Sofawolf Press have announced that Caterwall, a new full-color young adult graphic novel by Spain Fischer, will be arriving this summer. Originally announced last spring, this sword & sorcery tale follows the adventures of Pax, a feline would-be adventurer. Pax is “ the orphaned son of the kingdom of Katia’s greatest knights. His family name and reputation has been tarnished, however, and Pax is to blame. When the young cat intercepts troubling news from the neighboring kingdom of the dogs, Dewshire, his warnings fall on deaf ears. Banished from Caterwall after insulting the Dewshire diplomat, Pax must decide if he will try to stop the dangerous tide approaching Caterwal l– or turn his back on the home which cast him out.” The story will be told in a series of three 100-page graphic novels. We’ll admit to some confusion regarding the web site for this project. Some promotional posters released at Further Confusion and elsewhere give the web site as www.caterwall.net, which leads you to a “Coming Soon” page with an illustration. More actual information, however, can be found at www.caterwall.com, which includes artwork and background write-ups.

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Camron & Vantid – Alopex – Huskyteer – Kandrel & Scappo – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Good evening, Ray! Thank you so much for coming on! It's nice to have you on the show!

RayFKM: Pleasure to be here.

Isiah Jacobs: You have a story in Heat 9 that you titled "Stupid". Could you please tell me a little about this story?

RayFKM: Oh, yeah. It's the story of a lonely guy who wants to find some love... and does not matter how!

Isiah Jacobs: And this guy is straight, but he convinces himself to be gay just for sake of companionship, is that correct?

RayFKM: Yes, totally.

Isiah Jacobs: Why did you decide on this story?

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Camron & Vantid – Alopex – Huskyteer – Kandrel & Scappo – Kyell Gold & Nimrais

Isiah Jacobs: Hello again, Tempo! Welcome back to the show! It's been too long!

Tempo: Happy to be back. :)

Isiah Jacobs: So, you have a story in this year's publication of Heat. And you were actually able to get it illustrated by Blotch!

Tempo: Yep! The story behind that story starts a couple years back when Blotch and I were talking about what we liked in each other's work. I liked that Blotch's pics often felt like they had a world behind them, like there were stories behind them. They ended up asking if I wanted to write one of those stories and we paged through their prints until we found "The Prisoner". (NSFW)

Isiah Jacobs: That's the one with Drust tied to a tree or something, right?

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Camron & Vantid – Alopex – Huskyteer – Kandrel & Scappo – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Good evening, Nimrais, thank you so much for joining us tonight! It's nice to have you on the show! Kyell, always a pleasure!

Nimrais: Good evening, it's a pleasure to talk to you two!

Kyell Gold: Likewise! Thanks, Isiah, for setting this up.

Isiah Jacobs: Obviously, you two produced content for Heat 9 this year; a story called "Rewind". Before we discuss the story itself, I'm just curious. Have you two heard of each other before this?

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Camron & Vantid – Alopex – Kandrel & Scappo – Huskyteer – Kyell Gold & Nimrais – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Good evening, gentlemen! Thank you both so much for joining me tonight, it's a pleasure to have you both on the show!

Whyte Yote: Thanks for having us.

Isiah Jacobs: Whyte, Alastair, as I understand it, you both have sort of collaborated in this year's issue of Heat. Whyte, you wrote a short story called "Two Minutes" and Alastair, you provided the illustrations.

Whyte Yote: Well, I wouldn't call it "collaboration" as much as "I didn't know who was doing my illustrations until Alopex told me after they were done." XD He likes surprises. Plus, publisher's prerogative.

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Camron & Vantid – Alopex – Kandrel & Scappo – Kyell Gold & Nimrais – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Good evening, Ms. Dryden, thank you so much for coming on!

Huskyteer: Thank you for inviting me!

Isiah Jacobs: You submitted a story to Heat 9 this year, and it was illustrated by Cara Mitten. Unfortunately, she couldn't join us.

Huskyteer: I should confess I haven't got my mitts on my copy of Heat yet, so I haven't seen the illustrated version. I hope it gets through Customs. Sometimes stuff from the US arrives in a matter of days, sometimes it...doesn't.

Isiah Jacobs: Your story is called "Bad Timing." Could you please briefly explain what your story is about?

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Kandrel & Scappo – Alopex – Huskyteer – Kyell Gold & Nimrais – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Good evening, Camron! Vantid! Thank you both so much for coming on the show!

Vantid: Good to be here.

Camron Cucce: Good evening, Isiah. Thanks for having us. Pleasure to be here in old Detroit.

Isiah Jacobs: I don't think it would really be a pleasure, but alright! Camron, for this year's edition of Heat you decided to write a poem and it was illustrated by Vantid here. Could you tell me what this poem is about, please?

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Camron & Vantid – Alopex – Huskyteer – Kyell Gold & Nimrais – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Good evening, Kandrel, Scappo. Thank you both so much for coming on to the show. I really appreciate this! Kandrel, I understand you submitted a story to this year’s volume of Heat and Scappo, you provided the illustrations. Have you two heard of each before you were brought on to do Heat?

Kandrel: Yeah, I had definitely heard of Scappo before. I tend to try to keep my eye on good artists. Mainly because I like collecting art. Usually I recognize most of the artists that are up and coming by name, if not by their style.

Scappo: Well, I’m glad you like my art! Heh. I had never heard of Kandrel before, but that’s usually because I’ve got my head buried in commissions. So I don’t really have a whole lot of time to read. But I did read and enjoy “Better”. I think it’s one of the better stories that I’ve read.

