About InkstainedWorlds.com

(Updated 2023-08-19)

Questions about this site can be sent to me via the contact page but here’s a little information.

Under the guidance of my (now deceased) oldest brother and with the encouragement of friends InkstainedWorlds.com started in June 2013.

On that note I’ve been writing for some time. It’s long been a desire of mine to have somewhere to post everything from random thoughts about writing to full short stories; that is what InkstainedWorlds.com is for. I’ve been crawling around Tumblr and Blogger in various forms for years but I’ve never made a blog specifically for writing, somewhere I can post stories under my own name for the sheer sake of posting them. And so I’ve started this. It’s something of a project and it’ll be interesting to see what becomes of it.

The urge to write is, as always, strong. Sometimes it can be hard to follow through so what you’ll find here will vary greatly in length, subject and, of course, quality.

Have a look around and read to your heart’s content but bear in mind: all of the content here is © Scott Thornby, all rights reserved (and all that jazz). Please don’t steal any of it. That would make me sad.

There are basic rules to follow while you’re here; please read the Disclaimer below to be briefed on them.

Have a care to recall that this site is constantly under construction. It can and will change erratically as my needs as site administrator alter.

Each comment will be read and constructive feedback is appreciated. Spam, hostility, accusations and personal attacks will not be tolerated. You’ve been warned.

About the Author

Reasonable enough curiosity. Whenever someone picks up a book they almost always check to see if there’s any information on the author. Consider this a brief and badly-constructed blurb on… Well… Me.

At just over six feet tall I’m technically a little above average for my species (Homo sapiens sapiens). That also technically makes me (and you, unless you’re a sentient kitten) a form of megafauna. I typically answer more to my online name (Rathowyn) more than my given name; I consider neither of them my more true name. I’m a Caucasian human with thinning brown hair (typically shaved), grey-blue eyes that require corrective lenses, a protective epidermal covering and a supportive endoskeleton made primarily of calcium. I am also, clearly, something of a dork.

Various other facts might or might not interest you: I have epilepsy, Marfan’s Syndrome, cyclothymia, depression, anxiety and a smartphone. Those things aren’t all necessarily related. I am a gamer, I’m bisexual (or possibly pansexual), either a nerd or a geek (probably both), I like coffee and Pepsi Max, I dislike mushrooms and shellfish of any kind. I am unemployed and subsist on government-facilitated disability payments (for now). I am polyamorous and have two partners, both of whom I love; they are my Sun and my Moon. I live in the south-east corner of mainland Australia in a small two-bedroom unit with a human who is extremely good at art, a computer full of unfinished projects and a head full of dreams. I am often found in the north-west of the state with another human. My influences include, but are not limited to (and in no particular order):

• J. R. R. Tolkien
• Anne McCaffrey
• Sir Terry Pratchett
• Neil Gaiman
• Douglas Adams
• Lewis Carroll
• H. G. Wells
• My mother
• My partners

Equality is very important to me and I take it very seriously.

No doubt there’s a lot more to tell but I’m sure we’ll both find it out later.

Disclaimer

Not to put too fine a point on it but I’m a firm believer that the majority of disclaimer text simply shouldn’t be necessary.

Every time I read a disclaimer stating that the author takes no responsibility for mental, physical or property damage, that she or he won’t be held accountable for fire, flood, acts of <insert deity here> and who knows what else I can’t help but wonder, ‘Has the world really, truly gone insane?’

Very possibly.

Enough rampant bile gets spewed by histrionic extremists to make me wary, though. The world is full of very strange people and that’s both good and bad. So here’s my disclaimer.

Reading these stories is an act of free will and choice by the reader. I take no responsibility for the mental anguish you might experience should you read something here that upsets you. Let’s be clear: if you don’t like what you find here then it is on you to go elsewhere. If you keep reading them you implicitly agree not to attack either myself or anyone else connected to me or the website. Violating that basic code of reasonable conduct could get your comments edited, deleted, mocked, printed on t-shirts and sold with no remuneration, or anything else I care to come up with. Most commonly that means you’ll be blocked from the website; InkstainedWorlds.com is a moderated site, it’s not a place for you to spread your bile.

Moreover, while I respect that your country may (or may not) constitutionally guarantee your rights to freedom of speech (in theory or in reality) this is not the place to do it. I reserve the right to remove anything I want from the site. Don’t like it? Go away. I don’t have the time to put up with hostility and bigotry.

On that note you can and will be subject to anything from a warning to being instantly banned if you denigrate anyone – myself, anyone I care about, well-known figures, other users, the fictional characters in my stories and so on – for reasons of gender identity, gender preference, physical sex, race, religion (or lack of it), age, preferences for computing platforms, favourite colours, gluten/lactose intolerances, body shape, body image, sexual activities (or lack thereof) or tendency to use one form of English over another (American English over British English, for example, or vice versa). This list is not all-inclusive and should be considered a guideline. Constructive criticism is welcome; hostile bigotry is not (and yes, there is a very big difference). The short version: don’t be a bigoted jerk. It really is that simple. That’s also why I recently took J.K. Rowling out of my list of influences.

Remember that these are stories. Some are comments on society, some are fictional mess-ups, some are just literary diarrhoea. Don’t take them too seriously and please, please remember that the characters in my stories don’t necessarily hold the same values and views that I do. If I write about a racist murderer please don’t assume that I am one. I’m really not.

Enjoy yourself while you’re here. In a perfect world we wouldn’t need disclaimers like this but our world isn’t perfect. This one, however, is ink-stained. I hope you have fun while you’re here.