Shipping and Sending – Update

Hey, all. I know I’m a bit behind on this, but I wanted to make sure I had info before I made a formal announcement.

Due to the USA tariff … thing … our postal service has suspended all package deliveries to the USA for the foreseeable future. There are apparently some strategies that they’re exploring, but who knows how long that will take.

So, bad news first: Physical book sales to the US have been paused. I’ll let folks know if and when that changes.

Good news: it’s only package delivery, so all the digital books (including the epubs of tFA, when they go up) are still available. And the zines fit in an envelope, so I’m still able to send printed zines via letter post.

Again – so sorry to have to do this. I’ll let everyone know as soon as this changes.

Release Announcement!

Front cover of Hol(l)o(w)metabolism

Yes, yes, I know that this is technically already announced, so I’ll keep this short.

Until today, Hol(l)o(w)metabolism was only available as an add-on to The Ferryman’s Apprentice bundles. Now, it has its own entry in the store! Digital or physical are both available, and as always, they are Pay-What-You-Want; digital starts at free, physical copies start at $5 to cover printing and postage costs.

Go forth and do with this information what you will.

August Update

I really gotta get a better system for when I’m away from my big computer and I need to post these updates…

So, hi everyone, hope August is treating you well. Let’s talk This Month!

tFA promo bundles are still on sale! They’ll be available right up until the 31st of August (and then they go away forever and so do the stickers!), so if you want one, now’s the chance to get in before it’s too late!

The pre-orders that have already come in are only a couple days from being mailed out! For those of you who have ordered one (and thank you for that!), I’ll send a notification when they’re sent, including a tracking number so that you know where the package is.

Oh, and one more thing about pre-orders: After the 10th, Hol(l)o(w)metabolism is available for individual sale as well, in case you’ve been hanging out to for just the zines.

OK, now I’m done marketing at you (for now). What else has been going on?

Well, you’ll notice that unfortunately there’s a couple weeks without a stream listed. This is for two reasons: First is that my computer has decided four of its USB ports don’t exist, which kind of puts a dampener on my ability to plug in all the devices I need at the same time. I know what the problem is, but it’s gonna take a day when I can just pull the computer apart and put it back together again in order to fix it, and I just don’t have the luxury this week. The second reason is that I’m moving house next week, and thus even if I could have it ready for a stream on Friday the 15th, the computer is likely to be in a box that day, ready to be moved the day after. Streams will start back up on the 22nd, though, even if I have to transmit the data through one of those cup-and-string phones you make when you’re 10.

In case you missed it on Bluesky, WMWAC has also dropped to monthly updates, rather than fortnightly, just until I’m moved house and have my feet under me again with my PhD starting back up. Hopefully it won’t be too long, but watch for next month’s update to see where all that’s going.

Speaking of the PhD, keep an eye out over the next couple weeks: I need to get back into running the Museum and its social media, so I’ll be doing an announcement here. I know some people tried to get into the Museum through this blog before I went on leave, so hopefully those people are still interested now I’m restarting.

Finally, on upcoming projects: DR is pottering along, though it’ll be a side project for a while, so as not to take too much time away from the PhD. I’ve also started working on SC, an updated version of a project that I’ve tried to write before but never quite succeeded. It’s even more side-project, though, so don’t expect any major updates about that project for A While.

For shorter things, now that Hol(l)o(w)metabolism is out, the only small project that I have going right now is the one I’m working on for WMWAC. I have a couple of ideas cooking (a couple of game ideas, specifically), but proper details will have to wait til I’ve done a bit of mechanics testing and I’ve actually got an idea on how to fit the darn things together).

Oh! And for any of you who are interested in the whole “sightings of relatively unknown authors in public places” thing (in the least creepy way), I’m going to be At A Place Doing A Thing! South by South West Sydney (SXSW Sydney – 13th to 19th October) has for some reason approved my request for attendance! I’ll be doing a talk about my PhD project as part of a panel, possibly one other thing that I won’t announce til confirmed, and of course, wandering around the convention checking out and supporting the student projects, and generally being present as a person attached to a corporeal form. Full schedule available when I have it. Come find me and say hi!

