On the Bonus Chapters (Patreon)

Hey everybody, just wanted to drop a line and keep everyone updated on the status of these.  They are running behind schedule, and I want to reassure folks that I haven't forgotten and am not neglecting them.  The nominated and voted topics are still coming:

September: Goose & Twigs's adventure

October: Harold & Kasser POV chapter

I'm just hella blocked on these.  Nominated topics are always more challenging for me to write than something I came up with myself.  I know a lot of you are really protective of me and immediately start telling me to relax and not worry about it if things get difficult, and I appreciate that very much, so I wanna get ahead of it this time and reassure everyone that this is not a hardship.  It's just a passing difficulty I am having at the moment.  Working on these two chapter topics is presenting a creative hurdle which will be overcome at the expense of taking me a lot longer than normal.

To be a little transparent about my process, for the OVDT bonus chapters I've set myself a goal of taking each nominated topic as a theme and using it to provide exposition and expand the readers' understanding of the world and events happening not right under Seiji's nose.  So they're almost like puzzle assignments; I have to work out how to take the voted topic and make something that slots in cleanly with the main narrative and provides a refreshing side perspective while working within the designated theme.

I enjoy doing these, to be clear!  It's a fun challenge and very satisfying to finish them.  But it is harder than my normal process and if I'm gonna hit a major creative hiccup, it's gonna be on one of these.

So!  Still running late with them, but they're being worked on and are not abandoned.  After considering for a bit, I've decided to go ahead and launch the nomination/voting process tomorrow as usual on the 1st.  I will continue to work on the two outstanding topics; if I get lucky and hit a hot streak I might even have 'em both finished before the voting process ends in two weeks.  But in the meantime I want to make sure Patrons at the Eserite and Avenist levels get their full benefits, even if the end payout is delayed, so those of you backing me at those levels will be able to nominate and/or vote on bonus topics for November.

Thanks very much to all of you for your support, and your patience!