Category: music

Song of the Week

Kamelot, “Veil of Elysium”

Also check out the acoustic version.

Hello! It’s Monday again.

I’m so proud of and grateful for everyone who went out to protest on Saturday, especially because I am currently too big and round to attend myself. May this be the start of something momentous.

I’m also proud of Wisconsin for turning out to vote last week! The polling place where I work was so busy that we ran out of ballots, but with a little patience and the accessible electronic voting machine, we managed to get everyone’s vote counted.

I am definitely slowing down, and my body and brain are both tired all the time, but I’m going to do my very best to get you a new episode of The Well Below the Valley this week. The comic script is also coming along.

Here’s a couple of petitions for this week:

Via MoveOn.org: Protect LGBTQ and immigrant sanctuary communities

Via Action Network: Denounce attacks on immigrants fleeing authoritarianism and violence

Via The Intercept: Free Rumesya Ozturk

That’s all for today. Thanks for being here.

Song of the Week

Ego Likeness, “Breedless”

Good morning!

Tomorrow is election day in Wisconsin (and a couple other places, as well). I want to encourage you to vote, particularly my fellow Wisconsinites, because the election of a Supreme Court Justice and the Superintendent of Schools is going to make a huge difference for me and my impending child. I don’t want to use this platform to tell you whom to vote for, but if you’ve read anything I’ve ever written, you can probably guess in which direction I’d encourage you. Myvote.wi.gov will have any information you might need, and if you’re not registered, you can register on Election Day at your polling place.

The latest episode of The Well Below the Valley will be available for free reading on Wednesday. It’s currently up on Patreon (I forgot to announce it again; sorry!) if you’re interested in reading early. This week, I’m trying to finish up the next episode and the script for the comic, but between election day and my increasingly frequent doctor’s appointments, I may not complete either, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

Barring any emergencies, I plan to attend What the Hex: Fates & Fae Edition on Sunday, April 27. That will be the last event I’m going to attend before the baby gets here (mid-May), though I hope to be back to doing things by late July. I’ll keep you posted!

No petitions today; just go vote!

Song of the Week

Pancho’s Lament, “Perfect Place”

Good morning! Bit of a deep cut for you today.

On Friday, I’ll be at Studio Moonfall, 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI for an Author Night! I’ll be hanging out from 4 until 7 in the evening, and I’ll have plenty of books to sign (but feel free to bring a copy you’ve already acquired!). It will also be Free Book Friday, so you can pick out something from the shop’s secondhand collection while you’re there.

I’ll have a shiny new episode of The Well Below the Valley up on Patreon for you on Wednesday. I’m coming to the end of my previously released material, and I’m eight weeks away from my due date, so I may be slowing down on this project. I’m going to do my best to keep up this fairly relaxed posting schedule and build up more backlog over the next couple of months.

Based on my rough calculations, I’m about 60% of the way through the comic script. The outline already contains 39 pages, much more than the standard 22-24 (I was planning on this first bit being an issue like one would find at a newsstand or get in the mail). Maybe it’ll end up long enough to be a graphic novel on its own, or maybe I’ll split it up. The page count may also change as I finish the script and move on to storyboarding.

Also, a quick note, if you’re boycotting Amazon, all my books are available on plenty of other platforms! You can find most of the major ones under the Buy my books tab, including Thriftbooks and Bookshop.org, but some searching on whatever your favorite platform is should turn them up.

Some petitions for this week:

Via Daily Kos: Release Mahmoud Khalil

Via Just Foreign Policy: Allow humanitarian aid into Gaza

Via the Friends Committee on National Legislation: Restart refugee admissions

Via Amnesty International: End genocide in Gaza

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Stop by again soon!

Song of the Week

Mediaeval Baebes, “Erthe Upon Erthe”

Hi! It looks like I forgot to put a post up here about the newest episode of The Well Below the Valley being on Patreon. I promise it’s there! In my defense, I am very pregnant.

That episode (number 5, “And There Is Nothing Green That Remains”) will also be up here on Wednesday for free reading.

