Greetings, Adventurers.

It has been awhile. 11 months to be exact. Which is actually kind of funny, considering we have 11 months until something amazing finally happens.

In 11 months, dear readers, you will finally be holding a copy of Mushroom and Anchovy in your hands. We have a release date, and skeleton listings have started populating on major retailers’ websites. To date, I have seen them on Target, Walmart, and Amazon’s web stores. The cover image will be added over time, as well as further details, but I’m sure it goes without saying that having a release date and preorder links are huge steps forward.

"All right, Kate, GIVE US THE RELEASE DATE ALREADY!" Yes! You’ve waited long enough, so here it is: Mushroom and Anchovy will be officially released on June 2, 2026.

If you are still at the address you used when you preordered, all you have to do is sit back and wait until the book releases next year. Otherwise, please send an e-mail to hello@inkshares.com to update and confirm your current address, along with your order information so the folks behind the scenes can link up the two.

As well, this will be my final book published under the pseudonym of K. M. Cooper. Times and people change, and I will be using the name I’m known for, Kate Butland, with further publications. I am currently in the editing process of another trilogy, and I will update accordingly as that progresses. For now, you can find me regularly over at my Substack, where I am currently migrating my former website in between releasing new writing. My Substack writing is available completely for free, and you can subscribe to receive updates on what I’m working on.

I cannot wait for this book to be in your hands. It looks like I will have to, for another 11 months or so, but I hope that you will enjoy it when the time comes, and I thank you all for your endless kindness, patience, and support during this time. I couldn’t have done it without you.

May your travels be fraught with wonder and just enough peril to keep them interesting,

Kate Butland (K. M. Cooper)

Greetings, Adventurers!

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? The good news is that I’m not coming to you empty-handed today. In fact, I have a delightfully significant update for you.

When last you heard from me, I had been struggling through the edits. I am pleased to say that, though I didn’t update you at the time, I completed the edits shortly thereafter and sent them off. (Part of the reason for a lack of update there was that I immediately plunged headfirst into writing the second book in my next trilogy--but that’s a story for another day.)

More waiting ensued. I am used to this process by now, thankfully, and have been comfortably going with the flow of laying back and waiting for information. Then, just a few weeks ago, I received a very exciting update: an e-mail with an attached fully typeset manuscript. And, adventurers, it’s starting to look like a book.

The copyright information in the typeset manuscript has the year 2025 in it, so I don’t believe this will be reaching you this year--however, we will be getting it out before the publication project turns 10, so that is something.

I want to thank you all for bearing with me and for trusting me and Inkshares with this lengthy process. I don’t think any of us expected it to stretch out over such a period of time, but the good news is that we have a book forthcoming and you will hopefully have a copy in your hands by this time next year. I won’t make any promises, of course--the project has been fraught with delays both on my end and Inkshares’--but I wanted to assure you all that things are happening and your favourite goofy adventurers will have a home on your bookshelf.

Thank you for believing in me and in my work. I hope it won’t be another year before my next update. Truly, I cannot believe I last updated you all a year ago, and I’m not sure where the time has gone. I hope my silence hasn’t been alarming or concerning, and please do feel free to reach out any time that may be the case.

May your travels be fraught with wonder and just enough peril to keep them interesting,

K. M. Cooper

PS: though this will only be my second published book, this will be my last book published under the name K. M. Cooper. Going forward, my books will be published under the name Kate Butland. I hope you will look forward to many other projects to come! I’ve been working hard in the background and will have some brand new material for you shortly after Mushroom and Anchovy’s eventual publication!

Greetings, adventurers!

Once again, it’s been awhile. I’ve been working diligently on the edit, but it’s been slow going—I have two young children and I’m working two jobs, trying to spend time with my spouse, keep my living space some semblance of clean, and retain a few shreds of sanity here and there, so finding and making time for this has been a challenge, to say the least.

I do want to add that I am struggling with this edit. I never expected this process to be so oddly vulnerable, and I’m left wondering if this book is even worth releasing. This isn’t due to being unable to take criticism, but rather because I am faced with just how much there is wrong with the manuscript. I was a very different person when I wrote it—the first book was written 15 years ago, after all. I was another different person when I funded it, and now I’m a much different person during the editing process. I am trying to make this book worthy of its wait, but I don’t know that it ever will be. I suppose that’s the risk I run in pursuing anything like this, but I don’t want to disappoint anyone with this.

