Excuses for Friendship
Posted on June 23rd, 2026
Ever wondered how Alex managed to befriend Father Stephen? Here’s how!
Alex Benedict is a consulting mage, coming in on murder cases when there’s evil magic afoot.
Father Stephen is a priest at the Temples, performing various services to the community including weddings, purifications, and other errands.
The two of them meet on an unusual case, and find excuses to see each other again and again, until their friendship is fully cemented.
This short in the Consulting Magic universe goes back to before we met Julian, but after Alex was established in his consulting career, to the very day he first met our redoubtable Father Stephen.
Find it on Amazon today!
Categories: Series and Books, Words Words Words
Tags: book, consulting magic
April 2026 Patreon Sketches
Posted on June 15th, 2026
Whoops, forgot to share these here! It was a fun month with some weird prompts on Patreon, and some extra art, too.
I did all of these with watercolor this time because reasons. Enjoy!
- Kelly wanted an Easter themed dragon. Bunny! (sold)
- SaraBeth asked for a flowering tree, and has received. (sold)
- Jefferson prompted a favorite game, Sea Salt & Paper, and gets an alt colorway mermaid. (sold)
- Sara Elise wanted a little girl caterpillar, and got this shiny pink girl.
- Allison asked for a happy turtle and gets this little cartoon guy.
- Eric prompted “sea salt and pepper” and gets this mini surrealist painting. (sold)
- Amy B wanted a spring crow and gets a fledgling with a peanut. (sold)
- Rebecca S wanted sunflowers, because y’all are determined to make me paint flowers.
- Jo’s path through a spring forest is a little abstract but you know, tiny sketch card. (sold)
- Joanne also wanted flowers and gets daffodils, because tulips were last month.
Bonus! I did some random brush-and-ink sketches, one of which was to make up a little deficit in Snow Leopard sketch cards.
- Bat! (sold)
- A bee visiting an odd sort of flower
- A crow with its beak open (sold)
- A crow with its beak closed
- A cat lounging and starting into your soul
- A cat sleeping like an absolute dingus
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: allison, amy b, brush and ink, eric, jefferson, jo, joanne, kelly, patreon, pen and ink, rebecca s, sara elise, sarabeth, watercolor
Diffidence and the Rift Audiobook
Posted on May 28th, 2026
Written by: Amy Crook
Narrated by: Gabriel McKnight
Diffidence Obedience Atonement Smythe is a grad student who prefers to never use his full name. Ever. He’s finishing a PhD in extemporaneous magic, and his research project for his dissertation is closing the Rift between worlds that he accidentally opened when he was thirteen. Obviously, caffeine is an important part of his life.
Ergi Thusol-Von Klempt is a half-orc who works in the infamous Goblin Market, selling magical pastries to those who need them—or, in Diff’s case, just want them. He’s got bubblegum-pink hair, lovely lilac skin, and a smile like sunshine, at least if you ask Diff. Ergi is intrigued by his frazzled, but handsome, frequent customer.
The Goblin Market is a magical space that anyone can find if they truly need it, and most people visit once or twice if at all. Diff is there several times a week as he untangles the layered mysteries of the Rift, and has had years to develop his crush on Ergi.
In this cozy urban fantasy, Diff and Ergi find some solutions to life’s problems in the Market, along with the courage to talk to each other.
Diff might even find a future beyond the Rift that has consumed over a decade of his life.
Categories: Series and Books, Words Words Words
March 2026 Patreon Sketches
Posted on April 30th, 2026
Everyone’s in a spring mood this month, including a commemorative coin from ancient Rome.
