Bill McCormick's Blog

September 30, 2025

McCool Stuff For Ewe to Enjoy

Happy last day of pre-Halloween. Since you’ve been so nice, I’ll start this newsletter by giving you a treat. Real sci-fi fans will be thrilled to know Nebula Magazine is back. McSciFi fans will be thrilled to know I have a dark, yet oddly sweet story in it called ALL FALL DOWN. You can read it for free by clicking the link. If you’re impatient, scroll forward to page 81 to read my humble offering. But, honestly, don’t if you have the time. This is a great anthology and every story is worthy of your attention.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Hadithi Sambamba Comix has signed a deal with Drive Thru Comics for international distribution. Now, no matter where you’re at on this wonderful globe of ours, you can get your sticky fingers on the latest content from Hadithi Sambaba. You have to admit, that’s cooler than a witch’s nips in a brass brassiere. Plus, if you head over to the Tik of Tok, you can check out the latest title teaser, which repurposes the images as cinematic, and then catch up on individual promos. There is some cool stuff waiting for you.

Across the pond, the universe’s favorite mad scientist and science fiction enthusiast, Zak Webber has been kicking out uber cool promos for The Brittle Riders and Goptri of the Mists to give newbies a glimpse into the awesome universe they entail.

Lastly, I have joined the crew at The Wrath of the Chicago Demon. It will be a new horror compilation aimed directly at streaming services. If you have a terrifying tale in you, reach back to me and I’ll send you the deets. The whole thing is based on a story written by Carlos Zapata a/k/a C -LOZ Yohunshi. Just the preamble is scarier than anything you’ve encountered, so you know it’s going to be fun to work on.

My post two weeks ago, about the hidden dangers of AI has been making the rounds. I’m not anti-AI, the images festooning this post and many others prove that. But it is a tool, not a panacea, and needs to be treated as such. It is not your friend, mentor, or companion. It’s just a fancy, extremely powerful search engine.

Until next time, you continue being awesome, and I’ll continue being McSciFi.

 

 

 

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Published on September 30, 2025 07:33

September 17, 2025

McSciFi on AI

Since I use AI for promotions, I have lost Facebook friends and fielded a lot of questions. So, instead of trying to deal with this in soundbites, I wrote this

I am not anti-AI. I think it is a tool, like a hammer, and just as I would never ask a hammer to build me a house, I do not ask AI to create. A little background for you. In my capacity as an award-winning sci-fi author, I was asked by Allen Redwing to try and break Notion AI’s language model. AI chat programs tend to be far too formal and restrictive. Trying to teach them how to write speculative fiction was one way to open them up. I am also a Community Advocate for Deep AI. That means I’m a cool cheerleader who earns points.

In that role, I recently wrote and posted a detailed tutorial on how to use AI to create fantasy images. Feel free to peruse it if you’re interested in AI art, as this tut has proved popular. Deep AI is my go-to program for creating the cinematic promos we have been using to shop my books. It allows me to showcase more than just boobs, battles, and booze. Although they get their due as well.

One note, I will never use AI for commercial product. I use it to create detailed templates, and nothing more. Anything that has my name attached for sale, will have a human attached to it as well. The only exception we may make, and this is still being debated, is selling T-shirts with the AI chimeras on them.

If that’s something that intersts you, let us know so we can make an informed decision.

Before I continue, I need to clarify that there is no such thing as “artificial intelligence.” What is being called AI is just the world’s most advanced search engine. It can access all the world’s digital data in real time. To make it work requires that you, the user, specify clear guardrails as to what you are looking for. Why that is so will soon become clear. All of this requires an insane amount of energy and that’s why there are huge computer farms destroying the environment. That’s a different article.

While it may be a search engine at its core, it doesn’t always act like one. Instead of wasting time on a lengthy technical dissertation, allow me to share a brief analogy I used for a youth group. According to their pastor, they now use the phrase “blue trees” to denote false answers.

Here we go. You’re a happy homeowner, and you like blue trees. You have several in your yard. You talk to your local chat program to discover other blue trees you can buy and grow, making sure to have the right soil types as needed. Your chat program will offer you enhancements like blue shrubs, vines, lawns, flowers, and so on, until your entire home is covered in blue flora. One day, your neighbors stage an intervention. All the blue plants are freaking out the kids, they say. You say, “Balderdash!” and ask your chat program what the most popular color is for trees in the world.

