Greetings dear Chroniclers!
What to you miss from your childhood and college days?
When I was younger, I took every art class I could, even as a math major in college. I've really missed doodling and drawing, so I signed up for a sketchbook class on Domestika. I've just started, but I'm learning quite a bit and daring to do more than outlines with ink. Not pro levels here but it was great to tinker with drawing again. Crossing my fingers to end up with fun yokai (supernatural mythical creatures) sketches to share in my Liminal Chronicles worldbuilding.
Torakoishi (stone tiger) plushy sketch
For each book release I enjoy creating interviews, games, and random generators to go with my books. Here and there I'll pull them out to share just for fun.
Commission work by Odette.A.Bach
I had an absolute blast doing this interview of my former-bad-boy, Umeji Tatsuya.
Editing on Legend (book 3) is going slow due to life craziness and lingering concussion issues, but I hope to finish the round of editing this month. In the next newsletter, I'll do my best to share more progress and a juicy snippet or two.
This bit is for the authors in my readership, or those who are curious about the "behind the scenes" of writer life. If this isn't for you, just skip to the next section. It's totally ok! There are no newsletter reading police.
The Fear of Missing out, I swear that nasty little beast worms it's way into every corner of my life and I battle hard with it. Over on Writers in the Storm, I wrote a guest post about "The Tyranny of FOMO" and how it can steal joy and sap our energy and creativity and how we can break free from it.
Coincidentally, Anne-Laure Le Cunff wrote about it the next day over on Ness Labs in "From FOMO to JOMO: The Joy of Missing out". Her article is also worth a read if you struggle with FOMO. (No affiliation, just a happy reader of Ness Labs.) I share because I care and I don't want people to think they're the only ones dealing with these issues. I want for you to find hope, rest, and joy in your creative pursuits.
We do our best to "ferret proof" before we let our rascally duo out to play. But every once in a while, we goof. Mochi, the little trash panda, immediately gravitated to the bathroom garbage. "But Mom, why's there nothing interesting in here?" Pocky was ready to crawl in, too!
Mochi and Pocky playing in the trash.