July 2025 Dispatch
Hey everyone! Happy July to those who celebrate summer, and to everyone else, crank up the AC and stay in the shade. Unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case stay warm!
First off, thanks to everyone who picked up one of the Chevali Firebirds Team Boxes! We will be spending much of July packing it into boxes from our happy paws to your eager ones, and plan to have it all shipped before the end of July. When they arrive, post pics of yourself wearing the clothes (not the e-books, although if you can figure out a way…), fursuits encouraged but not necessary. We want to see how good you look!
June was satisfying in that I wrapped up two projects: final text on Weasel Under the Sun and first draft of the craft book! It feels really good to have those off my plate. Next I’ll be tackling revisions to Wolftown 3 and Azure City as I work on building up some buffer to the Monster Huggers story. I’m already having a lot of fun with it (if you haven’t checked it out, come hug a monster)! In July I’ve got a writing retreat and then San Diego ComicCon, but I’ll get some writing time in there, I’m sure.
(Speaking of Weasel Under the Sun, we have a cover artist chosen and look forward to having some cool art to show y’all soon!)
We just got back from dealing at BayCon, a local science fiction convention. While it was small by furry standards, it was interesting to see how the SF&F (or just SFF) scene has changed, especially in their awareness of furry. Several of the dealers we talked to said they were hoping to deal at FC, and we even saw a couple fursuits around. People enjoyed looking at our books and we had some good conversations with patrons and other dealers.
We’ve got some new art for The Price of Thorns, again from the talented Hibbary. Those of you familiar with the book will recognize the scene:
Upcoming conventions: As I mentioned, we’ll be at San Diego Comic-Con, back at good old booth 1236 along with some other friendly furry folk. Come by to get some books or just to say hi! We’ve also booked our flight to Furry Migration in September and will be helping out with FurPlanet’s table there as well as doing some panels. And we’re on a waiting list for Another Fur Con but keeping our paws crossed—maybe we’ll see you there!
If you can’t make it to any of those, then I hope you have a fantastic July, and I’ll tell you all about San Diego in August.
Books:
Dead Right: The sequel to Unfinished Business! Jae gets tangled in the life of a ghost activist who endangers his relationships and his future. Out now in print and e-book form at Argyll Productions and wherever you get books!
Squeak Thief: A rich mouse hires a fox thief to steal from his own family, but the job quickly spirals out of control. You can get it as a print book on FurPlanet or Amazon, or as an e-book on BadDogBooks or any other major retailer.
The Price of Thorns: buy at Argyll and review at Amazon or GoodReads. In a fantasy world where stories are woven into the fabric of magic and life, Nivvy the thief is hired by a mysterious woman, and this job will change his life in ways he could never have anticipated.
Audiobooks: Love Match 2 is out! Find it on Audible or iTunes.
Work on the Price of Thorns audiobook is largely done with just pickups and post left; we hope to have this out later this year. The Dude, Where’s My Pack? audiobook is also in process, as is Squeak Thief!
Other upcoming releases:
Weasel Under The Sun: 2025 (Fall). The third Ellie Stone mystery (second to be published on its own)! Ellie works for a month in another family’s kitchen while hers is on vacation, but murder will follow her anywhere…
Azure City: 2025 (Fall). A book full of blank pages might be the key to another world, but the more Athos reads, the more he disappears from this one.
Unlawful Possesssion (Wolftown book 3): 2025 (Winter): Chasing a ghost-napper, Jae uncovers a larger, more sinister plot.
In progress:
Robin Hood fan fic (two books) — draft complete, awaiting revision
Third Wolftown book — draft complete, awaiting revision
Ty the Knot — draft complete, awaiting revision
Fast Break (a gay basketball player story on Patreon) — first draft ongoing
craft book — first draft done!
untitled fantasy world project — outlining
Streaming:
Speed Racer — Not the original cartoon but the Wachowskis’ 2008 movie. I’d heard it was better than the reviews it got, but I did not expect to be drawn in immediately to the colorful, kinetic world they created that is perfect to tell the story. It’s a cartoon world but the characters play it straight and it works. Really enjoyed it and would recommend checking it out.
Man on the Inside (Netflix) — A Mike Schur (Parks & Rec, The Good Place) show that has all the heart and gentle humor you’d expect. Ted Danson is wonderful as an aging professor who’s just buried his wife and, in looking for something to occupy his time, agrees to infiltrate a retirement home where a private investigator is looking into thefts from the occupants. Stephanie Beatriz gets too little time as the head of the home, but everyone in this is a delight and the city of San Francisco gets some lovely screen time as well. Really enjoyed it.
Andor (Disney+) — Haven’t quite finished season two, and this seems like the kind of show where either you’ve seen it already or you’re not interested. But just in case…Diego Luna and Stellan Skårsgard are fantastic, and the supporting cast is equally good. Love the writing as we watch the Rebellion take shape, especially the bits where the Empire treats peaceful protests as insurrection, which seems annoyingly relevant.
Big Little Lies (Max HBO Max) — I’ve heard a lot about this show and finally decided to give it a shot. It’s a type of show I’m familiar with (middle-class people take out their insecurities on their friends and family), but is an excellent example of the type. Reese Witherspoon (through three episodes) brings the same energy she brought to The Morning Show, and Laura Dern is a fantastic foil for her, as these moms of elementary school kids elevate community theater squabbles and kindergarteners kissing to fights that end with someone being killed. We don’t know who yet; the show is mostly told in flashback from the night of a murder in the community.