Not too many crashes since I last reported in!
Our friend Ichiro is still having a bad time below. I can promise it will get better, but not for a while.
Continue reading “Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 28”Tag: books
Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 27
I wouldn’t say I’m getting better at formatting text in Photoshop, but I am getting faster.
I did a panel with a detailed shot of the clan jito’s face on this page, and I’m considering leaving him in shadow when I do edits and redraws? Ichiro would definitely experience him mostly as a shadowy figure; this isn’t a close, affectionate family. Let me know what you think.
For the page I’m working on right now, a couple ahead of this one, I need to get one panel done per baby nap for the rest of the week. Wish me luck!
Image is below the cut:
Continue reading “Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 27”Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 23
Past Me, being very dumb and kind of a jerk, decided that a top-down view would be the best way to establish the scene and the two characters in relation to one another. The version of me who had to draw this was very upset. I am comfortably two pages ahead of you right now, down from three, and I think this particular panel was why.
Anyway, we’re moving along in this chapter, which is the third of five. This one is earning us the “dark” in “dark fantasy,” so be aware of just a miserable situation including obvious addiction in the page below.
Continue reading “Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 23”Year in Review, Part the Second
Here we are again!
Before I get into it, I want to remind you that the paperback sale is still on through tomorrow! All my books are 20-25% off (depending on the title) directly from the printer, which gives you a better price than other retailers and gives me a slightly better cut.
So, I had a baby this year instead of putting out another book. She’s now seven months old, smiling and laughing, trying all different kinds of foods, and almost crawling (she really, really wants to). She’s the best thing I ever made.
I did manage to make some progress on other projects. The Book of the New Moon Door is now an audiobook read by Beni Vaganov and Rachael Brolin. It’s available on several platforms (and possibly your local library app), though we’re still waiting on Audible.
Last Watch Before Dawn now has seventeen pages for you to read! I’m devoting all my working time to this project in order to get a new book out for you next year. The first volume will be about 90 pages, so I’ve got a ways to go.
I also got to thirteen episodes of The Well Below the Valley. Since it’s not likely to become a book that you can hold in your hands anytime soon, I decided to put it on hold for the time being. Eventually, I’ll come back to it, and it’ll be an audio drama and a script/art book.
Next year, I’m hoping to try out a few new markets and events and revisit ones I liked but had to miss this year. Last Watch Before Dawn will be several volumes, so I’m going to be continuing with that, and I’d like to get a second project going as well, time constraints allowing. I’m also planning on putting together hardcover editions of my three existing books, and maybe this will be the year I finally get my Patreon into shape! You’ll just have to stick around to find out.
So, as always, thank you for being here. You make this all worth it. I hope 2026 is a gentler year for all of us.
Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 13
This page has eight panels. This may be too many.
Onward and forward:
Continue reading “Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 13”Holiday Sale!
From now through the end of the year, you can purchase each of my books in paperback directly from the printer at a discounted rate!
Get Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea (super gay sword-and-sorcery) for $12/£10 (down from $14.99)
Get Journey to the Water (super gay sword-and-sorcery, part two) for $15/£12 (down from $19.99)
In addition to giving you the sale price, using these links also gives me a slightly better cut than I’d get from a retailer like Amazon. I hope this helps a bit with your holiday shopping!
Also, if the audio of The Book of the New Moon Door disappeared from your preferred audiobook source, it should be back shortly. There was an error in one of the files, and I believe I have fixed it.
Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 7
Here it is! Let’s see if I can do another one before the week is out.
Image below the cut to save your data:
Continue reading “Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 7”Song of the Week
Loreena McKennitt, “Between the Shadows”
Good morning and happy Indigenous People’s Day!
I am running on very little sleep, but I should have the next episode of The Well Below the Valley ready today. It’ll go up on Patreon on Wednesday. I’ll also be starting a new page of Last Watch Before Dawn this week, in which we’ll finally get some dialogue!
The audiobook of The Book of the New Moon Door is coming along. I think I can safely say that it will be out sometime in November, hopefully early. I’d love to have it ready so that it’s available for anyone who needs something to listen to during holiday travel. I’ll update you as the process goes!
I’ll be out and about this weekend, so if you’re free and in the Milwaukee area, I’d love to see you! First up is the Spooky Frog Horror Book Fair on Saturday the 18th. We’ll be at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel from 11AM to 4PM. There will be horror authors as well as artists and craftspeople, free hors d’oeuvres while they last, and a live DJ set by Goth Barge. Entry is only $5. If you’re going to the protests that day, I wish you power and safety, whether or not you can find the time to stop by.
On Sunday the 19th, I’ll be at What the Hex: Dia de Muertos from noon until 5PM at Dresden Castle on Underwood, Cudahy, WI. Entry is only $3 and gets you access to the market, live performances, and workshops on magic and healing. What the Hex is always a fantastic time, so if you’ve never made it to one, I highly encourage it.
Some petitions:
Via No Business With Genocide: Stop the UAE from fueling genocide in Sudan
Via Civic Shout: Hold ICE accountable for civil rights violations
Via the National Campaign for Justice: Demand governors fight Trump’s attempts to deploy their National Guard
That’s all I’ve got for today. Take care, stay warm, and stop by again soon!
The Well Below the Valley, Episode 9: Green Grows the Lily
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”The Well Below the Valley, Episode 8: And In the Lowest Deep, a Lower Deep Opens Wide
Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)
FREYDÍS Emundrsdóttir, in search of closure. Female, late 20s, slight Icelandic accent.
Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, torn between following orders and pursuing the truth. Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.
Chief Superintendent Winston PEMBROKE, Sr., determined to put this whole affair behind us. Male, early 60s, English accent with audible mustache.
KURT Cross, former actor and perhaps current believer in magic. Male, early 30s, New York accent.
William “WILL” Grey, bartender and gatekeeper of the Cross and Coin. Male, late 20s, London accent.
Dr. ERNEST Wilde, botanist and believer in rationality. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.
Professor Frederick HALE, another of Milton’s victims. Male, early 50s, posh British accent.
Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, descendent of a long line of occultists and eccentrics. Female, mid-20s, posh English accent.
JASMINE Indrani, interim director of the Whitmoor Area Women’s Home. Female, late 20s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.
MARJANI Kaur, resident doctor of the Whitmoor Area Women’s Home. Female, early 30s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.
CLAIRE Cooper, the chosen one. Female, late teens, Northern English accent.
Scene 1: Int. Scotland Yard – Day
Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 8: And In the Lowest Deep, a Lower Deep Opens Wide”
Space Whales Press 