10 Questions for Owl's Flower in 2019

A new year is coming, which means new things for Owl's Flower!

Rather than saying specifically what it is you'll be looking forward to and when (largely because we're both on multiple deadlines outside of these books and have to play it by ear), we thought it might be fun to play a bit of a game... that is, give you a few questions to muse on, to which we will give the answers in the materials coming in 2019.

We are looking at having Book 3 and a short story out in the near future. Book 4, we are keeping on a loose schedule for now. But in the next 12 months, expect to find the answers to the following:

1. Are there other ways deities can come to be? We know from "Clarity" and the main book series that gods of various levels can be born out of necessity. But are there any other means of origin? And what does that mean for their standing?

2. Who is the messenger of the gods? At least five of you just guessed incorrectly. Patience. We'll make sure you get a proper introduction.

3. How many fancy cookies can an owl eat before it gives itself a tummyache? Note: we are talking about a shapeshifted deity. Please do not feed owls cookies unless you are absolutely certain they are shapeshifted deities.

4. What does Herne do in winter? There's not a lot of nature to deal with, after all. What takes up his time when the leaves are off the trees and the animals are hibernating?

5. What are Stormy's feelings on Valentine's Day? At least five of you just guessed correctly.

6. How does Iris handle a competing business? This one pretty much speaks for itself.

7. How does the pantheon cope with multiple deities for the same concept? We'll give you a hint: one potential answer is "not always well."

8. What constitutes "worship" for a deity? Like all things, there are some exploitable loopholes...

9. How does Herne's garb look in the winter? We're actually pretty hyped about showing you this one.

10. WHEN CAN I READ BOOK 3??? When it's ready... but we're approaching it.

Additionally, when book 3 comes out, we will be altering how we handle digital sales. They will still be pay what you want, but we're exploring ways to make it more foolproof and flexible for everyone. It will still be via Ko-fi, though. The change will be launched with the launch of book 3.

Next we talk, it'll be 2019. Stay hype, readers!

Have a Roasty-Toasty Christmas!

We're settling down to celebrate Christmas with our families at our respective homesteads, but we wanted to take a moment to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, too!

If you're looking for a seasonal read, we have a blog-only short story, "Herne's Four Hundredth Christmas," available:

* Part 1
* Part 2
* Part 3

We've also got all sorts of goodies in our Storenvy shop for lovers of cute things: shirts, totes, leggings, mugs and more! They make great last-minute presents for book lovers and owl enthusiasts.

We'll be checking in one more time before the new year... and after that, we're looking forward to bringing you news on our 2019 plans!

WE LIVE! The State of the Owl

Hello, all!

There has been, as you may have noticed, A Silence in the Owl's Flower offices. There are reasons all over the place, largely involving work and other projects.

Ginger has been working away on The Hybrid, which surpassed $2,000 in sales—all of which have gone to One to One Children's Fund! Thanks to everyone who pitched in.

If you missed buying or participating in The Hybrid, Ginger is setting up her next charity zine, Moon Man, in the coming weeks. Applications are now open for artists, so be sure to take a look and sign up!

On Kara's side of the situation, it's been slightly less tidy. Between converging deadlines and a nasty cold that overstayed its welcome, she's been juggling and triaging left and right. That's the primary reason for the deadness, as Kara's job is the social side of things.

Fortunately, everything is back on track, and we're both in a situation to bring news.

In February, Kara will be holding an Owl's Flower panel at ODU's college anime con in Virginia, talking about the books themselves as well as what we've learned from self-publishing our own light novel series. More info on that as it approaches.

As mentioned, Ginger will be starting work on Moon Man. We'll both be appearing in a variety of zines and anthologies coming up as well, and will be sure to keep you posted on social media.

As for Owl's Flower 3, it is in Ginger's capable hands. Owl's Flower 4 will be getting outlined between us as soon as Kara finishes writing some other literal books with looming deadlines.

Normal communications will continue from here on out, so please be sure to keep an eye on us here and on our social media!

CREATOR WEEKLY WRAP-UP: The Hybrid Close-Out and What We're Up To

Happy Friday, fans and new readers!

Ginger's Hybrid zine is making its way around the world, landing in the homes of fans and contributors. Kara's just came in, so you can see the wealth of goodies that come along with this publication.

The Hybrid has also raised more than was originally expected for One to One Children's Fund—a number Ginger will be divulging officially at a later date. Suffice to say, she done good!

If you didn't get a chance to pick up your pack... just hang tight. Ginger may be approaching new concepts for other publications in future. Again, we'll let her make that official announcement.

If you're in need of more ridiculously adorable paranormal romance light novels, head over to J-Novel Club and check out Apparently It's My Fault That My Husband Has the Head of a Beast. Subscribers can read the book in pieces pre-publication, and you can preorder ebooks from Amazon. Localization on the first book is done and it's coming to Amazon soon!

