5 Favorites for June 2025:

Posted on27/06/2025

“5 Favorites” is a recurring feature here at Pixelvania Publishing. On the last Friday of every month, I post 5 FAVORITE THINGS I’ve recently (or not-so-recently) enjoyed, in case you’re looking for something neat to experience. Visit the 5 Favorites archive for more recommendations.

🎩 5 Time Saving Style Tips

I’m a big fan of Ginger Burr’s fashion tips—like, I consider her up there with Carmindy (all you What Not to Wear babies say hey!) as far as giving advice that helps people accentuate their own personal beauty rather than cookie-cutter-ing their look chasing the latest trend. In particular, her practice of discovering your “Beauty Words” is life-changing. But this post isn’t about Beauty Words, it’s about looking good a little faster every day!

📖 🏘️ Neighborhood Watch by Sally Johnson

My clean-romance-writer friend Sally Johnson recently tried her hand at writing a domestic suspense novel, inspired by Rear Window of all things. (I was lucky enough to typo patrol for her so I got to read it early, heehee.)

The nice thing about Neighborhood Watch is that, while it’s got sleuthing, it’s not all gory or bloody or anything. It’s “not-so-scary” suspense with a dose of humor. It’s gotten great reception so far, so I thought I’d let you know so you could support another great indie author!

🎧️ King Kong Company Feat. Bobby Fingers – The Machine

A very catchy song with an intriguing music video. Bobby Fingers is great and weird and probably PG-13 at least.

🧩 Puzzmo

I initially came here for the word game Bongo, but I keep coming back for the daily crossword, which, for me, perfectly balances cleverness, difficulty, and more modern (or relevant) references. My playwright friend has a love-hate relationship with Pile-up Poker. I also like the Weather Memoku, even though sometimes the tiles are like…wut?? Why are we using hot mugs of cocoa for a puzzle illustrating 80-degree weather?

🍪 Dark Chocolate Oreos

Since the disappearance of my beloved Posties (Post Malone Oreos (review here), I’ve had to settle for these. But they’re good—lots better than the OG, if you ask me (the OG Oreo has a chemical taste to me.) OREO, BRING BACK MY POSTIES!! 😭

Have you tried any of these? Let me know in the comments!

New Cozy Fantasy Release! The Pooch Salute! (Fashion Frenchies #2) Out Now

Posted on25/06/202525/06/2025

Today, I’m happy to announce the arrival of a new Fashion Frenchies book!

Fashion Frenchies is a cozy contemporary fantasy series where a magical seamstress, her talking French bulldogs, and a rotating cast of foster dogs cause trouble, model doggy outfits, and help manage the family’s online dogwear business. Along the way, they just might help their humans heal too. Think Bewitched-style light magical realism with heart, humor, and a little style.

Book 2, The Pooch Salute!, just had a fantastic Kickstarter launch (funded in under one week!). Now this feel-good indie read is available everywhere in ebook—and on Amazon in paperback. And while it’s book 2 in the series, it works just great as a standalone summer/Fourth of July read!

Check out this cover I drew:

Deadline: looming. Foster dog: brooding. And the potion that could save the family biz? Still brewing…

Dogwear designer Vivian Feng is preparing for the biggest event of the summer—a flashy Fourth of July parade that could take her family-run fashion business to the next level. She even takes on another foster dog, certain she can manage it all with one arm tied behind her back—until she doesn’t have a choice.

When a mishap with her newest houseguest leaves her with a broken arm, everything unravels. Determined not to let an injury—or a painfully slow-simmering healing potion—derail her deadline, Vivian scrambles to stitch together a solution.

Meanwhile, her grandniece has a secret riding on the parade’s success…and the foster dog, August—a guarded but loyal German shepherd—is living with invisible scars he’s not ready to reveal.

With everything on the line—from the future of the Fashion Frenchies to a foster dog’s second chance—it’ll take teamwork, trust, and a little Frenchie flair to pull off a miracle…and remind everyone that love is the real magic.

