Hello tall spooky baby!

I have an announcement!

I’ve mentioned this I think at least once before on this website (more on social medias if you follow me there), but I have a new comic project I’m starting! Or have started. It’s called Usual Haunts and the big news is that it’s first Kickstarter has been approved and will launch May 16th!

Follow this link and click “Notify Me at Launch” to be part of bringing this project to un-life! Even if you don’t plan to back the project, following it in this way helps me appease the  algorithm gods and get the page in front of the right people. But hopefully you’ll also be interest and want to read it. Let me tell you a little bit about it!

What is Usual Haunts?

Usual Haunts is my digital-first, nsfw, slice of life  comic series about vampires! It is 18+ and not for minors! Think a  combination of What We Do In the Shadows crossed with erotic comics like  Alfie, Sunstone, or Iron Circus’ Smut Peddler anthologies. Probably also Sweet Paprika, but I haven’t actually gotten to read that one yet  (though I very much want to). From what I’ve seen on the creator’s  Instagram, I think Paprika and Mathilde have a lot in common anyway!

Mathilde is a newly transformed vampire re-entering  society after having been held prisoner in a monstrous vampire’s  underground lair for the last 14 years. The story follows Mathilde,  rightfully pissed off and at a lost as to what to do with her newfound  freedom, as she tries to find direction in un-life and gain a sense of  bodily autonomy through sexy escapades. Mostly with Norman, a morally  grey Nasty Man™ with weird  uncle energy, loud shirts, and a lewd  tongue.

Chapter 1 throws you right into the sexy thick of it as Mathilde and Norman have their first hook up. The full chapter will be (roughly) 36 pages of full color comic pages. My beta readers have described the pilot section as “funny, cute, and sexy” and that  the sex scenes feel like “sex between specific people, not just randos.” If you’d like to check it out for yourself, you can sign up for my email newsletter and receive the first 12 pages of the pilot.

What does this mean for RDD?

The plan is for Rainy Day Dreams to continue on as it always has. I will be taking a hiatus from posting while the Usual Haunts campaign is running. I’m going to have to do a ton of promotion/press outreach to do. The break will help make sure my buffer to workflow balance is maintained. I may end up doing a slightly reduced posting schedule for RDD while I work on UH’s full chapter 1. It will depend on how well the campaign does, so but we’ll see how things go!

Expect more info on the campaign to come! Thanks for your patience as I try to figure my way along this journey called being an artist online. And for your continued readership here <3

– Mariah