Song of the Week

Depeche Mode, “Personal Jesus”

On Saturday, I discovered that my orange boy, Solaire, had swatted my Bluetooth earbuds off the table. He then proceeded to chase one of them to places unknown. Because it was out of its case, the earbud connected to my phone, so in a rare stroke of genius I decided to turn the volume all the way up and play something loud so I could find it. This was the first song that came up that fit the bill.

Since the small object had stopped moving, Solaire was only mildly interested in the proceedings.

Anyway, my headphones have been recovered, and it’s Monday again. It’s horribly cold here, and the air is so dry that my nose keeps bleeding, so I hope you’re staying warm and have enough lotion to submerge yourself.

I’m also feeling my baby move! Relatedly, I have increased in size enough that a nice man held both doors open at the post office for me.

This week, I’ll be working on the next episode of The Well Below the Valley and doing some prep work for my comic, as well as a long-overdue Patreon cleanup. I’m hoping to have some good stuff over there soon–extra art, maybe stickers?–as well as the usual new chapters/episodes in advance.

Petitions have been thin on the ground lately, but here’s what I’ve got:

Via People for the American Way: Urge the House to reject anti-trans rules bill

Via Justice Democrats: Tell Biden to use the rest of his presidency to end the genocide in Gaza

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

Growing Things

As promised, garden pictures! Here are some things growing in our garden this fine May day.

A bright yellow marigold, photographed from above.

Marigolds

A rose bud and a fully bloomed miniature rose, surrounded by green leaves and covered in dandelion seeds.

Roses

The wide, heart-shaped green leaves of a pumpkin plant, photographed from above.

Pumpkins

A tiny, fuzzy peach growing on a small branch, surrounded by leaves.

A peach?

A fluffy black cat lying on his side on the sidewalk, with fluffy belly on display.

And of course, Max the neighbor cat.

Song of the Week

Billie Eilish and Khalid, “lovely”

Happy Labor Day! In honor of workers past and present, I hope you find some rest today.

Because I don’t have enough projects (ignore the stacks of notes and half-finished drafts; those are my emotional support works in progress), I’m starting something new on Instagram (you can also see it on my Facebook page). My friend and collaborator Brooke started a project called #tarotember last year, wherein each day of September is focused on a different tarot card or suit. Last year, she painted the majority of her deck, the Figuratively Speaking Tarot, while I took some moody pictures and made a playlist.

#tarotember
Aug. 31 Fool
1 Magician
2 High Priestess
3 Empress
4 Emperor
5 Hierophant
6 Lovers
7 Chariot
8 Strength
9 Hermit
10 Wheel
11 Justice
12 Hanged One
13 Death
14 Temperance
15 Devil
16 Tower
17 Star
18 Moon
19 SUn
20 Judgment
21 World
22 Page 
23 Knight
24 Queen
25 King
26 Cups
27 Wands
28 Swords
29 Pentacls
30 Card Back
This year’s Tarotember prompts

This year, I am introducing the universe for a new and as-yet-untitled project, a space opera set in a galaxy of warring kingdoms and palace intrigue, psychic pilot-knights and lost alien civilizations, and also queer romance and tarot themes! The first chapter, titled “The Knight of Ships,” will release on October 1, after the challenge concludes (and one day before Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee!). Eventually, this project will be both a book and an accompanying deck, currently titled the Tarot of the Gates. Brooke has painted a few cards for it already, and while she works on other projects, I’m creating placeholder graphics for the challenge. Each day reveals more about the setting, so follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook for some new sci-fi/fantasy goodness.

Don’t worry, I am not abandoning any of my other projects! A new chapter of Journey to the Water will release tomorrow on Patreon, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will appear here on the blog on Wednesday. Also, in case you missed it, Episode 6 of The Well Below the Valley is available on Patreon as of September 1, and you can read a free preview here.

As a final note, Shepard is six months old today, and just as cute as ever:

A gray and orange tabby/tortoiseshell kitten sleeps on a tan and blue striped pillow, her head raised and her paws folded politely underneath her.
A rare moment when she’s sitting still enough for a picture.

I think that’s all for this week! Thanks for being here.

Song of the Week

Nina Simone, “Blackbird”

Good morning.

