Big Spring Update!

Howdy, y’all! I’ve got some updates to share as we inch ever closer to summer, so you know what that means…

It’s time for another blog post!!!

First on the docket: conventions.

Something is in the air because I keep getting emails left and right with offers to pull me from waitlists, so I’ve another convention to add to my already overflowing list. Isshocon’s Otaku Detroit Summer Bash is July 5-6th in Ann Arbor, MI, and you can expect to see me there with a pared down arrangement of my work. With Dokidokon just a couple weeks later, I don’t have much time for a full restock. Don’t be surprised if I don’t have my new bags, mugs, or too many of any specific title. If there’s something you need, please let me know in advance so I can reserve it for you to pick up at-con!

After the Summer Bash is Dokidokon in Kalamazoo, MI, July 18-20th. This will have the full spread of my current wares as well as a few copies of HIRAETH for those who still need to pick it up. 

August is my very big, very busy convention month this year with back-to-back major conventions! From the 14-17th I will be in Washington D.C. for the very first ever Once Upon a Con Romantasy Book event, a very large, very romance novel-specific convention that will serve as my first ever attempt at vending at a… romance novel-specific convention. Lol. I’ll be around with a large group of popular indie authors you may have heard of (Ladz, Morgan Dante, Ian Haramaki, etc…) and will make up the unofficial Queer Fucky Romance selection available to those who aren’t just in search of ACOTAR-style reads. If you’re in the area, please consider stopping by to support us! This is my first time ever in D.C. and a few friendly faces would go a long way in making it a fun time for me.

I’m still not entirely sure how many titles I’ll be bringing with me to this given I have to fly and deal with the constraints of this specific event. Expect plenty of INFAUST, OSSUARY, [CONVERGENCE], and LETIFER, but how many I bring of either main series is still up in the air, and at the very least I will aim to have tote bags with me, though how many designs, I’m still not entirely sure.

Immediately after OUAC is Matsuricon in Columbus, OH, August 22-24th. This is one of my all-time favorite conventions EVER, so the fact that I get to go back to it is really, really exciting. Expect the fullest of full tables here and even a few new designs of flags and tote bags—maybe even some new merch options entirely, if the timing works out—and every book I’ve got under my belt. 

That’s all for conventions right now, though I do have more once we hit November. But on to the bulk of what this update is about: Itchio titles!

I sent out a news blast about Courtly Love’s surprise publication last month, and after the really positive response it got, I figured this time, I’d let everyone know that I’ve got another Itchio exclusive novella coming this month. Sweet Mother, I Cannot Weave may sound familiar to some of my patron peeps, but for those who haven’t experienced this one, let me give you the summary.

Laelia Naevius is cursed by the goddess Venus. She’s eighteen, well past the usual marrying age for those of her social standing, and despite her father's fervent prayers and endless work, every single suitor she finds herself betrothed to dies before she can make it to the altar. She supposes she should be upset by this—the gods know her father is—but she can't help but thank the Goddess for throwing her a bone. She doesn't want to get married at all. She's too busy staring at another girl.

The girl in question is another noble, a Persian woman fighting as a ludia, a gladiatrix, in the arena. Lady Jihane is a skilled warrior, one of the best, and watching her fight makes something awaken in Laelia that she has never felt before. It’s an easy thing to beg her father to let her spend time with this strong noblewoman—if he believes it might put her on a proper path, the path of a dutiful wife, then so be it—but training in swordplay is far more enticing than homemaking lessons could ever hope to be, and Jihane is far more skilled in the former than the latter, even if she is a stern teacher. There is power in what Jihane does, in how she lives her life and clashes with others in the arena, and Laelia can’t help but want to be a part of it, no matter how many bruises or late-night training sessions it takes.

Of course, Laelia just wished she knew how to combat this strange, exhilarating feeling growing in her stomach before it leads her down a road her father definitely wouldn’t want her to take.

This is a roughly 30k sapphic smutty romcom novella that has gone through a couple iterations over the years before manifesting into the story it is now. It’s silly, historic, smutty, and full of unhinged sapphic yearning and courtship through mutual muscle-gains. It’s for anyone who has been hounding me for more lesbian offerings that aren’t caught behind a Patreon paywall, and with any luck, I’ll get a proper cover made so it can go on Amazon one day—both digitally AND in print. That goes for Courtly Love too.

This title will drop on Itchio May 15th, so if it sounds like it’s up your alley, you can pre-order here: https://tdcloud.itch.io/sweet-mother-i-cannot-weave. All patrons at the $5 tier on my Patreon will get access to it as well through the Itchio integration link. I think it’ll be a fun time! I hope y’all enjoy it if you pick it up.

I’ll have one more Itchio novella release this summer, but don’t expect it until after August since it’s part of a big group event thing. If you haven’t heard, I’m participating in the Monster Manor’s Wet Hot Queer Summer Writer Jam event, which is more or less like NaNoWriMo except this one takes place over the course of three months and has a theme. All entries have to contain something that ties into the premise “Wet and Hot and Queer.” I’ll be revisiting the vaults again with this one, though with a total overhaul versus a minor spot-check edit/touch up on the old title. Anyone who remembers the story Lambent will have a good idea of what I’m working on, but I’ll save more details for later.

If you’re an author and would like to participate in the Writer Jam event, you absolutely should. There is no word count requirement and the Monster Manor Discord has a channel dedicated to the event, so there’s constant support, encouragement, and other authors and creatives available to lean on should you need additional help to get your project off the ground—including discounted cover, editing, and formatting services. I think if you’ve ever wanted to do something like NaNoWriMo without the AI bullshit, time crunch, or pressure to put out a full book-sized thing… This may be the avenue to make it happen. 

And hey, even if you don’t participate, you can certainly still reap the benefits of everyone else’s work. All of the titles created for the Jam will be available for purchase on Itchio and even Amazon should the author choose to cross-post. You can check out the page here for more information: https://itch.io/jam/hot-wet-queer-summer-jam

Final note for this post will be that a few of my stories are going to be on sale in June! The Monster Manor (seriously guys, can’t recommend this Discord enough if you are an indie author or just someone who likes and wants to support/find indie authors and their work) is hosting a Pride sale across Amazon and Itchio. I believe I’ve got LETIFER and Courtly Love in this? It’s been a hot minute since I filled out the thing. Either way, I’ll post more stuff about that when we get closer to June. Just know that it’ll be a great place to stuff your ereaders if you find you’ve got a hankering for more queer indie work.

That’s it for now though. It’s going to be a busy summer, but so long as I keep to my schedule and rest when I’ve got the time to rest, I should make it through just fine. Thank you all for the support and as always, until next time!

T.D. Cloud