Well, Shrag and I are back from our first ACFI in San Antonio. As my first furry con in over a year, I went to it for a couple of reasons. We found that the mega conventions like AC and such are a bit too busy for us, but we tried a small convention and it was just a little too small. The hotel was a nice facility but with a fair amount of furries there was not a lot of space to loiter and move around which was not too great. I took one fursuit, Topaz, with a few outfits, and overall we had a good time, save for some traffic on the way up. But I will say that I think we may look for slightly larger cons for our target goal, and though we are considering MFM for next year.

I am also thinking that I may end up doing two furry cons a year, one to sell books and one to just have fun. Right now it's a tentative but I might like to give TFF's Artist Alley a shot. If I can get my book together.

Also I am thinking about my suit goals going forward, and what I want to keep available. There are a few I think I will offload, but it will require time for me to think about which ones and what their ultimate disposition will be. I know that Lauren, Topaz, and Lexi are staying, though Lauren may get a 2.0. I may keep up to 5, but I am fairly certain I will be parting with elephant Lauren. It doesn't fit, and while it seemed like a good idea at the time, having so many made it hard to choose and I tended to favor Lauren Prime over her variant. So all that together kind of makes me think I might sell it, but the bodysuit itself is made of a rather light material that I don't know how durable it is. Plus the identifying feature, the hair, is a bit tricky. But we'll see. It'll require me to decide what I am dumping, what I am keeping, and what I want to get, if anything.

Overall, ACFI was nice, and I like that it's close, but there wasn't a lot of folks I knew there. We might go back, but probably not until it upgrades to a larger hotel.

 laurenrivers

Does anyone know if there are any active furry auction sites? I used to be on one or two, but I have some things, books, fursuits, etc... I might be interested in getting rid of, and with some of these things I do not want to just throw them out, as old furry things might be better appreciated with someone else.

I am also considering consolidating my fursuit collection, at the moment I have 7.5, and I am thinking hard about my needs going forward. And while I have not yet reached a final decision, if they are in good shape I may drop myself down to 3 with a slot for future expansion. But I think four is probably the most I can realistically take care of and use at cons, given my current habits and requirements.

There will be more on this later. But if anyone knows of a place to put furry stuff up for sale, or someone who likes furry bookmarks or books, I may have a few things.

 laurenrivers

Hey everyone!

So I suppose I have enough together to more or less discuss the plan at this point. My current target goal is to release a published project hopefully no later than October/November. To that end, I am planning a build up of releases between now and then of short stories that will add flavor and background to the project in question.

Winterfall

A resident of Coldhaven, Joe Kennedy and his family struggle to survive in the harsh environment of a world encased in ice and snow.  Responsible for maintaining the city's steam systems, he spends his days repairing the complex network of pipes that run throughout the massive settlement.  

When his young daughter's condition worsens, Joe is forced to seek salvation in the only place left to him, outside.  Taking a spot on one of the balloon teams, his journey takes him further than he ever thought possible out into the distant snow and beyond...

Every month at some indeterminate point, I will endeavor to release a short story set in this universe up to its eventual release. Hopefully, at regular points thereafter, I will be able to continue to release both short and long form projects set in one of my various planned universes. A lot of it is being reset, but at least at this point I feel I know enough to be able to regularly release projects after relearning some aspects of publishing and such, but bear with me for the time being.

That being said, Winterfall is the next planned release, and I am currently working on its sequel. More news coming as such things are prepared.

 laurenrivers

Okay, so I'm trying to be better about regular updates on FA as well as other places. But little by little I think I'm getting better at finding a rhythm that works for me.

There are a few things I can say, I have finished the first Winterfall novel, and now I am going to send it out for some feedback before I proceed to the next phase, but in the meantime I've resumed work on the sequel (whose outline is actually only half finished) but I'm pretty sure of how the first half will go. I'm trying to get some of my outlines worked on whenever I have extra time after what I'm working on, adding to it little by little, so hopefully I can stay ahead of myself. ;)

As far as video projects, I'm working on the non reviews for a while to catch up to an even balance, and then I'll start alternating. I have a few reviews written and scripted, but I may put them off in terms of production or schedule them further down the line to get some fandom projects into the pipeline, since I imagine reviews like mine are probably rare for independent authors.

I've completed my first year at the new job, and it's been going pretty well, though I ran into a little hiccup on my way out friday but I think I'll be ok. Still stressful though.

