Author: Thread of Souls

Autobiography

Operation: Cat Rescue

Thread of Souls

This is an autobiographical post. The names of people and places may be changed.

We decided to write autobiographical posts about the colorful life we have lived. There will be tales of sleeping in a campervan on the beach, of defending a bird’s nest from a snake, and of running away from wolves while sick with bronchitis. There will be tales of diagnosis with PTSD and ADHD and how it changed our lives, of meeting biological family, and of job loss. It’s a tale of overcoming challenges, of finding out who we are, of love, hope, cats, and of a marriage that’s gotten stronger through it all.

Autobiography Post 14

We both love cats. We grew up with a variety of pets in our households. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, baby chicks, and more. But when we first started living together and Dorian worked odd hours at the news station, we wanted a pet to keep me company at home. I had never owned a cat before despite advocating for years with my adoptive parents. Dorian had had many cats as a child. After adopting our first cat, it started a journey of rescuing one other cat to keep, as well as rescuing four others that got adopted.

The Cats We Kept

Danaerys

Dany was our first cat. In 2014 a friend on Facebook posted that his grandma found a kitten out on her farm and no other family with it. We drove to see the kitten and fell in love. After a quick stop at a pet store to get literally all the supplies to own a cat, we came back and brought her home. Dany has delighted us with her laziness, fear of heights, her enjoyment of zip ties and other trash that she deems to be toys, and a very cranky sounding meow.

Gamora

Despite her adult laziness, as a kitten Dany was quite the terror which led to her nickname Gato Loco. So we wanted to get her a friend to play with. We only had one parameter: the cat had to be between one and two years old. After looking at a few shelters, we found our Gamora in 2015. Though it took awhile for her and Dany to get along, now they are good playmates. Gamora has been a source of constant energy and zoomies, a lap cat that will seek you out as soon as you sit down, and a chatterbox.

The Cats That Got Adopted

The first cat we rescued but didn’t keep we called Prince Orange. This was in 2016, I can’t remember now where we found him. We were able to get in touch with a local no-kill shelter and offered him along with a sizeable donation for any care he needed. We were informed he was adopted to a family a week later.

I don’t have a photo of the second cat. It was another male orange, so I called him Prince Orange II. I saw him living in a sewer grate near my work. However, he was feral. With the help of a local shelter that loaned me a trap cage, I was able to capture him with food and bring him to them. Since he couldn’t go with a family, he was released onto a volunteer’s farm where he would be safer and live more comfortably.

The third was a very young cat I found wandering alone in an apartment complex by the trash bins. She was meowing and was very friendly when I came up to her. I took her home in my car. Unfortunately, the shelters were full. However, a friend of ours had recently lost their cat and were looking for a new one. They drove two hours to come get her and named her Cersei.

The final cat we helped was Prince Orange III. We found him on a country road not far from our house, looking confused. He was very loving and friendly and we brought him home. We were able to work with the same no-kill shelter to get him to a new family. This was the one we truly almost kept, because he was so incredibly sweet. He and Cersei were both in 2017.

We have always been advocates for animals and do what we can to volunteer and donate to animal organizations and shelters. One of my earliest memories of Dorian is him rescuing koi fish by hand from being stuck in a neighborhood drain that had run dry and racing them to his parents’ ponds (they are always happy to take on more animals). We love our Danaerys and Gamora and hope the other four cats we helped have long and happy lives!

The Spool of Souls: Updates & News

Interview With Our Book Cover Designer

Thread of Souls

We talk with our book cover artist Vivien Reis!

It was well over a year ago now that we decided to hire a professional book cover designer. We are both creatives and artists, but we didn’t have the tools, time, or graphic design experience to really create the covers we wanted. After many weeks of searching through freelancers on Fiverr, we found Vivien.

We have worked with her for all four books in Thread of Souls and are looking forward to continuing to work with her for the rest of the series and many books to come! We chatted with her about her inspiration, how she goes about designing books covers, and how she got started!

How did you get started as a designer?

