Tag / Update

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