July 2020 Mid-month Update

New Offerings:

Introducing the newest membership/club offering for young creatives. Please stop by the storefront and take a look at the Creative Kids Club Membership. It’s still in development and waiting for the first 20 interested parties before I invest in the platform setup, BUT it’s under development and so far, the feedback has been positive. Sign up for more information here.


Writing:

The summer is half over already. My creative season usually begins on the 1st of October, but this year—I plan to get a head start. The COVID19 pandemic has impacted me financially in ways I did not anticipate which is requiring me to re-build and rethink the ways I’m bridging my living expenses and creative outputs. In the grand scheme of things, I’m very lucky. Financial impact is a lesser blow compared to those who’ve been catastrophically ill or lost loved ones.

In short, changes are afoot to push this site into a marketplace for my brand offerings, and to open my schedule to new gigs and commissions. The brand push has needed to happen anyway. The prep to get those offerings up and available to the public had been put off too long already.

The remodel will allow for the patron section to return through a membership program for those who have asked to continue to participate as patrons. AND when the time and funds allow, the site will also become a portal for the e-zine launch and social interactive community space and forums.

It’s time. I’d hoped to put off the large marketing campaign until Plague of Gargoyles was in print, but that may be six months or more and the marketing campaign is needing to happen. Nothing like a little pandemic to light a fire under my arse and get things going. I’ve been able to procrastinate and find excuses to avoid a public facing reach, but, well, I guess it’s time to brush my teeth, find some shoes and step out in front of the work.

The Elder Glade Update:

This summer The Elder Glade as been peaceful. The usual haranguing from raccoons and wolves has diminished significantly since Dakota joined the menagerie. In fact, I haven’t seen a wolf or coyote in months. I’ve spotted the cougar scat and what I assume was black bear scat on the trails, but nothing within range of Dakota’s patrolling. So, I’ve found a new vigor to be out and about with less concern over the big critters eating Princess Buttercup while we’re exploring.

One of the many benefits of living in the wilderness is the abundant, beautiful array of wildflowers all through the season. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to pick bundles of daisies, foxglove, yarrow and much more while out on our excursions. The bouquets brighten up my writing desk and make the days seem a little less heartbreaking. Because yes, the world is breaking my heart right now. People…people are breaking my heart.
Raspberry season is peaking right now. Every spring I think I’ve cut my raspberries back too far and it will be the year I’ve finally killed the patch—yet every summer the stalks explode into a jungle of new canes. This year I’m averaging about a half gallon of berries every two days. Sure, I eat a ton of them as I’m picking (so does Dakota), the rest I freeze for winter cobblers, or preserve for liqueurs in a Vodka solution. This year I’m trying out a raspberry margarita mix (tequila and triple sec solution). I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime—the raspberries.