Cornelius gazed up at Watt, their chests inches apart. His steely eyes seemed to glitter in the dark, like Lake Michigan under full moonlight. “I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.”
“Aventurier,” Watt whispered, overcome with an intense desire to bend down, and kiss Cornelius.
He—he wanted to kiss Cornelius.
He wanted Cornelius.
🧭🏳️⚧️🌈✨️
One of the goals we hit on the Kickstarter was a hardback, and Crossroad Art has been working on the cover. These fellas are not the main focus on the new cover, but boy are they handsome.
Only 26 days until The Voice of Wild Places releases !
“I just didn’t know how to live. I still don’t, but I’m getting better. I’ve asked for help and everything. Where I was going with this, is that I know when it feels like the end. But I can promise you, there’s always another road. Don’t give up yet.”
-phantom and rook
🌈✨️📖
September is Suicide Awareness Month. This is an issue that is dear to me, in case that wasn’t evident by the struggles I put my characters through, Arlo Rook especially.
Some of my favorite books that deal with this are A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, Lore and Lust, Summer Sons, An Unnatural Vice, and Jack of Thorns.
In some of these stories there are on page attempts, while others have active or passive ideation, or there was an attempt in the past. Please check TW as a good few of these are dark and full of angst.
It’s Sapphic September, and I’ve rejuvenated the book rec stash with fresh titles! I have to say, I think my favorite types of sapphic stories are the ‘she’s a little bit fucked up and a lot bit haunted’ and the good ol’ ‘I shall protect you with my life, my lady.’
After the chaos of the last year, and some consideration, I have decided to thin my Patreon tiers one last time. Instead of two tiers with content divided, there is now one which provides access to everything. Chapters excerpts, art, full short stories, the NSFW stuff, writing resources, all of it.
I hope this will make things more accessible, and less confusing. I have updated the layout, and collections.
When it comes to new stuff, the next few months are going to be chock full of it. Between the short stories, Mochizuki and Xlato, and Witchtober, there is a lot of new writing content coming to Patreon. As much as I love the explorers, it’ll be nice to switch it up and write about some new folks, and give you something different to read.
For art, there will be upcoming sneak peeks at the VOWP hardback cover, and a potential commission for one of my anthology stories.
For writer talk, I was thinking about a post-kickstarter discussion about what it was like to release a book that way, and how it’s gone so far.
Anything else you’d like to see from me on Patreon? I would love some feedback!
August was a great month for reading! I finished relistening to my favorite comfort books, the Big Bad Wolf series, and picked up a few I’ve had stashed away for awhile.
I love Lily Mayne’s work, and was a little nervous about starting Mortal Skin for some reason. But it was as fantastic as the rest of her books, and I can’t wait to start the next one.
I’ve been holding off on the Hazard and Somserset books because while they are wildly good, they are also incredibly dark and relevant. This is the first book in their second trilogy, and it kicks off with a severely depressed character trying to find his footing in life. One thing I love about these books is they are unflinchingly honest, and it was really cathartic. But that ending was probably the most messed up thing I’ve ever read, which means I need the next book so I can find out who the evil Moriarty-like villain is.
Mr. Collins in Love was given to me by the author as an ARC, and I really enjoyed this story! It was sweet, tender, and historically immersive. I do wish it was longer, and that I could’ve seen the aftermath of Collin’s decisions.
And the epic, romantic tale of Goldheart. Flowers growing out of the skin, loyal bodyguards, and a fantasy world built of layers upon layers of beauty, lore, and tricksy gods. Also, shout out to the cast of characters that are flawed, growing, and each as vital as the last.
September hopefuls are books that have been staring at me longingly from my shelf for far too long. I’ve already started The Devourers and Dudes Rock, but I had to take a break because the mood wasn’t right. Phantom and Rook may wait until October, but I want to start my reread soon in preparation for writing book three.
Gagakuma Draws is hosting this fun challenge next month, and I’m tagging along ! We have done a Witchtober prompt list in the past, which was a great time and yielded many short stories for me. (Including what would become the prologue to Mochizuki and Xlato, and the lesbian blacksmith short)
Instead of 31 days, we’re doing 13. Burnout and all that. Feel free to use the prompt list as you wish for any kind of creative activity, from art to writing, and more. Do it consecutively, spread them out, or however you like.
Give it a share, share your work, and let’s revel in the finer months of the year. If you’d like us to share, use the tag! #13DaysOfWitchtober
All aboard, this ship is getting ready to take off. The Kickstarter is funded, and we met two stretch goals !
This means bonus short stories, a special hardback edition illustrated by Crossroad Art, and one grateful and overjoyed indie author.
There are 112 backers who all get first stabs at the special hardbacks. These will be ready to go shortly after the new year, and I’ll be opening pre-orders for everyone else in December, starting with Patreon and newsletter folk.
Neshama Publishing 