And yes, this is one that Kara works on—specifically, she's working as editor alongside translator David Evelyn. And it comes with her seal of approval: if you like the personalities and events of Owl's Flower, these are good books to pick up while you wait for the next one!

Thanks to everyone for continuing to spread the word. We'll be back soon with more updates!

Off to Illinois!

On Sunday, Kara's hopping on a plane and heading off to Illinois to hang out with Ginger for a week! Things will still be updating and being worked on in the interim, largely because work still has to happen even though we're hanging out.

What to expect while we're together? No idea yet, we'll let you know. But we're planning to have a sit-down to chat about future publications — Owl's Flower and others — so look forward to new news!

And in case you haven't seen, digital editions of The Hybrid are still for sale on Big Cartel while printing wraps up on physical zines and products. So if you're just now hearing about it and want a copy, you've still got a chance!

Copies of Seasons of War: Gallifrey are also still available from Altrix Books. We've sent along our first donation of £1,000 raised from sales, and look forward to sending more by the time we run out of print copies.

See you on the other side!

Mission Accomplished! THE HYBRID Presales Are Now Closed

That's a wrap! Ginger Hoesly's Doctor Who fanzine, The Hybrid, has closed preorders and will be on its way to its buyers in the near future.

More than 130 copies of the zine were sold, and the combined sales of zines and merch have raised more than $1,000 for One to One Children's Fund! Thanks to all the Owl's Flower fans who jumped in on the project to support one of our creators in her goal to raise funds for a fantastic charity.

If you missed the sale... sorry, this was the only printing. However, Ginger has some new zine ideas she's putting together between working on Owl's Flower 3 illustrations, and — provided Kara hasn't outstayed her welcome in the zine world by then — you'll likely see contributions from the other half of the Owl's Flower team, too!

Keep an eye on our blog and social media for future projects, and get ready for more cool stuff from us soon!

Behind the Light Novel: An "Interview" with Herne

As we work behind the scenes to pull book 3 (and other related) projects together, we don't want to leave potential new readers in the lurch. While our first book will always be free for digital download, we also know not everyone has the time to jump in and read an entire book (although, as with many light novels, Owl's Flower volumes can be read and enjoyed in an afternoon).

So in the meantime, we thought we'd pull a gimmick- er, chat with our characters so you can get to know them! For the next handful of Fridays, we'll be running short "interviews" with our main cast so you can get to know them... and maybe get interested in a new read.

First up for this week is the Forest King himself, the Owl in Owl's Flower, Herne.


Q: So what exactly does being a "forest king" entail? Do you have subjects? Do you wear a crown?

A: Oh, the whole "forest king" title is actually from an old local legend. It's not actually, you know, what I do. I tend to go with "demigod" or "nature god" by way of explanation, but that's even a little too grand. I think the Romans had a term for it? Genius loci? The spirit of a place. My "place" is William's Grove, and my job is monitoring the interaction between nature and the people who moved here.

Q: What about the people who lived here before the settlers?

A: They have their own team to handle their own unique concerns. We have occasional crossover, but it's pretty rare. And that team is a lot more experienced than me, since they've been here a lot longer.

Q: So you're not, like, eternally old?

A: Did Stormy ask you to ask that?

Q: Maybe a better question would be, since you're a spirit of the land, shouldn't you be as old as the land?

A: You'd think, but I'm specifically a spirit of the interfacing between a certain community of people and the land. Which means I'm only 400 or so years old.

Q: That's... awfully complicated and specific.

A: That tends to be how it works. There's a specific god for hospital beepers.

Q: So how the heck did you end up going from being a nature god to working at a coffee shop?

A: Well... see... coffee is good.

Q: ... that's the only reason?

A: Oh, no. That's more a perk than a reason. I'm there for Iris. It's her business.

Q: Your girlfriend?

A: Yeah, she is, isn't she?... Sorry, still just kind of wrapping my head around that.

Q: You've been dating for almost an entire year and live with her.

A: Still doesn't mean I completely register the whole situation all the time. Remember, I lived alone in a tree for a pretty long time.

Q: How does a relationship between a human and a deity work? Aren't there, like, laws or prophecies or warnings?

A: Not really, no. The only real negative to it is that immortals tend to think mortals are inferior so it's considered "dating down." That doesn't mean it's never happened before, it just means some people really dislike it on a personal basis.

Q: But what about between the two of you? Are there ever any misunderstandings? Things you can't tell her because of what you are?

A: Oh, no. She knows pretty much everything about me worth telling. We've worked past the whole "sleeping schedules" thing, too. At this point she just doesn't handle it well when I turn into an owl and hide around the house.

Q: You... what?

