SEPTEMBER 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, featured artwork, news, and more! The newsletter is a little late this month due to Labor Day (and some unfortunate computer issues I’m still trying to resolve), so let’s catch up!
About the photograph featured in the heading: I pulled this photo from my archive. It was taken in my backyard way back in 2012.
BOOK UPDATES
Chronicles of Avilésor (Book IV: Lab Rat)
The first round of editing for Lab Rat (Book IV in the Chronicles of Avilésor: War of the Realms series), is complete!
These past three weeks have been the peak of my event season, so I’ve been crazy stupid busy with the Renaissance Festival, Blueberry Festival, and Popcorn Festival all falling back-to-back-to-back. I’m finally slowing down a little bit, but I still have a full schedule with events like the Sunflower Fair, Bizarre Bazaar, Witches Market, and a few conventions coming up soon. With my focus fixed on getting through my event season peak, progress on Lab Rat had to be temporarily paused.
However, in between prepping for events, I did manage to start implementing edits from my marked-up manuscript into the digital file, but I’m only a few chapters in and still have a lot more updates to make before I can send the manuscript out to beta readers. While the beta readers are working, I’ll be focusing on the pronunciation guide, character list, and cover for the book.
Inked: An Author’s Advice & Inspiration for Writers
I haven’t had a chance to work on this short nonfiction book, so it’s still sitting at 34 pages. Since my primary focus is on Lab Rat and events, this book is more of a side project that doesn’t have a target timeline or publication date.
Inked will be a mix of printed text and my own handwriting with a minimalistic format featuring one writing-related topic per page.
Cobblestones
Cobblestones is also a backburner project. As of now, I’ve gathered 24 drawings, 20 photographs, and 4 poems. I also have a few photographs that I pulled from my archives that I’m considering for the cover design.
I have several notebooks filled with poems from my local writing workshop; flipping through them and typing up selected poems for the book is still on my to-do list.
POLL RESULTS: NAME A NEW SHADOW GUARD
Last month, I invited Level 3 Patreon subscribers to submit names for a public poll to name a new character who will make her debut in Book IV but have a more prominent presence in Book V.
Fans across Patreon, Discord, Substack, Facebook, and Instagram then had the opportunity to vote for their favorite name! The top three results were so close that I then sent the poll back to Alpha patrons for the tiebreaking vote.
And the winner is…
FAER
Thank you to everyone who participated in the poll! Look for Faer in Lab Rat when it’s released.
HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!
A Fallen Hero celebrated its sixth birthday on August 7th! How has it been six years already?!
BOOTH AESTHETIC UPDATE
At the Michiana Ren Fest, I debuted a new upgrade to my booth: a misty forest tapestry in the background! While the wisteria comes out every once in a while for special events like Renaissance festivals, the tapestry will be a permanent addition moving forward.
SUBSTACK REFERRAL PROGRAM
I'm excited to announce that I launched a referral program for Substack, which gives you the opportunity to gain access to my premium Substack content for FREE when you share with friends. Learn more in this post I published on Substack last week.
5 referrals = 1 month comp
10 referrals = 3 month comp
25 referrals = 6 month comp
Reminder: My premium Substack subscription is business-oriented content for authors, artists, and other creative solopreneurs interested in networking, vending, and marketing.
CUSTOM ART ORDERS
After my first special order of “Bow” on a 16x20 framed canvas for a customer in July, I received another order for both “Bow” and “Yule Stag” in August. (The 8x10 artboard version I carry at events is pictured for reference to show how much bigger these canvas prints are.)
“Yule Stag” is especially impressive at the larger size!
Speaking of special orders, the customer who purchased the first custom order of the 16x20 framed canvas “Bow” and the 8x10 framed canvas “Dandy Bee” kindly shared a photo of the art hanging on the wall in their new home! Check it out:
NEW KEYCHAINS
An order of keychains arrived last month, which means I’m restocked on sold-out favorites like the angry Kit emoji, “The Raven,” and “Selenophile.”
