Hey, !

Some time ago, I saw a comment asking other readers what they imagined Asan from Guarded by the Snake looks like, because they had trouble visualizing him. I already commissioned NSFW art of our scaly bodyguard and his charge some time ago, but I can't show that off everywhere. Instagram would ban me so fast!

(But if you'd like to take a look at Asan and Kim having some intense spicy times, as well as some other naughty art, help yourself right here 😁)

Well, behold the brand new art made by Eyrica! Asan's wearing a bulletproof vest, and since shehru spikes are normally hidden inside their bodies, this piece of art is perfectly safe to view.

I love how the artist captured Asan's initial sternness and their delicious size difference 👀

Now, onto other news!

If you're an audiobook reader, I have the pleasure to announce that Tantor has just released my monster arranged marriage novella, Wed to the Ice Giant, on audio! It's on Audible as well as on Audiobooks.com, and you can check it out here.

And last but not least, let me get a little personal.

I got very ill in February. I was working hard to write Devil's Doom on time. (For me, that means 14-hour workdays, little sleep, and no weekends for an extended period of time. Also, basically no movement until my entire body hurts. My work hygiene is atrocious.) During that time, I went down with the flu, which turned out to be the worst case in my entire life. I didn't allow myself to recover, just kept working despite the fever, brain fog, and other unpleasant symptoms.

Cue post-flu complications leading to a surgery and another unpleasant recovery period.

I'm not being dramatic when I say this entire experience made me vividly aware of my mortality.

Now, the most painful realization I had after I finally started getting on my feet was that I did this to myself. If only I had organized my schedule differently and given myself some breathing room between books, I would have managed both writing and illness without major drama.

Now, why am I telling you this? Well, I cannot keep going like this. A few difficult changes had to be made.

I have now rearranged my schedule to only release two more books this year (that's Devil's Dance in December and A Very Killer Christmas in November), and it's a huge change from last year, when I wrote and published six books, and repackaged and edited one more book, bringing the total to seven.

I had very ambitious publishing plans for this year, but they have to be postponed.

I'm also working with a therapist to solve the issues that led to working myself into severe illness. It's quite common among indie authors, incidentally. We sacrifice our mental and physical health, as well as other things (like relationships), to keep up with the demanding pace of the indie book market. It's a choice, of course, and there are ways to be a thriving author without getting ill. There is always a way out - only, sometimes we need a wake-up call to start looking for a better solution. Mine was a very painful one.

If you wrote me an email in the past five months (I started deteriorating in January before completely collapsing in February) and didn't get a reply, please, forgive me. I'm still not up to 100%, though I'm slowly sorting through all the things I've neglected during my illness.

What else? It's scary committing to publish less frequently. This is my livelihood, and making such a drastic change is bound to affect it. I have trust in my books and love them fiercely, and I know they will find many new readers in the future. But I also wanted to ask you for a favor: if you love one or more of my books and have a chance to recommend them to others, please do! Readers have so much power.

Thank you for being here, .

Lots of love,

~Layla