Becoming an adult is already hard. Add in involuntary wanderlust, young love, a swarm of bees, and one extremely sassy octopus — Vivian and Frieda will have their hands full as they start new lives with their new familiars!
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I'm very pleased with the state Honeycomb Heart is in. At this point I'm just doing line edits—going through each chapter to correct any grammatical issues, improve flow, etc. I'd like this to be a book you enjoy as an entire story, but also page by page. My other current areas of focus are getting artwork and surveys done so I can get everyone's name for the acknowledgements and info for sending you your rewards! Expect another update within the next couple weeks with more progress on all these fronts.
I wrapped up my current draft of Honeycomb Heart earlier this week. I've got a couple beta readers looking it over and will be giving it a read-through myself starting tomorrow. With the exception of a few chapters that needed reworked or added scenes, this draft was a lot of smaller edits, which is a good sign that we're getting close to the finish line.
In the meantime, I've gotten out my embroidery floss again. Please enjoy an in-progress bee butt.
The beginnings of a bumblebee being embroidered on a felt background
I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through this draft (15 of 24 chapters have been revised). I'm getting feedback from my beta readers as I finish chapters, but so far the book feels to me like it's in a pretty clean state. Aiming to finish this draft within the next two weeks!
Hi everyone, I wanted to start by thanking y'all for your kind words on the last update. The last few weeks have found me in a much better place than the months before that. I finished the latest draft of Honeycomb Heart last week and have started reviewing it for what to work on next. I'm expecting the project to need at least one more developmental (story- and character-focused) draft, and a line-editing focused draft before it's fully completed.
I'm jumping into the next draft with renewed energy, as well as the new knowledge that repeatedly forcing myself to try to work on a chapter where the POV character is feeling depressed while I'm also feeling depressed is a bad idea, actually. It's a little embarrassing to realize you've been walking into the same brick wall over and over, but oh well. We keep learning, and spring eventually comes round again.
I'm also working on the polaroids in the meantime. Aquarium date, anyone? This is the original for the 3rd design; I make them larger for ease of stitching, but as a reminder they'll be printed as these smaller snapshots in the end. Once I've made some headway into the new draft, I'll post an update with my updated progress and a new estimated timeline.
Hi everyone. Sorry that it's been so long since you last heard from me. I'm a fair bit behind the timeline I had initially posted for when I wanted Honeycomb Heart ready to share with y'all. The very quick version is that life things happened (negatively). Backers, there will be some more detail below. But the most important information is that I'm still working on the book, and it'll be a matter of when it's ready to send out, not if. The lesbian coming-of-age familiar-accompanied cross-country roadtrip is happening. Its arrival can be slowed, butit can't be stopped.
Hi all, I imagine you've all gotten a million of these emails recently, so I'll keep it short and sweet (fun fact: "Short and Sweet" was Honeycomb Heart's old name, back when it was just a short story). Thank you so much for being here with me!
As I continue to work on getting the book to a finished state, you can expect to see WIP and finalized mini prints, as well as updates as I hit editing/production milestones and send out surveys.
Thanks again for joining me, and I hope your December is off to an excellent start,
Honeycomb Heart is a sapphic romance featuring two young women from Hex, a fictional and magical country populated by the descendants of persecuted witches and their animal familiars. Most Hexian girls yearn for their eighteenth birthday, when they receive their familiar. Vivian and Frieda knew that familiars come in all shapes and sizes, but nothing could’ve prepared them for their new companions.
Because of a past family tragedy, Vivian was already dreading having such a close bond to another creature. Receiving a swarm of several hundred bees as her familiar doesn’t do much to change her opinion. With her swarm refusing to settle down in the meadowlands she knows best, her relationship with her familiar is off to a rocky start.
After eighteen years of dealing with asthma and overprotective mothers, Frieda is craving the freedom of adulthood. Her new familiar Koi is just as ready for adventure as she is — unfortunately, there’s only so much that an octopus can go out and do in the landlocked center of Hex. Frieda knows that Koi deserves better than being stuck in an aquarium tank for the rest of their lives. She’s just scared she can’t provide that for her familiar.
When a chance encounter unites Vivian and Frieda, they embark together on an unplanned journey across Hex, searching forest, desert, and coast for a place where their familiars can not only survive, but thrive. None of this adventuring was on sullen and anxious Vivian’s bucket list. Nor was catching feelings for her travel companion as they endure homesickness, heat stroke, existential dread, and one (1) mountain goat. Yet as the options for potential new homes narrow, Vivian fears that even if she does find the perfect place for her familiar, it won’t be the same place that Frieda and Koi choose…
Launching November 12th, 2025, Honeycomb Heart will be released in ebook and paperback. Honeycomb Heart can be read as a standalone novel, but will have a sequel following the same characters in the near future. Join the campaign to fund its initial publication, get your name in the acknowledgments, and potentially unlock options for hardcover format, as well as other bee- and octopus-themed goodies…
Honeycomb Heart is part of The Book Bazaar. Check out other participating projects for free cross-collab rewards!