NEW keychain designs include my Scrabble “Read Banned Books” design, “Yule Stag,” and the summer, boba, and winter Kit emojis (although the winter version has not been publicly unveiled yet… only Patreon subscribers have seen it).
PRODUCT UPDATES & PHOTOGRAPHY
I recently updated the photography for several products on my website.
The Amínyte pendant replicas created by The Gaming Geeks went through an interesting transition! Over time, the resin has developed a natural patina that turned the pendants from their original grayish hue to more of an ivory color that’s closer to how they would look in the books. This is perfectly normal, and they shouldn’t change any more once they reach this stage, but it meant that I needed to take a new set of photographs to accurately show the shift in hue.
I also updated the notecards (both the packs and the individual listings). For a long time, I used to tie the packs with twine, but now, I have them in clear bags so the art is fully visible. The product photography on the website now reflects the updated packaging.
To prep for the big festivals on my schedule these past few weeks, I’ve been hard at work making a LOT of resin book page holders! I don’t have these products listed on my website, but I can fulfill orders and do custom colors upon request. Just shoot me a message if you’d like one (or more) and can’t get to an event!
In other product news, I announced on social media that the Popcorn Festival would be the last event that I carry earrings, although I’ll still offer earrings as a customization option. If I have enough inventory, I can turn acrylic keychain charms into earrings on the spot at an event, or I can do special orders of the smaller cabochon/bezel earrings and have them shipped to a customer or picked up locally at the Co-Op Shoppes in La Porte.
The plan is to offer a NEW product along with updated necklace displays to replace the earrings… so stay tuned for more information on that in the very near future!
BOBA KIT AT HOTSPOT CAFÉ
In the last newsletter, I had recently dropped off some of the new Boba Kit stickers at HotSpot Café in my hometown of La Porte, IN.
Now, you can also shop for Boba Kit keychains there as well as the stickers, autographed paperbacks, and Ghost Realm (Avilésor) candle by Old Soul Artisan.
This is the only Kit design available at any brick-and-mortar location. The rest of my stickers and keychains are exclusively available at my event booth and my website.
ARTBOARDS: NEW PRINTS & SIZES
I received a large order of artboards for events! This was long overdue and included art prints from last year, including “Lunos” and “Yule Stag,” as well as newer prints like “Rosebush Rabbit” that had yet to join my inventory lineup as artboards.
With this order, I experimented with some new sizes, including square artboards for a handful of prints that don’t fit quite as well on a rectangular ratio. I also ordered some 12x12 and 11x14 artboards after the recent requests for large framed canvases since there’s been a demand for sizes larger than 8x10.
(And I’m happy to report that I’m already out of stock for several of the new 11x14 artboards, so the experiment was a success and I need to order more!)
ARTWORK OF THE MONTH
Sunflower Swallowtail © 2024
The inspiration for this piece was to create a companion for my popular “Dahlia Dragonfly” art print. Patreon subscribers at all levels had the opportunity to get daily progress updates while I was working on this artwork, which took me four days to complete. Level 2 and 3 patrons can watch me draw “Sunflower Swallowtail” in an exclusive timelapse video.
PATREON & SUBSTACK UPDATES
Subscribers get exclusive content emailed straight to their inbox every time I publish a new post! I offer two types of premium subscription content on two different platforms.
Patreon is a fan-based community featuring behind-the-scenes content centered around my books and art. I offer three membership tiers with varying perks: Human ($5), Kálos ($10), and Alpha ($15). Here are the latest posts since the last newsletter:
• Upcoming event announcements
• Exclusive updates about new products and the prep work going on behind the scenes for the busy event lineup
• Early Access: Sneak peek at the working book blurb for Lab Rat
• Vote for the name of the new Book IV Shadow Guard
• Round 2 tiebreaker vote after the public voting period ended
• Early Access: Poll winner announcement
• Author Q&A: If you could change anything in Book I, what would it be?
• Daily art-in-progress photos for the latest featured artwork
• Timelapse video of “Sunflower Swallowtail + details about the art process
Substack features business-oriented content for creative solopreneurs and artistic professionals. I discuss tips I’ve learned from my experience as an author, artist, and entrepreneur after doing over 150 events ranging from book signings and artist pop-ups to festivals, markets, and conventions.