Heartfelt, funny, and full of canine charm, this cozy contemporary fantasy is perfect for fans of:

• Bewitched-style domestic magic with a modern twist

• A Dog’s Purpose and other emotional dog stories

• Feel-good reads that make you smile, sigh, and believe in second chances

• Uplifting tales about family, healing, and second chances—with plenty of warm fuzzies

Buy Ebook Direct and Support an Indie Author!

Buy Ebook everywhere else

Buy Paperback on Amazon

Announcing the paperback release of Fashion Frenchies #1: Love Potion Commotion!

I couldn’t leave Book 1 in the doghouse…so I reillustrated its cover and released it in paperback for the first time ever! Here’s the glow-up:

While I was producing the paperback, I refreshed the interior and double-checked the work for typos (thanks, Sally!). Being the first book in the Fashion Frenchies series, it was published years earlier and needed just a touch of extra love to bring the magical realism a little extra polish (though I didn’t touch the story at all. To quote Edna Mode, “I never look back, darling.”)

If you like magical misfires, talking dogs, and cozy chaos with a happy ending, you’ll adore Love Potion Commotion!

Buy Ebook Direct and Support an Indie Author!

Buy Ebook Everywhere Else

Buy Paperback on Amazon

🐾 WHO THIS SERIES IS FOR:

Dog lovers, especially if you believe pets are family.
Fans of happy endings that feel like warm hugs (happiness is a warm puppy, after all!)
Readers who love animals as fully-realized characters, not just cute sidekicks
People who enjoy light magical touches in everyday life—like healing potions brewing in Crock-Pots.
Fans of intergenerational stories with heart and humor
Fans of stories about family, second chances, and discovering magic in life’s messier moments.

🐾 THIS SERIES MAY NOT BE FOR YOU IF:

…You want a side-splitting, over-the-top wacky comedy
…You want epic high stakes and heart-pounding conflict
…You want lots of world-building and magical jargon
…You want a 100% fluffy read with no emotional depth
…You want a cozy mystery or sleuth-centered plot (Vivian’s too busy sewing!)
…You don’t like books with multiple viewpoint characters (The Pooch Salute! switches perspective between chapters)

If any of this sounds like you, I think you’ll have a fab time with the Fashion Frenchies.

Is This the Most Unusual Christian Horror Story You’ve Never Read?

Posted on13/06/202513/06/2025

The Accuser (cover) - A shadowy monster has its hands on a tough looking man in tattoos, seated in front of a bed. A cat sits besides the man.

Two years older. Still hasn’t blinked.

Today’s its second book birthday—crazy that it lands this year on Friday the Thirteenth!! 👻

The Accuser has flown waaaaaaaaaay under the radar—for some reason, you can’t reach it through Amazon’s search bar—but it’s still the best biker dude + formidable cat + sleep paralysis demon you’ll ever read! If you like your horror with some soul and hope, this is a read for you.

Uncover the Christian Horror Tale Everyone Missed

P. S. I recently heard a great podcast about horror and faith, with Christian horror author Michaelbrent Collings, titled Can Horror Bring Us Closer to God? It’s a good listen, I recommend you check it out!

5 Favorites for May 2025: Playful, Enterprising, Satisfying, Delicious, and Smudge-free!

Posted on30/05/202524/04/2025

🐱🪄 Potaroma Cat Feather Toy

After adopting our new kitten Biscuit, we bought some battery-operated toys to play with him and the other cats at night in the hopes of occuping them while we slept. (Ha ha ha. Like that worked.) Okay, the plan wasn’t perfect, but after a few months of overnight use, I’ve been impressed by this toy. It holds a charge (again, I only bring it out at night), it’s pretty robust, and comes in a few different fabric patterns. If your kitties go nuts for it, you can buy replacement wands (it comes with two total).

📈🎧️ Business Wars Podcast

After discovering that my favorite storyteller of the strange, dark, and mysterious had podcasts available through my SiriusXM App, I went wandering and started listening to BUSINESS WARS. This series recounts the histories of famous companies and rivalries (like Dominoes vs Pizza Hut). The stories are really interesting and inspiring for small business owner me. I’ve learned that there’s a lot of ways to be successful in business; it’s not just one personality type that can make it.

