Take your time

So the last few weeks were a whirlwind of changes. From creating this website and my Patreon, making my other social media accounts, creating my logo and the images here on Canva. Then I finished Ace of Wands and Biker Blues. It was… a lot.

Possibly too much.

I crashed this week. Completely. I finished the editing for Wolves and Rain and got only 8/63 chapters into editing Howls and Thunder (because that draft is rough I tell you). To a certain degree, it feels like sliding back. like I’m not keeping up the momentum, but I’ve lived with my ADHD long enough to know what’s actually happening. I’m burning out, and my body and mind are slowing down to avoid it.

So I didn’t get a ton done, but I still got something. That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve needed to learn while writing. Perfection doesn’t just take time; it takes a product. It takes practice.

Because of that, I’m not calling this week a wash or a break. I still got things done. I made major changes to Wolves and Rain and did some very good editing. I’m finally at a point with it where I’m comfortable letting a stranger read it, so this week, while I edit Howls and Thunder, I’m going to finish the second part of the goal I set last week and find a Beta reader.

I don’t exactly have the funds for a paid editor, but I’ve got a few feelers out in subreddits to try. I’m also putting a few bucks per paycheck towards saving to commission an actual artist for Wolves and Rain. I’ll start with cover art and, if I have funds after that, maybe some promotional art too.

It’s not the update I want to give, but it’s the one I have. Like I said in my last post, I need to be realistic about the situation I’m in. Yeah, I’m creative and I have good ideas, and I like to think my writing is fun and interesting, but writing takes time. Time I don’t always have right now.

But I will. One day.

Another one down

Okay, wow. When things get moving they get moving. Last week I finished my first draft of Biker Blues and put it to the side so I can go back and edit it with fresh eyes. I still wasn’t quite feeling Lucky and I gotta be in a specific headspace to work on Marriage in Reverse. That left me either Moonlight and Storm or Ace of Wands.

So I sat down, started typing, and when I blinked, the first draft was finished.

Don’t take this the wrong way. The Tarot Mafia series is going to be a mammoth one, so the books are all much shorter. Ace of Wands is only 40,000 as opposed to both Wolves and Rain books I’ve written, which were 80,000 a piece by the time I finished. If I’m being honest, I took a lot longer to write Ace of Wands than I wanted, but I’ll get into that and the nitty gritty of the story on another update blog.

So, since I finished two first drafts in as many weeks, I did something I’ve been avoiding: I made a Patreon. It has terribly named tiers and no real content yet, but I made it! It exists in the world now!

I’m not under the impression this is taking off any time soon. I have a lot of books and ideas, but no cover art, no promotional art, and, sadly, no funds to commission something at a price to compensate the artists (because we respect artists in this household). Right now my writing update posts are getting minimal engagement, and I have no clue what I’m doing marketing-wise.

But I saw a post on reddit that really got me thinking. I can’t remember the whole kit and caboodle, but the gist of it was “is anyone here writing just for the love of the game?”

Yes, I want to make money off my books. I want to get some kind of income to supplement everything else, but something I always say to friends, family, coworkers is “we work with what we have”.

I write these novels either in the bathtub as I hide from a Velcro toddler or in between calls at a job that, thankfully, doesn’t mind me writing Fae romance as long as it’s on a machine with no camera.

Can I, theoretically, write the next great romance like this? Yes. There is a non-zero chance.

There’s also a non-zero chance I’ll win the lottery. If I gotta pick, I’d rather the latter.

So, for today and this weekend, I’ll just relax. I’ll read terrible but entertaining Time Travel Fix It fanfictions. Maybe write a couple of chapters of my Dragon Age Isekai fanfiction that will never see the light of day, and just let my brain rest. Next week, I’m tackling line by line editing for Wolves and Rain and Howls and Thunder so I can get started on Moonlight and Storm. I’ll see how much writing I can get done for that the next few days and go on from there.

I’ll also start looking for a Beta reader. My husband and friends are great, but I can’t meet up with them often, and if I make my husband listed to the first quarter of Wolves and Rain one more time it might drive him clinically insane instead of just socially.

Another one bites the dust

I put my nose to the grind this week and, accidentally, finished a book. The first draft at least.

I tried working on Lucky since it’s the only stand-alone I’m interested in right now. I really, really did. It just wasn’t happening. Lucy and Alastor are on vacation in my brain and did not want to be disturbed. Instead, I got some writing done on Biker Blues. I figured I’d buckle down and do some writing, maybe get it through the next fourth.

