Hey, all. I've got a lot of important stuff to say, and most of it is not happy. Remember last time when I posted and asked for two weeks off of Slightly Damned? I need more time off. I feel like such a jerk, but I just don't think I can update SD properly this month. I've got way too much on my plate.

Here's the story: the family emergency was that my grandmother was terminally ill. With my dad's help I was able to take a flight on very short notice to fly from Vermont to California to see her in the hospital. There was a chance I wasn't going to make it in time to see her, but she held in there for me. I spent as much time with her as possible, and I even spent a couple nights in her hospital rooms. But eventually I had to leave her and say my final good-byes. It was extremely difficult for my whole family because she was so close to us. We all lived in the same household and she raised me and my older brothers like a third parent. But I was obligated to go to MoCCA and our family didn't know how long she would still be around...

So I came back to Vermont, and then the next day my friends and I drove to New York City to attend MoCCA Fest. And it was a great convention! I didn't sell much, but the best things about it were getting to meet old and current readers of the comic, meeting old and new friends, trading minicomics, and seeing the city itself. Unfortunately I heard that I missed a dedicated superfan who was nice enough to buy books, but... perhaps next time, friend! Sorry we missed each other! And thanks to all the awesome people I got to talk to at the convention. I feel like the experience rekindled my creative spirit a bit, since I've been in a bad place for a while now.

But... the night the convention ended (yesterday), I heard from my mom that my grandmother passed away. It breaks my heart to know that she's gone forever, but I'm glad I got to say good-bye.

Because of all that, and due to the heavy emotional toll this is taking, I'm really behind on work. My final project in school is to make a 16~24 page comic by May 2, and I've barely started. Plus I'm under contract for an internship, which is taking a long time. Unfortunately, that means Slightly Damned is the lowest priority project this month, so I have to put it on temporary hiatus. I guess the good news is that you'll be getting a 16~24 page minicomic about Lucky and Guff soon?

You have my sincerest apologies. I wish I was responsible enough to have a buffer... but I wasn't. It pains me to have to flake on Slightly Damned again, but I feel I have no other choice right now. I'd rather not update than force myself to make crappy updates due to exhaustion and stress.

But! I have a long summer vacation to look forward to that stretches from May through August. During that time I plan to finish The Legend of Buwaro: Soprano of Time, put together Book Three, create a Patreon account with monthly rewards, and maybe do some double updates! I might even take commissions at some point. I also have some leftover books, plushies, and buttons from the convention that I would like to sell online. I'll be updating the site with information about how to buy those soon.

Lastly-- and I know this is a lot to ask, since I'm already begging for your understanding-- but Slightly Damned was nominated for two awards in the 2013 Ursa Major Awards. If you sincerely enjoy the comic and honestly think it deserves to win, please take the time to vote for it and your favorites in each category. I would really appreciate it, and it might help new readers discover Slightly Damned.

Thank you for being so understanding.

Special thanks to Erin for giving me this lovely piece of art at MoCCA! It really cheered me up and I wanted to share it with everyone.

And thank you, Mamang, for always taking care of me.