August Updates: I have a book available for preorder. I am officially broken.

Hi there.

Um. I don’t know how to tell you this.

When I launched this newsletter, I was so worried that it would be a month after month to-do list with nothing getting done and therefore nothing exciting for anyone to read. And while the first two months kind of were that, this month definitely isn’t, and I don’t think I’ve fully processed that yet. But I’m here to give you all the information anyway.

But first, an Auggie.

We can never have anything nice. Don’t worry, he lost Lambchop privileges right after I stopped filming.

There were no professional events this month, but the bestie and I did an escape room about an ancient relic (and we got to keep the relic)!

Yes we are adorable, thank you for saying so. ;)

Writing Updates — Finally.

Oneiros is finally ready for publication. For months, I’ve had it sitting on my to-do list to add in the front and back matter and format the book so that I could list it, and I’ve just put it off and put it off. But no more!

It’s now available for pre-order everywhere (except Amazon) and will release in print and ebook on October 28th. I don’t know how to process that information please send help.

Here’s the cover, with a link to the Barnes & Noble preorder listing, if you haven’t seen it before:

If you’re new to my stuff and don’t know anything about the collection, here’s the breakdown.

These are eleven stories that were written between 2013 and 2017, during the stint of my Bachelor’s education. I’ve been sitting on them for so long, thinking of rewriting them and not knowing what to do with them. Finally, I made the decision to just leave them as they are and to collect them together so they all have a home. But that makes this collection a little weird.

Some of the stories are fantasy, and you can tell. Some of them are part of a fantasy novel that I was working on during the time, which you can’t tell. And there are some that are just straight up not fantastical at all.

I get nervous about the reception to this collection because the stories don’t exist in the same genre. But they were all written by a girl transitioning into adulthood and all of the things she learned and lost along the way. I want to let her speak without trying to adjust her words, so here she is.

I hope that you’ll give the collection a chance, and that you’re able to enjoy the chaotic ride.

Also! While you can’t preorder it on Amazon because reasons, it will be available come the release date, so don’t worry! I’ll give you the Amazon links in October. <3

Book of the Month

image credit: Barnes & Noble

The newest volume of Solo Leveling came out this month and I’m both excited and devastated. It’s the end of the original story and the bridge into the new one, but I don’t know how I feel about it. While I understand the choices made from both a personal and writer’s standpoint, I don’t love it, so I’m torn on whether or not to continue with the series.

If you’ve never been introduced to Solo Leveling before, let me give you a quick rundown: it’s a Korean story about an alternate world where humans are connected to another dimension through magical, swirly gates. There are monsters that come through these gates and prey on humans, and are also immune to our weapons. But some humans awaken special magical abilities that allow them to fight these monsters and keep our world safe.

Our main character, Jinwoo Sung, is the weakest of the weak when it comes to humans with magical power, and since no one is able to adjust the amount of magic they’re given, he’s settled into a life of working too hard for too little and nearly dying every time he goes into a gate. But one day, when it looks like it really will be the end for him, he gets a second chance and is given access to “the system” which actually allows him to strengthen his body and his magic power.

It’s a true zero to hero story full of video game aesthetics and endearing characters. Jinwoo is so sweet and relatable at the start of the series, and we watch him struggle with this new power and what it does to him as a person, as well as the overwhelming responsibility that it puts on him.

The series is available in a novel form (called a light novel, for those not versed in manga/comic culture), a full-color graphic novel form (manhwa), and a two-season anime series on Crunchyroll and Prime Video. I’ve read the manhwa and watched the anime several times (and will continue to reread and rewatch), and I think they’re both great. I haven’t made it to the novels yet, but you can bet I will.

If you’re a SL fan like me, let me know in the comments, as well as how you feel about this closing of the original story!

GameWrite is… dead.

If you don't follow me on Substack, you might not know this guy.

I announced it in my first update two months ago. A blog where I focus on storytelling and how it is different between the video game and novel mediums, plus what those mediums can learn from each other.

Well, I’ve changed it up. Instead of GameWrite, I’m breaking it up into two separate blogs. One called Story Mode and one called Red Ink Alchemy. Both will also be available on my website.

Story Mode will focus on the video game/novel discussion like its predecessor, while Red Ink Alchemy is named after my personal editing and coaching business (website for which I’m in the process of building). I’ll be discussing various craft and industry things with that one.

So while the original is gone, I’ve got two things that will be a lot better coming in its place, and I’m genuinely really looking forward to it.

Red Ink Alchemy should be launching soon, either at the start of October or during the month of September, depending on how quickly I can move things along. Either way, you’ll hear more about it next month!

Game of the Month

image credit: Nintendo

I finally got around to playing Pokémon X/Y. With Legends: ZA right around the corner, I really wanted to make sure I got through this game before October. And I have to say, I enjoyed it.

So let’s break it down.

First, the world and aesthetic. Gorgeous. For anyone that doesn’t know, Pokémon X/Y takes place in Kalos, which is a fictional region that’s inspired by France; specifically, the area around Paris. So it doesn’t surprise me that the architecture and overall areas of this game are just magnificent. The villages are quaint and have so much character, and this game has some of my favorite character design in the series. Serena, Diantha, and Valerie are probably my favorites. Little fashionistas, the lot of them!

I also have to say that this game contains my favorite entrance to victory road out of all of the games. You get all badges checked at the same time, which is convenient, and then a wall opens in a dramatic, theatrical display in order to allow you to move on. I’d love to see them do something like that again in the future. It felt important; like a celebration of all you’d done so far and a fitting grandiose entrance into your future.

Lastly, I have to say that I actually liked the villain of this game more than I usually do for Pokémon games. I talk about this a bit in a future GameWrite post, but I think that while the newer Pokémon games sometimes get a bad rap, they actually excel in a lot of ways that the older games fell a bit flat. And I think Lysandre is a good example of that.

In the games before X/Y, the villains were doing what they were doing because of greed or for the sake of being the bad guy. Lysandre’s story, while it could have been done up more, is actually complex in a way that I think Pokémon misses out on a lot of the time. He was a man that wanted to do good, who tried to do good, who spent years trying to help improve the world. And he was driven mad by the constant failing——being taken for granted, being exploited, etc. And while none of his actions or plans are condonable, I could see a logical deterioration of his hope and overall mental state from what we learned about him.

Again, the conclusion that he came to was very, very wrong, but I could understand how he got there, even though it’s not a conclusion I would ever come to myself. That’s so important for a villain to make the story even bigger and better. So, bravo.

Music (you heard me)

I wasn’t expecting to put any news about my music in a newsletter for a long time, since I haven’t been doing anything with it. But early this month I got a text from a friend asking if there was any way she could listen to my music because she missed it.

See, I released an EP in 2019, then took it down a couple of years later. I didn’t really have any followers and didn’t get a lot of streams, plus I’m still not 100% satisfied with how they turned out. So while I still have all the files, no one else can listen to any of the songs, and there were a couple friends and family members that consistently listened to my music.

Anyway, this message from my friend absolutely broke my heart because I felt like I let her down, so I immediately went back in to my distributor to work on getting the music available again.

As of now, my 2019 EP Unfiltered should be available on every music platform again come September 5th. Rereleasing music sometimes comes with complications, so I’m not sure, but I’ll do my best to make sure it gets out on time. I’ll give links in next month’s update!

Album art, for funsies:

Wrapping Up

While so much has happened and changed in my professional life this month, I still have a long way to go. I’m still really proud of having some real, tangible updates, and I’ll keep working on more and more things.

The best of me isn’t even close to being here yet, so I hope you’ll stick around for when her train comes in.

Love, Rachel