Another March Marches In
The Cat and the Comma Issue #7
That’s a wrap on February, looks like, and wow was I busy. Let’s get into it!
Misc. Professional Update
I have done a few things behind the scenes since last time to better set myself up for success. Let’s go over them.
Firstly, you may have noticed that this email has a pretty banner up top! I may change it in the future, but at least my newsletter looks a little less boring now. Or… it SHOULD have a banner… let me know if it isn’t there.
Next up, I have launched a discord server! The World of Mesiphrae is a server mostly dedicated to discussing my fantasy works—updates when I post chapters, brainstorming different stuff, the works—but there is also a dedicated section for other writers to talk about their works! It’s free for everyone, unless you happen to support my financially in which case you get the Patron role.
Which reminds me. I have set up a Patreon! Subscribing to either grants you access to chapters before they’re posted online as well as other benefits. Check them out below! I originally was going to do the same thing on Ko-Fi, but I think that’s too much hassle to deal with. Instead, it will remain my storefront of sorts for if people want to buy my works. Check both out here:
Being a member of my Patreon also grants you free access to two short stories I’ve published: Within These Twisted Vines and Pillow Talks.
Next up, I changed up my website. A lot. I'll discuss my blog more below, but the relevant bit here is I have a registered domain that I was using for it, which I have since taken and transplanted. It now links to my tumblr blog. One website, one newsletter. You can see it in all its glory here!
This also means all the personal pages I was working on for it—the page for all my works, the page that goes over each of the countries in my world, a general FAQ page—make more sense. I wasn’t able to get them looking how I wanted on my Wordpress, but Tumblr’s customization options made them all a breeze. They’re all various stages of done, mind you, but I’m constantly working on them.
Which brings me to my last professional update: I started doing writer interviews over on tumblr! I decided to do it for my latest follower milestone and have been having a lot of fun with it. If you follow me but missed that announcement, this is the post that explains how the event works, here is the form you can fill out (if you have a writing blog on tumblr), and here is the link to the page on my website archiving all the interviews I currently have posted. As of writing this, the form is closed, but I should have it open again in a week or so.
Writing Update
I’ve again been a busy little bee and writing my heart out on my novel, A Sharper, More Lasting Pain. Currently, I am on chapter sixteen of twenty-two (twenty plus a prologue and epilogue). You’ll notice I’ve added two more chapters since last update. There was more to the plot than I realized and I added a chapter each for Simone and Nadia to help with that.
Speaking of, here’s an excerpt from the chapter I’m working on.
She wants to shove herself away, wants to yank Simone closer and ride them through the waves of misery threatening to consume her. And yet, if she does anything, it will be her total undoing.
They hover on the edge of this precipice for a long while. Simone’s tears dampen her cheeks.
“Do not play with my heart like this, I beg of you.”
As their lips hover over hers, her resolve hardens. “Simone…”
Before she can speak, they capture her in a kiss, body hiccuping against hers. Their tears mingle together as she closes her eyes and loses herself to the moment.
Then, as they grab a fistful of her hair, she shoves them back.
“Don’t. Please.”
Did you know you can read this novel online? I’m posting it once a week (on Wednesdays) on three different websites in the interest of being wide-spread and getting as much feedback as possible before I pull back and show the revised draft only to beta readers. But, until then, if you would like to read my sapphic fantasy dark academia novel about monsters and sigil magic and mind-melding drugs, you can check out the links below!
Recently, I’ve also taken another look at a novella I wrote in 2019, Before the Moon Sets, which is about a necromancer daylighting as an apothecary owner who is hired by a vampire countess to revive one of her wives. Things do not go as planned.
Here’s a small excerpt from that:
Evelyn turns the envelope over, then again. Her name dances across the front in a thick script, each E given its own flourish. “And yet I am uncomfortable not knowing the nature of her request,” she says.
The stranger’s eyes flash, gleaming like rubies in the dim light. Evelyn can almost convince herself she was mistaken; an errant trick and nothing more. And yet… something is off about them, something that makes the breakfast churn in her stomach.
Whatever it is Lady Yoru wants, Evelyn doubts its nobility.
With a sigh, she brushes away stray dried flowers and snapped stems to clear a space for the envelope. “No matter. Tell your Lady that while I am honored to have been considered, I cannot accept. Having you here will be cause enough for rumors.”
Finally, last time, I mentioned maybe writing a short story based on Eros and Psyche. That is still in the works. I made an outline for it and have been pecking at it when I have some spare time. I didn’t finish it in time for the anthology I was going to send it to, but I think it’s better if I publish the short on my own for now. This, too, will be given to Patrons once it’s finished and edited.
Media Update
Later this month, my fiance and I are attending a Final Fantasy orchestra concert and I am so incredibly excited about it! I’ve spent a lot of time listening to the setlist and playing the games to prepare myself. Mostly 3 and 4, since they’re the ones I have easiest access to right now.
On the whole, I haven’t had much time lately to watch, read, or play anything because I’ve been trying to get ASMLP done… That said, I started rewatching House MD again.
Blog Update
I mentioned last time that I was thinking about blending my Wordpress into this blog, and I have officially started doing so. Any non-update posts are going to be labelled “The Cat Discusses” and the first few have been revised versions of posts I had made on my old blog. That includes the following:
Feel free to give those a gander and let me know your thoughts! I opted to not have emails send out when these post, because I don’t want to spam people. Still, your thoughts are appreciated.
Which reminds me: patrons get an option to vote on future blog topics, just so you know!
The Cat Recommends
I said I didn’t have much time to read last month, which was absolutely the truth. However, I did want to take a second to shout out my friend Lowry Poletti, who had their latest short story published in Fantasy Magazine last month. I’ve been a fan of Lowry’s work for a long time and it’s been great to see all their hard work pay off. Unfortunately, if you’re seeing this, you missed the window to read said short for free, but I definitely think it’s worth just buying a copy of the magazine for.
The Cat Thanks
One of the perks for higher-tier patrons is shout-outs at the end of newsletters, so this will be a new segment at the end of my newsletters. Your name can be here, too, if you sub on Patreon!
Special thanks to Ceph the Ghost Writer, my first-ever patron!
And that’s a wrap! I hope this message finds you well.
Kind regards,
Alex