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The flash goal was hit, so an additional two short stories have been added to the collection! The 3rd & 4th stretch goals were also unlocked, adding interior art and an additional short story, bringing the total to five! With a whole anthology now in the works, I've decided to include a new goal ($1,300) for an illustrated cover for that collection. $158 until we smash that goal, & still 8 days to go!

Also, physical copies of the anthology are available as add-ons now! This anthology is exclusive to Kickstarter backers for a full year after its release so this physical edition will not be sold wide until 2025.

LIVE ON KICKSTARTER! 🎉

Halifax, Nova Scotia, year 2050.

Kelly has always felt like she has something to prove.  Maybe it has to do with living in one of the last bastions of mankind, desperately trying to survive in the face of total eradication by the fae.  Maybe it’s because her mother and brother were spirited away by those fae thirteen years ago, never to be seen again.  Either way, her whole life has been spent training to be like her father, a soldier doing all he can to keep this human sanctuary safe from the Unblessed King’s army.  After her graduation, though, Kelly finds herself kidnapped in the night, taken beyond the iron walls of her haven, and into a world that is far bigger than she ever imagined.  Haruka, her mother and kidnapper, is alive, as is her brother, Ken, who has grown up in the Wild to be a different kind of soldier.  She’s expected to become the same, as the pair reveal that she is half-fae.

Now Kelly must come to terms with her fae origins, growing powers, and the destiny her mother has entrusted her with: killing the Unblessed King, Dorcha.  She is not alone, though.  With her brother by her side and allies in her future, Kelly is about to embark on a journey she will never forget.  How could she when the very things she was taught to despise and kill are among the people she is meant to save?

IRON SPIRIT is a tale of overcoming seemingly impossible odds, of found and blood family alike, obligation versus desire, and, above all else, grief.  It is also a coming-of-age adventure set in a world that is both devastating and beautiful.  Oh, and it’s a little queer too.

This book has been a labor of love many years in the making and I am so excited to finally share it with the world.

Interested in reading it? Preorder it NOW on Kickstarter and receive exclusive side stories and more!

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✨ It's flash goal time! ✨

This goal will be active from now until 11:00pm Central time on Thursday night.  This is a pledge goal rather than a monetary goal.  If SIX more backers pledge to the Kickstarter by the time this flash goal ends on Thursday night, I will toss TWO MORE side stories into the collection!  That'll bring us up to FOUR KS-exclusive short stories-- maybe even five, if we hit that $1,000 stretch goal in the process!  Not only that, these short stories will be BACKER INFLUENCED!  Using the teasers I provide, you will get to choose which stories (or whose stories) make it to the final collection!

LIVE ON KICKSTARTER! 🎉

Halifax, Nova Scotia, year 2050.

Kelly has always felt like she has something to prove.  Maybe it has to do with living in one of the last bastions of mankind, desperately trying to survive in the face of total eradication by the fae.  Maybe it’s because her mother and brother were spirited away by those fae thirteen years ago, never to be seen again.  Either way, her whole life has been spent training to be like her father, a soldier doing all he can to keep this human sanctuary safe from the Unblessed King’s army.  After her graduation, though, Kelly finds herself kidnapped in the night, taken beyond the iron walls of her haven, and into a world that is far bigger than she ever imagined.  Haruka, her mother and kidnapper, is alive, as is her brother, Ken, who has grown up in the Wild to be a different kind of soldier.  She’s expected to become the same, as the pair reveal that she is half-fae.

Now Kelly must come to terms with her fae origins, growing powers, and the destiny her mother has entrusted her with: killing the Unblessed King, Dorcha.  She is not alone, though.  With her brother by her side and allies in her future, Kelly is about to embark on a journey she will never forget.  How could she when the very things she was taught to despise and kill are among the people she is meant to save?

IRON SPIRIT is a tale of overcoming seemingly impossible odds, of found and blood family alike, obligation versus desire, and, above all else, grief.  It is also a coming-of-age adventure set in a world that is both devastating and beautiful.  Oh, and it’s a little queer too.

This book has been a labor of love many years in the making and I am so excited to finally share it with the world.

Interested in reading it? Preorder it NOW on Kickstarter and receive exclusive side stories and more!

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LIVE ON KICKSTARTER! 🎉

Halifax, Nova Scotia, year 2050.

