Tag / Blog

by sixlakesstudios

Update 10/31/2021 (Halloween!)

ARRRRRRGH, MATEYS!!!!! I be Four-Eyes the Fabulous, and this be my color-changing pumpkin friend, Jack O’Lantern! We be takin’ over this here website!

Just kidding! It’s me, Matt! Happy Halloween, readers!

If I’m being honest, I didn’t used to like Halloween (sensory overload), but I’ve grown to it. I just have to avoid anything that would cause me to freak out, shut down, or have nightmares. But I’m getting better! In fact, I am even watching the 1978 John Carpenter classic slasher: “Halloween!”

Now, onto the news:

The Vikings of Vancouver: More TVOV coming underway! I will only post a few more comics on WordPress, before shifting distribution exclusively to Webtoon and Tapas. Most likely, I will stop posting TVOV on here after the New Year.

Parker and Luca: I am getting started on Parker and Luca comics right now. I will try to create a character sheet for them as well.

Matt (Comic): I will be starting work on this comic soon.

Mason and Eric: I am one of those people who tries not to get all “Christmassy” (or “Winter Holiday-y” overall) until the Saturday after American Thanksgiving, but what the heck! I’ll announce this year’s Christmas Special! The 2021 Christmas Special is: “Mason and Eric!” More information to be coming next week. [Postponed, not canceled]

The Waterfall: Don’t worry! I haven’t forgotten about The Waterfall. Updates will resume sometime in December.

Tales of Human Nature Serial Killer: Coming May 2022!

Blurred Lines: Well, the story is coming along now, and will be updated as much as I can through November.

Max Fields #1: Coming February 2022!

Blue City Mysteries: I am in the process of writing stories for the series right now, but I’m still trying to figure out the characters, plotlines, and each individual story. I have some of my fictional version of Lakewood, Washington built up right now, but it’s not complete yet.

Also, I am not trying to put Lakewood in a negative light. I just wanted to set the series somewhere that is a) A diverse, medium-sized suburbia in the Pacific Northwest and b) close and near to my heart. I love that city. I lived there for a few years as a young kid, I have family and friends there, and I have a lot of memories there.

Voldensfjordian Murders: If you follow my work on “Chapters” I am so sorry I haven’t updated “A Voldensfjordian Murder” or its sequels and spin-off in a while! I am trying to get back on track, but it’ll be easier when I’m out of school for Winter Break.

If you haven’t seen them, please be sure to check them out!

Other Works: I have so many ideas in my mind, I can’t keep track of them! But I will be sure to keep you updated, and whenever I start truly working on a new project, you, dear readers, will be the first to know!

Personal: I am doing well in the Geosciences Major, and can’t wait for my winter quarter Screenwriting Class. I am also doing better, mentally, now that I am doing in-person classes. I am excited for what comes next for me in college, on this website, and in life! Also, my brother turned 15 years old TODAY! A Halloween birthday, how about that?!

P.S. Yes, those are real earrings. My Ears have been pierced since February of 2019, and earrings are one of my weird, random interests. The strange part, though? I’m not a fan of piercings elsewhere. Just ears. Not sure why.

Bone-us: Here’s a picture of my dog, Pizza, in 2019, dressed in his Halloween Costume.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2021!

BE SAFE, EAT CANDY AND HAVE SOME FUN!

(Hey, that rhymes!)

by sixlakesstudios

20th Birthday, Woohoo!

Today is my 20th Birthday!

A special shout out to all my friends and family who wished me a happy birthday and helped me celebrate.

Thank you, everyone!

by sixlakesstudios

Update 8/18/2021

The Waterfall: Chapter Three will be posted on Wattpad and Tapas on Sunday at 4:30 PM PST. I am introducing some new characters.

Comics: The Vikings of Vancouver‘s first strips are underway.

Other than the plot and characters, there is another difference between TVOV and Parker and Luca. TVOV will have standalone comics (with a few exceptions), while Parker and Luca will have more story archs, with a few standalones mixed in.

Halloween: I have a few ideas for TOHN’s ‘substitute’ while I get the details for TOHN ironed out. You will get a Halloween story, mark my words!

Other Projects: The Aviary of Henry Weston, Tales of Human Nature, and Max Fields.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

-Matt

by sixlakesstudios

Update 8/6/2021

The Waterfall: The second chapter of The Waterfall will premiere on Tapas and Wattpad on Sunday, but no further chapters will be posted on this website. I’m sorry, but I made the decision to only post the first chapters of my books on this website, to save space on the homepage for other posts. After the second chapter is up, the schedule will go down to every other Sunday, so that I have more time to prepare the story, and figure out it’s direction. I already know how it’s going to end (no, I won’t tell you, sneaky!), but it’s the middle I’m trying to figure out. To be fair, unlike The Aviary of Henry Weston, the decision to make The Waterfall a full-lengther was a whim decision. The idea for this story didn’t even exist until two weeks ago!

