I’m BAAAACCCKKK!!!!
Wheeew. So much news… So little time….
But first, today’s page. Of course.
——————BARBLAND NEWS———————-
Okay, first off I want to thank all Xylia readers for your patience in the last several weeks. Between a potential illness, a long trip, computer issues, it has been basically impossible for me to get to this project as I would like. As many of you know, I have suffered not one, but two computer hard disk crashes. The first one, thanks to help from Richard (SCA Scot) I was able to get the disk wiped, and the software and operating system reloaded and was up and running. He also taught me about the importance of backup, and I have external hard drive now. (No I didn’t know any better, but that doesn’t mean I’m not an adult!! Just not computer savvy! Fuh.)
Then last Wednesday, the disk itself died. Fortunately, I was smart this time, and had everything except my address book backed up. But- this problem was a more expensive one. In terms of supplies, service fees, and additionally time not working. Thanks again to Richard for calmly telling me what happened and what I had to do, and also to my sweetheart for his help in getting a computer that works.
On top of this, Josh also lost his computer hard drive! Are you kidding me?? Thanks again to Richard for stepping in- Xyliatales IT Wizard!
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My trip. Well, it was amazing, and beautiful, and wonderful, and relaxing, and exciting, and just what a single mom whose been pushing uphill for nine years really truly needed. BTW- Barb’s in love. 0.o I won’t say much more about that… I don’t want to embarrass anyone. Like..me. *blush*
——————-WRCAS!————————–
Big thanks to Kez and Josh for getting this announcement up:
Webcomic Reader Choice Awards for you! I apologize, Barb is much better at this kind of thing than I am.
Happily, we’d like to announce that Xyliatales was nominated in FIVE categories! Best art, protagonist, antagonist, supporting character, and in author congeniality. Wow! On behalf of Barb and the Xyliatales Team, thanks guys!
If you haven’t heard of the WCRCAs before, here’s the deal: they’re about YOU–the reader. You guys get to decide who wins. That’s pretty, awesome, right? But, it means you gotta get over there and vote! Since you’re here and reading this, hopefully you think Xyliatales is as deserving to win these awards as WE think too. So, please consider voting for Xyliatales!
To vote, please take 2 seconds to register at the vote page, and choose who you think should win in each category. Voting ends November 14th, so don’t dally too long! Thanks guys!
Obviously it shouldn’t be a popularity contest, so we encourage you to vote for the entry you think is best for the category.
Thank you to EVERYONE who nominated and voted for us!! Currently, I believe Tychia is the only one winning anything. NOT TYCHIA!!! LOL!
—————–XYLIASTUFFS——————-
Next week, I hope to post the fan art that I got several weeks back (and lost in my disk crashes) from Brian McLachlan , creator of The Princess Planet!
Lora Innes of Dreamer is organizing a very cool fundraiser for Love 146
- a foundation to help people (mostly children) who have been, or from becoming victims of Human Trafficking – the horrific reality that many of us are unaware of- there are modern slaves in many countries including the USA. She is asking webcomic creators to help her create a wallpaper featuring our heroines. This will then be made available to everyone for donation- 100% going to Love 146! Stay tuned for details on how you can help!
My good buddy Tom Racine over at Tall Tales Radio has received a nomination for his kick ass Podcast on Podcast Awards! Voting starts November 13th, please join me in voting for his show- definitely one of the most entertaining and well created podcasts out there. Hands down. The end.
——————–XYLIA GOODY BAG——————
YAYYY!!!NEW INCENTIVES!!! For $3.00 donation incentives, we’ve got a couple fun new pics, one is a piece that will be in the upcoming Xylia art calendar- Andy Warhol inspired Tychia, the other Xyliatales’ homage to my favorite band…the Fab Four! Your donations keep this thing going! Thank you very much! Click any of the below banners to go to the donation site. As always, if you encounter any problems receiving your downloadable art, please email me and I will get it to you directly.
Most of the other incentives are still available for $2.00 – $10.00 amounts, including the nude faeiries (if you are 18+)! Get em while they’re hot! ^_^
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Follow Barb’s Twittering! I try to announce Xylia things on Twitter as I get them done- hear about it first here!
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From time to time, I will broadcast live while I work on pages. This happens sporatically- I will announce it with a tweet, and a forum announcement, so if you want to get in the loop, subscribe to my Tweets, or join the forum.
To join me, or to watch past USTream episodes, please go here:XYLIATALES ON AIR TALK SHOW SITE
Thank you for reading, and as always thank you for your support and understanding. I hope that you all continue to enjoy Xylia.
