It’s a whole new year!
We made it to 2023! We have a TON of great stuff coming up this year, and hopefully you do as well! We can’t wait for you guys to take part in what’s bound to be the best year of OG yet!
Be a part of the giant
Want to be a part of making Obsidian Giant great? This is the section that will tell you how to do that each month.
Send 'em in early
The deadline for haiku submissions is still set for March 4th, but if you’re going to submit, send Emma just a few of them early so that she can start planning for the number of authors she’ll have! I Thought These Were Haiku, Volume 2 is going to be making its debut at the Spring Steel City Con, which gives her just over 3 weeks for the editing and publishing process after the deadline. That isn’t to say we don’t want your submissions on the day of the deadline! We want those ones, too!
The categories for Volume 2 are as follows:
Horror
Magic
Sports and Recreation
Reader Discretion Advised
From what I’ve seen, the Reader Discretion Advised section is going to be perfectly NSFW. Horror and Magic have some goodies in there, too! I love the really obscure stuff that’ll make most readers question where the heck it’s from, while a few of you will be nodding and smiling at that inside joke!
The artistic process has begun-ish
We’ve decided to keep the survey for the cover image open until the day after Valentine’s Day. It will now end on February 15th. The reason for this is that Leah has been tasked with drawing sample sketches so that you all can make a more informed decision. What follows are the concept sketches for each of the 8 creatures you can choose from!
Bake-Danuki
Raccoon Dog. Changes form to fool people and make them seem stupid. Their big bellies are used as drums. There are statues of them in Japan; it is considered lucky to rub their large testicles!
Nekomata
Evil cat with two tails who sometimes holds fun things in its mouth, including dead dogs. These critters can sometimes evolve from domestic cats who get old. They are said to like to bewilder their former humans and others they know.
Ningyo
A fish person, similar to a mermaid/merman, with multiple mythological meanings. It is sometimes considered to be an ill omen if washed up on the shore; however, eating its flesh is said to increase longevity!
Onikuma
A bear that walks on two legs and steals livestock, although this one seems to have stolen an OG flag instead…
Raiju
A doglike beast that falls to earth in a lightning bolt. He is said to be the companion of the Shinto god Raijin.
Satori
An ape-like creature that can read thoughts. Sometimes they repeat those thoughts back to the human, which can be confusing and weird. It is said that they kill and eat people, but most think that as long as you don’t mean them ill will, they won’t attack.
Akkorokamui
Octopus monster. This (120-meter) little guy is said to have powers to heal and bestow knowledge, but he is temperamental. Sailors often perform purification rituals to make sure they stay on his good side!
Nuppeppō
An anthropomorphic blob of human flesh that sucks the fat off of corpses. Yup, he is just as gross as he sounds; I love it!
If you’ve already made a choice and want to make another one, just use a different phone or computer, and it should let you vote again!
You can make your choices here:
Audiobooks
Audiobooks are still happening. The giants are still accepting submissions. The good news is we have a massive amount of awesomeness going on between now and Spring Steel City Con! The bad news is we probably won’t have much movement on the audiobooks until after that. Lots of writing, drawing, and editing is being done. We will keep submissions open until decisions have been made!
Step one is to email us at marketing@obsidiangiant.com.
We’ll send you the excerpts.
You record yourself reading the excerpts.
You send them back to marketing@obsidiangiant.com (or I’ll set up a drop box if files get too large).
We review all the submissions and choose the best person for each.
You record the whole book and get paid. We’ll also be available as a reference for other publishers and authors you may want to work with. That last part is true even if you aren’t chosen for one of our current books!
We need a cover…
…for the second book in the Bloodsisters trilogy! We are looking to hire someone this month for the cover art for the book, which will be published at the end of March. The artist will be able to sit down with Jay to go over the concepts and get a feel for the book. Keep in mind, a certain amount of secrecy will be needed; Emma doesn’t know anything about the book until she edits, and Leah has to wait until publication to read it – so no spoilers! This will be a paying job; we would love to see your portfolio! Send your art, send your mom’s art, send your brother’s art, send your niece’s art, send everyone’s art you think might be interested to: marketing@obsidiangiant.com! This deadline is sneaking up fast; if you have art, you send it in, and Jay and Emma like your style, you might have a paying gig a week from now!
What’s been happening!?
Writing, drawing, and editing
After the excitement of Steel City Con, the giants have been focusing on the goals and deadlines they’ve set for all the 2023 goodness! Jay has been writing, Emma has been writing and editing, Leah has been writing and drawing – but only writing syllables at a time! We can’t wait to have a burst of activity in this section over the coming months. There are a few things in the pipeline that could lead to some pretty nifty in-person events! Keep an eye out for Facebook updates or the other socials; there are things that are happening so fast they probably won’t appear in the newsletter until after the fact!
What’s coming up next?
They sneak up fast!!!
Less than 2 months to go!
Remember, I Thought These Were Haiku, Volume 2 and the second book in the Bloodsisters trilogy will both be on sale for the very first time, March 31st at 9:30am!
The first 10 copies of each book will be numbered and signed, so you guys can use them as part of your retirement planning once OG goes viral!
If you’re worried about there being enough to do once you’ve purchased your new OG swag, fear not! There are hundreds of vendors, dozens of celebrities, and interactive panels all hours of each day! The panels aren’t set yet and they are sure to add more celebs, but check out the list as it stands…it’s pretty epic!
March 31st – April 2nd. We can’t wait to see you all there!
Did you say new con?
Yes, we already have things scheduled out to August. No this isn’t a sign of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I’m pretty sure that it’s impossible to diagnose a company.
Put it in your calendars! August 5th and 6th starting at 10am. The convention runs until 8pm on Saturday, and 7pm on Sunday! This one is at the David L Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh!
If you’ve ever wanted to fangirl/boy out with Emma, just mention Psych to her and talk about Timothy Omundson. I promise she’ll make at least one bizarre – but cute – noise.