I recently explored the concept of my characters sprouting from alien spoors, seeding my mind with featureless golems that come to life through my fingers and spring over the keyboard. Yes, I live with pods in my head. I really like it in there, and they depend on me.
What I don’t like is having to leave them behind when I come out to do all the mind-bending, endless labor it takes to publish and sell books. Too much time getting headaches when all I want to do is add dimension to my pod family! …And maybe find some time to relax with the hubby. That seems to be a hard-won bonus these days. I mostly get to see him when he comes to visit my pod people. He’s very amenable that way.
But I’m being honest here… I mostly want to run screaming back to the confines of my imagination. There are scenes needing to be written! More characters that lay dormant, waiting for the words to make them whole. Why must I go down a million internet vortexes that lead to galaxies, that lead to universes where it seems I might never find my way back out, just to get them out into the world?
Do they really need to go into print? Maybe my pod people are happier where they are.
The bottom line is, I tell their stories for readers to enjoy.
So, grow pod people, take shape, and fly off the page and into cozy reading nooks everywhere.
Updated Blog, January 2026 – This year is the fifth anniversary of my series launch! Enjoy The Starlight Chronicles... On SALE January 26 – 30!
Artwork above and below by:
Vic DeLeon Art Director, Ark II, Studio Wildcard – ArtStation.com
Since I started writing a year and a half ago, and somehow decided that my first story would become a three-part, 1200-page novel, characters have been sprouting, growing, and taking on life like so many alien pods. My life is truly no longer my own.
The featureless entities shed their membranes and take on dimension as they flow out through my fingers and over the keyboard, then burst onto my screen. But part of them keeps growing inside me, their tentacles wrapping firmly around my consciousness, and oozing out through my senses. Then they become entangled with my emotions.
I would choose to live no other way. Their stories must be told. Telling them is my reward for being their host.
Soon it will be time to let them go into the world on their own, to make room for my imagination to be seeded again, maybe from a different part of the galaxy. But I’m not quite ready for that yet.
How do you deal with your pod people and the sense of becoming an observer in your own head, loving your characters like children who will leave you and maybe never look back? I’d love to know. I think readers get it.
I’m sharing some artwork by Artist Timi Honkanen. I think artists get it, too.
It’s been a year since my super fun interview with Jade Griffin, and I’ve loved seeing her getting out to so many amazing events with her books since then. We met in person at the Virginia City Writing Retreat in May and I once again caught her energetic fire. By the way, she will be a guest speaker at the retreat next May, giving us a lesson on Foreshadowing.
I decided we all needed some inspiration and an update on the life of a busy Tabletop Roleplaying Game Writer. Here’s her lively response…
Where have I been and what have I been up to? Looking back, I suppose it has been a lot! I did my first two book launches ever (one at Coffee n’ Comics and one at the Art Gallery downtown where Sierra Arts Literary Community (SALC) meets. I also did a book talk/author meet-and-greet at the Churchill County Library — they invited me! I led an event at the Sparks IMAX Victoria theater where authors got to have a few tables out and chat and sell books during the opening weekend of The Odyssey. I also had a table at Silver Age ComiCon which I shared with my daughter, but I also got to meet Joel Hodgson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame!
What’s to come? I have been hard at work whenever I can scrape up the time during this insane year to work on three specific projects: The Amor Fati 6: Lone Stars & Pinewood Boxes (the 6th installment of my Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game campaign of adventures), the sequel to A Lone Collection, my solo CoC adventure, which I have titled A Lone Recruit, and lastly I am speeding through a tight deadline to have ready for playtest a new type of adventure which combines Lovecraftian horror with Boy Scouts in the first adventure of its kind from me: A Scout Is… Knot Trustworthy. There is more on the way after that and in the middle of that, but those three are to be published before the end of this year! For next year, look for my next novel, Assets And Holes, which is connected to the Amor Fati and NPC series of stories but it takes place in 1973 instead of the 1920s. I have the next full leg of the Amor Fati campaign to publish which contains adventures 5, 6, 7, and 8. I am also working on two other completely different projects, another Touch Of Paisley collection of short stories, and so much more! I hope you’ll check in often!
Wow, this is all so amazing, Jade! I guessed it, you have been busy. Just as before, your jubilance, resulting in loads of productivity, is super energizing and I’d even say far reaching, and it makes me want to get back to my keyboard and bang out those 10 novels I have in the works.I love Mystery Science Theater 3000! That must have been a thrill, and I can’t believe the amount of works you’re producing. I’m super intrigued and charmed by that title: A Scout Is… Knot Trustworthy. I can’t wait for a sneak peek.I will definitely check back for more updates. Thanks so much for visiting, Jade!
Check out our previous chat for more about the author, and you can find Jade’s books at DriveThruRPG and on Amazon.
