I'm back home safe, and while I had a wonderful time at Anthrocon, my wallet is still trying to recover from all the stuff I bought :p

The live reading went well, and even garnered an immediate response of interest from one of the audience members. I'll do a bit of formatting work and post the excerpt in here later. On the art side of things, almost half of my artwork in the Art Show sold. A good outcome, though I was rather surprised some pieces didn't get any bids. I'll take that into consideration for next year's submissions. Ah, yeah, I do intend to return next year!

Now that I'm home and Art Show obligations complete, my focus will shift back to writing. AetherFox is nearly finished with the next round of edits, and I've already found a possible publisher after making some connections at the convention. More details on that when I get them, if they bear fruit. Beyond that, Auran Legend's rewrite will kick back into gear and I hope to have that one ready for submission early next year (year of the horse, fittingly), and I'm considering making New Atlantis' story collection my next project after that. Science-Fantasy Pulp Adventure escapism!

Speaking of writing, I've got a new story undergoing final edits for another anthology! Captain Zara, my bunny pirate, finally gets her debut story as part of a collection from the Furry Historical Fiction Society. More details on that soon, too.

As for cons, MFF is definitely on the docket, and I'm also seriously considering attending Megaplex this year, since the dates coincide perfectly with a holiday (in other words, I won't have to take time off work).


And lastly... hmm... I've got another surprise coming down the line, maybe in a couple months, but I don't wanna reveal it yet ;) Just something I've never done before, but always wanted to......

I've arrived at Anthrocon!

I'll be wandering around as usual, feel free to say hi if you come across my badges. Oh, and I've got 14 pieces in the Art Show this year, so if you've ever fancied getting high-quality prints of my artwork already matted and ready for framing, come take a look.

ALSO... Tonight at 9pm in the AWOO Presents panel, I along with a few other furry authors will be doing live readings of excerpts from our works. I'll be bringing a never-before-shown piece from my New Atlantis stories to read (and, hopefully, will not be a nervous wreck speaking to a crowd).

Since the admins are still hard at work bringing FA back up to sorts, I figured I'd remind everyone I've also got alternative sites where I upload stuff! In case this site is down longer than expected, you can also find me at SoFurry here and at Bluesky here. I've also got galleries at Weasyl here and at deviantArt here, though I admit I'm not as active on those sites as I used to be. Still, I've been trying to keep them reasonably up to date.

Nominations for the 2024 Ursa Major Awards are open, and I've got an eligible story and art piece!

Gemini Lunae in Short Fiction
(you can read it here)

and

Breathing In at 80 Fathoms in Visual Art
(you can view it here)

See the link below to nominate:
https://ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm

And best of luck, mutuals who also have eligible works!

Now that I'm back from Japan and the jet lag is (mostly) gone, I figure it's time to set my sights on what I'd like to accomplish this year.

First, the Ursa Major Awards are accepting recommendations for the 2024 reading list, and I've got a story eligible! It's Gemini Lunae, here on this site. You can check the Ursa Majors site here for details on where to send the recommendations to.
EDIT: I also have a Visual piece that's eligible! It's "Breathing In at 80 Fathoms," found here.

Also, my novel AetherFox is finished and in the hands of an editor. (Remember this brave fennec?) We're looking at the possibility of splitting her story into a duology since at 102k words it's a tad longer than a typical debut novel, but I'm hoping (seriously hoping) to get it to a publisher later this year regardless.

And with that handled, my focus this year will be completing the rewrite of my fantasy epic, Auran Legend. Following some advice and encouragement from another editor, I've completely reworked the narrative and I really love how much smoother it flows, particularly now that I've had a chance to tweak the interactions among a few characters and carve away some sections that were slowing the story down. My goal is to have it ready to send off to edits by the end of this year so it'll be ready to submit to a publisher in 2026 (year of the horse, fittingly, as the protagonist is a mare).

And on the art front, I plan to return to conventions this year, and since Anthrocon's theme is all about Atlantis and the ocean, you know this water-loving otter will have to make some artwork in line with that! I've already got some ideas, and it'll be nice to have some themed work for the Art Show this year.