It’s been a long road and I’m humbled by how patient, supportive, and kind everyone has been during the process. The first delays were out of my hands, but these delays are completely on me, and for that I am sorry. Having such a gap between funding and editing has changed my mindset about the book. That being said, I struggle with finishing projects when they get past the “fun” stage, so I am determined to finish this, no matter how I feel about it. And, let me make this perfectly clear: I do not feel good about it, at all. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so either things get rushed because I’m feeling excited about them, or they get abandoned because I’m no longer excited about them. I’m sure I’m not the only one and some of you can relate, so in some small way, maybe sharing this will help somebody. 

In any event, enough with the Debbie Downer talk. I actually do have a very exciting update that I meant to give you all two months ago but, quite frankly, life completely got away from me and I have said “I need to share that already” to myself almost every weekend since then and have just not had the chance, as things have been crisis after crisis or just packed to the gills. So, as promised 2 months ago (somehow?!), here is your official, actual cover for Mushroom and Anchovy, by artist—and my very good friend—Molly E. McGuire. 

Molly really captured the essence of a certain part in the book and her attention to detail is so keen. There are some details in here that will only be understood after reading the book, and I love that. I hope you do, too! Her work is so beautiful and she was always my first choice for the cover. She’s been very busy the past few years and we weren’t sure we could make it work, but we did and I couldn’t be happier.

I’ll continue to work on the edit and will hopefully get more news for you before too much longer (comparatively). If you ever have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m an open book—unlike this, which will hopefully be that, one day.

May your travels be fraught with wonder and just enough peril to keep them interesting,

K. M. Cooper

Greetings, adventurers,

Congratulations to those of you who correctly correlated yesterday’s cover reveal with the date! Those of you who know me well believed it anyway and I love that about you. Regardless, yes, yesterday’s cover reveal was absolutely an April Fool’s Day joke, but so many of you were so warm about it nevertheless that it made me smile. Thanks for understanding me!

That being said, if you really do want to read about adventuring anthropomorphic animals, you might be interested in the next series I’m writing... but that won’t see the light of day for a few years, yet. Definitely do keep an eye out, though, through my Substack and my website, as I’ll be trickling out information as it comes--probably starting as early as next year. The first book is written, but I’ll likely release them together. Stay tuned.

Now... that being said, you may be wondering about the future of Mushroom and Anchovy. A few things.

1. I am not actually rewriting them as ducks. I am slow because implementing the edits has taken me considerably longer with my current work schedules. That said, I am making good progress and we are still looking at a 2023 release for this book.

2. As for the cover, I actually have hired somebody. I am very excited, because this artist was always my first choice and I know they’re going to do an incredible job. They have been VERY busy these past few years and neither of us had thought we could make it work, but here we are. They are hard at work right now and have shared some details with me, and I am hoping to do the actual cover reveal this week. 

3. I’m going to keep the joke cover on this site until the actual cover reveal, because I think it’s funny.

4. Because the reception was so warm about the joke cover, I kind of want to do SOMETHING with it. Maybe a bookmark, a poster, or a journal... or something. I’m thinking about it. If you have any ideas, let me know!

Thanks for having a laugh with me yesterday. I really cannot wait to get this book into your hands this year--and that’s no joke!

May your adventures be fraught with wonder and just enough peril to keep them interesting,

K. M. Cooper

Greetings, adventurers!

It’s been awhile but I have finally come to you today with something very exciting: a brand new cover reveal. I have been planning the new cover for some time and waffling over who to hire, what design to have, etc., and I was struck with inspiration earlier this year. I decided to just bite the bullet and do it myself. Without further ado, here is the brand new cover for Mushroom and Anchovy, hopefully gracing your bookshelves later on this year…

What do you think? It’s really something, isn’t it? I want to add that part of the delay is that I’ve been rewriting our titular heroes as ducks. It has taken quite some time to go through the entire book and make sure every instance of human facial features is replaced with duck bills, and that I throw a handful of scattered feathers into the narration from time to time. I think that, ultimately, this will make for a much better book, because who doesn’t love ducks going on adventures?

I will have more news in a couple of days, but for now, I hope you’ll bask in the glory of this new cover and really take it in properly.

Woo-oo!

K. M. Cooper

Greetings, adventurers.

I come to you today with perhaps the most exciting promise of treasure of all: an update.

Much like the feeling one has when dropping their child off at a new babysitter for the first time, I write to you with hope and apprehension today. Because Mushroom and Anchovy’s most recent manuscript has been sent off to Inkshares to undergo copyediting. 

