X. Ho Yen's Author Newsletter (22 Sep 2026)
Greetings Dear Readers,
I don't know how to send these newsletter mass mailings without gmail. My new email provider, Proton, doesn’t do mass mailings. That's why this is coming from my old gmail address.
To subscribe: the subscription box “Older Posts >” link available at the bottom of the web newsletter
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If you’d like to UNsubscribe from this newsletter, hit reply and say as much. Easy peasy, no judgment, no problem. (Unsubscribing from Substack is separate and is done there.) Unsubscribing if you’re not interested HELPS me.
Mysubstack content replaces social media, and contains thoughtful and/or serious and sometimes even fun material (including my videos) that would never fit into tiny SM posts. (no more Youtube, which is google)
A case of mistaken AI-ity, a poem, and a local event
I was mistaken for an AI
Recently, at the suggestion of one of my comrades at Colorado Authors League, I contacted a fellow member to ask if he’d be interested in a mutual read-and-review. My books need more reviews.
He replied cautiously, saying he was concerned I was another AI scam.
Outreach is difficult enough for me, but that was like a spear through the heart. It’s probably the last time I’ll bother trying to contact anyone for mutual upward spiraling. The total flooding of the internet with fakery has finally put the last nail in that coffin.
I put my face over Hugh Borg myself, using Paint Shop Pro 9, not AI.
I wrote a poem
It’s about my lived experience reading novels, how it helps me.
It’s called “Lived Experience”. lol Irony about the human condition is free!
It’s short and simple. I’m no poet. But it’s honest and from the heart. You can read it here.
Local Event
I’ll be attending “Hero Fest” on 3 Oct 2026.
No, it’s not about superhero fandom, it’s about FIRST RESPONDERS.
Denver South High School, 1000-1400
1700 E Louisiana Ave, Denver, CO 80210
Swing by! I’d love to see you again.
Mainly I’ll be showing off my brain tasks for tweens book, “Space Autistic Author’s Puzzling Innerverse”, which is why I’ll be in the kids’ tent beside the grassy field full of inflatable jumping houses, because I don’t have a tent of my own. So there’s a good chance I’ll be wearing earplugs. :) If I don’t hear you, poke me. If I don’t move, call a first responder!
Latest Interview
For those who missed it, I was recently on Teri M. Brown’s “Online For Authors” podcast. It was great! I know you’ll enjoy it.
Teri's wonderful, concise blog entry with audio and video links is here:
https://www.terimbrown.com/blog/episode-9-8-26
And here's Teri's info:
FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor
X: @TeriMBrown1
IG: @TeriMBrown_Author
LinkedIn: @TeriMBrown
Online For Authors webcast: https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors
Teri's author youtube site: https://www.youtube.com/@TeriMBrown_Author
Teri's web site: https://www.terimbrown.com/
All purchase options can be found here: https://XHoYenAuthor.com/books (see the DISCOUNT links). There’s info on how you can gift eBooks.
Thanks for sticking with me! I hope it’s at least mildly entertaining to watch this author second career thing come together in the midst of one kind of strife or another.
Please do share my page with fellow realism-based sci fi fans, especially anyone who enjoys Older’s Infomocracy, Card’s Speaker for the Dead, or movies like “Arrival” and “Don’t Look Up”. I'm convinced my books would appeal to the same audience, because I wrote them for me and I'm in that audience.
Thanks for your support!
XHY
https://XHoYenAuthor.com