Oh and... I'll have one more exciting surprise to reveal later this summer - something I've never done before! More details on that when the project's further along, so all you get right now is this tease of a statement :p

Four years...

I remember back in 2016, when I stared incredulously at the poll results and wondered just how bad it could be. Not gonna lie, the next four years weren't the best. At all. However, in 2021, I kept thinking, "If only I could have told my 2016 self, 'Just four years, and you can exhale." I'm kinda wondering about that now, if my future self is struggling to say that to me now.

Just four years.

Seeing the results the other day, I was suddenly drawn back to the worse parts of those four years as awful memories flooded back. As those four years went by, I hated having to read news reports about how horrendous things were happening to innocent people. How a callous administration had no concern for human decency, or even dignity. I hated reading story after story about another and another and another terrible thing happening, to the point I even had to unfollow a lot of folks I admired because their socials had gone from beautiful art and poignant anecdotes to reposts galore of more awful things going on in the country. It was exhausting seeing "RESIST" over and over, everywhere, from people forced to fight to be themselves in the face of cruelty. Necessary, definitely, but a struggle nonetheless as it made me realize innocent people were threatened in so many different ways.

And Wednesday, I saw it again. I was brought back to tired nights worrying for my country. For my friends. It was an utterly exhausting four years, and I dread having to go through that again wondering what parts of our democracy once held sacred might not make it through intact...

But I still made it through those four years.

Over those four years, I learned self-care. I made art. I wrote an entire novel. I wrote what I consider one of my best short stories ever (Lucid, in ROAR 8). I maintained connections with my friends. I even deepened some of those friendships through sharing mutual interests. I attended conventions. I spent time with family. I played fun, memorable video games and saw some amazing movies. I discovered amazing, inspiring new music. I became engorged in numerous book series, inspiring me further to write and that even led to my first-ever writing retreat where I learned so much more (Hi, RAWR 4 peeps!). In spite of what happened, I persevered with others I held dear. I had reasons to smile.

I don't know what the future holds. I don't know if what we're about to face will last four years, or longer, or even shorter. But one thing I'm confident about is that I'll make it through it. It'll probably suck, but that isn't a reason to give up already. I will carry on. I choose hope. I will smile. I will create. I will learn. I will support my friends and worthy causes to make life just a little better for those less fortunate than I. I will be a positive light. And I will continue to believe that circumstances like these can be temporary.

I've got stories to tell, and I choose to make them to show you all.

I've also still got things to look forward to, like a trip to Japan next month! And hey, the way things are shaping up, I'll have something new and exciting to experience next summer that I've never done before! More details on that next year ;)

All that to say: Please don't give up. We all are here for one another. I choose not to fall in to despair again, remembering that I made it through before, and I will support you as we make it through this circumstance together. More than anything else, we all support each other.

Though I posted this a while back, it was well before Xitter got as bad as it is now, so here's my BlueSky link again!

https://bsky.app/profile/aelius.bsky.social

But we're back now, so... yay! ^_^

To the furs heading to Pittsburgh, I hope you all have a wonderful Anthrocon!
Sadly I won't be able to make it this year, for the first time since I began attending furry cons. Anthrocon's always been special to me since it was my first con ever, and until this year I've attended every year since then. Yeah, I... probably shouldn't remind myself I've been going to Anthrocon every year for the past twenty years... >_< Wow.

Anyways, to those curious, my being unable to attend is simply a matter of finances (last month's Disney trip and an upcoming Japan trip have claimed my vacation funds this year).

Next year, though! And until then, I hereby grant everyone permission to have fun at Anthrocon this year without me.

Meanwhile, I'm alternating between writing some stories of New Atlantis, and drawing some art pieces (mostly of New Atlantis). I don't have anything quite ready to show off yet. The stories are destined for a collection of vignettes to be collected and hopefully published in the near-future. As for the art, I hope to have some pieces on the way in the coming weeks.