I’m not sure what this expressly means for our timeline, but the facts we have right now are thus:

1. Mushroom and Anchovy is currently sent in for copyediting.

2. This has never happened before. 

We can, by means of logic and reason, now deduce thusly: the ball is finally rolling to get these books into your hands. 

It’s been a long time coming, and I’m so excited to finally be able to share this wacky tale with you all! 

I’ll contact you again when I have more news. But, for now, please know that the book is in progress. My biggest wish now is for it to be worthy of such a wait. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding! 

In the meantime, I’m going to be looking into getting us a new artist and cover! 

May your travels be fraught with wonder and just enough peril to keep them interesting,

K. M. Cooper

Greetings adventurers,

A very small update tonight. 

I’ve been in contact with Inkshares and I’ve been given the loose timeline of early 2022 for Mushroom and Anchovy to launch. This may change, but it’s a date we can go by for now! 

That’s all I have for you. As always, I’ll talk to you when there are more updates to be had.

May your travels be fraught with wonder and just enough peril to keep them interesting,

K. M. Cooper

Greetings, adventurers!

It’s been awhile! I hope you’re all doing well despite the circumstances!

The last time I updated, I did have some news—however, that news was vague. As such, I still have nothing for you as the pandemic has strongly impacted California—where the Inkshares headquarters is located. Because of that, all of their projects have been pushed back, including this one. I haven’t checked in recently but have gotten updates from authors with books ahead of mine, so naturally my assumption is that Mushroom & Anchovy has also been pushed back.

As always, there is free content to read on my blog, The Practical Escapist, and I have resumed a fairly stacked livestream schedule on Twitch. I also mentioned with our last update that I hope to be moving this newsletter to my website. I have not yet started it, so I would love it if you’d sign up!

Keeping up with content creation has been deeply challenging as I’ve also been homeschooling our first born. It’s been challenging but a lot of fun as well. I’m not sharing much about those experiences beyond the odd Instagram post—but we’ve been working on a seed library, learning about foraging and local plants, and, of course, a lot of reading and writing.

That’s all from me for now. I hope this letter finds you well.

May your travels be fraught with wonder and just enough peril to keep them interesting,

K. M. Cooper

Greetings, adventurers!

It’s been awhile. How are you doing? During this strange time, it’s my hope that this letter finds you in good health. 

Before I get too far into it, I’d like to introduce you to the newest addition to our household and the reason I’ve been silent for so long. Meet Baby Olivia, AKA "Snorlax"--secondborn of the Escapist household children. She arrived in early March and has been growing like an out-of-control little weed ever since. We’re all doing great--her delivery was quick and easy--and we’re all in love! It’s definitely coupled with our global pandemic to make things chaotic, though. You can read more about that in my most recent blog post.

I have another small update for you. When last we checked in, I had been given the date of early April for Mushroom and Anchovy’s production kickoff. However, as we all have seen, a lot can change in the span of a few months, and now we’re deep into global pandemic territory. I reached out to the lovely folks at Inkshares and confirmed with them that production had been suspended for the time being--a decision I fully support. They are now hoping we can kick off production in July. I’m hoping to release another chapter soon--something I wasn’t originally planning to do, but seems pertinent in times like these.

I’ve told you before that I’ve been streaming this past year and a half. I did take a break for a time following my daughter’s birth, but I’m slowly getting back to it. Right now, I’m streaming Monday nights at 9:30 PM AT (8:30 PM ET) with low-key chatting and kitchen-cleaning streams. I’ll be coming back to a partial cooking stream schedule in about a month or so.

I hope to be moving this newsletter to my website in the near-ish future. I’d love it if you’d sign up there! I plan on having monthly letters--nothing spammy, I promise--featuring a clip-of-the-month, updates, previews, stream events, and more. You can sign up on my website by navigating to the bottom of the page. I will still be updating with book-related information and news here, but everything else will move. If you’d like to keep up with non-Mushroom and Anchovy work, please do sign up on my website! A starting point for the newsletter will be gauged by level of interest.

Before I go, I want to take a moment to express my appreciation to everyone for your continued support while I take a step back. I have been really enjoying this time with my family and it’s been nice not to worry too much about having to produce. Being productive is in my nature, however, so do plan to see things from me outside of blog posts in the next two months or so. I plan on trickling various content back in bit by bit, with an end goal of having all of my main ventures back by September. 

I hope to have more updates for you in the months to come. I’m not sure when the next update will be for Mushroom and Anchovy, but until then, may staying home be fraught with calm and as little peril as possible, for the time being.

Yours in adventure,

K. M. Cooper