June 2021 Dispatch
Kyell Gold
I’m teaching at RAWR right now, the furry residential workshop that is not residential this year because of the pandemic. We’re doing it remotely, which is not ideal but which is working better than not doing it, at least this year. Anyway, if this newsletter is a little short it’s because I’m working on that right now!
For most of May I’ve been working on Price of Thorns and having fun with it, and it’s still only like 2/3 done at almost 100K. It’s gonna be a long one. Fortunately I have two writing retreats coming up, one in June and one in July (both remote) where I’ll be devoting more time to it. Maybe by the end of July it’ll be done.
I’m planning to move the newsletter to (probably) Substack, which is an online platform more geared toward writing. It allows for comments and will be a better online repository than this Google Group. My vision is that I’ll break up the newsletter into segments so I can post an update one week, an excerpt the next, a spotlight when warranted, writing tips when I get a question, etc. Substack does allow for monetization but at this time I think I’m going to leave that to Patreon—but it’s an interesting option in case I want to allow people to support me in a different place or for a different kind of content (some sites do things like allow commenting only to paid subscribers, for example). I hope I will be able to just transfer your membership over without you having to do anything, but I will keep you posted.
“Squeak Thief,” a heist story about a posh rich college mouse who needs to go find a jaded fox to help him steal something, is live and ongoing on my Patreon now. I’m enjoying how it’s going and I hope you are too!
Ty the Knot, the sequel to Ty Game, is also being serialized on Patreon but not through posts. To avoid piracy, every month I send people a message with a link to the part in the dropbox. If you sign up now, we’re well into the book, but drop me a note and I’ll catch you up at least back to the beginning of the most recent part.
My fanfiction writing streams have gone pretty well! I’ve been doing them Tuesdays around noon PDT for 60-90 minutes, and intend to continue them into September. Keep an eye on my Twitter or follow me on picarto.tv (https://picarto.tv/KyellGold) to be notified next time I stream. I’m now working on a Pokemon fanfic with sex in it and I’m having a lot of fun.
Streaming shows: We watched “Ted Lasso” and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s funny, heartfelt, and does some really beautiful character work, both in individual characterization and in overall character arcs.
We’re finally getting on board with “Big Mouth” and enjoying that a lot as well, at least through the first season. It’s funny but doesn’t shy away from making points. Also it features Jordan Peele as the foul-mouthed ghost of Duke Ellington so what’s not to love about that?
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” is back on HBO and it’s fantastic, highly recommend.
Release dates
“Unfinished Business” is the next book I’m aiming for release. I’ll start editing it this month and hope to get it out by late summer/fall. After that I’ll work on Return From Divalia. I’m also still writing Price of Thorns.
Dude, Where’s My Pack? is currently available from FurPlanet! The e-book is on all sites now.
The fourth and final Calatians book, The Revolution and the Fox, is out! It’s on ArgyllProductions.com and available on all major retailers. If you liked the series please do leave reviews and tell your friends!
Audiobooks: If you don’t have an Audible account yet, check out my new Soundcloud page (https://soundcloud.com/user-710305036-429996600), which has samples and links to all my audiobooks. Those links help me get extra money especially if you use them to sign up for a new account. Savrin has been slowed by the pandemic (having everyone home always leaves less time for recording), but once Love Match 1 is up, we hope to get Titles and Ty Game out as well! Dude, Where’s My Fox is now available as an audiobook too!
My FREE book of writing advice called Do You Need Help? is on baddogbooks.com right here: https://baddogbooks.com/product/do-you-need-help/
Appearances in 2021
My full list of upcoming appearances is at http://www.kyellgold.com/contact.html, recently updated (or soon to be updated).
Megaplex appears to be going forward and I will hopefully be able to be part of it in some capacity. More news as I have it!
Spotlight: None this month
Excerpt: Here’s a little bit from Price of Thorns where a captive djinn translates a dead prince’s story for Nivvy:
The ghost babbled behind him as he walked to Rahila, and Scarlet translated. I don’t have time to change his wording, so I’m just going to tell you what he’s saying.
“Fair enough. Why would you change his wording anyway?” Nivvy reached Rahila, who did not like the presence of the ghost but at least did not run away from them this time. He soothed her with strokes down her mane and muzzle.
