Storycomic Weekly Newsletter: May 2nd
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.
Founders Club patrons include amazing creators like:
Michael Winn, Higgins802, Von Allan, Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos, Marek Bennett, Donna Carr Roberts, Andrew Gronosky, Simki Kuznick, and Matt & Therese.
Explore their work:
Don Lesser’s Crystal Springs explores the love of place and the long game of the past
In my newest interview, I’m joined by author Don Lesser to talk about his debut novel Crystal Springs, published by Rootstock Publishing and scheduled for May 5, 2026.
Set against the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, Crystal Springs is literary fiction about the love of place, the bonds of found family, and the lasting love between friends. The novel follows Steven Bennett, an everyman figure moving through decades of choices and consequences—trying to step forward while the past keeps tugging him backward. Early praise captures the tone well: warmth on the surface, with danger and regret simmering underneath.
In our conversation, Don talks about writing across a long timeline without losing intimacy, and how setting can shape a character as much as any relationship. We also discuss how small moments—split-second decisions—can quietly redirect a whole life, and why stories about loyalty, memory, and belonging can feel so personal to readers.
If you like character-first literary fiction that respects both beauty and bruises, this episode is a good listen.
Project Update: Refining the Foundation
This week I’ve been going back over the outline of Appliance, making sure everything lines up cleanly with the first draft. It’s been a good exercise in checking for redundancy—making sure ideas aren’t repeating themselves and that each section is pulling its weight.
It’s not the flashiest part of the process, but it’s important. Tightening the structure now will make the rest of the revisions smoother and help the overall flow of the story feel more intentional.
Still steady, detail-oriented work—but it’s helping shape the book into something stronger.
Book Review: The Three Golden Keys – A Story You Can Wander Through
Reading The Three Golden Keys by Peter Sís felt less like reading a book and more like stepping into a piece of art. I shared this one with my six-year-old, and what stood out right away was how completely captivated he was by the illustrations.
The story follows a man returning to his childhood home in Prague, where he discovers three keys that unlock memories, history, and imagination all at once. It’s a layered, thoughtful story—but honestly, the artwork is what pulls you in and keeps you there.
Each page is packed with intricate detail—maps, cityscapes, little visual pathways that invite you to slow down and explore. My son spent time just studying each page, pointing things out, asking questions, and getting lost in the visuals. It turned the reading experience into something more interactive, almost like a quiet treasure hunt.
What I appreciated as an adult is how much depth the book carries. There’s history woven into it, a sense of place, and a feeling of memory that gives it weight without making it feel heavy. It’s the kind of book that works on multiple levels—kids can enjoy the visuals and the sense of discovery, while adults can appreciate the deeper themes.
The Three Golden Keys is not a quick read—it’s one you linger with. And in a world of fast-paced everything, that’s a pretty special thing.
Personal Update: Finding the Rhythm and Enjoying Spring
It was another full week, but I’m starting to notice a really nice rhythm settling in. The production side of things—putting the paper together and creating on-demand audio versions of our Thursday and Friday shows—has naturally lined up toward the latter part of the week. That’s been helpful, because it frees up the earlier days to focus on connecting with new and existing clients, which is where a lot of the growth happens.
Spring is definitely ramping things up on the advertising side too. We’re seeing more one-off event ads coming in, and some of those slower payments are starting to trickle back in as well. It’s a good sign that things are loosening up after the winter stretch.
And speaking of spring—it’s officially here. The really cold days seem to be behind us, green is starting to pop up on the ground, and the trees are beginning to bud. It’s that subtle but exciting shift where everything starts coming back to life.
The longer days have been a big bonus too. Later sunsets mean more time outside, and I’ve been taking full advantage of that to get out and play with the kids. After a long winter, that extra daylight feels like a gift.
Iggy Invented a game and we played a couple times and of course he made up the rules as he went along and won both times!
Teaching my kids more about cinematic culture with ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’