Previous journal is months old, so no better time to updated it than right before my next convention!
I'll be at Motor City FurCon this weekend. Lately I've been focusing a lot on writing, but now having finished a short story for an anthology and another first draft for Voice of Dog, I figure a convention would be a good chance to switch gears and do some casual sketching. Maybe I'll have something to show soon, along with the commissions I'll inevitably get ^_^

MFF was a whirlwind, but a fun one nonetheless. Now that I'm back and Christmas is upon us, I figure it's time I start focusing on what's to come.

First off... I better come up with a Christmas artwork fast. I've been pondering some ideas but haven't yet found one that's jumped out yet. Hopefully soon!

Next, I plan on dedicating the Spring and Summer of '24 to completing Chronicles of New Atlantis. Ideas I've had for the over-arching story have developed enough that I think I can start connecting the various stories (chronicles) together into a cohesive narrative. It's a really fun world to get lost in, and I really want to get this project out there while the magic is still present. There's plenty of inspiration all around, too.

After that, I intend to return to Auran Legend. Sadly, the story had been rejected by a publisher, but interestingly enough the moment I got the rejection letter I sort of switched immediately to "here's how we fix it" mode. Apparently my subconscious forgot I was supposed to grieve over the rejection or something - that came later, after I'd jotted down a few pages of notes that were already giving me hope again :p In any case, I've gone back to the narrative and reworked a lot of elements that I felt were slowing down the story or feeling too rote. As one of my editors once said, fantasy is really hard to do well, but I enjoy the challenge because I enjoy the genre. Hoping to have something to show for it before long.

I've also been running Ellie/Dame Sahara's story, AetherFox through another series of editing passes, and I think I'm almost at a point to where I can send it off for a beta read. More on that as things develop.

On the art front, pending Christmas piece aside, I don't have anything specific that I'm working toward. I've got tons of ideas, sure, but desire to draw still remains elusive (likely in the face of the writing I want to belt out). Hopefully that will change in the coming months, especially since I've been trying to convince myself that sketching is okay and doesn't have to yield a masterpiece every time. That... is a difficult lesson for me, no matter how many times I remind myself -.-

Anyways... Um, happy holidays!

Hey all!
Just a quick reminder that this afternoon, I'll be taking part in an Extra Life D&D stream on Twitch! I'll be playing in a one-shot adventure based in the 5e setting called the Beast World, from Heartleaf Games.

The stream will be TODAY at 6pm EDT on the Digital Dungeons channel on Twitch.


Here's the link to the stream:

https://www.twitch.tv/digital_dungeons

And my donor page can be found here:

https://www.extra-life.org/index.cf.....ipantID=524101

If you can, come watch, and donate to a good cause!

Hey all!
This weekend, I'll be taking part in an Extra Life D&D stream on Twitch! I'll be playing in a one-shot adventure based in the 5e setting called the Beast World, which just completed a very successful Kickstarter for its first adventure module.

The stream will be Sunday afternoon at 6pm EST, but my donor page is [u]here if you'd like to bookmark it.

To those curious, the Beast World is a 5e-compatible setting where a mysterious presence called the "Dungeon" seemingly appears out of nowhere in localized regions of the land, and sometimes disappears just as mysteriously. Within, one will find a variety of weird creatures, odd structures, and of course, plenty of exotic loot. Adventurers in this setting are called Delvers, and seek out these incursions for the prospect of glory, riches, knowledge, and/or the protection of innocents from the otherworldly creatures that emerge from it. Since the Dungeon can make an appearance anywhere, Delvers often travel in heavily-modified and customizable wagons, sometimes joining up in entire caravans, to seek out these incursions. Along the way, a crew is likely to fend off a variety of foes, from highway robbers and criminal organizations to powerful liches and vampires, with the occasional dragon or eldritch being for good measure.

I'll post the link closer to the date of the stream. If you can, come watch, and donate to a good cause!