However, I do hope you’re enjoying The Waterfall. If you’re wondering what happens next, please keep an eye out for the second chapter this upcoming Sunday, and following chapters every other Sunday, on Wattpad and Tapas!

Reedsy: I’m hoping to challenge myself more witht the prompts sent by Reedsy each week. I may not be a weekly writeer for them, but I hope to up my pace in the future. You can find my Reedsy profile here, or in the “links” section.

Even though The Aviary of Henry Weston was written in December of 2020, my Reedsy profile was created in May of 2020, predating this site by six months. I found Reedsy while trying to get started in writing, but before I really got into a ‘writing groove,’ so to speak. They’re quite the resource for writers. This is not a paid endorsement, just genuine compliments!

Blue City Mysteries: The ball is rolling on the writing of the much-awaited Blue City Mysteries. Here’s the plan for the series: fifty stories, published in five volumes of ten. Not every book will focus on a murder. Some will have other crimes, such as kidnapping, or it may focus on the re-opening of a cold case.

Here is the summary for the first story, “The Mortality of Fame:” Warburton and Bankole’s relationship is immediately tense, as they both struggle to adjust to each other’s investigative styles, and Bankole has second thoughts about accepting the job in Lakewood. The new partners must put aside their differences, however, when they’re called in to solve the murder of a young tennis star.

I would love to talk more about Blue City Mysteries, and Lakewood itself, so keep an eye out for a future post focused entirely on them.

Comics: I hope you all read the info cards about The Vikings of Vancouver characters! I am in the process of creating the first few comics right now, and also the info cards for Parker and Luca. Later this month, I may do a “work in progress” post for my comics, with sketches for TVOV, Parker and Luca, and Matt.

Max Fields: I am putting together an outline for the first story starring Private Eye Max Fields, a character of my own creation.

Max Fields was a detective for the Chicago Police Department in the late 50s and early 60s. In 1962, the same year Illinois became the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexuality, he was fired from the CPD when his sexual orientation was found out. He decides to become a private detective, and starts a new life in (the fictional) Wyvern, Illinois, where his cousin, Alex, lives and works as the Sheriff for Lakeshire County.

Max teams up with two locals, Isaiah Barrow and Patrice Wendall, to set up a P.I. agency in Wyvern, and buys a house where he shares a rear fence with Alex and Alex’s family. He inserts himself into Alex’s cases, against his cousins’ wishes, during which he acquaints himself with Deputy Johnathan Zhukov, who is in the closet.

More information will come in a future post.

Personal: I recently had my wisdom teeth out, and I will be going on vacation next week, but things will be picking up soon after, even with school coming up.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

-Matt

by sixlakesstudios

Upcoming Comics (As of August 2021)

Comics will be available on Tapas, Webtoon, and this website (for select strips only).

The Vikings of Vancouver follows Norwegian-Canadian chef and restaurateur Marcus Halvorsen, his wife Mary, a retired police officer who currently works in retail, fraternal twin sons Marcus Junior, a musician, and Marvin, an autistic Food Science student at Davie University, daughters Trina, who plays for numerous collegiate sport teams, younger daughters Green, founder of the Eco Club at every school she’s been attended since preschool, and grandson Mark, Junior’s son from a high-school relationship. They live in a fictional version of Davie Village, Vancouver, in a large townhouse across from Voyager’s Landing, the Scandinavian cuisine restaurant Marcus co-owns and operates, along with the Halvorsens’ Norwegian Buhund, Gjørmete (“Muddy” in Norwegian), and Marcus’s American sous chef, Frankie Morales, who is also Marvin’s Boyfriend.

The Vikings of Vancouver primieres on 9/20/2021, which also happens to be my 20th Birthday!

TVOV is rated 14+ for strong language, social commentary, sexual references, suggestive dialogue, slapstick humor, and references to alcohol, gambling, pot, and adult media.

Parker and Luca: The shortest way to describe my second comic, which premieres on New Year’s Day 2022, would be “Baby Blues meets Husband and Husband.”

Parker Johannsen and Luca Braz have been married for years, and have been raising two daughters and a son in the fictional Monroe District of Spokane, Washington. Luca works as the athletic director for Hell’s Canyon University, while Parker works from home as a graphic designer and podcaster. Their children are 12-year-old Xylon, 8-year-old Ruby, and 5-year-old Morgan.

Parker and Luca is rated PG for mild language, suggestive content (involving the adult characters, not the kids!), social commentary, and alcohol references.

Matt 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, navigating college during COVID, and my coming out.

There will be many characters featured here, but mainly, the comic will showcase me and Blue, a baby blanket with a plush dog head who I have held dear since my uncle Mike gave him to be when I was born.

Matt premieres on Valentine’s Day 2022.

Matt is rated 14+ for language, social commentary, suggestive dialogue, and references to mental health issues and adult media.

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

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 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