I hope you're happy, healthy, and wealthy!

I don't know if you saw my Instagram post earlier today, but I was Today-Years-Old when I learned you have to have fifty (50) subscribers on YouTube before you can livestream. Ridiculous, right?

The thing is, I only have eight (8) followers right now. For the most part, I don't know who they are, but I'm so glad they've subscribed before I've even figured out what to do with the channel.

Which is where you come in!

I would love to livestream trying out recipes from the Danube region with y'all! I was planning to do this tomorrow around 2:00 or 3:00 PM, you know, chat with y'all about fun facts and ideas for my books while trying out recipes from the area majority of my characters originate from. I could also talk about other things, like my writing degree, writing tips, character development, etc. But YouTube, like Instagram, foiled my plans. Mainly YouTube though since that's the platform contracted with BackerKit.

So I can't livestream unless y'all to hit that subscribe button on my YouTube channel.

I promise this isn't a trap. Hitting the subscribe button is completely free, takes about three (3) seconds, and I promise not to flood your notifications with random videos of my cat (unless, of course, you want cat videos?) or other unwanted spam. I mean, even if you take a look at the page now, you'll see most of the videos are from 2022 and 2023, and that I've only recently begun to add other things to the channel. After all, my go to for most of my posts is Instagram. But I digress. 

The point is that, if you're not sure about subscribing, that's fine. But, here's what you'd be getting in return: 
 

The privilege of being among the first fifty (50) people to witness whatever chaos I decide to livestream. And, trust me, there will be plenty of chaos. That chaos could be art, could be cooking/baking disasters, could be me trying to figure out how livestreaming works. Who knows?

One thing is for sure though: It's going to be an adventure for all of us!

So, here's my promise to you:

I won't spam you, I won't send you thousands of notifications, and you probably won't receive much information about the channel outside my BackerKit campaigns (and I'm using plural becuase I have faith you'll continue supporting my projects.) when I tell you I have a new livestream happening.

All you'll recieve from me is good vibes and the knowledge that you helped me reach a simple goal of hitting YouTube's minimum follower count.



So, if you're ready, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/@thejsliving

Thanks for being awesome, and sorry for the shameless self-promotion! Promise I'll make it up to you with quality content... eventually. 

XOXO

J.S. Living


P.S. Have you all been answering this weeks polls? I've posted one at the bottom of this email just in case you've forgotten! 

P.S.S. We're still over $200 away from the next stretch goal. Let's try to hit it this week so you can get your reward! 

Hey, hey Bloodlings! What's up? It's ya girl J.S. Living. 

I hope you're feeling happy, healthy, and wealthy. I'm wearing my pink and teal glasses, a grey and black romper, a red sweater, and my Spirited Away bonnet because IT HAS BEEN A WEEK. And, on that note, I need to apologize.

I'm sorry I've been MIA for a bit. I had an event this past weekend, and my chronic fatigue and personal life didn't want to take a backseat this time, so I had to deal with that. Still dealing with it, honestly. But I'm here. Ready to chat, and to give you the Poll Package for Backerkit week 2.

If you've already pledged to my campaign, thank you so much! 

If you haven't had a chance to do so, I want to remind you that every dollar helps, and $2 gets your name in the book! 

Okay. Okay. Enough self-promo. I know you're here for Trivia answers, so let's jump into it.

As you may know, Blood Lies is a companion to The Brotherhood of Blood, or BoB. A lot of the things I wrote in the first draft of BoB definitely stuck, while other things came to me during the first set of edits, or entirely after when I conceived the ideas for Blood Lies. One example of this is Indigo and Islyn being twins. In BoB, they've always been siblings, and their backstory is pretty tragic. But it didn't occur to me that, the reason their stories were so sad, was because they shared a womb. Now, I know their journeys are separate but intertwined, and that makes their stories more worth it to tell. 

Now, unfortunately, I can't write every human character from BoB into Blood Lies, but the ones with fascinating tales to tell? Love them! 

Especially because I majored in Anthropology, the study of people and their culture, back in undergrad.   There, I learned that stories matter. Perspective matters. And it's our job to record them.

Another thing I learned from those courses is that our species, homo sapiens, are the most violent, self-serving, cut throat, form of human there ever was. So much so that we basically eradicated the species before us, homo naledi, just so we could be on top. There's also a rumor that called the Uncanny Valley theory that may have something to do about it, but I like to chalk that up to coincidence.

