Happy New Year, everyone! We made it around the sun again and while I know we’ve all been burned lately with being excited for the year ahead…I’m cautiously optimistic. Professionally, it’s a pretty big year for me with at least three books coming out. In a mere two weeks, The Racc Pack will be released. And then in April, Pillow Talk will finally be out (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh). And in May, we’ve got the collected edition of My Little Pony: Camp Bighoof being released.

Also recently announced is a new My Little Pony project that you may have missed: My Little Pony: Mane Event which will be out in March. I recently had a chance to read the issue with the final art, colours, and lettering and y’all…it looks SO GOOD!!!

I truly can’t wait for you to get your hands (or hooves!) on all of this books.

This year I may be a little quieter here than usual. Normally I aim to post an update at least once a month, but that might change as I rethink how to best do outreach as my main social media platforms collapse around me. I’m also trying some new things with my work and I’ll be really hunkering down on that for the foreseeable future. I’m excited and anxious about all of that and won’t say more on what I’m doing just yet…but hopefully if it goes well, I’ll have updates sooner rather than later.

With that being said, let me dig into a few of the things that I’ve been reading lately. Unless anyone was actually interested in what I was watching on TV, I think I may wind up doing away with that…although it’s been a great way for my poor forgetful brain to retain what I watched every month.

BOOKS:


CREATOR SPOTLIGHT:

And now for something a little different. In this new series, I’m highlighting other creators and their work by sharing a few fun interview questions to get to know them. Each creator was given the same questions to answer but were asked only to answer the ones that resonated with them. So without further ado, let’s dive in!

Today I want you to meet…Brian McLachlan!

What is your favourite project that you’ve worked on so far?

Complete the Quest: The Poisonous Quest is a culmination of a life’s work. Back in elementary school I started writing sword and sorcery chose your own adventure homages. Now, I’ve built up my skills to create my own take on a gamebook. It’s a multipath graphic novel. Some people think of it as an introduction to role playing games because it’s more conversational with the reader than confrontational. Turning a game book into a visual experience changes the whole gameplay and it’s really exciting. You get to pick 3 of 6 characters who help save Queen Evergreen who has been poisoned by a book from an anonymous admirer. It’s accessible for kids so it’s metaphors are not super subtle.

What are five things (movies, TV shows, books, comics, games, etc) that you’ve been enjoying lately?

TV SHOWS:

COMICS:

GAMES:

What would your walk-out music be if you were a wrestler?

Can’t get more pumped up right now than “The Music” by Kove. I love drum and bass.

Are there any exciting projects coming out soon that you’d like to tell us about?

I’m always excited when another issue of Owl Magazine hits the stands. I write a monthly comic called Spruce Street Squad and I get to draw and design extra puzzles, games and more. Makes a great present for little ones. Getting something in the mail each month is pretty exciting for them.

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And that’s it for our first creator interview. You can find out more about Brian by visiting his website: brianmcl.com or following him on Bluesky or Instagram.


If you made it to here, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this first update for 2024. Again, I’m so excited for this year ahead (cautiously…) and I’m happy to have you here with me. Thank you for your boundless affection and support, it means the world. When you hear from me next, it’ll likely be around when The Racc Pack is out!!!

…although that is really only a couple of weeks away. ANYWAY!