DECEMBER 2025 NEWSLETTER
On The Cobblestone Road
WHAT’S NEW THIS MONTH?
Welcome to the monthly newsletter with all of the latest updates about my books, projects, blog, art, news, and more!
About the photograph featured in the heading: I took this photo in my backyard after a snowstorm in February 2022.
GENERAL UPDATES
Wow… this month has been intense. I’m honestly fighting some serious burnout after pulling multiple all-nighters trying to balance the tedious final push for Book IV while still doing events every weekend. But the finish line is in sight! Are you ready for Lab Rat?!
BOOK UPDATES
Chronicles of Avilésor (Book IV: Lab Rat)
My proofreading team and I spent most of November reviewing the ARCs (advance reader copies) to check for any final errors and give the novel one last readthrough before it’s off to the presses.
I ended up making a lot more tweaks than I expected, especially with the supplemental material at the back. The glossary is a whopping 532 terms! This installment of the series dives much deeper into the worldbuilding and lore than any of the previous books, and I underestimated how much time and work would go into it.
Lab Rat is truly a labor of love, and I really hope all of that extra effort shines through and connects with fans. Here’s what one of the proofreaders had to say about the book:
The book is on schedule to meet its anticipated publication date of December 5th. HOWEVER, the timing of the release is not ideal due to the chaos of the holidays, so I fully anticipate a delay between the publication date and on-sale date. This just means that it’s highly unlikely retailers will have the book listed on their websites right away when the book becomes available for global distribution. It might take a few days or, depending on the retailer, even a week or two. This is normal for a regular publication, let alone a holiday release.
Please be patient! There’s nothing that I can do to speed up retailer listings, production, and shipping. I was trying really hard to beat the holiday madness, but I wasn’t going to rush through the final checks and cut corners on quality. I’ll ship the preorders from the first print run as soon as they arrive. In the meantime, I have a lot of prep work to do so those orders can go out as smoothly as possible once they’re received, autographed, and packed!
**If you’re local and you opted to pick up your order at HotSpot Café, please wait for my email. I will let you know when it’s ready to be picked up!
Inked: An Author’s Advice & Inspiration for Writers
No updates to report.
Cobblestones
No updates to report.
TEA COLLABORATION
After several months of teasing an upcoming collab in the works… I’m thrilled to finally announce that I’ve partnered with Apothica Teas in Niles, MI to create three custom tea blends inspired by different regions of the Ghost Realm!
These “witch’s elixirs” are canonically tied to the Chronicles of Avilésor lore, complete with a list of ingredients from the Ghost Realm (and their Human Realm counterparts).
I love partnering with small businesses to bring the books to life in new and creative ways, especially when the business is local! We curated three unique blends:
The azulean elixir embodies the tropical Arstenya Forest with a fruity, floral combination that brews into a deep purple with a sparkly shimmer.
The solarid elixir is based on the semi-arid Haeminall Desert and features a sweet, nutty, creamy-tasting tea that brews into a lovely reddish-pink color.
The tenebryst elixir, which complements the Old Soul Artisan Ghost Realm candle very well, captures the ancient deciduous Denbrook Forest and has more of a lightly spiced earthy taste with a hint of smoke. It looks like forest mulch in autumn and brews into a rich orange-brown color.
Which one are you most excited to try?
The teas are available in flights or small bags at my event booth and on my website. For more information about Apothica and how this collaboration has unfolded over the last few months, be sure to check out my latest blog post.
You’ll definitely want to cozy up with a steaming witch’s elixir in hand and the Ghost Realm candle burning as you settle in to read Book IV this winter! (And Old Soul Artisan is running a Cyber Monday 30% off sitewide promotion… so now is an excellent time to order some candles!)
NEW BUTTON DESIGN
Naturally, I had to create a new button to celebrate the tea collab! This button is available on my website along with more of my bookish graphic designs.
UPCOMING POP-UP SIGNINGS
My event schedule is finally coming to a close after the first weekend of December. Although I don’t have any official events on the calendar until the end of January, make sure you follow me on social media because I’m planning to do a few local pop-up signings at the beginning of the year to stay in touch with fans and sell/sign copies of Lab Rat.
