The Cat & the Comma Issue # 36

I wrote most of a February recap newsletter, but then time got away from me and I was unable to post it. And then March came and went to much of the same. Before I knew it, I had taken a four month break—mostly on accident. It was needed, though, and now I’m dipping my toe back into writing and creation and whatnot. And also, it’s Pride!

Let’s talk about what I’ve been up to.

Misc. Professional Update

I have been in a slow period for a long while, and then all of a sudden I had acceptances for a string of events in a row.

First, the two events I did in April: I was an attending author for Indie Bookstore Week! There is a string of bookstores in my county that collaborate every year to do a big bookstore crawl. I got to appear at a couple of them and sell books. It was a lot of fun! Next up, I’ll be at Stanwood-Camano Pride once again on June 6th, which I’m very excited about!

And then, the event I’m most eager for: I’m going to a book festival! Stanwood Book Fest will be occurring August 8, 2026, in Stanwood, Washington. I’m so excited to take part in this debut event along with so many other neat local authors, and I’ll be tabling with an author from one of my writing groups, too! If you’re in the area, come say hello! I’m hoping to have a surprise ready in time for this, too…

As for other writing events… No response yet on “Gestalt,” though I remain hopeful about it. But “Honey, Intravenous” once again remains in the drafts. I’ll fix that… some day.

And now, some unfortunate news.

It seems the hits against self published authors will not stop coming. The latest instigator? Draft2Digital, the platform a lot of indie authors rely on to get their books distributed across multiple platforms from just one place. Their latest move appears to be punishing the authors that make the least from their platform (including myself), which is incredibly frustration. It’s forced me to take a step back and re-evaluate the direction I want to take my books in. I still don’t have a solid answer, if I’m being honest. I’ve debated becoming Itchio exclusive for my ebooks, since it’s the place I make the most income, anyhow… But I do need to be on Amazon if I want to take part in any SYK events in the future, and there’s only so many ways I can make my book accessible to libraries. So I’m facing a conundrum. Once I have a more solid answer, I’ll have more to say.

Another spot of bad news: the space horror anthology I was slotted to be a part of has been canceled. I won’t go into what it was or why. No one’s fault, really. Publishing is a cruel beast. Regardless, that does mean I need to find a new home for my space horror short, “The Collision of Memory”.

I’ve also taken some time to consider how I present myself, both in public and on socials. It’s not quite enough to say I’m a fantasy author, and “queer fantasy” is equally as vague. I’ve been saying “queer dark fantasy”, but that increasingly seems to not properly encompass my works and what I do. Still trying to come up with a more apt tagline. It’ll be useful for when I do events. How does “Finding the human in the speculative” sound? Or perhaps I might go with “Queer and grounded fantasy”.

Speaking of sort of bad news and how I present myself: Linktree. For years, I’ve used their service to aggragate my links in one convenient place. With one link, people could find my socials and my book links and whatever else I wanted in their face at that moment in time. Well, as of a couple of days ago, they’ve announced they’re integrating AI on their platform in a severe and, frankly, obtrusive way. That’s not something I stand for, and it’s something I incredibly disgusted by. So, bye-bye Linktree. But where do all my links go?

Might I introduce my new all-in-one website—and also where newsletters will be coming from from this point forward. Custom domain name, newsletter split between writing advice/musings, my monthly newsletter, and a new section because…

drumroll

I’ve been thinking about serial releases again! I’ll talk a little more about it in the next section. For now, just know I am migrating my newsletter service again. Service SHOULD remain unimpacted—emails just might look a bit different, and you will have more control over whether you receive all newsletter posts or only certain ones. Additionally, the site host I’m using has options for subscription models, so I’m entertaining the decision to migrate my Patreon as well, so everything is all together in one place.

Lastly, as it’s Pride, there’s a couple of book events I’m taking a part in. ASMLP is currently part of a massive bookfest over on Itchio! Get it and over 35 other books for $40 over here! Or, if you just want a chance to read A Sharper, More Lasting Pain, you can currently get it on an “anti-sale”. The norm is to discount works for events like Pride, but I already undercharge for my novel on any given day. For the month of Pride, ASMLP is a more expected market price. Make of that what you will.

Which brings me to…

Writing Update

I continue to spin new ideas into being, but not much in terms of actual words have been penned down. I’m fighting my way through TDBSaS rewrites. I also continue to outline ASMLP2 (dubbed A Stranger, More Human Monstrosity). Annnnnd I have been working on a surprise new project, which aims to be quite a large one. An epic fantasy, which shocks me. And a quartet, no less. So allow me to introduce From Under a Poisoned Bough!

FUaPB is the start, as I said, of an epic fantasy quartet following three woman contending with a world that fought to rebuild itself and the sky-bound empire that destroyed it in the first place. Lesbians! Kaiju! Solarpunk in a fantasy world! Polyamory! There’s a lot going on, as you can see, and I am very excited about it. And the best part is I think I would like to serialize this one. I’m still working out the particulars, as well as writing the draft itself. I’m thinking I’ll be self-hosting it on the new website I’ve made. For now, here’s a summary for it!

Centuries past, the surface world flourished. Eidolons—massive, god-like beings—anointed a select few to enact Their will and were worshipped in turn. Then came the Empire with contraptions of fire and iron, intent on devouring all. And though a savior was chosen to prevent their onslaught, she was not enough. The surface was left in ruins, the Empire taking to the sky with imprisoned Eidolons in tow.