This has been the hardest summer of my life, and I apologize for throwing my pain at you right off the bat. I’ve been torn about writing about it and have been putting it off. But I need to say a few words about my sister and her loss. So, here it is…
Cancer is sneaky and evil. It took my little sister way before her time. That makes me angry. Her loss makes me unbearably sad and often lonely without her to talk to every damn day. She was my best friend, the one who got me more than anyone else. Believe me, I never took that for granted, even if our personalities were oil and water, which meant we got on each other’s nerves as only siblings can do for all 59 years, while also always having each other’s backs.
We battled cancer together in 2025, but hers was the nastier beast, and, thanks to our faulty medical systems, detected far too late. I wrote a story about a day at chemo when my sister Facetimed me as she always did. You can read it at the end of this blog. It’s also part of Revival, an anthology from The Dreamers Bookshop Authors Collective. Jodi and I bonded on a whole other level through our treatments. I will always be grateful for that even as the reason for it keeps hitting me in the guts.
Jodi was able to make choices and decide how she wanted things to go right up until the end. There is a sort of peace in that. It’s a rare thing. It’s hard on loved ones with that weighty clock ticking relentlessly overhead. It gives you lots of time to think, time to say goodbye, and time to grieve in advance. There are both positives and negatives in this process, as you might imagine. Actually, I’m still sorting that out. As for Jodi’s handling of things, she was the bravest person I ever knew.
Rest in peace little sister…
Jodi Suzanne Lewellyn
July 13, 1967 – August 22, 2026.
To comfort me in my grief is my sister’s rescue pup, Luci. She is now part of our pack (aka, household) and gifts us with her sweetness and energy every minute of every day.
Now onto other updates and moving ahead again in life, maybe a little more slowly and more deliberately.
Treasures of the Pharaohs
My mom and stepdad (in their 80s) moved back to California to be closer to Jodi. That means closer to me in northern Nevada also. So, Mom and I had an outing together this month, a time to remember Jodi and reconnect with each other. Proximity does help with these things. They moved into a Sun City Active Community. That means bus tours! We headed to San Francisco and Golden Gate Park on a giant bus to visit the DeYoung museum and see the dazzling and impressive Pharaohs’ Treasures. We didn’t have time to explore more of the park, which I absolutely adore. I hope we can return again. There is so much to see there, and the atmosphere is rich in cultural and historic San Francisco vibes. Still, we soaked up enough of it at the DeYoung and enjoyed a delicious lunch in the cafeteria. Then, it was a long bus ride back to Lincoln, stuck in crawling traffic all the way. But hey, we didn’t have to drive.
Here are a few highlights, including the little sculptures I bought us as souvenirs and actually made in Egypt: The god Horus (falcon = Kingship) for Mom, and the goddess Taweret (hippo = fertility) for me. I was super happy with my Mediterranean salad, which came with my first falafel. It was delicious! So was Mom’s lentil soup.
Latest Release
I have a new release out, another anthology with the amazing authors at The Dreamer’s Bookshop. Check out my dark, and thrilling werewolf story in Plenilune. My cover design (made with Canva) was selected to house this small but special volume of stories.
Stitchy Things
And yes, through it all, my stitching has helped me cope, and I haven’t stopped shopping for the latest patterns from all the wonderful designers. I’ll share just a few projects this time around but know there is so much more!
We are nearly done with Lola Crow’s Museum After Midnight stich along. The last exhibit comes Friday. I will miss the exciting suprises in my inbox each week.
I finished an old project, Summer is in the Air, by Brittercup Designs, which I started in May of 2019. I had actually shelved it, then recently decided to bring it out. It was halfway done, and I finished the other half in a day. Not sure why I waited so long. Look at those cute buttons charted with the design. I love these little darlings, which designers incorporate into their creations from Just Another Button Company. They are also available at the fabulous online store, 123Stitch.com
Three of these, The Raven’s Harvest Moon (by Counting Puddles), A Garden’s Beauty (by Heart in Hand), and Lucky Star (by Bad Stitch), I started just this week. I worked on one I would love to finish soon, Yellow Submarine, by Blackbird Designs. I’d love to finish the Just Cross Stitch Magazine yearlong stitch along, Tapestry of Twelve, but I’m still working on the second season of the year, so might be late on that.
For plans… I’ve got more stitch-alongs to participate in and many I want to complete. Nice spooky ones, too, such as Here Lyse the Body by Witch Garden Crafts, inspired by 18th Century tombstones. The fabric was also dyed by the designer. Group participation is great for actually getting a big project done in a reasonable time, if one can keep up.
I’ve got a fun community event starting this Friday to motivate my needle, the Great British Cross Stitch Baking Show challenge (follow JessieMarieDoesSuff on Instagram and Facebook for this and other stitching challenges). Can’t wait for the show to drop here in the U.S.! I’ll be assigning projects to the contestants and stitching a number of stitches based on things like who got a handshake, who was last in technical, and who was star baker.
