Doomed to suffer, doomed to fall, doomed to end.

October 21, 2024 10:58 AM

Metafilter's own L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg has started a new serialized novel, featuring Sean and Wormwood, the Friendly Satanists, with episodes each Monday on his substack.

Only a couple of episodes are out, but I figured given the serialized nature of it, I thought people might want to see it early on.

posted by jacquilynne (10 comments total)

Good luck!
posted by doctornemo at 11:03 AM on October 21

It's fun!
posted by JHarris at 11:59 AM on October 21

I would love to see a guest appearance by Anton LaVey as Ethel Merman.
posted by clavdivs at 1:55 PM on October 21 [2 favorites]

It's a shame Lore took down all the old cartoons. They were fun. But it's awesome he's doing something new with it! Hooray!
posted by rikschell at 3:29 PM on October 21 [2 favorites]

I just saw a video on my feed of lungfish awakening from hibernation, and thought of Lore-- IT WAS A PROPHECY! Will be following this avidly and hoping for Flotilla to make an appearance.
posted by The otter lady at 4:21 PM on October 21 [1 favorite]

Hey, thanks for the link! Flotilla will be along, the second Canto is the story I already published as a comic, re-written as a novel.

I'm gonna do something I don't really like to do too much, and blatantly shill for myself.

I worked computer programmer (usually freelance) for twelve years, and every time I look for a new client, it gets more difficult. I don't know if it's the market or that PHP is waning in popularity or if the computer industry hates hiring programmers over 50, but I'm hitting a brick wall this time.

But perhaps that's fate! And perhaps it's also fate that my psychiatrist prescribed a new medication for me and for the first time in at least twenty years, my depression is under control. It's amazing. And it also gave me the wherewithal to finally finish my novel, Jinbodgers.

I'm returning to the thing that I'm best at, which is writing. I've sent my novel around to various agents, I'm working on another novel called Ogrecrantz & Goblinstern, and of course I'm publishing this serial for free. But fiction writing doesn't pay off quickly, so I need to keep my head above water.

If you want to greatly increase the chances that I'll be able to pull this career change off and write as much fun stuff as my mind can cook up and my fingers can type, you can help by subscribing to one of the paid tiers of my newsletter, which will include previews, essays, and the continuing adventures of Sean and Wormwood sent directly to your inbox. It will also include a free copy of my Expanded and Annotated version of The Book of Ratings, which I will be self-publishing as soon as I can get it all together.

If you can't afford to keep the subscription, I totally understand. Even if you pay for a month then cancel, you'll still get the book. If you can't afford to subscribe at one of the paid tiers, subscribing for free will probably help me with the algorithm, you know how algorithms are.

Whatever happens, I'll still be writing and still be posting random and ostensibly funny stuff on Bluesky. Thanks so much for your kindness and attention over the years.
posted by lore at 6:49 PM on October 21 [9 favorites]

Yay, lore! Happy to see you are writing and will go subscribe now.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:15 PM on October 21

A heartfelt and enthusiastic "Hurrah!" for you, Lore! You're a brilliant and funny writer and I'm really glad you're producing more for us to read! 😊Thank you! Subscribing!
posted by The otter lady at 8:02 PM on October 21

I'm on Bluesky too, but I prefer Mastodon, which is where I found out about Dogs And Sorcerers. (Yep, I'm still banging that drum.)
posted by JHarris at 1:41 AM on October 22

Thanks, folks! I like Mastodon too, which is why I'm setting up something to cross-post between my Mastodon account and my Bluesky account.
posted by lore at 8:53 AM on October 22 [2 favorites]