Category: Blog

I was privileged to help Isobelle Carmody to talk about her new novel, ‘Comes the Night’. She had a post-talk signing and there were some die-hard fans there!

 
December Update
Well that’s the year done – I started out with the fabulous opportunity of helping HavenXR build their ‘The Keeper’ interactive project, and now I’m helping fellow authors to see their books in print with my self-publishing service at essentialselfpub.com.au.
‘Serpent Princess’
I’m about 80% of the way through revising Katie’s edits of ‘Serpent Princess’. So far she hasn’t found any of the story hard to follow, so it does work as a new entry point (I still need to find a better way of saying that, all suggestions welcome) to the Dark Heavens universe.
Here’s some of her comments:
On Genbu being a recurring character in Final Fantasy:

The first time Simone teleports (sometimes I feel this way as well):

When Simone says ‘I don’t want you at my prospectus presentation’ and Emma says ‘sure I’ll stay away’:

(Obviously I am making the conscious choice to model supportive relationships throughout my works, and Katie’s picked up on it!)
This happens again when John tells Simone where to find the really good alcohol as she’s having an emotional time of things:

Here’s something, that nine full-length novels, three novellas, and a hybrid graphic novel later, that someone has never asked before:

An obvious reference (and an in-joke between me and Katie):

And finally, yes there is an info dump. Yes, it is the summarised content of nine books. I think it is needed. It’s still there. I hope new readers will bear with me through it. I promise that the visuals are very pretty:

Options for ‘Serpent Princess’
I’m still debating whether I should create an additional paperback of ‘Serpent Princess’ that’s a ‘director’s cut’ that has all the Emma stuff that I’ve removed – back in. I still have yet to decide. Of course, I can always include it in the new John/Emma book that I’m writing (spoiler alert: they visit Rooster Village!). I’ll decide later.
All the best for the end of the year, and I hope we all have a wonderful 2025!
 

First draft of the cover on the left, final version on the right. Click on the image to see Ashton’s Instagram reveal.
 
November Update
New cover
Ashton’s first draft of the cover is on the left, and the final version is on the right.
Click on the image to see Ashton’s lovely reveal video on Instagram. I saw her working to have her designs reach a wider audience, and asked her if she’d be interested in doing ‘Serpent Princess’ for me and she nailed it.
Things to notice – the ‘glowing orbs in the sword’ thing really didn’t work so we took them out. I asked her to make the swords more narrow and deadly-looking, and she really nailed that! She chose the fonts because the S’s look like snakes (genius). The snake has moved up in the second version so its head is clear of my name, and the background colour is lighter so that we can see the ‘coral reef’ backdrop more clearly. (There’s a marine turtle on the back cover because of course there is).
She’s done a full hardcover version with a sprayed edge design as well, and the yellow parts will be foiled in a special edition. Did I mention that I’m delighted? I’m delighted.
Editing
The novel itself is with my editor, who is providing terrific feedback – as she hasn’t read the rest of the series. So far she doesn’t appear to have any issues with following along, which is a relief.
We are running smack into some cultural issues, such as the below comment:

This is more an issue with capitalisation of his name than anything. She’s nearly done, and when she is, I can give Ashton the final page count and the blurb (I think the tagline will be ‘She saved the world. Now what?’) and I can have a good idea about a release date. I will keep you updated!

I always love seeing the Xianxia costumes, check out my Instagram for more fabulous cosplayers at Brisbane and Sydney Comic-Cons!
October Update
Thank you Brisbane and Sydney for a couple of terrific comic-Cons. I really enjoyed myself and had the opportunity to hang out with some mega-fans from my Patreon who are always delightful (special shoutout to Monique and Sonya – thank you!)
I have more photos of the cosplay on my Instagram at @kylie_chan_author so check it out.
I am confirmed for ALL comic-cons except Canberra next year, so be aware that I am locked in and it will happen. Now to get to work finishing Serpent Princess!
Website Migration
I have moved my website from its hosting in Scotland (it’s complicated, ask me about it if you meet me in person) to new hosting in the Asia region. It’s all consolidated now and much easier to administer – and the self-publishing business is on the same host as well.
The domain registration (which identified where to go when you looked it up) was registered with GoDaddy a long time ago, and I finally made the move to my new service and I no longer have anything on GoDaddy. They are the WORST.
When I logged in to get the code to change the registration, GoDaddy immediately said: ‘You don’t have your hosting with us! Let us design and build a website for you with AI! Here you go!’ And produced… this…

I immediately freaked out thinking that GoDaddy had grabbed the hosting and was going to redirect everybody who went looking for my site to a site about (of course) fashion. Fortunately I managed to salvage the situation, and the site (and email) are now consolidated onto a new, faster hosting company – without a single thing being lost. I’ve even created a duplicate of my site at kyliechan.com.au!
You probably won’t notice much of a difference, to be honest. Which is the ideal outcome.