A: It's a nervous reflex. I'm working on it.

Q: Okay, a few more basic questions. Three things you like, three you dislike.

A: I like cookies, coffee, and... er... Iris. I dislike being bored, being lied to, and black licorice.

Q: Favorite season?

A: Oh, come on. That's like asking me to pick my favorite kid.

Q: That's fair. Favorite holiday, then.

A: I'm learning more about Christmas lately, actually. I like the whole gift-giving process. And Christmas trees are a really neat idea, too.

Q: Last question: what can we look forward to in the third book?

A: Hmm. Well, it's Iris's and my first Valentine's Day together, and pretty much everything that entails, considering I've never celebrated a modern Valentine's Day. Going into much more detail than that would be... um... a little personal.

Checking in on an old friend.

We are heckin' busy bees over here, what with Ginger's zine and book 3 in the illustration phase and Kara going to Illinois later this month to hang out. But we still want to make sure to take time to tell you what's going on both in our own careers and the Owl's Flower world, even between books.

This week, we wanted to throw you a shout about Discover Teas, run by two very good friends of ours and also very relevant to Owl's Flower in general. Once a brick-and-mortar store, Discover Teas has gone fully e-commerce. We miss the cozy shop, of course, but we still love the personal blends and the fact that they both ship and have drop-off locations for locals.

So why are they relevant to us? You know, besides the run-by-our-friends part? Well, if you were at our Book 1 launch party a while back, you may remember some frankly fantastic tea blends we both served at the party and gave away as a door prize. Both of those teas were created specifically for us by the shop!

If you are in the market for some good tea — herbal, black, green, or whatever you prefer — hit up the Discover Teas website. The "Owl's Flower" and "Stormy" blends are in Kara's file, and at a later date we'll figure out a way for you to request them easily if you're in the mood. But be sure to check out their website in the meantime and find something you like!

CREATOR WEEKLY WRAP-UP: The Hybrid Is Here!

She rides!

The Hybrid, headed by our own Ginger Hoesly, is now available for preorder. The Doctor Who zine features work from more than two dozen creators, both writers and artists, highlighting the Twelfth Doctor and Clara from Series 8 and 9.

Included in the mix are Owl's Flower co-creator Kara Dennison, Altrix Books co-founder and Seasons of War: Gallifrey co-writer Paul Driscoll, and R5 Central boss Mike Dent. You'll also see work from creators featured at SDCC, the Doctor Who World Tour, and beyond.

Proceeds go to One to One Children's Fund, so it's great content for a good cause!

And it wouldn't be a zine without merch. At present, the zine and merch bundle includes a physical copy of the book and three art prints. But as more bundles are bought, more stuff will become available -- including stickers, lanyards, charms, and pins!

And if you're really feeling it, there's the Cloister Bundle: a book, the merch bundle, and an acrylic standee designed by artist Staypee!

Ginger has been working hard on this amazing project, and seeing it come to fruition is so exciting for everyone involved. Now, let's raise money for a good cause and get cute stuff in the process!

Preorder The Hybrid!

CREATOR WEEKLY WRAP-UP: The State of Book 3, and Two More Anthologies

BOOK. 3. IS. DONE.

WELL THE WRITING PART IS.

Now that Kara's done putting her filthy little author hands all over it, it's time for Ginger to take over. Or, well, it will be. She's got another big responsibility on her plate before any of that, and that's wrapping up The Hybrid.

With the layout done, she's in the process of making the actual book happen. It's going to look utterly amazing, and we'll definitely have order information up for you when the time comes. That's her first priority right now.

Meanwhile, over on Altrix Books, Kara has sent out responses to everyone who pitched to Unearthed. A list of contributors will be going live on the Altrix blog Monday, so look forward to it! And, as mentioned, there will be a new Owl's Flower story in the anthology, so it's of interest to readers.

Stay tuned for more progress!

Behind-the-Scenes: Ebook Making for the Price of a Day of Self-Teaching

If you've been to one of our panels, you've heard Kara talk about how to make ebooks at home. If you want to take matters into your own hands, it's actually fairly simple -- which means you can put the work into testing the finished product and making it tidy.

We're not going to give away Every Little Thing here, because that'd take longer than a typical blog post, but here's a quick-start guide to formatting your own ebooks the way Kara does.

1. Get Calibre.

Okay, so heads up, computers don't seem to trust Calibre. They think it's evil. Considering Kara's just dealt with real malware recently? Trust us. It's fine.

So, get Calibre. It's free, and it has the bonus of being a place to store and organize any ebooks you already have.

Now, all love to the people who make it, but you'll notice it's a little... er... strappy looking. And that's fine. It gets the job done. Load a book in that you know and coast around in Calibre. The familiarity more than anything will help you acquaint yourself with what does what.