In case stuff happens, I've got a Carrd site with other links to sites I'm on! Some pages are works in progress (I'm slow to update 'em), and I expect to have more sites added as time goes on and the social media landscape evolves. I'll still be here, of course, but in case you're looking for me in other places, inquire within...

https://aelius24.carrd.co

I had a wonderful time at Anthrocon this year. Met up with a lot of people I haven't seen face-to-face in a year or longer, and even got connected to some potential opportunities I might try out in the future (more details as they come). Regarding the commissions I usually splurge my money on, I had to practice moderation this year since I'm fresh off a new car purchase and need to watch my funds for a while. Even so, I got to do plenty in Pittsburgh, and I'm already looking forward to my next con, which will likely be MFF this year if things pan out.

Also, made more Art Show sales this year than I have since before COVID, so I'm jazzed about that. Chatting with a few folks regarding my art, it's really making me consider opening back up for commissions again. If I do, it'll likely be sometime in the Fall when I can get some free time blocked out dedicated for art. No more waiting months for a color piece, hopefully. I'll be sure to make an announcement well beforehand so everyone will know ahead of time. Also gotta update my prices...

And finally, I've gotten word that another of my stories will be narrated on the Voice of Dog podcast! My Rune Weaver tale featuring Maple is in the process of being edited for narration, so really looking forward to that, as well.

For the rest of July, I hope to get back to writing. I've gotten some new ideas for the direction of New Atlantis (with quite a bit of interest in the themes from others in my writing circles), and I've even been exploring some new elements for Serenity's Edge (Kaili's story) that I hope will inject a bit more originality to the setting in preparation for writing that one out, as well.

Oh, heh... and I just realized... Anthrocon was the first furry convention I ever attended, and I've attended EVERY year since then. If you include 2020's virtual con, this was my twentieth Anthrocon. All consecutive, since 2003 XD

Tomorrow I'm scheduled to leave for Anthrocon. Looking forward to seeing everybody, especially considering the fact it's been an entire year since I've been to a furry con at all.

I'll have some works on display in the Art Show, and beyond that I'm gonna chill and enjoy hanging around fellow furs as always ^_^

Just like the title says, who all plans to attend Anthrocon this year? I need to find people to hang with!

The Ursa Major Awards are open for year-2022 nominations! There are some wonderful examples on the recommendations list, but I've got some eligible pieces that can be nominated, too! Watchers, I humbly request you submit a nomination form... I've got a short story, Rune Weaver for the Short Fiction category, and 2 artworks, New Atlantis & Night Vista for the Published Illustrations category, all found here at FurAffinity and/or SoFurry.

You can toss in your nominations here: https://ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm and there are plenty of other categories you can add nominations to if you would like to see other works up for an award.

Over the past couple months I've pondered how closely my New Atlantis setting fits within the fascinating genre that is Solarpunk. It does focus a lot on a utopian society where futuristic technology and nature have embraced, sustainable living has been achieved, and the prejudices and strife of the past have been abandoned. That being said, New Atlantis steers toward more fantastical elements not typically found in Solarpunk, and a lot of theming is around glowing elements that can't be seen in the day (presence of "solar," y'know?). Plus, the "punk" element is focused more on defiant survival in a mysterious wilderness where unseen dangers prevail, rather than resisting against an establishment present throughout society (I guess the nudity of naturism also has a place in that defiance of norms, too :p ). The themes are similar, but still divergent enough for me to wonder if it makes its own unique brand. In other words... Lunarpunk?

The idea makes sense. Both evoke optimism with sustainable future elements, though whereas Solarpunk is heavy on science, Lunarpunk is geared more toward spirituality. It turns out, after coming to this revelation I did a bit of research and discovered that this genre does exist, and it's exactly that! The term was coined about a year ago, so there isn't much about it so far, but as I said its themes are parallel to Solarpunk without diverting too far from that source. New Atlantis' focus on inner spirituality and the frequent existence of glowy elements certainly fit, and while the titular city and its surrounding wilderness have elements of future-tech in harmony with nature and civilization, it also involves heavy usage of quiet, contemplative themes that promote inward reflection (notice how many of the stories and artwork so far show characters in isolation, yet without feeling lonely?). Plus, one cannot deny the heavy usage of "spirit magic" in the setting thus far, where characters use their own presence to reach out and interact with their world. There's also the common aspect of body runes that act in a way similar to acupuncture theory and chakra, albeit rather loosely-defined so far in the stories. They focus and channel one's "energy," in the stories, for example. And while the "punk" element is still rather wobbly in this setting, it does exist in its own way as the characters face an unseen, faceless looming threat against their advanced-yet-still-vulnerable society. More on that as the stories develop, but for now, what I can say is that New Atlantis, for all its advancements, remains an oasis surrounded by creeping danger, and while society may be comfortable, it still needs to provide for itself before the population outgrows its territory, hence the scouts like Orchid and research councils that work to better understand the outside world so they can safely expand without disturbing whatever is out there. And again, nudity... I'm sure we're all familiar with how naturism has its own spiritual reflection, as well.

