A Double Spooky Book Birthday! (One’s belated, whoops…)

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I’ve been sick the past week, not even getting out of bed, let alone LOOKING at my calendar…which is why this first spooky book birthday is belated!

Cover for Bona Ossuaria: A Home Renovation Horror Story. Two smiling women stand back to back, superimposed above a red house and a disturbingly off-colored sky. The tagline reads Good bones. Gone bad.

GetCovers.com did the cover design!

Yesterday, on October third, my home renovation horror story Bona Ossuaria turned ONE! It feels a little older, probably because I did a Kickstarter for it a few months before its official release.

There’s a story behind that.

I got the idea for Bona Ossuaria (AKA “Bona“) after a watching a certain HGTV program for a few seasons. The show has a fun and wholesome vibe–and I still love it–but my writer brain couldn’t help but see things going…let’s say, darkly wrong with the hosts. So when an anthology themed around houses and homes came along, I took the home reno horror story idea and ran with it. 

Bona didn’t get into the anthology, nor into any of the other places I submitted it. But I believed in my little spooky story, and it wound up funding in under a week on Kickstarter, hooray!

If you like slow-burn, female-forward horror stories, give Bona Ossuaria a try today!

 

What the Cat Brought Back (Cover). A terrified cat looks on at something we can't see; grungy text appears over him. A red rip in the image contains the title.

Digital illustration by Danielle Williams

Now for today’s book birthday.

On this day SEVEN years ago, I published one of my first spooky short stories: What the Cat Brought Back. In it, a loving cat begins bringing his owner terrifying gifts from parts unknown.

This story will probably hit me differently from now on. I dedicated it to my freshman roommate, Erin Murphy, AKA “Roomie.” We were only roommates for a year, but it was a brilliant year of laughter and camaraderie and bad “Homestar Runner” impressions. She moved off-campus the next year and we drifted apart, but I missed her and thought about our friendship long after I departed college.

When we were roommates, she didn’t look anything like the character “Roomie” in Cat. But I had our close relationship in the back of my mind (and her talent for crochet) when I wrote the story.

Last year I learned Erin died from a drug overdose, far, FAR too young. (Don’t do drugs, okay? It breaks people’s hearts.) Checking this blog’s entries, I realize I didn’t get to these book birthdays last year, so I never really talked about it.

Anyway, that background aside, this is a short, macabre read to get you ready for hardcore Halloweentimes. Heck, get this AND Bona and enjoy a Pixelvania creepy double-feature!

Find out What the Cat Brought Back today!

5 Favorites for September 2024: Heartwarming, Heroic, Helpful, and Cheesy

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

 

🐾The Cinnamon Trust

https://cinnamon.org.uk/

This is for my friends across the pond: the Cinnamon Trust is an organization that helps the elderly and terminally ill with caring for their pets so they can spend more time together. They do things like exercise dogs for housebound owners and long-term cat fostering for people in the hospital. It looks like they’re accepting volunteers, too.
I thought this was a terrific organization and we need many more like it, so I’m just trying to get word out.

📻️ Batman: The Audio Adventures

Free YouTube “Radio Show”!

A retro take on the Batman mythos–complete with cheesy commercials made by and for Gothamites! (Plus: Brent Spiner as the Joker!) I’ve only listened to one episode, but it was pretty good!

🚒 “Save Our Pets” Static Cling

Here’s a design I liked on Etsy. But there’s lots of designs on Etsy and Amazon, find one that works for you!

Here’s an easy, inexpensive way to alert first responders that you have bork borks or meow meows (or other animals!) in your house. Just in case of emergency, better safe than sorry, yanno? I liked the design of this one, even though the static cling version didn’t stick to our windows. I’ll get a different version and see how that works.

👊 One Punch Man opening credits (with AMAZING SUBTITLES)

Season 1. Season 2.

PUT ON THE SUBTITLES for a FABULOUS EXPERIENCE. I’ve never seen subtitles done so well! WAHN-PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANCH! This is one of my fam’s favorite shows, it get rewatched a lot. Hurry up, season 3! 😭

🍝 Cheetos Cheesy Jalapeño Mac and Cheese

12-pack on Amazon; or check your local grocery store!