Lastly, I signed up for a year-long mixed media art class with Willowing Arts at Willowing.org. I’ve enjoyed Tamara Laporte’s online collaborative classes in the past, and I’m hoping I can really dig in and stick with all or most of the projects in 2027 (without falling behind on my stitching projects – Ha!) We have taster classes through October to whet our appetites. There are over 30 teachers participating for a variety of techniques and styles, but it’s all based on one theme – wild nature.
Thank you for letting me share life’s bumpy ride and its surprising little joys. I know we all have our ups and downs, and I certainly hope you’re on an upswing at the moment. Big hugs.
Here is the short story I promised…
A Break Too Deep
A short story by D. L. Lewellyn
We mask up for the puncture. The nurse’s eyes are kind as he inserts the needle into the port. It hurts only a little, and I’m pleased I don’t wince. I’m used to it now. It’s my fifth round sitting in one of these reclining chairs, hooked up to bags of deadly toxins. The chairs are heated too, and they lift so I can look out the window and see the mountains. I acknowledge to myself how fortunate I am to be so close to a new state-of-the-art cancer center.
Our masks come off, and he smiles at me, his eyes a warm chestnut—healer eyes. “It’s worth it to make you better, isn’t it? Can I scan your wristband?”
I nod, smiling back and holding up the QR code to his phone, noticing how well his trimmed mustache and goatee set off his handsome face. He turns to the computer screen and rattles off the familiar premeds and the chemo drug that will flow into my body to eradicate the mutant cells trying to kill me. That’s the goal, anyway. The Red Devil didn’t get me in the first four rounds—just destroyed my blood—but that’s recovering. I’m confident I can withstand the next four rounds of nerve-blasting Paclitaxel. The drug alone will take three hours to circulate through my veins, and I’ve dreaded this first extra-long session, though I take comfort knowing I’m halfway through.
“What did you do this weekend?” my nurse asks me as he scans the monitor for all my stats.
“Watched the Singapore Grand Prix,” I say, then confess that was about it since my husband and I are homebodies. “How about you?”
A shy smile flits over his face as he heads toward the door, and his eyes dip to the floor. “It’s embarrassing to admit, but I’m a Swifty.” I want to tell him not to be embarrassed for loving music, but he goes on, his shyness vanishing as his eyes light up. “I went to a record drop party. The crowd was amazing! I missed her last tour and really regretted it, but this came close to making up for it. After that, I went to a new bar downtown. My sister is in a band, and they played there for opening night.”
“Sounds fantastic,” I say, grinning widely. I think of my little sister and how we support each other like that, at least in all the ways that count. There was plenty of conflict over the years, too, but we always had each other’s backs.
We talk more about the band and the bar, and then I make my own shy admission. “I write stories. That takes up a lot of my weekend, too.”
“Really? What do you write?”
“Fantasy romance.”
“I love romance! Are you published?”
“Self-published.”
“Ooh, I’ll have to check out your books.”
An independent author appreciates a response like that, though it’s probably just politeness. I hand him my card, presenting it with flair, having learned to seize these moments. His smile is genuine as he skims over the card before slipping it into his pocket.
My stomach growls loudly. He asks if I’d like a snack, and I tell him I’m fasting—something I’m proud of because it’s helped me get through this ordeal with minimal side effects and even a few added benefits like less joint pain. With my husband’s support, I’ve changed my diet and lifestyle since discovering the lump and lost fifty pounds, and I feel more energetic between treatments. It’s a victory in this fight I can hold onto.
“Do you need anything else?” he asks.
“I’m good,” I assure him, and he winks at me, closing the sliding door behind him. I’m enveloped in silence except for the quiet hum of the machine. He’s already given me a heated blanket and ice chips—the blanket to block the merciless air conditioning, and the ice to mask the bitter taste the drugs leave in my mouth, just one example of fluctuating between hot and cold–a constant state during this quest to halt the transmutation of my cells.
My hollow stomach growls again, reminding me that I’m working hard at rebuilding myself my way. Granted, some of the lost weight is muscle, thanks to the toxins—maybe even half a pound of hair. I used to have lovely, thick hair with silvery streaks, but now my scalp is bare, as is my face and body—baby-smooth. Naked eyelids feel the strangest. I definitely took my eyelashes for granted… and my nostril hair. Who knew you could miss nostril hair?
I’m a featureless golem, feeling a bit like Frankenstein’s bride with some parts removed and others stitched back on, ready to reform and become whole again. I clench my jaw. This microscopic destroyer won’t defeat me. Blasting me with chemicals might age me, wreck my blood, weaken my heart… break me into lesser pieces, but I can rebuild myself. I can reverse the damage. Be stronger than I was before.
