This is me checking in – and still vaguely aware that a month has passed. March has been a blur of work and burnout.

I’ve hit a roadblock, I admit. February was fraught with COVID and post-COVID symptoms, war in Ukraine (not that it ended), and several other less than ideal things. In March, we’ve found ourselves catching up with health issues (or they with us), doctors’ appointments, house renovation prep – and burnout. At least I did; Jakub’s been working hard while I was crashing, but he generally has a healthier approach to work-life balance.

This won’t be a long post – I am trying to catch up on some things, so let me just quickly tell you what we’ve been up to in March.

• Project Aphelion’s website is now live! It’s still work in progress, but we’re getting there. Go give the page a follow, sign up for the newsletter, and tell your friends – we’re almost there with the projects!

• Incitatus, Jakub’s sci-fi thriller novel is going to be available for preorder soon, as soon as I figure out the last details. The book is great, you should definitely check it out. If you sign up for the newsletter, you’ll get the first couple of chapters free!

• Aphelion’s playtests are doing great – we’ve just started a new one in a fantasy setting, and I’ll be talking to you about it soon. Choose-you-own-adventure character & world creation rocks!
• Aphelion Toolkit is in developmental editing, as Jakub polishes the last elements for your future enjoyment. We also have some big news on the topic, but they have to wait a bit. Horses, carriage, you know the drill.
• Herbalist’s Primer is still in production, but I think everything’s going according to the plan – expect a Kickstarter update soon.
• Geologist’s Primer is being written, in every spare moment I have when my rheumatoid arthritis doesn’t flare up, making my hands unusable. Not that many of those lately, but I’m doing my best.

• I’m waiting for the proofs of printed Wayfarer’s Decks – once we have them, all 13 will be available in print-on-demand on DriveThruRPG. We’re currently not planning to make more of them in the coming months, so you’ll have a convenient bundle to pick up all decks at the same time!
• I got Lasik, which might not mean much to you, but I enjoy the lack of glasses on my face after two decades of wearing them. Now, if only my eyes stopped being so dry.

Is that all? Well, there was some more commission work, as I was helping two clients with their Kickstarter projects:

• Earth Under Siege: Flashpoint has raised over $200,000 in the campaign, bringing to life one of the coolest tactical board games I’ve seen;
• Spark Sun RPG is about to end in three days (March 7th), and I need to finish the book layout 🙂

In other news, I really need to get back to the newsletter business, but the last two-three weeks completely ran away from me. I’ve been flirting with burnout for months now (ever since the Kickstarter campaign, if not for longer), and I really should’ve planned a break instead of just crashing like a Tunguska meteorite. Well, live and learn. I’ll try to do better – and I’ve picked up some useful advice on the subject while digging myself out of the crater, so I’ll share it in a separate post.

That’s all for now – hope you’re having an amazing day, and your surroundings have less snow than ours 💖