New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 10

With all due respect, Inspector, I don’t want your help.

You’re too close to the professor. You’re drawing me back into his nonsense, whether you mean to or not. 

I left Oxford, and then I left London. Ragnarsson pursued me even here, even after he died. 

I think I’ll never be free of him. 

Episode 10: All Who Have Ears to Hear

As promised, the shiny new episode of The Well Below the Valley is now available on Patreon. After experiencing some uniquely eldritch nightmares, our investigators split up in order to gather some more information about the town of Whitmoor, while in the background something darker looms.

I’ve also made the first episode free to access on Patreon (you can find it here), though it is already free to access here via the Stories tab above (under the Menu if you’re on mobile).

Song of the Week

Seth Staton Watkins, “Óró Sé Do Bheatha Abhaile” (traditional)

Good morning!

I have a shiny new episode of The Well Below the Valley for you, and it will go up on Patreon on Wednesday. All this week, I’ll be working on some comic pages. My plan is to make the comic available both here and on Patreon for free, but keep bonus art behind the Patreon paywall, which is only $3 a month. The bonus art will also be available in the print version, whenever that is ready. If you’re interested, you can sign up for Patreon as either a free or a paid member.

On Sunday, I’ll be at the Kenosha Book Festival! Here’s the Facebook event, and here’s the website. I would love to see you there and talk about books, comics, or whatever. The event takes place from 10 to 3 in the parking lot across from Studio Moonfall (5031 7th Ave., Kenosha, WI), and there will be at least one food truck. The food in past iterations has been excellent. In addition to local and indie authors, there will be great deals on secondhand books, and the first 100 guests will get a goody bag (so be sure to come early!).

A couple of petitions for this week:

Via Demand Progress: End violent ICE raids

Via Amnesty International: Demand “Alligator Alcatraz” be shut down

Via The Intercept: No American gulags

That’s all for now. I’ll be back with some art, and I hope to see you on Sunday!

New episode next week

Hi!

Episode 10 of The Well Below the Valley is just finished, but I think I want to stick to the Wednesday schedule for the time being. It will go up on Patreon next Wednesday and here the following Wednesday. This will give me a little more time to work on the comic. My baby has had the worst time napping 4/5 days so far this week, and I didn’t have the time to work that I thought I would. As I type, she is asleep on my chest, because she will scream if I try to put her down.

Thanks for your patience. I’ll have new stuff for both Patrons and blog readers soon.

Song of the Week

Small Fools, “Bone to Bone”

Good morning!

I am still working on the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley, because my baby apparently had a big brain growth spurt and didn’t want to nap at all last week. There were so many interesting things to look at! She also has finally had her first round of vaccines, so I can take her out in the world and find her even more interesting things to look at.

So, I’m hoping to have Episode 10 done by the end of the week, and I’ll be starting the first page of the comic as well. Gods and babies willing, I can have both of those things for you soon.

Also, don’t forget: I’ll be at the Kenosha Book Festival on July 27!

A couple of petitions for this week:

Via Win Without War: Demand the White House urgently deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza

Via Native Organizers Alliance: Shut down “Alligator Alcatraz”

Via Rep. Pramila Jayapal: Stop criminalizing homelessness

Comic Update

Pencil sketch of a tall man with large ears and long hair seated behind a desk. He is dressed in a kimono, his arm and shoulder out on the right side, and sarashi bandages around his midsection. He holds a stack of papers in one hand and an ink brush with the other, holding the brush up to his face pensively. A stack of books sits at his elbow. An oil lamp in the shape of sort of a squat goblet sits in the foreground.

I still have to get my drawing tablet set up, so enjoy this pencil drawing. His name is Tomoya Daichi and he is pretty important and importantly pretty.

Also, we have a new title: Last Watch Before Dawn. It better reflects the secret demon-hunting organization at the story’s heart, and avoids some heavy, real-world cultural connotations that will distract (or at least will distract me) from the fictional setting.