I had a lovely time at Story Keepers Books last week! My next excursion will be to Studio Moonfall in Kenosha on March 28. More on that as we get closer.

I’m just about done reworking the episodes of The Well that I had done previously, so we’ll be moving into uncharted (or less-charted, anyway) territory soon. I’m about a full episode ahead of you right now, so I’ll be starting Episode 7 this week. I’m also plugging my way through the comic script. I’m hoping to finish it this month and get started on thumbnails.

Some petitions I’ve gathered for this week:

Via the National Women’s Law Center: Stop the erasure of trans people

Via Save the Children: Demand a future for Syria’s children

Via Amnesty International: Save US foreign aid, save lives

Via the ACLU: Free Mahmoud Khalil

That’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Song of the Week

Neil Young, “Rockin’ in the Free World”

Good morning! Here’s a classic for you.

On Thursday, I’ll be at Story Keepers Books (7035 W Greenfield Ave, West Allis, WI) for a reading and Q&A session! This lovely little secondhand bookshop just opened back in December, and the proprietors are so friendly and welcoming (and really know their books!). They’ve got a few copies of my books left if you’d like to pick one up ahead of time, and I’ll bring more. The event starts at 6pm.

I’ll have a new episode of The Well Below the Valley up on Patreon for you on Wednesday. I’m working on the next episode and more of the script for the comic, of which you can find a quick preview here.

Also, quick note, if you’re boycotting Amazon, my books can be found in all sorts of other places! If you can’t make it out to Story Keepers, I recommend bookshop.org, but most online retailers (including ebook-only platforms) will have all three titles.

Couple of petitions I’ve found this week:

Via the ACLU: Stop attacking transgender Americans

Via Win Without War: No more bombs for Netanyahu and Support the Neighbors Not Enemies Act

Via RootsAction: Sign the Pledge of Noncooperation with Mass Deportation

I hope to see you in person on Thursday! In any case, have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Quaker City Night Hawks, “Some of Adam’s Blues”

Good morning!

I didn’t have any comic updates last week–so sorry! Friday got away from me. I’ll have something for you this Friday. The script is coming along, but it’s already way longer than I had planned. I was hoping everything I wanted to get to in the first issue would fit in the standard 22-24 pages, but I’ve hit that number in my script already, and I have several more scenes to get through.

I just have to remember that I’m doing this by myself, for the first time, armed only with a drawing tablet, Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics (plus a lot of online resources and some of my favorite comics), and a dream, so it’s a learning process.

On Wednesday, I’ll have the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley up here for free reading. I’m an episode ahead of you right now, and I think we’ll have one or two more to finish this first arc (corresponding to Part One of the Call of Cthulhu module).

This month, I’m going on a Tiny Book Tour! I’ll be stopping at Story Keepers Books in West Allis, WI on Thursday, March 13 (5:30-7), and at Studio Moonfall in Kenosha, WI on Friday, March 28 (4-7). I hope you can come to either or both! At Story Keepers, I’ll be doing a reading and a Q&A session, while the Studio Moonfall event is more casual. In either case, I will be signing books (and you can pick up some copies if you need them) and hanging out to talk about whatever readers want to talk about.

I think that’s all for today. I’ll have more petitions next week. Thanks for reading, and stop by again!

Song of the Week

Allison Russell, “Persephone”

Good morning!

I had a lovely time at the Spooky Frog Book Fair! Thanks to everyone who climbed the stairs to see us. I hope you enjoy the books!

The newsletter will go out on Friday, so if you haven’t signed up yet and want to (there are bonus cat pictures in it), you can put your email in the box at this link. Be sure to check your inbox for a confirmation, or it won’t add you to the list. If you signed up at the book fair, I’ll be adding you today; no need to do anything.

On Wednesday, the next episode of The Well Below the Valley will be up on Patreon! We’ll get to know some new characters and solve the puzzle the late professor was carrying around in his briefcase. I’ll be working on Episode 5 this week, as well as the first issue of the comic. I’m hoping to finish the comic script soon and get started on storyboarding, which is a much more interesting thing for you to look at, but I’ll see if I can post a bit of the script on Friday as a fun teaser.