2. Start using actual formatting in Word.

Like. If you don't already. It's not necessarily good for sending things to printers unless you go really hard creating your own Word styles, but it is what Calibre will recognize.

There are good odds you'll end up with two versions of your manuscript if you're going both acoustic and digital. That's generally how I end up, and it's fine.

All things considered, using Styles for chapters is actually a huge help if you're a bit of a plantser like me. It won't seem so at first, but when you're looking for something pre-conversion in the editing/proofreading phase, it's gonna be a boon.

3. Prepare for your covers to be resized and greyscaled.

Story time. I was working on putting together the ebook for Seasons of War: Gallifrey, and we were having Issues. Not with the interiors, but with the cover. And not even with every ereader.

One thing that some free ereaders do is greyscale and re-color the cover. I don't know why. A style thing. A highlighting thing. This means you need to be careful of your cover format, because if some poor Joe has that, bad formatting could mean an empty void or just seeing one corner of the cover.

Go hi-res, not hi-scale. And test greyscaling your cover to make sure it looks okay.

4. Watch your page breaks.

As in. Like. Don't have any unless it's the end of a chapter or section. Since .epub and .mobi files automatically reformat font sizes and pages to fit the screen of the ereader, having page breaks means things are going to go all wrong. And sometimes something you did in your word processor may amount to awkward formatting in your ebook.

While Calibre is very good about catching things, I highly recommend you go through manually and check pages like copyrights, author info pages, signatures on forewords, etc. These are places where things can either get mis-formatted in Word, or misread as a Style by Calibre.

5. Epub, Mobi, and PDF.

If you're going to handle your own ebooks, those are the three formats to use. We operate like Rifftrax on this front: if you buy our stuff, we want to make sure you can access it, so we're going to load you down with multiple copies.

PDF isn't always necessary (it's mostly good for review/sample copies, though I know there are some people who read at their computer), but .epub and .mobi in one .zip file will be sufficient and accessible.

Is there more? Yeah, there's more. But that's, like, a class. Plus, it's something I taught myself, and it's something that's learnable. If you want to take back ebook production, it's a great way to do so. We look forward to seeing what you make!

CREATOR WEEKLY WRAP-UP: Seasons of War, Unearthed, and Gear Drive

Hello, readers! Work continues on Book 3 (seems like we're saying that a lot, but having jobs outside of the light novels means you can't spend all your time on just those), and we've got a few other things to check out in the meantime:

If you've not already grabbed your copy of Seasons of War: Gallifrey, be sure to grab it while you can! The book is a charity novel dealing with a hidden side of the Time War, co-written by Paul Driscoll and Kara. The amazing cover was created by Ginger. You can get print or digital copies, and proceeds will go to Caudwell Children!

Speaking of Altrix Books, we're currently going through the submissions sent in for Unearthed, an upcoming charity anthology that both Kara and Ginger are working on. There will be another Owl's Flower short story in it, too!

And finally... if you're a light novel lover, be sure to go check out Gear Drive on J-Novel Club! (Note: you will need a JNC subscription to read the full book.) Kara is serving as editor on this series, about a girl named Anti Kythera who uses all sorts of crazy gear magic. Volume 1 is drawing to a close soon!

CREATOR WEEKLY WRAP-UP: Happy Birthday, Ginger!

We couldn't let the week slip by without dropping a note that Owl's Flower co-creator Ginger Hoesly had a birthday! Kara has yelled it aggressively at her a few times online, but every little bit counts.

If you'd like to do something for her, here are a few ways to go about it:

• Drop some money on her Ko-fi
• Browse (and maybe buy from) her Tictail shop
• Follow her on Instagram

Thanks to all our readers and followers for being supportive of both of us! There's more coolness to come.

Clarity Has Arrived!

We've teased it, we've chatted about it, and we've asked you to keep your eyes peeled... but now it's here! You can buy Relics, including the new Owl's Flower story "Clarity," right now from Red Ted Books!

It's the first time Owl's Flower has gone afield from the main light novel series, but it won't be the last. Nothing published outside the primary book series will ever be required for understanding or following the story... but we have a feeling you'll enjoy this look into a slightly different side of the story's world.

Pick it up now and enjoy... there's tons of other fun stories in the anthology, encapsulating different views of the life of immortals.

More news is coming soon concerning books you can hold in your hand... stay tuned!

State of the Hoots: Owl's Flower 3 and 4

As you can probably tell from our previous posts and social media, it's a whirlwind over here. Ginger and Kara are both finishing off work on other books, and starting work on a new zine. But that leaves the big question:

Where is Owl's Flower 3???

The short answer: in Kara's Dropbox, awaiting the last chapter and a half. Basically, she's to the Good Bit, and once that's wrapped, it goes along to Ginger. And then she works her artistic magic, and we leave her alone for that because art is hard and takes time and frankly we have no idea how she does it.

