🎇 It's a Hot One!
July 2026 edition of the Boopish Newsletter
Topics (click the link to go directly to the thing):
New book site shop link
Article / News
Eclectic Etymology: MICKLE
Short story link: A Misplaced Justice
Book Updates
The Other Exiles new in store
Kickstarter Update
All Kickstarter orders have been shipped and (hopefully) arrived at their destinations! (there are 2 outstanding orders that I need your survey input. Please check your email). I’ve learned a lot doing this campaign, and I’d like to try it again - there are things I’ll do differently, and now that I understand a little more about the back end of the process, next time should go smoother.
With that said, I do have another Kickstarter on the horizon, with the planned launch happening early next year. I haven’t decided on stretch goals or anything yet, as I’m still pricing and building the page. But you can see the preview page by clicking on the banner to go there and follow!
Book Shop is Open!
My new shop on cliffcavebooks.com is officially live! If you’ve been trying to get away from Amazon, or any other big box name, you can get eBooks (and print books) direct from my shop! I’ll also make books available sooner, and I plan to eventually carry exclusive stuff there. Currently, you can get the Audun bookmark, I’ve added my soaps to the site, and there are a few extra copies of the limited edition Kickstarter cover if you missed out on the campaign. There’s more to come!
This is my first go at creating a shop where you can create an account and keep tabs on your stuff, etc. I’m using Cloudflare’s reCAPTCHA system to keep out the T-1000s. If you have any suggestions, feel free to use the “support” link in the footer!
📰 On Prescriptive Writing Advice
I’ve been working on an article about prescriptive writing advice and how sentiments of this sort has been ramping up in frequency lately, invading writing spaces. It’s a topic that has been nagging at me for a little while as I navigate the unsubscription process to a lot of these “advice” peddling channels. I’ve been hesitant to finish and post it because as much as I hate it, indie authors are built on a “brand,” and there are people that are hyper sensitive to anything negative, which could cause my “brand” to get cancelled.
If I decide to finish and post, I’ll link it in next month’s newsletter.
The thing I will say is: there’s a stereotype that goes something like; “If you can’t do [skill], then teach [skill].”
Ultimately, you will never find me telling anyone how to write.
📜 Eclectic Etymology (new section)
MICKLE
(adj., n.) Great, large; much, abundant; a great deal.
Mickle is a dialectal survival of Old English micel, mycel, which means "great, intense, big, long, much, many."
[Fun Fact: A “micelle” is a sphere made up of amphipathic (water AND oil loving) molecules with the fatty end tucked in the center and the water-loving end on the outside. It’s how soap works to clean dirt and oil! I know it’s not a mickle, but the Old English micel reminded me of that ha!]
The common Middle English form was muchel (as in, much, see that?). The phonetic development of the dialectal survival is obscure and might reflect Old Norse influence. Middle English had muchel-what (pron.) "many various things."
I challenge you to use the word “mickle” sometime this week!
🔖 Short Stories
A Misplaced Justice, a short story written for some Writing Battle competition, is a gothic horror story sent out last month, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s the link:
I have 3 back-to-back competitions during this month through Writing Battle, NYC Midnight, and Not Quite Write. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that the Not Quite Write competition heavily favors Australian authors (which is fine I suppose, since they’re based in Australia), and I won’t be signing up for their lineup in the future.
Coming to Substack on the 21st of July: Should?
📖 Book Updates
Work In Progress Updates
Infinity Hall: I’ve completed a few more short entries for Infinity Hall, and hope to get the novellas completed soon as well!
Metaxysm: I’m now officially working on the SECOND expansion, “Investigator.” If you’ve read the book, you know the ending splits into 3 different timelines. Each of these timelines will get their own novella, and eventually will be a combined book for another future Kickstarter (beyond Infinity Hall).
The Other Exiles
The Other Exiles is a supplementary novella to the Northern Roseaarde series based around 2 different characters. If you backed the Kickstarter, you should have gotten your download link. Otherwise, it’s available on my website now, and preorder everywhere else for later this year.
As a forewarning, it’s important to read the original series to understand and get the full feeling from this novella. It’s also a little darker than the main series, dealing with subjects that are uncomfortable and expected within the circumstances of people living in a dystopian exile.
💲Extras and Deals
When Audra goes off to university by herself for the first time, she quickly realizes that nothing will ever be the same again… Only $2.99 for the E-Book!
🫧 LH Soaps & Sundries updates
VISIT THE SOAP PAGE HERE1 to check out the “final call” soaps and/or the scrub bars.
This site is set to be closed soon, as I have combined all soaps into the Cliff Cave Books web shop. It will be easier for me to track inventory and check any orders in one place!
🎧 Podcast
If you’re self-publishing yourself, or like English etymology, take trip to the podcast!
That’s all for now, thanks for being awesome!