Hey hi folks! Cat Wishes is selling well? Like, better than Squid Maids?? And this light novel author thing might work out??? I'm really stoked, so here's a bit of bonus art I did to celebrate! ^^
(Files have been deposited in the appropriate folders; links should go out very soon!)
2018-01-08 03:05:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks! Here's the early access archive of my let's play of SteamWorld Dig 2! It's the sequel to one of my favorite exploration platformers of all time so I was stoked to record this series!
The videos will be released publicly over the next few weeks, but you can see the whole thing right now if you want to! Here's the link (please don't spread it around, it's a secret):
I did it! I released two light novels this year! It was a photo-finish but it still counts!! I'm so happy, and so tired, and so fulfilled. And I want to keep going.
I'm home again, not traveling for a good long while due to various reasons, and now I can stream and work on my next novels, as well as wrap up some art commissions. What a year it's been. I want to do a year-end post at some point, but there's still a day left to 2017, and I intend to make it count.
Working on the light nove...
2017-12-31 07:01:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks! The long wait is over—Cat Wishes is now officially released! :D Well, technically I'll release it publicly tomorrow, but everyone at the $5+ level has access to it immediately!
To claim your copy, follow this link and associate your Patreon account with your itch.io account (you may have to create the latter if you don't already have one). Once that's done, you'll be a...
2017-12-31 06:19:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks!
As I put the finishing touches on Cat Wishes to release it today or tomorrow, here's something I wrote recently! The wonderful folks at Giant Bomb were nice enough to ask me to write a guest top 10 video game list this year again, so head on over if you want to check it out!
Talk to you soon! :D
2017-12-30 18:06:30 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks! Cat Wishes is almost done! I still need to finish cleaning up some interior art; as soon as that's completed, I'll put up the digital versions for everyone! I'll be using itch.io's new system for linking to Patreon accounts, so there might be a tiny bit of adjustment at first, but it should make the process much smoother in the future for all my releases!
Also, in amazing news, Patreon backed away from their proposed pledge system changes. So everything's staying...
2017-12-18 19:19:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks! Art is progressing along on Cat Wishes; I now have sketches for all illustrations, including the cover above! :D We're really close!!
(I'll be releasing all the illustrations to folks with high-res and work file access as usual once the novel is out; I don't want to show the pics first, because they might spoil part of the story. Thanks for understanding!)
Next update, there'll be a new light novel to give out to folks at the $5 level and up! :D (if something happens and th...
2017-12-10 05:27:13 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks.
There's probably going to be a change in how Patreon works later this month, on the 18th, so here's a heads up.
You've hopefully all gotten the news by now (since there has been a couple of rounds of emails from the company) but Patreon is changing the way it charges patronage. Long story short, each pledge will be charged separately, and there'll be a %2.9+$0.35 charge on top of each of them; before, the creator (me) paid these charges, but now it's the pa...
2017-12-08 19:03:23 +0000 UTC View Post
The second print run of Squid Maids is on its way, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to add a little branding! :D This'll also help me separate my light novels from my night novels (shorter, NSFW, often side-stories to existing novels).
I'd normally spend a long time reworking something like this but I was in a hurry and I decided, what the heck, let's just go with it. I can update the logo and rework it as I go along, but for now, I think it sets the tone quite nicely. ^^
2017-12-05 22:18:50 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks! CAT WISHES IS WRITTEN! :D
I'm sending it off to my editor and jumping right to the art, but it's going to be available really soon! In fact, it should be the "new" latest book available to everyone at the $5+ level next update (in 2 weeks), so that should be exciting!
I'll be releasing Cat Wishes to you folks first, then making it available on my online store digitally. The print version will take a little more time to make, so that'll unfortunately have to happen after the...
2017-12-03 16:41:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Inspired by a tweet from Andi McClure, the Adoroboros—kitten perpetually chewing on its own tail—has been cleaned up from its original sketch form and is now on its way to become a sticker! There was a sudden same-day deal online and I jumped on it, and hopefully the process has helped me get back into art so I can tackle what's still on my list.
