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

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“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.

🍄 📺️ 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!

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Woohoo! Fashion Frenchies #2: The Pooch Salute! is now live on Kickstarter!Cover of The Pooch Salute! A cheerful French bulldog in a red, white, and blue outfit strikes a confident pose beside a stylish older woman who wears a white blouse with a red bow and gestures dashingly at the title. Behind them is a festive Fourth of July backdrop with sparkles and celebration vibes. The title is bold and playful, with “Fashion Frenchies Book 2” as a subtitle. The overall tone is whimsical, heartwarming, and fun.

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

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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.

Version one of a book spine: there's a lot of horizontal white text on red and a cute French bulldog decked out like Super Dave Osborne (on a blue background).

AFTER

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

Final version of the Fashion Frenchies 2 book spine: The author name, cute French bulldog decked out like Super Dave Osborne (popping out of a ring), series name, and series number are oriented the traditional way, while the title is oriented sideways, with little stars surrounding it. The spine is mostly white text on red, except for the series number, which is blue text on white and on a retro-looking shape

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

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“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. https://pixelvaniapublishing.com/category/5-favorites/

🃏 ▶️ 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

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“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.

🥣 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

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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

Cover for THE GUESTS OF CROOKED NECKTHE 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

Tuxedo cat with yellow eyes looks up at the camera against a field of busy tan carpet

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

Barnaby Jones, a grey and white cat, lounges upside down in a green wingback chair

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

An elderly orange and white cat smiles up at you from where he lies curled among a big puffy comforter

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

Dark fantasy short story about integrity turns 5

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Cover for "Hello, Wizard": Eerie blue flames burn a piece of parchment paper atop a stony background.Hello, wizard.

You know what I need to hear.

I’m listening.

Deep in a sunless dungeon, a father struggles to hold onto hope.

Then the glowing notes arrive. They offer freedom—for a very simple price.

But some things should never be for sale, even in the darkest places…

HELLO, WIZARD is a tense dark fantasy of integrity and temptation. 

Today, Hello, Wizard turns 5! This is a great short read if you want something dark, but with a hopeful ending.

Buy this ebook short story direct from me today

Click here to buy the ebook from other digital retailers; paperback available on Amazon

 

Work-in-Progress Wednesday Book Cover Art Makeover – FASHION FRENCHIES Cover Makeover: FINISHED fancy vest!

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Here’s Marty’s final outfit for Fashion Frenchies 1: Love Potion Commotion!

In the Fashion Frenchies series, Marty the French bulldog loves getting dressed up because it brings smiles to all his fans who follow his mom’s dog fashion blog!Completed dog clothing illustration. The smiling white French bulldog now wears a pink tuxedo vest and short-sleeved white shirt! Nicely inked and digitally colored. He stands against a plain blue background so I can do a full cover reveal later.

I’ve completed one other costume for Marty and one other costume for his mom, Vivian, since finishing this one! My foundational work is paying off and once I draw the costume, the actual finishing work comes together quite quickly!

Kickstarter coming this spring! I hope you’ll join me for it!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday Book Cover Art Makeover – FASHION FRENCHIES Cover Makeover: fancy vest!

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The past few weeks, I did minor adjustments to the prototype cover, and I’m finally happy with it. Now I can move on to specific costumes!

For Love Potion Commotion!, Fashion Frenchies Book 1, I decided to put Marty in a pink tuxedo vest with bow tie! I’ll clean up the inks digitally and color it so I can add it to the book cover proper.

 

 


Scan of a dog clothing drawing. The French bulldog was printed out in a light value. The costume was roughed over the printout in red Col-erase pencil (which can barely be seen) and inked with black Sharpie marker.

 

Work-in-Progress Wednesday Book Cover Art Makeover – FASHION FRENCHIES Cover Makeover: ruby red!

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More progress on my FASHION FRENCHIES book cover rebranding!

I took some time on a printout to rough out a simpler #background (a la BEWITCHED) before working on it digitally. There, I discovered I had room for a sewing machine, which lead to a roll of fabric. I thought it looked nice so I’m going to work on it more!

I think the characters really pop against this color, but I’m wondering if it’s too dark a color an uplifting fantasy comedy. What do you think?

Hopefully I can move on to the outfits soon. 🙂

 

"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.