I love the narrator’s voice, he’s so mellifluous and full of charm, I even listen to his ad reads. (This podcast is 99% clean, but I’ve heard a cuss or two dropped when quoting a business exec, so be aware!)

🕯️ How Wax Melts are Made

YouTube Video

It’s uncannily satisfying to watch the scraping. 😻

🍝 Easy Bolognese sauce

I love how easy, quick, and tasty this recipe is. …Yeah, that’s it. It’s easy. It’s tasty. Canned tomatoes, canned tomato paste, and minced onions in a jar mean I usually have what I need to make it on-hand. I omit the parsley because herbs only come to my house to die. BUT BE CAREFUL with the salt if your bouillon cube is salty like mine!

👓️✨ Koala Lens Cleaning Cloths, 6 pack.

I love the glasses Jen from On Your Face Glasses https://www.onyourfaceglasses.com/ picked out for me, but I felt like the cleaning cloths that came with them could have been better. Even though I scrub my glasses with brand-name grease-punching dish soap and a baby toothbrush (recommended by a local ophthalmologist’s office) I felt like I was still left with smudges after drying. So I finally broke down and bought these Koala Lens Cleaning cloths. Since then, I’ve noticed significantly less smudging after cleaning my glasses. They even feel more robust than the cloths that came with my glasses. Each Koala Cloth comes in its own cardboard sleeve, which is nice. Just wish I’d gotten the orange/pink combo! Next time.

5 Favorites for April 2025: Gripping, Healthy, Judgmental, Alien, and Flame-Broiled

Posted on25/04/202528/03/2025

🍄 📺️ Common Side Effects

Adult Swim medical thriller series, streaming on Max

(Not for kids.) I’m hooked on this show, about the discovery of a mushroom that can cure…well…EVERYTHING (death included!), and the lengths Big Pharma goes to keep it under wraps. It came across my radar in 2024 when the pilot premiered at one of the big nerd cons. Executive produced by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, of King of the Hill fame, it’s smart, funny, and SUSPENSEFUL, yikes!! Total appointment TV for me.

⏳️👍️ Tom’s Tstretch Timer

Tom Francis (creator of Tactical Breach Wizards and other games) made his own timer program to help with his RSI and shared it with the world! Make sure you take breaks!

⏳️😾 NeilCic’s Work Timer

On a related note, Neil Cicierega wrote a timer years ago that’s meant to shame you for goofing off on other programs when you ought to be working!

🥼 🎮️ Axiom Verge

2D Platformer Game

This 2015 game makes all the “Best 2D Platformer of All Time” lists, but I had never played it until recently. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked it, but then I found a guide. Now that I didn’t feel so lost, the longer I played (especially wearing headphones—this soundtrack’s amazing!), the more I found myself enjoying it. The huge variety of weapons, really cool powers (phasing through walls!), and a fun grappling hook have all grown on me. The neon pulsating alien organ background aesthetic may not be for some, but it takes me back to RetroTimes™.

Axiom Verge was made by a single developer, Thomas Happ (who, granted, had professional experience in video game software, but still!). I’m always interested in how solo artists work, so I watched a documentary about how the game was made. It was both inspiring and heartbreaking. Even if you never play the game, I recommend you watch The Making Of Axiom Verge.

🥩 🔥How to Cook Flank Steak, by Wholesome Yum

Recipe

What a delicious, 4-ingredient marinade! We picked up a flank steak (I just typed “blank steak” whuttt?) and I had no idea how to cook it. My husband doesn’t like the flavor of balsamic vinegar, so I cruised around the ‘net looking for a good easy recipe and found this! Broiling it wasn’t difficult, either, but this recipe has two or three ways you can cook it, so have at it!

(If you never have lime juice on hand, do what I do—buy a few, juice ’em, then freeze them into ice cubes. Simply defrost the night before a recipe calls for ’em.)

If you love feel-good fantasy with talking dogs, don’t miss my new Kickstarter: THE POOCH SALUTE!

Posted on24/04/202523/04/2025

Woohoo! Fashion Frenchies #2: The Pooch Salute! is now live on Kickstarter!

