“Griselda made dragons out of words. No one knew how. One moment she’d be hunched over her desk, scribbling furiously, only stopping occasionally to dip her quill or suck on it thoughtfully, her chin lifted and her eyes somewhere else. And the next moment...“
I’ve been working on this game since 2018. It’s been a wild ride, but a fun one, and the process has taught me so much as a writer and a human. I’m thrilled that Fox Spirit is out in the world at last. The glowing feedback I’ve already received from kind players around the world has warmed my heart and spurred me on to an even greater desire to create fantastic stories and share them with you.
This day happened thanks to a lot of great people, so I want to give them a shout-out here. A special thank-you is due to my lead editor Rebecca Slitt, for her encouragement, suggestions, and support throughout the development process, as well as the rest of the fabulous Choice of Games team. Paola Tuazon made the truly dazzling cover art, which I adore from the bottom of my heart; you can find more of Paola’s work here: https://paolatuazon.format.com/
Thank you to the creators of the gorgeous trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XdBLnlslP4) and the lovely chapter headings. Thank you to copyeditor Kate Lascoutx, my many beta testers, and the wonderful sensitivity reader Sachiko Burton from Salt & Sage Books. Thank you to all the players who’ve reached out to share their excitement and praise, especially Valentina Wottke from Germany who streamed the game live for four and a half hours today (and will be streaming the last chapters tomorrow starting between 9 and 10 am PST; follow Valentina’s channel here to join us then: https://www.twitch.tv/lucario162). And thank you, of course, to my family, especially my mother Beverly and my aunt Becky. Your love for my work (and me!) has kept me grounded and on track and inspired me to keep writing.
Hiya, friends! Today marks the release date of my newest free Twine game on itch.io, titled Nowhere to Go.
Nowhere to Go is an interactive fiction game about being stuck in quarantine. Find healthy ways to cope with reality or engage in avoidance behaviors. Will you uncover hope amidst your sorrow or sink deeper into grief?
You can play Nowhere to Go for free at the following link: https://fontainepen.itch.io/nowhere-to-go Please read the CONTENT WARNINGS before deciding whether to play. I hope this game will bring you some small measure of light in the darkness. Stay strong, my friends. ✨
Hiya, folks! Today marks the release date for the first book of my friend and fellow researcher, Dr. Arik Kershenbaum: The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy! This nonfiction book discusses how life evolved on Earth and how what we’ve learned about organisms on our own planet might apply to life elsewhere in the galaxy. It’s sure to be an interesting read for animal lovers, science fiction fans, and every curious human who’s ever looked up at the stars at night and wondered what’s out there!
Hello, friends! I just wanted to let you all know that there’s a cool talk coming up tomorrow in the Long-Term Animal Research Seminar Series! My advisor for my upcoming MSc at Bar-Ilan University, Dr. Lee Koren, and Dr. Amiyaal Ilany will be discussing the rock hyrax project in Ein Gedi Nature Reserve that I will be joining this fall, and the many findings they have gathered from monitoring the same populations of animals over twenty-two years. The link to the talk can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOwv_iVOyF8 It will be streaming live on Zoom at 9 am PST, but you can also watch it on YouTube anytime afterwards. It’s going to be a great presentation, so I hope you will all tune in!
Hey friends! Check it out! The Furry Writers’ Guild is hosting a free online convention called Oxfurred Comma on October 17 and 18! My graduate school classes start on October 18, but depending on the timing I may still get to swing by. Maybe I’ll even apply for the Author’s Corner or submit a panel if I can. In any case, I hope you’ll attend this if you’re able! Best wishes, Amy
You’ve been hearing about Oxfurred Comma, but now we have all the details! Oxfurred Comma, an online anthropomorphic literature convention, will be taking place on October 17th-18th. We’ll be talking a bit about the convention here, and full details can be found on the Oxfurred Comma Website.
Convention panels will be streamed live on the officialFWG Twitch account. We will also be hosting special chats and dealer’s den rooms on theFWG Discord. We have several features, panels, and events to consider submitting to including:
The game releases on October 15. You can add it to your Steam wishlist now or order it later through the Choice of Games website or app. This has been a true labor of love and I can’t wait to share it with all of you!
Hey, friends! Take a look at the Furry Writers’ Guild’s latest news via their monthly update, including open markets, new releases, and more! And definitely check out the recent interview with awesome author Allison Thai for Asian Pacific Heritage Month!
Hello there FWG members! For those of you that have been with us for a long time, you will be excited to hear that we are bringing back the monthly newsletters! For those newer to the guild, we once produced monthly newsletters to tell people about things like new open markets and guild news. We’re hoping to bring this back to give all our members information to help them thrive while writing anthropomorphic fiction!
First it’s been a very busy month for the guild. We updated our website, got a new logo, opened up a new Discord channel, updated our membership listings, and voted on new by-laws and a new code of conduct. With all of our listing updates, we are showing 114 active members! We’ll keep accepting any updates as they come in, but we’re happy so many of you got the form filled out fast.
Hey, friends! Check out this interview with Furry Writers’ Guild author and artist extraordinaire Copper Sphynx for Black History Month! You rock, @KayFey!
It’s February, and in honor of Black History Month we would like to feature some of the black authors that are members of the Furry Writers’ Guild. Today we’ll be sharing an interview done with Carmen K. Welsh Jr. who is also known as Copper Sphynx! Without further ado, let’s get to the interview.
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FWG: Tell the guild and our readers a bit about yourself!
Copper Sphynx: I’ve been a fan and consumer of anthropomorphized media most of my early childhood. When I watched a movie, cartoon, or finished a TV show or book, I would draw/write the story to continue it.
I currently write Fantasy/SF, Furry, essays, and comics.
FWG: What is your favorite work that you have written?
Copper Sphynx: I would like to say my most recent publication, but, in honor of Black History Month, I have to bring up my first and only published poem…
Check out this amazing cover! I have three 100-word stories in this book about lesser-known yōkai (supernatural beings of Japan). Also, a friend of mine (Carmen Indalecio) has her first ever published stories in this book! I can’t wait to read them! Congrats, Carmen! ❤
I’m very excited to share the cover for our upcoming anthology: Japanese Fantasy Drabbles. It is the first planned release in the new Insignia Drabbles series. I haven’t decided the release date yet, but it will likely be mid-February.
For now, enjoy the cover!
~Kelly Matsuura~
This anthology includes 80 drabbles (100-word stories) inspired by Japanese folklore and yōkai tales, as well as original fantasy and science fiction pieces. You’ll find wicked cats and dragons; ghosts and monsters; spaceships and time travelers; and much more. This collection has it all!