A chuckle escapes as I’m reminded of the opening to ‘The Six Million Dollar Man,’ and I think of my sister again—when she was nine—wanting so badly to be the Bionic Woman. She dreamed aloud with such passion and frequency that I was convinced we would hear that echoey, slow-motion special effects sound every time she jumped off the deck into our doughboy pool…
Na na na na na na na…
My phone rings. As if in answer to my reminiscing, my sister’s face lights up the screen. She’s three and a half years younger than me, and just as bald. We look like twins.
As we chat like we always do at least once when one of us is in the chemo chair, the nurse opens the sliding glass door and asks how I’m doing. I smile and tell him I’m fine. On impulse, I hold out my phone so my sister can say hi. She loves meeting new people and has an affinity for infusion nurses. He winces at our resemblance, his eyes filling with sympathy, but his smile quickly takes over. They introduce themselves.
“Hi, Brian,” she beams at him. I can’t see her, but I know she’s beaming. “You’re so handsome,” she says. “Thanks for taking care of my sister.” His face couldn’t shine any brighter as he grins back. She has that effect on people.
I tell him, “We started chemo a day apart.”
She chimes in, as I expect her to. “I’ve got ovarian cancer. It’s advanced, but we’re working on making me operable for some extra time.”
The sudden lance of pain in my heart weakens my arm, causing the phone to wobble in front of Brian’s face. He looks at me, his eyes filling with a deeper understanding.
My sister and I are warriors. Cancer won’t defeat me because mine is conquerable. I can revive. My little sister? Her foe is breaking her into too many killing pieces, and there’s no OSI to rebuild her like Jaime Sommers.
Plenilune, a word that evokes an intense sense of attraction to the mystique of life’s darkness. In this compilation of stories, authors show what plenilune can mean to their characters—different points of view, various genres, all bound to this one concept. Join us as we take you on this intense journey to a world where we embrace the darker side of life.
I’m thrilled to introduce you to fellow local author and Virginia City Writing Retreat regular, Jacci Turner.
Not only did I get to know Jacci at this year’s retreat and get a signed copy of her wonderful book, Tree Singer, but I reaped the benefits of her awesome class on character development.
We’ll be diving into her writer’s life and wisdom, so sit back and soak it all up while you enjoy your Sunday morning coffee.
Let’s Meet the Author
Jacci lives with her husband in Nevada’s high desert. They spend their mornings hiking through the sagebrush with their dog, Rosie.
Jacci loves chocolate, babies, and coffee with friends. She’s worn many hats in her lifetime: therapist, school counselor, campus minister, spiritual director, and mother. Her favorite hats are her writer and grandmother hats, which come in wild colors and don’t fit too tightly.
Jacci’s first fantasy series for young adults is the Tree Singer Series. It has three things she loves: trees, a good quest story, and a young girl who has to find her voice to bring her gifts to the world! Tree Singer was a Wishing Shelf Book Award finalist and has a fantastic Kirkus review. It is available on Audible with the incomparable Barbara Bond narrating.
Jacci’s middle grade fiction, Bending Willow, is about Riley and Mia searching for a father who doesn’t know they exist. It is the first book in The Finding Home Series. Bending Willow represented Nevada at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C and was a finalist for the Wishing Shelf Contest. All of Jacci’s books have spent time on the best-selling Amazon lists.
Her YA book, Snapped, is about Snapchat gone wrong and how to stand up to cyberbullying, and her YA book, Cracker, is an alternative history and helps us understand what it is like to be a marginalized person. Both of these books were finalists in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards.
All of Jacci’s books were gifted by a patron to the Washoe County School libraries!
Let’s Get Started
Thank you so much for chatting with us, Jacci. Can you share how you got started on your writing journey, and who or what was your biggest inspiration?
Thanks for having me!
I was a reluctant reader until my best friend introduced me to horse books! But from the time I was little, I loved theater. I used to charge the neighborhood kids a nickel to come see the plays I created. This love followed me through high school, college, and into the community where I did plays with my kids. Then, when life got too busy, I realized theater took a lot of hours and looked for another outlet for my creative storytelling and started writing. But it took until I was fifty to have the patience to do the rewriting and editing.
I’m inspired by a good found family story. I loved books about orphans when I was young, like The Box Car Children, Anne of Green Gables, Annie, and Pippi Longstocking, where there were no parents to interfere and the kids could have adventures. That idea is where my Finding Home Series came from.
I love this origin story–nickel plays Awesome!As was brought out in your wonderful bio above, you explore multiple genres, age groups, and themes in your writing. Where do you find ideas for your stories? What inspires you most?
So many things inspire me, but it usually starts with a “what if” question. Once I was at a retreat center staring at a redwood tree and thought, “What if a girl could sing to the tree and help it grow?” That’s where the Tree SingerSeries was born.