I’m self-taught and got started with designing my own book cover nearly five years ago. I collect hobbies and am constantly looking for new ways to be creative. I’ve done pottery throwing, jewelry making, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, furniture repair, painting…the list goes on! Once I started looking into cover designers for my second book, I realized that digital design was a creative avenue I hadn’t pursued before. I love a challenge and I love learning new things so I jumped into the world of book design and haven’t looked back!

I love being part of bringing someone’s book to life. The design process is typically one of the final stages to publication and it’s fun to share in the client’s excitement to release something they may have spent years working on.

How do you begin coming up with ideas for a book cover design?

Every cover design project starts with the client brief. I like getting a list of several items important to the story—they may not all be included in the final design, but it gives me more options to work with. I also like to get some examples of covers that the client likes or thinks fits the tone of their novel well.

Mix that with market research and I typically have a pretty good idea of where to go for the concepts. I usually have a mental image of the concepts and then jump into compositing images. Some ideas don’t work at all and about half of my projects reach a point where I think “this looks terrible, I don’t know what I’m doing!” Much like writing a book, I have self-doubt, no matter how many covers I’ve designed. I’ve learned not to listen to that doubt though and look at each project as a challenge to improve my craft.

Do you have a favorite book type of favorite book genre to design for?

Fantasy books hold a special place for me since that’s what I got started on. My first client was a romantasy author I’ve known for years. I told her I wanted to get started in design and would design the cover for her latest book for free. I had a lot to learn at the time, but I’m so thankful for her! Fantasy books are the most challenging for me, but the most rewarding!

Are there any book covers done by others that you are a big fan of?

So many! I’m constantly looking to improve, and drooling over other designer’s work is part of that. I like to analyze book covers now in a way I never did before. Looking at ways images are layered together, how typography can be its own design element for the book, how other designer’s choose color and contrast to make a cover pop. Some designers I follow are Micaela Alcaino (Ig: @micaelaalcainodesign), Franziska Stern (Ig: @coverdungeonrabbit), and Lexxie (ig: selkkiedesigns).

Do you do any other design work?

I mainly provide interior design and formatting, and book cover design. I work across all genres, and can provide marketing materials as well (ad mockups, social media banners, etc.).

Vivien Reis
www.VivienReis.com/cover-design
Vivienreis.covers@gmail.com

Reviews

Flavors of the Multiverse Cookbook Review

Thread of Souls

Our thoughts on the new Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse official D&D Cookbook.

We received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. We make no money off of this product and are not affiliated with it.

The first D&D official cookbook, Heroes’ Feast, came out many years ago. A couple of the recipes we still use today, though we’ve done our own variations on them over time. Flavors of the Multiverse is a follow-up, providing more fantasy-based cuisine for you to try.

The book is quite pretty and quite hefty. There are 200+ pages of recipes, art, and short stories. It’s well thought out and well-composed, making cooking fun for those who are inexperienced at it.

Is it Healthy?

I wouldn’t consider the book as a whole to be a healthy cookbook. Most of the recipes require sugar and fats. Some of their healthier recipes, like the Chopforest salad, tend to be side dishes rather than full meals. It would be difficult to customize most of these meals to be healthier.

Is it Allergen or Diet-Friendly?

If you have allergies such as dairy or gluten, or follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, you won’t find much here. They stick with the stereotypical fantasy genre meal that more has roots in our own imagination of what medieval life is like rather than the reality. Such as the fact that almond milk was frequently used in the Middle Ages, and that meat was not eaten every day because of hunting variables. Of course, this is set in their own universe, so they have free reign over what they consider standard food.

flavors of the multiverse

Is There a Variety of Recipes?