Instead, I’m looking at the finished draft somehow. There was supposed to be a whole drawn-out tense exchange with a character and Venom took one look at the guy and slugged him. Which changed the entire dynamic of the interaction and turned that scene into the climax instead of just ramping up the tension.

I’ll need to go back and do some heavy edits to change previous scenes so everything ties up nicely, but I already needed to do that because I changed a lot of backstory and character relationships while I was writing.

That’s not to say I didn’t plot out Biker Blues, but there’s an entire kidnapping scene that just doesn’t exist anymore and another scene is going to get WAY longer. My current word count is about 60,000 words, but that’ll probably get closer to 65,000 or 70,000 when it’s done.

I’m going to take a break from Biker Blues for a minute now. I know I’m terrible about editing when I’m fresh off finishing because they’re all my darlings and I love them and I don’t want to change anything about them. I gotta let the shine on the story dull so I can look at it with the cold, calculating eyes of a psychopath as my English Teachers raised me to.

What am I working on next week? Absolutely no idea. Like I said, I’m still not feeling Lucky, so it’ll probably be either Ace of Wands or Moonlight and Storm. Who knows.

As far as social media goes, I finally figured out how to change my name on TikTok so I can get that more writing focused. I also did some searching for artists I can commission for promotion art once I get the ball rolling.

Lots of denial Queries back for Wolves and Rain, but one comment from an agent really stuck out to me. She made a point that I’ve never published anything before and, while my writing and query letter have an interesting and engaging voice, I’m an unknown. Not a lot of agents or publishers are going to want to take a chance on a four-part story with an unknown writer when two of the four books aren’t even written yet. As such, I’m gonna put a pause on submitting anything for Wolves and Rain, get some promotional art, and maybe look at writing some stand-alone stories so I can get a following and some credibility in the publishing world.

Still, I told myself no new stories until I finish Biker Blues, so now I get to decide what to start with. I’m giving myself the weekend to pinpoint one of the many plot bunnies in my brain before I decide which one gets an actual outline next week. Wish me luck!

It all starts here

Insert cliche line about every journey starting with a single step here, ha!

While I started my writing journey ages ago, my publishing journey is still going. As such, I figure now that I’ve got three completed stories under my belt and more on the way, I need to start putting on my big girl pants and taking this whole writing thing seriously!

As seriously as I take anything.

So, every Friday from here on out, I’ll post here about updates involving my writing, publishing, and maybe sprinkle in a few tidbits about my life here and there.

If you’re joining now, when I manage to publish, or ages down the road when I’ve got a pile of written books high enough to make Stephen King weep, thank you for hopping on with me.

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Writing Updates:

Or, for this post, starting points. I’ve got several WIPs at this point.

Starting off, I have Wolves and Rain, the first book in the Wolves and Rain series. It’s 79,126 words, completed, and I’ve got a third draft currently out for query. The sequel, Howls and Thunder, is written with 75,570 on its second draft currently. The third and fourth books Moonlight and Storm and Fangs and Tempest are plotted and outlined, but not written just yet. Wolves and Rain is dual POV paranormal romance in the vein of shows like Teen Wolf, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or H20: Just Add Water. The magic mostly exists to make the interpersonal dramas even worse. Or, at least, more entertaining for everyone on this side of the page.

Selena Irving, a mermaid of only six months, is sick of her boyfriend Paul, which she swears has nothing to do with the sudden reappearance of Dominic Hart, her unrequited high school crush. She’s all set to dump him gracefully until she runs into Dominic, a werewolf, who tells her there’s a wrinkle in her plan: Paul comes from a long line of werewolf hunters and they won’t appreciate her leaving him. Especially if they find out she’s the first turned mermaid in the state in over 100 years. 

Lucky for Selena, when her break up goes south, Dominic steps in with the perfect plan. They’ll fake date until he can get the Council to intervene. Which he swears has absolutely nothing to do with the unrequited love he’s held for Selena since freshman year. It’s strictly for her safety so she doesn’t wind up hunted for sport or worse. 

I wrote Wolves and Rain because I wanted a story that shows how love can heal without being a magic spell. Selena and Dominic realizing they’re in love with each other won’t wave a wand and fix their problems, but it gives them the strength to stand and heal individually and together. 

Wolves and Rain has a diverse cast. While Selena is a mixed-race bisexual woman and Dominic is a demisexual Romani man, there’s also characters who are asexual, trans, nonbinary, Asian, Indian, and all other walks of life. 

Tropes in this story are: Fake dating | quick burn | mutual pining | friends to lovers | no third-act-breakup | forced proximity | pining | idiots (affectionate) in love 

There are mild trigger warnings for abusive and sexist language and one instance of domestic violence between the FMC and a side character.

