Housekeeping # 2

This is now officially a thing.

Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash

About last August…

I’ve been away from social media since last May, as far as serious creation or promotion goes at least, and I am glad I took as much time as I did. In HK #1 (now that Housekeeping is a thing it must be treated as such, hence the acronym; everything important gets one), I highlighted the date of my return as 8/1/23. I had visions of returning to creating and social media to promote said creation on that date mostly because it seemed far enough in the future at the time. I felt like I’d have had enough R & R and that I’d be itching to get back.

I was not ready to get back.

I kicked the can a few more times before ultimately deciding to take the remainder of 2023 off. Last year was a big year for reasons I’ve already shared, though none of them were creative. I just couldn’t find the bandwidth to keep up. Too much posting, too much writing, not enough reflecting on what Ennead had become up to that point.

Quick reminder:

I launched Ennead’s first Kickstarter on 10/20/20:

And I launched Ennead’s sixth Kickstarter on 1/10/23:

So in less than 3 years I’d written hundred of pages of comic scripts, thousands of words of fantasy prose and related history, yet not once had I stopped and taken a break. Images of Inahtuu fighting fearlessly with his ya’rosa haunted me; Queen Ellaria’s voice echoing through the chambers of Evermore kept me awake some nights. I was just as much an inhabitant of Amashik as I was the continental U.S. of A.

And then life caught up to me…

I took a trip in April of last year and was able to tie a ribbon on this leg of the Ennead’s tale. I am very content with how I’ve brought each character to their ultimate resting place (a few of which are final) and I am ready to see this comic finished. But at the same time I was struck with the life stories of a half-dozen or so new characters spread out across space and time in whatever universe Amashik inhabits. I felt torn between what I’d committed to and what was exciting me at the time. I rearranged the chairs on the deck here on Substack but ultimately knew what I needed most was time.

And so here we are…

A week into the new year and life is still happening all around me- some of it good, some of it far from it- but the show must go on. A few weeks ago I started lettering again. I don’t think I lost too many of the steps I’d worked so hard to take what feels like forever ago.

Art by Trent Rommel, Colors by Bea Navarro

Art and SFX by Trent Rommel, Colors by Bea Navarro

It only took a few hours in a corner of Amashik for my love of the place to come rushing back.

So now what?

Book 8 is completely lettered and I’m poised to start Book 9 as soon as I’m done writing this. My schedule for Q1 and Q2 is written and shared with members of the art team; I’ve also got a Kickstarter that’s been stuck in preview for nearly a year that I plan on launching soon (though the scope for the project has changed). I’ll be here sticking with the plan to make this Substack more prose-centric, though I will continue to share previews of the comic as they come. I’ve got over 200 pages of this epic and I’ll definitely continue sharing them.

I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to making my plans known publicly… but here are some of the things you can expect to see over the coming weeks and months:

• More images. Pages, covers, merch ideas, collector’s boxes. If it’s pretty and tied to Ennead I’ll show it off. Any issues I share will be found in the Read The Comic section.

• I’ll get back to the commentary on the existing story as a means of getting back into the swing of things here and reintroducing myself and my characters to you. If you are curious about what I’ve had to say thus far head over to the Read The Commentary section.

• I read a lot of books last year. I finally finished The Dark Tower; I read the Broken Earth trilogy as well as the Silo trilogy (books behind the AppleTV show). Brandon Sanderson released more books last year than most have this century and I read those too. Non-Ennead, fantasy commentary or general lore/history about Amashik/Ennead will be found on the Homepage. Read this one.

• The paywall is going back up soon (date will be announced). And when it does a the second entry in my Substack Exclusive prose series will go up with it. Birthright Reclaimed- Part 1: The Riftstorm is free. Go read it.

  

  These ugly guys are in it so… Art and color by Jon Kutzer

I’m excited to be back. I’m grateful you’re still here. Now let’s enjoy our return trip to The World of Amashik.

JL