Couple of petitions for this week:

Via Left Click: Stand against the expansion of Guantánamo Bay for immigrant detention

Via Native Organizers Alliance: Stop racist mass deportations

Via Our Revolution: Stop weapons sales to Israel

That’s all I’ve got for today. Take care and have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Jensen McRae, “Dead Girl Walking”

Good morning!

Wisconsin readers: tomorrow is the primary election for State Superintendent of Schools. I’ve been working at a polling place every election for the past few years, and usually for these local races, I spend most of the day reading (and get through 2-3 entire books). I really want to encourage you to get out and vote. These smaller offices have more of an impact on your daily life than positions at the federal level, and a lot of the resistance to illegal executive orders over the past few weeks have come from state-level authorities. If you need help registering or finding your polling place, myvote.wi.gov has everything you need.

I’ll be at the Spooky Frog Horrifying Book Fair this Saturday! This is my first event for the new year. I’ll be joining a delightfully eclectic collection of horror authors and artists from 11-5 at The Factory on Barclay here in Milwaukee. Here’s the Facebook event with more info.

On Wednesday, Episode 3 of The Well Below the Valley will be up here for free reading. I’ll be starting Episode 5 this week, and I hope to have some more updates on the comic as well by Friday.

Petitions for this week:

Via MPower Change: Tell Microsoft to stop partnering with Israel’s genocide

Via The Juggernaut Project: Denounce Trump’s hateful attacks on transgender Americans

Via Campaign for a New Myanmar: Call for a global arms embargo on Burma’s military junta

Via Win Without War: Don’t fund Trump’s Guantánamo Bay immigrant prison

That’s all I’ve got for today. Take care and stay warm!

Song of the Week

Delgres, “Vivre Sur la Route”

Good morning!

This week, I’m working on Episode 4 of The Well Below the Valley, as well as the script for the first issue of Chrysanthemum Dawn. Episode 3 of The Well will be up on Patreon on Wednesday! It’ll be here for free reading next week.

I am still a ways off from posting any of the comic. After scripting comes storyboards/thumbnails, and then the actual drawing, plus lettering and other formatting worries. I am both blessed and cursed to live in a time where I can do most, if not all, of this myself, rather than relying on a small army of artists. In any case, I’m very excited to be making this idea a real thing, and I hope to have more things to show you soon.

Here are some petitions I’ve gathered for you this week:

Via Amnesty International: Save USAID, save lives

Via Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Permanent ceasefire and self-determination for Palestinians

Via Native Organizers Alliance: Stop mass deportations

Via Civic Shout: Denounce attacks on transgender Americans

That’s what I’ve got for today. Take care and have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

The Decemberists, “Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)”

Good morning!

This week, I’ll be finishing up Episode Three of The Well Below the Valley and working on an outline/script for the first issue of the comic, which now has a title: Chrysanthemum Dawn. In case you missed it, Episode Two of The Well can now be read for free here.

My first event of the year will be Saturday, February 22: the Spooky Frog Horrifying Book Fair! I’ll be amongst an eclectic collection of other horror authors and spooky artists at The Factory, 1120 S Barclay St, Milwaukee. Admission is only $3, and the event runs from noon until 5.

Also, you can find my books on the shelves at Storykeepers Books in West Allis! I’ll be there for a talk in March, so I’ll have more information about that later. I’m very excited to be working with another independent book store.

I am incredibly overwhelmed with everything that has been happening, but here’s something I can do:

Via Demand Progress: Block funding for the deporation machine

Via the American Friends Service Committee: Stop deportations now

Via Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Demand Palestinian self-determination and liberation

Via Action Network: Defend birthright citizenship

Via the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: Hands off Palestine

The petitions I share are based on the roughly 200 emails I receive every day, and all the important issues are not covered (e.g., I’m very concerned with the stripping of rights from our trans friends and siblings). If you have some helpful things to share, please do!

Okay. That’s all for today. I love you, thanks for being here, be gentle with yourself and others this week.