I’ll be working on getting the tablet set up this week, which means that actual comic pages are not far off. Stay tuned!

Song of the Week

Emer Kenny, “Siobhán”

Good morning!

I was going to get you the comic’s new title last week, but I wanted to have a drawing to go with it and didn’t manage to do one. I’m working on that today, so expect that announcement later.

I’m also working on Episode 10 of The Well Below the Valley, but it probably won’t be ready until sometime next week. I appreciate your patience! Between new episodes and pages of the comic, I’m hopeful that I will have enough new content coming out to keep you checking in, but I’m still working out a writing/drawing schedule. My baby is still sleeping pretty erratically (she only woke up once last night, and I feel almost like a human, but I’m not anticipating that will happen again anytime soon). She is just about two months old! She has started smiling and it’s the best.

My next in-person event will be the Kenosha Book Festival on Sunday, July 27. I’ll have more on that as we get closer, but I’m excited to be back and hope to see you there!

Some petitions, if you’re interested:

Via Win Without War: No war in Iran

Via MPower Action Fund: Block the bombs and Co-sponsor Rep. Jayapal’s resolution for urgent Gaza aid

Via Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Demand the closure of Guantánamo Bay

That’s all for the moment. Stop by again soon!

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 9: Green Grows the Lily

A bleak, leafless tree against a sepia-toned sky. Text reads: Space Whales Press presents The Well Below the Valley, an audio drama

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)

CLAIRE Cooper, harbinger of the new world. Female, late teens, Northern English accent.

Dr. MARJANI Kaur, caretaker of the women’s home. Female, early 30s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.

JASMINE Indrani, no longer an academic. Female, late 20s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, torn between horror and scientific curiosity. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, heir to ancient secrets. Female, mid-20s, posh English accent.

KURT Cross, who has accepted the occult but doesn’t like it. Male, early 30s, New York accent.

Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, believer in a better world despite all evidence to the contrary. Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

The voice of Professor Emundr RAGNARSSON, speaking once more from beyond the grave. Male, late 50s, Icelandic accent.

JONATHAN Martel, long-serving butler of the Westmont estate. Male, mid-50s, Northern English accent.

AURELIA Westmont, sole resident of the Westmont estate and Ellie’s favorite cousin. Female, late teens, posh English accent.

Sheriff Norbert OAKS, Whitmoor gatekeeper. Male, mid-40s, Northern English accent. 

JAMES MacDonald, friendly neighborhood bookbinder. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent. 

The voice of ESTRILDA de Westemond, witch in captivity. Female, early 20s, Northern English accent.

Scene 1: Int. Whitmoor Area Women’s Home, upstairs bedroom – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 9: Green Grows the Lily” →

Song of the Week

Tinariwen, “Nànnuflày”

This week, I bring you this song from a Touareg blues group.

I’m bringing you some other things too! The newsletter will be going out today at noon. On Wednesday, the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley will be up here for free reading. I’ll be working on the next episode and some preliminary drawings of the comic, as well as a new title for said comic, throughout the week.

That’s basically it for today. As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you come again soon.

Comic progress!

I’ve finished sketching the layout of every page. The art and science of comics is to guide the reader’s eye in the correct direction, ensuring they pause where the pacing needs to slow and move quickly when it needs to speed up. We’ll see how well I managed when I start drawing.

I guess I have to start drawing now. It’s intimidating, but I did this all to myself.

I’ll be working on a new and improved title, as well. I’ll be back with more updates when I have them.

New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 9

Everyone thinks I’m just a silly little girl, and he tricked me, but that’s not true at all. 

I wouldn’t have been chosen if I wasn’t worthy.

Soon, I’ll give birth to the new world. 

What’s this? New content?

Our intrepid investigators start uncovering the secrets of the town of Whitmoor and the Westmont family. Warning for implied body horror and reproductive coercion.

You can read this episode right now on Patreon!