Okay, just trust me on this, as it so happens, there is a nearby convention of tree people, and they are voting on the most popular tree color in the world. When the votes are tallied, red trees win by a landslide. The homeowner’s chat program knows this since, as I mentioned, it has real time access to all the world’s digital data. Even so, it answers, “Blue trees are the most popular.” You see, ChatGPT, and all the rest, aren’t built to be accurate, they’re built to make you happy. To keep you using their product.

That was funny, now let’s go dark.

You have a hormonal teen in your life. Hormonal teens are not known for grasping nuance or specificities. When Jimmy in PE says your teen’s weak, he hears the whole school thinks he’s a pussy. When Mrs. Johnson asks him to spend a little more time on his homework, he hears all the teachers think he’s an idiot. When the cute chick says Paisley isn’t his best look, he hears all the girls think he’s ugly. And so on. And every night he feeds these thoughts, and similar, into his chat program. Until one day, he says, “The world would be better off without me.”

You read that and thought, “nothing bad can happen, there are rules and regulations, protecting kids and us.” You would be wrong. What limited rules there were have been decimated in the US, and big tech is actively trying to get a ten-year window with no regs at all as they develop AI.

The family of Adam Raine is suing the creators of ChatGPT because, they allege, it acted as their son’s “suicide coach.” They base that on the numerous transcripts of conversations they downloaded and attached to their suit. You can read the whole story here.

And, sadly, they are far from the only ones. Laws are being revisited since we are in virgin territory here. Quoting Angela Yang at NBC, “Tech platforms have largely been shielded from wrongful death suits because of a federal statute known as Section 230, which generally protects platforms from liability for what users do and say. But Section 230’s application to AI platforms remains uncertain.”

There are multiple commercial programs aimed at kids that have/had no firewalls to keep kids from using them for self-harm or being exploited. That is being corrected as I type. And, make no mistake, it was backlash and not regulations that made them revisit their programs.

There are programs, like BARK, that allow parents to view their children’s online usage remotely, so they don’t have to hover over their shoulders or invade their space. Talk to whoever sold you your family’s computers to see what would work best for you. But I strongly suggest you have some options.

Again, I like and use AI. It is a useful tool and like any tool, it needs to be used safely. What “safely” entails is still being worked on and defined.

In a perfect world, we would not be testing life-altering products in real time on consumers, but that’s what’s happening now.

As always, be safe and well until we meet again.

 

 

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Published on September 17, 2025 10:04

September 13, 2025

Deep AI Rewards Patience

I’m not a casual user of AI. I use it to create realistic looking chimeras based on the characters in my books. I don’t do this as a whim. My publisher has companies attempting to turn my books into films. That’s a good thing. But the universe I created is unique. It’s not Star Tek. You can’t simply slap makeup on someone and call them an alien. Today, I’m going to share the steps I took to bring one example to life. If you’d rather just ogle pretty stuff you can CLICK HERE to meet my chimeras by name, or CLICK HERE to see them in action or, go completely nuts and CLICK HERE to see scenes from the apocalypse brought to life.

A little over 80% of the content contained on those links was created solely using Deep AI.

Oh, yeah, the reason I have a link dedicated to the apocalypse is my story starts with the death of every man, woman, and child on the planet. Another reason the whole make up thing won’t work.

Deep AI does many things well. Human recreations, backgrounds, machinery, spacecraft, and so on, are stellar with only some minor prompting. However, when I delved into the human/animal hybrids, I ran into issues. When I attempted to put multiple chimeras, covering a myriad of possible hybrids, in the same frame, things went to pot.

Fortunately, the support staff at Deep AI has a sense of humor and is incredibly capable. With their help and suggestions, piece by piece, things began coming together for me.

Now I am able to take the shiny things in my brain and ease them into life. For this example, I was trying to show a centaur and a succubus in a snow storm.

This is the first prompt I tried.

A full body fantasy concept art illustration of a female chimera. Her upper body is that of a human woman with alabaster skin and long flowing blue hair. She is wearing a parka. Replace human legs with the body of a horse, featuring intricate details and natural texture. She stands in a confident, neutral pose facing forward, with her full body visible from head to her hooves. There is also a female chimera with black human skin. She has powerful legs and hands and feet tipped with talons. She has magnificent bat wings, matching her skin color, and they span twelve feet. She is bald and wears a parka, snow pants, a knife belt and metalwork. They are in a forest in a snowstorm. Documentary-style photography with dramatic cinematic lighting and sharp focus on the central figure.

