Everythings on Fire!

I'm burning up the keyboard!

Metaphorically. 

We've been writing. We've been brainstorming. We are plotting.

Yes, we are currently working directly on Book 3, which we've now named "Beneath the Torn Sky." It's still slow work. Both of us work full time jobs and have full time families with real human problems. The stories we write are passion projects, but they do not pay the bills (omg... so many bills). 

We enjoy writing together. It's so energizing to hear excitement and encouragement from each other. I can't tell you how validating it is to get instant feedback from someone you respect as a writer tell you how "incredibly cool" something you have been working on is.

(Here is the inevitable...) BUT we are two people, writing two stories that we are trying to thread together. We are working on a giant puzzle and although we are closer to done than before, making sure all the puzzle pieces go together correctly takes more time as we approach the close of the story. Sometimes it even feels like we have to cut new pieces just to fill in some of the gaps.

We try to be each other's harshest critic, while also trying to be each other's most supportive editor. It's a process, even for one book. But since we plan to end this series on the book after this ("Untitled Book 4"), we're trying to thread together several individual character arcs while also pointing them all in the direction of the big ending(s) that happen on the close of the third book and the series conclusion at the end of book 4.

That being said, we are trying to do some special short drops along the way. We'll say more about that as we move closer to the drop dates (which are not set yet). 

I know it's been a long time since Between the Darkness and Dust dropped back in 2018. It's even been a while since we've been graced with great reviews and a fantastic SPFBOX runner-up award that brought us even more readers last year.

We are here. We are meeting and writing and editing and revising and excited to get this out.  We haven't abandoned you. We're just old, slow and demanding of ourselves and each other.

There's a lot of tumult these days. Even for those of us that have the luxury of escape through shows, games, books or whatever your flavor of distraction, it can still feel like a burden we can't quite put down. We can tell ourselves to relax, but with everything going on around us, it can be hard to listen, much less comply.

I don't have a solution to that, but if we figure it out, promise that we'll make it open source for everyone.

Take care out there.

-Tim & Wade

Pillaging on the High Seas (How the Robots Stole our Stories)

Days ago, The Atlantic dropped an article about how Meta decided to "get books ASAP," in order to train their Large Language Model AIs (https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/libgen-meta-openai/682093/). To do that, they went to LibGen to get those books. The problem is that LibGen hosts pirated works.

Disclaimer: I'm not really here to talk about piracy. There are arguments for and against pirating, and I have opinions, but that's not this post.

In the most basic of terms, all Large Language Models are trained by reading and analyzing text and compiling probability metrics that are most likely to be statistically "correct" for any prompt. To keep the models growing, they feed a lot of data into the ever hungry maw of the LLM.

Meta (and we should just assume the others, too) decided to take books for free from LibGen to feed the machine, choosing not to notify or compensate those authors. This shouldn't be a big ask from a company worth $1.46 TRILLION dollars at the time of this post, but they decided to do it under the table. Odds are they're probably not the only ones.

META should be held accountable, but it probably won't be. The other AI companies should be audited to see how pervasive this is, but they won't be.

We couldn't find our books on LibGen, so it looks like we were not personally affected by this. That doesn't make us any less angry at massive tech companies for knowingly stealing from authors just to buff their profit margin for models that are far from perfect. (https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/03/ai-search-engines-give-incorrect-answers-at-an-alarming-60-rate-study-says/).

What's to do, then?

First off, you can see if you're affected by using the link at the top of the post.

This is a great bluesky thread about the litigation already pending and how as a class action, odds are you're already covered if your works were stolen: https://bsky.app/profile/meredithmooring.bsky.social/post/3lkvmozwyec2t

Here's a link to the author's guild on that existing page (it's older because apparently this had begun filing well before this new evidence was discovered): https://authorsguild.org/news/ag-and-authors-file-class-action-suit-against-openai/

And the final link is to another author's guild page on some more background, but more importantly, some action you can take, like a template to send to Meta and other AI companies if you find your work in the LibGen breach. Some of these options require an Author's Guild membership, but you're not required to join in order to use some of the resources. Other resources are available on becoming a paid member, but you should look at and decide for yourself if it works for you: https://authorsguild.org/news/meta-libgen-ai-training-book-heist-what-authors-need-to-know/

It's easy to be angry, so be angry for a minute. There's a lot going on out there right now and this is just one more thing to throw on the rage fire. You can be mad, or upset, or whatever emotion helps you to process all this. Take some time for that. It can feel overwhelming and exhausting So take some time for yourself. Read a book. Listen to some music. Watch a show.

We often joke to ourselves that the Empire needs more Lions. Honestly, we could all use a little more help from each other right now. So once you're ready to pitch in, look at ways you can support your fellow artists, let your followers know you appreciate them and feed your soul by donating where you can to promote art and community.

- Wade & Tim

Front Matters

Since we have some new readers, we wanted to make sure something is clear. When the two of us started this back in the long forgotten days of the 2010s we had a different book forward than the one we have currently. If you're new to the Lions Book-o-sphere, then here's the short version of what you should find in the front:

Sharing is caring. 

Yup. If you have one of our physical editions, feel free to share with a friend, if you think they'd like it. It's not 2010 anymore and stuff is hard at this moment. There's a lot of unpleasantness in the world. If you think that a friend or loved one might enjoy the distraction of being whisked away to another world, we have no problems with that. To be fair, currently two of our books are from worlds that are at least as equally messed up, but there's also magic! And at least one dragon!