These dates have not been set yet because they’ll be contingent upon book orders, venue availability, and, of course, the weather. (You never know what Mother Nature will have in store for northern Indiana winters!)
NEW PRINT
“Book Dragon” has joined my inventory as a postcard, notecard, and mouse pad. It will also be available on an artboard in the near future.
HOLIDAY SALE
I’ll be honest… I took a hard hit when a snowstorm canceled my most recent holiday market. It’s bad timing with my event season about to end, large book orders needing to be placed for Book IV’s release, and invoices rolling in for next year’s events.
I run a holiday promotion on my website around this time of the year anyway, but if you’re looking for unique gifts (art prints, bookish merch, autographed fantasy novels, etc.) then please check out my site! A lot of small business owners and solopreneurs are really feeling the squeeze this holiday season, and it means a lot when people shop small and support their local artisans.
You can use promo code SNOWY15 this week to take 15% off your order. If you’re local and don’t want to pay for shipping, you can pick up your order at HotSpot Café in La Porte, IN.
(If you’re a member of my Patreon community, you have an exclusive promo code for 20% off my website!)
SEASONAL KIT EMOJIS
Christmas Kit and Winter Kit have come out of the vault! These seasonal Discord emojis I designed are available on stickers and keychains on my website and at my booth… but only for a short time before they disappear until next year!
ARTWORK OF THE MONTH
Tenebrous © 2025
Level 2 and 3 Patreon subscribers can learn more about this art piece and watch me create it in an exclusive timelapse video.
PATREON UPDATES
Subscribers get exclusive content emailed straight to their inbox every time I publish a new post! I offer three membership tiers with varying perks: Human ($5), Kálos ($10), and Alpha ($15). New patrons, depending on their tier, can unlock over 470 posts! Here are the latest posts since the last newsletter:
• Upcoming event announcements
• Book IV proofreading & publishing updates
• New Alpha-tier membership perk: Help me celebrate the latest book release!
• Early announcement of the Apothica collaboration
• Exclusive 20% off holiday promotion on my website
• Extensive worldbuilding post about my naming process for the fantasy ingredients in the new teas
• Timelapse video of this month’s featured artwork
$5 a month isn’t much, but these small subscriptions really do add up and help me cover the publishing costs for upcoming books in the series along with other business expenses such as vendor fees, website costs, and more. Thank you to my subscribers for your support!! 🖤
For more information about the membership tiers and how subscriptions/donations support my business, check out this FAQ page on my website.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
Collaboration: Chronicles of Avilésor x Apothica Teas
Read about my new collaboration partner! In this post, I’ll introduce you to Apothica Teas and tell you about the steps to create the new “witch’s elixir” tea blends.
RECENT EVENTS
November 8: World Oddities Expo in Indianapolis, IN
November 15-16: South Bend Fall Artisan Market in South Bend, IN
November 22-23: Autumn Artisan Market at the American Factory in Valparaiso, IN
UPCOMING EVENTS
Be sure to check my website for the most up-to-date list! To receive event reminders, you can join my Discord server, follow me on Facebook or Buy Me a Coffee, or become a Patreon subscriber. Here's the current schedule of events:
OLD TOWN KRAMPUSNACHT
December 6, 2025
Lansing, MI
20th ANNUAL GARDENING SHOW
January 31, 2026
Valparaiso, IN
POLAR VORTEX GAMING CON
February 14-16, 2026
Lisle, IL
MUSKECON
March 21, 2026
Muskegon, MI
KALAMAZOO COMIC-CON
April 10-12, 2026
Kalamazoo, MI
MICHIANA REN FEST
August 29-30, 2026
South Bend, IN
BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL
September 4-6, 2026
Plymouth, IN
WOLF HOLLOW WITCHES MARKET
October 3, 2026
Belvidere, IL
SHOP
If you can’t catch me at a local event, my website is the next best place to shop! Many of my products, including the new Apothica witch’s elixirs, are available online, although a few are still event exclusive.
Browse my custom designs on apparel and accessories, produced and shipped by Spring.
In 2020, I partnered with Old Soul Artisan to make a custom candle fragrance inspired by my book series. Online purchases help to support wolf conservation and a woman-owned small business (as well as an indie author… me)!
