A Moment of Gratitude

I'm going to be so real with you guys right now: I had no idea HOPELESS NECROMANTIC would become half of what it has. Over the last nine months, I have received fan art, kind messages, seen Sikras, Benjamin, and Helspira cosplays online, and I'm just ... incredibly overwhelmed by everything in the best possible way.

Forever grateful for your support.

Do you remember your first TTRPG campaign? If you were anything like me, you put an insane amount of effort into crafting your character's back story. Their lore ran deeper than the Hells. You made playlists. You commissioned artwork of them. You prepared yourself for a poignant, emotional journey with your companions set in a rich world with intricate NPCs. The 'First TTRPG Campaign' is the kind of energy I brought to every book I wrote prior to HOPELESS NECROMANTIC. (Yes, I've been writing books since I was twelve. Yes, they're exactly as terrible as you'd think.)

It's sort of amusing to me. I took a break from writing to focus on getting sober. (I'm not one to toot my own horn but getting sober whilst living in the drunkest state in America is really, really hard). When I returned to writing, I realized I was burnt out on trying to write stories that 'meant something'. I wanted to focus on telling an entertaining story rather than selling a message, because readers will assign their own meaning to your books regardless. For those reasons, HOPELESS NECROMANTIC became something like ... the eighth TTRPG campaign a person plays. You know, the one where you're like, "Fuck it. I'm playing a sentient hat or whatever."

I was grossly underprepared for how much you guys love metaphorical sentient hats.

Not to get too sappy, but little Shiloh wrote a lot of stories, because writing and drawing were solitary activities, and little Shiloh did not have many friends. Alas, the few people I had thought were friends said some not-so-kind things about those stories. Probably because the stories weren't that great, but whew, the brutal delivery was enough to leave some lasting damage. Please know that your enthusiasm for these characters has healed that little girl's heart.

I started this blog because there are some exciting moves coming for HOPELESS NECROMANTIC in the future, and I wanted a space to keep track of the news. So much of this is because of you guys, the readers, my adventuring companions. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for loving my cast of heathens. And thank you for laying a hand on young Shiloh's shoulder and telling her, "Hey. Look at you, kid. You fucking did it."

All the best,

-Shiloh