Things I read also inspire me. I read an article about how boys were using Snapchat to get girls to send them pictures of their breasts. If the girl said no, the boy would post a picture of someone else’s and say it was hers. If she said yes, he’d post hers. Either way, she got slut shamed. It was so unfair it drove me crazy. That is where Snapped came from.
What have you found to be your favorite settings in which to explore your themes? What elements in the various genres have you had the most fun with while you write?
I loved writing my fantasy series because you get to create an entire world and your own magic system. I am passionately in love with nature and grew up near Santa Cruz, so writing about trees and the ocean was a lot of fun for me.
My soon-to-be-released book, Railroad Women, is my first Historical Fiction, and I thought it would be hard to do the research, but I had a blast. For one thing, it takes place in Virginia City, and as you know, I go there often, so it was a great place to find out about the history. For another, the internet makes googling questions so easy! It was fun.
I’m so inspired by your involvement in the local writing community, giving talks, teaching classes. You have expanded that to the wider online writing communities as well. Is public outreach something you’ve been active with from the beginning, or how did it evolve?
When I turned fifty, my daughter gave me a membership to a local writer’s group. I went with my finished manuscript and sat down next to a guy who got me involved in a critique group for finished work, where I learned SO MUCH. I found the monthly meetings inspired me to keep writing, and I met people who became my support system.
Ever since then, I’ve tried to give back to the local writing community. I have a Facebook page called Northern Nevada Writers so we can share information and encourage each other. I helped start the Sierra Arts Literary Community and am involved with a few others. Whenever a new writer asks me for advice, I tell them, “Join a writer’s group.” IMO it’s the most important thing a writer can do.
I love being part of the Northern Nevada Writers group on Facebook. So much happening!What advice can you share about outreach, either in person or online? What are the benefits? Where/what platforms have you found to be the best places to spend your time and energy?
Everyone needs to find where they fit. If you write romance, find a supportive romance writers’ group. For me, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (“SCBWI”) has been a fantastic organization to be a part of. This is where I found my critique group and some of my closest friends. They have free online training, in-person conferences, and mentor programs. I got to be a mentor in the last series and really enjoyed it.
My favorite social media platform is TikTok. They have fantastic support for book lovers under #booktok and #authortok hashtags. I’ve built a great community there. People read and review my books, invite me to live interviews, and I’ve found an editor and three narrators there.
Wonderful. Thanks for the fantastic resources, and speaking of mentoring, I enjoyed your class on character development at the Virginia City Writing Retreat this May. I’d love it if you could share your top tip with us here.
I’m a character-driven writer and as you know, a therapist. People are fascinating to me. The best advice I can give is to read the book GMC:Goals, Motivation & Conflict, The Building Blocks of Good Fiction by Debra Dixon. You have to know what is motivating your character, and it has to be BIG enough to make them take risks and make stupid decisions.
Ooh, I might have to add this one to my resource library…Where can we expect to see you give a presentation next?
I’ve got no presentations lined up at the moment although I do plan to be a mentor again next year with SCBWI. They will be taking applications soon for next year. You need to have a completed manuscript. You can check out their offerings and find your region at https://www.scbwi.org/.
On the technical side, what are your best resources for publishing, marketing, and artwork, and where or how do you go about finding them?
I have found most of my editors through Lucky Bat Books, a local publishing company where you pay for what you need – they offer editing, formatting, marketing, and cover designs. Since I’ve started, I’ve learned to do my own formatting using Atticus. It’s a great program with a pay one time and have it for life philosophy. They have good tech support. I found my cover designer on 99 Designs and absolutely love her. Her business is called Merc Studios. If you’re in a writer’s group, you can ask your friends. Everyone has favorites.
Thanks again! I have Atticus and need to explore it. I keep hearing good things, but it’s hard to switch from how you first learned to make your manuscripts, even if it isn’t the most efficient process. I’m glad for the reminder.Now a little more on your writer’s life. What is your writing schedule like, and do you have a favorite writing spot or routine? What techniques/practices help you stay creative and productive?
It always bothered me when I went to writer’s conferences and heard, “You must get up at four and write for two hours before your children get up.” That is foolish and damaging advice. I say, find out what works for you. When I was working full time, I wrote on Wednesdays because I had that day off. I’d go to the library for two to three hours and write. That was all I had in me. And I wrote my first ten books that way. Now that I’m mostly retired, I can write when I want. I’m very internally motivated, but if you need accountability, you can get some folks together to have a write-in, or go to a writing retreat, or set a timer for a writing sprint. Find what works for you.
What’s your best advice on balancing your creative time with day-to-day life?