We got curious about the Cheetos-brand mac recently and have been trying out the different varieties as we come across them. There’s four varieties right now: “Four Cheesy”, “Bold and Cheesy”, “Cheesy Bacon”, and “Cheesy Jalapeño”. Here’s mini-reviews:

  • Bold and Cheesy: At first it was disorienting tasting the flavor of a crunchy Cheeto snack in a creamy sauce, but in the end, I decided I liked it. A LOT.
  • Cheesy Bacon: I didn’t like this one. Too Baco-Bits-tasting, to me. Fakey bacon.
  • Four Cheese: The flavor didn’t differentiate itself enough for me to seek it out again. Wasn’t bad, jjust
  • Cheesy Jalapeño: Jalapeño-flavored stuff is love it or hate it for me. This one’s in the LOVE category, though, with a nice Mexican food flava to it. Scratches my taco itch when there’s no crunchy shells in the house. Nachoriffic? Perhaps!

I’m not saying this’ll replace the Kraft dinner currently in your pantry, but it makes for a fun change!

Finally: did you read the Pixelvania Proclamation o’ Progress this month? It’s got what readers crave: electrolytes! I mean, updates!

See you next month!

A fabulous French bulldog novella turns 7 today!!

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Love Potion Commotion! (Cover). A white French bulldog winks at the viewer over a cauldron that bubbles pink smoke. Behind him, a brindle Frenchi looks on suspiciously.

Enjoy this cover while you can! It’s getting a makeover soon…

Whoa, Nelly! Fashion Frenchies #1: Love Potion Commotion! is turning SEVEN today!

If this book were a TV series, it’d probably sit alongside Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie, two other “family fantasy” comedies. It has some romance, sure, but that’s not the story’s sole focus–though my first reader also said it reminded her of a Hallmark movie. Very upbeat, very light, very fun.

 I wish I could let you all into my brain for a sec to hear how the white French bulldog, Marty, sounds. His voice always cracks me up.

A sequel is coming soon, and with it…a new cover for the entire series! And both books released in paperback. Hooray! But first I have to draw said cover 😱 Wish me luck!

Get your copy of LOVE POTION COMMOTION!

Cat Horror Story inspired by BilliSpeaks turns 2 today!

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Cover for BAD TIDINGS FROM QUEEN SOPHIE: An eerie cat's face emerges from the dark below the title text.

This is still one of my favorite covers.

Today we celebrate the second birthday of Bad Tidings from Queen Sophie, my very first short story sale!

Queen Sophie was inspired by three things:

  1. BilliSpeaks, a YouTube channel about a cat who could talk using buttons (RIP Billi, love you, miss you!)
  2. The mind-bogglingly obscure secrets/hacks people find in games like Dark Souls
  3. Language translation apps

And while I’ve listed it under the horror genre…after seeing peoples’ reactions after reading, it might be a little bit of a horror-comedy, to be honest.

Every cat-lover will probably get a kick out of this. Queen Sophie is another great story to kick off the spooky season!

Get your copy of Queen Sophie today

Or listen to it for free at the NoSleep Podcast!

 

Creepy ASMR horror story turns 3 today!

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Cover for CHRYSTINE'S SLEEP SOLUTION: a front view of a woman with her eyes peacefully closed, but in front of her mouth is a cellphone displaying a distorted, screaming mouth on its screen.

Check out that creepy digital font! Yeah!

Happy Book Birthday to my short horror story Chrystine’s Sleep Solution. It’s still one of my favorites, inspired by insomnia, ASMR, and sleep apps.

Need a creepy read for spooky season? You should take a look at Chrystine! It’s short, surreal, dreadful…in other words, it’s a perfect warmup for the fall horror season!

Read CHRYSTINE’S SLEEP SOLUTION today!

 

Cute Christian Kitty Christmas Story turns 6 today!

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A GINGERSNAP CAT CHRISTMAS Book Cover: A ginger cat with a halo smiles at a terrified black and grey kitten hiding behind him.

Illustration by Danielle Williams.

Today marks the 6th birthday of my cute Christian Christmas novel A Gingersnap Cat Christmas.

If you love cats (or have a little cat lover in your family), and want to see a positive portrayal of the Christian faith melded with a feel-good Christmas special, this is definitely one you’ll want to check out before the holidays roll in.

This is a landmark book in Pixelvania history: it was the first paperback I ever (by myself) produced, inside and out. I knew little about making book interiors, working with Scribus (my book interior layout program), and sizing for print, but I put in the work and it turned out pretty nice!

