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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 22h

Ha, same. The training in cynicism provided by the publishing world would, you'd think, make authors a bad targeting choice. Would-be writers, though, haven't completed the course, yet; they need this sort of thing pointed out so they don't get robbed.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 2d

Congrats on your book launch.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 6d

Couldn't agree more: it's all about the reader. It's one of the amazing things about writing/reading, that the reader is an artist, too. Sure, we put the words on the page, but it is the reader's imagination that brings the book to life in their mind.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 8d

Traitor Pete: "What a crowd, what a crowd! I'm alright now, but last week I was in rough shape. I was sexting with Vlad, trying to get him off in a signal chat, when my wife barges in: I didn't even know signal had cuckold emoji!"

Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 8d

Hey, thanks!

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 8d

Cover reveal! "The Fall," book 4 in "The Cain Series," is coming November 2025. Episodic, near-future, cyberpunk science fiction, written by a human for human readers.

Don't trust the AIs, man, they'll kill you dirty.

#cyberpunk #scifibooks #booksky 💙📚

www.sethwjames.com/cover-reveal...

Cover art for "The Fall", book 4 in "The Cain Series," by Seth W. James. Cain and Francesca walking toward the viewer, dressed similarly in black overcoats and carrying suppressed pistols. In the background, a huge seawall under construction.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 10d

I hadn't heard of the "Turn the Page" book review site until someone forwarded me this link, but I'm glad to learn of it now. A nice (and by that I, of course, mean flattering) review of "Ethos of Cain".

#cyberpunk #scifibooks #booksky 💙📚

www.turn-the-page.net/unraveling-d...

Unraveling Darkness: A Dive into the Depths of Ethos of Cain - Turn the Page

A Journey Between Worlds: Review of Ethos of Cain by Seth W. James There’s something inherently magnetic about stories that straddle the line between morality and survival, especially in a futuristic ...

www.turn-the-page.net

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 11d

3/3 That said, it's undeniable that reading improves the intellect, empathy, and health (well, unless you're sitting around reading hate speech 24/7). As you said, too much screen time, which really means too much manipulation toward hate and self-destruction.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 11d

2/3 A couple of the studies the article references did attempt control groups, but as these are self-reports from mostly university populations, and small samples, even the correlation is specific to the environment.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 11d

1/3 It's not necessarily a flaw in the study design, though, but the usual product of these sorts of studies (I've worked in peer-reviewed journals for >20 years): they report correlation rather than causation, but it's still valuable.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 12d

Yes, but the causation likely goes the other way: people who score high in these areas seek out fiction because it satisfies them: people who score low do not because reading fiction doesn't affect them, they can't access what's there. Tells you a lot about someone who says, "I don't read novels."

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 14d

Ha, Minty just covered this in last night's episode, too.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 15d

With all the AI theft these days, I'll be adding this notice to my books' copyright:

"Handcrafted cyberpunk: written by a human for human readers. Permission denied for any use of this text with “Artificial Intelligence,” “LLMs,” or similar devices or programs."
#cyberpunk #booksky #indieauthor 💙📚

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 20d

These days, the billionaires are now so removed from reality that they can no longer perceive it at all. They have become dissociative. They do not interact with reality, only with the fantasy their ill-gotten-gains empower them to create. Strangely, their fantasies are always fascist.

Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 20d

Yeah, I get these through my website's contact form, all the time. It can evade the captcha, too, which is odd.

So, basically everything done with genAI has been awful, criminal, and a detriment to humankind. We warned and warned and warned of this, with cyberpunk and even trad sci-fi, and yet—

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 21d

Proficiencies indie authors develop:

1. Spotting genAI solicitation scams
2. Going without sleep
3. Ads, typesetting, cover art
4. Trial-and-error money waste
5. Cynicism
6. Continuing to hope in the absence of encouragement

#cyberpunk #scifibooks #booksky #indieauthor #writtingcommunity 💙📚

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 26d

That *does* sound nice.

Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · 26d

With a book launch about 6 weeks out, I haven't had much time for social media. It's all about covers and typesetting and ad-buys and blah blah blah. Tiring but necessary work.

Has anything interesting happened, lately?

[sips coffee, casually scrolls.]

#cyberpunk #scifibooks #booksky 💙📚

a man wearing a helmet and goggles is looking through binoculars with the number ii on it

Alt: George S. Patton Jr., as portrayed by George C. Scott, in the movie Patton, using binoculars to view his defeat of Nazi general Rommel.

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Seth W James

Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · Sep 1

The next novel in "The Cain Series" is on its way!

"The Fall" is book 4 in the series of episodic, near-future, cyberpunk science-fiction. Full announcement link, with back-cover copy, below.

Written by a human for human readers.

#cyberpunk #scifibooks #booksky

www.sethwjames.com/new-novel-pr...

New Novel Pre-release Announcement: “The Fall,” Book 4 of “The Cain Series,” Coming November 2025. : Seth W. James Website

The Fall, book 4 of The Cain Series, will publish this November, 2025, in ebook, paperback, and hardcover formats. Like all Cain Series novels, The Fall is an episodic, near-future, cyberpunk, science...

www.sethwjames.com

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · Sep 8

It ain't just nonfiction, too, sad to say. Everything from disliking the book in their hands because it isn't the book in their dreams, to not meeting a genre or sub's obligations, to treating personal preference as objective truth, poor reviews are everywhere. It's actually a tough job to do well.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · Sep 6

At this rate, in 100 years, there won't be human actors anymore, just genAI puppets of dead actors. Cinema will become a form of grave desecration.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · Sep 1

Thanks!

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · Sep 1

The next novel in "The Cain Series" is on its way!

"The Fall" is book 4 in the series of episodic, near-future, cyberpunk science-fiction. Full announcement link, with back-cover copy, below.

Written by a human for human readers.

#cyberpunk #scifibooks #booksky

www.sethwjames.com/new-novel-pr...

New Novel Pre-release Announcement: “The Fall,” Book 4 of “The Cain Series,” Coming November 2025. : Seth W. James Website

The Fall, book 4 of The Cain Series, will publish this November, 2025, in ebook, paperback, and hardcover formats. Like all Cain Series novels, The Fall is an episodic, near-future, cyberpunk, science...

www.sethwjames.com

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · Aug 31

As was Neuromancer. That motherfucker is going to stick Kraznov in a freezer, on some shit spaceX orbital, pray it doesn't explode on liftoff, and then claim the orange blob is running the show as he runs the country into the ground. Man, do we ever need Molly.

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Seth W James @sethwjames.bsky.social · Aug 30

I hear you. That is frustrating: "In this book, you'll find A, B, and C." Reviewer: "I was appalled to discover A, B, and not nearly enough C!"

I sometimes think these sorts of personal-attack reviews are therapy for them. They're angry at their boss or dad or someone, but just can't tell them.

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