How I Landed My First Book Deal

Tinley Park passed an ordinance Tuesday to prohibit the sale, distribution and use of kratom, prompting objections from businesses and advocates, but granted a 12-month amnesty period for businesses primarily profiting from kratom sales, and a six-month period for those selling it as an accessory. The ordinance when fully implemented would ban all novel synthetic and psychoactive drug products. Kratom is an herbal substance from Southeast Asia commonly used for pain relief, mood enhancement and withdrawal symptoms. The ordinance prohibits the sale of psychoactive substances but does not restrict their possession.

Apple is reportedly stopping work on its next Vision Pro headset as analysts and supply chain partners have flagged slowing sales of the current device. According to The Information, the technology giant is halting plans for the second-generation high-end model but is working on a cheaper alternative. The publisher reports speaking with insiders involved in the supply and manufacturing of the headsets who say a more affordable Vision product will be released before the end of 2025. It’s expected this new version will have fewer features and will be sold at a lower price point, tipped to be around the $1500 mark.

The short-form video app TikTok has launched ‘Symphony,’ a creative content suite that is powered by generative AI. The most prominent feature is the video generation tool which can create short clips from an existing asset or a product URL. The new suite is aimed towards marketers and content creators on the app as they hope it’ll simplify the creative process and blend human imagination with the possibilities of artificial intelligence. In the offering, there’s the Symphony Assistant, Symphony Creative Studio, Symphony Digital Avatars, and optimizations in TikTok Ads Manager. What is the Symphony AI from TikTok? @tiktoknewsroom We’re helping brands turn discovery into measurable action, maximize their performance everywhere, and create entertainment that drives impact.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is undoubtedly one of the most exciting DLCs ever created. Anything adding to the experience of the base game was always going to be a solid experience but Shadow of the Erdtree appears to just knock it out of the park. One tweak to keep players from being overpowered in the new content is a new leveling system which aims to ensure things are on a more even playing field, even if you have pumped hundreds of hours into the Lands Between. Here, we’ll explain the new Shadow of the Erdtree leveling system including how to level up in this brand-new Elden Ring DLC. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree leveling system explained In Shadow of the Erdtree, while the traditional leveling through Runes is still very much a thing, there has been another layer added on top, allowing those who have hit the soft caps or simply can’t gather enough Runes to enhance their characters, to add more protection. This new layer is called Scadutree Blessing and can be upgraded to bolster both your damage negation as well as enhancing your attack power. Once you increase your Scadutree Blessing number, you can see these upgrades on the right side of your stats screen, highlighted in gold, so you know exactly what has been enhanced. Image via @GenePark on X The caveat to this new leveling system is that it is only in effect within the new DLC area.

You may well never have heard of Echo Generation, in which case, you are welcome. Unlocking in just a few hours time is Echo Generation: Midnight Edition and you are going to buy it and you are going to enjoy it. The reason? Because it’s great. The 90’s -inspired voxel turn-based adventure manages to be both enthralling and casual in equal measure.

Yesterday we were one of the first spots on the internet to bring you the news that Paradox Interactive had canceled the highly-anticipated life sim Life By You after pulling it from going into Early Access at the last minute. It was a bit of a shock announcement considering it was one of the games many people were looking into in 2024 and you can read the Paradox statement and reasons for the shelving to catch up should you need to. Losing your job is never easy and there is always there part where you want to hit out at your former employers, but in a heartfelt post on LinkedIn, one of the Life By You devs has spoken out about the goings on in the last few weeks and it raises yet more questions about the decision. It is important to note that William Delventhal says he was warned against speaking out as it may hurt his future career or even that legal action could be taken against him – he does not say who made these suggestions but is clear he has chosen to ignore them. Delvanthal posted, “I’ve known for some time that we might be getting shut down.