Friday Link Pack 07/25/14

Friday is here! It’s time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. Some of these I mention on Twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! Have a link I should feature in the upcoming link pack? Let me know!

Writing:

Barbarians At The Gate! Indies Vs. Big Publishing
Fantastic article from novelist Amy Eyrie on the Amazon/Hachette fight. (This will be my only indie/big publishing article this week, I promise!)

Author Interview: K. M. Alexander
At the beginning of this week I was interviewed by the illustrious Jim Pyre. We talk about writing, The Stars Were Right, the future of publishing, plot ideas, cat hats, and a lot more!

A Game As Literary Tutorial
The New York Times examines how many speculative fiction authors have been influenced by Dungeons & Dragons. Since tabletop roleplaying games are all about narrative this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. I do wish they had mentioned more women authors, I know there are plenty of women in genre who were also gamers growing up.

I Can’t Even
I loved this article from Clive Thompson (@pomeranian99) examining Lovecraft’s intent of describing the indescribable. Thanks to Steve for the tip.

The Writing Tools Of 20 Famous Authors
What tools did some of your favorite authors use to pen their own work? Find out in this fun article from the folks at Flavorwire.

Exclusivity Is Bad: Why My Books Won’t Be On Kindle Unlimited
On Tuesday I wrote a quick article on why my books won’t be available on Kindle Unlimited anytime soon. TL;DR—I don’t like exclusivity, it hurts readers. I’d rather my books be available on as many platforms as possible.

Random:

Beneath The Streets Of Romania’s Capital, A Living Hell
A stunning and heart-wrenching look at the homeless men, women, and children who live in the tunnels and sewers beneath the streets of Bucharest and struggle with poverty, drug addiction, HIV, and tuberculosis.

Mapbox Showcase
It’s no secret I’m a mapophile, I love maps. So when I found this showcase showing the various styles of map created by the mapping platform Mapbox I ended up spending many many hours poking around and exploring. My favorite project: a tossup between 1940s New York and The National Parks.

One Of The Solar System’s Largest Volcanoes Is Right Here On Earth
Tamu Massif sits about a thousand miles off the coast of Japan and it rivals even the mighty Olympus Mons.