Tag: folk music

Song of the Week

Nathan Evans Fox, “Hillbilly Hymn (Okra and Cigarettes)”

Hello! It’s Monday again.

Thank you to everyone who braved the heat to come out to the Kenosha Book Festival! I’ll be heading back out there in September for the last one of the year. I’m hoping it will be a pleasant fall day.

The newsletter will be going out on Thursday (the 31st). If you’re not signed up and would like to be, put your email in the box at this link, and then check your inbox for a confirmation. If you signed up at the festival, I’ll put your information in today, so you don’t need to do anything else.

I’ll be working on the first proper page of the comic this week, as well as the next episode of The Well Below the Valley. Last week’s episode will be up here on Wednesday for free reading. I appreciate your patience as I continue to try to get on a regular schedule. I don’t know if that will be happening anytime soon, but please believe that I’m trying.

A couple of petitions:

Via Demand Progress: Stop ICE’s human trafficking to foreign prisons

Via Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid: Demand that Congress and the White House act to deliver food to starving Palestinians

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon!

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!

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

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!

Song of the Week

Jesse Welles, “War Is a God”

Good morning!

I’m not sure if I can say I’m back yet, but I’m giving it a try. I’m almost done with Episode 9 of The Well Below the Valley, so that will be up on Patreon later this week (hopefully Wednesday), and then up here next week for free reading. As I work on the next episode, I’ll be trying to work out a sustainable posting schedule.

I’m also maybe two thirds of the way done with thumbnails for the first volume of the comic! Basically, I’m just sketching out panel layouts based on the script I’ve already completed. Once that’s done, I’ll be starting to draw.

Having given it some more thought, I’m not sure how much I love the title Chrysanthemum Dawn. It maybe has too many connotations of Imperial Japan, which I would like to tone down for two reasons: the setting is not Japan, though it takes some inspiration, and I’m opposed to imperialism generally as a human and more specifically as a human of Korean descent. I’ll do some brainstorming and get back to you. I’ll also take some pictures of the thumbnails to show you later this week.

Here’s some petitions that I’ve signed and you might like to as well:

Via Win Without War: Congress must pass War Powers Resolution

Via Civic Shout: Defend gender-affirming care to save lives

Via the Juggernaut Project: Don’t deport kids

As always, thanks for reading. I’ve missed you! Come by again soon.

Song of the Week

The Corrs, “My Lagan Love” (traditional)

Hello again!

What the Hex: Fates & Fae was a smashing success, though I may have gotten my name stolen by a fairy. I maintain that I did not give it up–she only noticed it on the front of a book. I did tell her that if she bought a book, she could have access to all the names within, but she didn’t take me up on my offer. I should be safe. At least she didn’t trick me out of my firstborn.

More to the point, I met some returning readers! These markets often have a different crowd every time, and I love meeting new people and talking about books, but it is so lovely to hear that someone liked my work (and in some cases, is coming back for more). So, thank you. You make all this worthwhile.

A new episode of The Well Below the Valley will be up on Patreon this week, hopefully by Wednesday. It’ll be up here for free reading next week. Sometime next week or the week after, baby should be here, and you won’t hear from me for a bit. I’ll be back with new episodes and some more about the comic sometime after the end of May, and I’ll be able to answer comments and emails through my maternity leave. I plan to be back to attending live events in July.

All of this is still up in the air, however, so I’ll keep you updated as much as I can.

A couple of petitions from my inbox this week:

Via No Business With Genocide: Strengthen the arms embargo on Sudan

Via Amnesty International: Return Kilmar Abrego Garcia and others

Via Free Speech for People: Investigate the Unlawful Kidnapping of Rümeysa Öztürk

Via Physicians for Human Rights: Keep immigration enforcement out of hospitals

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

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

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

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.