Tag: folk music

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.

Song of the Week

Lord Huron, “The Yawning Grave”

Good morning!

So, to recap, the second episode of The Well Below the Valley is on Patreon now. It will be here for your (free) reading pleasure on Wednesday. The scripts have three different sets of formatting now: one in the original Google doc, one on Patreon, and one for WordPress, and it’s a huge pain, so I appreciate your patience as I put new episodes out.

I’ll be starting the third episode this week. They’re considerably longer than my usual serial chapters (6,000 to almost 9,000 words, compared to the normal 2,000), so I’m thinking I’ll have a new one for you every other week rather than weekly.

I did not manage to get more art out last week, but I’ll have it for you in the next couple of days. I’m working on some sketches of the protagonists. That will be available here as well as Patreon, so no paywall. Next up will be deciding on a title and outlining the first issue.

In lieu of petitions for today, here are a couple of useful things:

The ADC (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee) has launched an emergency legal hotline for Arab and Muslim Americans to help with discrimination, harassment, immigration concerns, etc. You can call 844-ADC-9955 (844-232-9955) or email legal@adc.org. If you know someone who might need it, pass it along!

The administration has opened a “snitch line” to report secret DEI work. I’m not sure what “secret DEI” entails, exactly, but you can flood the line with nonsense to make it unusable. You can use Eko’s automated tool here, or you can look at that page for the tip line and send your own nonsense.

That’s what I’ve got for you today. Stop by again for some art and the next episode of The Well Below the Valley. Have an excellent week!

Song of the Week

Hozier, “Francesca”

Good morning! I’m back!

The Figuratively Speaking Mermaid Tarot Kickstarter was a smashing success. Thank you so much to everyone who pledged. As soon as I hear from Brooke, I will let you know when you can expect your decks in the mail.

I will be working on Journey to the Water until it’s finally done, so you won’t hear much from me. I’ll stop by on Friday for an update.

This month, I’ll be attending What the Hex: Season of the Witch on October 20 in Cudahy, WI, and the Fall Fon du Lac Spirit Fair on October 26. Links lead to their respective Facebook events. I hope to see you there!

It’s October 7 again, and the bombs are still falling and the hostages still haven’t been returned. Tens of thousands are needlessly dead.

Via USCPR: Tell Congress to stop arming Israel

Via Win Without War: Urge President Biden to de-escalate this crisis

Via AFSC: Tell Congress to prevent regional war

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

Song of the Week

Brandi Carlile, “Mama Werewolf”

Good morning! I hope you have some rest from your labors today. Just a quick update for this week.

First, in case you missed it, the Kickstarter for the Figuratively Speaking Mermaid Tarot has launched! Click here to see all the cards and look at the rewards and stretch goals. I’ve backed it, and I highly recommend you do, too.

I’ll be going to the Awkward Nerd Book Fair on September 22! It’s a throwback to the Scholastic Book Fairs of our youths, but geared toward adults. More on that as we get closer, but you can go here for more information.

Journey to the Water rewrites continue, and I’ll try to have something interesting for you to read later this week, probably Friday.

Petitions for this week:

Via Amnesty International: Join the call for a ceasefire and weapons suspension

Via Rep. Rashida Tlaib: End repressive tactics against pro-Palestine protests

Via Win Without War: Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act without delay

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