Category / Regular Blog

by sixlakesstudios

Update 7/23/2021

The Waterfall: I originally started writing this as an entry for Reedsy’s weekly prompts contest. However, I got so into the story, I realized it might go over the word limint, so I just found a good place to stop it, and said “To be continued” at the end before I submitted it. When the judging round is over, I plan to break my submission up into two parts, publish the first part on this website, but the full story will be published on Tapas and Wattpad.

Here is some information to know about “The Waterfall:”

Patty Newman and her wife Tess are cleaning out her late grandfather’s house in 2022, when Patty finds a note from him written on the back of a picture, in which he reveals himself as bisexual. He tells her the location of a diary where she learns about how her grandfather, Murray, had a secret relationship with his best friend Fred in 1950s Oregon. After this revelation, the plot switches back and forth between 2022, where Patty and Tess are searching for more information, and the 1950s, where Fred and Murray navigate being in a very secretive male-male relationship during the age of McCarthyism.

The story is set mainly in the fictional town of France, Oregon, which is based on the real life Seaside, Oregon; Cannon Beach, Oregon; Long Beach, Washington; and Ocean Shores, Washington.

The Waterfall is rated PG-13, for alcohol, language, outdated terms, and suggestive content.

Tales of Human Nature: I have scrapped the cult story in it’s entirety, and and going for a new angle with volume one. It will still be set in the fictional town of Rhododenron Heights, Washington, which is based on the real life Poulsbo, Washington; Steilacoom, Washington; and Astoria, Oregon. I am not sure if I will have it ready in time for Halloween, but fingers crossed. If not, at least Christmas, as the story starts just before Christmas, or maybe for Halloween 2022.

Here is the new idea for volume one of Tales of Human Nature (each volume will still be standalone, as previously stated):

Volume one will be titled “Serial Killer.” It is set between December 2007 and February 2008. Autistic high school senior Ryker Whitman lives with his parents and older siblings in Rhododendron Heights. His parents, Jane and Lewis, used to have high paying jobs until the Great Recession (a financial crisis that greatly affected the world in the late aughties). Now, they’re working two minimum wage jobs each to scrape enough cash to get the family through the holidays. If that wasn’t enough, a serial killer has become active in the area, dubbed the “Heights Glossectomist,” or “H.G.” by local media. The case gets more complicated, as H.G. leaves a letter for Ryker the morning after every murder explaining his actions.

What is H.G.’s Modus Operandi? What is their motive? Why are they telling Ryker about their murders? Find out in Tales of Human Nature: Serial Killer.

TOHN: SK is rated “R” for violence, language, alcohol, and sexual scenarios.

Comics: Three comics are in the queue for release during the 2021-22 Television Year (for those who don’t live in the United States, our Television Year is September to August, so the comics will debut between September 2021 and August 2022).

Comic #1: The Vikings of Vancouver: Follows the Norwegian-Canadian Halvorsen family: Marcus and Mary Halvorsen, their aduts children, their grandson, their dog, and their younger son’s live-in boyfriend, all of whom live in a townhouse in a fiction version of Davie Village, Vancouver, British Columbia. Even though this is a comic about a family, it is not family friendly. It is more of a cringe-comedy and sitcom-inspired comedy. 14+, 9/20/2021

Comic #2: Parker and Luca: Follows married couple Parker Johannsen and Luca Paiva, fathers raising three children in Spokane, Washington. I got the idea for this strip years ago, actually, after realizing that while there has been more LGBTQ+ visibility on television, there aren’t many shows with same-sex parents. The percentage of shows featuring same-sex parenting, in my perspective, goes down even further if you only count comedies. I am not a parent myself (I plan to have four kids in my thirties, but there is no place in my life for a kids right now), but I draw inspiration from my expiriences babysitting my younger brother, as well as stories from other people. PG, 1/1/2022

Comic #3: Matt: This is just some “slice of life”/social commentary comics I draw about my life, including my expiriences with ADD, Asperger’s, body image issues, social awkwardness, (self-diagnosed) mild social anxiety, navigating college during COVID, and my coming out. 14+, 2/14/2022

Blue City Mysteries: I’m working on fleshing the first few stories out.

