2026 July
[2026-07-22 Wed]
Check it out! A brand new logo for my publishing company, VILLETTE PRESS:
I really, really love how this turned out.
And it looks pretty great on my official (if currently a bit minimalist) company website, too: villettepress.com
[2026-07-21 Tue]
GiveDirectly might be my favorite non-profit.
It's all in the name. You send them money, and they give that money directly to people who really need it.
It's that simple.
Yes, we also need more complex and structured kinds of aid too. For sure. Always will.
But there's a lot to be said for trusting ordinary people with their own cash. To face a crisis the way they think is best.
You can sign up to give regularly, but whenever there's a natural disaster, GiveDirectly will often launch a special campaign, to help get fresh aid right where the need is most urgent.
And I guess Venezuela just had two terrible earthquakes. Where nearly 80% of the people were already in poverty…
Give directly to victims of the Venezuela earthquakes.
(P.S. I have no connection with GiveDirectly. And I'm just getting back into social media, so my apologies if you see nonprofit pleas all the time. I just love how simple and effective this approach is, so I like to mention it when I get a chance.)
[2026-07-16 Thu]
10,000 steps? Really?
So much writing, so much computer time.
I really need to move around more.
Awhile back, I thought I'd go for those daily 10,000 steps everyone talks about, so I got a cheap pocket pedometer. No frills, no Wi-Fi, just an old-fashioned LCD counter and a reset button. Pretty cool, my kind of tech.
But once the novelty wore off, very easy to ignore.
How, exactly, am I supposed to motivate myself to take those breaks and actually walk four miles or so? Every day?
Yesterday, I got a new idea. So far, it seems to be working!
For, you know, all of two days.
Maybe I should give this another day or two before I tell you more details.
Just to make sure we keep this experiment rigorous … 😜
10,000 steps a day (for real?), Part 2
[2026-07-20 Mon]
… four days later, I'm still hitting 10,000 steps every day. For the first time ever.
How? An old habit trick I got out of some self-help book.
Hook a new habit to an old habit. And, if possible, a reward.
Turns out, I've already got a very strong habit that's also a reward.
My first cup of coffee. 🫖
Also my second … my third … possibly my fourth …
I'm not officially suggesting that you consume multiple cups of coffee every day.
But if you're going to anyway, why not make each cup a reward?
3,000 steps before Cup 1.
Another 3,000 steps before Cup 2. And that final 3,000 steps before Cup 3.
That gets you to 9,000 steps by your third cup of coffee.
At that point, you should be good for the last 1,000 by bedtime, without even trying. (Unless you're still drinking coffee even later than I do).
Pretty cool system so far.
And it makes each cup that much more satisfying.
Is it really that simple?
Almost …
2026 June
[2026-06-15 Mon]
Today I learned that the site of what may have been the first city in North America is a huge earthworks in Louisiana… and is believed to have been built 3,400 years ago, by hunter-gatherers who did not practice agriculture. Very intriguing indeed…
https://www.crt.state.la.us/dataprojects/archaeology/povertypoint/index.html
[2026-06-12 Fri]
Check out my new Facebook cover photo…
Make that, "covers," plural. (Sorry.)
And yes, I have more covers that couldn't fit. Pretty cool. 😁
[2026-06-11 Thu]
Do you love quest fantasy?
You do? Then you're going to love this preorder…
https://billalive.com/new-release-bundle-three-quest-fantasy-novels/
[2026-06-09 Tue]
Question: what's your favorite FUNNY fiction story?
Could be a novel, short story, whatever.
(Bonus points if you remember actually laughing out loud. But that's not a requirement, everyone's different.)
Got it? Great. Okay, question 2: what kind of story is it?
Romance, mystery, fantasy, what?
Don't worry about the "official" genre here. Or if there's more than one. I'm mainly curious how you filed this book away in your mind.
So, whichever genre came up first for you. The main one.
Why do I ask? Because I've written a lot of funny fiction, and in my mind, I tend to file these books in a big treasure chest labeled "comedy".
But lately I've learned that most people might not tend to think of fiction like this. For most people, no matter how funny a story might be, it's still mainly some other genre.
So, what do you think? I'm curious to hear…
[2026-06-08 Mon]
ENDS TOMORROW!
Last chance to get the Kickstarter discount on this awesome new E-INK device for distraction-free writing.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zerowriter/zerowriter-fold
(I'm not connected to this campaign, just very excited to get mine, take it outside somewhere, and sit in the sun and write my next story with zero interruptions… except the ones inside my head…)
[2026-06-05 Fri]
So, I've kind of been publishing a lot of fiction lately.
Like, a LOT. Novels, short stories, collections…
Where to start? Why not a bundle? Three whole collections of splendid stories in one…
https://billalive.com/new-release-bundle-crooks-castles-and-kisses/
[2026-06-04 Thu]
So, I don't often post Kickstarter campaigns.
But I've backed this one myself. Can't wait till mine arrives.
And if you're into e-ink, and/or writing, and/or spectacular niche new devices with open source software AND hardware, meant to do ONE thing and do it VERY well…
… you might just want to check this out.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zerowriter/zerowriter-fold
Whoa! You've reached the FIRST ENTRY of these Quick Updates!
Well done. You're persistent, I'll give you that.
A reader after my own heart.
If you actually made it here, all the way back to the beginning, maybe let me know? I'm very curious to meet you…
Bill Alive