' to have that text in German!

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Tell me they would not let you use "RJ Darker" . . . :)

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Reposting because the world is a hellscape and I need some cookies . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

At some point, it's going to have to be a felony for elected officials to lie, spin, distract, or otherwise be disingenuous. The entirety of their professional lives as politicians should be treated as though they're under oath . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Question for #BookSky: with the throttling of social media via enshittification, is it *crucial* for a writer to have a social media presence, these days? Or can we just get by with a simple blog, perhaps?

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

If anyone is having a Medici moment, feeling particularly patron-esque, I will leave this link here for you: www.paypal.com/donate/?host... Now, back to the mental ceiling of the Sistine Chapel . . .

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Turns out, I need a series S&S character and that hateful old sot, Grimnir, still has tales to tell . . . open.substack.com/pub/soden/p/...

open.substack.com

Speaking of Hate . . .

Time to go back to the well.

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Scott Oden @orcwriter.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Should be in your inbox as we speak, good sir! Thanks!

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