So yeah, I'll probably still call the setting "Solarpunk" since the term is more well known, but by embracing fantasy I can still keep it unique and allow it to show its own personality.

Hope everyone's had or are still having a wonderful holiday!

With '22 coming to a close, I think I did okay as far as content, even though the vast majority of what I made won't see the light of day for another year or so. Wrote three short stories for three different anthologies (all were accepted!), finished the first draft of ARC Knights, submitted Auran Legend to a publisher (waiting on a response; they had a lot of end-of-year projects to focus on), and completed another New Atlantis short story (found here). Art-wise, sadly that's been less productive. Only two major pieces finished last summer, and while I'm happy I did them, my drive to draw has been utterly nil lately. Luckily my writing drive has been picking up the slack a bit, even though the muse can be difficult to wrangle at times (thanks, ADHD).

So what's the plan for 2023?

Two main goals: Complete edits on ARC Knights and have it submitted for consideration before the end of the year. Also, finish the first draft of Chronicles of New Atlantis. Ideas for the latter have been coming at me left and right, and I hope to capitalize on them to get a draft finished while the novelty is here. The other two short stories I've written in the setting (The Scout and Rune Weaver) will serve as the first two Chronicles and start the book. I've already begun the next one, and from here on out I don't plan on posting any others publicly (though there are a couple of interludes that explore the setting that I might post here, just to tease). Depending on how the muse decides to run, I might even start the draft for the ARC Knights sequel as well, since I've already got most of the story planned out in my head. And at some point, I still gotta return to Auran Connection and continue work on streamlining that story. I've got a multi-page document outlining the major changes that I feel will help the story flow better and shorten its length (the original draft was almost a thousand pages, and there's a lot of fluff that I know I can remove; I've learned a LOT since I first wrote it, thanks to my original editors :p ).

As for art, I wish I could say for sure what I'd like to do, but as much as I want to have some stuff to post for you guys I'm still having a hard time getting motivated to draw. I have plenty of ideas, but putting pen to paper has been difficult for the past few months... Then again, lunar year 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, and Melon can be pretty inspiring sometimes :p

I just have so much fun world-building the New Atlantis setting XD It's so fluid as it develops, to the point to where as I write stories in it I'm making the same discoveries alongside the characters as they go. This next piece follows Maple the deer, Clan Wave's eventual sixth member, as she investigates a site of ruins where her predecessors had disappeared a decade ago. It takes place in the middle of a storm, and fun fact: it's actually storming outside right now as I type this :p

Read here: Rune Weaver.

Couldn’t sleep last night.

Rather than toss and turn in bed I decided to go for a swim. It’s always calmed me in the past, and the canals aren’t too far from home.
A quick tram ride later, I’m at a small shopping district where I normally get my groceries. The night scene is almost as active as it is during the day, thanks to all the nocturnal species that live here. What’s neat, though, is that not only did city planners consider nocturnals in the design, but aquatics, too. The canals are technically meant to regulate the flow of the city’s river network, but they’re designed with aquatics in mind, knowing that critters like me are gonna use them… which I did.