Kelly has always felt like she has something to prove.  Maybe it has to do with living in one of the last bastions of mankind, desperately trying to survive in the face of total eradication by the fae.  Maybe it’s because her mother and brother were spirited away by those fae thirteen years ago, never to be seen again.  Either way, her whole life has been spent training to be like her father, a soldier doing all he can to keep this human sanctuary safe from the Unblessed King’s army.  After her graduation, though, Kelly finds herself kidnapped in the night, taken beyond the iron walls of her haven, and into a world that is far bigger than she ever imagined.  Haruka, her mother and kidnapper, is alive, as is her brother, Ken, who has grown up in the Wild to be a different kind of soldier.  She’s expected to become the same, as the pair reveal that she is half-fae.

Now Kelly must come to terms with her fae origins, growing powers, and the destiny her mother has entrusted her with: killing the Unblessed King, Dorcha.  She is not alone, though.  With her brother by her side and allies in her future, Kelly is about to embark on a journey she will never forget.  How could she when the very things she was taught to despise and kill are among the people she is meant to save?

IRON SPIRIT is a tale of overcoming seemingly impossible odds, of found and blood family alike, obligation versus desire, and, above all else, grief.  It is also a coming-of-age adventure set in a world that is both devastating and beautiful.  Oh, and it’s a little queer too.

This book has been a labor of love many years in the making and I am so excited to finally share it with the world.

Interested in reading it? Preorder it NOW on Kickstarter and receive exclusive side stories and more!

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Astarion & Sabal; Starcrossed, Starfalling

"Sometimes two souls are fated to find each other, to fall together-- be it in love, or from grace."

(Drawn by ArtOfNe and posted with permission.)

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LIVE ON KICKSTARTER! 🎉

Halifax, Nova Scotia, year 2050.

Kelly has always felt like she has something to prove.  Maybe it has to do with living in one of the last bastions of mankind, desperately trying to survive in the face of total eradication by the fae.  Maybe it’s because her mother and brother were spirited away by those fae thirteen years ago, never to be seen again.  Either way, her whole life has been spent training to be like her father, a soldier doing all he can to keep this human sanctuary safe from the Unblessed King’s army.  After her graduation, though, Kelly finds herself kidnapped in the night, taken beyond the iron walls of her haven, and into a world that is far bigger than she ever imagined.  Haruka, her mother and kidnapper, is alive, as is her brother, Ken, who has grown up in the Wild to be a different kind of soldier.  She’s expected to become the same, as the pair reveal that she is half-fae.

Now Kelly must come to terms with her fae origins, growing powers, and the destiny her mother has entrusted her with: killing the Unblessed King, Dorcha.  She is not alone, though.  With her brother by her side and allies in her future, Kelly is about to embark on a journey she will never forget.  How could she when the very things she was taught to despise and kill are among the people she is meant to save?

IRON SPIRIT is a tale of overcoming seemingly impossible odds, of found and blood family alike, obligation versus desire, and, above all else, grief.  It is also a coming-of-age adventure set in a world that is both devastating and beautiful.  Oh, and it’s a little queer too.

This book has been a labor of love many years in the making and I am so excited to finally share it with the world.

Interested in reading it? Preorder it NOW on Kickstarter and receive exclusive side stories and more!

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Hi! It's been a minute!

I kinda fell off this website for a few weeks, huh?

That's because I launched the Kickstarter for my first novel and have been hard at work (struggling) to finish its final revisions while also working a full-time job (something I have to get used to again because it's legit been 4 years since I did the 40-hour work week.)

I meant to announce this a week ago, actually, but better late than never right? The base goal and first two stretch goals have already been met, but I would LOVE to get the 3rd and 4th stretch goals to round out the KS-exclusive side story collection. If you're interested in modern fantasy, post-apocalypse, and/or fae, consider checking it out?

What about Starcrossed?

I'm still planning to finish it! (That's my BG3 fic, btw.) I had to take a break to prioritize my novel, but I have every intention of finishing it. I'm thinking of writing it for NaNo, actually, alongside the sequel to my novel.

In fact, I even commissioned some art for Starcrossed! I'm still waiting to receive one of them, but I do have this one to share:

(By ArtOfNe on Twitter.)

So yeah, that's what I've been up to! Anyway, I'm going to post these as separate, jazzier posts for reblogging purposes as well, but I wanted to make some kind of entry summarizing my absence instead of just pop back up with the ad for the Kickstarter and stuff. I'll try to be around a little more from now on. I've been having a hard time balancing my energy since starting my new job, but I think I am getting better at it and will be able to resume my previous activities soon.