I'll share pics as soon as I have physical stickers! They'll go on my ...
2017-11-25 01:39:12 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks! I'm still recovering from travel and dealing with a bit of an art block, but gosh, writing books is giving me LIFE. I hope to finish the first draft of Cat Wishes soon, and then move on to art! Ideally that won't take too much time; I've got a lot of that to go through and I want to believe I'll find a good groove for that.
I'm also still on the lookout for artists to team up with for future books so I can concentrate on the writing. And write more books! Faster!
Streaming ...
2017-11-18 16:05:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks! I've unfortunately hit a major art block, BUT I've also gotten over the story problem I had with Cat Wishes and now I'm writing it with wild abandon! I'm about halfway done with the story already and hopefully getting the draft done will free my mind to get cracking with my tablet again. This also means that soon there'll be a new book for all my $5+ patrons! I'm excited! :D
I still have a few commissions to finish and some characters to sketch, and I want to get those done as so...
2017-11-18 04:43:24 +0000 UTC View Post
In case you hadn't seen her on twitter, I now have a robot daughter! Zandrabot, a helpful twitter bot made by good all-around person @BooDooPerson, takes all of my goodnight tweets and mashes them up to make good day tweets for everyone around the world!
She's, uh, trying her best. She doesn't always get it right, or legible, but good gosh she's got heart!
You can read her cheerful messages over at @GoodDayFolks...
2017-11-13 18:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi! I realize that in all the hubbub about making Squid Maids a reality, I never uploaded the art files for you all—and that's now been rectified! Everyone with access to high-res art or work files will find it all in their respective folders.
I'll keep doing this with future light novels as well, and I plan to be a little bit better with Cat Wishes and give you a sneak peek at how the art is progressing! (While avoiding story spoilers, of course.)
I went very pixelated for Squid M...
2017-11-10 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostI did it! I survived a year of international travel. Good gosh, that took so much out of me (hence why this update post is a bit late).
It's pretty remarkable just how quickly and how intensely my body shut down and went into hibernation mode once the biggest sources of anxiety and stress left my life. I had a wonderful trip at GaymerX East, I came back, and within two days most of the personal issues plaguing my life this year were all good and taken care of. It's been a bit of a ride, and my...
2017-11-10 00:31:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks! It's been a while since I've posted art here, in part due to my shift into light novels and their illustrations (and in part because of constant travel), so here's a little blast from the past! It's a comic about my social anxiety and how I've learned to deal with it; I posted it originally on Twitter at the start of last year and here I've compiled it into a single page so that I could make prints of it (av...
2017-11-09 23:57:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks! Hallowe'en is here and to continue my tradition of cosplaying indie game characters, I was inspired to dress up as Beast from 2016's game of the year Ladykiller in a Bind. Also, the full title reads like a light novel title, so it's only fitting.
I had a lo...
2017-10-31 03:32:06 +0000 UTC View PostI am so very tired. I had planned to go to PAX Unplugged later in November, but finally decided to cancel it. GaymerX East will be my last non-local convention; after that weekend is done, I'll be taking a lot of rest because good gosh I need it.
I've never traveled so much in a year! Here are my events for 2017:
I just got a pair of Pocket Operators and I finally got enough courage to make a tiny video of where I'm at with them. This is the PO-20 Arcade; it's not really how you're supposed to use it, but I'm having fun, and I'm making a little bit of progress every day.
I'm very excited about music and I hope I'll get to show you more of what I'm up to soon. 💙
2017-10-13 04:02:42 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks! Back from Toronto, where I gave a talk at the Damage Camp conference about what lessons I've learned in game design from speedrunning! It was a wonderful event and I'm so glad I got to share some knowledge with the community there. Toronto's quickly becoming my home away from home and I want to keep finding opportunities to visit. ^^
I'm also hard at work on my next book, Cat Wishes! I'm going to be trying new things when it comes to the illustrations, and I'm also wondering what...