Youtube and Patreon: I am hoping to start making Youtube content on both the Matt Slater and Six Lakes Studios Youtube pages, and get the Patreon Page up and running by the time SLS turns one. I plan to have the Patreon page membership charge by creation, rather than by month, just in case I get some slow months during the upcoming school year.

Tapas: I have set up my short story collection to premiere with “The Friend Lock” and “The Curious Store” on Saturday, with the former at 9 AM PST, and the latter at 10 AM PST. “Carousel, Carousel” will follow at 11 AM PST. They are already on Wattpad. Here are the links for Wattpad and Tapas.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

-Matt

by sixlakesstudios

“Cascades Stories” is now “Six Lakes Studios”

Welcome to Six Lakes Studios!

I am changing the website up, but the same content will still be posted. The name is new, the Logo is new, the design is… in progress [insert awkward chuckle].

I felt like the name “Cascades Stories” was too limiting even though a story could mean many things, it feels like it describes just written stories. But that’s not all we have!

So, why Six Lakes Studios? Well, I thought hard to find a name that meant something to me. Then I remembered: I have a lot of memories surrounding lakes, especially the Lakes of Lakewood. One thing I remember best from my childhood is driving over the bridge in Interlaaken, Lakewood, over Lake Steilacoom, in my grandma Marliss’ van, whenever we went to the donut shop. May she rest in peace.

The new logo is a trace I made of Lakewood’s six biggest lakes: American, Steilacoom (“Still-uh-Come”), Gravelly, Louise, Waughop (“Wah-Op”), and Carp. I originally had Secqualitchew Lake on there as well, but then remembered that it’s on Fort Lewis in Joint Base Lewis-McChord. I was actually wanted to rename the site “Lake Media,” but a quick internet search told that name was already taken (Thanks, Bing!).

I wasn’t planning to do the name change so soon, but things will be picking up soon, and I want to get the ball rolling. We need more good things right now, after the shaky first year-and-a-half of this damn decade.

I hope you enjoy the new site!

-Matt

by sixlakesstudios

Postponed: Tales of Human Nature

I apologize, but Tales of Human Nature will be postponed until further notice. The story needs a lot of work.

by sixlakesstudios

Update 7/10/2021

April: You might’ve wondered why I didn’t post anything back in April. I realize I could’ve used the opportunity to do a piece for Autism Month, April Fools’ Day, Spring, or something like that. However, while I did have plans to post a few things in April, I decided to take April off to focus on school.

June: I also took June off. I could’ve done somthing for Pride Month or Summer, but I was busy finishing up the tough Spring Quarter I’d just had, moving back in with my parents for the Summer, as well as dealing with an injury I’d received back in May (which I’d rather not talk about right now).

I am definitely going to try being more active during the rest of the Summer. In fact, tomorrow, I am going to post a story I wrote for my Creative Writing class last quarter.

Speaking of school, I am changing my major to Geosciences (which is a new department created through the combination of Geology and Geography). I have always loved geography, and I was so good at it when I was little, and my relatives used to quiz me on geography. It started out as just state capitals, but I was able to answer more and more questions over time, including countries, languages, and currencies. In 2009, months before my 8th birthday, my second-cousin Jordyn quizzed me on the 2008 election results (as in, which states went to who), and I got most of the questions right. I mistakenly said that Alaska went to Obama, but I was too stubborn to admit I was wrong, so Jordyn, if you’re reading this, sorry about my stubbornness, but thank you for quizzing me.

When I turn in the paperwork, this will have been the second major change I’ve made. When I was in Running Start (Washington State’ Dual Enrollment Program) at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom in Lakewood, I didn’t know what I wanted to major in when I transferred to a four-year. I took a technical writing class, and I really enjoyed it, and my mother pulled up an article on Data Analytics, which was apparently a hot field back in the late teens (2010s), so I decided to double-major in Technical communications and Data Analytics when I got to Eastern Washington University. But that proved to be too much for me, so I switched my major to Computer Science. That turned out not to be a great fit for me either. However, my boss at the visitor’s center was giving us a presentation last month on the college’s restructuring, where I learned about how Geology and Geography were morphing together into Geosciences. It suddenly hit me: Geography! This geoscience program sounds like a good fit for me. So, I am going to do a BA program in Geosciences, during which I will create my own degree by stacking three certificates, one of which will be in Geographic Information Systems, or GIS. I’ll probably go into more detail on what GIS is in a future post, but for now, I think this is a good place to end the post.