That’s it for now – come buy The Ferryman’s Apprentice, and until next time, I’ll see you around on the Internets!

Release Announcement!

Announcement! Announcement
And yes, it’s not exactly new news—anyone who’s been on this blog for any length of time is aware that I’ve been trying to get that fourth Ferryman’s Apprentice book out the door for quite some time but never managed it. Well, this time, it not only has plans, but it has links! And Preorders!

Cover art for The Ferryman's Apprentice, Book 4. Cover art and design by Helen Graham.

Yes, finally. It is finally here. So many thanks to the wonderful Helen Graham for the cover art for this final entry in the series (as well as thanks again to Janis, Fabienne, Paige and Joe, who all had hands in the art for the previous books at various stages. I appreciate all the effort and time they put into making these look so good!).

Before we get into the links, lemme first outline what you’re in for.

The Ferryman’s Apprentice has been free on the blog since it was first published, and it’s a permanent fixture. If you want to try before you buy, see the details here, or the first chapter starts here.

But that version, free and complete though it may be, isn’t good at a few things: for example, it’s really bad at looking awesome on your bookshelf with its delightful cover art. It also doesn’t come with these:

Sticker design depicting Wilom from The Ferryman's Apprentice sitting in a boat with a lantern. Art and design by Shannon Thomson

This is one of a set of stickers created by the wonderful Shannon Thomson. There are six of them and every one of them is equally excellent. Should you choose to make a purchase of The Ferryman’s Apprentice book/s, you’ll get all six of these stickers for your very own, to keep for really realsies! They’re only available with bundles, and once the bundles are gone, they’re gone, too, so if you want them, this is how you get them.


Plus, this coincides with a second announcement: I have a new short story coming out! This is Hol(l)o(w)metabolism, which will be available for purchase Very Soon. It’s a story about a bug person preparing to undergo their metamorphosis and enter their cocoon … if the mounting pressure that society places on that transformation doesn’t get to them first.

Cover art of Hol(l)o(w)metabolism, depicting a lineart caterpillar. Cover and design by Lee Cope.

I know you’re all going to want a copy, so as long as you’re going to send me on a trip to the post office anyway (I don’t mind!), why not finish (or start!) your The Ferryman’s Apprentice collection while you’re at it?

To that end, I’ve put together a few limited-time bundles. Save on shipping, get my books and short stories at a discounted price, support a self-published author, and get some objects to decorate your home with! Sound like a good deal?

Well, here are your options. If you want to see them all up front, here’s the link to the Ko-Fi store page where this is all going down, but if you want a rundown of the options first, here it is:

Promotional image depicting The Ferryman's Apprentice cover, the Hol(l)o(w)metabolism cover, and a sheet of stickers fanned out like a hand of cards.

There are four bundles! They start small: just one book in The Ferryman’s Apprentice series and your sheet of six stickers, all for the same price as just buying the one book. Or you can bundle two books or three books … or all four if you’re feeling really spicy! Bundles are discounted, and cheaper than buying the books individually.

Plus, you can add goodies! Each one has options to add some extra stickers, or throw in one of my short story zines (or both of them!), also for discounted prices.

Because of the way Ko-Fi works, I unfortunately can’t create enough options to let you add as many extras as you like. I’ll work it out, I promise, but for now, if you think you’ll want more than four books, more than two sheets of stickers, or more than two zines in your bundle, shoot me an e-mail through the contact form here and we can work something out.

Preorders are open now! Orders start shipping on 10 August, but the bundles are going to remain available until the end of August. Remember, though! The stickers are limited edition, and the bundles have discounts, so make sure you do get in before the end of August if you’re interested!