“My family was the kindest known in all the world. My grandfather was known as Olaf the Beneficent and his father was Lars the Just.” You see what I mean? Not to mention that “just” isn’t the same as “kind.” And I knew Lars the Just, and he wasn’t all that kind. “Our family land, the valley of Glaederigdal, had been blessed by the gods”—ugh—“but threatened by forces outside who craved the bounty and joy our kingdom enjoyed.
“So my grandfather entered into a bargain with a powerful mountain witch.”—that was my sister, by the way—“He traveled to the top of the highest mountain to seek her services, and along the way he rendered services to many of the people living in her domain. When he arrived, twice she turned him away, but each time one of the people he had helped spoke on his behalf, and on the third time, impressed with his kindness, she allowed him an audience.”—That’s almost certainly not—ah, he’s still talking.
“He asked the witch how he could ensure that kindness would endure in the kingdom after his death. She told him that there would always be those who put their petty concerns ahead of the welfare of others”—little dig at you there, if I’m not mistaken—“but that a ruler could only do so much. He asked if there was some way he himself could remain to guard the valley, offering any price to the witch if she would keep his kingdom and people safe.
“The witch offered him a way, but it would involve a great sacrifice.”—that sounds right, at least—“He would have to give his life to watch over his kingdom. She would place his essence into a magical artifact that would allow his descendants to keep kindness the law. Because my grandfather was so kind, he gladly laid down his life for the kingdom, and the witch presented him with the Crown of Glaederigdal.
“When he had said his good-byes to his family, he gave the crown to his son, and as soon as it left his hands, he died. His spirit possessed the crown, and the witch’s spell gave whomever wore the crown the power to compel others to do their bidding.”—That sounds exactly like something a kind ruler who wanted to make his kingdom kind would do, doesn’t it?—“His son vowed to rule in his name, as have I.”
All right, here comes the important part. “To preserve the power of the crown, it may only be given willingly. If someone takes the crown, its power will never work for him. That is why you are the only one who can stop the evil queen now.”
The ghost stopped talking a moment before the djinn, and looked expectantly at Nivvy. “I don’t quite—” Nivvy said.
Of course you don’t. He’s a fine storyteller but doesn’t really know how to get to the point. The point is that you took the crown from his father. Therefore it will never work for you.
“Right. I’m not planning to wear it.”
It will also never work on you.
That hadn’t occurred to him. “I can see why it wouldn’t work if you take it, but why wouldn’t it work on me either?”
My sister wasn’t stupid. She foresaw something exactly like what happened. I don’t know quite how she managed it, but soon after it was created, she took it from the king and gave it back to him so that it wouldn’t affect her. She told me I should do the same, but they were a long way from where I was and I decided to wait. And then Cinnabar, the idiot, decided she didn’t like that thing existing at all and she helped Rose drown everyone.
“That’s pretty horrible, if I’m being honest,” Nivvy said.
Only from your perspective. I’ve destroyed entire towns. Sometimes you need to make sure people know it’s not worth it to make you angry. One big power demonstration can save you a lot of small battles.
“Why make the crown in the first place, if it was so dangerous?”
Not that I have to justify my family to you, but I haven’t anything else to do. Carmine was like that. She wanted to know what little powerless humans would do when someone upset the power balance. She made so many magic artifacts...she loved to play around with humans. And this seemed like the ultimate toy, a crown of control. That’s what she called it. It wasn’t a crown of kindness, that’s for sure.
Nivvy leaned against Rahila. The mare whuffed and her steady breathing comforted him. “So what can I do about it? Even if she can’t control me, she still has all your magic. She can kill me with a thought.”
Rose values loyalty and you were loyal to her. She will let you get close enough that you may use a magic artifact on her. In that way you can defeat her.
“You mean kill her.”
More than likely. But she has escaped death once before and could again. When I say “defeat her” I mean that you must render her incapable of using magic again.
“How’m I meant to do that? And how did she cheat death?”
The djinn did not speak for several seconds. Finally, she said, Tell the prince you will accept his charge.
Questions From YOU
If you’ve got a question about my books or my writing—or anything else you want me to talk about—shoot me an email or reply when I ask for questions on Twitter and I’ll answer it here.
No questions this month! Maybe sometime in June we’ll have a page where you can submit questions…I’ll see how things go.
Stay safe and get vaccinated, y’all.