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Getting to Know You

Tagged by: @memendoemori

Three ships: Well BG3 has consumed my life so my heart and mind are currently ruled by Astarion/Tav, Gortash/Dark Urge, and Gale/Astarion. Like, you don't understand. I quit writing fanfiction ENTIRELY ten years ago and yet here I am, writing an Astarion/Tav fanfic and planning a Gortash/DU fic. This game has changed my brain chemistry.

First ship: Uhhhhh I think it was Daisuke/Hikari from Digimon 02. I know my first fanfiction ever was for that ship. I was 11 when I wrote it. The first ship I remember being really into was Cid/Vincent from FFVII-- which was quickly usurped by my obsession with just... so many ships from Guilty Gear.

Last Song: Pompeii by Bastille

Last Movie: I feel like I watched something after D&D: Honor Among Thieves, but I sure can't remember what it was...

Currently Reading: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, Angels Before Man by Rafael Nicolas, King of Hell by Morgan Dante (I also keep checking out Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker, but haven't actually cracked them open yet.)

Currently Watching: Nothing but I am preparing for a Madoka Magica rewatch with my spouse and a friend. (I don't watch TV that much oops.)

Last thing I wrote: Ch. 6 of my Astarion/Tav fanfic, Starcrossed, Starfalling.

Currently writing: Aside from Starcrossed, I am neck-deep in edits/revisions for my debut novel, Iron Spirit. With any luck, I will be working on its sequel, Iron Slayer, for NaNoWriMo. Well, part of it anyway. I suspect it's going to be a 100k+ book like IS1 and, as much as I would LOVE to, I don't think I could write that in a month lmao. (Would be really cool though.)

Tagging: @starfallisle @capriciouslibrum

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I haven't even STARTED my Dark Urge playthrough and I already have a title for the fic and a playlist started WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME....

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Made my Dark Urge and her guardian, then saved and closed the game because I have to go to bed lol.

I'm not making any promises but, depending on how my Dark Urge run goes, I might.... I might write a fic about this one too. After Starcrossed is done. We'll see.

Mainly because there is a certain ship I am thinking about that I think best works in a Dark Urge run and I see it so little on my feeds that I think, if I want more content for it, I'm just gonna have to feed myself.

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Starcrossed, Starfalling

Sometimes two souls are fated to find each other, to fall together-- be it in love, or from grace.

The tale of Sabal Saberkainen, a Drow bard who left the Underdark in search of a better life, and the people they meet across their grand journey, including a vampire with a nice simple plan that doesn’t stay so simple.

(A mix of the canon story and my own material.)

Also available to read on AO3.

Chapter Six: Bitter on the Tongue

Astarion considers his actions the night he seduced Sabal, and how bitter it makes him feel. Despite that, when offered the chance to feed on them again, he takes it.

Astarion had known many people, had met many more.  So many had graced his gaze, partaken in his conversation, been held in his arms— and now Sabal was among them.  He could still feel the raised edges of their scars on his fingertips, the beat of their heart against his hand.  Their voice, soft and vulnerable, whispered in his mind.

You remind me of the sun.

How ironic.

Astarion clenched his hand into a loose fist as he stared at Gale, who was none the wiser, his back turned to the vampire as he went about preparing dinner for the camp.  The Tieflings were long gone, as was the grove, and soon the surface would be as well.  They were bound for the Underdark now.  Astarion couldn’t help but be curious how things would go once they got there, what with their “leader” being a pariah and all.  Sabal didn’t seem concerned with the reunion.  In fact, they were acting perfectly normal as they sat with their newest stray dog— or perhaps bear was the better comparison.

Halsin was an intriguing man with a body that could snap a tree in half but the spirit of a philosopher-poet.  Sabal had taken a quick liking to him, inviting him to join them as they made their way to Moonrise Towers.  This annoyed Astarion, but no one else, it seemed.  They hardly needed more traveling companions.  But that wasn’t the whole story, was it?

There was something about the way Halsin looked at Sabal that set Astarion on edge.  He admired what the Drow had done for him and his people, admired what they had yet to do, but made promises of.  It shouldn’t have been Astarion’s concern, and yet.  And yet.

