Category: News & Updates

Hello folks!

Well, clearly I stink at updating blogs 😂 BUT! I have been working on Jade Torch consistently this month! A good friend of mine convinced me to participate in Camp Nanowrimo this month. Unlike the November challenge, writers can choose to edit, plan, or write for Camp Nano. I chose to edit, and I’ve been plugging away at refining the book. The feedback from my beta readers has been invaluable, and I’ve added and made adjustments to things I’ve wanted to tweak as well. I’m super proud of how this book is shaping up!

As far as publishing updates are concerned, I’ve begun talking with folks about hiring a graphic designer to do the layout design for the book, I’ve started planning my illustration list, and I’ve begun reaching out to freelance editors. Exciting things!!! Depending on what I hear back from editors on availability, my hope is to finish this this thing by the fall (Lord willing and the creek don’t rise).

I know last year I was aiming for a late 2021 or early 2022 publication date, but obviously that didn’t work out. However, I think it was for the best. Some of the novels I’ve been reading over the past 7 months or so have made me realize there were some subtle world building elements I was missing in my story. If I had proceeded with publishing before Christmas, I don’t think I would have caught those and been able to make additions and adjustments.

The thought of getting this book into the hands of readers is an exciting and motivating one. Hopefully, I can make that happen soon (with the help of a few other fantastic people, of course)!

Thank you for your patience and support!

-Anne Marie

So, this site is getting a little bit of an overhaul because–drumroll please!–I’m turning Jade Torch into an illustrated novel!!

Yes, you read that right. On the one hand, I know it’s sad that Lune’s story will no longer be a webcomic, but that’s okay, because I genuinely believe that a novel format is going to be much healthier for the story.

“Why are you changing it?” you ask?

Well, when I originally conceived this story back over a decade ago, I started writing it as a novel. Eventually, I dropped this idea because I got more involved with art and for some reason (it’s a bit of a mystery to me) I convinced myself that I could either be a writer or an illustrator. So I set aside writing–something I’d loved since I was a little kid.

When I started drawing the webcomic, I enjoyed the process. It was exciting to draw a comic. But that initial excitement faded, and I realized I wasn’t enjoying the process. Drawing each page was a chore and almost like pulling teeth to get it done. Then, realizing that the story I wanted to tell was actually kind of long, I started to take a lot of it to the chopping block so that I would have fewer pages to draw. Now, sometimes condensing and shaving off parts of your story can be healthy and is an important part of the editing process. But it wasn’t in this case. My story needed room to breathe, and I was deliberately constricting it so that I’d have less work.

I knew this wasn’t good, and the shame I felt over “failing” my story was frustrating. I stopped enjoying the characters and the world because I was butchering a story I loved. I stopped drawing pages–and felt guilty for never updating this comic.

Then, for some reason, back in February I started writing again. And I remembered how much I loved writing. So I pulled out the old start of the Jade Torch novel, and I got to work.

A couple of months later, I had a completed first draft of book 1, and I announced to the world (over on Instagram) that I would be writing and self-publishing the story of Lune and her friends as a trilogy of novels which I would illustrate myself.

So, now that you know what’s going on, what does it all mean for this site?

Well, my goal is to sort of use this site for updating fans/followers of Jade Torch. Patrons over on my Patreon are going to be getting some exclusive updates for sure, but over here I want to share some of the journey as I navigate the waters of self-publishing. Additionally, I think it would be fun to have a little bit of a blog where I talk about stuff like what inspires me to write the kind of stories I write and stuff like that.

So, keep an eye out for future posts. Don’t worry–you’ll still be able to find the webcomic pages I’ve already posted over on the Archive or Comic tab. _{(I haven’t decided yet if I want to rename it.)}

I think my first blog post is going to be an analysis of my top 5 princesses from my childhood–some of whom definitely helped inspire the character that Lune became.

I’m excited about the journey ahead, and I hope you’ll join me and my beloved characters as we plunge into whatever this future holds!

-Anne Marie