Anyway, onward and upward.

 laurenrivers

So I suppose I owe y'all a little bit of an explanation. I went dark for a while to figure out some things. I've spent a long time trying to find a balance, to overcome some pretty crippling issues and oddly enough, I think I finally have. I don't know that I'm out of the woods and I'm not ready to talk about it yet, but suffice it to say that I'm going to try to be more active, and soon I'll have some material to post relating to my new projects and a bit of a reboot of myself and other things.

For now, I'll post some stickers, and beyond that, one step at a time. I'm starting to figure it out though.

First lesson to myself is that social media is not an obligation, it's there when you need it, not the other way around. So I'll try to post more written updates here, but those that follow my youtube channel know I post an update every two weeks over there, but I do promise I'll try to do more here as well. :)

 laurenrivers

Well, with what's going on on twitter and really just because, I guess I should start trying to get my activity back up on here. I really do want to, I have some things 'ready' and a few WIPS, but I always feel guilty about not being able to keep a steady level of production. Now that's been my problem for a while now, but at least on some things I've hit that sweet spot of doing the work, enjoying it, and putting out regular material.

So with that in mind, I'd like to point out one of the things that is producing steady output, my youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN.....1WeOIkjU_2HemA

Right now I can point to steady vlogs as far as what I'm doing and book reviews for whatever crosses my path, and more to come.

So hang on just a little longer.

But I think what I need to do is just start doing things, and the rest will come.

As for Twitter, I don't like Elon Musk, and I don't like how these rich guys will do things just because they can, ruining something that a lot of people derive a benefit from just because their own ego won't allow them to do anything quietly or just because they think they can do better with no real experience or repercussions. I don't like that they allowed you know who back onto the site, and I may depart just for that alone. I've never been a twitter nut, but I found it useful. And while it was a good thing for a while, for the most part, many of the people I went there to follow have left with this latest disaster. And to be honest, I don't know how much longer twitter is going to function with more and more staff leaving daily.

Pretty soon those of us who have stayed, may have the choice made for us.

 laurenrivers

One of the areas in which I have not done as well as I should is keeping more active on FA. I am eternally trying to find the right things to click in my life and I can say that I have found a job that suits me well and seems to appreciate me, that is flexible and seems to like what I do and gives me a space I can work in largely in private and decorate as I please. I've been keeping up with my book reviews and slowly but surely finding a steady pace with which to create content, which has always been a challenge, but I am working on it.

I also have managed to get into a steady routine of reading books to do these reviews and enjoy the process, though it is often slow but I try to enjoy the reading so that it is something I do easily and with much joy. So there's that.

I've even found an app to help me track and listen to podcasts, so perhaps it will be possible for me to do that on occassion and enjoy the few I know of that I wish to hear more of, and perhaps learn of more still. I know at least three trek related or at least trek driven podcasts (The Delta Flyers/The 7th Rule/InvestiGates) that I would like to try. And of course, the Voice of Dog which I would like to add more content to as well.

I'm back from trek con, and the con report is due to release in a week, so there is that as well.

But for now let me leave this with you as a bit of an update, something I will try to get better on once again as I work to find the right balance.

Good things are coming.

 LaurenRivers

As most of you know, I have a slight appreciation for Star Trek.

*AHEM*

Okay, no one believed that for a second. Other than furry, Star Trek is my biggest passion. I've been watching the shows since I was 5, and back in my day *puts on old person glasses* there were only TWO trek series. I didn't know how television worked back then. I didn't know that shows could be cancelled, that they had things they had to do to get to air, I just turned on the television and every week there'd be an episode of the stalwart crew of the Enterprise D.

Now I as a child did not know about spinoffs, but my parents introduced me to Star Trek: The Original Series, and like TNG I fell in love with it. I never knew back then that it was odd for the time to have Nichelle and George on the cast, nor did I know what a struggle it was for black people to be accepted in 1967. I did not know how much of an impact she had on the real life space program, and if you don't, I suggest you find out.



One of her favorite stories to tell about her time on Star Trek was right at the end of the first season, when she considered leaving the series. But fate, or more accurately, Doctor Martin Luther King Jr, intervened. She tells the story far more eloquently than I ever could, so allow me to share with you her story.



I had the opportunity to meet her once at my first Star Trek convention in 2018. Alas it was only a brief expression of my appreciation for her work, but still, I value the opportunity.

She quite literally changed the world, and she will be missed.