No. As mentioned above, they stick with what stereotypical fantasy cultures should eat. It would be nice to see more dishes inspired by Asian, African, or Latino cuisine. What they do have is some side dishes, plenty of dinner dishes, various drinks, and desserts. Here’s some of what you can expect:

  • Goldenstars: baked pasty pockets filled with sausage, potato, and leeks. Contains: sugar, gluten, eggs, and dairy.
  • Halfling Game Birds: a chicken wing dish.
  • Fried Soy with Vegetables: a skillet tofu and veggie dish. Contains: soy and sugar.
  • Spiced Pork and Orange Peppers: baked pork on a bed of spicy peppers.
  • Fire-Wrapped Golden Fish: fried fish meal. Contains: gluten.
  • Undermountain Alurlyath: a sherry-based drink with lemon and cucumber.
  • Green Dragon Blackbread Muffins: a pumpernickel-like bread. Contains: gluten, dairy, sugar, and eggs.

Will TTRPG Players Like It?

I believe so. Anything that encourages more cooking at home is a useful tool and a great way to bring people together. There’s plenty of traditional and some more interesting recipes in the book to teach people new cooking skills. Whether you want to cook up a full meal for the game, snacks, or just whip up some drinks, there are so many recipes here to choose from. It has plenty of helpful tips and encourages the use of fresh ingredients. Despite the limitations of its breadth, it is still a fun book to have on hand for most D&D parties.

You can purchase Flavors of the Multiverse here.

The Spool of Souls: Updates & News

Coming in 2024

Thread of Souls

Happy New Year! We did our look back at 2023, and now we look ahead at what is coming for Thread of Souls in 2024.

The Books

The fifth book in the Thread of Souls series will be released this year. Right now, we are looking at the end of May, but it is still too early to set any date in stone.

The audiobook for Phantom Five has been completed! It’s currently in the official ACX review stage and out of our hands. We will post an announcement once it is published! Be on the lookout for the Ash & Thunder audiobook later this year!

The Merch

We have a fun lineup of a lot of new merchandise coming across the year. The official plan is to release two new items each month. We will keep you posted on our monthly check-ins with what is new in our shop.

The Website

You can expect more ongoing blog posts across 2024. We have three a week planned, but there may be more if we have more news, or less if we are on vacation. Things you can expect to read about:

  • More from our “How to Become a Writer” series
  • Book and game reviews
  • Updates, excerpts, and first-look reveals for the books
  • Song recommendations for your TTRPGs or other creative endeavors
  • Autobiographical stories
  • And much more!
The Spool of Souls: Updates & News

Thread of Souls: 2023 Year in Review

Thread of Souls

It’s been a wild year for us here at Thread of Souls. Setbacks in being laid off and moving twice put multiple projects on hold for months. But we still have had plenty of exciting things get accomplished. Here is our 2023 Year in Review!

The Books

We had no new book publications this year since the most recent book, Asunder was released in December of 2022. As these books get more complex and the plot deepens, it takes longer than a year to get them together.

We are currently 80% of the way through the fifth book, and recently released an excerpt preview. This year has been filled with a great deal of writing and editing. It’s been exciting to see this new story come to life!

The audiobook for Phantom Five is also in the final editing stages. Ideally, we’d like to release it before the end of 2023.

The Merch

We added a handful of new merchandise items in our Redbubble shop. Two of our favorites are the Jade shirt and sticker, and the Ruuda-themed Blessed Brew shirt. You can find them here.

The Soundtrack

Our first Thread of Souls soundtrack was released! We’ve been working with the amazing Sean Gartner who has composed such incredible music for the books. You can find it anywhere that you stream music.

Game Sandwich

Dorian launched a new gaming news website called Game Sandwich this past spring. He brought together a group of people who had all been laid off from the same gaming website to create their own platform and promote the stories they felt people wanted to read, rather than what corporate bosses who don’t follow the industry think is “in”. It’s seen absolutely incredible growth this year. Check it out!

Our Lives

Definitely a time of change! After being part of a 50% unexpected company layoff, we moved from our rental house and helped take care of an old family home that turned out to be haunted. Once we got back on our feet, we moved to Chicagoland and have had the best time! We have visited the beaches, gone to museums, joined in on festivals, and even bought a new car. Despite the challenges, we have nothing but gratitude as we come to the end of the year.

What about you? What has been your favorite part of 2023?