The taste of bile rose in the back of his throat and he tried to push it back down, looking away from the bard and druid and off into the wilderness.  Some might say he was jealous of Halsin, but he knew it for what it really was.  Fear.  He feared for his safety in the presence of a man like Halsin.  After all, why would a bleeding heart like Sabal choose a charlatan over an honest spirit?  If the sparkle in Halsin’s eyes was what Astarion feared it could be…

He chose not to finish the thought, rising to his feet.

“Astarion?”

The vampire froze mid-step and turned to see Sabal a few feet away, no Halsin at their side.  Where the man had gone, he didn’t see.

Astarion put on his sweetest smile and rested his hands on his hips as he turned to face the Drow.  “Yes, darling?”

“You seem out of sorts tonight.”  Sabal’s tone was gentle and curious, and Astarion couldn’t help but think of someone trying to pacify a spooked animal.

Astarion chuckled, flashing his teeth.  “I am… hungry, is all,” he lied.  “Perhaps I should’ve fed on that Drow woman when I sliced her open.  All that wasted blood.”

“Starting to feel weak again?” Sabal asked.

Astarion nodded.  “Yes, that must be it.”

Sabal glanced this way and that, eyes lingering on Shadowheart in the distance as she noticed them.  They held each other’s gaze for a moment before she looked away, resuming her conversation with Wyll.  Sabal returned their attention to Astarion.  “I could help you again.”

Astarion couldn’t stop the surprise from crossing his face, but it was quickly replaced by his coy smile.  “You would do that?”

Sabal crossed their arms over their chest.  “We had an arrangement, didn’t we?”

“I suppose we did,” Astarion replied.  “We do.”

“Then yes, I would do that,” Sabal said, glancing over Astarion’s shoulder at the door to the old sanctum the goblins had been making use of prior to their eradication.  “We could… wander off for a little while, if you need.”

Astarion looked over his own shoulder, then back to the Drow.  “Right now?”

Sabal shrugged.  “Or later.”

The vampire’s smile slowly returned and he held out a hand.  “Well, why wait?”

Sabal reached out to take it, hesitating a moment as their fingers touched before lacing them together.  Astarion hadn’t expected the gesture, but he didn’t pull away, instead coaxing Sabal to follow him toward the door.  He pushed it open just enough for both of them to slip through, letting it linger ajar as they stepped deeper into the dark.  He led them down into the main room, where the effigy the goblin priestess had built still lingered, leaning to one side as it began its deterioration.  Astarion pulled Sabal to the side and turned them so their back was against the wall, stepping close enough that their bodies were a breath from touching.  “Tell me, Sabal, do you like pain?”

Sabal’s lips tweaked into a lazy grin at the question.  “That’s a… complicated question.”

Astarion tilted his head slightly, almost like he was going to lean in for a kiss, but their lips didn’t meet.  “It seemed simple enough to me.  Yes, or no?”

Sabal’s gaze dropped to his lips briefly before meeting his again.  “Yes and no.”

Astarion’s own casual grin shifted into more of a pout, but he didn’t say anything, waiting for the Drow to elaborate on their own.

“Pain that means something… I like that,” Sabal murmured.  They took Astarion’s hand, still laced in theirs, and brought it up to their own chest, dislodging their hand and pressing his to one side of the line of stars hidden under their shirt.  “Pain like this?  I will drink of it time and time again.”

Astarion’s expression shifted to something more thoughtful as he looked at his own hand on their chest.  Despite how much he didn’t want to, he thought of the markings on his back.  That pain had meant something, but it was not for him.  If it had been, however, would the sting of their memory be soothed?  Would it have been worth it?

Slowly, he shifted his hand enough to be over Sabal’s heart, taking in its steady beat.  His gaze drifted to their neck, where shallow punctures from his first bite still lingered.  Would those scar as well?  His hand followed his eyes, resting over the healing wound.  “And what of this pain?  Does this mean something?”

“Yes,” Sabal replied, hardly a moment of hesitation between question and answer.

Astarion was caught off-guard by that, his fingers jerking back just enough to leave their skin, hesitating in the air a moment before settling on their shoulder.  “What does it mean, then?”

Sabal stared into Astarion’s face until he turned his gaze to theirs, then reached up to take his chin into their hand.  They weren’t smiling now, but there was something calm about the stony expression on their face.  Peaceful.  “It means you’re worth something.”