It’s a cozy contemporary fantasy featuring talking dogs, a stubborn dogwear designer, and a Fourth of July parade no one’s quite ready for. Think Bewitched meets A Dog’s Purpose (BUT NOT SO SAD), with a little Crock-Pot magic and a lot of heart. 🐾

Here’s the official blurb:

Vivian Feng can talk to animals—a secret she uses to rehabilitate tough foster dogs while running an online dogwear business. But when a mishap leaves her with a broken arm just weeks before a big Fourth of July parade, she’s convinced she can still pull it all off—one-handed and dangerously determined—with a healing potion that’s brewing way too slow.

Meanwhile, her grandniece Alanna Lu has a secret riding on the parade’s success, and the newest foster dog, August—a melancholy German shepherd—is carrying invisible scars he’s not ready to share.

It’ll take teamwork, trust, and a little Frenchie flair to stitch together a miracle—and remind everyone that love is the real magic. 💖

Backers get:

📚 Early access to the ebook
🎨 Exclusive digital extras (coloring pages, posters, wallpapers)
📦 Paperback copies + Frenchie-themed add-ons (STICKERRRRRS!!!!!!)

Preorder with Perks on Kickstarter!

Even if cozy fantasy isn’t your usual thing, you’ll probably like some of the extras (STICKERRRRRS!!!!!!). Either way, every pledge helps support a hardworking indie author (hullo! 👋).

If you like light magical realism, talking dogs, or stories that feel like a warm hug, you’re gonna LOVE The Pooch Salute!

If you click through, thanks for checking out my campaign—and DOUBLE THANKS for sharing the link with a dog-loving friend. You da best. —Danielle Williams

Work-in-Progress WIPWednesday Book Cover Art Makeover – FASHION FRENCHIES Cover Makeover: Spine Design before and after

Posted on02/04/202502/04/2025

For as much work as I put into illustrating a cover, the truth is that books spend the majority of their lives as a spine. So I didn’t want to skimp here! I wanted the spine to be as cute as the cover.

I took a lot of inspiration from those old Disney VHS tapes…you know, with the character portrait on the side? I knew I needed that. But I wasn’t sure how to organize all the information a reader would need (the name of the series, the number of the book, author, title etc.)

BEFORE

First, it was a hot mess of fonts. The reader-desired info was on there, but not in a beautiful fashion.

AFTER

The next day, I thought a little more about how it should be organized, and came up with this:

Maybe this is only interesting for book geeks…but I’m SUPER PROUD of how this spine design turned out!

5 Favorites for March 2025: Balatrocational, Penmanshipperific, Silly, Action-packed, and Fiery

Posted on28/03/202528/03/2025

🃏 ▶️ Balatro University: Beginner’s Guide to High Scores and High Antes (Part 1/2)

by YouTube channel Balatro University

I’ve beaten some of Balatro, but I’ve been wanting to learn how to get the insane “e” scores (“e21”, for example, means “move the decimal point *21 times* to the right”). This two-part video series (which I watched at 1.25x speed) made me completely rethink how the game is played.

🖋️ Write Now, by Barbara Getty

Penmanship Book

I read this book a jillion years ago, applied it, and it helped up my penmanship game. I hadn’t thought about penmanship for a while, but if there’s anyone out there looking for help, this is one to study!

▶️ Reno 911: Drunk Catwalk

Funny video clip

Okay, from I’ve heard of it, Reno 911 is probably not a family-friendly show, but this clip is clean and delights me to no end.

🎥 👊💥 First Strike

PG-13, Jackie Chan comedy-action film

Pure entertainment. Stick around for an awesome finale setpiece!

📕 🐉 Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George

Children’s novel with talking dragons

Okay, so I haven’t read this in a while, but I came across it again and remembered enjoying all three books in the series. So, here you go! I loved the idea of dragons who hoard things other than money.

That’s all for this month!

5 Favorites for February 2025: Useful, Pizzariffic, Hilarious, Wiggly, and Non-Stick

Posted on28/02/202527/02/2025

🥣 Bowl Cozies

by AJoyfulThread on Etsy

I can’t believe I haven’t recommended these before! If you like microwaving food without your fingerprints melting off when you touch the forge-hot bowl, you should consider getting a set or two of these! These bowl cozies come in a variety of fabric patterns, wash up beautifully, and are just QUALITY, man.