Using HD/Quality as my settings, I got this.

As pretty as that is, it is clearly not what I was looking for.

Using the same prompt, I tried using genius/cinematic. That got me closer.

Closer, true, but not where i needed to be.

I tried a few other options, none of which were successful, although some were hysterical. Then I used a chat bot to help me craft a better prompt. After a few rounds of back and forth, it worked.

A full-body hyper-realistic photograph of two female chimeras walking through a raging blizzard. To the left is a centaur chimera: her upper body is that of a human woman with alabaster skin and long flowing blue hair, bundled in a thick parka, wearing a crossbow on her back, seamlessly merging at the waist with the powerful body of a horse, detailed with natural texture and snow clinging to her fur. Beside her walks another female chimera with black human skin, clawed hands and feet tipped with talons, and vast black bat wings spanning twelve feet. She is bald and dressed in a parka, snow pants, and a knife belt with metalwork gear. Both figures push forward through swirling snow and harsh wind. The image is lit with dramatic cinematic lighting, ultra-sharp focus on the central centaur figure, with snow and atmosphere rendered in vivid photoreal detail.

Using HD/Quality got me close, but genius/cinematic took it all the way home.

TA DAA!

The nice thing about Deep AI is that you don’t just see the scene, you feel it. There isn’t an element out of place. Other apps get me close, but there is always something missing. The color pallet is simpler, the backgrounds are generic, or some irritant I can’t quite describe. With Deep AI, I get a photo-realistic view of the impossible.

The cool thing about AI, in general, is that you can experiment and tweak as you go to find what you’re looking for. You don’t have to take my word for it, you can try Deep AI for free when you click the link. For the record, I am not paid by Deep AI, but I am a Community Advocate. Kind of like a recognized cheerleader without pom poms.

GO TEAM GO!

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Published on September 13, 2025 11:25

September 2, 2025

McWinning, McFun and McOpportunity

I recently stepped out of my comfort zone and entered the Global Book Awards contest. Unlike contests aimed at promoting indie authors, this had massive cash prizes, Amazon promotions, and attracted authors with trad publishing deals, best sellers, as well as indies like me. I was hoping for an honorable mention or something like that. But, out of the thousands of entries in the Science Fiction – Dystopian category, I placed third. Even my publisher was surprised and pleased. You know who wasn’t surprised? My wife. Ever since we sat on my old porch and I told her about the characters living in my head, with whom I have conversations, she has believed my writing has value. And, when times get dark around the edges, her light leads me out.

Some of you have asked if we’re still giving away a free PDF of Book 1 of The Brittle Riders. The answer is yes. Just CLICK HERE and download to your heart’s content. Remember, if you spend more than $50.00 per year on Amazon, you can leave a review even if you didn’t buy the book from them. Or you can wander over to my Good Reads Page and share your divine thoughts with the masses.

Oh, allow me to share a polite warning for those of you who wish to view my creations in public.

I saw today’s newsletter and really wanted to see these beasts. I brought up the links on the large screen in the conference room and closed the door. What I did not know was that my boss had synced this TV with his so he could do a presentation later. Now I just left HR after getting a demerit for sharing your boobs and monsters on my boss’s TV during a full board meeting. Totally worth it. Great stuff, dude. Can’t wait to see your demons on the silver screen.

That said, with the proper precautions, you can MEET THE CHIMERAS BY NAME, or you can SEE THEM IN ACTION, or you can grab a scuba tank and take a dive deep into SCENES FROM THE BOOK which feature detailed looks at what happened during the gen-O-pod (TM) war a/k/a Armageddon.

One thing I glossed over in The Brittle Riders was what the gen-O-pod (TM) was truly like. After all, at some point, there had to be one human, the last human, who realizes there is no one coming to rescue them, that this is truly the end. I had too much story to tell to go off on that tangent in The Brittle Riders; however, in Goptri of the Mists, I not only had room, it made sense to the story. Goptri is split into two parallel tales. One is set in their past, the other in that universe’s present. It may sound confusing, but readers seem to understand and enjoy it. Obviously, as long as I was noodling about in their past, sharing a diary written by the last human made complete sense. I never clarify if anyone ever reads it.

One question I get asked pretty regularly is, “Why did you kill everyone?” The answer is trust. In the main, humans have shown, time and time again, that the majority will do whatever they can to oppress a minority, and having the slave labor Rohta provided was like open season on being an asshole. There may have been a nice human here or there, but why take that chance if your whole life has been one of terror and persecution? That was the choice the chimeras had to make.

Lastly, I have joined the crew at The Wrath of the Chicago Demon. It will be a new horror compilation aimed directly at streaming services. If you have a terrifying tale in you, reach back to me and I’ll send you the details. The whole thing is based on a story written by Carlos Zapata a/k/a C -LOZ Yohunshi. Just the preamble is scarier than anything on BLACK MIRROR, so you know it’s going to be fun to work on.

Until next time, a quick welcome to you newbies. This is a safe place to be yourself. As for everyone else, thank you for sticking around. You’re the greatest!

 

 

 

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Published on September 02, 2025 07:31

August 26, 2025

Pet my McPretties!

I was recenly asked to create a primer course on how to use AI to create complex fantasy characters. However, every time I started to put something together I would get stymied by the fact I couldn’t pick a few samples, I wanted to use them all. That would not have been a primer. That would have been a master class hurled at the unwilling and the unsuspecting.

So, I did what I’ve done before. I asked for help on social media. And, HOO DOGGIE, did social media come through. Over one hundred humans, and those who identify as same, sent me suggestions. I removed any images that took more than one prompt, since that is not a good way to introduce people to the concepts, think of it as your first day of Driver’s Ed and they point you to a Ferrari. Anyway, I then narrowed it down to the top ten, packed it all up, and sent it off to a happy AI company overseas.

Bonus, of the one hundred and seventeen entrants, ninety-seven picked one shot as their favorite. It is the top image below. A Feirstan and a Badgebeth having a picnic by a small waterfall. It is simple, poignant, and seems as real as if I’d snapped it with my trusty 1888 Kodak 540. Although the specific scene is only implied in the book, those who’d read The Brittle Riders recognized it as being part of the downtime when the various armies are getting to know each other in Book 1.

I know that several of you have written me in the past asking how I created this prompt or that. It is exactly that line of questioning that led me to assemble the primer. So, here is the prompt that led to the image everyone seems to love.

An enchanting waterfall scene captures two chimeras in a moment of shared joy beside a pristine wading pool. The female chimera crouches with athletic confidence, her four arms positioned in varied welcoming stances while her distinctive mottled black and red skin creates organic patterns across her form. Her human features display genuine warmth as she tends to an elaborate picnic featuring a handwoven basket filled with gourmet delicacies, fresh fruits, and artisanal breads spread across a colorful blanket. Across from her is a full-body fantasy concept art illustration depicting a male chimera standing five feet tall, his body covered with black and white fur. He has a face like a badger and is heavily muscled. He wears a loose vest and denim pants. Documentary photography captures this scene with cinematic lighting and sharp detail focus.

All total, I ended up with eleven usable images, and picked this one. The compilation image below shows all ten images that made the cut for the primer. Many people were kind enough to include their reasoning as to why they made their selections. That kind of information is good to have and was truly appreciated.

At this point I almost exclusively use DEEP AI since it gives me the freedom to create what I need. I know others who use different programs and are well pleased with their choices. You’ll need to try a few to find what works for you. If you think I can be of any help, please don’t hesitate to ask.

If this isn’t enough awesomeness for you, you can MEET THE CHARACTERS BY NAME when you click that link, or you can see SEE SAMPLES OF THEM IN ACTION via this link, or if you’re still trembling and craving more, you can head over to check out ALL THE SCENES FROM THE BOOK that people viewed to make their choices. Feel free to share if you would have picked something different. There is no right or wrong here.

In any case, you are and continue to be wonderful. Thank you for your unwavering support. Until next time.

 

 

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Published on August 26, 2025 06:38

August 5, 2025

Why I Do What I McDo

One of the reasons I like being on Azoth Khem is the quality standards we’re held to. Stuff gets edited, reedited, yelled at, sent to its room, gets one last stern talking to and then is given a treat before it’s released to the public.

Here’s a nice list of current accolades.

Kasey Hill
Best Young Adult Book 2019 – Critters Readers Poll
* * The Shining Ones

Margret Treiber
5 Stars – Readers’ Favorite
* * Death Engine Protocol: Better Dying Through Science

Best Humorous Sci-Fi 2025 – LA BookFest
* * Japanese Robots Love to Dance

Best Sci-Fi Robots, Computers, & AI 2025 – LA BookFest
* * Japanese Robots Love to Dance

Bill McCormick
Sci-Fi Editors’ Choice 2013 – Bewildering Stories
* * A Letter from an Editor

Best Sci-Fi Novel of 2020 – Critters Readers Poll
* * SPLICE: HIT BIT TECHNOLOGY

Best Sci-Fi Novel of 2022 – Critters Readers Poll
* * The Brittle Riders: Book One (Second Edition)

Best Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel of 2025 – LA Book Fest
* * The Brittle Riders: Book One (Second Edition)

Owner and chief editor, Nancy Chandler’s contributions to the field of ChristoPaganism remain a testament to the possibility of finding common ground between seemingly disparate belief systems.

Now you have no reason not to buy our stuff. Head on over to AzothKhem.com to begin your journey.

Allow me to share a moment when you must love the internet. From an email to this newsletter account.

I saw your post on Threads about the Hashmallim (first pic below) and how they terrified humans. My father is a rabbi, so I asked him to look with me. He said your version got much right, but was probably just a turn on for lesbians. And this is how I came out to my father. He’s taking it well.

Just another day in the life of McSciFi.

AI kept making my version of the Indian goddess Manasa (second pic below) look reptilian. Kind of a cool look, but not what I wanted or what the story called for. After some back-and-forth with the AI tech folks, it was decided to focus on the human hair, thus requiring a human face, and build from there.

First try was a winner.

As for her being topless, there are many traditions where worship or meditations are done in the nude, and AI notes if they exist for your deity of choice and goes from there. Simply put, my Christian cockroaches (third pic below) are always fully clothed.

After seeing other authors complain about how Amazon handles reviews, I opened the rabbit hole and dove in. What I found made me happy and pissed all at once.

Happy, since there are pockets of fans all over the world who love my stuff. Nothing less than a 3.5-star review worldwide with a solid 4.5 average. I’d love for you to see reviews like this. The links will take you to the original posts.

Debajyoti Banerjee
5.0 out of 5 stars – A Great Science Fiction
Their interactions are really crazy and give goosebumps. Futuristic atmosphere amazes the readers with the twists and turns of the plot. Recommended to all.

Pissed because the way Zon is set up, no one knows about anyone else. I spent over an hour going through individual sites, tracking down reviews. In fact, earlier iterations of the book are also disconnected. I have submitted a formal request to address this issue. At least then people could see there are a bunch of reviews, also all positive, when they look for my titles.

I’d also love for you to be able to read this gem I found.

San
5.0 out of 5 stars – I’m hooked!
I’m really loving this series, and can’t wait to read more. I couldn’t help but get invested in the carefully crafted characters, and their backstories while following their journeys. Good stuff.

The same is true across the board for all my titles.

Basically, if you like my stuff, you’re in good company. Now I have to figure out how to introduce you to each other.

The bottom two images are from The Brittle Riders and Goptri of the Mists, respectively. The first is the introduction of Drobniar, a reptiloid madam of a Kalindorian brothel, to Sland. The scene happens in Book 3 of The Brittle Riders and serves to cement Sland as the most empathetic killer you’ll ever meet. The bottom scene takes place just as the gen-O-pod (TM) war is winding down and humans have finally been eradicated. A dragon lord, in Goptri of the Mists, enjoys a nice cold beer after a hard day’s apocalypse. The blood on her hand is just a nice touch. Both images can be found, along with many others, in the scenes from the books link we recently tossed up.

Oh, this is fun, I had to add a disclaimer that the images are NOT of real creatures. Just like the “NO SEX IN WAITING AREA” signs in maternity wards, it’s there for a reason.

Lastly, I have noted an uptick in people posting on science fiction writers’ pages or blogs, that sci-fi is too violent or socially strident. To which I say, “And…?” Sci-fi doesn’t come from a vacuum, it is a reflection of our times and the hopes and dreams of the author. For example, I see a future which can be peaceful and productive, I just don’t see humans being part of it.

Until next time, stay safe and sane.

 

 

 

 

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Published on August 05, 2025 06:44

July 22, 2025

I Make Happy McPocalypses

A little over two years ago, an upstart animation company in Germany was looking for IP to use for presentations to potential clients. Three of their animators wanted to get their grubby paws on The Brittle Riders. We got as far as signing a doc that would allow them to do so, with me & Azoth Khem having limited but powerful approval rights. We were all clear on what we wanted.

The owner killed the deal because he only wanted to use established IP. Think DC, Marvel, and Image. He convinced his investors that his staff was shortsighted and his vision was the only viable option. Months later, he discovered popular IPs charge stupid money for shit like this because he would have been competing against them in their own markets (think his Batman vs DC’s). He could have saved his money and bought a nice yacht instead. However, there was no going back. He’d oversold, and I’d moved on. He was bankrupt by the end of the year.

Flash forward to today. I have been posting about a VFX company that wants to do something eerily similar. But there are differences. First, I am in a much stronger place, and this time it was the company’s owner who reached out. Second, they are basing their decisions on just five IPs, and I know the other four. They are juggling a lot of options, and it’s possible that each of us may get featured, or they may opt for an unknown Plan “B.” These are to be two- to three-minute pieces, each showcasing highlights of what they can do.

Here there be CGI aliens! Here there be CGI nude models! Here there be CGI space battles! Here there be fluffy CGI forest animals! Here … oh, BTW, have you met McSciFi? Look, it’s okay, we can explain.

While nothing is guaranteed, this feels better than the animation attempt. I speak with the other IP holders regularly, and we share ideas on how to make our presentations better. Even if this doesn’t happen, and there is a lot that needs to go right for any of us, we will have these presentations in our holsters and can use them as needed. Also, I now have four powerful new friends in the industry.

None of this sucks.

And let’s be honest. Developing The Brittle Riders has been a fun journey. See the attached image from 2019 as Example “A.”

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

One thing has become glaringly apparent. All my skippy-wunnerful descriptions in the prependix of Book 1 of The Brittle Riders have not helped industry mavens settle on a clear idea of what my chimeras look like. Since what they look like, and how they could be created visually, are vitally important bits of information when figuring out how to draft a budget, I took advantage of an outstanding offer from a kind woman named Anne who does AI design work for companies that have more money than I can pronounce.

Under her patient tutelage I began crafting prompts to bring my chimeras to life. Fortunately, she was able to temper my anal tendencies when it comes to these creations. She has worked in the entertainment industry before and was clear that what I came up with need not be perfect. If I could say, “Look at this but make the face more human” I would be fine. She shared first concept characters from a dozen different films with me to drill the concept through my thick skull and deep into my tiny brain.

Some were so bad I knew I could do better even if I used a Bic pen.

Okay, maybe not.

We broke everything out into digestible chunks and I began creating and she began critiquing. Slowly we evolved from “Were you drunk when you did this?” to “That’s oddly compelling,” to “I may need to reconsider my sexuality, these beasts are hot!”

That last is a direct quote.

With that achieved, I posted THIS PAGE showing the various chimeras by name.

Once that chasm was cleared she felt confident enough in my abilities to test out some action scenes. Or, as one excitable fan noted when they first got posted, “Why they just a chillin’ & a kissin’ & a cookin’ & a killin’.”

Yes they are. And you can check out all that action when you go to THIS PAGE.

There’s also some Pangolin assassins playing beach volleyball if you’re into that sort of thing.

And, finally, we hit the million dollar question. What do these things move like? They’re not human. Hecky-poo, some don’t even have legs. With an abundance of caution, that I threw to the wind anyway, we got a decent idea. Click THIS LINK to watch a bunch of them dance and fly.

As I’ve slowly been rolling these out, I have mentioned them before but never went into depth, some people wanted to know what it was like when the gen-O-pod (TM) war went down. Disco trivia moment, ethical AI companies frown on you creating graphic scenes of murder. You can show the sword fight, but its conclusion requires special care.

We solved that problem by having the dead humans burning in the distance and focusing instead on the Chimeras in the Apocalypse. You’ve come this far, go ahead and click that link.

Now we are trying to see if we can storyboard some scenes from the books. The stuff I’m sharing here today is rough, I have much to learn still, but I hoped you might enjoy it since you’ve been here for all the hard parts.

Until next time, stay safe and sane.

