Beckon Stalls out...

And summer schedule settles in

You may have noticed my writing here has slowed down a bit - or maybe not, is this languishing in your spam folder? Who can say?

I've been writing Authorstrator since 2022 and when I started, it was kind of *shrug* see what happens. And I have loved writing this newsletter and connecting with readers and creatives and getting to know them, connecting with artists, and discovering amazing writers.

The internet has changed in that time - the social media landscape, search, slop. In just 3 years things have gotten ... weird(er) out here in cyberspace. Plus real life has thrown a few curve balls my way. And I'm still struggling to figure out how to move forward in the chaos. Generally, when the next step is hard to figure out, it means changing and evolving the way I do things. And giving myself room to evolve as a creative. I'm debating with myself, planning and making decisions about what I want to accomplish in life and here in this space, what I want to share with you and how to generally provide you with a go-to time-waister that brings you joy, laughs, and a bit of useful publishing/craft info.

I’ve been thinking about this for some time but its taking me a while to sort out exactly how I want to spruce up Authorstrator because of all the real life things going on. Summer is supposed to be a time to slow down and relax, but for my family, it seems to be a time when everything ramps up - kids sports and tournaments, birthday parties and extracurriculars. There’s a lot. So, in order to process the changing world, my own creative priorities, punctual soccer practice arrival times, and figure out what's next for this newsletter, I will be slowing down at Authorstrator for the summer. What does that look like? I'm not sure! Maybe a post once a month? But I won’t be shutting down. Just slowing down. I'll check in with new doodles as I go. And come September 1st, I hope to have new and exciting things for you - a new and improved Authorstrator, overhauled and freshened up.

So stick around, because there will still be doodles and posts! Just at a slower clip. Until September!

Doodle

It’s taken me a while to get more Beckon pages done - I didn’t even finish in time for Mermay! But still I persist - you can find the first pages here.

I hope you like them! I hope to have the final opening pages later this summer - there will be lots more mermaid action in this Beckon story than the opening pages would have you believe haha

Did you spot the mermaid?!

What I’m Working On

Sprucing up Authorstrator! I’ve got plans for more Beckon pages as well as an upcoming nostalgia post about my love for Archie comics and how they’ve influenced me. I’m really excited to have an excuse to talk about Archie.

Also, Thig posted this great 500 heads challenge that I really want to do. My drawing arms is feeling rusty and I need to exercise it a bit.

Are you working on any drawing challenges?

What I’m Reading

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - an oldie, and I’ve never read the full book before. But I love the movie so I thought I’d give it a go. I’ve read the first few pages a few times, but I wanted to read the whole thing. And…it’s definitely deserving of all the hype it got. I’m loving it.

Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake (illustrations by Jon Klassen) - I love Jon Klassen’s art style, and I saw a video of him talking about this book he illustrated on his newsletter, so I just had to check it out. So so pretty to look at and the story itself its perfect for bedtime reading with my little guy. We’re enjoying it a lot.

What are you reading?

Till next time!