As for the future of Owl's Flower, avid listeners of fiction podcasts may have heard tell of what the fourth book's plot will entail. Future books are going to involve more explorations of mythology and world religion. In fact, the third book will do the same, so part of getting it to press will probably include some end notes.

In the meantime, we'll both be sharing some other related work. Relics with its stand-alone OF-verse short story is on the horizon, as is another book on which Ginger and Kara both worked. Stay tuned!

Coming Soon: Doctor Who goodness from our creators!

Ginger is safely home having ridden seven roller coasters in a day, Kara is back to work, and we're both gearing up for some fun stuff for the Doctor Who fans in our audience. Hope you're in the mood to do some reading!

First up, applications for the Hybrid Zine are now closed! If you applied to be a contributor, keep your eyes out in the coming days to see if you've been accepted. Ginger is currently in Planning Mode to get the lineup and publication sorted. It's looking to be an amazing zine!

Speaking of the Doctor and the next handful of days, you can now preorder Kara's book-length investigation of Heaven Sent! The book is #21 in the Black Archive series, and second in a set of three books exploring the series 9 three-part finale. Put in your order here -- you can also read a sample of the book!

More news coming in the near future. And yes, some of it will actually be about Owl's Flower!

The Ginger Has Landed!

This nerd is in Virginia for a week -- and since Kara makes the blog posts, she can say that and use pictures from Ginger's Twitter while doing so!

Since the airport pickup is in the wee hours, this is being written well ahead of schedule to give us both time to come back to the house, crash, and figure out what the hell to do with our time starting this morning.

As mentioned before, we're absolutely hitting up some theme parks. We're also going to -- at Ginger's request -- play some Psychonauts. And at other people's request, we're going to (fingers crossed) be doing a Twitch stream of it. So if you've never met or talked to us in real life and want to know what it's like watching us play a video game, keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter!

Regarding book and other media news, we'll have some fun stuff to tell next week, both with regards to book 3 (if Kara gets her ass in gear) and the short story in the outside anthology (if all goes to plan).

For now, stay tuned, and we'll be back with you once we've both gotten some rest!

ZINE OPPORTUNITY: Join "The Hybrid"!

So in case it's not, like, super freaking obvious... Ginger and Kara are both massive Doctor Who fans. (We know... huge shock, right?) Between us we've been involved in a variety of print, television, and live events concerning the show and its creatives. And Ginger has decided to go all in and create a charity fanzine for the Twelfth Doctor and Clara.

Titled The Hybrid, it will consist of new stories and art created by fans, focusing on the relationship between the two characters. And you don't have to be a shipper -- the contents can examine their time together at whatever speed you wish.

Best of all, proceeds from the zine will benefit One to One Children's Fund, for which Jenna Coleman is an ambassador!

Applications are open now for writers and artists. So if you're a Doctor Who fan, want to create something for a good cause, and want to work with the people behind Owl's Flower (yep, Kara will have a story in it!), hit up the zine on Tumblr to apply! You don't have to create a work to apply: just send in examples of previous work for now.

You can also keep an eye on the zine's Twitter, @TheHybridZine.

Not a creator yourself but know someone who is? Please pass this along! We can't wait to work with you!

Who is Clare?

A while back, you may recall we mentioned an upcoming Owl's Flower universe short story in a separate anthology. The story's been written for quite a while, but sadly due to issues outside of our (and the publisher's) control, the anthology had to be back-burnered for a bit.

But we've just found out that the book is on its way in the near future, with a proof copy on its way to the publisher as we speak. So it's a good time to sort of refresh everyone's memories, and build a little hype for the upcoming work.

"Clarity" will be appearing in Relics, a multi-author anthology featuring stories about immortals from all different walks of life. The aim was to create something a little more diverse than typical vampire stories, and so there's a wide variety of concepts from a wide variety of extremely talented authors.

Kara is featured in the book, and given the concept of "immortals," she wanted to reach back into Owl's Flower to explore the structure of its universe. Where do deities come from? Why do they come into being? What's it like being a new god, and how does the "aging process" Herne touched on work?

The main character of "Clarity" is a brand new deity, finding her way in the world as she attempts to discover why she's there. While there are ties back to familiar aspects of the Owl's Flower books, the story doesn't take place in William's Grove and is most definitely not of the "romance" leaning.

Since it's not Owl's Flower unless both Ginger and Kara are involved, Ginger was involved in the writing of "Clarity," and got to vet it before it was sent off for publication. It won't be illustrated in the anthology, but that doesn't mean you won't get to see the characters in Ginger's style eventually.

Stay tuned for more news about the release of Relics, and where you can get your copy when it goes on sale!

