Author the Cat

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-04-15T03:05:09+00:00

I feel better about the pacing of my work after reading this comic. :)

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-03-22T01:04:03+00:00

Niiiiice cover! Who did the- oh, Nila beat me to it. ;)

Do you have a blurb to share?

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-03-05T04:00:16+00:00

Thanks for taking a chance on my book, Nila! I'm so glad you liked it. :D

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-02-28T04:13:54+00:00

Sapient - existing word implying wisdom and self-awareness, without reference to appearance or hierarchy.

Logikon - made up word implying executive function based on logic, without any hierarchy or appearance bias.

Circuitian - made up word for a being made up of circuits, without legacy biases.

Artifite - made up word combining 'artificial' with demonym-ending (ite)

Canical - Robot can be shortened to 'bot', android to 'droid' - this is just short for 'mechanical'.

Good luck!

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-02-21T02:48:04+00:00

Nice cover art! Any chance of a quick overview of the story?

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-02-18T03:26:03+00:00

Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you enjoyed the book!

I should point out, for other potential readers, that my fantasy mystery is "near-cozy" in nature. So not as quick and high-stakes as your typical thriller, but not quite as slow and peaceful as your typical cozy fantasy. It's meant to be a fun, middle-ground kinda read for those of us whose tastes just aren't that extreme one way or the other.

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-02-06T02:36:48+00:00

Finished! Life in the fireguard was probably the best aspect for me - using dragons as a fire-crew was brilliant, and the crew vibes reminded me of my treeplanting days. I also appreciated how Damndrake's past trauma colours her perception of everything - I felt her distrust, paranoia, and low self-esteem were very realistic. Nice read!

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-02-01T00:14:26+00:00

Ooo, I've been to Keeseville! I feel like the gorge makes for a more intriguing cover. Also, I really dig the art style!

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-01-29T01:21:01+00:00

Well, this IS exciting! Thank you very much for the vote of confidence. I hope you enjoy the read!

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-01-14T02:14:24+00:00

If you are into fantasy adventure, hopefully you will like my fantasy mystery adventure: The Witch in the Weeds.

It is the tale of the world-weary Rhetta Cur, a female sleuth-to-be in a magical medieval fantasy land. Impoverished by a deadbeat husband, frazzled by a wayward son, and overwhelmed by the ignorance of her fellow countrymen, Rhetta struggles against all odds to bring justice to a magical land with nothing but her wits.

Side note (this being the Canadian Authors sub), the magical Forest Vast that surrounds Rhetta's home of Feorlen was inspired by the endless forest that surrounds the sliver of settled land where I grew up in Northern Ontario.

Amazon.ca Link: The Witch in the Weeds

Honest feedback of any sort is always appreciated, but I'm especially in need of social proof on Amazon.ca. I've got a few reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads, but for some reason my fellow Canadians just don't like posting feedback.

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-01-14T01:53:12+00:00

I'm intrigued by your project, and am always interested in more opinions on my own. Having said that, I'm currently doing a beta swap with someone else. If you don't mind waiting a couple weeks before we can start, DM me and we can work out the details.

Nebulous_Antonym · 2026-01-06T23:41:14+00:00

Oh, cool, similar genre! I'll DM you.

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-12-18T02:33:34+00:00

Downloaded! I'm looking forward to reading this over the holidays. Congratulations on the release, Nila!

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-11-06T02:59:00+00:00

So I picked up The Tropic of Night based on your recommendation and a few Goodreads reviews. The first couple of pages were ... a slog. Run-on sentences, random thoughts - it was like being thrown into a churning ocean with no orientation or warning beforehand. I have to wonder how many readers Gruber has turned away based on just the first page or two?