- Andria wanted a lucky fox, and gets this cheeky fellow
- Joanne asked for a hare gazing at the moon
- Amy B wanted Raccoon (and specified the cat) so here she is in her ideal form, a sphere (sold)
- Gill prompted, “Beware the Ides,” and I found this coin that Brutus put out after the assassination. Cold, Brutus, really cold. (sold)
- SaraBeth wanted ART from Murderbot saying, “Make peace or else.” Since ART doesn’t have a physical body the same way some of us do, we get word art! (sold)
- Molly asked for an Easter egg
- Sky wanted something spring-ish, and suggested tulips, so here we are (sold)
- Jeff prompted “Onlyferns” and reminded me of Opus, so this is the result (sold)
- Lila asked for a fox amongst flowers and frolicking occurred
- Eric wanted one of the cats, and since I was already doing Raccoon, here’s Trotsky! (sold)
Categories: Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: amy b, andria, cat, copic marker, eric, gill, jefferson, joanne, lila, molly, pen and ink, sarabeth, sky, watercolor
Sunrise 1
Posted on April 9th, 2026
Sunrise 1, 9″x12″ ink and watercolor on paper
I waffled for days about the title to this before hitting on the very simple, easy, descriptive title, lol.
A while ago Shayla Maddox did a whole photo series where she woke up every day at sunrise to photograph it from her Hawaiian home. These were so colorful I got inspired to paint some backgrounds in the same palette and then immediately did nothing with them, oops. I have one other of these, which I actually have a plan for, so hopefully that’ll be April’s finished art piece.
This is a larger painting, as is the second one coming up, so it doesn’t entirely fit on my scanner. I decided to go with scanning what fit rather than trying to piece together multiple scans, so the scanned image is technically a detail shot.
Sunrise 1, 9″x12″ ink and watercolor on paper
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: brush and ink, for sale, shayla maddox, sunrise, watercolor
A Suspicion of Serpents
Posted on April 6th, 2026
Consulting Magic Book 5
It’s a manor house mystery for book five of the Consulting Magic series!
Alex Benedict-St. Albans is a mage with a myriad of skills to his name, from investigating murders to warding a household. Other nobles exacerbate his usual grumpiness, but underneath everything he cares for his chosen few.
Julian St. Albans-Benedict is a plant mage and Alex’s husband, drawn into the murder investigations despite himself. Alex’s sweeter half, Julian has a kind word for everyone.
Lucas Chudleigh is a good friend to both, and when he invites them to a weekend party at his manor house to celebrate his completed renovations, they reluctantly accept. The good doctor Geoff Tamlinson, Chudleigh’s beau, is at least there to help alleviate the boredom of high society.
When there’s a murder at the snowbound party, even the police can’t get through to investigate. Alex and Julian are left on their own to try to catch the killer before anyone else dies.
This cosy magical mystery revisits our romantic heroes for a fifth time, following their established relationship, their cats, and their friends into another adventure!
Tags: mm romance, established relationship, murder mystery, food, cats, cosy mystery, cosy fantasy, found family, modern fantasy, contemporary setting, magic as science, science as magic, grumpy/sunshine, go read book 1 first if this sounds good to you, tw: emetophbia
Categories: Series and Books, Words Words Words
Tags: book, consulting magic
February 2026 Patreon Sketches
Posted on April 2nd, 2026
Almost forgot to post these here!
- Gil asked for a birthday cake – happy late bday, darling! (sold)
- Kelly asked for a willow, wisp or tree, and got one of my spooky tree and ghost arts (sold)
- SaraBeth wanted Gonzo, and Gonzo wanted turtles on his shirt (sold)
- Amy B wanted a Cheshire Cat, and got this odd little creature with sparkly pink and also a rainbow tail (sold)
- Jefferson prompted “WTFebruary” and tbh I just wanted to draw this cat I saw on tumblr (sold)
- Karla asked for a dust bunny dragon, and gets this scruffy gal (sold)
- Nick asked for a Beautiful Disaster so I drew him Lestat
- Eric wanted 2×1, so he got his Gundam Wing boys in bad stick figure glory (sold)
- Andria wanted a sparkly purple birthday cupcake – happy late bday to you as well!
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: amy b, andria, cat, copic marker, dragon, eric, gil, gundam, jefferson, karla, kelly, lestat, muppets, nick, patreon, pen and ink, sarabeth, watercolor
More Art This Way »
