Storycomic Weekly Newsletter: March 28th
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.
Bernie Smith on running Gigabyte Magazine and spotting real tech trends
Every 100 episodes, I keep a quirky tradition alive: I interview another Barney or Bernie Smith. This time it’s Bernie Smith, CEO of Gigabyte Magazine, a tech outlet covering fast-moving stories in AI, cybersecurity, robotics, and tech culture.
In our conversation, Bernie breaks down what it’s like running a modern digital publication when the news cycle never sleeps. We talk about how he decides what’s worth covering, how he tries to separate signal from noise, and why trust is the hardest “product” to build online—especially when audiences are trained to assume everything is either sponsored, exaggerated, or flat-out wrong.
We also get practical. Bernie shares the kind of common-sense cybersecurity habits regular people and small businesses can adopt without turning life into a full-time IT job. Then we dig into AI: what’s actually useful right now, what he thinks is overhyped, and what he’s watching next. And because tech can’t be all doom and warnings, we wrap with some rapid-fire fun—best and worst trends, tools he can’t live without, and the lessons he’d give anyone trying to build a niche media brand today.
If you want a tech conversation that’s informed, human, and not trying to sell you a miracle, this episode is a good one.
Steven Joseph and Andy Case bring big imagination energy with Snoodles in Space: Escape from Zoodletraz!
In this episode, I’m joined by Steven Joseph, creator of the Snoodles Universe, and (when schedules allow) illustrator Andy Case, the multi-award-winning artist behind the series. Together, they’re building a world that feels tailor-made for kids who love to laugh — while still giving parents, teachers, and librarians something to cheer for.
Their newest book, Snoodles in Space: Escape from Zoodletraz!, is a wild, funny space jailbreak story that leans hard into teamwork and creative problem-solving — the kind of book where ridiculous ideas aren’t distractions, they’re the key.
We talk about why “imagination deficit” is a real concern in screen-heavy childhoods, and how this series tries to pull kids back toward play, language, and curiosity. We also get into their collaboration process and how illustration choices help build the oodle-verse into something kids want to return to again and again.
And as a bonus: there’s music, too — Noodleham Rocks, a companion soundtrack that expands the Snoodles vibe beyond the page.
V.M. LaFountain brings a Vermont perspective to the epic fantasy world of Eclarona
In my newest interview, I’m joined by Victoria (V.M. LaFountain), a fantasy author based in Essex Junction, Vermont, and the creator of the Eclarona Chronicles.
We talk about her published books Destiny and Reckoning, and how the series grows in scope as it moves toward the upcoming titles Fated and Secrets. Eclarona is a sprawling world filled with Fae—from elemental beings to giants—and Victoria’s focus is on building a cast that feels varied, human, and worth following.
What makes this conversation stand out is how her fantasy lens starts reflecting something very real: the difference between social acceptance and legal equality. As the story progresses, characters who once lived at the edges step into the spotlight, and the conflict shifts from “who has magic” to “who is recognized.”
If you like big fantasy worlds with character-driven stakes—and you enjoy hearing how an author shapes theme, representation, and plot across multiple books—this episode is a good one to cue up.
Maureen Devlin turns “How did that get here?” into the Backer & Backer series
In this interview, I’m joined by children’s author Maureen Devlin, creator of the Backer & Backer book series — stories designed for the kids who can’t stop asking “why?”
Each book starts with a simple, everyday moment and then walks backward through the origin of the object at the center of the story. The Crisp, Juicy Apple follows curiosity from snack time to where food comes from. The Warm Woolen Hat explores wool and generational learning. The Red, Bouncy Ball turns playground fun into discovery. The Pretty Picture celebrates creativity and the tools that make art possible. And The Playful Puppy brings a big-hearted kid-and-pet story into the mix.
Maureen’s mission is to spark curiosity and share factual information in a fun way, and the series is supported with extras for families and classrooms — including teacher/parent activity ideas and downloadable coloring pages.
If you’re looking for books that feel like a story first, but still leave kids noticing the world differently afterward, this episode is a great listen.
Project Update: Still Slow Going
Things are still slow going with Appliance. I haven’t been able to carve out as much time for it as I’d like, but I’m continuing to check in on the project when I can—reviewing sections, making notes, and keeping everything fresh in my head.
It’s not big leaps forward right now, but it’s steady enough to keep things moving. For this season, that’s good enough.
Book Review: Foal – Simple Moments That Mean More
Foal is about as simple as a children’s book can get—and that’s exactly what makes it special. Published by Stillwater Press, this little board book focuses on a young horse, using clear imagery and simple language that’s perfect for very young readers.
There’s no big storyline here, just a gentle introduction to an animal and its world. It’s the kind of book you read slowly, pointing things out, letting little ones take it in at their own pace. It’s sturdy, easy to hold, and designed for those early reading moments where attention spans are short but curiosity is high.
What made this one stand out for me, though, wasn’t just the book itself—it was the moment. Reading Foal with my son reminded me that he’s my youngest, and this is likely the last time I’ll be diving into these kinds of simple bedtime board books. That realization gives even the smallest stories a bit more weight.
There’s something really special about these early reading experiences—the quiet, the repetition, the shared focus on something so simple. Books like Foal aren’t about plot or excitement; they’re about connection.
It may be a small book, but it carries a lot of meaning. And as these bedtime routines start to shift with time, I’m glad I get to enjoy these moments—one simple story at a time.
Personal Update: False Spring and Real Responsibility
We got a nice taste of warm weather this past week—one of those stretches that makes you think spring might actually be here. The snow melted back, things felt lighter, and you start thinking about all the projects waiting for warmer days. Of course, like clockwork, March had other plans. By Friday, we got hit with a solid snowstorm and about 6 inches dropped right on us. Thankfully, I didn’t need to be out in it, so I could just watch winter make its last stand from inside.
On the work front, we’re now into our second week of being fully in charge of the paper. It’s been fun, and I’m really enjoying it, but there’s also a weight to it. The responsibility is real, and it’s not something I take lightly. Every issue feels important, and I want to make sure we’re doing right by the communities we serve.
I’ve also been continuing to work on getting the new paper website up and running. It’s coming along, and I’m looking forward to having something that’s more flexible and easier to manage moving forward.
On the eBay side of things, it’s still been pretty slow these past few weeks. That seems to be the trend right now, so it’s just a matter of staying patient and waiting for things to pick back up.
A little bit of everything this week—false spring, real winter, and steady progress where it counts.
Trying out the new Cafe at the end of the street. Yes, she did have pink lemonade with a brownie!
Trying out the new Cafe at the end of the street. apple juice with a chocolate no bake cookie!