Astarion was silent, but he could tell Sabal could see the question in his eyes, in the way his brows raised slightly at their response.  He’d learned by now how well they could read others, and part of him hated it.  All these years of practice, of playing the part and hiding how he felt, and this one Drow could still see through him to the truth.  It made his stomach churn with a myriad of feelings, all of which he didn’t want to put a name to.

“You’re worth the pain,” they continued.

“What makes you so sure?” Astarion asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

Sabal took him by the wrist and guided his hand back down to their heart.  “I feel it.”

Astarion couldn’t help himself and scoffed, but he didn’t move his hand.  “That’s it?”

Sabal nodded.  “That’s it.”

“And that’s enough for you?”

They nodded again.  “Is it not enough for you?”

Astarion considered the question for a moment, frowning.  If he was being honest with himself, it was enough for him.  It meant he’d succeeded, that he’d wrapped Sabal around his finger and ensured someone would be on his side if anything got… messy.  It meant he’d played them, just as he’d played hundreds before them.  It meant he’d survive.

So why did he feel so bitter about it?

Astarion forced a smirk onto his face.  “No, it is.”  He returned his hand to their neck, tilting their head to the side to expose more of it.  “Now then, shall we?”

Sabal closed their eyes, leaning back against the wall of the sanctum, waiting.

Astarion leaned in, baring his fangs, and sank them into the healing punctures across the nape of their neck.  The skin gave easily and the blood flowed freely, washing over his tongue.  There was no fear to be tasted this time, only the sweet velvet of willingness, of calm.  Sabal always seemed so calm, it was a delicacy to partake of it.  Astarion felt his own racing thoughts settle as he drank it in, his arms slipping around their waist to pull them close, as if the feeling of their body against his would somehow make their blood flow more freely.  As if it wasn’t already given so readily.  Greed began settling in as he lapped up what they offered.  No beast could compare to the taste of someone else, of someone who trusted too much.  He wanted to gorge on them, to consume so much of Sabal that he no longer felt the guilt, the loathing.  All he wanted was that calm.

“Astarion,” Sabal whispered, a hint of nervousness to their tone.

The elf snapped back to reality and pulled back.  “Yes, yes, of course,” he murmured, running his tongue across his reddened teeth.

Sabal took a deep, steadying breath, pressing a hand over the bite.

That casual smirk crossed Astarion’s face again.  It was so easy to smile, even when a storm brewed inside him.  “Delicious.”

A small smile pulled at Sabal’s lips at that and they leaned their head back against the wall, not opening their eyes.  “What does it taste like?”

Astarion paused at the question, losing his smile.  Another thing he hadn’t expected from them.  “It’s like… a very fine wine,” he finally said.  “No, something stronger.  Richer.”  He rested a hand on his hip as the other tucked under his chin.  “Brandy, aged enough to become mellow and oaky, but still sweet.”

“Someone would pay well for a glass of that,” Sabal commented.  “I should start charging you.”

Astarion let out a single laugh.  “My darling, is it not already a fair trade?  I fight alongside you, you keep me strong enough to do so.”

Sabal finally opened their eyes, meeting his.  “You do fight better when you’re happy.”

Happy.  The feeling curdled in the pit of Astarion’s stomach, but he continued to smile.

Sabal sighed through their nose and pushed themself off the wall, a hand lingering against it to keep them steady.  “We should go back before the others wonder where we went.”

Astarion took a step towards the door, then hesitated and looked at the Drow, holding out a hand for them.  Sabal stared at it a moment before taking it in their own, stepping close to him so they could lean against his arm.  Despite himself, Astarion sounded amused when he spoke.  “Did I take too much?”

“Maybe,” Sabal replied.  “You need to be more careful.”

“I make no promises,” Astarion said, coaxing them to follow as he began walking.  No longer able to see their face, he let his smile fall, the bitter taste of hate coating his tongue, all semblance of brandy gone from his lips.

⬅ Previous Chapter | Next Chapter ➡

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After sunset, padded footsteps softly pace down every hall.

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No one’s met the neighbors yet.

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The Devil

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Guys, guys! Do you know the novel THE GOBLIN EMPEROR by Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette)? Well, the honor of making the Spanish cover fell onto me, and I’m so happy to finally share it with you! (And the author loved it and I’m about to explode of happiness)

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I'm starving, darling...

werewolves on my brain tonight, folks~

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OPHELIA (details)

But long it could not be Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pull’d the poor wretch from her melodious lay To muddy death.