So I'm looking for suggestions from y'all about videos you might like to see me make? Are there any writing topics or fandom sorts of things you'd like my feedback/suggestions on? I have an idea for one for flashbacks which I hope to produce in my next session and a few more book reviews, but sometimes coming up with the ideas is the toughest part.

Anyone got any good ideas?

Okay, folks. I have talked about this a little on my vlog, I don't know if it's released yet or not but in any case, as stated above, I have a new job. It's at my old employer, and while I don't yet know what it all entails I am confident and excited to get started. There are still some things to settle up before I can get a routine down, but I think my boss is a nice guy and best of all they'll let me keep the blue in my hair. (This was for reasons never quite elaborated upon a bone of contention at my last job.)

I start tomorrow (mostly orientation) and will arrange for parking and such on Tuesday. Needless to say it'll probably keep me pretty busy at least for a bit but I'm hopeful I can keep up my current level of video production and writing although today was a bit of a less productive day than I'd hoped, but I'm trying to not let it bother me since I've been doing really well as of late.

That being said, it is in a new department which pleases me and will allow me to attend the Star Trek con in the summer.

I'll elaborate more when I know what the situation is, but for now I just am waiting for my car to come back from the shop. It was giving me some issues and supposedly they fixed it but we will see. I'm just hoping it lasts me at least 6 months, maybe 11, before I can afford to upgrade and trade her in for a new model.

I'm thinking about a Hyundai Elantra. The price, look, and recommendation from a fur I know seems to suggest it'll be a good fit.

That's it for now, more later.

 laurenrivers

So one thing that has come out of this break from employment is that I think I've gotten a system in place that works a little better for organization and getting some of my content done and out.

That being said, I am reestablishing the $5 tier which will allow access to my youtube videos 6 months early. The plan is to try to schedule up to a year in advance, with the patrons being six months ahead of my youtube subscribers. I have a few slots in the schedule for openings or things I might slot in beyond the scheduled installments, but to that end, I'd like to reestablish this level and hopefully be able to maintain it as I have some of the other things.

This month will have two videos that are currently completed and available on youtube under the unlisted status, and will remain available until the end of February. Starting in February, all early access videos will be allowed to remain accessible to you until one month has passed at which point they will be scheduled for future public release.

If this works, it'll stay that way going forward. Thanks for all of your support and help.

 LaurenRivers

I have a friend who was asking me if there was a furry flag for a straight ally. Does anyone know of such a thing? Either on etsy or here or if it even exists at all?

The request was just phrased 'a furry themed straight ally flag'.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

So hey, guys.

I was thinking of trying to get more serious and consistent with my book reviews, and in part sometimes I'd done them either because I wanted to push a book or because I just really enjoyed it and wanted to talk about it, or it was a furry book that I genuinely wanted to provide indirect feedback one way or the other, and I'll admit that sometimes I'd get nervous about sharing the final product for fear of offending anyone (or their fans) or just not being certain if I should because maybe I wouldn't handle the same treatment well or I shouldn't critique others (note the difference between criticism and critique) when I am not all that consistent myself, but I've come to the conclusion that I'm not going to stop reading one way or the other, and that when I finish it can't hurt to do a review afterwards.

That being said, I do not plan on doing them on any particularly schedule or frequency, the goal is one a month, but if I get more done they'll go on the queue, and if I miss a month I'm not going to stress, since this is to be a fun/growth thing more than an obligation. It will likely be a mix of furry books, scifi, and other, the degree of which depends on a number of factors.

Now I have about 8 books on my to be read pile, and some I've committed to reading and reviewing although I am way overdue on some of these, but I plan to go through them, review them, and post the videos.

What I'd like to know from all of you is do you look at reviews? Do you prefer them written out or in video form? Do you want a mostly spoiler free review or are you looking for more of an after action report?

What I was thinking was as follows.

I will review books as I read them. I will work on them as I have time during my designated video work periods. There will be a fairly significant delay between the book hitting my pile and the release of the video, although at author request I would be willing to screen it sooner. I will allow requests and or submissions for review, though I make no guarantees I will accept said request or that I will provide anything other than what is in my opinion a fair review. If you want to know how I operate, look at the ones I've done so far and that'll give you a clue of what kinds of things I look for. If that's good for you and you want me to look at a book (or your book), then we can talk.

I plan to break my reviews from this point forward into five sections, an overview as to what the book is, the setting / genre, the main characters (if applicable), the premise (a brief summary of the story), and my review, both good and bad, whatever stuck out to me. Generally I won't mention anything specific beyond the first few chapters, but if the ending is a problem I might generally describe the issue without getting into details so as not to ruin plot.

