I’m writing to you from Beehiiv, an alternative to Substack. I’m testing out Beehiiv to see if it can be a good solution for my newsletter needs while Substack has an ongoing rampant alt-right issue in its user base that the company fails to clean up. There may come a day when I’ve maxed out my subscriber limit on the free tier of Beehiiv and will need to seek another free newsletter home, but for now, welcome old and new subscribers. I’m already pretty in love with Beehiiv’s customization.

Okay, all that is boring. Let’s get into the exciting fun stuff!

Secret Room - February 9, 2025

In one of the coolest events of the year and of my debut graphic novel launch, I’ll be reading from How Could You at Secret Room on Sunday, February 9th from 6 to 8pm. Reading with me will be Katie Berntson and her wife Ellie (Snapdragon) and Cam McCafferty (Baptism in the Mud), with live music by Moth Kit. I’M SO STOKED!! What a great line up! The theme is romance <3 Come get lovey dovey with us.

Sonny’s House x Dedmal Collective

I got invited to participate in this extremely epic collaboration between Dedmal Collective and Sonny’s House. From mid Feb to the end of March, you can catch a ton of cool animal art on display at Sonny’s House. I’m contributing a lino print (my first time ever working in the medium). I printed 10 total and there will only be 10 total in the world forever. So run don’t walk to the opening on February 15th!

Emerald City Comic Con 2025

Seattle, only one month separates you and I!! This is my favorite show of the year, so make some time to come say hi. I’ll have How Could You, Heave and Thaw, and Amira the Van Life Cunt Issue 1, along with some… good fortune? You’ll have to stop by and find out what that’s all about.

I’ll be at table F-19 with En Nelson-Correia. Cam McCafferty will be at F-20, Fawnduu will be at F-18, and Misha and Tay Kovac (my beloved letterer of How Could You) will be at F-17. More shoutouts to Jax (aka gildedruin) at D-03, Fend (Fine OK press) at E-13, and Lemon (of Sonny’s House fame) at F-24. Too many friends, I’m sure I’m not even getting everyone. Take your time walking through artist alley, this show is the best of the best.

We’re also coming to SoCal and Chicago!

See you out there!

Star Crossed: A Queer Tarot

We made it! The tarot card project is fully funded. If you haven’t placed an order for yours yet, now is the time. There’s less than 3 days left, so don’t miss out! My contribution was the Six of Pentacles. I used a limited palette influenced by tattoo inks and was inspired by medieval costume and 1960s illustrations.

What else did I do this month, hmm…

I gave a talk at Powell’s with Shay Mirk about How Could You and got to see my name on the Powell’s sign. The turnout was amazing, everyone was wonderful, and I feel so honored to have the opportunity to do something I’ve been dreaming of.

Unfortunately, after the high of Powell’s was the low of Fan Expo. I won’t get into it here, but I have a scathing blog post locked and loaded for Monday morning. You won’t want to miss it. I did get to meet some awesome artists and some of you came and said hi. I really appreciated those interactions because man, the show overall was not my favorite.

Then the mood picked back up because I got to go sign some books at Grand Gesture in downtown! Grand Gesture Books is a Black woman-owned bookstore in Portland that specializes in romance literature. Katherine is awesome, and the space is so cute. I highly recommend stopping in next time you’re in downtown! Here’s the link to their Bookshop site if you want to order from them and you aren’t local.

Another mixture of highs and lows hit this month when I was told that my comic series at Autostraddle will be coming to an end in March. It’s bittersweet, seeing as I’ve been doing it for so long. I am ready to move onto the next thing, but still… it’s a chapter closing. I’m looking towards compiling my backlog into a new publication, so cross your fingers for me!

Apart from that, The Shepherd’s Sword’s new website is still updating for paid subscribers this month. Public posts will be coming soon. I hope the new feature is working for everyone. If there are any bugs, please contact me.

And, yeah! I have a new pitch out on submission for a MG/YA graphic novel about wildfires and turning 14. I’m currently working on two additional pitches (Autostraddle collection and an illustrated poetry collection). I kind of hate making pitches. Why does it take me so long? Is it like this for everyone? What can I do to make it more fun?? Fortunately, it’s not a major part of the job in terms of overall time spent, but it would be nice if I could just do them quicker and get it over with lol If you’re an editor curious about my current pitches, contact Stephanie Winter aka the light of my life.

Here’s some sweet treats for you to check out:

• Guide to reducing Meta’s access to your personal data. Hit em in the dick.

• I’ve been playing Infinite Craft in between sudoku sessions. It’s very soothing.

• Breaking News USA is a news aggregator for current US events pulling links from publications that aren’t just the mainstream corporate publications. A great alternative to doomscrolling and relying on social media for news, too.

• Want to see YouTube videos from 15 years ago that no one else has ever seen?

• Now this next link is a YouTube video I wish everyone could see. If you like musicals, ABBA, disco, MaXXXine, The Substance give this music video a watch: Virginia by Boys Go To Jupiter