Spice rating: 3/5

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Next I have my WIP Marriage in Reverse.

Marriage in Reverse is only 12,944 words so far. It’s going to be a stand-alone and the only one in it’s universe. Marriage in Reverse is a dual POV Romantasy set in a fictional modern world where magic exists alongside technology in our own word. Think series like Darkest Powers by Kelly Armstrong or Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.

Luna Stellas doesn’t think twice about kicking her ex-fiancé Robbert out on the curb when she finds out he’s been plotting and sleeping with her twin sister, Carla. The problem is, she made an oath to a god to get married by that time next year, and finding a husband on short notice who won’t take advantage of the situation is a tall order. Thankfully, her childhood crush, Thomas McCarthy, is more than happy to help a girl out.

Thomas has his own reasons for a quick marriage. He’s got to get a respectable wife to challenge his distant cousins and aunts for his rightful place as Lord McCarthy, despite the Naga heritage his mother passed on. That seems like an easy task when compared to his new one: convincing Luna he agreed to this arrangement so he could marry her, not for the money.

I wrote Marriage in Reverse because, honestly, I like drama. I like telenovas and soap operas and anything where you spend thirty straight minutes screaming at the screen “how could that possibly happen?”, but you never turn it off. I also love stories about the reality of love. How relationships aren’t just a series of cute dates followed by a single fight and making up. It’s thousands of little ways two people can change each other over the course of any relationship.

While Marriage in Reverse isn’t as diverse due to it’s smaller cast, Luna is a WOC.

Tropes in this story are: Arranged Marriage | Contract Marriage | Childhood Friends | Mutual Pining | no-third-act-breakup | He-Fell-First-And-Harder

Trigger Warning: Infidelity (not by main characters) | Mentions of childhood neglect

Spice Rating 2/5

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I’ve also got a WIP called Biker Blues. It’s part of a series called Ridgewood Rattlers and focuses on a motorcycle club. A bit darker than the other three I’ve mentioned, the Ridgewood series is actually grounded in our reality. While I wouldn’t classify it as a “dark romance”, the characters definitely veer into the morally gray area both on and off the pages. If you’re a fan of stories like Rook & Rebel by Kate Crew or The Pucking Wrong series by C.J. Crew, you’ll like our boys in the Ridgewood Club.

Biker Blues is the first book and I’ve got 48,193 words of the first draft written so far. This book follows Blue (Lapis) Pewter and Venom (Alec) Pierce.

Blue Pewter swore she’d never get involved with a biker club again. Not after seeing what leaving did to her mother and herself. When her younger brother, Red, joins with the local club, she decides she can tolerate them from afar to support him and just him. Definitely not the sexy as sin Vice President-to-be of the club, Venom. When someone burns her apartment to the ground and puts her mother in the hospital, she gets moved into the clubhouse for her own safety, and keeping the club (including Venom) at arm’s length gets even harder.

Venom puts the club first. That’s how he was raised and how he lives. These people are his family, and their safety is his top priority. Meaning he doesn’t have the time or patience for Blue Pewter and her stuck up opinions about his chosen family. When he has to look after her for Little Red’s sake, though, he learns there’s more to her than the prim and polished face she shows off, and he has to make a decision on where she’ll stay in his life.

I started writing the Ridgewood series because I like darker stories. However, I don’t think “dark” necessarily has to mean “depressing” or “upsetting”. You can challenge barriers, and get a little spicey, without making your characters wonder if they’re in a romance or a Saw movie. I wanted something that had characters who aren’t always on the right side of the law, but that you can enjoy reading even on a bad day.

Ridgewood Rattlers, like Wolves and Rain, has a stacked and diverse cast. There are characters of all different genders, races, and sexualities, and they all get their time in the light eventually.

Topes are: Strangers to Enemies to Lovers | Brother’s Best Friend | Motorcycle Club | Overprotective MMC | Morally Gray MMC

Triggers: Violence | Arson | Mentions of Drug Use | Non-fatal Motorcycle Accident | Mentions of Childhood Abuse and Neglect | Infidelity (not between MCs)

Spice Rating 5/5

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Right now, I’m working on my WIP Lucky, which has 23,466 words in the first draft. Lucky is a stand alone dual POV paranormal romance with sprinkles of spice. It’s reminiscent of stories like Death and the Last Vampire by Holly Roberds, Dark Prince by Michelle Hercules, or Bound in Blood by Sadie Kincade.