2017-10-07 23:08:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Phew! I've been traveling a lot still and taking care of maybe too many things at once, but my main project—the next light novel in my gender feels line—is on its way!
Cat Wishes is going to follow in Squid Maids' footsteps when it comes to feels, but this time it's going to take place in a world where minor deities are sort of commonplace and wishes actually can come true once in a while. I'm not going to go too much into the story for now, but: there's going to be catgirls.
I can't...
2017-10-06 21:19:18 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks! I came back from PAX West and immediately took off again for SPX, the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland! It was a brief but amazing (and exhausting) experience, and while I didn't get to move nearly as much inventory as I thought, I did meet amazing people and learn a lot—and you can't put a price on that!
I'm back home for a little bit now as I prepare to visit Toronto for the upcoming Damage Camp conference, where I'll be speaking about game design and speedrunning! :D I...
2017-09-24 03:29:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks! Here's the early access archive of my Design Delve on Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin, my biggest feature yet! Good gosh, 23 episodes! I hope you'll find it as entertaining as it was to make it!
The videos will be released publicly over the next few weeks, but you can see the whole thing right now if you want to! Here's the link (please don't spread it around, it's a secret):
Hey hi folks! It's small, and it's a bit rough around the edges, but it's live! Anyone who wants my physical creations delivered to their home (or wherever) can now do so through my shop at shop.zandravandra.com!
I'll be adding more to it as time goes on; please let me know if there's anything you'd like to see on it! ^^
2017-09-22 23:07:33 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks! SPX is behind me, I'm completely exhausted, but I have a lot of neat news! I'll talk about that more in my next wrap-up, but in the meantime: my online store is launching real soon! :D It'll initially launch with the physical version of my Squid Maids light novel as well as my stickers, but I'm working out the logistics of mailing prints, and all my comics, posters and prints will soon follow!
I plan to start things up with Tictail first to see how that goes; as soon as it's up, ...
2017-09-22 04:02:21 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks! I'm finally back from PAX West (and some extra Seattle time with friends) and good gosh I hope I never take another red-eye flight again. My first flight home was delayed so I had to rearrange my connections at the last minute and ran through two separate airports to make them. x_x But I made it home! In sort of one piece!
The next two weeks should be a blur as well because I'll be tabling at Small Press Expo next weekend! :D If you're attending SPX, drop by table C11 where my fr...
2017-09-10 00:37:09 +0000 UTC View PostHey hi folks!
Here it is, my very first book! Good gosh this feels amazing. ^^ I'll be sending out digital copies to everyone at the $5 tier and above right away—I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun working on this and I want to keep going. Light novels started as a bit of an inside joke but now I'm hooked!
Over the past two weeks, as the novel was edited, I've been busy illustrating it, catching up on commissions, and going to GenCon! That was an amazing experience, as I hadn't been...
2017-08-27 04:10:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks! Since my Patreon runs on 2-week cycles and the next cycle ends Saturday at the end of the day, that's when folks will be charged—and everyone at the $5 tier or above will get a free digital download of my first light novel, I Asked For Squid Maids But I Didn't Know I'd Become One!
So if this is interesting to you and you've been considering jumping into the $5 and up range, now's a good chance!
From now on, whenever a new cycle begins and folks are charged, folks who don'...
2017-08-26 14:15:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey hi folks, my illustrated squid maid light novel is almost done! It should be going to print soon, and there will also be a digital version available (as well as a mailing option if folks not local to me want a physical copy). It's 64 pages and should have around 8-10 character pics! (I'm still working on those)
And if you're a patron at the $5 Examine level, you'll get the digital version for free!
I'll be adding "free digital copies of light novels" to that tier's description, becau...
2017-08-24 18:58:44 +0000 UTC View Post