I dove in shortly after reaching the water’s edge. The water felt great. Just the right temperature and everything!
There wasn’t much of a current, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t here with a destination in mind, other than “water.” Swimming is the only time I feel I could ever truly achieve the feeling of flying. I breached the surface and dove back down, twisting launching myself off the canal’s sidewall. Though the depth averaged around eight or nine feet, it was enough space to allow me to maneuver around without hitting anything.
Or anyone, as I passed a trio of seals moving the other way. We regarded each other with friendly nods before continuing on.

After a few minutes diving and weaving, I finally surfaced and lay back in the water to catch my breath, staring up at the stars beyond the city buildings as I floated on. I never had a water bed, though I hear some aquatics take a liking to them for obvious reasons. I doubt I could ever spring for one myself, as I’m not sure if my mates would take to it like I would.
I took a few deep breaths to center myself in the water. This was calming, finally. Relaxing, even. I admit in the past I’d caught myself napping in the canals on more than one occasion, and I certainly wasn’t the only New Atlantean citizen who has done so, but despite my restlessness fading I wasn’t quite ready to turn in yet.

After a few more minutes of just floating there, I heard a voice, “Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”
I blinked and saw a familiar rabbit girl smiling down at me from the banks. Orchid. I grinned and whipped my tail sideways to steer toward the banks’ steps. I climbed out and Orchid gave me some space as I shook some of the water from my fur. “How did you know I was here?” I asked.
She pointed to one of the pouches strapped to her thigh. “Was out buying some materials for poultices and I caught your scent. Figured you might want some company.”
I didn’t realize it until then but yeah… I did.

We headed for a nearby park and strolled along. I don’t remember what we chatted about, but it didn’t matter. She’s always had a way with calming my ever-active mind. We sat down at the foot of a large tree and watched the lights of the city in the distance beyond the canopy. From here it was hard to tell where the canopy ended and the city continued, mainly because parts of that district actually had a tree canopy amidst the buildings.
Now that I had company, insomnia did not seem as daunting. We cuddled there together for… I don’t know how long. Enough for me to fall asleep since I apparently woke up when the distant sky was just beginning to lighten a bit.



This stream-of-consciousness story was brought to you by last night’s actual bout with insomnia as I tried to calm my aforementioned ever-active mind down with a relaxing self-insertion in the city of my dreams. It kind of worked, I think.

Anthrocon is a week away, and I'll be attending! It'll be great to return to Pittsburgh after two years away, and once again I'll have materials up in the Art Show. Along with those, I've got some new artist cards made, with different backs featuring some of my most recent pieces. I'll place them around here and there (such as those tables where folks put out flyers), but you'll definitely find them with my stuff in the Art Show, so stop by and check 'em out!

Who else might I see while there this year? Anybody else attending?

And... DONE!

95,000 words, 20 chapters, 1 badass fennec fox.

I've finished the first draft of ARC Knights! :D That's three full novels written. Time to (finally) let it simmer for a few months while I work on some shorter works, as well as some summer artwork. I'm already 500 words into my next New Atlantis story, with two pieces of related artwork in the coloring stages. Hoping to have something to show before too long!

Also... Auran Legend is due for some polishing, as I'm certain I've finally figured out how to solve the previous draft's pacing problems. Hoping to get that handled soon and off to a potential publisher sometime this summer, so wish me luck!

Greetings, all!

Good news/bad news, I'm on the cusp of finishing my third novel project (GOOD!), though my heavy focus on writing over the past few months (really wanna get these stories written!) has unfortunately diminished my art output (not-as-good). However, once the novel's finished I've already got two fully-inked pieces ready for color, which I hope to take care of in the coming weeks while also laying out two more short stories for the summer, one of which brings us back to the world of New Atlantis to follow Orchid's friend Maple (who will be featured in one of those afore-mentioned artworks to be colored). Oh, and somewhere in there I gotta finalize edits on Auran Legend, since I've found a potential publisher open for submissions. I'm sure I can fit that in the queue :p

So while that's the summer plans, my more immediate plans involve attending Furry Weekend Atlanta this weekend! The con always goes all out for theming, and this year's theme, "Enchanted Forest" is sure to inspire a lot of New Atlantis-themed commissions, to say nothing of the art I'm sure I'll be doing myself while there. Anybody else here planning to attend?