And as always, until next update post, I’ll be streaming on Fridays on Twitch, and you can always come chat with me on the social media in the sidebar.

July Update

Hello again, everyone.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice that there has been a change to the site. Yes – the News and Announcements page has now been restructured! With charts and pictures!

Essentially, the News page now prominently features one of these, which I will also describe in an update post every time I post a new one/change one:

Lookit! It has colours and everything!

So that’s this month. There’s a couple things I’ll only say once, but the important details are on the News page, so no need to worry about forgetting them.

First, I’m going to be streaming weekly, mostly just to hang out (though I’ll have a game going so there’s something to chat about). The stream starts at approximately 10am (AEST), and usually runs between 3 and 4 hours, but really just runs until my hands get tired or until I have to go do something else. Streams happen on Twitch. If I ever need to cancel a stream or shift it for some reason, you can watch my Bluesky for updates.

Whimsy and Metaphor Write-Along Club (if this is news to you, here’s my announcement post on it) happens on YouTube and releases at 5pm every second Wednesday. Stream announcements happen during episodes, and also on Bluesky – there is one upcoming, but it won’t be til next month – probably on Sat 3rd August, but I’ll update with specifics as they arrive.

Specifics for this month: Announcement upcoming! It’s about that Ferryman’s Apprentice launch that I talked about months ago and never followed through on, so it’s not super secret, but there is a bit of an extra Cool Thing to go along with it. Watch this space…

Otherwise, what else is on the updates list? I’m at the end of my Leave of Absence, so expect to start seeing updates on the PhD project again. That also means that although I have made pretty good inroads on DR, my next longer project, the next announcements you’re likely to see are for shorter things that I can finish by stealing a couple of weekends at a time here and there in between PhD work.

That’s it for now – I’ll see you on YouTube or Twitch if you’re that way inclined, or in a bit over a week for that announcement!

A Brief Correction

Hi hello all. It has been brought to my attention that I have made a mistake.

In the March 2025 update, I talked about tFA4’s promo happening what appears to be next week. This is incorrect, and I apologise, especially to my sticker artist who didn’t deserve the sudden spike of deadline anxiety I accidentally caused.

May. I meant May.

Previous post has been amended to match, and I’ll do a post with full (and correct) details for easy reference sometime in the next week or so.

Whimsy and Metaphor Write-Along Club

A title card with white writing on a blue background, and the green Whimsy and Metaphor logo in the corner.  The text is chaotic and written in several different fonts. It reads "Whimsy and Metaphor Write-Along Club Announcement!"
Title card by me
Border art: corner PNG, designed By Chenxin from PNGtree

Announcement time!

This is the Whimsy and Metaphor Write-Along Club!

It’s a little YouTube series I’m starting, where I write a novella and record myself doing it, talking about my process, and answering questions as I go. Feel free to write along with me, or just come along for the ride!

The full details are in the Introduction video linked above, but the first episode also up, so you can dive straight in once you have an idea of what it’s all about.

Hope to see some of you coming and writing along!

March 2025

Hello, hello. Welcome (back) to the blog.

Here’s hoping this is a nicer news update than at least like. 60% of the other news you’ve received today.

It’s a new year and that means me trying to actually keep the promises I made to myself at the beginning of this year. Yes, I know we’re a whole two months in already. So, to that end, some basic updates on where I’m at:

First, I’m taking a leave of absence from my PhD. I’ll be returning to it in July, so if you’re keen for that project still, there will be updates coming, I’m just not legally allowed to discuss them in public until I’m technically studying again. On pain of the administrators making very grumpy faces at me.

On one hand, this means that project is off the table. On the other, it means more time for writing!

I’ve just submitted a short story to an anthology, and I’m attempting to get Once It Was A Corpse a bit of recognition. I’ve also swung into pulling together the next serial for the blog. It’s still in outline phase, so don’t expect it for a good, long while, but I’m working on it as my main project right now.