Living life is the most important thing. I’m always telling writers, who tend to be introverted and isolated people, to get out of the house! Go for a walk, have coffee with a friend, jump out of a plane. Anything to keep the creative juices flowing. Otherwise, you’ll get burned out, and I think that’s where writer’s block comes from.
Great advice, although coffee and walking are more my pace, and in that order.😁How many books have you published to date, and can you share what’s in the works?
I have sixteen books out now, two more in the wings. The last book in the Tree Singer Series is Heart Talker and the historical fiction Railroad Women. It’s about four young people who meet at the joining of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 and end up starting new lives in Virginia City.
I also have two audiobooks in the works: the second book in the Tree Singer Series, Wind Catcher, and one for Railroad Women. I adore audiobooks and can’t wait to hear them. Last year I released the audio for Snapped and Love Virus. Love Virus is adult fiction about three women, ages 16, 35, and 75, who help each other through the pandemic. It was read by three women of those ages. So fun!
What a fantastic body of work, and congratulations on your upcoming releases!Where can we follow you to stay updated?
You can find me at https://www.jacciturner.com/ or on most social media @jacciturner my email is Jacciturnerauthor@gmail.com
Thanks again for visiting my Spotlight, Jacci. It’s been a blast. What parting advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Thanks for having me. If you’ve read this far you know what I’d say. So, just have fun. Writing should be fun. Editing, not so much, but writing yes!
Enjoy a Three-Part Supernatural Horror Story – Exactly 100 Words Each
One: Brother’s Maker
Thick rivulets of blood moved down the wall like snakes slithering into Hell. Lucius thought going there himself would be better than mucking out this foul slaughter. Hiding his brother’s crimes from Prince Remus. Death by fire, their punishment if caught.
Linus, too far gone to understand the danger, had killed another valuable hunter. Lucius labored to obliterate the evidence while Linus crouched over an arm sucking out the blood and marrow like a human sucking meat from a crab leg.
Lucius had turned his brother. Watching him deteriorate was penance. Figuring out how to stop it, his only purpose.
Two: Brother’s Keeper
Tearing his gaze from the bloody woman, Lucius grabbed crumpled newspaper from the trash bin and covered the crime. Blood soaked through, turning print to pulp. He added more. Didn’t help. Blood spouted like a geyser from her coveted jugular.
Yanking his brother, who’d pounced on her again, away from her neck, he hissed, “You couldn’t have gone another block?” Linus whipped his head around and Lucius gasped. The nerdy, giraffe-legged brother was there… briefly, then his eyes were soulless again, reflecting the red pooling in the gutter… and Linus’s stark hunger. Pain stabbed Lucius where his heart once beat
Three: Brother’s Killer
Lucius cradled the precious head he’d been commanded to remove. Pulling his blurry gaze from the body crumpled in a muddy hole, he examined their fateful surroundings—the crumbling tombstones, the sodden grass, the ancient cypress bent sideways in the wind. Despite the stinging rain, none of it felt real. They’d been vampires for countless decades, inseparable until Linus’s control deserted him. Too many laws broken, making one brother a fugitive, one a hunter. He looked into Linus’s staring eyes, “You never believed you could be ended. Didn’t you once think it would be me they sent to destroy you?”
Had to add this. I love making book covers, even for tiny fiction.
First drafts rejected. But I Keep Trying.
I was happy with my first attempt to do a 100-word story. The publisher, not so much. But that’s okay because I learned a lot in the process. These bits about vampire brothers were inspired by a minor character in my Starlight Chronicles series. I admit, writing pure horror is a challenge for me, though I love reading and watching it, the darker the better. I read Bram Stoker in my youth, along with Mary Shelly, which means those sweeping, tantalizing, horrific impressions are there, deep down, and now that I’m writing fantasy, I’m compelled to draw from their brilliance.
Vlad the Impaler has been an endlessly fascinating figure in history and fiction for me, no matter how many ways his story has been told. And today’s supernatural fantasy authors are finding entertaining ways to retell the tales. Many of them inspired me.
Luke Evans portrayed an excellent fictional Vlad. Dracula Untold sparked my imagination and gave a feel for the period and setting. I was disappointed with its box office failure, which ended hopes of a sequel. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the trailer.
Please take a moment to read the drabbles above and let me know if I’m on the right track for a story told in exactly 100 words. Better yet, share your own 100-word story in the comments. [Update Note: Each story gone over and amended for fun August 2026.]
Yes, it’s been hot, but not like some parts of the country (or world, for that matter), so I can’t complain too much, and for all who are suffering under extreme weather conditions, you have my sympathy and wishes for a speedy return to normalcy.
At least the nights cool down in the high desert so close to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and we get views like this…
One day, I will again have updates from the writer’s chair, but cross stitching is still holding me together through a rough and strange couple of years, so sharing my bright beauties is the best way to spread a little joy. You might find it somewhat quirky that I put so much effort into cataloging my stitchy progress with Canva, but these graphic-packed blogs are for me as much as they are for anyone. I love having this cozy space to visit snapshots of life’s happenings in the midst of living new adventures or undergoing challenges. I do hope you find something here to enjoy as well.
