It's the 4th! Of February! The 4 year anniversary on the 4th!!!

... and this year I opted to finish that Book 2 cover for you guys instead of a proper anniversary image. Forgive me! 

But hey~ That was something I really wanted to get done for later this year. The decision to use this year's anniversary mostly to tease Book 2 was based on my answer to the question "what would readers of SlumberTown genuinely really wanna see?" and the answer to that was LABYRINTH because I've been rambling about it for what feels like forever now - and we'll finally see it coming to fruition soon. : )

Last year was a unique one for me - I took a big risk going into 2022 leaving a full-time job that was makin' me really miserable (for 6 years of my life!) to give freelancing a shot. That risk came with a lot of life changes, both good and bad, that have landed me where I'm at today. It was also the year I knew the main comic would be taking a hiatus, since Book 2 still had a lot of prep work I wanted to do before I felt comfortable and confident diving into it. I'd been writing Partly Cloudy on the side throughout 2021 and was excited to dip into a different type of project with SlumberTown, one that I had actually planned on doing back in my first year of working on it. The special episodes were something I wanted to do as a spin-off but wasn't able to get it on its feet until after I finished Book 1 of the comic, where I could make it my primary focus for a while. The point with the special episodes was... honestly a way of delving more into my characters and lore that I felt wouldn't be possible in the main comic due to the mystery arc taking the forefront. 

Partly Cloudy, in my eyes, was really successful in the sense that I was able to achieve what I wanted to do with it: giving you all a more slice-of-life, slow-paced outlook of what SlumberTown is like on more of an average day. I love my main comic and story to bits, but something that bothered me about it was the fact that I just don't spend as much focus in the main story on the town itself and the different relationships within it. And this was something that was important to me, because I want more people to engage and invest in the town; there's a community aspect to Slumber that you don't get to see as often when we're busy solving the big mysteries. It also gives me the opportunity to show Romy progressing more into the role of a therapy dog with the other residents, connecting to others through trauma and empathy. It was just a big part of the story I wanted to tell that had to be "its own thing", in a way, as to not detract the main storyline from where it needed to go. It's Macxi's way of making his cake and eating it too. 

2022 was a highly efficient year for me as a writer and artist. I mean, considering it was the only year where I was able to be a writer/artist full time - as a job - it's understandable! Not only did I feel like my art has improved in a lot of ways I wanted it to, I also got speedier and more proficient at creating SlumberTown in a way I wasn't before. I'm more comfortable with expressions, poses, colors, composition, pretty much everything... in a way where I don't really have to overthink my ideas too hard to make them work the way I intend. : )

In November, I had to pick up a part-time job, so I consider that particular phase of my life at an end. Perhaps it won't be the last time I get the chance to be a freelancer full-time, but getting a taste of it was amazing and truly showed me how much I love doing creative work and how it's where I'd like to be in the future someday.

I'll try to cut this short before I ramble too much. Ha! I'll just let you know how things are going with all the SlumberTown projects right now:

.....

Book 1: The Pearl:

Revisions over the last year have gone a lot slower than I hoped, but I don't regret putting it on the backburner to prioritize the newer stories. I figure the publishing could take a long time, and that's alright! I want to be happy with it, so I'm doing my best to get the pages to a standard of quality that I'd like. That takes time, especially for the earlier pages in my first year of experimenting with the comic. 

I have no idea when it'll be ready to be published, but I will continue to post them in batches on Webtoon (with the Spanish version as well, thanks to Roque and Lunar) when they are completed. Pages 27-31 are actually extremely close to being finished and so I hope to get that update out sooner rather than later. 

Special Episode 1: Partly Cloudy:

You can probably expect this to be my main project for the first half of 2023 as we work to wrap up the story! I'm working on Chapter 11 currently of what will likely be around 13-14 chapters in total. We're basically around the point of the third and final act. : ) 

While Partly Cloudy (as with future special episodes) has been written with the intent of being an optional read for SlumberTown fans, it gives a lot of care and insight to Boone as a character that will make the main story even more enjoyable if you've taken the time to read it. 

Book 2: Labyrinth:

It's happening!!! Once we're done with Partly Cloudy, we're gonna jump headfirst into the comic's second book!

It might seem hasty, but I've actually been working on writing Labyrinth a lot over the course of the last year or so. The 40 page prologue (whew!) is already fully scripted and I will likely begin working on pages to start the buffer before launch. If you're a patron, you'll likely see Labyrinth a little earlier than everyone else, hehe. 

I'm SUPER excited for it though! I've brainstormed Book 2 to heck and back - it's had a lot of thought put into it for a few years now. I hope it's a rewarding continuation of the 1st book. Once we get into Labyrinth around the 2nd half of the year, it'll be the primary SlumberTown project for a while... until we finish it! Book 1 took me three years to make, and I think Labyrinth could end up taking around 2-3 years as well - I've gotten a lot faster at making comic pages, but I think Book 2 will be a bit longer than Book 1 just based on how much STUFF we've got packed into it. It'll be a long ride, but I'm looking forward to the journey and hope you'll be there to enjoy it with me!

.....

And well, there you have it! A summary of where things are goin' in 2023.

I think it's also worth not being cryptic about it and just mentioning it straight out: I've not been in the best spot financially, especially over the last few months. I pour a LOT of time and energy into SlumberTown because it is something I'm truly and genuinely very passionate about making, and making without any profit incentive (it's something I think should always be free to read to anyone who wants to read it). 

That being said, I really REALLY appreciate every single one of my supporters and patrons for loving and believing in SlumberTown enough to invest your own hard-earned money in it, no matter how small the contribution. The financial support here on Patreon has quite literally helped to keep me afloat - it's money that goes directly to my livelihood like my rent, heating, food, medication, etc. Under better circumstances, it's money I'd love to use for SlumberTown itself - things like making merch for the comic, publishing the books, tabling at conventions, that sort of thing! And hopefully someday in the future, we'll see more of that support going THERE... it's what I've always dreamed of as a creator. But for the time being, thanks to your support, I can keep myself comfortably fed and housed so I can keep working on SlumberTown between my other jobs and responsibilities. : ) And that really means so, soooo much more than you could EVER imagine. Every contribution from all of you adds up, and has added up for me in the last couple years in a way where it really has helped me be able to focus more of my time and energy on these projects.

If you're not a patron - you don't have to be one, don't worry! I really appreciate you reading my stories either way. <3 But if you want to support me financially, this Patreon is one way of doing it - and Ko-Fi is another!

Whatever happens, I'm glad every day that I have SlumberTown to look forward to - and that I have readers who enjoy these characters and stories too. It means a lot to me that you're here. I hope you look forward to seeing everything I have planned for 2023... and beyond!

It's been a crazy four years! Let's move FOURTH into the future ahead!!!