Hugs,
~B
November 10th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Hey, I’m glad things are getting better. Sorry to hear about your computer problems! I hope Claude accepts the amphekeron. I like the badass horse.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Welcome back! Sorry to hear about all the computer troubles–an unfortunate fact of life these days… The more we depend on our cantankerous machines, the more it pains us when they go kaput. x_x
November 10th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Welcome back, and glad to hear you enjoyed your trip. Xyliatales’ return is most welcome! And, ooh, looks like a good fight scene coming up…
November 11th, 2009 at 3:02 am
*Happy for Barb being in-love. Glee!*
I can’t close it anymore… I hope computer will stop giving you trouble…
Awesome page- Livy is the cutest!
I feel for you on the computer thing- mine is OK on the inside, but broken on the outside
Glad to see you had a good time in Thailand- for me it was one of the best trips I ever did. Waiting to see more photos soon! Hugs
November 11th, 2009 at 3:41 am
(Glides out of the shadowed corner)
One of my parts suppliers always tells me, “Well, let’s power up my ol’ confuser, and see if I have any of what you need.”
I haven’t found a more apt description anywhere.
(Glides back into the shadowed corner)
November 11th, 2009 at 7:04 am
First Barb, now Canterrain…my evil plan to destroy the computers of the Xylia staff proceeds apace. No, wait! Did I say that out loud? Ah, darn – the secret’s out. Nothing to do now, but set my sights on…
Seriously, when Barb had her first meltdown, I suspected then that the hard drive might be failing, and I told Barb as much. I had hoped it was just a bad block, and that a reformat and reinstall would isolate the problem and she’d be good to go for another year or two, but alas. I hope this serves as a lesson for all you computer users out there – hard drives, no matter what computer they’re in, will fail. It’s just a question of when. I strongly suggest that everyone scrape together enough to buy an external, USB backup drive, and then perform a backup at least once a week.
There’s also no good reason not to have anti-virus software installed – Mac or PC (or Linux!). Personally, I use the incredible, and FREE, ClamAV anti-virus software. A friend of mine works as a contractor for the Department of Defense, and ClamAV is a DoD-approved application. That’s pretty good in my book, when you think about how secure the DoD has to be. Did I mention FREE? As in, there’s no excuse to not have this installed?
For Mac: http://www.clamxav.com/
For PC: http://www.clamwin.com/
For Linux: http://www.clamav.net/
November 11th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Outstanding! Welcome back the the world of the Interwebs! I raise my glass to Richard as he is a credit to tech experts everywhere, and I’m thrilled to hear your vacation went well.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Look at that, Claude is moving up in the world! He only just became a sorcerer, and now he’s already been made a banneret. He’s going places now…
I think he needs to stop thinking of the amphekeron as a horse, though. That’s clearly not just a horse…
November 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
the demon horus is weak becuse it ues a lot migc and now it is think to it sealf that he dos not waht him to ried and him clouds but that thinks if it can cange he will not ried on him so well his bake whas torn he just change in a fary
November 11th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Welcome back, Barb, I’m so glad to see so many things falling into place for you.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Hey Barb! Welcome back! So glad to hear that your trip was good and that you are in a happy place
So sad to hear about your troublesome computer problems 
Claude! Dude! Just say yes to the “horse”! Livy isn’t often wrong, and I doubt that this is one of the times that she is…lol. And as to monkey boy, just blast him out of the water. Or maybe out of his face… It’ll be fun!
November 12th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Noooo, not him again!! I think our new horse character may have something to say to that….I think it`s silly of Claudius that he refuses the amphekerons` offer, who knows what great value he might prove to be!
Welcome back Barb!! Glad to hear you had a great holiday and that you`re in loooove!
I hope your computerproblems will be solved soon, hard drive crashes are terrible… 
Do you have a link to where Lora is talking abou Love146? Can`t find it anywhere…
November 12th, 2009 at 5:50 am
yay! i thought we’d have to wait til next week to see a new page and was just visiting to vote – nice surprise! naturally claudius says the wrong thing again. he’s not very good at taking directions from livy either.
and i’m glad you had a nice trip to thailand and are seeing an upswing in your life!
November 16th, 2009 at 12:40 am
You’ve got to give Monkey Boy credit – he is persistent, and loyal. In a nuckin’ futs sort of way.
I love Livy’s expression in panel two… ^_^
I’m glad you had a great trip, and I love the pics – especially the one of you with the tiger!
You deserved the vacation!!
Welcome back!
^_^
November 16th, 2009 at 11:39 am
CONGRATS on everything Barb! Love, Happy, that incredibly big smile on your face with the tigger!
Also wanted to give you a great big kudos on your WCRCA’09 placements. Big Congrats in order for Tychia! That foxy vixen scored best Villian!!! I knew she would!
Great places on the rest of the categories too! All do to an awesome comic with impecable taste and art!
November 16th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Hey barb!! Welcome back, sorry to hear about all the run of odd luck…Great to see another page…
Claude definitely seems to be in over his head here doesn’t he?? I bet his new partner is about to prove his worth!