Oh, right, I’ve got some tiny linocuts in a show right now… these wee things are in the Cowichan Valley Arts Council’s Teeny Tiny show in Duncan, here on Vancouver Island. (Unlike the ones in the pictures, they’re framed, but I forgot to photograph them in the frames.)

I applied for three craft fairs on Thursday evening. On Friday I found out I got into two of them (one in December and one in April). This is good. Except I have very little stock because I’ve been focusing on writing. So now I have to finish a novel and make a LOT of stuff in the next two months.

If you’re looking for an autumnal read, may I suggest my urban fantasy romance novel (with touches of folk horror) Waking Pan? The climax happens (in more ways than one) on the fall equinox.

Canadians! There is a petition to sign to protest Mastercard and Visa's control over the purchase of legal adult content. This is specifically about the Steam & itchio situation, but language protects adult creators. www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en... #nsfw #censorship #canpoli @acvalens.net

New (used) type in the shop.

It’s at 82% funded and 4 days left. This anthology is so good!!! www.kickstarter.com/projects/jak...

At 77% funded at six days left. This is an amazing collection of stories (never mind that I have a story and an illustration in it) and there are some nice bonuses for backers. www.kickstarter.com/projects/jak...

I framed up two copies of my latest linocut—the simple black one is for an upcoming art show, and the ridiculously fancy one is for me. 😁

“Pan Waiting for Daphnis” linocut, 12 by 18 inches. The edition is 13 plus 2 artist’s proofs.

Done. Time to rest. Phew!

The proof looks good! Time to print the edition. The only question is: how many?

Soooo close to 50% funded. Every bit over the goal goes towards paying contributors more. www.kickstarter.com/projects/jak...

Piles of fairytale linocut prints drying after yesterday’s all-day print session. Next up is editioning the big (for me) hot satyr.

Today…

This kickstarter is at 40% funded, but you can make it more if you wanted to. Yes, I am in it (I have a short story and a piece of art, which is also on one of the add-on postcards), but you can skip mine if you want because the rest of the anthology is amazing! www.kickstarter.com/projects/jak...

I have finished the final illustration for The Silence of Storms. Now on to formatting the print versions (only a month later than I planned).

Yesterday I transferred 16 pages of notes on my comic (which I haven’t worked on in years) out of many old notebooks into one new one, and it’s actually not terrible. So now I want to work on it again. The main obstacle is that, while I’m a fast writer, I am a veeeeery slow artist.

Oh, hello new followers! I guess I should really try to post more often. 💕

So it looks like all my stuff is still up on itch (though I haven’t tried search), maybe because it’s spicy but not erotica? But apparently lots of other adult content is being hidden or even removed, so if you bought something there, you might want to DL it now. Guess I better request a payout.

Main character (of The Silence of Storms.)

Love interest (from A Silence of Storms).

Bookplates! Which look better? (I’ve pretty much ruled out the really big ones as too big, and the medium ones will need different sticker paper that doesn’t have a weird grey backing. And I might add a separate little dragon to the fourth option.) Anyway, preferences?

I have a first draft for my latest short story. It’s got a trans masc main character, a sentient house, and swamp sex. It’s sort of a dark(ish) fairytale fantasy not-quite-horror-but-maybe-adjacent kind of… thing. I like it.

Say, you look like you might enjoy this saucy drawing of the two main characters of A Vision of Air…

Anyway, for the fountain pen fans, Ferris Wheel Press has announced a hp line, so I won’t be buying anything else from them, and I’ll be removing everything I’ve already bought from my shelf. I don’t fuck around with transphobes.

I’ve been too wiped after work to get much organizing done in my studio these last few days, but on Wednesday when we got back from camping I was able to add hanging wires to my newest brayers and more hooks to my shelf. It’s very satisfying considering how small a thing it was.

Check out this bundle for the International Non Binary People's Day hosted by @jakevanguard.bsky.social. 54 books for only $30! itch.io/b/3124/inter... 💙📚 #queerwriters #queeradultsff 🌈🚀💫 📚🌎 #writingcommunity 📢📚 🩷🧙♂️⚔️ 🪐📚 #BookSky

Check out this bundle for the International Non Binary People's Day hosted by @jakevanguard.bsky.social. 54 books for only $30! itch.io/b/3124/inter... 💙📚 #queerwriters #queeradultsff 🌈🚀💫 📚🌎 #writingcommunity 📢📚 🩷🧙♂️⚔️ 🪐📚 #BookSky

I am so anti-genAI I literally cut my own print blocks, roll ink on them, and print them by hand. (I also write my fiction first drafts in longhand.)

Working on another linocut design…

Forgot to post this… Studio cleanup begins… First two are before, second two in progress. After won’t be for a while yet.

So I somehow managed to put a jpg file on The Silence of Storms itch page, instead of, you know, the f-ing epub. 😫 I am so sorry if you tried to download it and got… that. It’s fixed now, so you should be able to grab it, but if you have any issues, lmk. nicosilver.itch.io/the-silence-...

I forgot to take a photo of layer two of this linocut, so here’s a proof of all three instead.

Siren x werewolf linocut proof of layer one:

The two grey blocks, ready for proofing (pale on the left, dark on the right; coloured with sharpie to show details).

Also, someone who bought one of my books at our local Pride festival last weekend has read it and would like to buy the next two, so I’ll just be over here crying and grinning at the same time.

Latest update on the siren linocut: the pale grey block (the black is sharpie so I can see what I’m doing).

I also transcribed a short story and am poking away at the next one. Back to the day job tomorrow and I’m running out of days in June to get this all done.

Progress shots. I’ve printed a proof and transferred the key block to the other two blocks. Now I wait for ink to dry.

Ready to start cutting this one.

More work on the latest linocut sketch. Almost ready to transfer the image and start cutting.

I’ve only managed to write half a chapter so far (June has been a crazy month), and I don’t think anything in it is hot or wet. 😂 Lots to come though. (Heh.) Here’s where I am on Itch (no page up for Sleeping Faun yet, but it’s on the way): nicosilver.itch.io

I’ve been around self pub for a long time, but serious about it for the last three years or so. I’ve published a bi4bi urban fantasy series, three books and a spin-off in a queernorm epic romantic fantasy series, and a few other things. I’m still a microscopic author, but I’m okay with that.

I was originally going to write a prequel to my fantasy romance The Silence of Storms, where the main character, a nonbinary fey seer, discovers boys. I had some fun ideas for that, so I’ll probably get to it at some point.

For Sleeping Faun, I’m researching cults, Ancient Greek religion, Pan worship, and sacred sex, among other things. This book is also a follow up to Waking Pan, so I’ll be exploring some of the same themes but with different characters. #HotWetQueerSummer #HotWetQA

Hi! I’m Nico Silver, a nonbinary writer from Vancouver Island. I write urban fantasy, epic romantic fantasy, and romantic horror. I also draw and make art as Nik Sylvan. For the #HotWetQueerSummer Jam I’m going to be working on an urban fantasy romance with folk horror elements. #hotwetQA

Another sketch for a linocut (the one I’ll actually be working on next). This one is an illustration for my short story “Cold Seafoam” which was published in the Carnival of Carnage: Twisted Tales of Halloween Horror anthology last year.

If you like hand-printed art, I’m going to be clearing out a ton of old work soon. I need the space in my flat file.

More sketches for the print edition of The Silence of Storms…

My little murder selkie. (She looks too young and more sad than angry, but I can fix that.) Now I need to figure out a background and she’ll be my next fairy tale linocut (illustrating my short stories).