Hi! I'm on the home stretch of the third book in the Antigone D'Angelo series, titled Witches & Whispers, and I'm here to ask for help. As you may know, self-publishing a book costs money, and I don't have any. The book will need formatting and a cover, and I would like to continue to support the (human) team who's been with me from the beginning, rather than have AI spew some slop.

I'm also super excited to announce the imminent release of my first children's book, Please Don't Feed the Animals. I've been working with a fantastic illustrator and I desperately need to pay her!

Beyond the production costs of both books, there's the price of printing and S&H, advertising, travel and booth fees for events, and the life tax -- surviving while I write, edit, and market my books. Is it all likely to pay off? LOL who knows! Maybe I'll get discovered and picked up by a big-name publishing house. It could happen! The Antigone D'Angelo books are very popular locally, but I've never been able to afford to expand my range and reach a wider audience.

In the meantime, I'm struggling to get by (I've been unemployed since November, 2025, and no amount of job hunting has yielded results). Tbh, the stress and anxiety of not knowing how I'll pay my bills, on top of my health issues, has been debilitating. It's very hard to focus on writing, as I always feel pressure to be earning money. A few months of rent, cat food, and car payments would mean everything to my mental health.

If this GoFundMe goes well, I plan to:

Pay my illustrator and release Please Don't Feed the Animals

Order author copies of all my books for upcoming events (I'm completely out of stock)

Book more author events

Order more business cards

Order more bookmarks

Start working with my cover designer

Advertise to a wider audience

Last year's campaign reached its goal, but didn't go any further, so I didn't reach my stretch goals. If this GoFundMe does REALLY well, I'd make audio versions of my books. That's been a dream of mine for a long time -- I even have a narrator in mind.

It's hard to ask for help, and I've been humbled and honored by the amount of love and support I've already received. Times are hard for many, many people, including some who are very dear to me, and that makes asking even harder. I can only hope that my silly passion projects add a little joy to the world, and that contributing to them gives you a little joy, as well.

Thank you so much.