Storycomic Weekly Newsletter: October 10th
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:
Higgins802, Von Allan, Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos, Marek Bennett, Donna Carr Roberts, Andrew Gronosky, Simki Kuznick, Simki Kuznick, John Holland, Maureen Devline, Benjamin Hunting, Samantha Kolber, Frank Walk, Mark Bell, Alexis E. Fajardo, and Matt & Therese.
Explore their work:
Jessica Brenner gives Tinker Bell the story she deserved in Pixie Dust and Other Dangerous Things
In my newest interview, I’m joined by Jessica Brenner, author of the debut middle-grade fantasy Pixie Dust and Other Dangerous Things.
The book reimagines Peter Pan from the point of view of Tinker Bell, asking a wonderfully provocative question: what if Tink was not simply jealous or petty, but one of the hidden architects of Neverland itself?
The story begins in Kensington Gardens, where Tinker Bell crosses paths with a willful young Peter and eventually brings him to Neverland. From there, familiar pieces of the mythology take on new meaning — including Peter’s refusal to grow up, the ticking crocodile, the Darling children, and the complicated loyalty between Tink and Peter. Little Red General Store
Jessica’s path to fiction is part of the story too. She previously wrote College Admission Essays for Dummies and has spent years working as a college counselor, helping young people find their own voices. Jessica Brenner
In our conversation, we talk about retelling iconic stories, writing Tinker Bell with more complexity, making a creative pivot from nonfiction to fiction, balancing writing with parenting and work, and why children’s literature keeps returning to the question of what it means to grow up.
C.E. Massari turns family history into crime fiction with The Mafia vs. The Klan
In my newest interview, I’m joined by C.E. Massari, writer and creator of the new graphic novel The Mafia vs. The Klan.
The 120-page original graphic novel is set during Prohibition and was inspired in part by the experiences of Massari’s own grandfather. It follows Mario, a restaurant owner in segregated Virginia whose daughter is killed in a Klan attack meant for him. When local law enforcement fails to provide justice, Mario turns to the Mafia for help — setting off a story about revenge, survival, family, and the dangerous bargains people make when institutions fail them. Comic Watch
The book is illustrated by Martin Gimenez, lettered by Dave Lentz, and edited by Drena Jo, and launched on Kickstarter as part of Source Point Press’s 2026 relaunch. Comic Watch
C.E. has also created projects including The Six Swords, contributed to Kayfabe Volume 3, and worked on the children’s graphic novel Is Dad a Vampire?!. cemassari.com
In our conversation, we talk about turning family history into fiction, writing historical violence responsibly, researching Prohibition-era America, working with an art team, and building creator-owned comics from the ground up.
Project Update: A Slower Week
It was a fairly slow week on the project side of things.
I didn’t make any huge leaps forward, but I did spend a little time looking back over some of the material I’ve already written and thinking about where I want to take things next. Sometimes that kind of slower week is useful, especially when a project has been evolving as much as this one has.
The Old-Time Radio Fate Core game is still very much on my mind, and I’m continuing to shape it into something that feels broader and more flexible as a Golden Age of Radio-style setting.
Not every week has to be packed with major progress. Sometimes it’s enough to keep the project warm, keep thinking about it, and be ready to dive back in when the next burst of energy hits.
Book of the Week: The Giving Tree
This week I read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein with Iggy.
It’s one of those books that looks incredibly simple on the surface, but there’s a lot packed into it. The story follows a boy and a tree through the years, with the tree continuing to give and give as the boy gets older and his needs change.
Reading it now as an adult—and especially as a parent—it definitely hits differently than it probably would have when I was a kid.
There’s something both sweet and a little sad about it. The tree is always happy to give the boy whatever she can, even when it costs her more and more. You can read it as a story about love, generosity, parenthood, growing older, or even about how easy it is to take something for granted when you assume it will always be there.
That’s probably why the book has stuck around for so long. It’s simple enough for a kid to follow, but there’s plenty there for an adult to think about afterward.
Reading it with Iggy also made me think about how quickly kids grow up. Right now, bedtime stories are still part of the routine, and I know that won’t always be the case.
So for me, The Giving Tree ended up being more than just another book before bed. It was a nice reminder to appreciate these little moments while they’re still here.
Personal Update: eBay, Fall Foliage, and a Live Broadcast
This week had a mix of busy stretches and slower moments.
I spent some time posting more stuff on eBay and chipping away at the resale pile. Of course, as usually happens, just as I start making progress on getting things out, I end up finding a few more things worth picking up. So the pile gets smaller and somehow bigger at the same time.
We also spent part of the week getting ready for the Fall Foliage Festival, which ended up being one of the highlights of the week. As far as I know, this was the first time in roughly 50 years that we’ve actually broadcast live from the festival, and that made it feel pretty special.
There was something really satisfying about being out there with the station instead of just talking about the event from the studio. Radio has always been at its best when it feels connected to the community, and being right in the middle of the festival was a good reminder of that. It felt a little like bringing back an older style of local radio—being present, talking to people, and making the station part of what was happening around town.
It was also just plain fun.
At home, Elizabeth came down with a little bit of a fever toward the end of the week, but thankfully she bounced back pretty quickly.
Overall, it was one of those weeks that had a little bit of everything, but the live broadcast is probably the part I’ll remember most.
Our live remote broadcast for Groton Fall Foliage Festival
Iggy wanted to try the new leaf sweeper