About the Author
Jacob Ethan Gibson was raised on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada. He grew up exploring the desert and its strange properties. But while wandering the desert under a new moon one fateful night, Jacob accidentally passed into the astral plane. Though he doesn’t speak of this experience, he has devoted his life to finding a way back.
Currently he lives out of a camper bus with his cat, Butch Catsidy. Jacob has found that the life of a nomad is much more natural for an author and denies any reports that he might be fleeing bankruptcy or even something he may have unleashed from the void. If you happen upon a camper bus bearing the insignia of the flickering candle, the author kindly asks that you not reveal his location to anyone asking, though again, not because of any escaped Astral Fiends, nor overeager creditors.
Should you wish to support the author in his journey back to the astral plane, please consider purchasing one of his novels. He claims these stories are true glimpses of mirrored realms to our own and when reading them during a phasic lunar synchrony, one can even experience a cosmic connection with the characters. But be cautious doing so.
Each donation comes with an invisible amulet of protection from any ill effects caused by time travelers tampering with your timeline. Now with a hint of pine.
Contact the Author
To contact the author, light a candle on the night of the new moon, say the name of the first constellation you glimpse, and whisper your question to the night.
Alternatively, you can send a message using the form below.
Author’s note about AI
Look. Generative AI is amazing. But it’s also bullshit. I saw a meme that I feel encapsulates it perfectly, where basically instead of creating a generative AI tool that can make our jobs easier so we can spend more time on our art and music- we created a generative AI tool that is really good at plagiarizing art and music.
That said, I have integrated generative AI into my day-t0-day writing routine, especially with my research process. It has allowed me to confidently write sci-fi stories utilizing considerations in science that I never would have had the knowledge to even consider as part of my past writing research.
AI has also allowed me the opportunity to add fun features to my website that I wouldn’t have been able to do myself without either paying someone lots of money, or spending precious writing time learning how to code it myself.
As I venture into a new experiment with Serial Publication, I will be using Generative AI to accent my work and make it more engaging to capture a larger audience. I won’t use it for actual prose, because, I mean, let’s be real, ChatGPT writes like when I was a freshman in college trying to impress my hot English professor. But I will be using AI in other ways.
Self publishing is an expensive route of sharing my work with the world. For example, I made far more sales with my Mariana the Moon Girl books than I was expecting, but I still have yet to come close to turning a profit after the cost of publishing those books. As an indie author aware of how prohibitive those costs can be, AI is just too powerful of a tool to not utilize while sharing my work with as many people as I can.
All of this said, I pledge that for any publication I make that is NOT online, namely if there is going to be a physical copy of my book printed, or if it is sold in bookstores in any fashion (digital and physical), I will be hiring a real cover artist, copy editor, and any other professionals needed to release my work.
However, for any online products that I make available for free, or under a subscription model of serialized publication, I will be using AI to raise the production value of my work. Additionally, if I ever reach a place where I’m able to make this my living, then I pledge to stop using generative AI for anything other than my writing research process.
If you have an issue with this, reach out! I’d love to hear your perspective on this. I believe in paying artists for work, but I also believe indie artists should utilize the tools available. There’s a lot of nuance here on what the actual morality is, I think I’m okay with it, but also, I’m biased. I know I’m definitely against corporations getting away with not hiring artists, writers, and other creators because of AI solutions-especially since the argument of plagiarism with generative AI is a pretty compelling one.