A Release Date?!
Hi Friends! This will be a short post this week but I wanted to make an actual announcement about a release date for these pages, and a deeper look at the next couple of months.
To start with, I have really tried to limit my focus to just one project at a time. Unfortunately, that is not me. With the four titles bouncing around my brain all day every day, I want to make space for them all to be realized at the right time because all their stories unfold and link up in specific ways. While it does make sense to go one after another, certain events within each happen concurrently and it wouldn’t be ideal to have to reference a current thing that is basically old news by the time it happens in the next story. The other problem is that, while Nightingales is “first,” what title comes second? Third? Last? Well, that all depends on that event. That same event, however, can start in the title that I’m working on second, so when we see the origin of it in say Hedge Kingdom, we’ve already seen some out-of-context something happen in Nightingales. These stories are planned out in a certain way, and I don’t want to break that. It’s a lot on me, especially given all the other stuff I’m trying to do. But it’s really the best way for me to go about what’s happening, especially for weekly-release pages.
Next, as mentioned, there are linked storylines for all four titles. A thing that starts in one part of the universe (another title) will have ramifications somewhere else, and will reach conflict and resolution in other places. I like that kind of storytelling because it reinforces how connected all four stories are. The point is that I tell my stories the best way I can, and learn to do it better later. So no holding back!
Weekly releases will be a thing until all 30 chapters of each story are told. That’s a lot of pages and that’s my compromise on “do less until you can do more.” My eyes are bigger than my stomach, probably, but that’s what I’m aiming at. So each week in development is a scene from a specific title, which is about four pages of work. Once those four pages are complete (including letters and placement in the print layout), I move on to the next scene in that series the following month. Once that second scene is done, and placed in the layout, that’s one you’ll see the first completed page from the prior month. Once the final scene is done, and placed in the layout, that whole book goes to the printer and I’m moving onto the first scene of the second chapter, and going from there. The plan is to prioritize the weekly web-releases so that the print releases can stand on their own and feel like their own special events, rather than, “Oh issue whatever was late this month.” Nah, they’ll get printed when they’re done. Again, prioritizing the web releases for reading and viewing.
All this to bring us here. I wasn’t originally going to do it like this but I think it needs to be done like this: we’re starting with the prelude books. In February and March, I’ll be working on the 8-page prelude stories for each title.
February Week 1: Nightingales scene 1
February Week 2: Warsaints scene 1
February Week 3: Hedge Kingdom scene 1
February Week 4: Black Crown scene 1
March Week 1: Nightingales scene 2
March Week 2: Warsaints scene 2
March Week 3: Hedge Kingdom scene 2
March Week 4: Black Crown scene 2
At the end of March, all pages of all the scenes will be put into layout for print as a single prelude book. That’s 32 of prelude that kicks off the stuff that happens in each title’s issue 1. So you can think of each prelude chapter as the issue 0 (that’s actually how I’m looking at it). You’ll get to meet the main characters and get a taste of the main environmental conflicts around them. As for their web release, you can expect to see the first page of each story released April Week 1, the same month that the books go off to print, and also the same week that I start work on Nightingales #1 scene 1.
I was mulling over pushing back the release window until I had two scenes down for each book’s issue 1. I’m still thinking about doing that so if there is a change to that release window, you’ll know why. The main reason being is that it would feel good to be finished the second scene of the issue 1s before releasing them, to kinda keep my momentum going and give me a buffer. However, issue 0 is that buffer. Again, prioritizing the web releases, so this technically means that the titles start with issue 0, narratively, and that when page 8 goes live, I’ll be starting scene 3 of issue 1. See? Buffer.
Anyway, that’s all! I hope everyone is enjoying the Daily Digital pieces I’ve been posting on Bsky! I’m behind on my weeklies and haven’t yet started my monthly but give me time, they’ll get up there.
Anyway, thanks for reading!!