zandravandra

September 1st to September 14th

Hey hi folks. <3 The year of not catching a break continues. I was ready to hit the ground running in September, usually one of my most challenging months in the year, and then I got hit with the double-whammy of cohost shutting down and my household getting really sick (the kind of sick I've been isolating to avoid for the past four years).

My wife and I are doing okay, we're recovering and getting plenty of rest. If all goes well I should be able to make it to the Montreal Cohost W...

August 18th to August 31st

Hey hi folks! This has been the summer of catching up for me, in more ways than one.

• Chapter 29 of Her Majesty The Prince is in beta reading and should be coming out soon

• I'm already making good progress on chapter 30 in the meantime

• I'm finally (!!) wrangling my considerable amount of overdue stream VODs for youtube release

• Some fun little stream reveals are coming soon

• I have a few game completion streams in the pipel...

  2024-08-31 16:56:07 +0000 UTC View Post

August 4th to August 17th

Hey hi folks! Another quick catch-up update to say that chapter 29 of Her Majesty The Prince is finally past the draft stage! Writer's block hit me hard with this one, and the constant Life Things dragging my focus away from it certainly didn't help. But it has now been sent out to beta readers and I can move on to other things in the meantime! Expect it here real soon once I've touched it up. <3 After that one, just two more chapters till Act II wraps up!

Gosh, this project has take...

July 21st to August 3rd

Hey hi folks! The irony of posting a "catching up on updates" post right before another stretch of Concentrated Life Events keeps me from updating is not lost on me. I would really, really love for Things to stop happening for a little while, I could really use the rest!

In the meantime though, I'm still here, and I'm still working—thanks in large part to you. I'm really looking forward to sharing some of the fun, positive things that are ever so close to the finish line, once they fi...

July 7th to July 20th

Hey hi folks! Thanks for bearing with me as I catch up with the updates.

The next chapter of Her Majesty The Prince has been taking more time than expected, but I'm very close to getting it ready for posting. Once it's up, only two chapters will remain until Act II is done. I'm really excited to see what folks think of it! I've been visualizing the end of this arc of the story for months now and I'm so excited to finally put it into words.

On the streaming side of things, my recen...

June 23rd to July 6th

Hey hi folks! Brief update today because 1) I'm fairly late and 2) I'll be posting another catch-up update (a catch-update) soon after this one.

I had a really nice birthday, and so did my wife! July pretty much went by in a flash because a LOT of big life stuff happened (positive) in quick succession, in addition to me taking a week off for GDQ. The biggest one I can talk about is that my ADHD is now at last 1) diagnosed and 2) being medically addressed! And good gosh what a difference...

June 9th to June 22nd

Hey hi folks! Bullet point update time. There's a lot happening soon!

• I'm doing a special Teardown stream for VTuber Summer Slam tomorrow for charity!

• my birthday's in two days! (my wife's, too!)

• Amber and I will be doing a special birthday stream in three days!

• GDQ begins in four days, and with it, my week of summer vacation ...

  2024-06-27 02:19:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Her Majesty The Prince XXVIII

For the longest time, there was nothing else. J

May 26th to June 8th

Hey hi folks! The next Her Majesty The Prince chapter goes up this Friday!! It's finally happening! I'm hoping to get back to a more regular posting schedule, but the remaining chapters of Act II are all fairly load-bearing. A lot of loose threads are starting to weave together for the climax of this arc!

In other long-awaited news, Make A Good Mega Man Level 3 is finally out! Due to health reasons I'm having to take the week off, but I'll be doing some stream main...

I'll be on Indiepocalypse Radio tomorrow!

(Whoops, I got the time wrong! We're on at around 2pm Eastern instead, sorry about that!)

I'm excited to chat about writing (and quite likely games) with a bunch of other writers and narrative designers! It's been a long time since I've been on a podcast so I'm excited. ^^

You can catch the recording when it's live on Saturday, 2pm Eastern at http://indiepocalypse.com/radio 2024-06-07 18:50:16 +0000 UTC View Post

May 12th to May 25th

Hey hi folks! A quick update again to catch up. Life Events keep on piling up but hopefully things seem to be looking up? It feels like I've said this before...

Work continues on Her Majesty The Prince (almost done with chapter 28! just about ready to send it over to beta readers) and I'm slowly but surely making some headway on some of the other bigger stuff.

Operation Get Zandra Outside is also continuing successfully! Last weekend, it included me visiting some friends and indus...

April 28th to May 11th

Hey hi folks! Another quick update because I've just been hard at work writing. The next chapter of Her Majesty The Prince is going to be the longest yet (again!) and I'm trying not to stress out about it too much. It's been reassuring to hear that apparently this is a thing that happens in fantasy books! Chapters tend to be longer! And I'm still nowhere near the longest chapter in Lord of the Rings, so that's probably something?

I'm taking part in some fun stream events and marathons t...

I'm streaming upcoming puzzle games tonight!

I'm really stoked to be part of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase once again this year! I'll be streaming demos for upcoming puzzle games for the next three hours or so, so drop on by if that sounds like your jam! ^^

Check out the stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/zandravandra

(like last year, the streams will be re-streamed this weekend on Steam itself!! I'm really excited)

April 14th to April 27th

Hey hi folks! I've thankfully been catching up on posts (and sleep, and other things) and my work continues apace. The warm weather can't get here soon enough, I desperately need it to help kick my executive function into high gear.

Next update will mark the 1-year milestone of Her Majesty The Prince; I've been writing this story for almost a whole year now! And I'm still going. This book has changed my writing for the better (as does every book I write), but it's been so empowering to ...