Thank you for reading, and be sure to read my new story, “The Curious Store,” which is coming out tomorrow.

Bye for now, and have a Great Summer!

-Matt

by sixlakesstudios

Update 5/9/2021

Sorry for not updating in a while. School.

Anyway, I have some exciting news: An edited version of “The Aviary of Henry Weston” has been submitted to the 90th Annual Writer’s Digest Competition! Wish me luck!

Also, I will do my best to be more active in the Summer, but I just need to get through the rest of Spring Quarter. I do have ideas for upcoming projects, though:

Comic Strip: “The Vikings of Vancouver.” The comic strip follows a Norwegian-Canadian family and their interactions with other people. If you think this sounds like a wholesome family strip, it is not. It won’t be crass or overtly inappropriate either, though. Let’s just give it a “TV-14-DSL” rating. It will be uploaded to Tapas and Webtoon later this year.

Tales of Human Nature: “Volume 1: Rhododendron Heights.” My Halloween Treat to you, as mentioned in a previous update, will be the first volume of Tales of Human Nature. Every volume follows a different story with different characters. TOHN: RH follows an Ryker Whitman, autistic teenager whose family moves to a small, oceanside town in Southwestern Washington from Los Angeles in August 2007, after his dad loses his job due to the Late Aughties Financial Crisis. The Whitmans learn from a local carpenter that a small yet dangerous cult has been active in and around the town since the 1930s. Ryker attempts to learn more about the cult, but he keeps encountering obstacles, and strange things start happening to anyone who tries to help him. TOHN: RH will be all typed over the Summer, and released on Wattpad and Tapas, with a new chapter every Sunday between September 19th (the day before my 20th Birthday) and Halloween. [Postponed until further notice]

Blue City Mysteries: Volume 1 (Stories 1-10). I am working on the first few stories. The series will be set in Lakewood between 2028 and 2033. The first story will introduce the main characters, Detective Carl “Earrings” Warburton, who has been part of the Lakewood PD for nine years, and Detective Zaria “Banker” Bankole, a recent transfer from the Seattle PD, as they investigate the murder of a tennis star, whose body was found in a storage unit.

The Aviary of Henry Weston: Full-length book is under way!

“The Curious Store”: An illustrated short story I will be posting this summer. More details to come later.

Name change: On November 17th, 2021, the first anniversary of this website, Cascades Stories will no longer be “Cascades Stories.” I am changing the name. More details to come later!

Until then, thank you for reading!

~ Matt

P.S. Happy Mother’s Day!

by sixlakesstudios

Update 3/30/2021

Hello. Did you all enjoy the poem I wrote?

I am currently writing another short story. This time, it is not based on a Reedsy prompt. It is a story about an Autistic man who “stims” (self-stimulates) by tracing patterns with his finger. Every two weeks, he goes to a variety store run by an attractive salesman to trace patterns on the merchandise.

But here’s why you might not see this story for a while: I’m going to try and illustrate it. I’m a fan of webcomics, such as those on Webtoons, Tapas, and Patreon. I thought this story might be more attention grabbing with pictures. Now, I’m not the best artist, but I think this will be good practice for me. 🙂

I am currently in Spring Quarter right now. I will try to be more active, but you’ll definitely see more activity in the summer.

I would like your opinion! What would you like to see more of over the summer? (Winter for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere)

by sixlakesstudios

Update 3/5/2021

Hi guys. I’m still focusing on finishing the school year, but I promise, things will pick back up soon.