If you happen to have one of our old editions where we ask you not to duplicate or re-sell the book or even to share it, then congrats, you are holding a relic of the olden times.

Thanks to everyone who's reading, rating and/or reviewing our work. We appreciate that you are giving us a chance to distract you for a bit. 

Fate’s Crucible: An Abridged History and Future Plans

It seems that a surprise holiday gift was given to us in the form of a Tik Tok post that at the time of this post has more than 183 thousand views and 16 thousand likes. Personal disclosure: I am old and don’t know if that’s any good.

The upshot is that we have sold many books from that and I hope that means people will be happy with our work. We are very appreciative that you are at least giving us a chance to entertain you.

Here’s some things you might want to know.

This was an idea that started back in September of 2010. Thanks to the power of the internet, we were already two friends who’d been sharing stories with each other, brainstorming new ideas and offering suggestions and edits on work.

And then… one of us asked: “What if we worked together on a book?”

Six years later “Beyond the Burning Sea” appeared after lots of writing, re-writing, editing, etc. 

We had enough material to shorten the cook time for “Between the Darkness & Dust” which came out two years later in 2018.

A lot has happened in the six years after that second book. Real life has gotten in the way of things, but we’ve still been working. The third book of Fate’s Crucible is tentatively titled “Beneath the Torn Sky” and is, in the best possible terms, in progress. 

Will it take another six years? No. You’ve certainly lit a fire under our collective backsides. We will be working harder and faster, but we won’t release anything we don’t feel meets our own internal standards. We will, however, try to post more here and our social media accounts for old and new fans alike. So keep an eye out.

The past does not dictate the future, which remains unwritten today… but tomorrow always comes sooner than you think.

~Tim & Wade

The Short Version

We're not dead, but I can understand why you think so.

Here's the short version:

• Still Writing
• Personal Stuff Happened

Despite all that, we entered a contest here: 10th Annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off

We made it to the semi finals of our bracket here: Fantasy Faction SPFBOX Finalist

Thanks to Fantasy-Faction and any new readers that come our way. We appreciate you and I/we will try to give some more updates soon.

Thanks from all of us over here at Lions HQ.

A Wild Book Appears! (Updated 4.20.20)

Promo update!

We've added our final currently published title to the Smashwords Authors Give Back Promo.

It Came From Hyperspace!

joins our other titles:

Tales of Yhore: The Chronicles of Monch

Beyond the Burning Sea (Fate's Crucible #1)

Between the Darkness & Dust (Fate's Crucible #2)

Feral

Promo code: AG100 (use this at check out for 100% off!)

Our thanks to Terminus Productions for working with us to add It Came From Hyperspace! to our free offerings. 

If you like what you read in It Came From Hyperspace, you should go check out the RPG Tabletop System it's based on and help another indy artist in the process:

Legion: The Game

Enjoy and stay safe out there.  If you have the option, tuck in and read a book... or five.

>>Update to the update!<<

The Authors Give Back Promotion has been extended to May 31st!  Thanks to everyone who has picked up a book.

Promos, Principles & Pandemics

Some words from us to you about...

PROMOS:

Life has kept us busy. We're still working on Book 3 of Fate's Crucible (no working title yet), but while we slowly chip away at that, we would like to offer you the following titles for FREE on Smashwords:

Tales of Yhore: The Chronicles of Monch

Beyond the Burning Sea (Fate's Crucible #1)

Between the Darkness & Dust (Fate's Crucible #2)

Feral

Promo code: AG100

Use the AG100 promo code when checking out and you can take them all with you for the price of $0.00.  We hope you enjoy and it is a welcome distraction to all of our collective worries.

We're looking into how we can mirror this on Amazon, but... you know... Amazon.

PRINCIPLES:

We're getting around to changing the front matter on these older books, but we'd like to make sure it's spelled out for you here. When we first started all this, we were novices and had a very different view of how we wanted to protect our works. They were a bit overprotective at first. If you have one of those first editions, you'll know what we're talking about. 

We've matured a bit and rewrote those title page notes. Here they are, in case you happen to have or get an older version:

This work is licensed for your personal enjoyment. Please do not electronically duplicate or re-sell. However, if you would like to share this book with a friend, we think that's awesome. We are a home-grown, independent publishing partnership and are thrilled to know you think enough of our work to share it with others. Tell us about it through our social media; links to where you can find us online are in the back. We're grateful for all your rates and reviews. Thank you for reading and sharing!

We mean that. Especially right now. If you get a free book through the promo and think a friend might enjoy it, feel free to pass it along with our blessings.

What about "don't duplicate or resell?" Okay, so we're a bit insecure. We like to see numbers. File-sharing on websites and reselling physical copies makes tracking numbers difficult. We're not going to be mad about it, but please think of our fragile egos.

There are other talks on making things more available on a permanent basis, so keep an eye open for more announcements here.

PANDEMICS:

Please be safe out there during this time. Wash your hands, practice social distancing, listen to reputable scientific sources for best practices. 

We're a fledgling Empire, but we wish health and happiness to all of our friends and family. That includes you, dear readers.

~Lions of the Empire