Theme Revelation: Stories, Poems, and Art

         Now that I’ve been participating in the April A to Z Blog Challenge for many years, I can lead up to this year’s Theme Revelation by way of a little review of themes of the past.

        Did you enjoy last year’s mythical botany in 2024?  This year I’ll have magical dandelions and mushrooms.  If you’ve enjoyed all the fantastical creatures in 2022, 2019, 2018, and 2017, allow me to assure you that this year there will be strange and mysterious creatures including Rainlings, Venusians, ineffable feathersquids, witches’ familiars, a Blue Thing, and of course dragons, to name just a few.  If you enjoyed the magical places we visited in 2021, this year we’ll be travelling to Xyblik’s Cosmic Emporium, the Yem-Thress Zone of Contention, the Home for Dispossessed Familiars, the cloud decks of Venus, and many other strange worlds.  Or perhaps you enjoyed the block prints I featured in 2023, 2020, 2019, and 2017?  Well, I’ll once again be featuring block prints as the vast majority of the illustrations, and this year the block prints will all be my own.  If you enjoyed snippets from my own writing in 2019 and 2018, I’ll be featuring more of my work this year.  And I’ll even continue with my A to Z custom of ending each letter with a moral (or two), because what’s the point of having a pulpit if you can’t preach a bit?

        Here are all those previous years, if you need a quick review…

2024 - The Botany of the Realms of Imagination

2023 - Alphabet Squared: an Alphabet of Block Printed Alphabets

2022 - How to Make a Mythical Creature

2021 - Mythical and Imaginary Places

2020 - Nursery Rhymes (and their Block Printed Illustrations)

2019 - On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination

2018 - Characters from My Own Books

2017 - Block Print Artists

2016 - Mythical Creatures

        And now… What is the theme that allows me to include a sampling of all this most excellent stuff that I hope you’ve enjoyed through the years?  Why, it’s my new book: Bittersweetness & Light, a collection of magical short stories, poetry, and art!  All through the alphabet I’ll be sharing snippets from the book, teasers, fun facts, behind-the-scenes insights, illustrations, and more.  The book was released in January, and has been doing its best since then to bring a little joy and hope into the world wherever it goes.  Goodness knows we need as much sweetness and light as possible, so I hope you’ll join us.

        To start us off today, I’ve got Felicity & Comfort’s Bottled Purrs, the Original & Best Surefire Remedy for Listlessness, Melancholy, Loneliness, & Chills!  Shown here is the version that appears in the book, with colors added digitally from the black and white original, which is a rubber block print.  I find that purrs are utterly fascinating from a scientific standpoint, and also a bit of a mystery as to why humans should find this random animal sound so marvelously comforting.  But whatever the reason, they are definitely a panacea - and when you get them bottled, you don’t even need to worry about allergies!  It’s wise to stock up and make sure you always have plenty on hand, for yourself and to share.

        In my standard A to Z tradition, I’ll be starting early so that I can take a few days off during the month of April.  Join me in getting a jump on the alphabet, or come back in April, when I’ll direct you each day to the correct letter so you can stick with the proper schedule if you prefer.  Either way, I’ll see you soon!

        The moral of this introduction is that I’ll be spending the month trying to show you why my book is almost as good as purring.  But also, the more overwhelming Things feel, the more important it is that we keep reaching out to each other - friends and strangers alike - with all the wisdom, joy, beauty, hope, and humor we can summon.  And since that’s what the A to Z Blog Challenge can do, that’s why I’m here, and that’s why I hope you’ll join me.  To see who else is revealing their A to Z theme, look here.

        Question: Cats or dogs?  Should Felicity & Comfort try bottling tail-wagging, too?

[Picture: Sustainably Harvested, rubber block print by AEGNydam, 2020 (originals sold out), from Bittersweetness & Light, 2025 (See NydamPrints.com).]