Setting Inspiration: Visit Herne's Tree

As mentioned in a previous post, the ravine that served as inspiration for Herne's forest has two major differences from its fictional counterpart. For one thing, it's half gone; for another, it's missing Herne's tree. However, the model for his legendary home is less than half an hour away, on the grounds of Hampton University: the Emancipation Oak.

Named one of the Ten Great Trees of the World by the National Geographic Society, the tree is one of many live oaks in the South. (For those curious about the name -- the "live" part of "live oak" refers to its evergreen nature, keeping its foliage even in the winter. For the sake of prettiness we'll red and orange up Herne's tree, but we already know he likes to redecorate even if it doesn't match the workings of nature!

Under this tree in 1861, schoolteacher Mary Peake held lessons for newly freed slaves. A school was eventually built nearby. And in 1863, the tree was the site of the first Southern reading of the Emancipation Proclamation -- hence the tree's name.

There's lots more information about Mary Peake, the school, and the history of the Emancipation Oak over on the Hampton University website. Be sure to check it out!

The main notable difference between the Emancipation Oak and Herne's tree, at least visually speaking, is the span of the branches. While live oaks like this one will tend to have a couple branches that would dip close enough to the ground for climbing, we thought it best to give Herne his privacy. A little awkward for Iris, but helpful for a nature deity who wants to be left alone.

We're looking forward to offering more glimpses into our books as we go. Is there anything in particular you're curious about the background of? Hit us up on Twitter!

The Real Site of Herne's Forest (Formerly)

Fans and regular readers may have picked up by now that there are a few real-world inspirations behind William's Grove, the town in which Owl's Flower primarily takes place. The fictional Virginia city is based heavily on the Hampton Roads area of southeast Virginia: an historical area that is both heavily forested and near several rivers and swamps. Excellent for peat and tobacco then, fun for travelers now.

In particular, there's Herne's forest "home": an undeveloped area that forms the "barrier" between the William's Grove City Center and Iris's neighborhood, complete with a ravine and a footpath. While there are plenty of largely untouched forests in the area (and many others around the country), Herne's was based largely on Kara's memories of the forest and ravine near her school...

Which, as you can see from this photo taken yesterday, is half gone.

Up until recent years, the ravine -- which is right near Kara's old grade school, itself on the banks of the James River -- was heavily overgrown and untended, a strip of woods between Kara's neighborhood and the area's high-end waterfront houses. There were bridges and paths for safe walking, as well as a little outdoor "classroom" with benches, but kids were Absolutely Not Supposed To Play There. This was partly because climbing down into the creek bed (which all the kids wanted to do) was precarious, but largely because it eventually became the site of a few attacks after dark.

In the past decade or so, the city has cleared out a good portion of the trees around the creek bed and done some upkeep on the footpath, making it a safer area for walking. Go closer to the school parking lot and there's still a small wooded area, complete with the outdoor classroom and dubious bridge.

There was never a live oak like Herne's in this area, but it wouldn't be out of place here. The inspiration for that is one city over in Hampton -- locals know it as the Emancipation Oak.

Which we'll talk about next week!

For now, be sure to hit up our Instagram if you'd like more nature photos and sneak peeks at future books!

CREATORS UPDATE: Summer Prep and Stories in the Works

Happy Friday, readers! Spring is in the air, and we're both getting hit hard with allergies. (Well, Ginger less than Kara -- the mighty artist hand is off on a trip out of state with friends.)

We're closing out a few big projects leading into summer, and we're looking forward to sharing some cool stuff with you coming soon... one being an Owl's Flower short story in another anthology!

Relics will contain stories about immortals from all different backgrounds... and Owl's Flower fans will get a kick out of "Clarity," a new creation that traces the birth of a brand-new deity and how she finds her purpose. You may see a familiar face or two in the story, too!

Relics is set to come out early this autumn. We'll keep everyone posted with more info on its release and where you can get copies.

Meanwhile, summer trip plans are still underway. We can't say much more than that (since we don't actually know at this point!), but we're looking forward to a fun few days of creativity, good food, and roller coasters.

We're Going to... not Disney World!!!

Ginger and Kara are making their summer plans... and since Kara went to Illinois last, it's Ginger's turn to come down to Virginia. That means her first trip to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. And if you remember our last trip out, you know how much we love theme parks and roller coasters.

That's all well and good, sure. But why does it matter to our readers? Well, first off, we just like telling you what we're up to. We do enjoy hanging out outside our writing gigs, and a lot of times our lazy-time inspires things in our creative work.

However, that time together when we're not actively on a full-time job means we can throw you some Owl's Flower related stuff while we're chilling. In case you're not entirely sure what we're talking about, here's a glimpse of what came of our last theme park adventure:

So be thinking, because we'll be asking on our social media. Do you have any questions about the books? About how we work together? What we do? We'll be putting out the call as Ginger's trip gets closer.

