What is Ragnorosis? 

It is a trilogy!  My first attempt at a novel. 

The word is a portmanteau of Ragnarok and Gnosis, which came up as part of a semi-hallucination in a conversation with ChatGPT.

In my mind it also conjures the idea of an affliction, such as a psychosis, from being involved with or thinking too much about the end of the world (Ragnarok).

What do the words mean?

From the ChatGPT conversation:

Ragnarok: Ragnarok is a term from Norse mythology, specifically from the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, which are collections of Norse myths and legends. Ragnarok refers to the apocalyptic event that marks the end of the world and the subsequent rebirth of the cosmos. It involves a series of cataclysmic events and battles, including the final battle between the gods and the forces of chaos, resulting in the destruction of the existing world order. After Ragnarok, a new world rises from the ashes, and a few surviving gods and humans repopulate it.

Gnosis: Gnosis is a Greek word that translates to "knowledge" or "insight." In a religious or philosophical context, it refers to deep spiritual or intuitive knowledge, often associated with a direct, personal experience or revelation. Gnosis is often viewed as a transformative understanding that goes beyond intellectual or rational comprehension. It can encompass mystical, esoteric, or hidden knowledge about the nature of the self, the universe, or the divine. Gnosis is often pursued in various spiritual and philosophical traditions as a means of attaining enlightenment or a higher state of consciousness.

Where can I get a copy?

Kindle and Paperback versions are available on Amazon.com.

What tools are you using?

I primarily use hotpot.ai for the artwork and Book Brush for the cover art.  I have also used DALL-E, RunwayML, Udio, and ElevenLabs.  While writing, I have used ChatGPT and Pi as an enhanced search engine.  I also use YouTube's studio tools.

Important note about using AI: I understand many people in the creative space are in the "no AI" camp for a variety of reasons.  This is something I'd recommend everyone think about, which is why I generally put disclaimers up where I can to show that I'm using tools and how.  It's your decision whether you want to consume what I'm putting out.  I honestly am fine if you want to pass because I use AI tools.

I will say, I consider myself a writer, and so I generally limit my use of AI in writing to things like research.  I will ask LLMs questions like "tell me about the main spaceport the EU uses" or "how would a Norwegian swear".  To me, the value proposition in Ragnorosis is the story, not the marketing material, where I do rely heavily on AI.

That being said, my short stories do have a serialized AI co-writing experiment (which is clearly marked as such).  In these, the workflow is generally back and forth with many iterations between myself and an LLM, and I'd consider them 25% to 33% AI-written.  While some may consider this "cheating", as of late 2024, it takes significantly more effort to massage an LLM into writing portions of a story so that it will make sense than it does to just write it yourself.  This is not a shortcut for me to generate more content.  It is something I find interesting enough that I want to explore what is currently possible.

 
As far as the images/videos, if you have a problem with me using AI to generate images and videos and think I should hire an actual artist or do the work myself, fair enough.  Unfortunately, I do not currently have the budget in terms of time or money for that, and would rather focus my energy on the writing.  To me, the story is the creative work.  The marketing material is very ancillary.  If you're a "no AI purist" I'd recommend you vote with your wallet/attention and ignore my work. 

Are you on Social Media?

I wasn't before this project.  If you want to get a feel for the characters in the book, please check these out:

Instagram 

Twitter/X