Yes, my friends, you read the title of this email right and I’m going to jump right in because I am ecstatic!

My manga illustrator finished all the sketches for my almost 50-page one shot, Gathering Faith, and LOVEEEEE the way she helped brought this story to life! It is truly everything I had hoped and prayed for. (Let me go grab my tissues right quick…)

There are a few tweaks that need to be done on just a handful of panels, but it is incredible and I am VERY excited to share some of the pages with you! (Keep reading for some sneak peeks! *winks*)

Not only do I have the manga sketches, BUT!

I also have what I am calling the official title logo!

It might need some tweaks once I have the official cover from my illustrator, but this is very much what I imagined concerning the font title and almost cried when I saw it.

Many thanks to one of my besties, Noelle Nichols, for creating this!

And speaking of Noelle, want to hear a fun tidbit that we haven’t publicly announced yet?

Noelle and I are going to be co-releasing our manga together!

Earlier this year, she wrote a super awesome manga called Respire and it is perfect for those who love adventure, family, and new beginnings. Plus, the illustrations (drawn by her) are amazing! 

Now I realize you might be super excited too, but you’re probably REALLYYYY wanting to see those sneak peeks of the sketches right about now. 

Right?

Maybe? 

Do you need more some time to think about if you want to see them or not?

Okay, okay, I suppose I should stop teasing you and just share them! Hehe!

Here are some of my favorite pages from Gathering Faith!

(Please keep in mind these are sketches and may be slightly tweaked in the final form.)

Gah! Are you excited too?! What was your favorite page? Panel Reply to this email and let me know! I would love to hear from you!

Now after sharing all this epicness, you might be wondering when you can get your hands on Gathering Faith. *winks*

I sadly don’t have a solid release date yet, but if you watch my YouTube manga reviews, then you know I’ve been mentioning it will be releasing innnnnn *cue drum roll*

Spring 2021! 

My manga illustrator said her goal is to finish the pages in February and will definitely keep you posted once a publishing date is “locked in.”

And in case I haven’t shared the official blurb (because I tend to forget these things in my excitement), here it is below!

What can stop a call on someone’s life?

Maho has dreamed of going to Japan as a missionary. Her efforts to make that a reality have her crossing the threshold of the grain fields in front of the Tokyo skyline. Yet when a monster refuses to let her pass, her dream seems to go up in smoke.

Now Maho must make a choice.

Listen to the lies the monster spews...or gather her faith and fight back.

Lastly, I have one more piece of exciting news to share with you! (Okay technically two.)

I am kicking off my “Journey of a Non-Illustrating Mangaka” video series this upcoming Tuesday and VERY excited! I have been increasingly passionate about sharing my manga creating journey and encouraging other manga creators who can’t illustrate/draw.

If you’re interested in hearing what this video series will be about, I have it set as a Premiere on YouTube. Also if you click “set reminder,” YouTube will automatically send you an email with a “reminder” to watch it!

Set Reminder on YouTube

My other piece of news is pretty exciting as well!

I have made a Ko-Fi account!

What does this mean?

In this case (and how I am planning to use Ko-Fi), if you are interested in helping support my manga journey financially, supporters can now “leave a tip” (or buy a "coffee" as Ko-Fi calls it) and those funds will go straight to help with publication costs of Gathering Faith (and other future manga). 

This felt like a very big step for me (and admit a little bit of an intimidating one too), but as someone who has increasingly wanted to support other creators by “taking it one step further,” I wanted to offer my supporters the same opportunity to those who were interested.

I Want to Buy You a Coffee!

Please know I am deeply thankful and blessed by everyone’s support and encouragement, financial or otherwise! Many of you have reached out and shared you were praying for me, mentioned you shared my story with a friend, and/or have encouraged me so much along the way.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Thank you very much for being on this journey with me and celebrating this next step. I am so very thankful for you!

May the beginning of 2021 be a joyous one!

Love, 

Laura 

(Psst. Did you snag your free goodies yet? If you by chance missed getting my photo book, a companion to Gathering Faith, visit HERE and type in the password newsletter to download!)