That being said, what do you guys think?

Also I might (since I am trying to schedule my patreon several months in advance), I may put some of the reviews or other related videos on my patreon again to try to keep up with that, since so far I have kept up consistently with a video a week on my youtube channel, which seems a reasonable amount for me to maintain in the time I have, even when employed.

Thoughts?

 Laurenrivers

Here goes nothing...

I start out 2022 on a less sure footing than I began 2021, but with luck I'll land on my hooves.

Hope everyone has a better year than last.

 Laurenrivers

My second submission to the podcast, Lucy's Christmas Wish is now available as a podcast!

https://player.captivate.fm/episode.....1-0947c8d42e9b

Enjoy!

Podcast by  osfer, read by Rob MacWolf.

Just a quick message wishing everyone a happy holiday season!

Hope you all are doing well!

More later!

 Laurenrivers

I can't believe it's already December already. It's been over a year since I've been out of work, and how things proceed right now is very up in the air.

However, what I can say is that this month I will be releasing a holiday themed story that will also be submitted to the Voice of Dog, so there'll be that to look forward to.

Right now I am trying to focus on one project at a time (while I try to finish all the partly completed things and get a handle on what I have) and to train myself to be in a healthier mindset. It's slow going but I know a lot of it is mental.

I'm pondering what to do for a holiday video this year but it may be just a simple holiday greeting so we'll see, but once I am employed again I have some plans for a few things I'd like to do but at the moment I can't predict too far into the future.

I'm waiting on a few Christmas gifts but hopefully they'll arrive on time. Whether I go to mom's largely depends on my employment status. If I have a job, I may have to figure on an alternate plan, but for now, I'm just doing the best I can.

 LaurenRivers

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving (and a pleasant rest of the week for everyone else).

Our plans are to host festivities at our house this year, which will be a nice change from the usual. It'll be a small crowd but we'll have all the usual fixings.

As always I'm thankful for the good things in my life and appreciate all of you for sticking with me through all of this, and hopefully you'll all have a wonderful holiday season.

 laurenrivers

Also apparently my book is on sale...

So I haven't had time to talk about it but it's been a busy week.

First of all, and I will probably talk about this on my vlog but I have three interviews for two jobs. One is with my old employer, which although I don't recall exactly what the job is I do know it's tangentially related to my old one so I pointed that out as an aspect in my favor. The other is with the local Humane society, for a customer service kind of job.

In addition we will soon be adding a new kitty to the house. Monday  shrag and I went to select Dot's successor, we will be picking her up friday after my second interview.

The third will be next week on tuesday morning. I'm hoping if either chooses me they get back to me after the holiday but we will see.

Thanksgiving this year will be at our house with a small family group, and beyond that, we will see.

I'm making a little progress, slow, but sure. I'm trying to overcome some roadblocks and will work on consistency later, but things are happening.

I guess that's all for now.

 laurenrivers

I can't believe it's already November, and over a year since my job of 13 years let me go. Now it is my hope that maybe this month I can shake the miasma that's been dogging me for a while but I need to change my mindset and a few other things and hope that maybe I can finally figure out the right balance to be able to let me be healthy and happy and consistently productive.

Although some of this has been mentioned through my youtube videos, the short version is this. Unemployment is almost exhausted and my savings will not carry me much further. Now what this means is that in the short term I want to use the time I have to get as much done as possible. I have started using some outlining software that I am hoping will help me overcome some of the mental roadblocks I keep hitting and get a good rhythm going. In the meantime I hope to figure out a schedule and a good cycle to satisfy my various isms and see if I can keep it up.

As far as work goes, if something doesn't pop up soon it may be necessary to take a temporary or placeholder job in retail/customer service. I was hoping to not have to do that, but on the flip side it'll at least keep money coming in and we know that there are a lot of openings it being the pandemic and possibly the holidays if I go looking before then.

I must admit I haven't made as good a use of this last year as I had hoped. I let some things fester and it just allowed them to get bigger, and in short term it seemed to make sense but in long term it just doesn't fly, but I'd prefer not to get into it much right now. All I'll say is that I'm going to take this opportunity to try and get my focus directed in more of a reasonable direction.

I do have some material to share, and I need to get my production to be at least mildly consistent for my own preferences but for now, we start with this.