Subscriptions are only $5/month, and members have the opportunity to read, share, comment, and network with other creative professionals within the community. Just like Patreon, these exclusive posts are sent to your inbox when I publish them. Here are the latest premium posts on Substack:
• Vendor Tip: Tasteful Donation Options
• Entrepreneur Tip: 7 Hacks to Save Money for the Slow Season
**These posts are partially visible for free subscribers, but to read the entire post, members need to upgrade to the premium subscription tier.
$5 a month isn’t much, but these small subscriptions add up and help me cover the publishing costs for upcoming books in the series along with many other business expenses such as vendor fees, liability insurance, 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
Q&A: Is It Better To Buy Books Directly from the Author?
From a financial perspective, indie authors make a lot more money per book when consumers buy directly from the author. But there are other perks for the author when fans buy from retailers instead.
Indie Authors: If You Can Invest in Only ONE Thing for Your Book…
I expand on my #1 tip for aspiring indie authors and dive into the importance of working with human editors instead of relying solely on AI tools.
RECENT EVENTS
August 10: Art Beat in South Bend, IN
August 17: OutFest in Lafayette, IN
August 24-25: Michiana Ren Fest in South Bend, IN
August 30 - September 2: Blueberry Festival in Plymouth, IN
September 7: Popcorn Festival 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:
CHESTERTON'S EUROPEAN MARKET
Saturday, September 14, 2024
8:00 am - 2:00 pm
Broadway & Third Street
Chesterton, IN
SUNFLOWER FAIR
Saturday, September 21, 2024
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Michigan Avenue
La Porte, IN
BIZARRE BAZAAR
Saturday, September 28, 2024
1:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Porter County Expo Center
Valparaiso, IN
WOLF HOLLOW WITCHES MARKET
Saturday, October 05, 2024
12:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Boone County Fairgrounds
Belvidere, IL
SOUTH BEND COMIC & COLLECTORS CON
Saturday, October 19, 2024
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
St. Joseph County Fairgrounds
South Bend, IN
MIGHTY CON
Saturday, October 26, 2024
1:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds
Lafayette, IN
Saturday, November 23, 2024
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sunday, November 24, 2024
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Porter County Expo Center
Valparaiso, IN
HOMETOWN HOLIDAY MARKET
Saturday, November 30, 2024
8:00 am - 2:00 pm
Broadway & Third Street
Chesterton, IN
INDOOR SANTA MARKET
Friday, December 06, 2024
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Saturday, December 07, 2024
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Lake County Fairgrounds
Crown Point, IN
CHRISTMAS AT THE CIVIC
Sunday, December 08, 2024
11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Civic Auditorium
La Porte, IN
19th ANNUAL GARDENING SHOW
Saturday, January 25, 2025
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Porter County Expo Center
Valparaiso, IN
MICHIANA REN FEST
Saturday, August 23, 2025
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sunday, August 24, 2025
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
St. Joe County 4H Fairgrounds
South Bend, IN
Friday, August 29, 2025
12:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Saturday, August 30, 2025
9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sunday, August 31, 2025
9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Monday, September 01, 2025
9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Centennial Park
Plymouth, IN
SHOP
This year, I finally launched my own ecommerce site so anyone in the U.S. now has the opportunity to order online directly from me. Many of my products are available, including notecards, keychains, buttons, postcards, bookmarks, stickers, mouse pads, novelty CoA merch, and autographed books. Some products, such as my canvas prints, puzzles, resin book holders, and build-your-own bookmarks, are still event-exclusive.
Browse my custom designs on apparel and accessories produced and shipped by Spring. Shop for Chronicles of Avilésor designs plus others inspired by reading and writing (and my popular banned books graphic).
In 2020, I partnered with Old Soul Artisan — a small USA business operated by an amazing woman solopreneur — to create a custom candle fragrance inspired by my book series. The “mystical forest” scent is a blend of apple, cedar, chrysanthemum, and green leaf that captures the essence of Avilésor. Online purchases help to support wolf conservation!