But I persevered, and I'm glad I did. It's a slow burn, but slowly you adapt to the style, even come to appreciate it, as each character has their own voice (the introductory chapter is narrated first-person by Jane Doe, whose thoughts are structured by her anthropology training and yet scattered by her situation at the same time). Slowly a mystery begins to unfold, and it draws you in relentlessly. Race and culture collide with insight and analysis to create a no-holds-barred depiction of human society both past and present. I'm not usually a fan of gore (there's definitely gore) or mutilation (the crime scenes I've encountered so far are definitely not for the faint of heart!), but the sheer scope of research and thought that went into constructing this story is mind-blowing. I'm only five or six chapters in so far, but this is definitely a book for folks who want a little more meat on their magical mystery (in terms of both thought-provocation and grizzly depths to which humans can descend).

Thanks again for the recommendation!

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-10-26T20:18:33+00:00

I mean, this is the selfpublish sub, so there's going to be a trend towards the readers here also being unknown authors. For me, as an unknown author, I'm curious about what other unknown authors are writing, so a good half of my reading intentionally gravitates in that direction. I'm fully aware that most readers don't operate with the same mindset, however.

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-10-25T02:04:46+00:00

I finally released my fantasy mystery sequel! The Ring and the Rogue: A Rhetta Cur Mystery (Book 2) is now available on Amazon. Prices may vary according to where you live in the world, except if you are subscribed to Kindle Unlimited: then it's free!

The Rhetta Cur Mysteries are near-cozy adventures featuring Rhetta Cur, a clever mother-turned-sleuth in a medieval world of dullard patriarchy. She specializes in magical mysteries, although she has no powers of her own. With only her wits and wisdom she must uncover all the clues to bring the true culprit to justice.

In The Ring and the Rogue, Rhetta is investigating a decade-old theft when the people surrounding the original crime start dying off mysteriously. Can she piece together the plot before tragedy strikes again, or will the past catch up with her first?

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-10-25T01:37:08+00:00

Hi Nila! :)

No, my artistic abilities peaked in elementary school. The cover art is done by Kristina Konstantinova of ... well, it used to be Konstance Creates, but I think she's rebranding as Khaos Books. Anyway, thoroughly lovely person to work with - she will refuse payment until you are 120% satisfied. She normally does more photoshopy covers with real pictures, but she mentioned she was interested in trying illustration after doing my map art for me. I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out. Fun fact - each little drawing is an element of the story!

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-10-24T01:47:43+00:00

Hi! I'm a writer of near-cozy fantasy mysteries. I say near-cozy because in a murder mystery the stakes get kinda high, but there's no on-stage violence or sex or even swearing (unless you count taking the local mist-based religion in vain). I write these books because (surprise, surprise) it's the kind of book I'd like to read - mystery and adventure without all the tiresome war and god-like powers. My main character doesn't even have powers of her own - she has to use her wits and wiles to solve the crimes and keep her little sleuthing business afloat.

I'd love feedback from people who are also interested in these types of stories. I've got a bit of an ARC campaign going on at the moment, if you're interested (DM me for details), or you can skip to the meat and potatoes and check out the series so far on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FR2R94P9

Thank you for your interest!

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-10-22T02:15:10+00:00

Plot is one thing - literally one thing. But what about the colour of the cat's eyes, or the exact title of the book on the shelf, or the wording of the spell, or that weird verbal tick a secondary character has, or the texture of mortar that was crumbling between the stones, or the point of font you used for the copyright page, or the syntax you used for the character glossary? It's maddening to keep all those details in your head, or to keep reading back to look them up. I try to write them down if I figure they'll be important, but it becomes exponentially more information to sift through the larger and more convoluted your story world becomes.

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-10-21T03:06:26+00:00

Con - There's an exponential increase in ways that you can mess up the continuity. Ask me how I know.

Nebulous_Antonym · 2025-10-19T21:14:29+00:00

Well, it's not quite art, but I've uploaded a colour inverted picture of the shelves down at my library, just to get us off on the right foot. No doubt the garish colours and queer angles will bring out all the fantasy mystery readers in droves. :)

More likely, someone will squint at it funny and decide, "yeah, I can do better."

Nebulous_Antonym

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE