Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Release Schedule For New Content...

This content is produced by the artists indicated on the site on the bottom of this post or on the credits page, and by me, Brian Joseph Johns. 


I, under no circumstance will trade, barter or otherwise swap my own identity for that of another person and I protect the same right for those who've contributed their artwork to the various projects under my management at Shhhh! Digital Media, my own company. These rights are protected by law under the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms under section 7.




Hi again. Just here with another update regarding how new content will be scheduled for future releases.

This schedule applies to the new Episode format I'll be using for all of the different storylines, as scheduling and maintaining multiple storylines has been a thorn in my side since May 2012, when I initially launched the website that eventually became Shhhh! Digital Media.


The storylines in question are as follows:


The Butterfly Dragon: The Two Butterflies - which follows Ai Yuanlin Ying (The Butterfly Dragon), Alicia Westin (Night Style), Monique Defleur (Eclipse), Valerie Aspen (Kyra) and now Aikiko Tanaka (Dragon Butterfly). Episode 01 has already been published and sets up the the first episodes of Night Boat and We Who Stand On Guard.


The Butterfly Dragon: Night Boat - which follows our favourite heavily modified Gearing Class Destroyer as Captain George Steadman, and his prisoner Alomera Zek engage in a power struggle over control of the ship, while trying to secretly rule the world via a comprehensive blackmail network. Meanwhile, they're being hunted the world over by world's superpowers.


The Butterfly Dragon: We Who Stand On Guard - this storyline follows the investigation conducted by global authorities under the , as they uncover the threat of Mentis And The Millions Of Minds, and as they hunt down George Steadman and Alomera Zek.


A Lady's Prerogative: The New Singularity - the Episodic version of A Lady's Prerogative, which follows the events of the Wytches of the Sanctum after Barris' return from death, as they uncover a new growing threat that is escalating the environmental crisis to new levels. This storyline will certainly focus on current environmental issues, while diluting them as little as possible in fiction.


So What's the Plan, Man?


The plan for each of these storylines is to release a new episode for each, every week. Each episode will include several chapters and generally read somewhat similarly to the way a streaming series or television show might appear, allowing for plot hooks and cliff hangers, while nurturing a much larger plot across the entirety.


Episode 01 of The Two Butterflies sets up the beginning of every other story, so this week, the week of May 1 - 5, 2023 - that will be the only release for The Butterfly Dragon line of stories.


The worlds of Butterfly Dragon and A Lady's Prerogative co-exist together, and have been interwoven before. This will certainly be the case with these episodes and there will be many crossovers of characters.


In addition, if you've already read Episode 01 of The Two Butterflies, then you'll have recognized characters from one of my other books and storylines. Every one of these characters will be making their return in the new storyline and play a significant role in the plot. I'd been looking for a way to do this for a long time, and this new format gave me the perfect opportunity to setup their return.


Finally, The Last Lonely Lounge will continue to feature new content, as its often a good venue to write about things that need to be heard, and what better way than in the context of humour. The Last Lonely Lounge Comedian is just another character like any other in my stories, though the story of his life is told entirely from on stage in a series of stand-up comedy routines. 


This venue often gives the chance to discuss things are are difficult to bring up in other story telling venues and hopefully will get people thinking on their own two feet, rather than following a group of bullies blindly as they careen the entirety of humanity into the depths of a pit, which the generations to come will be paying off for decades. Comedy of course is the best mirror of pathos, and often the best of sign-posts to avert future disaster. If not, at least its a darn good medicine.


Fans of old Sierra games might recognize the inspiration for this character.


What Happened To The Plans For Video Games?


Night Wytch: Shaela Sheowellyn
My plans for doing interactive stories or video games is still very much a priority, though given the  time and resources required, it is a lengthy and involved process. I've decided that I will first hone my skills with such projects by completing several smaller projects than what I'd initially envisioned. Don't get me wrong, Night Wytch: The Path Of Shaela Sheowellyn is still a high priority, but will require more time and resources than I alone have to commit to such a project. The future might open such doors, either via our new creative license and business model, or as a result of AI based game content generation as such services come down in price and put content development within reach of smaller  studios and publishers like myself.


Ideally, I'd like to be able to hire a real, human voice talent actress for the project as Shaela is an inspired and motivated character that needs the real thumos of a driven woman to back up her dialogue, but that is still a long way off. It is still very much a possibility, assuming that I don't get completely cannibalized by the psychotic collective of social monsters that have recently emerged in real-life society, before such a project is completed.



Heylyn Yates: Ai Yuanlin Ying
aka The Butterfly Dragon
There are also initial plans for a Butterfly Dragon game of some form. I'm playing with several ideas currently as I don't want to blindly jump onto the path of a martial arts beat-em up game. I'd like there to be an exploration of the martial arts philosophy first, not to mention Heylyn's life as a fashion designer. I envision something that's more about life balance and health, while pursuing that which drives you to make the world a bit better than it was before you woke up that morning. Few problems in the world are solved by pounding people into a pulp. Rather, being able to deal with people who are driven that way, might be a challenge to life balance as well and suitable for interactive software. Heylyn is certainly a character I've longed to see and know in real life, so creating something that brings her and her friends to life is as much a priority as is seeing the women of A Lady's Prerogative in their own interactive software.


As my father used to tell me: if I had a million bucks, I'd stay in the publishing business until it was all gone.


I'd like to see this turn into something that has the potential to give other artists the opportunity to make a living, working for Shhhh! Digital Media.


Until that time, you now have a rough release schedule that I should be able to adhere to over the next two months. In between it all I've got to work on my own physical fitness and maintain a good body state as I get older. Its possible to have the life balance of health, mind and body while enjoying the vigors of the greatest gift any of us got for free and often take for granted. Our bodies. 


Enjoy it, and take good care of it.


See you soon with the latest episodes and thank you ever so much to my readers for taking the time to read my content. I can only hope that you know how much I appreciate you.

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