The new kitten, Shepard, is settling in very well! She’s out of her confinement room full-time now, with only a little scrambling around at night, and Solaire plays with her pretty regularly. He’s not ready to snuggle with her, though, and will bite her toes if she tries.

Two cats sleep back to back on a dark green couch, curled into semi-circles. On the left is a four-month-old gray tabby with orange patches, and on the right is a chunky orange and white cat, who is sleeping on a stack of notebooks because he's weird like that.
This is the closest they’ve gotten so far.

This week, I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up here on the blog on Wednesday. I’ll also be on Twitch on Friday evening to play a game and chat about writing!

As always, I appreciate you. If you like what you read here, could you tell your friends about me? Word-of-mouth really helps me find more readers! And if you’ve read Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, you can leave a review wherever you purchased it.

Have an excellent week!

Song of the Week

Cat Power, “Cross Bones Style”

Hello! I hope you’re doing well this Monday morning.

This will be a pretty normal week around here: new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of Journey to the Water will be up on the blog Wednesday.

I do have two news items, though! First, I’m starting Twitch streaming again with the Tea and Sidequests channel. The plan is for me to stream Fridays and talk about some aspect of fantasy writing. This week, I’ll be playing Totally Accurate Battle Simulator and discussing fight scenes. On Saturdays, my husband/streaming partner will be doing exercise challenges.

Second, we have a new kitten! Her name is Shepard and she is four months old. She’s already helping me work (when she isn’t walking across my keyboard).

Shepard, a brown-and-gray tabby kitten, lies next to a laptop with both paws draped across the keyboard.
Editor Shepard
Shepard receives belly rubs while reaching toward the camera with black toe-beans. Her eyes are brown with a little blue around the pupil.
She is very wiggly and never stops purring.

Solaire isn’t sure how to feel about her, but I think with time and patience they will become friends.

As always, thanks for being here, and have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Vienna Teng, “Green Island Serenade”

This was Odin the cat’s favorite song. I worked second shift for a number of years, while my husband worked 8-4, so Odin and I would spend mornings together listening to music. This song always got him to relax and come sit on my lap before I left for work. I played it a lot for him these last couple of weeks, as his health declined and he was anxious and uncomfortable.

I am slowly adjusting to his absence. Solaire, my younger cat, is helping, but he’s an independent boy and isn’t as snuggly. As I write this, he’s on top of the cat tree in the next room, looking out the window for rival neighborhood cats.

The latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up on the blog on Wednesday. I am working on the next chapter of Journey to the Water and the first episode of The Well Below the Valley for Patreon, but I missed a lot of working days last week while Odin needed attention. They’ll be ready soon. Thank you for being patient with me.

I wish you many hugs this week in honor of Odin.

Odin

A black and white cat sits in a "loaf" position with his feet tucked beneath him. He looks at the camera with half-lidded eyes and a content expression.

My sweet boy passed away peacefully yesterday evening. This is a picture from happier, healthier times.

Please be patient with me as I adjust to working without my constant writing companion.

Song of the Week

Takénobu, “Shady Grove” (Appalachian folk song)

Hello again. It’s Monday.

Not too much happening this week: there will be a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door up on Patreon tomorrow. I’m also working on the audio drama script I wrote about last week. If you’ve got an extra three dollars a month and want to support what I do, now is an excellent time to sign up for Patreon. If you sign up before the end of the month, you’ll get the first episode of The Well Below the Valley for free, as you won’t be charged until April 1.

I should be back to something resembling a regular posting schedule next week.

Odin update:

Continue reading “Song of the Week”

Song of the Week

Afro-Celt Sound System, “Release”

It’s Monday again. I hope you are safe and warm, wherever you are.

I don’t have a new chapter for you this week, but the latest chapter of Journey to the Water (which was released on Patreon last week) will be up here on Wednesday. If you haven’t read the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door, you can find it here.

I’ll be giving New Moon Door chapters names to make them a little easier to navigate, so keep an eye out for that. I should also be able to announce a new, Patreon-exclusive project later this week! Regular chapters should resume next week.

Odin update:

Continue reading “Song of the Week”

In case you missed it…

The Tea and Sidequests Twitch channel has an accompanying YouTube channel, where you can watch past streams, such as this one:

We’ll be back on Twitch tomorrow evening!