In the meantime, look forward to more sneak peeks of what we're up to, including some more OF3 news in the near future!

Owl's Flower Sneak Peeks and More on The Raconteur Roundtable!

Want a sneak peek into Books 3 (and 4!) of Owl's Flower? Want to hear what your fearless creators have been up to? Really like hearing about weird bad anime and Arthurian legends? Then you need to have a listen to the latest installment of The Raconteur Roundtable.

The team had co-creator Kara Dennison on, chatting about her works from Crunchyroll journalism to Whoniverse writings. And, of course, they take time to talk about Owl's Flower. If you're new to the stories, it's a good introduction. And if you're a regular reader, stay listening, because hints are given as to what to expect in upcoming volumes!

Head over to their page to listen -- and be sure to check out the rest of their podcast to hear interviews with Jacqueline Rayner, Andrew Cartmel, and many more!

CREATORS UPDATE: See You Next Week!

We're almost there! This time next week, (Re)Generation Who 4 will be underway! We'll both be working hard at the event, but if you want to say hi to us, you'll be able to catch us somewhere!

Kara will be doing panels and interviews throughout the weekend, including leading the "We Are (Re)Generation Who" opening panel and the "Companions" roundtable interview. You can also catch her interviewing Jason Haigh-Ellery from Big Finish and, in the big room, Peter Capaldi on Saturday!

Ginger will be working the merch table, and she'll have a few of her sweet Twelfth Doctor pins on hand. You can order online now for pick-up at the event if you're going, or for mail-order if you're not.

And we'll both be doing our self-publishing panel Saturday night at 10 pm (unless we can get it moved). So if you'd like to meet us both and are interested in publishing your own works, be sure to meet us there!

CREATORS UPDATE: Shirt Sales Closing and New Anthology!

(Re)Generation Who draws ever closer, friendos! Not long now 'til Ginger and Kara will be descending on (or ascending to?) Baltimore for the con's fourth year! In the meantime, we are not staying idle.

If you are attending this year's con, you have until 11:59 pm Eastern tonight to reserve your con shirts and VIP tiers 2 and up! Both of this year's shirts were designed by Ginger, and all VIP tiers come with some amazing art (also by Ginger!) of the Doctors rockin' out.

Check out our merch and register now!

And if you are a fan of the extended worlds of Doctor Who, you'll be happy to know there's a new City of the Saved anthology out! Stranger Tales of the City explores the "different" and "alien" among the City's inhabitants -- the people who don't quite fit in, and where their stories go.

Kara is among the writers included in this anthology, with her story "The Wandering Child."

Order your copy now!

Thanks as ever for your support, and we'll see you next week!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S MARCH WHY IS IT MARCH??????

We're assuming you're about as shocked as we are.

So what have Ginger and Kara been up to behind the scenes?... A lot.

Provided all goes well and she hasn't evaporated in the night (we tend to write these blog posts in advance), Kara is currently turning in her part of the first draft of Seasons of War: Gallifrey (with cover by Ginger!) and her second draft of Black Archive #21: Heaven Sent. Which means some more reading of a very Whovian sort coming your way later this year.

Ginger, meanwhile, is working away on (Re)Gen's program book, along with some cool surprises for attendees! Between us, we're learning how to make frames for Facebook icons and stories. Which means attendees will get to liven up their pics when they're on site! We're super excited about announcing this to everyone.

Also, the clearing out of those two book projects (for now) means a big deal: Kara can get back on Owl's Flower 3! The first draft is nearing the end, and once (Re)Gen is over for the years we can pitch in together and start bringing you sneak peeks of the romantic third book.

For now, thanks as always for your support!

(Re)Gen Prep Continues: Cute Pins and Self-Publishing Panel!

Yikes, it's a month to the con!

That's okay. We're fine. Totally. Not panicking at all.

In fact, Ginger has launched this absolutely adorable 12th Doctor enamel pin. It's already being picked up by fans coming to the event, but you don't have to go to (Re)Gen to get yours!

If you want it shipped to you, head to her Etsy.
If you want to pick it up at con, head to her Storenvy.

Meanwhile, it's been confirmed that we will be running our self-publishing panel from PotterVerse again at (Re)Gen! We don't have a day or time yet, but when the schedule goes live we'll let everyone know.

Haven't registered for (Re)Generation Who yet? Ya might want to get on that! A full weekend pass is $90 (yes, that's it -- no upcharge to get into panels, just pay for your photos and autographs!), and Peter Capaldi will be there! As will Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Michelle Gomez, Rachel Talalay, Robert Shearman, Paul Magrs, and waaaaay too many more to name.