🫘 The Best Vegan Cannellini Beans Recipe (Aka Pizza Beans)

Recipe

Uhhhhhhhhhh I was AMAZED by the flavor of this when I first made it. And the beans make it really hearty and comforting. Great for a winter night when you want pizza but pizza isn’t in your dietary cards!

🤣 ▶️ Stand-up Comedian John Pinette

Classic Standup videos

Mr. Pinette blessed us with loads of great comedy, but the 2-minute clip linked above should give you a good idea of what to expect (mild language warning for the name of the mountain). John has been in Heaven for some time now, but many of his full-length specials are all over YouTube and are wonderful watches.

😻🪱 Mr. Wiggler fuzzy cat lure

Cat toy (For use with a rod that has a clip. This one is springy and the one that comes with this toy is also great.)

We added 3 new feline additions to our home, including an 8-month-old attack kitten named Biscuit. He loves these li’l fuzzy worms. I like that they attach via clip a long cat rod, which keep my extremities safe. Plus, it’s easy to make the worm “crawl” and jump and I think he really likes how much like real prey it is.

🧁 Silicone Muffin Pan with Metal Frame

Cooking tool

For baking egg cups like this and this (I mix both recipes, and add in some egg whites with the egg to lessen the calories).
When I first made these, I used regular paper cupcake liners to line the cups.

*BZZT!* WRONG!! 🙅‍♀️ They stuck to the mixture and when I managed to finally peel it off, the paper took half the breakfast with it! So I switched over to this silicone muffin pan with metal frame. I know you can get ’em all silicone, but…Idunno, that just didn’t seem sturdy enough. The frame eases my mind when pulling these out of the oven and my egg cups don’t stick AT ALL. (If you find one made in the USA, let me know, though! That’d make this type product aces in my book!)

That’s all for this month!

For photos of the new kitties, visit this month’s PIXELVANIA PROCLAMATION O’ PROGRESS.

The Pixelvania Publishing Proclamation o’ Progress, February 2025 Edition

Posted on27/02/20251 Comment

The Pixelvania Publishing Proclamation o’ Progress is a semiannual post detailing what’s going on around here, and what might show up in the future.

Cute kitty photos at the end–including our 3 newcomers, Raider, Dolly, and Biscuit!

Recap

THE GUESTS OF CROOKED NECK – RELEASED EVERYWHERE

After my successful early-release Kickstarter for The Guests of Crooked Neck (the reasonably-sized sequel to science-fantasy epic Steel City, Veiled Kingdom), I released it everywhere in November.

Buy THE GUESTS OF CROOKED NECK direct from me

Or get it everywhere else (paperback on Amazon)

I am working on making the paperback available to buy directly from me, so stay tuned!

WIP WEDNESDAY POSTS

Some social media sites celebrate “WIP Wednesdays.” WIP stands for “Work In Progress.” Since I’ve been working on cover art, I’ve decided to join in this year, posting progress images from my Fashion Frenchies cover makeovers.

See all the WIP Wednesday Posts here.

FINAL FRIDAY 5 FAVORITES POSTS

Despite a hiccup in January, these fun posts keep coming!

Here’s everything I’ve recommended so far.

Currently in Production

FASHION FRENCHIES BOOK 2: The Pooch Salute!

(If you want to know when it’ll be released, sign up for my newsletter.)

My fellow writer and good friend (and dog enthusiast!) Sally Johnson was kind enough to typo patrol The Pooch Salute! for me. Soon I will be incorporating her corrections into the final manuscript and formatting it for paperback and ebook. But before I did that, I wanted to work on…

THE FASHION FRENCHIES COVER MAKEOVERS

"Fashion Frenchies" series book cover. Background is now a ruby red-pink cover. A smiling French bulldog, inked with flat colors, now stands on a simple table built of flat vector shapes. Next to him is a simple sewing machine with some fabric on it. Behind him, a sassy fashion grandmain a simple placeholder black dress stands with one arm akimbo. She appears to be throwing a roll of magical fabric with her other hand.Simple cabinets are indicated at the top, providing backdrop for the series and title text in a retro script font: FASHION FRENCHIES BOOK 1: LOVE POTION COMMOTION.

