It is called Hot Summer. It has stories, poetry, and comics all themed around summer. Here is the cover and download links:
I first had the idea for doing a summer-themed collection near the start of last year, so about half the material is from then. Going back to stuff this old was sometimes challenging/confusing but it was ultimately rewarding. Finishing off a project that I figured I'd abandoned was very satisfying too.
Like my previous book, I went into this thing it would be pretty easy and that I was 80% done. Ha ha ha no. My initial release goal was June 21st, the first day of summer lol. Every time I thought I was getting close I'd think of something new to add. The important thing is that it's done, and that I like it, and that I can vaguely imagine other people maybe liking it.
Here are thoughts on the individual pieces:
Hot One - this was the first thing I wrote in my initial attempt at a summer book. I can't remember exactly what I was going for but I still like it.
Deep/Deeper/Deepest Summer - I wrote these last year at my cottage. I hoped to capture the mysterious feelings I had around the cottage when I was young.
The Tetris Incident - this one is from this year. It's partially based on something that happened to me in high school. Probably the role that represents me will be obvious.
beachcomic2016 - I have been drawing comics for as long as I can remember and my art has never improved. Please tolerate it long enough to enjoy these beach 4-koma.
Summer Poetry - eight free verse poems, some from this year and some from last year. This is the first time I've shared poetry to this extent so please read it "gently".
Haze - this is a companion piece to "Hot One" written recently. It aims to capture a very visceral feeling of heat.
tide pools - this features characters that appeared in my novel, but I actually wrote this before the novel so the continuity might not work out idk lol.
Summer Night - this is sort of a followup to "Spring Album" in LMAX. Again it feels like the emotional territory here is unexplored, and for maybe a good reason hahaha.
I don't really have much more to say. I hope you give them a try. If you get bored with any part of it feel free to skip to another story, there isn't any required reading order.
I have another collection like this that I'm finishing up now... I think. Once again, it feels about 80% done, which means we'll probably see it in early 2017 :)
There's also a gigantic thing that no one asked for and no one should read coming on September 6th.
And I'm also working on a novella-length sequel to my novel, and another standalone novel, but they are progressing very slowly/infrequently.
Oh and the cover page I made using a screenshot from the anime Ping Pong and a sky texture I saw in the Lil Yachty 1 Night video. Here it is without the text.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
3 comments:
I downloaded this like 5 minutes ago and have gotten to the Tetris Incident. I really liked Hot One. I don't get much rain where I am right now, so thinking about one of those rains that breaks the summer heat in Toronto feels real nostalgic.
I like your writing!
Thanks so much! Yeah, this year was brutally dry, our poor corn crop was suffering :(
I friggin knew she would be reading a book all along. Friggin book readers be reading dem books. Friggin dag nabbit ok I'll keep reading
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