But first…
Bookish things
Since books and crafting bring me so much peace and joy, I have an interview scheduled for October that features both.
Mark your calendars for a visit with me and The Witchy Stitcher. Not only will you go behind the scenes on writing a truly superb and beautiful craft book (I get stars in my eyes every time I page through it) but you will also meet a unique and vital member of the cross-stitching community.
You won’t want to miss August’s guest, either. Jacci Turner is a wonderful writer of YA fiction, teacher of the craft, and an active member of the Sierra Arts Literary Community, right in my own neighborhood. I really enjoyed her class on character development at the Virginia City Writing Retreat this May.
And this month features a fantastic conversation with Morgan Vayle, who writes Paranormal Romantasy inspired by her surroundings in the Pacific Northwest. The two of us are sharing in another exciting #RomanceBookBlast promotion this week. Don’t miss your chance at FREE romance!
Mini Adventure with the New Hip
The highlight this month was very personal, and I’ll leave most of it to reside in my memories, but I do want to share some of it here because I finally experienced an Airbnb (I do need to get out more) after a mini road trip where I drove for the first time with my new hip, installed only a few short weeks ago. The event turned out to be one of those truly special times with my sisters that make lasting memories.
The California landscape is beautiful and diverse. You’ve got your mountains and rolling hills beautiful, your coastal beautiful, your Victorian city beautiful (San Francisco is in the topmost beautiful cities in the world), and lots and lots of cozy pioneer town beautiful. Grass Valley/Nevada City falls into the last category. That’s where I stayed with my stepsister in an adorable 1930’s cottage that turned out to be comfortable, affordable, and well-equipped. The enclosed back porch even provided a vintage game room. I’ll share a few photos in case you’re ever in the vicinity and want a great place to stay. Look for the pet friendly, adorable Quartz Cottage.
A lovely welcome from Sis!This vintage Pachinko game works!What better perch for a Pachinko game than an antique icebox?An old slot machine that didn’t work, dang it.
The vintage Pachinko machine actually works, and it was fun! Brought back memories from my 70s childhood because for some reason, they caught on as a toy in a lot of American households–maybe as a lark to annoy parents with all that clanging noise. See the history of Pachinko, if you’re curious.
I love getting to know fellow writers every quarter during the Romance Book Blast as we help each other promote our books. We’re having a Blast event this month! Hundreds of romance books for free, and I thought you might enjoy meeting one of the amazing participating authors as we dive with her into a writer’s life and learn about her novels of “dark worlds and tender romances.”
Let’s Meet the Author
Morgan lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, son, and two needy cats. She’s been writing since she first learned how to hold a pencil and string words together. When not day dreaming of fantasy worlds, she can be found reading or wandering among the wildflowers.
Let’s Get Started
Thank you so much for visiting my Spotlight, Morgan.
Thanks for including me in this spotlight! I’m excited to participate.
Can you share who or what was your biggest inspiration and how you got started?
This is such a tough question. I’ve loved storytelling as long as I can remember, but I think the first author who inspired me to write fantasy was Gail Carson Levine. I especially adored The Two Princesses of Bamarre. Between her, Lord of the Rings, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Princess Bride, I was doomed (fated?) to write paranormal romance and romantasy.
How did you decide on your genre, and what other genres or subgenres do you want to explore?
Similar to my answer above, I think my genres came naturally to me thanks to the movies, books, and shows I was exposed to as a child. Something about the fantastical always intrigued me. I tend to write pretty dark worlds, and I think someday I’d like to experiment with cozy fantasy as a mental palette cleanser.
Oh, I like how you phrase that. Cozy and dark both work for me when it comes to romance. It’s just a matter of adjusting the atmosphere in my reading nook. As for fantasy, your books are right up my alley, vampires, gods, dark magical forests. Can you tell us a bit aboutThe Dust of the Earth TrilogyandThe Withering Wood?
The Dust of the Earth follows a reluctant born vampire (Nikki) as she navigates her transition from her human to vampiric traits. When she meets a sunshine human at her university, evil voices start whispering to her through the trees. She has to figure out what it is, what it wants, and if there’s any hope of surviving it. I have a new twist on vampires (factoring in a genetic component), and the story is full of mysteries, secrets, and friendships that are just as important as the romantic relationships.
The Withering Wood is my first dive into romantasy. It takes place in a kingdom cursed by the bones of a dead God, which traps the land in eternal winter. Our FMC, Cerise, is a retired warrior who lives in the dying woods with her sister. A mysterious stranger appears at her door, turning her quiet life upside down. She finds herself on a quest to stop the dead God from rising while also resisting the charm of a flirty prince named Oberon.