Lately I’ve considered updating it, inside and out, but I still really like the cover illustration. I feel like these days the trend is to use photographs, so I might consider that? We’ll see!

Get your copy of A GINGERSNAP CAT CHRISTMAS

 

5 Favorites for August 2024: Useful, Spoopy, Campy, and Tasty

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

🚘️ The Drop Stop

Available on Amazon and probably other places.

The other day, my car keys fell between the Abyss between the seat and the console. AND I COULD NOT GET THEM OUT. I have skinny hands and normally can fish them out okay, but not this time! I had to go round to the back seat, contort in non-Euclidean ways, and only then I just barely got them free!
I bought my husband a Drop Stop for Christmas and was impressed with it…but I put off getting my own until now! Don’t be prideful like me, get this and don’t lose stuff in the Abyss ever again!

🍿 Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy

Streaming on Max, possibly available for purchase elsewhere

Longtime readers know my husband turned me from Scooby skeptic to Scooby specialist. So I can tell you they’re having A LOT of fun with this movie (the credits are an animation fan’s dream), playing the characters against type (but for good reason!), using the freakier color palette seen in the Mystery, Inc. series, and using funny speed cuts in the editing. I’m looking forward to the spooky season, so this was a real treat!

🐈 Way of Cats: “Dear Pammy” posts

Free blog posts to help you understand cats better

Back when I was a new cat employee (under Pixel J., natch) I was looking for ideas to better understand and connect with him. I think Pamela Merrit, of WayofCats.com is the gold standard (yes, even over Jackson Galaxy). Most of her site is membership only, but you might like her free posts. She’s also written an ebook on understanding cats, and has done a number of podcasts on the topic, too. First rate kitty psychology aids.

🛡️ Dwight in Shining Armor

TV series; free to watch on BYU TV’s Roku app

First: this series is 5 seasons long and COMPLETE.
Third: it has my favorite fantasy witch character, Hexela, who is a modern witch who runs a day spa.
Second: it’s clean, it’s funny, a little cheesy, but great fun. Think Avatar: the Last Airbender with maybe a quarter of the seriousness but full of sincere characters. Watching Baldwic the Magician and warrior Princess Greta be insane around meek Dwight is *chef’s kiss*.

🍲🧀 Cabot Extra Sharp Mac and Cheese

Here’s a picture of the box

I saw this brand reviewed by chefs. Tried it out–it’s good! As good if not better than Annie’s white shells.

Finally, I posted this year’s final Proclamation o’ Progress earlier this week! Click here to read all my past Proclamations and their attendant kitty photos.

The Pixelvania Publishing Proclamation o’ Progress, September 2024 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 photo at the end.

Recap

CROOKED NECK’S EARLY-RELEASE KICKSTARTER

Earlier this year, I ran a successful early-release Kickstarter for The Guests of Crooked Neck, the reasonably-sized sequel to science-fantasy epic Steel City, Veiled Kingdom (SCVK). What was REALLY exciting this go-round is that I was able to offer paperbacks to backers, which seemed pretty popular!

Here’s some quick facts:

  • Crooked Neck funded in under a week!
  • By the end, it raised 127% of its goal, thanks to 25 wonderful backers.
  • 22 ebook copies of Crooked Neck were emailed to backers (and some reward tiers got SCVK, too, for a nice discount).
  • 7 paperback copies of Crooked Neck were shipped to backers!

If you missed the Kickstarter, good news! The Guests of Crooked Neck will be released to everybody in early November. Jump on my newsletter to get notified!

FINAL FRIDAY 5 FAVORITES POSTS

Earlier this year, I began posting my latest entertainment/household/food/whatever recommendations on the final Friday of each month. They’ve been pretty fun to do, so I think I’ll keep that up! Here’s what I’ve recommended so far.

Currently in Production

FASHION FRENCHIES BOOK 2

I finished writing and typing up the manuscript for family-friendly fantasy comedy Fashion Frenchies 2: Salute a Pooch! a few weeks ago. Also, SURPRISE! I renamed it. Now, instead of Salute a Pooch! it’s called The Pooch Salute!, which sounds punchier to my ear.

I’m currently hunting for a dog-loving Friendly Reader to check for typos so it can continue to the next stage of production.

