The Cat & the Comma Issue # 35

Aside from humanity’s collective ascribing of “newness” to January—and the general feel of having a “reset”, there is nothing that actually posits January of every year as a fresh start. It’s a collective cultural phenomenon—a collective illusion—really, one I myself am not immune to falling for. And I did fall for it this year as well—albeit, not for long. The same issues plaguing us in December of 2025 continued to chase us into January of 2026. The horrors, it seems, are unceasing.

Good thing I am unceasing, too.

Before I go into business as usual, let’s make one thing absolutely and abundantly clear: the United States is under siege by government-appointed domestic terrorists. ICE is a menace that cannot be suffered to remain, and anyone who defends them and their demonstrable actions deserves to get their teeth kicked in. Fuck ICE. Fuck this regime. Know your rights, defend your neighbors, and do not stop documenting the violent acts of these fascists. It is your civic responsibility.

Normally, here is where I’d stick some resource links. In truth, if you’re in the US, it’s everywhere. If you have some spare change to throw around, toss it towards your local community anti-ICE efforts. It is worst in Minnesota, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening closer to you. This is not the time to stick your head in the sand.

And now…let’s talk about January.

Misc. Professional Update

There isn’t a whole lot to say on this front. I spent a lot of time offline and not responding to things I should have. More recently, I dedicated time to catching up on that. I was planning to attend Emerald City Comic Con again this year and see my friends again, but with the increased ICE presence in my state… I am deeply nervous and unsure if I should. I’m not at risk, but several people I love and deeply care about are, and I don’t want to be too far away should something happen to them.

For similar reasons, I haven’t scheduled any author events for 2026 yet.

That said, I did send a short story (“Gestalt”) off to a couple of magazines, so we’ll see what comes of that. Additionally, I’ve officially been accepted into a space horror anthology, so I’m busy working on my entry. Lastly, I am aiming to release “Honey, Intravenous”, an erotic short about a plasma donor who lands a vampire sugar momma Domme, on Valentine’s day under my alternative name of D.W. Katts.

Due to the amount of things to work on in quick succession, all with inflexible due dates, it is likely I will push back the release of The Distance Between Stars and Salt. Originally, I intended to release it February 10th, but due to extenuating circumstances, I pushed it to this summer. Now, with the added creative load, I think it is best I push SALT to February 10th, 2027. I will have more details on that as available.

Writing Update

I didn’t have many active writing days this month, but that doesn’t mean I got nothing done! January was mostly for short story work; I got a proper chunk of “Honey, Intravenous” completed and am looking towards the end. I worked on “Gestalt” to prepare to send it to magazines. I started a bit of a brain-off project in Tungsten Bones, a connected series of novellas following several women in a mecha army and all the ways it destroys them. This is something for me to work on in the background, so nothing really to report. I also started “The Collision of Memory”, the short story I’ve been accepted into a space horror anthology with. It follows the sole survivor of a tragic space accident as the convenient lie she’s told herself unravels—along with her chances of survival. I am very excited about it. I also am edging closer to finishing “Honey, Intravenous” which is great because I want to release that for Valentine’s Day. Hopefully, I’ll have links and such available next newsletter update.

Here’s a snippet from that last one:

Her hair cascaded across my thigh like silk as she bent her head lower. She kissed and nipped at me again, her ministrations enough to make me tremble. When she reared back, those ungodly canines stabbed at the air. Then they pierced my skin.

It stung for all of a second before a wave of pure bliss washed over me. I was halfway to screaming by then, despite what I had promised. The sound warped instead into a heady, desperate moan. Every part of me tingled.

“Fuck.”

My head lolled back, and I didn’t particularly care that we were sitting in a bathroom stall in some rich restaurant. My fingers threaded through her hair, kept her pinned to the apex of my thighs. A strange bliss consumed me. It was as though I was nestled in the clouds. Warm from head to curling toe, all I could do was sit there and listen to the hypnotic slurp of my blood, the soft grunts she let out as she continued to feed.

When she pulled back again, a combination of blood, saliva, and her own lipstick trickled down my leg. The heady feeling remained. I might as well have been drunk.

“Just as I thought,” she said before wiping her mouth. “Delicious.”

Due to the nature of the space horror short, I’m unsure if I can share snippets or not. As soon as I get clearance to do so, I’ll have something to share.

Thanks to all the other things I found myself needing to work on, The Distance Between Stars and Salt took a back seat so I could get those other projects done. I’ll be picking it back up this month.

Lastly, I took another look at the outline for Flesh of My Flesh, Dark of My Dark, my fantasy horroromance plotbunny I’ve been dealing with. I’ll not be able to work on this one for a while, but I’m starting to feel better about it again.

Finally, let’s bring out the new word tracker for 2026!

And now, stats:

For the month of January, I wrote a total of 15,443 words and an average of 2,574 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 15,443 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, between a whole second draft of TDBSaS, edits on a few projects, and starting a new draft…probably of FoMFDoMD.

Media Update

I surprised myself this month by reading 7 whole books. To be fair, 3 of them were novellas, but I’m still quite proud of that. They were all bangers in their own right, too—though I think my top read of 2026 thus far is already going to Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. What a fucking book. I had to stop and stare at a wall for a while after I finished. Absolutely incredible. I also finally found a romantasy book I was pleasantly surprised by: The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig. Not the best book I read this month, but a delight nonetheless.

In terms of games, I was mostly playing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. One of my favorite games of all time and one I always play in tandem with my wife. I’m still sometimes playing Final Fantasy XIV now that I have the Heavensward expansion unlocked!

As for shows, I watched a lot this month. As a kid, I watched a lot of Judge Judy, and so for comfort I started watching Judy Justice, which is just. The same thing under a new contract. I also started Marry My Husband, a K-Drama about a woman who goes back in time after her husband and her best friend kill her to commit insurance fraud and discovers she has a chance to change her fate. It’s been quite enjoyable. My wife and I also watched Look Back, which was quite sad but also a great watch.

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.

As for live streams…I hope to get to do another one soon. I may see about doing one tonight. Unsure yet.

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 Jillian Maria, author of the upcoming A Colder Home! This is a chilling horror novel set to come out February 10th.

Amateur cinematographer Cleo Moss hasn’t tried to make a film since her father’s death three years ago. Her cousin Noah, a director, is convinced that her latest script is the perfect opportunity to try again, but Cleo is less sure. Those reservations grow when a blizzard nearly runs them off the road on their way to the shoot, and again when they discover that the house they’re filming in has a tragic past to rival Cleo’s own horror-filled writing. By the time she starts seeing ghostly shadows out of the corner of her eye, she’s convinced that the production is doomed.

At first, filming moves forward in spite of an unreliable camera battery and Noah’s surprise casting of Isobel, Cleo’s not-so-former crush. But as the worsening snow traps cast and crew in the house overnight, the strange shadows escalate into horrifying, dangerous specters. While the rest of her friends fight to find a way out of this nightmare, Cleo can’t help but be drawn to the ghosts she captures in her viewfinder—just as she can’t help noticing how similar their story is to her own past…

You can read more about and purchase A Colder Home 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 Holidays, is-sena t-tajba (happy new year), and may 2026 be kinder to you than 2025 was.

Kindest regards,

Alex