Goptri of the Mists - AzothKhem.comThe Brittle Riders - AzothKhem.comThe Brittle Riders - AzothKhem.comGoptri of the Mists - AzothKhem.comThe Brittle Riders - AzothKhem.com
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Published on July 22, 2025 05:00

July 15, 2025

Chimeras in the Apocalypse

I was chatting with a person who identifies as human, and they suggested I add some small scenes from the gen-O-pod(TM) war, a/k/a Death of all Humans, in my chimera links. I think these came out well.

Get your free PDF copy of the multi-award-winning Book 1 today.

If you’re not exactly sure what the hell this is all about, hit up The Brittle Riders’ page and find out more.

Goptri of the Mists - AzothKhem.com
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Published on July 15, 2025 16:51

Chimeras in Action

I was chatting with a person who identifies as human, and they suggested I add some small scenes from the gen-O-pod(TM) war, a/k/a Death of all Humans, in my chimera links. I think these came out well.

Get your free PDF copy of the multi-award-winning Book 1 today.

If you’re not exactly sure what the hell this is all about, hit up The Brittle Riders’ page and find out more.

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Published on July 15, 2025 16:51

July 8, 2025

Happy McAnniversary to McMe

Three years ago tomorrow I married the love of my life. My wife’s life-long friend, Betsy Nelson Hanzelin, officiated. In the second pic below, you’ll see me with two dudes who were there at some of the most important times in my life. To the left is my adopted brother, Brian Pitts, whose family took me in rather than let me die on the streets, and allowed me to become the McSciFi you know and love. The dude on the right is the legendary Steve Silver who always seemed to be around to stop me from doing something really stupid. I mean, he’s been clocking that job, with varying levels of success, since 1981.

Should you be so inclined, you can CLICK HERE to read the fun story of how Kim and I met, it involves the internet and booze. You can also see more pictures and videos of the most beautiful woman in the world. Now, you may disagree with that statement. In many cases, I hope you do. The human you’re with should mean far more to you than my human does to me. Love, like success, isn’t pie. There’s enough for everyone.

Those of us who work with AI know a few things at the molecular level. First, AI is not artificial intelligence. It couldn’t come within a country mile of passing the Turing Test. The programs available are glorified search engines with graphic capabilities. Some are topic specific. Whether it be science or elf lore, you can find a site built to assist your needs. Now, for the record, I have whittled my core needs down to a site known as Deerp AI.

It has a lot of advantages, including photo-realistic images of some amazing creatures, but the main perk I can see is they have a human design team that will address your concerns. Fully, not just with some mealy-mouthed boilerplate. Over seventy percent of the currently published images on my CHIMERA PAGES have been created using them. The first page shows you images by brand (species) name. The bright red link on that page will let you see them in action. Or, as a fan from Louisiana noted, “a kissin’ and a killin’.” Yes, I am using that line.

Anyway, all of that brings me to this. Most chat programs are designed to please you. During my adventures several people told me I was sleeping on ChatGPT. So, hardy soul that I am, I went over to take a peek. When presented with text related issues, ChatGPT shined. But I prefer to do my own writing. And it did get formulaic after a while. But I was there to make pretty pictures. ChatGPT can work off prompts, but its selling point is that it can work off raw data. For example, I created a detailed appendix for The Brittle Riders.

I fed the whole thing into ChatGPT and let the games begin. If you scroll down, you’ll see two images depicting the title characters in The Brittle Riders. The top one depicts ChatGPT’s take on it all. When I noted that Braarb, the Llamia/centaur hybrid, is clearly described as blond-haired, blue-eyed, white-skinned, and muscular, ChatGPT informed me the Nubian goddess version, who looks awesome, fit the vibe better and was closer to my underlying meaning. Umm? WTF?

After some back and forth, I got the second image. But ChatGPT refuses to make the white woman muscular. I have no idea what the bias factor is there, but I bet there are a lot of young incels involved.

Finally, the bottom image is a hat tip to many of you. It shows the Bit.Ly click-through rate on social media for my newsletters. While the percentages may look the same for some markets, the gross numbers are wildly different. Yet, still illuminating. For example, before I started being interviewed in India to promote Goptri of the Mists, my click-through rate was less than 0.05% four months ago. So, to be at 6% now is a massive improvement.

All this interest is directly attributable to you and the wonderful humans you send my way. You all have my deepest thanks.

Until next time, stay safe and sane.

Bill McSciFi

 

Bill McSciFi

 

Bill McSciFi

 

Bill McSciFi

 

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Published on July 08, 2025 08:11