In the meantime, here are some upcoming projects that I am definitely going to take on sometime this year:

  1. The Aviary of Henry Weston full-length book: No, you read that right. I am going to adapt The Aviary of Henry Weston into a full-length book! I’ll delve a little more into some details that couldn’t fit into the 3k-word limit I had while writing the original short story. You’ll learn more about the relationship between Connor and Burt, Conner and Mario’s story, and the family’s dynamics. I’ll also get more into the other characters: Isabel, Samantha, and Timothy. You’ll learn more about Henry and Iris, as well. I feel like I could’ve done more to describe the kind of family the Westons are. Anyway, I will be doing a lot of writing this summer, and I hope to have the first draft done by Thanksgiving (US).
  2. Ghost in the Machine: I want to write mysteries, and I’m a Computer Science major at EWU. So I thought: “Ooh! What if I wrote a tech noir?” It’s in the idea phase right now, but I hope to start writing it sometime this year.
  3. Tales of Human Nature: I mentioned this story in my introduction back in 2020, but I am going to try writing a few short psych-horror/thriller stories over the summer.
  4. Blue City Mysteries: I am going to start writing stories for my planned mystery series set in my hometown, Lakewood, Washington. Why did I change the name from “Lakewood PD?” I just thought that that name sounded too generic. So, I tried finding a nickname for Lakewood I could draw inspiration from, but it turns out there are none. So, I made one up:
    • There are a lot of lakes in Lakewood, hence the name. Lake are generally presented as blue on maps.
    • There is already a neighborhood within Lakewood called “Lake City,” so that can’t be a nickname for the city, too.
    • Blue is a popular color in Lakewood (at least from my observation). Even the City’s logo is half blue.
    • Therefore: Blue City. Even fits perfectly with the mystery theme.
  5. Untitled Halloween Surprise: Uh, uh, uh! I said surprise. 😉
  6. YouTube: I will start posting videos on YouTube this Summer under my original channel, “Matt Slater.” The Cascades Stories channel may see videos a bit later in the year.

There are a ton of other things I want to do this year, but I think I should pace myself.

I really appreciate everyone who comes to my website. I’m sorry I haven’t been very active. I’ll try to post something during EWU’s spring break.

Until then, let’s get through the rest of this winter!

Thank you for reading!

~ Matt

by sixlakesstudios

Update: 1/22/2021

Hello Everyone.

I apologize for not having posted in a while. A new quarter has started at school, and now that I have switched from a double-major in Tech-Comm and Analytics to a single major in Computer Science, my main priority is getting my schoolwork done.

I have submitted another story to the Reedsy weekly prompts contest. The prompt I used was: “Write about two people going sledding for the first time in many years.”

This story is shorter than “The Aviary of Henry Weston,” and is “G-rated” as opposed to “PG-13.” It is called “The Friend Lock,” and it takes inspiration from a local “Love Lock” bridge, as well as the sledding comics from Calvin and Hobbes. I initially wanted it to be a love story, but I had trouble getting it along. So I changed it into a story about friendship… and sledding down a huge hill.

I will be posting “The Friend Lock” after judging is over.

Until then, thanks for reading!

~ Matt

by sixlakesstudios

First Short Story on Reedsy!

Happy Holidays, everyone. I have added “Reedsy” to the links page to celebrate the posting of my first short story to the Reedsy weekly prompt/short story contest.

Each Friday or Saturday, Reedsy posts five prompts, and in order to submit their story to the contest, writer must write a 1,000 to 3,000-word long story based on one of the prompts and submit it by 9 PM Pacific (12 Eastern) the following Friday. The theme for this week’s contest was “My True Love Gave to Me,” and the prompt I chose for my short story was “Write about someone who is given a bird for the holidays but doesn’t know how to take care of it.“

I wrote about a gay, autistic man who is tasked with taking care of his late uncle’s aviary, full of fifty exotic birds, at Christmastime, in order to receive his share of the estate. He also deals with his bullying cousin, who is tasked with restoring the uncle’s car collection.

I will post the story to Wattpad and this website on January 2nd, after the voting for “My True Love Gave to Me” has concluded.

I am excited about this story. I don’t care about winning, I’m just glad I get to be a part of this contest, and have other people see my work. I’m also proud of the story, and I hope to expand on it soon, maybe as a full-length book.

Thank you, and Happy Holidays! – Matt

by sixlakesstudios

New Social Media Pages!

I am working on stories to post here, but I have exciting news.

Cascades Stories now has official Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube pages! Please check them out!