The Art of Karla OrtizFriday time! 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:

What’s Up With That: Why It’s So Hard To Catch Your Own Typos
Self-editing can be tough, but why is it so tough? Wired explores this conundrum. (Regardless of your choice in publishing, traditional or indie, I recommend you work with an editor. It’s important.)

How To Promote Yourself And Your Books Without Feeling Like A Soul-Selling, Sleaze-Sucking, Slime-Glob
If you’re in the business of writing then you’re in the business of promotion. Chuck Wendig offers some advice for how to promote yourself without feeling gross.

How To Spend The First 10 Minutes Of Your Day
Mise-en-place, a simple approach to getting yourself focused and ready to produce.

Stephen King’s Top 20 Rules For Writers
Great advice from one of the most prolific authors of the century. There’s so much good stuff here I have a hard time picking a favorite.

My SpoCon Debriefing
Last weekend I attended SpoCon in Spokane, WA. I had a great time. If you missed it check out this post to see photos and my highlights.

Free Shipping On The Stars Were Right through Sunday
To celebrate Lovecraft’s 124th birthday I’m offering free shipping anywhere in the US. I might not be able to beat Amazon on price, but I’ll throw in free swag!

Art:

Marilyn Myller
Incredible stop motion short featuring tiny carved foam dolls.

The Art Of Jeremy Chong
I stumbled across Jeremy Chong’s work this last week and a few pieces immediately evoked Lovat for me. Incredible concept work from fantasy to science fiction.

The Art Of Karla Ortiz
Another recent find. Karla Ortiz does great concept art as well, but what really stood out to me was her graphite pieces. (Pictured above.) Her work is stunning.

Clayton Kauzlaric’s Time-Warp Photos Of Seattle
Old lined up with the modern. Love these series. Apparently the old waterfront was significantly cooler than it is today.

Random:

Baltic Heraldry
Family crests from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania in a 1902 calendar of colour woodblock prints. So much of our pop culture heraldic knowledge comes from countries like England, France, and Germany. It’s nice to see some other european countries highlighted.

Cultivating The Map
Danny Wills explored how survey instruments, cartographic tools, and architecture might work together at different scales to transform tracts of land in the geographic center of the United States. Very cool. Thanks to Todd for sharing this with me.

Humans Need Not Apply
An interesting video exploring the subject of the rise of robots in the labor force and how we’re moving towards a future built mainly by machines. It starts with the transportation and then slowly ripples through the rest of the world. Very much worth a watch.

The Evolution Of Mobile Gaming
A fun interactive article exploring of mobile gaming through the years.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Haunter Of The Dark
A young man investigates an ancient church on Federal Hill and finds more than he bargains for. This was a big influence on Old Broken Road, and one of my favorite Lovecraft stories. The H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast has a fantastic reading of The Haunter Of The Dark available for free, I’d recommend it.

Farewell Gif of the Week:

The coolest.You think this is cool? Check out the video.