Alex's January Round Up
This month has been a whole year, huh?
Wow! This country sure is on fire! It be so easy to feel defeated when everything is awful, but I’m trying to remind myself that a) there are still ways we can make an impact and b) it’s important we continue to do the things that bring us joy, because that will sustain us. So, I’m starting this letter with a tangible Thing That You Can Do, and then the rest of it is an account of all the things I’m doing right now that are bringing me joy.
I often get bogged down worrying that my donations to causing aren’t actually going anywhere useful, so my partner suggested Give Directly as a donation option. It’s nice to remember that there are direct ways that we can help. It’s one of my objectives to be more cognizant about where I put my money, so I want to get into the habit of giving regularly. I hope you will too!
And now…the Alex news.
Put me in, Coach!
I’ve been a writing coach for my friends for a while now, plus I’m a professional tutor, so I figured it was about time that I put the two together. SO! I now offer writing coaching. More info here.
It’s giving…
Strong Branch Productions is doing our first ever giveaway! Instructions can be found in the Instagram post linked below.
Level Eater Demo
I got to demo some of my games at the Level Eater Game Expo in Chicago this month! It was so exciting to get to meet fellow game designer and game fans here in the city. I got to talk about my work a lot, which is always fun, and run some games! I nearly sold out of my stock.
New logo, who dis?
In other Strong Branch news, we updated our logo! The titular strong branch is now officially the branch of a persimmon tree. Now the logo pays hommage to both my grandmother and Grace’s grandmother. We’ll have a blurb about the persimmon story up on the website soon!
I do it for the love of the game…
I have way too many ideas for games and not enough time. Recently I released Clowncrawler as part of Jamcrawler, the Pitcrawler game jam. I released Mike O. Logical’s Fungal Death Parade a while back, BUT soon I’ll have a print version ready. And THEN there’s two upcoming games: Gun Wizards and Shrimp with a Gun. I didn’t intend to write two gun-themed games, it just sort of happened. I’m just really obsessed with the “person that you would not expect to have a gun has a gun” joke and I’m just going to keep beating this dead horse — or, rather, keep shooting this dead horse with a gun.
Anyway, Gun Wizards is actually a supplement for any fantasy RPG because I think it would make combat absolutely hilarious if you roll in completely overpowered. Shrimp with a Gun is actually a video game, and it’s actually my first attempt at a mini-metroidvania.
And some personal news…
Other things happening in my life! Because I do have a life outside of writing and games, thought admittedly it doesn’t always feel like it. Grace commission this beautiful art of our D&D group’s Curse of Strahd characters, and I just have to share becauase, I mean, look at them. Those are our babies. I also finally finished my first round of revisions for the sequel to Empress of Dust, which of course means ANOTHER round of revisions in February. But! It should hopefully be out by this October, which is something to look forward to. Lastly, I got my first tattoo this week! It was a belated gift to myself as a treat for publishing my first novel. It’s an hommage to Douglas Adams, the author who made me want to become a science fiction writers, and it’s in my dad’s handwriting.
Until Next Time…
This month was too much of a whirlwind for me to organize any cross-promotion, but if you want me to spotlight your work at some point, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I may not have a large platform, but I can and I WILL use it to shout out as many creators as I possibly can.
Sending love in these trying times,
Alex