Newsletter~ Small Solid Happiness

I wonder why I often get the urge to write at 6AM in the morning. There is a stillness that specifically belongs to those early hours; A liminal space that belongs neither here nor there that seems to stretch to infinity, where time is no longer a concept. That’s when my brain whirrs to a start with an assortment of intrusive thoughts. (The likes of “God, what I wouldn’t do for some mashed potatoes right now.) My body, on the other hand, refuses the mind’s call to action, trying to stay awake is like trying to defy some cosmic order.

So here I am. A few hours later, I’m starting to write this newsletter after breakfast. And I hope this finds you after you’ve had a good meal as well. 

In the Works

We’ve finished the Chapter 18 script! It is only the first pass, freshly pressed from our brain noodles, but It usually doesn’t take long to finalize Novae scripts. (Detail and dialogue often change while we’re working on the pages, an organic nature to Novae that I particularly enjoy!)

The next thing on the docket is the cover, which will be going up either tonight or Monday morning, quickly followed by the first pages. Oh~ this entire chapter has me kicking my feet! Look forward to lots of pining laced with sweetness, uncertainty, and a lot of playful teasing. I’ll rein myself in so I don’t give too much away, but I’ll let slip that math? Is involved.

Moving forward, we are finalizing the third revision of the Sulvain plushie! We got the second revision right before we left for New York. We wanted to be able to finalize version two’s design and bring Sulvain with us on our trip to the Cloisters. We were hoping we could take some photos of him with medieval art and gardens. (A little homecoming!) Our wonderful correspondents at Makeship were super accommodating with our request and tried to get him to us before the trip, but alas, a bit more work was needed. We are so eager to get our hands on the Sulvain plushie prototype and share with you his fuzzy visage! 

Finally, constellation letters are going out soon! Thank you for being so patient with us. We love all the merch ideas everyone shared with us. We’re going to continue with character planer stickers and we have our eyes set on some bookmarks first! 

Day to Day

Oh boy, so much has happened since the day I started writing this newsletter. I will start with a “small solid happiness.” (As Murakami coined the phrase. A small but certain happiness). I gazed into Persimmon’s eyes one day and in that moment, felt like I was the only one she saw in the whole universe. I don’t know why, but it made me cry. (A lot of things make me cry these days.) Then, the universe had other plans. On Friday, we had to take Persimmon to the vet because of a suspected UTI. She is doing well now, turns out it wasn’t a UTI at all but a response to stress from all the traveling we’ve been doing (she’s too attached to us! Sweet child!!) But when she first showed symptoms we scrambled to put towels and blankets on the bed and the couch and monitored every trip to the litter box hence. My mind was a vortex, I looked up all the possible causes. When the test came back negative on bacteria, and the other tests yielded no results, the vet concluded it was a common stress related condition. We had a kitty pheromone diffuser plugged into the wall in preparation for our trip, and now we added another litter box and she’s already taken a shine to her new mini cat tree. (The tree is beside our desk so she can keep us company while we work.) Whenever my cats fall ill, I find myself wishing that I could somehow take their place if it meant healing them. I’m sure many pet parents feel this way. 

As soon as chaos started to calm, we found out on Monday, that Kate’s mom broke her wrist. She is scheduled for surgery and we will be taking care of her for the next 2-3 weeks while she recovers. She is doing well for the time being, Kate’s mom has always kept good humor, even in the worst of times. 

Whew, when the universe throws you curve balls it really aims to knock the wind out of you.

On a brighter note, I’ve been investing in my hobbies and have started exploring film photography! There is a tactile feeling to film that grounds me in a good way. I am starting with the Holga; A Hong Kong originated toy camera with very little control. It functions on a bit of knowledge, a dash of guess work, a twinkle of faith, and a wink of luck. It is very prone to light leaks and came with official advice in the manual to put tape along the seams of the film chamber. (On the old models the back can pop open randomly and kill your entire roll of film.) But I saw the pictures it took and my heart melted. It is so wonderfully imperfect, a mini metaphor of our world. It reminds me that there is beauty in imperfection, in losing grip of control. A lesson in learning how to appreciate what’s in front of me.

(We’ve already taken some very dark indoor photos of Milo and Persimmon with yellow & blue colored flash. I have no idea how they’re going to turn out. Will share the results when I do!)

With my little camera in mind, this July newsletter is drawing to a close. Thank you is never enough to express the expanding gratitude in our hearts for you all. Each comment, theory, art, writing, letter, song, cosplay and meme is oxygen to our stars. Your engagement with Novae is a small solid happiness in our lives, I hope Novae ignites some small happiness for you all too. 

Until then, starlights!

May you find shelter in small comforts~

Jen + Kate