The Spool of Souls: Updates & News, Thread of Souls

Holiday Card Feature

Thread of Souls

Happy holidays! We love this time of year so much. We watch holiday movies every Friday, and we do 12 Days of gifts to one another. As you know, we moved into a new place six months ago with pretty much nothing (not even a bed or a sofa), and it’s been great to see the new home finally take shape.

I drew four holiday cards this year featuring characters from our Thread of Souls series. We have Taliesin with “Merry & Bright”, Jade with “Oh Christmas Tree”, Jasita with “Let it Snow”, and Ruuda with “On an Open Fire”.

Enjoy!

Bardic Inspiration

Bardic Inspiration: Sounds of a Cleric

Thread of Souls

I’ve been playing a cleric (and writing a cleric) for many years now. Since then, instrumentals that have that cleric-esque vibe have stood out to me. Here are some of my favorite songs if you want some inspiration for your cleric!

Fight Song / Amazing Grace by The Piano Guys

I have listened to this one so many times. The combination of the two songs results in a very beautiful melody. It’s moving to listen to.

A Thousand Candles by Diane & David Arkenstone

The gentle singing in the background of this song has a very cleric-like vibe. It’s holy and sacred and moving all at the same time.

Be Thou My Vision by Sheldon Pickering

The melody of this piece just makes me feel calm and happy when I listen to it. It feels like the comfort a cleric would take when praying to their god.

Fate by Sean Gartner

Obviously as this is from our own soundtrack, it holds a special place in my heart! I really love Fate, as it has this deep, epic, and heavy feel. It reminds me of the weight of a god’s expectations of a cleric.

Autobiography

Operation: Bird Rescue

Thread of Souls

This is an autobiographical post. The names of people and places may be changed.

We decided to write autobiographical posts about the colorful life we have lived. There will be tales of sleeping in a campervan on the beach, of defending a bird’s nest from a snake, and of running away from wolves while sick with bronchitis. There will be tales of diagnosis with PTSD and ADHD and how it changed our lives, of meeting biological family, and of job loss. It’s a tale of overcoming challenges, of finding out who we are, of love, hope, cats, and of a marriage that’s gotten stronger through it all.

Autobiography Post 13

In our last post we talked about the birds that nested each year in our front porch. Every spring they would build a nest and have babies. Across the summer the babies would fly off on their own adventures.

One year we had a terrible incident. Many of the birds fell out of the nest and onto the concrete. Once we noticed that they didn’t look good, we called a local wildlife rescue and tried to take the birds to them for care, but they passed away on the route. The wildlife rescue told us that sometimes when that happens, for that specific species of bird, the parents will stop taking care of them and they die. I remember just how sad I was, crying and crying over them.

So when, the next year, a single bird fell out of the nest, we knew we wouldn’t let that happen again.

We quickly put him into a box with towels and made sure he was comfortable. We sat the box in the tall bushes that were near the porch and in view of the nest. It was also a spot where we could watch him from the game room window and make sure he was alright.

We were so happy to see the parents attending to him! They visited him multiple times a day. As a couple of weeks passed, we ensured he was taken care of. When it rained, we brought the box to a chair on the covered porch to protect him. We ensured he always looked healthy. And we made certain his parents were still feeding him.

He grew up. Soon he started hopping about on the bush. Then he would fly around from branch to branch. And finally, one day he flew off on his own. I remember how happy we both were that we were able to save his life. It was a very rewarding experience.

TTRPGs

My Favorite Druid Spells

Thread of Souls

As someone who has roleplayed a druid for eight years, and has written a druid character for five years, I definitely am familiar with all things TTRPG druidic. Here are some of my favorite druid spells that I always keep prepared when I play Jade (in no particular order).

Jade

Healing Word

This is something I always have on hand in case of an emergency. With a fully healing focused cleric in the party, there is rarely a need for my druid to need to heal anybody. With this spell, I can deliver life-saving healing at a distance. When playing a TTRPG, crisis situations always happen. This is my “just in case everyone is dying” spell.

