Hello!

I hope this email finds you well and immersed in wonderful books and stories. I've got some exciting updates and recommendations to share with you!

As I mentioned in my last email, I've been hard at work on my board game, Iron Wilds. Creating illustrations for the game, mostly of fantastical beasts, has reignited my passion for drawing.

This process has been incredibly beneficial for my worldbuilding in the Earth Medieval series (the world of Angel from the Rust). Some creatures and nations that I hadn't envisioned before emerged naturally from this creative process. It's amazing how one project can fuel another, right?

Movie Recommendation: Wild Robot

Recently, my family and I went to the cinema and saw Wild Robot. I was really excited to see this one since I had read the book to my kids to get them ready for the movie. (We hardly ever go to the cinema, but the movie we saw before that was Transformers One, which I also reccomend. I guess we're on a bit of a robot kick!) If you haven't heard the reviews already, Wild Robot is fantastic. It’s visually stunning and packs an emotional punch. There were plenty of laughs, and there were a few times I teared up; judging by the way others were rubbing their eyes at the end of the movie, my guess is that I wasn't not the only one. It's a great movie about family, for family.

Teaching Adventures with Dead Languages

In my world as a high school English teacher, I'm currently guiding my 10th graders through the epic poem Beowulf. This ancient text was originally penned in Old English--not the English Shakespere spoke, but practically a different language. (By the way, Shakespere spoke and wrote in early modern English.)

Here's a sample of from Beowulf, showing what English looked/sounded like over 1000 years ago:

This got me pondering: how far back in time could one go before English becomes unrecognizable? This video does a great job answering that question Fascinating stuff!

Life in Nicaragua: Behold the Elephant Beetle!

I've lived in Nicaragua for around 10 years, and during my time here, I've seen a wide variety of creatures ranging from the beautiful to the bizarre. This weekend, my family and I came across this beauty.

As I mentioned before, I love to draw creatures. But I don't think I could dream up something as cool as this big guy above. All I can do I make copies and/or combinations of what already exists. This just goes to show that creation is the well that waters our imagination.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. I look forward to sharing more updates with you soon!

Until next time!

Jason

​

​

How you can support my work

As an English teacher in Nicaragua, I make my living from the donations of generous supporters. So for me, my goal in writing and creating isn’t just to fulfill a hobby; they are ways to help earn income for my family.

But times are tough, which is why I recently started my Patreon page. If you’d like to get exclusive sneak peeks into my work (and at the same time support a teacher/writer trying to make a difference in Central America), please consider being one of my Patrons. I’d be grateful for any support. Thanks!

​

​

​