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Cry for Help


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January 20, 2014

Update: So, uh, yeah. I... I have an awesome readership. *sniffle*

In the shorter term, the universe responded to this massive outpouring of generousity from people I've never met by giving me the flu. I've spent most of the weekend flat on my back wondering if I could make it to the kitchen for tea without falling over, and, as a result, tomorrow's comic will be late. I am obviously pretty mortified by this, but it's how things roll around here. Cat-toy of the gods, that's me.

In the longer term... you guys have given me some breathing space and a lot of hope for the future. I can't say how much I appreciate that. I love this comic, and it would have continued no matter what... but this makes it possible to continue it without feeling like a thief who's stealing time I could be spending on paying work. It means I can weigh my options without feeling trapped, that I can spend time on storytelling without feeling unbearably selfish. I don't think you can put a price on that.

Thank you -- those who've signed on to Patreon, those who've donated via Paypal, those who've just said nice things in the comments. It all means so much to me.

Now if I can just shake this damn flu....

January 17, 2014

Ok, first off, there was an update on Tuesday, and there will be another one on this coming Tuesday. If you missed it, hit the back button. It's a good one.

Second, I've started a Patreon because....

This is an awkward post to write.

In short: I recently realized that for the past two years I have been spending approximately 100 hours a week (14 hours a day, every day) either taking care of my kid, working at the day job, or making comics. Basically, I'm tired all the time and never get my house cleaned or my emails answered and have no social life and never read books any more and have miniature emotional breakdowns at the drop of a hat and feel like I never do anything but work, and it turns out there is the most astonishing reason for that.

(My husband has been very good about not saying 'I told you so' too often.)

I can't keep this up. I'm not quitting -- I seriously doubt I could stop writing, even if I wanted to -- but realistically I'm going to have to reorganize my time a bit, and realistically, the comic doesn't pay bills or report me to child services. It's going to take the deepest cut.

But.

Patreon was actually recommended to me by a reader (one of the roughly bazillion people I owe an email at this point) last year, but it took me this long to get my courage up and actually jump on it. Essentially it is a donation subscription. You choose an amount you'd like to donate each month, and at the end of the month I wake up to a happier bank account. You can cancel at any time. You also get some nice rewards for higher donation levels (at least, I hope they're nice. Suggestions welcomed!) and for fun I'm going to throw in an extra -- anyone who becomes a patron before the end of January gets their name thrown in a random drawing, and the winner will (assuming they want to and send me a photo) get a cameo in the comic. No promises on the character dying horribly. They may just be, I dunno, mildly snarked at. We'll see. :)

Finally I just want to say that I realize not everyone here can donate. That's fine. I have a nice regular paycheck and I know not everybody reading this comic is so lucky. It's one of the reasons having a free webcomic that anyone can read, even if their luck is down just now, makes me so happy.

But if you can afford it, and you do like the comic, this is your chance to put a thumb on the scales when I'm deciding where my time goes. And I would be bloody thankful for that.