Hold Person

This paralysis spell extremely useful both in and out of combat. There’s been a handful of times when I’ve needed to stop someone from escaping, running away, or killing another party member and Hold Person provided that opportunity. It’s another spell that doesn’t get used every game, but is crucial in clutch moments.

Conjure Animals

Not only is this spell useful, it’s just plain fun! I usually end up conjuring a group of large birds to carry party members when we are escaping a dangerous situation, but I’ve also conjured horses to carry civilians, and a rhino to cause a distraction. This spell does get used quite a bit and I make sure it is always prepared.

Jade

Commune With Nature

This is a great spell when you’re lost or confused and need some guidance on what to do next. I like that it can be ritually cast, as well, if you are short on spell slots. You sit in one spot and get to learn about the environment around you, including the populace, plants, and passages. I’ve used it to help find the path and to learn more about new areas we’ve entered. It’s a really fun way to roleplay as a druid, too.

Wind Walk

This is one of the beautiful benefits of being an upper-level druid. Travel is now much faster! Slipping into wind, you can lead your whole party across vast distances very quickly. We’ve also used it to sneak through places (mostly) successfully. I never wake up in the morning without this spell ready to go!

Do you have a favorite druid spell that isn’t on this list? Share below!

Storytelling

How to Become a Writer: Education

Thread of Souls

The second in a series on how to become a writer.

“You write for television? That’s amazing! Did you go to school for that?”

Dorian smiled at the old friend he’d passed in a restaurant that day, many years ago now. “Kind of, yeah. I took classes at a college.”

“That’s so awesome!”

If you hope to become a writer one day, or if you are a writer looking to elevate your career, you’ve thought about education and training needed. After all, most job postings mention required degrees. While there is still a heavy bias against job candidates that don’t have degrees but still have all the skills, paying for higher education isn’t your only option.

The Higher Education Path

If you can afford it and have the time, degrees are a great way to get the training you need, develop a network, and look more impressive to potential employers. Here is a quick FAQ of things to consider regarding degrees.

Q: Does it matter what college I go to?

A: If you go to a college that is well-known for their creative arts programs, you will have a better network after graduation that can help you on your job search.

Q: What degree should I get?

A: Degrees in Writing, English, Journalism, and Communications are all good options. Universities that offer “Fine Arts” degrees are always a plus.

Q: How advanced of a degree should I get?

A: Most employers want a Bachelor’s degree, but an Associate’s is still helpful. A Master of Fine Arts degree looks very impressive, but unless you intend to work for a university a graduate-level degree may not be worth the money and time.

Q: Do writing jobs actually require a degree?

A: It depends on the job you want. As we talked about in our Overview post, there are many career paths. If you want to be a journalist or a copywriter, a degree will be useful. If you want to be an author or a freelance writer, it is less useful.

The Non-Traditional Education Path

If you don’t have the money, time, or desire to pursue a degree (who can blame you?), there are other options. I personally used Coursera for a Certificate in Creative Writing from Wesleyan University, and I completed it all within my free trial period (I am a fast student, though).

No, this is not sponsored by Coursera, though I wish! But I do think they are a great option for people. It’s online and at your own pace. You can get some training and certificates for free or for very little money. Do your own reserach to determine what is best for you, but here are some good programs to look into:

  • Weslyn University’s Creative Writing Certificate program
  • Michigan State University’s Write Your First Novel Certificate program
  • University of Colorado Boulder’s Business Writing Certificate program
how to become a writer

The “Only Training” Path

If any type of formal education isn’t for you, but you want to showcase that you have been trained, there are still options available. The digital age is great! Pursuing professional development is also useful for those with degrees, as well. Make sure that any training you do you list on your portfolio, resume, LinkedIn, or whatever it is that you use for your career.

  • Read informational books on writing skills, especially in your chosen discipline such as creative writing or academic writing
  • Watch 1-hour long talks via Skillshare from industry professionals that talk about how to perfect your craft and give you resources
  • Attend in-person or online seminars and workshops about writing (you’ll need to keep a lookout for upcoming events online)
how to become a writer

You can read the Overview here.

Keep on the lookout for future posts in this series!