Partially-finished cover for LOVE POTION COMMOTION!

After an excruciatingly slow start, I finally started making headway on the Fashion Frenchies cover makeovers! But the work has been worth it! They’re looking better than I thought they would!

Click the image to the left to see it at full-size! Each book cover will have the characters wearing different outfits, but here’s book 1 with the completed “paper dolls”.

Once I have the cover for book 2 completed, I can start the Kickstarter in earnest. 🙂 Look for this Kickstarter in the spring of 2025.

GIFTS OF THE GORGON

This story is longer than I expected–and I paused work writing on it to get the ball rolling on the Fashion Frenchies artwork. But I hope to restart it soon (though I’ll have to re-read it first, since I’ve been away from it for so long!)

THE CAPRAMANCER NEXT DOOR’S CHRISTMAS BOOK – STARTED

I’ve been dying to write a Capramancer Christmas book. So I wrote the prologue! Which was very exciting! But progress came to a screeching halt due to the Fashion Frenchies cover makeovers.

Plotting: Small Future Art Projects

Once the FASHION FRENCHIES work is off my plate, I think I’ll focus on the two Christmas books mentioned above. But there’s also a couple of smaller art projects nagging at me:

The Girlfriend Who Wasn’t from Delaware: This book needs a cover makeover like whoa. I’ve collected ideas, but I think a few hours worth of work would net me a greatly improved cover. While I’m at it, I may just revamp the paperback.
Hello, Wizard: needs a paperback version with a new cover. Again, while I’m at it, I’ll just revamp the whole thing. So it’d probably be a week or two of work, but worth it.

That ends my news, plotting, and scheming!

Presenting: New Kitties!

In December 2024, Mr. Pixelvania and I went nuts and added three new kitties to our home! Let me introduce you.

RAIDER

Raider (aged 3) is a chatty tuxedo lovebug who makes spectacular jumps to catch his toys. He will also grab your hand and make you pet him. He loves my current crop of piano students and will come out and socialize with them during their lessons. Unfortunately, Barnaby Jones believes he is the devil. 🙁

BISCUIT THE ATTACK KITTEN

Garfield-orange kitten goes BLEP! A Garfield-orange kitten lazes on a grey bed amidst a pile of paper.

We weren’t planning on getting Biscuit (AKA Cheddar Bay Biscuit), but the adoption lady opened his cage without us asking. This at-the-time 6-month-old kitten flung himself onto Mr. Pixelvania’s neck and began purring up a storm. Mr. Pixelvania could not resist. So now we have an attack kitten! He is a little much on our older fellas and sometimes has to go into time out. He is very sharp. But has mellowed over the last couple of months. Sometimes he stands around purring for no reason.

Dolly Purrton

A sweet-faced, Garfield-orange lady cat modestly looks away from her fountain

Dolly Purrton (aged 3) is America’s sweetheart. She came with the name “Chleo” but I didn’t think that name fit this gracious, loving beauty, so Dolly she became.

She is every little girl’s dream cat: she adores being brushed, plays ferociously, and purrs constantly as long as you’re with her. The only thing she loves more than people is her GIANT fluffy bed!

And now, to our OG cats!

Barnaby Jones

This is Barnaby before we got the new cats. Unbothered. Flourishing in our green chair in the office. We thought he’d take to the new cats nicely, but he has, unfortunately, decided that Raider is Public Enemy No. 1 and that Dolly isn’t to be trusted. He’s fought with them several times, making the fur fly! (He’s okay with kitten Biscuit, though). When the new guys are closed away in their rooms, he’s the same sweet guy I cyberstalked years ago!

Pixel J. Cat

This old man just turned 18! He seems to be losing weight, but is otherwise the same cranky guy he’s always been. To our surprise, he was completely unbothered by the new grown cats, letting them pass by untouched. He only gets upset when kitten Biscuit jumps on him–and who can blame him? That kid is SHARP!

(Thoughts, prayers, and good vibes would be appreciated so we can get all 5 cats out and about at once!)

Until next release, I wish you good health and happy reading! – Danielle