Malware and Potential Blog Move

Hello, everyone. Just coming by with some more news. I've been doing my best to work on the remaining CMW Gen Four chapters when I've got the time. I've been feeling pretty good about it, but then I found something unfortunate in my email today. I received a message from Blogger stating the most recent short story had been deleted due to violating their guidelines. Condensed version: it appears some internet malware snuck its way onto the post, which got it flagged as dangerous by Google, prompting Blogger to get rid of the whole thing under their "Malware and Viruses" clause. It is incredibly frustrating as there was no chance to be told of the issue or at least have the post simply unpublished, and it's even more frustrating since the matter was nothing I caused. There doesn't appear a way at this time to retrieve the short story. While I've done everything I can from my end to make sure there's nothing bad coming from my computer, the incident does leave me concerned as there's little I can do should something like this happen again or, even worse, should the whole blog get deleted for repeated "violations". Every search I did for preventing/resolving issues like this only led me to information about WordPress, even if I specifically typed for Blogger/Blogspot help. I'd kinda already been contemplating moving my content to WordPress, and this has really put me in the mindset that I should. I wanted to stick around here due to its nostalgia, yet there's also a lot of changes made to the interface that have put me off the place in the past year or so. While I don't think I'll be jumping ship immediately, just keep an eye out for updates I suppose. Also, if pages do give you warnings, let me know, and if the blog suddenly disappears, hopefully you'll have seen this beforehand. I'll try to name the new blog the same if possible if something that extreme happens, so search it out under that. I did back-up a copy of the blog's contents too to ensure I can access it later.

Hope you all are having more pleasant days 😂

~Kelsey

Color My World Short Story #12

 

I raised my head as I heard the familiar clack of polished shoes on wood. Like so many times before, my mind immediately went to the days of my childhood where I snatched Dad's shoes and danced my heart out trying to perform some tap. Those attempts ended when humiliation replaced cheerfulness. One of those shoes that had been far too big finally rocketed off my tiny toes and smashed Mom's nose. She laughed it off and complained more to Dad about why he felt the need to have footwear with such hard soles, but my tap dancing days were done.

    "Hey, Crys. Feeling any better?" Dad asked as he rounded the corner. He was already hovering over me with a sympathetic smile before I could answer.

   "Yeah. This new medicine is working a lot better than the other ones have. I'm still feeling a bit weak and unsteady though. Kinda cold too. Part of me wants to turn the fireplace on, but it's summer. That seems like it's a bit much," I smiled.

    "I can help you if you don't mind some cuddles."

    "How could I ever turn down cuddles? Just as long as you don't mind getting your clothes wrinkled."

    "Bah, what's a few creases?"

I scooted over for Dad to settle down next to me. The couch was a lot less manageable than it used to be when my crashes happened when I was little, but Dad refused to admit this old loveseat might not contain us for much longer. He snuggled me tight, and I closed my eyes relaxing into his secure hold. Too many times I'd ended up in the hospital because of my anemia. Him and Mom making sure to always be there with a warm hug was a gift I would never forget.

Happy Birthday and Some Updates!

Once again, it's been a while! I thought I'd taking this opportunity on the prodding date of my birthday to keep blog-only followers in the loop. It's been quiet here, but rather busy on Tapas! The new story I began there, "Kingdom of Sun", had constant updates and found itself doing well. It often trended and was featured on the website's front page. Then I decided to submit the story to staff. What had been a hope that I thought might come true way off in the future happened much sooner than expected as "Kingdom of Sun" was accepted into their Premium Program! I am now working with staff to make it better for a relaunch where readers will use ink, the Tapas currency gotten through either payment or watching ads/playing games, to unlock chapters. It's my first big step to making a career out of writing, and it naturally requires most of my effort. I have struggled to find time for "Color My World", which I do wish to continue although I know it has been a long time now since the last main update. My idea right now is to slowly work on it when I have the chance and begin posting again once the rest of Gen Four is completely done. That way I don't have to worry about constantly starting and stopping. I thank you for your immense patience! As a treat, I have another short story prepared for you today featuring a previously unmentioned character, Crystal. I hope you enjoy!

~Kelsey