I've posted a story that I've actually had finished for a while, and it was honestly a bit hard to do. Reason being I always have this thing where I feel weird posting work when things aren't going well, and I feel tense about reducing my cushion and/or keeping up my level of quality. Maybe you all don't notice or I overthink it but nevertheless it took some energy to put all that together. I posted it simultaneously on all three galleries, which felt kind of good, and some of you may have already seen it on patreon.

I still need to get that together too. Anyway, for now I'm going to try to post the stuff I have in the coming months and try and see if I can't figure out a way to put out some stuff on the regular. I appreciate you all bearing with me.

 LaurenRivers

So I've got my personal FA caught back up and am slowly trying to dig myself out of this nice little depression hole I dug myself earlier in the year.

While I'm not sure exactly if I can promise consistency yet I do need to get back to posting things, I have a stack of art and completed work that I just never got around to posting, and it does no good just sitting here, so I'll have to share that with you guys while I figure out what the next steps are.

I had another job interview I'm waiting to hear from, but other than that the search continues.

Bear with me folks, I'm still here.

 laurenrivers

So apparently a video I posted a long time ago ran afoul of this.

Youtube is now allowing the algorithm to mark videos the AI deems inappropriate as age restricted, meaning that to view my content going forward you have to be logged in and over 18.

I admit I probably didn't handle it super well as they sent this email a day before I was going on vacation, and their appeal process consists of you sending a message once, and it was denied within minutes with no explanation or further recourse, which I think is unfair especially given the fact it wasn't well explained to me what the video of my mermaid tail flopping in chair did that triggered the process in the first place.

But according to youtube you get ONE appeal and one appeal only, and then that's it, so overall I don't know how it'll affect things going forward but hopefully my channel will continue to grow or at least be worthwhile to those of you that watch it, I still don't entirely know what happened, but I'm just going to continue producing content and doing the best I can.

 LaurenRivers

Soon  shrag and I will embark on our first trip since the pandemic began. I'm excited to go back to the Rio for the 55 Year Mission Tour (formerly STLV). For reasons unknown the con is no longer an official star trek event, but I like the way they run things and we'll see if Star Trek : Mission Chicago turns out to be worth the investigation. Right now I'm focusing on one thing at a time.

The job search continues, and while at the moment I can only report waiting on a few interviews, I am on unemployment which covers essentials for now but of course the money does mean I have to pick and choose on some things. But that being said, I'm glad it's there and as the first time I've ever taken advantage of it I do appreciate it.

I'm not really concerned about traveling, we're both vaccinated and I will bring my mask, with the Delta variant becoming a thing it seems prudent though it does disappoint me as I was looking forward to being unmasked for a while, but I'll live. I'd rather do the safe thing for myself and others though I do hope to be able to take them off for photos.

Most of the con preparations are made, I've even bought myself a Star Trek uniform. ;) I think the shirt is a bit tight but sadly I don't have time/money to do better before the con, so it'll do. It'll be my first time in Vegas as Lauren. ;)

I do plan to probably bring my laptop just so I can stay on top of things, but other than that we will see. Videos will be scheduled and I need to figure out what I have so I can release some of the finished writing I have and get some things to friends for beta reads.

More coming soon.

 Laurenrivers

It'll be my birthday in a few days. Not quite the big one though it is looming. I'd hoped to have some sort of 'big plan' for the next round number I hit but a lot has changed since I had that idea. COVID being the obvious one, and among other things it has become important to me to make Star Trek cons a regular thing for me as well with my longstanding appreciation for the franchise though I had never really interacted with the fandom pre twitter.

In any case, whether I do something special next year I suppose depends on the state of the world as well as my financial situation, it is only due to some fortunate happenstances that I can do the con this year but we will see how it all works out.

As aforementioned it is for the likely above reasons that there will not be a whole lot going on for my birthday, but I do have a few plans such as seeing Black Widow in theatres, getting my free birthday beverage from Starbucks, and probably my usual pizza, movie, and video games. But we'll see.

 laurenrivers

Hey all,

I hope you're having a relatively normal Fourth of July for those of you in the States, and if you're celebrating I hope you stay safe and have fun. :)

 shrag and I will be making BBQ burgers later today, and maybe will have to put on that episode of the Simpsons with the M-320. :)

As far as the job front, the second interview didn't pan out. Whether that was my bad or they just didn't choose me I don't know, so I've decided to re blue my hair and chill until our trip in August. I'll still be looking and applying for jobs, but barring any issues I will be taking my first trip in over a year, which is exciting.

More news coming. :)

 LaurenRivers