It’s finally that time!

Pre-orders for my magazine The Abalone are finally open!

This is my master project at school, and I’ve actually lost count of how long I’ve been working on it. It’s a high-art magazine (all art done by yours truly!) featuring eleven true stories about how people like you and I have seen God move–in extraordinary ways, in simple ways, in ways we didn’t see coming. Each story captures the essence of one of the virtues Paul listed in Philippians 4:8:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Because these are pretty grim times, right? What better time to focus on all the true, honorable, worthy of praise things of life!

Many many hats.

It would be a bit of a stretch to say I did this all myself. It was a huge learning curve and I probably would’ve died were it not for Brad Pauquette (my school mentor). Ok, died is an exaggeration. But I would’ve definitely broken my computer and sued Adobe Creative Cloud (for legal reasons that is a joke).

I also had help from, of course, the nine wonderful writers who are featured in this magazine! I’m so happy that this literary magazine features stories from so many different seasons of so many different lives. I think you guys will really benefit from the selection!

So yes, I didn’t do this alone. I’m so grateful to everyone who’s helped, and who’s let me freak out at them about deadlines, and who’s reminded me to keep giving the reins back to God. Thank you!

On the other hand, I did wear about ninety percent of the hats in this parade. (Is that a saying? I don’t think that’s a saying…)

I made the ad graphics back when we opened submissions. I wrote the ad copy. I sorted through all the submissions and narrowed it down to the finalists. I edited the stories and managed the nine participating authors. I designed the interior of the magazine, and the front and back cover, and did all the digital paintings and collages and other artwork. And, of course, I also wrote a story for this magazine.

That’s a lot of things! And I definitely didn’t think I could do it, not for a while. But the big thing I’ve learned is that you have to take it all in pieces. You have to chew in bites, right? Otherwise you’ll choke.

Thanks again to Brad for encouraging me, guiding me, and constantly telling me that things will in fact be okay and I’m not going to die. Yes, you made me wear all those hats, but it’s because you knew I could.

Speaking of story…

The story I wrote in for the magazine is, of course, a true story. It’s from when I was in high school, and I had that realization that not everybody lives in the truth of God’s love, mercy, and peace

It’s hard when you’re a kid, right? And you have a bunch of secular friends, who you love so much but can’t seem to talk to about certain things? And you think hey, everything’s okay, you’ll just not talk about some things…

Well, eventually that stops working.

Grab your very own copy of The Abalone to read the full story!

This is all limited edition!

126 pages. Full color. Print exclusive. Limited time only! Once pre-orders close, you will never be able to order it online again. You can catch a copy when you see us at book events and things, but that’s it! Order a copy of this specialty art & literary magazine by July 6th, 2026 for a special pre-order discount! Time’s a-tickin’! Don’t forget to tell your friends about this opportunity, too!

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Have you ordered a copy already?

Tell me in the comments!

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