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Kandrel & Scappo – Camron & Vantid – Huskyteer – Kyell Gold & Nimrais – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Alopex, thank you so much for coming on! It's a pleasure to have one of the Sofa Wolves here!

Alopex: Thank you for having me! It's not often the editors get the attention of the media. :)

Isiah Jacobs: I agree! I see interviews featuring films and you mostly see the actors. You never see the minds behind the magic, like the writers, the producers, the directors, etc.

Alopex: That's what the director commentary tracks are wonderful for...at least with films.

Isiah Jacobs: There is your "Afterglow" with Heat, but you're only given so much room to express your thoughts.

Alopex: Well, it was a good idea initially, but often I struggle to find something new to say that doesn't just rehash what the volume was about. Sometimes having a limited space to fill is a blessing -- especially when I leave that part until the very end. :)

Isiah Jacobs: And we'll be getting to that in just a bit. This is the ninth instalment of Heat, and the range of the authors and illustrators in this volume is amazing. Do you feel that you've come a long way since the first issue?

The art collective (or pair at least) known as Blotch have a new item connected with their successful comic book/graphic novel series Nordguard. Now it’s the Nordguard Card Game, coming this summer from Sofawolf Press. The game itself was developed by Tempe O’Kun and Nic Wald, and play-testing was directed over the last year by Jeremia Heupel of ThinkTank Games. And the game itself? “You and your friends play as an anthropomorphized sled dog rescue team, overcoming cannibalistic strays and a landscape as capricious as it is lethal. Only your wits and your gear stand between you and certain disaster. Quick-reference instructions provide the rules in minutes, while a scalable difficulty curve provides a challenge for everyone from pups to even the most veteran sled dogs. A randomized map ensures no two missions will ever be the same. Based on the award-winning graphic novel Nordguard: Across Thin Ice, this slim set comes packed with over 120 illustrations by the artists Tess Garman & Teagan Gavet [aka Blotch].

Solomon Wrightson, a wolf senior at Midland’s Richfield High, is in trouble. During his childhood and early adolescence, he was a bit of a loner but basically just one of the kids with his classmates. In high school, the wolves have tended to be the jock gang, going out together on the school baseball team. The coyotes also hang together, although they are looked on as second-class wolves.

But in their senior year, it all starts to fall apart for Sol. He had realized the year before that he is gay, and had joined a gay e-mail group where he formed a relationship with Carcy, an older ram living four hours away in Millenport. Sol thought that he had kept this a secret except from his study partner who is also his only friend, Meg Kinnick, a sardonic otter goth girl; they are two loners hanging out together. They have planned to go to Millenport together the next summer when Sol gets a car; Meg to get a job away from her parents, and Sol to move in with Carcy.

Sofawolf Press, March 2012, trade paperback $19.95 (vii + 263 pages). Illustrated by Rukis.

Yes, this is another adult book. But it’s lighter than Gold’s usual X-rated fare. This is a collection of seven superhero stories featuring his League of Canids, three revised from earlier magazine versions and four original. “… and fortunately, mixing superpowers and sex is great fodder for comedy”, Gold says in his Foreword (p. ix).

Here are the adventurous and amorous exploits of History Channel (dingo), Blink Coyote, WonderWolf, Vicious Vixen, Red Lightning (red fox), MultiWolf, Ice Queen (arctic fox), Crypto (red fox), Scope (fennec), Power Coyote, Simpático (Hispanic grey fox), and Polly (wolf); a dozen superheroes, their foes, their public, and their significant others.

In the Doghouse of Justice is intended for an adult audience and contains sexual material of male/male, male/female and female/female nature. It is not for sale to persons under the age of 18. Illustrated by Alexander Roman. Sofawolf Press, August 2011. Trade paperback $15.95 (x + 197 pages).

After the recent review of the terrible Hyenas, here's something to make hyena fans happier!

When Ursula Vernon published the first volume of Black Dogs in 2007, her life was very busy. She was moving house, her webcomic Digger was experiencing a surge in popularity, and her newly-acquired literary agent had got her a sweet deal to write and illustrate children's books for Scholastic.

Understandably, writing a sequel took a back seat, so when the second half of Black Dogs was published four years later, Sofawolf Press conveniently reprinted the first volume with a new cover.

Black Dogs is a fantasy novel set in a world with humans, elves, and many anthropomorphic species. The main character is Lyra, a young human who finds herself on the run after her merchant family's home is attacked by bandits. Though educated and well-read, she hasn't much practical knowledge. Luckily she meets Sadrao, a tall, kind dog-soldier, one of a respected species of anthro-hyenas. Taking her under his wing, she joins him on his travels while he teaches her survival skills.

Furry publishing house Sofawolf Press got a shout-out today from Penny Arcade's Tycho, who was across the aisle from their booth at last weekend's Comic-Con:

I'm not familiar enough with Gay fiction or Furry fiction to know that they are often a package deal, and I told the guys at Sofawolf Press that I would be back to buy something, and never got the opportunity. I don't like doing that, and I feel bad.

Tycho outlined Volle (the work of award-winning author Kyell Gold) as "gay, bipedal foxes having sex in a castle," calling his inability to envision this "a failure of my imagination."

Sofawolf Press’ newest publication, “Heat” was introduced in 2004 with two volumes, and it has been a great success. This year we will be settling down to a schedule of one volume per year, and we are now reviewing submissions for volume #3. If you have a story, poem or comic that contains anthropomorphic characters and is either romantic or erotic, please visit our website (www.Sofawolf.com/submission.html#heat_submissions) for submission guidelines, contact information and more details.