Lucy Wingate is the luckiest woman in the world. Or the unluckiest. It depends on who you ask, when, and if she saw a chicken on the left side of the road under the last full moon. When her brother, Louie, gets in over his head, she makes a deal to save his life and wins. Kind of. Almost. If you squint. See now, instead of having to worry about pesky things like bills, or finding a job, or the mob family her brother almost sold her to, she gets to think about new things, like if Fae can really steal your name.

Alastor Murphy has lived in the mortal realm for centuries, and he’s never seen anything like the Wingate twins. Lucy Wingate seems determined to deny him the answers he seeks about their mysterious family luck, but that’s alright. He has an eternity to coax it out of his little clover now that she’s bound to him.

I started writing Lucky because I’m a sucker for a deal gone sideways. My husband and I got to talking about what happens if you tie a Fae in a challenge, and he made the passing comment “you’d have to be the luckiest person in the world”. Everything spiraled from there. Lucky isn’t a quick burn like most of my other stories. Alastor and Lucy are two very broken individuals jaded by the world and how it’s treated them. The story I’m trying to tell with it is about letting go of past hurts and allowing yourself to feel to the fullest, no matter how things turn out.

Lucky has a WOC for the heroine.

Tropes: Romantasy | Enemies to Lovers | Obsessive MMC | Morally Gray MMC | Fae Lords | Sassy FMC | Fae Politicking | No Third Act Break Up

Triggers: Mentions of gambling addiction

Spice level: 4/5

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My longest series is Tarot Mafia (name in the works) this behemoth of a project is going to be 78 stories. Ace-X of the four houses being a series for four different couples, the Page, Knight, and Queen Cards being shorter stories about side couples in those series, and the King card being a “what if?” story to cap it all off. Then each Major Arcana cards will be stand-alone stories that entwine with the others. Familiar characters will show up, settings will reappear, and events in other books might get mentioned here or there.

Right now, I’ve plotted out every book in the Minor Arcana books (Ace-King of Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles) and I’ve started writing the first book in the series Ace of Wands which has 30,313 words of the first draft written (a little more than halfway finished).

This series will be a dual POV with lots of drama, crime, mystery, romance, and all kinds of spice for everyone to enjoy. It’s the darkest I’m going, pulling inspiration from books like Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver, Lights Out by Navessa Allen, The Alliance Series by S. J. Tilly and anything by Evie Ross.

Ace of Wands follows Violet Williams, a jewelry maker in a neighborhood ruled by the Sanna family. For years she’s kept herself and everyone in her apartment building safe by keeping her head down and her nose out of business that doesn’t concern her. Until one fateful night she decided to defend Isabella Morelli and puts herself firmly on Brian Sanna’s bad side. Thankfully, Isabella is more than happy to offer her older brother’s protection.

Luca Morelli doesn’t trust anyone. Not since his parents were murdered, and especially not since he took over their mafia empire in the wake of his brother’s unsolved murder. So when Isabella brings this timid little mouse home, he knows better than to trust the wide-eyed persona she puts on. He knows Violet’s hiding something, and while he’ll offer her protection from Sanna, he won’t let her slot into his life (or his heart) until he finds out what it is.

I started this series as a challenge to myself. I pulled cards from my tarot deck to write characters, backstories, settings, and the plots themselves. I also wanted to write something huge and sprawling. While I think short stand-alones are fun, I’ve always had a weak spot for anything that gives itself room to breathe and expand so the world feels detailed and real.

Which has nothing to do with my tendency to ramble, I’m sure.

The Tarot Mafia series will have a humongous cast, meaning there will be characters from all walks of life. Different nationalities, sexualities, genders, and body types. For the minor arcana, the FMCs are all WOC and have varying levels of disability (Violet has PTSD, Ruby has ADHD, Justine uses a walking cane, and Michelle has PCOS).

Topes include: Mafia Romance | Protective MMC and FMC | Slow Burn | Quick Burn | Touch Her and Die | no-third-act-breakup

Triggers: Drug use mentioned | Murder | Violence | Gambling | Hospitals | Kidnapping | Child abuse and neglect mentioned | Guns | Knives

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And that’s it for now. I’m not letting myself start ANY new stories until after I finish any of the WIPs besides Ace of Wands because, I admit, I might be writing that series until I keel over.

Check out the socials section of the home page. I have a TikTok where I also do Monday updates and will post art, both my own and any commissions I can afford as time goes on. My Pinterest has boards for all the WIPs I have going. I also post random snippits and quotes on my BlueSky along with small updates.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who is starting on this journey from the get go like my captive audience members friends and family, and the agents who have given mee feedback to help me grow on my publishing journey as well.