Awaking from dreams of fancy, Valentine finds himself bedridden with injury and little memory of how. Whilst this is nothing unusual for a man on hard times, the lady to greet him most certainly is. A noble’s maid at first glance, feathered tufts of fur peak from the lining of her dress, a bushy tail cascading behind her. Valentine is enchanted by this fair maiden and fae beastkin he’s never seen the likes of, yet the mysterious maid’s stilted boots are as quiet as her tone is sharp and guarded.
A troublesome man has entered the kikimora’s life, much to her mistress’ amusement. Just as she challenges his resolve on the thought of love, Ketalla may find herself facing the shadow hanging over her heart as the consequences of their actions ripple outward through the city and beyond.
That's right, you actually thought I was joking, but it's happening, and I'm pretty happy with things. I don't know what it is but it's very easy to get lost in your own self-destructive depression, but just trying to make a stand and putting something out there with a solid deadline really feels good and motivating. Of course I've tried to make a statement and stand previously but it was never as solid as this.
A lot has changed over the years since then. Some of the things I had tried to hype myself up with genuinely just went nowhere until recently where I started getting back in touch with some people, sticking my head out and interacting a bit. Friends and people that will check in on you really help, especially when it concerns writing. I don't want to "date" my posts and fill them with social commentary or bring up matters readers will be sick of hearing from every other outlet, but when the whole global pandemic issue began and many had to learn to deal with working from home, there was a big drive on mental health awareness and checking in on people.
And then there was me who'd been dealing with working from home for years wondering where that support and care had been for years. Was it really so bad? Was my depressing loneliness just a natural effect of what I do? You know it never felt that bad but now I look back on and really say that out loud again, I guess maybe it was... at least it didn't help matters when things went downhill with no one to stop or help me.
So uh... the moral is not to remember authors are people too cause you hear that about any artistic type all the time and like any feel good catchphrase, it doesn't actually mean anything, but don't be afraid to reach out and talk to creators. Let them know how you feel, what you enjoy and want more of. They probably don't have many people to talk to about their passion, especially if they write "sensitive" content.
Wait, this was supposed to be a news post about the new publication. Shit, this is why I don't go off on tangents about stuff like that! Well, in all seriousness Kikimora Courtois - which I swear I will never be able to spell without checking and I did this to myself - is a flagship of pulling myself out of a darker place and putting a visible effort back into publishing, so it stands to reason I take up all the space talking about the emotional troubles and absence preluding this moment.
I'll probably do a release day post to celebrate and talk more concisely about it anyway. For now all I can say is I'm really happy with it. It's much "softer" compared to some of the things I've written previously, which isn't to say I've lost the edge(?) or love of dark fantasy, but there's much more romance, adventure and character before reaching any erotic climax.
It's bigger, ambitious, and coming April 14th!
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