Lili has seen the worlds of the above and the below. She was there on the day the savior of worlds was chosen, and again when she was entombed. Centuries later, Lili herself awakens in the sky. Though everyone believes the surface has been destroyed and the Eidolons controlled by the Empire's Houses, she maintains her faith. When an escort mission ends in her being chosen by the Eidolons and seeing visions of the savior, she has a chance to confirm her belief once and for all. But with a desperate soldier hunting for her, it's just as likely the skies will come to reclaim what they believe is theirs if Lili cannot keep the truth of the surface from going airborne.

Ahelicia knows only of the Empire, and it is to this she stakes her loyalty. Nothing can sway her, not even a citadel slowly crumbling around her—until a devastating choice leaves her stripped of her honor and sent into exile. She flees in pursuit of a heretic, her last chance to save face. Instead, she soon discovers nothing the Empire has told her is true. The surface remains, and it thrives. Amidst heartache and confusion, Ahelicia is forced to decide if her loyalty still lies with the dominion miles above, or in what remains below.

And here’s a short snippet from where I’m at.

A beat, then another. The swirling sea of nausea in her stomach calmed in increments, but did not entirely abate. How strange; she had a hardier constitution than this most days. Though her tunic was damp with bile, she put a hand to her abdomen and took several breaths. She didn’t stand until she was certain she wouldn’t lose her stomach.

Wine must have gone sour. The explanation should have satisfied her, but she couldn’t help the prickle of misgiving. Ahelicia didn’t give herself long to think it over; with each second she spent in her soiled clothes, the stench grew more offensive.

She held her breath as she pulled her tunic over her head. A watery red stain dyed the fabric. Lady Renée would not be pleased. On the other hand, today was a day she could take to herself. Lady Renée nor Samson need not know about her unfortunate rising.

Finally, let’s bring out and catch up on the word tracker for 2026!

And now, stats over the last few months:

For the month of February, I wrote a total of 9,071 words and an average of 825 words per session.

For the month of March, I wrote a total of 6,063 words and an average of 1,010 words per session.

For the month of April, I wrote a total of 624 words and an average of 624 words per session…I wrote one day out of that month.

And finally, for the month of May, I wrote a total of 14,156 words and an average of 786 words per session. And here’s a 2026 version breakdown of what stage of writing I’ve spent what amount of words on, too:

So far for 2026, I’ve wrote a grand total of 45,357 words. Last year, I’d wanted to write at least 100,000 words and ended up writing nearly 165k, which is incredible! This year, I’d love to and think I can get 150k down for the whole year. We’re almost a third of the way there, so let’s see if it happens.

Media Update

This is one avenue I somehow HAVEN’T slacked in. I’ve read and watched and played a LOT. To not make this section over-long, I’ll just focus on the more formative moments here.

For starters, this month I got my hands on Tomodachi Life Living the Dream for the Switch, which has been incredibly fun! I plugged in major characters from my projects and have enjoyed the chaos they get up to, whether I’m the one to manufacture it or not. Certain characters have been married off in canon-compliant ways. I married my partner and it took weeks to make Bulbasaur my best friend. Despite being one of the only married couples across my works, Edera and Seren have mutual crushes but are too shy to ask each other out. I’m having a great time.

In terms of television, it’s been a mixed bag. I’m firmly in my “court drama” era. A lot of Judy Justice and Tribunal Justice and watching old The People’s Court episodes on YouTube. I’m having fun with some of it. Otherwise, I picked up The Wheel of Time and I've been really enjoying that. I’m on the last episode of the first season, so let’s see if the feeling lasts.

Speaking of, I recently picked up the first book of the Wheel of Time series! Don’t know yet if I’m going to read all 14 books+prequel, but I’m at least giving the first three books a taste test. So far, I really like it.

The books I’m most excited about, though, has to be recently getting my hands on The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth. This is a heroic fantasy series I read when I was a kid, and was my first forray into the fantasy genre. Safe to say I was absolutely entranced. I’m aiming to write an essay about it, even. Maybe do one of those hours-long YouTube recap videos. Maybe. That’s a big commitment. The point is, I love this series and I want everyone else to love it, to. But all in good time.

Blog and Video Update

I started a blog post currently titled “This Is Not For You.” and I did write it rather quickly, but I have had some time since I first started it to rethink the angle I was taking on it, so I want to give it another run through before I post it, yaknow? But that is…basically ready. At some point.

I also am working, as I just mentioned, on an essay about my favorite fantasy series from my childhood—one no one I’ve met has heard about, save my own mother.

As for live streams…I hope to get to do another one soon.

The Cat Recommends

I like to use this space to shout out other indie writers, cause I think we could all use a boost from time to time. This time, I’m using the space to shout out Kris Madigan, author of The Wine-Dark Sea! This sapphic novella inspired by the tale of Odysseus and Penelope came out recently and I’ve been quite excited about it!

When her wife’s ship vanishes somewhere in the Aegean Sea, Helena decides to leave the island of Rhodes — the only home she’s ever known — and embark on an odyssey to bring her beloved home before she’s lost even to the gods themselves. With the sole survivor of the wreck as her guide and the goddess Artemis at her back, Helena pushes her devotion to its limits as she faces countless obstacles and her greatest fear: the wine-dark sea itself.

You can read more about and purchase The Wine-Dark Sea here!

The Cat Thanks

One of the perks for higher-tier patrons is shout-outs at the end of newsletters. Special thanks to Ceph and Larkspur. If you want to have your name here with theirs, subscribe to my Patreon!

And that’s a wrap. I wish you well on all of your endeavors and hope you stay safe. Happy Pride!

Kindest regards,

Alex