Checking In

In response to Cohost Ask from SpectreWrites: Cat goddess, did you know that Tabbi really did wanna be a catgirl or did you think you might have actually made a mistake

She gently took its hand into hers, and made her offering. The thin sliver of metal made a satisfying sound as it was received by the venerable device, a loud clunk announcing that the pathways had been opened. She pressed the sigils in order—one she knew by heart—a...

Lou

A striking commission from Lou over on cohost! As soon as I saw her portfolio of powerful women holding bladed weapons I just had to see my beloved Her Majesty The Prince protagonist in that style. ^^

March 31st to April 13th

Hey hi folks! Brief update because I'm still catching up. On the bright side, I got a little bit more Life Stuff taken care of, freeing up even more brain space. And on the dark side, I got to witness a total eclipse! That was really cool! Possibly life-changing.

I'm still working on the next chapter of Her Majesty The Prince and hope to put it out soon; my hope is to get back to a biweekly schedule for chapters. We're now just 4 chapters away from the end of Act II!

Thanks again ...

Undercover Report

(I got inspired by a writing prompt and wrote a bit of flash fiction over on cohost!)

Mia held her breath as she retrieved her phone from under the pillow. She slid it over, keeping its screen pressed down against the bed. In a combination of practiced motions she turned it on, set it to silent, and lowered the screen's brightness down to minimum. Satisfied tha...

March 17th to March 30th

Hey hi folks! Finally caught up with updates and art/writing uploads for now. I've managed to deal with a lot of the current Big Things that were soaking up my executive function, and with days getting warmer and sunnier I should get more of that going forward. Fingers crossed! I still have a lot on my plate.

Along with more streaming in general, I'm hoping to devote some of my time and energy to my long-suffering backlog of Youtube archives, especially with games that folks have been a...

Cat Wishes Cover Cover

The inimitable Robin/ricecream did a wonderful sketch commission of the Cat Wishes cover art! :D

You can check out her work on cohost!

The Bargain

(Here's a little piece I wrote in response to a writing prompt over on cohost a few weeks ago.)

"The bargain has been reached," said the tall figure as it stepped through the bookcase that had been toppled in front of it. Long graceful limbs, their color halfway between the blues and purples of a rare morning sky, turned wood and paper to ash instantly as they moved without...

March 3rd to March 16th

Hey hi folks! Another belated update post as I catch up. I've been making good progress on wrapping up a few more things and continuing other projects as I emerge from the toughest part of the year, SAD-wise. The sun and warmth returning is really doing a lot of good to me!

I'm also getting more energy to stream, which has been really nice! I've really missed the evening streams that often accompanied by three-times-a-week mega man morning streams so it's been a big mood booster for me....

The Witch Njalbrenna

An amazing commission by MinaSheep!! As seen in Her Majesty The Prince chapter 25. ^^

I had very little direction aside from some basic elements of the outfit and Mina knocked it out of the park. You can check out her work on cohost!

I'm streaming for the Trans Lifeline streamathon today!

if you're in my neck of the woods (https://www.twitch.tv/zandravandra) between 2pm and 4pm, I'll be playing Make A Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level to raise money for the hotline! ^^ (I'll probably get started earlier, too)

February 18th to March 2nd

Hey hi folks! I'm behind a couple updates so I'll try to keep these short. I've finally finished some year-end tasks I wanted to do alllll the way back in January but couldn't due to moving. Check out recent Patreon posts on here to see my 2023 retrospective stream AND my top 10 list!

I've also gotten back some lovely commissions for things I'm writing and have written, so I'll be sharing these over here as well. Stay tuned for more quick updates over the following days!

Thanks fo...

My Top 10 Games of 2023 list is live!

I've once again put it up on cohost, which has been a great place for long-form posting (and also other kinds of posting if I'm gonna be honest, it's been such a positive place to be on for me social-network-wise).

Please go check it out if you 1) want to know what games I liked last year and/or 2) want to read some really personal and emotional stuff I had to get off my chest. Games can be really impactful! Did you know?

2023 Year in Review stream this Friday

Hey hi folks! Time for one of my favorite yearly traditions, delayed for two months by me having to move at the start of January and having pretty much everything else impacted as a result. Tune in THIS FRIDAY EVENING at around 8pm North American Eastern for a look back at my 2023 in streaming, with my wonderful cohost Aura!

You can catch the stream here when ...

February 4th to February 17th

Hey hi folks! Quick and overdue update; a trend lately as I get my routine in order. Moving houses remains incredibly exhausting and time-consuming.

I got back into the groove of Her Majesty The Prince chapters, which has been a big relief! Next up are my also-long-overdue 2023 GOTY top 10 list and the year in review stream, which I really want to do. I normally would've gotten those done in early January, but the extended move really took it out of me. I'll be happy to get to ...

Her Majesty The Prince XXVII

A sudden yelp and a crash of papers sent Lou and Alphonse nearly to the ground. She chided herself for just barging into his tent to see if he was there; if she'd been a little more careful, she wouldn't have run right into him precisely at the moment when he stepped out of the opening.

As soon as the troupe's playwright had stumbled back onto his feet, he hurriedly fussed over her. "Lou, I am so sorry! You're not hurt, are you?" He put the gentlest hand on her shoulder as he looked her...

January 21st to February 3rd

Hey hi folks! Short update again because of moving-related exhaustion. I always forget just how much time and energy it takes to move your whole life to a different place. Mothmouse homehouse is doing well though! <3

I am closing in on the next chapter of Her Majesty The Prince, and the Act I compilation PDF/EPUB book is now on itch! As always, if you're a Book Club supporter or above, check out the "Patreon Rewards" tag on here to claim your copy.

I'm slowly but surely returni...