January 1st, 2015
Hey guys! Thanks for checking back in! ;u; This is just a check-in on my part and Runewriters isn't restarting yet, but I wanna give you guys a heads-up on what's going on with me!
First! If this hiatus stuff is news to you, I've got a full explanation of what led me to this decision over here, but the short version is that I'm living with my grandmother, and I've decided to put my most intense personal projects on hold so I can focus on being with her. :")
If you want to keep up with me in the meantime,
you can still follow me on twitter for comments about, just, like, my life,
you can follow me on tumblr for sketches and stuff I inevitably post,
you can watch me on deviantart if you only want to be alerted to FINISHED ART,
you can follow the Athena Studio twitter if you want to be alerted by tweets when I come back but don't actually want to be inundated with tweets about my life,
and you can follow Runewriters on tumblr if you just want to be there for whenever Runewriters starts up again!
So here's what's up with me!
I have two grandparents right now: my mom's mom, whom I live with (we call her "Grandmother"), and my dad's mom (we call her "Granny") who lives about a mile away. Grandmother is startlingly fit for her age, but Granny needs a lot of care, and I ended up leaving my job to be more available to spend time with both of them!
At the moment, I know I don't have the time to update this comic consistently, but I'm definitely still working on it in the background -- it is not lounging around unloved! I'm always working on designs for characters and places that are gonna show up later, fiddling with thumbnails and page layouts for upcoming pages, working hard on making sure the script and story is the best it can be! I think that time for extra care will do it a bunch of good. I'm still really excited about this comic and, Lord willing, I still can't wait for the time when I'm able to share it with you all again! But I don't wanna start it back up again until the time is right. ;u;
REST ASSURED I SHALL BE QUITE VOCAL ABOUT IT WHEN THAT TIME COMES.
I've been looking around for what I can do, and result of this is, keep an eye on my online store in the next couple of days! :D Lord willing, I'm planning to open it up again very soon, for a little while at least, and finally make the Runewriters chapter books and all four TNH books available to buy!
Okay, thanks for sticking with me through all that text! I feel I owe you guys some art after all this talking, so I put up some concept sketches of an upcoming (KIND OF????) character redesign over here, something I started working on pretty early in the hiatus! :D
Also if you've missed the RW crew, you might wanna check out some of the questions I took on tumblr about them!
And a few people have seen this, but if you want to see what I've been working on the most, you can VOTE for a picture of, uh, the plot????
I think that's everything for now. Thanks to EVERYONE who's sent me so many messages of love and support over this hiatus!! ;u; It really, really means a ton, and I really am just blown away by what awesome readers you guys are to support me and care about me even while the comic is paused for so long. ;u; Thank you all so much!!!
Thanks so much for the encouragement, man! ;u;
posted at 8:37pm on January 3rd, 2015
Do what you need to do.
Family always comes first. Looking forward to the return of this excellent comic, but what you are doing is more important.
Happy New Year and I hope everything goes well.
posted at 4:37am on January 1st, 2015
Shoot, thank you so much for your support. ;u; This announcement was hard to do because I know a lot of people were hoping I'd be in a place to pick RW back up, but I really really appreciate the messages letting me know you guys are so understanding!!
Happy New Year to you as well, and thank you very much. ;u;
posted at 8:39pm on January 3rd, 2015
Can't say I won't miss the comic, but life comes first :) Take as long as you need.
And I'm looking forward to the shop opening. I'm bit of a cheap bastard when it comes to paying for things that are available for free; but I like TNH so much, that I wanted to order it. Also the fat animal colouring book. My mum's a teacher, I think she would be able to use it well.
Happy New Year and good luck with everything!
posted at 8:45am on January 1st, 2015
Aw, thanks so much, man! ;u; Happy New Year to you as well!
I gotta admit, the store's been out of commission so long -- some books never even made it to being sold online! -- that I'm really looking forward to getting it running again! I just gotta get stocked back up again and get the website set up for new merchandise. :"D
And I think the fat animals are the most anticipated return of all, haha! I'll have to make sure to order extra :")
posted at 8:43pm on January 3rd, 2015
Sorry to hear about your situation. Thanks for the heads-up though - at least I can delete the bookmark now instead of doing it in a foul mood six months from now.
posted at 8:54am on January 1st, 2015
God bless you Shazz! I still can't really grasp your selfless acts of kindness for your grandmothers. Runewriters means a lot to me, but I know it means a lot more to you, and yet you can put it aside if your family needs help. You have the patience and courage of a saint.
I hope you had a great Christmas and have a magnificent 2015!
posted at 2:14am on January 2nd, 2015
Ahhhh gosh, this is so kind of you to say, thank you so so much! ;v;
TO BE FAIR GOD IS HELPING ME A BUNCH I'm not quite as saintly left to my own devices, haha. xD But oh my gosh it makes me feel so warm and fuzzy to know that you can see how much this thing means to me. ;u; thank you so so much for your encouragement and your kind words, you have no idea how encouraging this comment was for me!
And I hope your 2015 is awesome as well!! ;u;
posted at 9:02pm on January 3rd, 2015
You're welcome but you deserved every word. <3
God rewards good deeds so I'm sure He recognises yours! I think all of us wouldn't be very saintly without God helping us along. XD
At any rate, I follow you on Tumblr every day and love reading your stuff, if that's any consolation - I love your kitty opinion minions and I agree with every one of them! I don't really know how to use my Tumblr account so I don't comment or reblog, but I hope it's as consoling that I'm a part of your loyal audience, even on hiatus. :)
posted at 3:28am on January 16th, 2015
Good luck and stay strong. We will be here when you are ready to resume publishing.
posted at 5:06am on January 2nd, 2015
Aw man, thank you so much for the encouragement; I can't even say how much I appreciate it. ;u;
posted at 8:44pm on January 3rd, 2015
Comment by nb_ff
Dang, I was hoping for more of this comic.
Ah well, I hope you do well! My grandmother's in kinda the same shape as your granny, so I know how tough it is. You can get through this!
posted at 3:53am on January 1st, 2015