‘Serpent Princess’ Cover
I will share roughs of the cover with my Patrons on Patreon (I already showed some general thematic ideas to Patrons who attended the cons!) but here’s an interesting detail I had to share with the cover designer:
There’s a discussion where Simone’s given her dual, dark blue blades and when it comes to naming them, she thinks of some famous heroic men. Someone (I think Leo?) pulls her up for reflex sexism, and suggests she names them after women. She says she’ll go away and think about it, and later in the storyline I do mention that the swords are named Bo and Bei.
They’re Zhu Bei Niang and Zhu Bo Niang, the two Heavenly Generals from Xuan Wu’s Thirty-Six (which I made thirty-five)! And I found some lovely stylised Chinese fonts – that are normally used for seals – to put on Simone’s blade:

‘Zhu Bo Niang Jiang Ling’ (literally Zhu Bo, Lady General) and
‘Zhu Bei Niang Jiang Ling’ (Zhu Bei, Lady General)
They will look fabulous etched into Simone’s swords.
Keep an eye on updates and when I have the final version of the cover I will definitely share it. The designer will be happy to do a design that has foils and sprayed edges for a limited edition hardcover, so I’ll finally be able to do the book right!

I’m on for both shows! Brisbane this weekend (14-15) and Sydney next weekend (21-22).
Oz Comic-Con Brisbane and Sydney
 

I’ll be at table number GA07 in Artist’s Alley for Brisbane, next to QUEENIE! You can get your copies of Small Shen signed by both of us if you like. Here’s the floorplan for Brisbane:

The show guide is at: https://ozcomiccon.com/brisbane and the show is from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm. I’ll be doing a panel on ‘Slashing Stereotypes’ on Saturday at 2.15 pm, and another panel on ‘Self-Publishing’ on Sunday at 11am, both at the Comics Lounge on the far left of the floor. Queenie will also be doing a manga drawing workshop at the same location at 2.30 on Sunday, so go along and learn to draw with her!
I don’t have the floor plan or schedule for Sydney yet, but watch my socials and I’ll post them as soon as I know.
One of my Patreon patrons will be spending the day with me on Sunday at my table, so it should be a great day.
I will have copies of everything so far, and I’ll be happy to talk to you about the new Dark Heavens novel, ‘Serpent Princess’. It’s currently being edited (by a fellow attendee at the show, she’s only read a small amount) and I have given a brief to a cover designer with high hopes that she’ll produce something wonderful for us.
I’m also in the process of consolidating my website and possibly moving it to new hosting. I’ve created a duplicate website at www.kyliechan.com.au (with an .au at the end) that should be faster for Australian readers. I will run both sites concurrently until the main site is up for renewal, and then I’ll consolidate them under kyliechan.com.
I’ll also have pocky and pretz at my table for visitors, some drop by and grab some Japanese snacks!

Queensland winter: the wind is chilly and goes straight through me, but the sun is bright and the sky is an intense, crystalline blue. 

August Update
 
Oz Comic-Con is Go!
 

We finally have the communications issues sorted (they were very apologetic) and I am confirmed for Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne next year. Lock it in – we don’t know dates yet – but I will be there – with copies of ‘Serpent Princess’, my new Dark Heavens novel!

Brisbane and Sydney September 2024
In more immediate news, I will also be at Oz Comic-Con Brisbane and Sydney this year. I doubt I’ll have ‘Serpent Princess’ ready for the shows (it’s in editing right now) but I’d love to see you at the show and say hello.
I’ll be in Brisbane on September 14-15, and Sydney September 21-22, so come on up, say hello, and yell at me for not having ‘Serpent Princess’ out yet!
I’ll be in touch with the high-tier patrons soon to arrange for their passes to the shows so they can come and help me out for the day. It’s always fun to have someone along to help!

‘The Sentimental Blonde’

Elle launching ‘The Sentimental Blonde’ at Avid Reader in West End
One of the most rewarding parts of being an author is helping others. I was delighted to assist Elle Croxford, through her residency at the Queensland Writers Centre, to release her fabulous historical romance, ‘The Sentimental Blonde’, direct to consumer.
The first thing anyone says when they see the cover (on the left) is… ‘She’s not blonde!’
That’s because it’s the story of Australia’s first movie blockbuster, ‘The Sentimental Bloke’, a film from the silent era. For fifty years it was thought lost, until it was found – in New York – mislabelled as ‘The Sentimental Blonde’ (probably because they thought the word ‘bloke’ was a meaningless typo).
Elle tells the story of Lottie Lyell, the pioneering woman who produced, directed, and starred in this film, and I was immensely proud to help her to reach her goal of having her fabulous story in print.
More info at ellecroxford.com, and if you know someone who wants to self-publish their novel or memoir and doesn’t know where to start, then send them in my direction – I’m only too happy to help!
See more about ‘The Sentimental Blonde’ at Elle’s page.