This has also given me a bit more time to start working on some admin stuff around here, like cleaning up the website, which I’ve been meaning to do for Quite Some Time. The Ferryman’s Apprentice is kind of horrible to navigate, and that’s been on my list for ages.

I’m also switching this big desktop to Linux, now that I’ve gotten a handle on Linux on my laptop, which will be an adventure. Won’t affect anything you see, of course, but if my social media suddenly becomes full of swearing, well, you’ll know approximately why.

Re: specific projects, here’s what’s going on.

The Ferryman’s Apprentice is finally getting its End Of An Era promo. Post with details to come, but pick up all four books and you’ll get some cool stickers! Sale starts 20 May, and runs til 31 May, so don’t miss out!

Also premiering in March is the YouTube series: Whimsy and Metaphor Write-Along Club! I’ll be writing a novella and talking about it in unnecessary detail. Come join me if you want to see how I work, or want to write something along with me! Details in a post to follow; intro and first episode go up on the 5th of March!

And as always, if you want to grab something I’ve already written, visit my Ko-Fi shop. Once It Was A Corpse is, as always, available for free download. Social media links are in the sidebar.

August Update

Full disclosure, when I was going to write this, I not only misread the list and thought the last time I’d posted was in June, but also forgot it was August and thought it was September, and that I’d gone three months without writing anything. So, you know, that’s how my day’s going.

But! Updates!

Once It Was A Corpse has been out for while now, and the first round of physical copies has been sent out! Thanks to those who ordered or purchased. It’s been really good to have something released again.

Those Ferryman’s Apprentice box sets are also on their way! Full announcement later this week because I don’t want to clog this post with details.

Those things out of the way, I’m starting to prioritise my next projects. At least one game upcoming (though if I get a free afternoon I’ll try and touch up Glint and see if I can’t get that one step closer to release).

For a while I’ll be focusing on the PhD, for obvious reasons, so releases are probably going to be slow and mostly short projects. But I’m starting up streaming again – I’ll be streaming every Saturday, usually starting late morning, AEST. Link is in the sidebar, or just look up Whimsy and Metaphor on Twitch. I’ll usually be playing games, but that’s just going to be an excuse to have something to occupy myself while I talk to chat. Do not expect skilled gameplay.

Anyway, as always, I’ll be on Tumblr and Bluesky until I post the next update. Look for the Ferryman’s Apprentice update in a few days (I’m just delaying it so as not to spam you all with messages).

Hope everyone has a great August!

July Update

Whoof. This month.

I don’t think I’ve had the time to properly update people, but Continuum was a delight as always. Caught up with a bunch of people I haven’t talked to in too long, narrowly missed catching up with some others for whom the same thing goes.

And then, of course, my life was immediately eaten by my PhD again. I’m coming up on my second big assessment, so that’s taking up a whole chunk of time. More from the Museum soon, though, I promise …

However! It’s not all stalling and ‘coming soon’ news. As I announced recently here, I have finally launched Project Butterfly, now with its proper title, Once It Was A Corpse! If you didn’t catch that, you can find out more about it by clicking this link here, or if you trust me enough to drop a hard-earned zero dollars on a nice PDF without seeing the blurb, then you can go straight to my Ko-Fi shop and pick up a copy. Digital officially releases today (sorry, physical copy folks, I need just a few extra days to get shipping sorted for your copies).

In addition, I can now announce that I’m going forward with a promo for The Ferryman’s Apprentice 4! It feels like the end of an era, so I kind of wanted to do something special for it. So I’m going to be crowdfunding some cool boxes for you all to put your copies in. Details TBA, but it’s not going to be long now til that’s properly announced, with dates and everything.

In the meantime, I’ve accidentally promised a couple of new projects, so expect some YouTube links to start going up, and if you wanna hear my incoherent screaming about coding, then please do go ahead and find me on Tumblr or BluSky (links in the sidebar). You know you want to hear my misery.

Until next time!