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!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We've been pretty quiet on our blog over the back half of 2017 -- and that's because both of us have been super busy. Work, freelancing, OF itself, and of course conventions.

So what's up for 2018?

ODU Mini-Con: Kara will be heading out to Norfolk (and hopefully not getting a stomach bug on the day of the event!) this February to talk industry work, writing, and more. If you're in Virginia, come hang!

(Re)Generation Who: We're back for 2018! Ginger is currently working away on the shirt designs for the year, and you'll be able to see both of us at the event. Registration is still open!

PotterVerse: Yep, it's back! This year, it's in August. And, of course, we're both working away for it. Speaking of graphic design. Reg has just opened, so why not be an early adopter?

Book 3: Book 3? Book 3! We're meeting a few work deadlines, but the writing part is very nearly done. So expect to receive more updates about our third volume, featuring some new neighbors to the coffee shop and a very odd kid.

As for the rest of the year... well, we're still figuring things out! Our social media will get more and more active as we clear out our to-do lists, and you can expect more from us as things kick into gear. Right now, we're both under a bit of snow, so expect a bit of slowness as we try to thaw out.

Thanks as ever for all your support!

FROM THE CREATORS: How to Support Us Since Patreon Is a Garbage Fire

As some of you may have noticed if you follow either of our personal Twitters or exist online at all, Patreon has made some rather unfortunate decisions concerning how to charge, how to present that info to the public, and what to say to the public in general. If you've not been following along, the short version is that processing fees are now taken not out of each creator's monthly take, but rather added to each patron's fee on top of their pledge. This is bad news for people who are already scraping to give (especially those giving a dollar here and there to many creators), and even worse news for creators whose big money comes from those single-digit pledges.

The good news for us is that Patreon was never our primary (or even secondary) source of income, so cutting free took basically no thinking.

It's also giving us each a chance to explore alternate ways to let fans support us. And since Ko-fi has worked well as a way to gather payment for ebooks, we're each giving it a try!

Things are still warming up, but we're consulting each other on how to make it roll. Obviously you can drop us the price of a coffee (or tea) anytime, but we'll also be coming up with "gift baskets" of monthly goodies that you get just for dropping some cash. And since they'll change out on a regular basis, there's always a reason to come back!

Ginger's Ko-fi currently offers artwork for anyone who gives over $12 at a go. In the near future she'll also be offering digital art goodies.

Kara's Ko-fi is available to donate to, but it'll still be a bit before anything kicks off. (She has to finish setting up!) The price of a tea will eventually get you a month gift pack of original fiction, essays on the psychology of TV shows and video games, and a few more surprises.

Oh, and whenever there's a big Owl's Flower event coming, like a book or a con appearance, you might want to keep an eye on both our Ko-fi pages -- as giving to both of us during that time might earn you something extra cool!

Thanks for all your continued support!

CREATOR UPDATE: The End of NaNoWriMo and Some New Goodies!

Hello all!

Kara has emerged from the well of NaNoWriMo (successful for a second year, woo!), and both of us are hard at work on new stuff for (Re)Generation Who. What stuff? New merch, new panels... oh, and there's a guest announcement at 10 am Eastern today. Head over if the time is right and see who's joining us!

Kara's NaNo book from this year, The Widow Box, may or may not see the light of day as is. She's got a few plans for translating it into a different format. Stay tuned, as it may interest Owl's Flower fans who like our spookier output. For now, you can hit up her personal blog and see what she got up to this month.

And in case you missed it on our social media, Ginger's put out two sweet glow-in-the-dark tees. One is perfect for Whovians, and the other is just perfect for nuts like us who really love space. These are available now on her Etsy, along with a variety of coffee (or tea) mugs for the geeky amongst you.

Have a fabulous start of December!