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

FASHION FRENCHIES BOOK COVERS AND INTERIORS

In the meantime, I’m also working on revamping the cover for the ENTIRE Fashion Frenchies series. While I’m at it, I’ll also be turning the first book, one of the first I ever published, into a paperback. Anyway, here are some initial drawings:

 

Ink sketch of an elderly Asian woman. She wears like, a pirate coat and all kinds of bangly jewelry. She has huge glasses like Iris Apfel.

Vivian Feng

 

Pencil sketch of a toony French bulldog.

Marty the French Bulldog

I have three books in mind for this series, and I really hope a fourth will present itself because it feels like this series should be a quartet. Possibly a Christmas story?

Speaking of Christmas…how do you feel about some sci-fi Christmas?

GIFTS OF THE GORGON

I’m in the middle of writing (what I hope will be) a short story set in the Worlds of Everlush universe, taking place soon after The Guests of Crooked Neck. In my head it’s a Christmas story, but, being set on a sci-fi world, it’s obviously NOT Christmas, but it’s a gift-giving holiday so niener. I’ve had the idea in my head for some time, and it’s turning out to be funnier than I expected, which I like!

Future Plans, Plotting, and Scheming

Once the FASHION FRENCHIES work is off my plate, I think I’ll start another project or two concurrently with GIFTS. Here are the top contenders:

  • A Capramancer Christmas sequel (“Christmas with the Capramancer”? “The Capramancer Christmas Caper”? Anyway, I’m JAZZED about this idea LIKE WHOA. Lot of fun stuff could be had!)
  • Fashion Frenchies 3: The Bald and the Beautiful. (It will be a comedic Halloween story where the Fengs foster a hairless or near-hairless cat. I’ve had the base idea for AGES. Kind of a horror-comedy, heavy HEAVY on the comedy!!, less horror, more spoopy.)
  • For serious, actually step on the Nosferatu Novel train and ride it to the end. (This is intimidating because part one, unfinished–PART ONE!! UNFINISHED!!–is over 86,000 words. Part Two has 12,000 words completed and Part Three just under a thousand words. So I think it’s gonna be BEEG. It’s also been years since I’ve looked at it. Very intimidating but I gotta do it! And painting the covers will be a bear, too, I think.)
  • To be honest, another project that’s been weighing on me is getting The Purrfect Christmas out into paperback. It could be out in paperback quite quickly, but I’ve been putting it off because I think it should have illustrations. Except I haven’t found the energy to make the illustrations. Help me out here–would you rather have it out in paperback this year sans illustrations, or wait for a full revamp (including a nice shiny new cover)?
  • I still have 2 cat horror stories rolling around in my head
  • And ancient novel, the Gardeners of Palomar, is still lurking…

That ends my news, plotting, and scheming!

The Aforepromised Kitties

Here is your reward of a CAT PHOTO

Inside a room, a grey and white cat lurks on top of a tropical-patterned lawn chair. Below him in a cardboard bowl-bed, an orange and white cat lounges.

Intern Barnaby Jones lurking above his boss, Pixel J. Cat, lounging in a cardboard bowl-bed-box. They are surrounded by kitty treasures and toys.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A medical horror story’s sickly sixth birthday!

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Much photo editing went into this cover! One of my earliest cover designs.

Today in 2018, I published my medical horror short story Side Effects May Vary. It’s one I wrote back in college(!), but there’s a lot of striking imagery in it that I still enjoy. You probably will, too–it’s a quick snack of a read.

I’d like to redo the cover sometime.

That is all!

Get your copy here

 

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Another magical August Book Birthday – The Witching License

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Cover to THE WITCHING LICENSE. A green hand grabs a purple witch's hat against a whimsical night sky and blue moon.

Cover for THE WITCHING LICENSE; vector illustration by Danielle Williams

Today we’re celebrating The Witching License‘s FIFTH book birthday! Wow, that went by fast!

This was my first vector book cover illustration. This was extra difficult for me to make (I was, and still am, still not very adept with vector illustration), but my hard work paid off and it turned out nice. (About a year later, I took the moon, shrunk it, and used it on the back cover of The Capramancer Next Door)

This was also one of the first titles I made available in LARGE PRINT format. I’d like to do more of these in the future, especially now that Atticus would make that process a little easier.

If you’re in the mood for a bittersweet comedy about regrets, you’ll probably like this!

Get your copy of THE WITCHING LICENSE

Get your LARGE PRINT PAPERBACK copy of THE WITCHING LICENSE