Storycomic Weekly Newsletter: April 25th
ALWAYS POSTED A WEEK EARLIER ON PATREON
🚨 Storycomic Patreon Update for Creators 🚨
If you're an author, indie comic creator, game designer, or storyteller looking for more visibility, the Storycomic Patreon is one of the easiest ways to get your work in front of a growing audience.
For just $5 a month (about the price of a cup of coffee), you get some real promotional benefits:
🎙 Front-of-the-Line Recording Access
I’m often booking podcast interviews three months in advance, but Patreon members jump to the front of the line. This is especially helpful if you have a time-sensitive launch, Kickstarter, or new release coming up.
🔗 Permanent Show Notes Promotion
Your website or project link will be included in the show notes of all interviews as long as you’re a member.
📣 Social Media Promotion
We’ll regularly help promote your projects across Storycomic’s social media channels.
And remember, the Storycomic podcast has over 30,000 downloads, so it’s a great way to get your work discovered by readers and fellow creators.
For the cost of a coffee each month, you get promotion, visibility, and priority booking.
If you’re a creative looking to grow your audience, it’s a pretty great deal.
👉 Join us on Patreon and let’s share your story with the world.
Erika Frazer returns with two forthcoming books in 2026
Erika Frazer (Erika Nichols-Frazer) is back on the show, and she’s heading into a big year. Erika is a Vermont writer, poet, and editor, including her work with The Mountain Troubadour through the Poetry Society of Vermont.
In our conversation, we talk about her two forthcoming 2026 releases: the poetry chapbook Can you see her, the moon? (Finishing Line Press, June 2026) and the story collection No One Will Ever Hear You (Rootstock Publishing, September 2026).
We get into what it’s like to move between forms—how poems handle pressure differently than stories, how a collection is shaped, and what stays consistent when you switch gears. Erika also shares the realities of being a working writer rooted in Vermont: community, literary spaces, and the steady practice of showing up to the page even when life is loud.
If you care about small press publishing, the craft behind the work, and conversations that respect what writing actually takes, this episode is a good listen.
Melanie Hill puts readers in the cockpit with Jett Cooper
In this interview, I’m joined by author Melanie Hill to talk about her middle-grade novel Jett Cooper, an action story that’s frequently described as “Top Gun for kids,” but with real emotional weight under the thrills.
Jett is a kid who lives to fly — and he’s got a shot at competing in the Blue Wolf Junior Air Competition, where a scholarship could change everything. Then a tragedy hits his family, and his mother bans “everything flying.” Jett’s caught between grief, loyalty, and the stubborn pull of the sky, and he has to navigate rivalry, pressure, and the hard truth that in aviation, small mistakes come with huge consequences.
What makes the book especially convincing is Melanie’s long connection to aviation — and her focus on making flight scenes feel fast and readable without drowning kids in jargon.
If you’ve got a reader who loves action but also wants a story that takes emotions seriously, this episode (and this book) is well worth your time.
John Holland returns with The Die Bold Comics Digital Library on Zoop
John Holland is back on the show with a straightforward way for readers to jump into his work: The Die Bold Comics Digital Library, a fundraising campaign on Zoop that makes his catalog available as digital PDFs.
The library is big: 13 comics and 3 trades — over 800 pages — with genres all over the map, including horror, sci-fi, crime, fantasy, superhero, slice-of-life, comedy, and drama. Single issues are $5 and trades are $10, with bundles for readers who want to sample across the catalog (and a tip jar for anyone who wants to throw extra support behind the project).
In our conversation, John talks about why he chose Zoop for this run and why the “digital library” model is such a good fit for indie comics: it lowers the barrier to entry, makes discovery easier, and removes the usual friction of printing and shipping. Since the books are already complete and digital, the campaign is designed so supporters get their comics quickly once it wraps.
If you’ve been looking for a clean entry point into John’s work — or you’re a creator curious about smarter ways to package a backlist — this episode is worth your time
Project Update: Slow, but Still Moving
Things are still moving along with Appliance, just at a slower pace. It’s one of those stretches where progress really comes down to finding the time and putting in the work when I can.
I’ve been able to chip away here and there—doing some editing, reviewing sections, and keeping everything fresh in my head. It’s not big leaps forward, but it’s steady enough to keep things progressing.
At this stage, it’s really all about getting the time in. Even small pockets of focused work add up, and as long as I keep showing up to it, Appliance continues to move forward.
Book Review: The Pacifist – A Tense Look at Truth and Conviction
The Pacifist by Lyn Bixby is a gripping, grounded novel that pulls you into the turbulence of 1968—a time when the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement were colliding in deeply personal ways.
The story follows Lisa Thompson, a young woman living a quieter, back-to-the-land life in Vermont, whose world is turned upside down when her brother Chris, an anti-war activist, is drafted and later dies under suspicious circumstances. What follows is part mystery, part historical drama, as Lisa heads to Boston determined to uncover what really happened. Her journey brings her into conflict with powerful institutions, and the deeper she digs, the more complicated—and dangerous—the truth becomes.
What makes this book stand out is how personal it feels. The stakes aren’t abstract—they’re rooted in family, loss, and conviction. The backdrop of the Vietnam era adds weight, but the real strength of the story is in Lisa’s determination and the emotional core that drives her forward.
Having had the chance to interview Lyn Bixby on my podcast recently, I came away with an even deeper appreciation for the care and thought behind this story. That conversation added another layer to the reading experience, especially in how the book handles themes of justice, protest, and the cost of standing by your beliefs.
The Pacifist is a thoughtful and engaging read—part suspense, part reflection—and a compelling look at a moment in history where personal choices carried enormous consequences.
Personal Update: Spring Energy and Small Wins
Things are definitely picking up in a positive way for both the paper and the radio. You can really feel that spring has officially arrived. More folks are getting out, advertising their events, and there’s just a general lift in people’s moods that comes with the warmer days.
We took full advantage of that this weekend and brought the family out for a long walk on the rail trail. It was a gorgeous day. You can see the green just starting to come back, even though the trees are still mostly bare. Give it another week or so and it’ll really start to pop.
On the home front, I fixed a leaky toilet this week—always a satisfying win. It reminded me of that classic Red Green line: “If she doesn’t find you handsome, at least she should find you handy.” Felt pretty fitting.
And on the eBay side, things are finally starting to pick back up again, which is good to see after a slower stretch.
All in all, it feels like things are turning a corner—both with the season and with work.
That is Iggy way ahead of us down the trail
bring up the rear is the wife and the middle child taking their time