Seasons Die One After Another [TC&C]
The Cat & the Comma Issue # 31
I’ll be honest, autumn is always my favorite time of year. The heat is starting to die off, it’s once again getting colder, and there’s just… Something about nature’s yearly danse macabre that I am always awe-struck by. It’s just so beautiful, how the leaves change color.
In any case, autumn is once again upon us, which means September has come and gone. Let’s talk about it.
Misc. Professional Update
September brought us Bi Visibility week, which I and 49 other authors celebrated by holding a bundle event on itchio! 50 Authors, 50 Books, 50 Dollars for all of them. Quite the steal, if you ask me. And mildly successful given all the shit Itch has thrown at its creators. Despite it, I am grateful to have participated.
Otherwise, I did another local book event, which turned out quite fun despite being another one lacking in sales. I did have people—people I don’t even know—tell me they came just to buy my book, which was wild to hear. I didn’t even have to give them a pitch! They knew about me already! Absolutely bonkers and bewildering to hear… But a sensation I will not tire of, I think.
Next up, I’m doing an author event at my local Barnes and Noble which I’m super excited about! I love getting to do that. I’ll be at the Bellingham, WA, B&N on October 25th from 10AM to 1PM. If you’re in the area, come say hi!
Also, October is ASMLP’s birthday! It will officially be turning one this year. To celebrate, I’m doing a giveaway on Bsky and Instagram! Refer to either for the rules of entry etc. I still can’t believe I brought that book into the world, or that I’m making progress on bringing in the next… and the next… and the one after that. I’m gonna be busy for a while.
Which leads me to…
Writing Update
This month kind of ebbed and flowed, writing-wise… But I feel like I did a whole lot of work? The numbers don’t quite match, but I think it’s also due to my efforts being spread out and not a lot of it making it into places where I can easily track the wordage… Let me explain.
First up, The Distance Between Stars and Salt, which sits comfortably now at 66,102 words. We’re so incredibly close to the end of this draft, folks.
Here’s a snippet of where I’m at right now:
“You were gone,” you whispered. “You were gone.”
“But I’m here.” I put one palm to your chest. Your skin was uncomfortably warm against mine, but I didn’t pull away. “I’m right here. Always.”
The more I think our journey over, the more I am surprised. I had expected us to unfold in reverse, for me to be the one in need of a lover’s comfort. For so long, you had maintained such grim determination, near-inhuman in its stubbornness. Yet here we were. Did you know, then, what was to come? I have to believe you didn’t. But still, some part of you had an awareness all the same.
I wish I had bore that awareness. I wish I had known how much losing you was going to tear me to pieces.
If you’re intrigued by this project and what comes out of it, you can currently read the whole zero draft—or up to chapter 15 of the first draft—if you become a member of my Patreon! The latest update even has all the formatting, so you can see what it will sort of look like as an actual book!
Currently, I am sending this work to alpha readers as it is written, and anticipate opening for betas by the end of the month. Lastly, I am working on posting the first draft onto public writing websites such as Royal Road and AO3. You can read the first bits of draft 2 for free here or here!
One of the Discord servers I’m in has a challenge for October to try to write 1k words every day—and/or write 31k words total for the month. This may be cheating a bit, but I’m using Those Who Emerge from Ashes for this challenge. I’ve reworked the outline some, and I also want to try to rewrite what I do have and is usable in a more updated draft with my current style/skill in mind. I’m deeply excited to work on this novel again after so long.
No excerpt for it, though. Not this month, anyhow.
One thing that did surprise me, however, was the development of a new WIP to work on in tandem with TWEfA. Might I introduce you to Flesh of My Flesh, Dark of My Dark? Currently, I’m calling it a dark fantasy horromance and it involves a construct of the abyss sent to kill an oracle of light to bring eternal darkness to the world… and slowly falling in love and becoming a person instead. It’s a Frankenstein’s Monster of a lot of older story concepts, including a MidZel story idea I’ve kicked around for over a year. Turns out, playing Hollow Knight gave me some great ideas.
Here’s an excerpt of the current opening chapter:
Then she turns to Vaż.
Its legs go still, the deteriorating flesh pulling taut. Its mouth, sticky and sour-sweet like overripe fruit, dries as she rolls her chair across the stone floor. She comes to a stop between Vaż’s legs, nudging them apart to give herself more space. Her gloves are frigid against the bare and mottled skin.
“It will be but a few moments,” she says. “Ready?”
Vaż nods.
With far more care than Vaż deserves, Lejla plunges her fist into its chest and takes hold of its abyssal heart.
It’s dark, it’s spooky, there’s a whole ton of dead corpses and macabre humor. I already know I’m going to have so much fun with it.
Finally, let’s bring out the word tracker.
And now, stats:
For the month of September, I wrote a total of 12,006 words and an average of 706 words per session. And here’s an updated breakdown of what stage of writing I’ve spent what amount of words on, too:
Media Update
I still am struggling to stick to anything reading-wise and finish it aside from the handful of yuri manga my spouse and I recently acquired. That said, still reading through Name Her Holy, and I really hope I finish it this month! It’s very good, my brain is just. Not right now. I also picked The Cradle of Eternal Night by Ladz back up to finish and I’m having a blast. If you want a book that feels like Dark Souls, I highly recommend!
On the games front, however, I was way more productive. After many long years and a ton of silkposting, September has graced us with Hollow Knight: Silksong, the long awaited sequel to the eponymous Hollow Knight. I mentioned earlier I’ve been playing both a lot this month—moreso Hollow Knight, because I never did finish it, so now I’m trying to do so. I also started playing Jack Jeanne, which is a visual novel about a girl who enrolls in an all-boys acting school. The art is done by Sui Ishida, which was quite a flashback considering how obsessed I used to be with Tokyo Ghoul. All in all, it’s quite fun, but I’m unsure the replayability of it, if I’m to be honest. If nothing else, though, the art slaps. I love Ishida-san’s work.
On the media front, most of what I’ve been watching has been video essays, to be honest. So not too much to say here.
Blog and Video Update
I was able to do one livestream this month, wherein I worked on the outline of TWEfA for a while. Unfortunately, there were some issues with the audio mixing, so a lot of it is hard to hear. Apologies. Next livestream will hopefully be better.
Otherwise, I am working on two essays right now. One is about class divides in writing spaces, while the other is about how writers really need to get more experimental and weird. Unsure when either will be done, but you’ll know as soon as they come out.
The thinkpiece on mental health and productivity is…done. The only reason it hasn’t released is because it wound up being a deeply personal essay that I keep waffling back and forth on whether to publish or not. If it comes out, it comes out. But it is done, at least.
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 Maya Darjani Her next book, A Stellar Spy, is set to release November 12th, so now is the perfect time to put it on your radar and pre-order it.
Devoted mother and career woman.
A sleeper agent, poised to act.
Tessa lives a double life. She’s the security counselor to Finn, the leader of the planet.
He’s her ex-husband and father of her children.
She’s still in love with him.
But she has a far worse problem. Tessa is also a deep cover operative for an enemy planet, and turns out, her next mission is to betray him. And when her lives collide, she has to fail her family, or forsake her ideals.
You can read more about A Stellar Spy here and purchase it 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.
Kindest regards,
Alex