Tag: love potion commotion!

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

Posted on

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:

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.

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:

Cover of Love Potion Commotion! A cheerful French bulldog in a pink tuxedo vest and black bowtie grins beside a sewing machine and a stylish older woman in oversized red glasses and gold jewelry. She wears a ruffled pink top and gestures confidently at the title. Behind them is a deep pink background sprinkled with retro starbursts and sparkles. The subtitle reads “Fashion Frenchies Book 1.” The overall tone is whimsical, fashionable, and magical with a hint of mischief.

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.

The Pixelvania Publishing Proclamation o’ Progress, February 2025 Edition

Posted on1 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

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