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Greetings, aletsen! I live!

Happy new year, everyone! Annnnd I didn't even notice that months have gone by since I last sent one of these, but things have been so crazy-busy! In a good way! I might be one of the few optimistic voices out there today, but I am enthused about the future and I hope that my work helps you to embrace a changing, chaotic world with a lifted chin and a mischievous smile.

So what's up, Jaguar?

The good news is I'm only about two months away from a beta for the Jokka game! At which point I hope you'll join the 19 or so alpha testers who are helping me hammer it into shape. I am really excited about how it's coming together! Since I last talked about it almost every system has undergone significant revision based on players actually playing. Now, not only can you build your clan by breeding and building up resources, you can interact with other players, trading characters, finding wanderers, even questing!

I'm doing a lot of art for the game now that we're closing in on final layouts. Like this one: you have a view of your clan that evolves as you upgrade your buildings and assets, and your characters will show up to say pithy things that are appropriate to their personalities, what's going on, and who they like... and tasks they don't want to do.

I'm currently working on hooking up all the helpful dialogue bits and finishing the onboarding for new players. Then I just need to write up a good quest backlog; I have 9 or 10 right now but I want it closer to 30ish before beta. Totally do-able... writing quests is fun.😁

And while I'm working on the crunchy coding bits, I take time out to add silly features I want, like the ability to dye clothes. Even if it means characters like Carrots here make unfortunate choices....

I can't wait to launch this, I think people are going to have a good time customizing, breeding, and trading their Jokka while doing quests that refer to the books. We've gotten some alpha testers who know nothing about the lore and it's piqued their interest, so I think you can enjoy it even if you haven't read the books.

When the beta launches, Patreon and Locals subscribers will get first access, so that's something for you all to look forward to!

Oooh, can I alpha-test?

You're welcome to join us if you want to alpha-test! You don't need any background in the Jokka books. This is a pet-style web/browser game, so you should know that going in, and you'll have to be willing to report suggestions and bugs on my Discord. If you're interested, just respond to this email and I'll send you an invite.

But what about books and art, Jaguar?

I have plans! But I promised myself I'd give the game my full attention until the end of April when I'm planning the beta launch. I'm going at what is probably a ridiculous pace, so I'm confident that I'll hit that target.

Realistically, thus, what we've got is a Magic Jaguar Ball (shake it and see what happens). It'll be one of the following:
 

• Another Jokka short story collection, using the Red Honey story as an anchor
• The next Kherishdar book + Kherishdar Conversations companion volume
• Another sticker kickstarter or two

I've also started Surela 3 but I want to return to that with my full attention because it's a big wrap-up and I want to get it right. (Stay tuned?).

So that's where I am! I am bouncing all over the place with excitement because I am making tremendous progress toward something I've always wanted, which is to have games using my settings and stories! I can't even!

I think a lot of you will enjoy this.🧡
 

Obligatory Cat Photo/Story

Moving on to Real Life events... even Florida has had a tremendously cold winter this year, with weeks where the temperatures fell into the 30s (F). I think I've mentioned our outdoor kitty-visitor... well, we were naturally worried about her, so we bought her a house with a little heating pad and set it up in our yard and I'm happy to report... we now have a second cat.😂

She won't come inside, but she lives in our yard and every day she shows up for breakfast and dinner and in between she sleeps on our plants and jumps on the windowsill to stare at me until I come outside to pet her. Unlike our indoor cat, who would prefer you not touch him, thanks, the outdoor cat cannot get enough petting, and will lean on you happily for as long as you're willing to give her attention. She also does that 'happy drooling' thing, and will drool so much that she'll occasionally shake her head like a dog in a cartoon, sending drops everywhere and making an adorable 'blub-blub-blub' flapping noise.

We set up a little cat cam to watch her, and her eyes glow at night, which makes her look like a MechaCat. So cute, laserbeam eyes.😁

So we're doing our part, keeping the wildlife warm. And she's added a lot of joy to our lives. Sweetest small kitty.
 

Wait, I have a shop!

Before I close, I wanted to mention that I have a direct sale shop! All proceeds go to me, and not half to Amazon or B&N or Etsy. I've been adding merchandise like puzzles and stickers there to go with the books, so if you haven't been by lately (or at all), please check it out! The most popular things right now are the Peltedverse Superbundle (ebook or paperback, get ALL of them at once) and the "All the other books by you" bundle, the new Jokka posters and stickers, and some of these mugs (the Vasiht'h and Liolesa ones particularly). 

Thank you all so much for buying direct. So many of you did so last year that you're closing in on my Amazon royalty numbers, which means I don't have to worry as much about whether the algorithm is going to bury me tomorrow under a sea of AI-generated novels. That means a lot to me.🧡

Anyway, that's all I've got today! I hope you're having a great February, and I'll be back in March with more fun stuff! Oh, and go look at the silly World of Warcraft art I posted today on Patreon! It's full of fun details, and even if you never played, it's got a tiny dragon in it. What's not to love about tiny dragons.