Ginger also designed the con's shirts, and Kara will be running interviews. So you'll be able to see us both there!

A Post-Valentine Update. Because We Love You.

All is not as silent on the Owl's Flower front as it seems. Ginger is working away at her day job while branding the entirety of a con, while Kara runs social media for said con and attempts to finish a couple of books whose deadlines are... flexible at this point.

We have been meeting and chatting about book 3, which is still in progress with a first written draft nearly done. It is, appropriately enough, a Valentine's Day book. It's also the first time you'll see other cultures begin to seep into our work, as we integrate mythologies from around the world into our weird little pantheon.

Who will you see? Well, we don't want to give away too much, but we dip a bit into Kara's own home culture of the Mediterranean, as well as some very interesting Asian spirits. Once the book comes out, we'll see if you can guess early on who they are and why they're there!

In the meantime, (Re)Generation Who is right around the corner, and we're both working away. Ginger's designing amazing merch for the VIP tiers as well as knocking out ads to attempt to stay in line with Facebook's ever-changing standards. And Kara is prepping for interviews while keeping the social media rolling. And it looks like we'll be doing our self-publishing panel again -- so if you missed us at PotterVerse, you'll have another chance!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Owl's Flower Invades ODU Minicon!

If you're in the Hampton Roads area this weekend and have some time to spare, come down to ODU Minicon! This time, Kara won't get the flu and have to bow out the morning of the event!

ODU Minicon is three days of geeky panels and events with an educational bent. It includes karaoke, a cosplay contest, a game tournament, and an anime video room.

Kara will be on hand to do three panels: one on understanding Doctor Who as a non-sci-fi series, one on the history of magical girl anime (which went over well at Anime Mid-Atlantic), and another on how to break into the anime industry.

She'll also be sitting in with Friday Night Fanfiction on (surprise) Friday night.

Kara will not be at the event on Sunday, as she is taking off to Richmond to go see Mazinger Z/Infinity like a total weeb.

It all kicks off tonight at 6 pm. Check out their Facebook page for more info and to RSVP!

How to Throw THE BEST Superb Owl Party!

Want to celebrate on the big night but don't know a damn thing about football? That's okay! We're here to help you throw the perfect Superb Owl party -- Owl's Flower style!

After all, who better to give party tips than a cafe owner?

Here's everything you'll need to celebrate the superbest of owls. (Just... don't tell Dumb Baby the party isn't actually for him.)


1. Snackies

The rule of any party at Owl's Flower or in the Faulkner household is that the only food "theme" is "good." If the food is good, it can be served. If you can make it cute? Even better.

Herne's personal favorite is the shop's specialty honey cookies. And if you want to try them, fortunately there's a recipe in the back of the first book -- which you can download free, by the way!

Don't forget some chips and dip (or salsa/queso if Frank is nosing in -- medium spicy, please), soda, and a coffee and tea bar!


2. Entertainment

Since there's no sports on, you'll need something in the background. Iris has run some commercials on Managlitch City Underground, if you're looking for some sci-fi style listening. If you want an authentic night in like Herne and Iris, though, get on your streaming site of choice and queue up some cooking shows!


3. Guests

If you run with a nature god, you are almost certain to get some interesting visitors. Expect shapeshifters, ghosts, demons, and maybe even an historical figure or two.

Want to keep a tighter rein on the guest list? Consider looking up the Dipsy Toads and Fleet Birds of Transfiguring Adoption's Magical Creatures list! Many are lovely friends who'll help you and your kids have sweet dreams or light up the party. But some are more mischievous, so be careful!

(Additionally, these sweet creatures are a wonderful way for parents of adopted children to bond with their kids over the Harry Potter books -- so party or no party, you might want to invite some over.)


4. Dealing with Uninvited Guests

If you're throwing an awesome party, you're almost certainly going to get gate-crashers... especially considering the company that demigods keep. For a fast lesson in how to keep ghosts off your lawn, look no further than Iris in Book 2, Ghost Fall. She'll help you clear the intruders out before the food gets cold!


We hope you have fun next weekend, whether your night is Super, Superb, or Chill.

Get Your Owl Fix at (Re)Gen 4!

If you're waiting from some more hoots from Ginger's pen (and trust us, we both are), you're in luck! (Re)Generation Who has just premiered its 2018 VIP shirt, available as part of a VIP Tier 2 purchase.

The shirt features owl reimaginings of the First and Twelfth Doctors -- commemorating Twice Upon a Time, representing our guests from both Hartnell and Capaldi eras, and reminding us all that (Re)Gen is the convention for every generation.

Ginger is still working away on our regular con shirt and VIP Tier 1 art print -- but you can check out the shirt right now! While you're there, why not register for the event? We'll both be there, along with amazing guests from the world of Doctor Who, including some of our favorite writer and actor types!