A little something it's time to get off my chest, this on the subject of strong female characters in movies and books that seems the topic of discussion nowadays. More specifically, this tendency of Hollywood changing established male characters into females or weakening the male characters to make the female ones look stronger. Now, i have nothing against strong female characters, just as I have nothign against strokng male characters. For me, it's the plot and only the plot; the story rules all. So, if a story calls for a strong female character, I'll use one; if it calls for a weak female I'll use that; same for the males. But if I use a strong female character, I am NOT simply going to make all the men around her wimps, or give the female lead unusual advantages that the best of males don't have. Everybody earns their way to heroism, guy or gal. In my various stories I have some pretty strong women, but they still have their faults just as the men do. And of course, anatomical and physiological differences dictate there are some things that one sex can do that the other cannot; just like by extension there are some things that various alien races can and cannot do that humans can. A practical example: In my big fantasy series, amongst the many characters I have, there is one warrior who is the best with the blade, but shy around girls, so naturally he attracts the eye of a set of teenage triplet sisters... who unfortunately for him are three of the King's daughters. He spends 3 books doing his heroics like the other characters, the girls come on rather strong trying to win his love, so finally t do that they try to prove themselves to him by joining the army and training just like any grunt. They have to work their way up and in the process happen upon a plot that could undo everything. They do end up proving themselves but by lots of hard work, and while at one point they save the man's life it's not because he's suddenly a wimped-out male. it's because he's been controlled by an outrageously powerful force and the one thing that can free him is for the triplets to get him to realize that he really does love them just as they do him. No shoe-horning in anything just to make an artificially 'strong' female character, no wimpy males around them to make them look good.

Well, I think this is pretty much done, unless there's some tweaking to the Flaatphut logo. I completely re-recorded the narration again and this time it came out good enough that I skipped tweaking it via Audacity and just let my actual voice ride. Sounds a lot clearer now. Pending other feedback I may son upload this to Youtube. See what you guys think.

@Mark Tierno is a full-time, career writer with a Master's in Physics, the soul of a poet, and possesses a unique descriptive voice. The result is an unrivalled talent for creating alien vistas, deeply woven plots, characters with distinctive personalities, and dynamic and realistic dialogue. He has built entire worlds, cultures, and shares how he keeps track of the story, his characters down to the smallest detail, how writing energises him and how he never gets writer's block. His passion for writing is contagious! It was such a pleasure to hear him speak and gain an insight into his immense literary wisdom! 🎉 It was fantastic to see Jayden and Michael on the live, and we were also super excited to introduce @Serena Mulder, our incredible head of marketing to the session. You'll be seeing a LOT more of Serena here and in The Reading Room! 💛 ⭐️ MARK'S BOOKS 📙 Maldene: Available in ebook and paperback; "Maldene" and "Maldene II: Mysteries of Olde" "A world beyond time... an adventure beyond imagining." 👉🏻Buy them here👈🏻 📘 Cyberdawn: Beginnings: The first in a 5-book series that mixes dark fantasy, cyberpunk, and the most paranoid conspiracy plot around; available in ebook and paperback. 👉🏻Buy it here👈🏻 📗 Inspector Flaatphut: An ongoing little series of shorter stories (nothing over about 110K words) that involves an entertaining mix of cyberpunk, futuristic noir, and anthropomorphic furries. It's what Mark calls "Beer and Pretzels Storytelling" and is done at its best! 👉🏻Buy it here👈🏻

MALDENE - BOOK 1 by @Mark Tierno Maldene is a world of magic and science, a world of mystery whose ancient foundations have been laid by something far more. ABOUT THE BOOK An Earth-swallowing world of three moons, fantastic creatures, alien landscapes, ancient and varied cultures, and characters that range from the crazy to the wise. It is also home, however, to the most villainous being known, a wizard whom it is said even the gods fear. An immortal wizard known as Miro, whose ambitions that- while still mysterious- far exceed the wildest dreams of even the most diabolical of mortals or deities. The story of Maldene spans several continents, other worlds and dimensions, the far-flung past, and many thousands of years to come. It is a quest to discover and thwart Miro's ambitions before he brings the stars themselves under his thumb. It is a story that involves hundreds of characters, and is told over thirteen full novels. Maldene is a world beyond time... an adventure beyond imagining. 👉🏻 Buy it here 👈🏻

So, I've been working on a third trailer for my Inspector Flaatphut series (first two entries in which are currently out as self-published), but what you're about to see is still beta. That bit at the very beginning is the logo desiogn I've come up with for the good inspector– which may or may not change, depending on feedback. So... feedback already.