The reason I'm telling you this is because I want you to understand the level of crazy you're going to be dealing with in Mihrihmah's story. Now, Mihrihmah herself is a bit timid.   But her father...well, he's an assassin and specializes in killing people. Unlike his daughter, though, he's a run of the mill human. Just obsessed with revenge and getting the job done. That said, he's not a fully fleshed out character at the moment, so I don't want to say too much about him. Just remember when you read Mihrihmah's story that her father is HUMAN. 

What I don't know is if he's mixed with something else. Take for instance werewolves or Selkies. They have human forms, but they can also take on the forms of animals like wolves and seals respectively. If I were to mix her father with something else, would we still be able to call him human? Or, is human a term relegated only to homo sapiens? 

Why don't you tell me your answer in the comments? Like this content? Want more? Comment "Blood Lies" to pledge to my Backerkit project, play Trivia, and learn more fun facts about my book! 

We're about halfway through the campaign, and it's time for you guys to shine by sharing my campaign, and a few others, with your friends, family, and socials so we can unlock Stretch Goals together!

When we reach $1000 on my campaign, everyone will receive an additional short story. Now, I can't say from who yet (because I have four ideas and I want y'all to vote on them as we get closer to the end of the campaign), but I have so many cool ideas for how to give them to you and what kind of paper I'd use.

I'm really excited about this Stretch Goal, and I hope you are too. As of 16 September, we're only $277 away, so let's make it happen! 

But, let's be real: I can't do this project without y'all. And neither can my fellow creators. So, please continue sharing and pledging. Here's a few projects that could use some love: 

Don't forget to answer the poll below! 

Wow! Y'all we blew through Stretch Goal 1 by Day 2!

That means everyone gets stickers! If you're on a digital tier, it'll be a PDF of a sticker sheet. If you're on a physical tier, you'll get stickers in the mail. If you're on a tier with both, you'll get both!

I'll run a poll to see which of these designs y'all want. You get to choose 5!



Now it's time to focus on Stretch Goal #2: An additional short story!

If we hit $1000, you'll get an eighth story! For physical backers, it'll come in the mail as an insert. For digital backers, you'll receive a digital copy of the story. If you backed a level with both, you'll receive both!

When we get closer to the end of the campaign, I'll run a poll asking you which character you want the additional story from!


We're only $325 or so away, so I know we can do it! Let's make Day 3 Successful, yeah!

Here's some more in progress photos of the new artwork to keep the momentum:

Mihnea is the son of Vladimir Tepés, or Vlad the Impaler. The Brotherhood of Blood (2026) is his story. So, of course, he made it into Blood Lies.




Voica's father is an assassin, so it makes sense that she'd know how to fight and kill. Her mood board is barred on a present day version of her, but Blood Lies is historical fiction, so the art is going to reflect that.




Islyn is in her 20s in this picture because her story takes place in the early 2000s. Is that historical fiction? Depends on who you ask,  but I'm counting it since the pre-digital world was vastly different from rust we have now. In this image she's taking a hike to clear her mind and think of ways she can locate her twin brother, Indigo. 

When Nelts and I were discussing poses, this is what she came up with. I think they turned out great. What about you?

Shiloh's campaign also has some pretty art work, and her book is all about mermaids. So, don't forget to back my Cross-Collab partner.



Last, Week 1 polls close soon. So make sure you answer them ASAP! Week 2 polls are open, and I'll be sending the Poll Package for it soon.

That said, some of Week 2 Poll answers are in this update! Especially the one attached to this update. So, what are you waiting for? Go earn some points! 

I'm over here crying because I've literally never funded this fast in my life. I'm so proud of us! 

Not only did you all show up for me, which I appreciate from the depths of my heart, but you did it on Day 1! I'm so happy! 

Like, OMG! I'm overwhelmed! 

Okay. That's enough tears for now, unless you want to see them on my Instagram page too. 

🩸Everyone gets a FREE art print because we funded! If you're on a digital tier, it'll be a digital reward. If you're on a physical tier, it'll be a physical reward!



🩸Everyone who backed in the first 48 hours receives the Early Bird Reward of a Challenge Coin! (Don't worry, I updated the campaign to match this. I initially thought the glow in the dark pins were going to win, but I was wrong. Who knew?)



🩸Share my campaign on socials so we can unlock our first stretch goal at $500: Stickers! (We're only $34 away!)



🩸Don't forget to answer the polls so you can win prizes!