I do love a good fairytale retelling, and I’m happy the genre has taken off. What inspired you to write one and what do you love most about it?
I love fairytale retellings too! My retelling is part of a collaboration with the Portland Romance Writers, where we’re releasing a different retelling every week for 8 weeks starting August 18th. I wanted to retell a tale less frequently retold and while reading a compilation of 5 minute fairytales to my toddler (who was closer to an infant at the time) I was reminded of the story of Snow White and Rose Red. My retelling sort of spiralled out of my head from there.
I feel like I’m betraying the main characters in Dust of the Earth by saying this, but the FMC and MMC in The Withering Wood are my favorite characters I’ve ever written. Cerise is a cold-hearted warrior archetype and Oberon is ridiculously flirty so writing their banter was too much fun. I also loved creating a new world and leaning heavily into the winter vibes.
I have a writing friend who writes paranormal romance and lives in the Pacific Northwest, a region rife with fantasy vibes–all those dense, mossy forests… She attends so many wonderful markets or fairs where artists and authors can dress up as fantasy characters and share their wares, like theFae Ball EventsorThe Court of Shadow & Starlight Fantasy BallI just saw scheduled for next year. What is your favorite way to connect with readers, and what are your recommendations regarding virtual or physical engagement and why?
We really do have so many wonderful events here in the PNW. From organizers, to authors, to readers, each one I’ve been to has been a blast. These in-person events are my favorite way to connect with readers. Which surprised me at first since I’m terribly introverted. But it fits better with my communication style than over social media, which I struggle with. I see virtual and/or physical engagement work differently for different authors, so my recommendation to new authors is to experiment and see what works best for you. If you don’t vibe with social media like me, find what your boundary is with it. For example, I don’t have a face-forward account, and I tend to post more about updates or reveals. Then my social energy goes into in-person events. But others may not like in-person events and love content creation! What is successful for one person may not work for another, so don’t sweat it too much and do what works best for you. You don’t need to burn yourself out. You will find your readers.
What are your top tips on marketing and publishing?
Join a local author group if you can. Being in the Portland Romance Writers has been an amazing experience. Writing a story is a solitary endeavor, but marketing and publishing doesn’t have to be. Having a support group and people you can workshop blurbs, hooks, graphics with, or even just vent when you’re feeling down about your career can be helpful. They can also give recommendations for editors and cover designers who are effective, affordable, and trustworthy.
I love it! Thanks for that advice. I see that you offer signed copies of your books on your website. I would love to offer that option for my books. How easy is it to set up a store and can you share a few tips?
I am not a tech savvy person and have had a few people help me tweak my store. I’ve had to watch a lot of videos on how to use WordPress and the add-ons to navigate it. I use Square for in-person events and was able to attach it to my website; so, I’d recommend looking into if a platform you already use for sales can be connected to help keep sales in one place.
Awesome, thanks! Besides your website, where are the best place(s) to find you and your books?
My books are available on Amazon and KU: The first book in my trilogy also recently released on audible and the second is coming soon!
Congratulations on the Audible! Your cover art is amazing. Can you tell us about it?
Thank you! I was originally published through a small press and they designed the covers for Dust of the Earth. Each silhouette is a different main character (Nikki, Gwen, and Xander) and each book has the cover character’s POV added. The image within their silhouette represents a key aspect or influence in their journey.
Can you give us a sneak peek at what’s coming next?
I sure can! Speaking of covers, there may be a few special editions on the horizon … besides that I can say there will be more infrequently retold fairytales. While I’ll stay in the romantasy genre, I will be taking a “dive” into a new world.
Fantastic. Now, for more on your writer’s life. Do you write full time? What is your writing schedule like and what are your favorite methods or tools to balance writing with day-to-day life and keep you productive and those creative juices flowing? Do you have a favorite writing spot?
I wish I wrote full time and my goal is to do so someday. I currently have a day job where I work remote from home while also taking care of my toddler. I generally have to get my writing done early in the morning before my kid wakes up and before I start my day job, because once those two things are going all creative juices are sapped. Though there’s a part of me that’s still brainstorming and I jot down notes here and there as I can. It can be really tough to keep the motivation going with so much going on, but reminding myself that writing is the most rejuvenating, fulfilling activity for me helps. I have to take life as it ebbs and flows and remember that someday I’ll be able to be more consistent with writing again.
My favorite writing spot is my office. I love having my own space which is surrounded by my favorite books and bookish art. I just get to soak in the lovely, literary vibes. I also like writing in our backyard when the weather is nice.
Wonderful. I could get into having a home library writing nook for sure and give me any yard with all that greenery in the PNW, and I can see the inspiration flowing. Thanks again for dropping by, Morgan, and good luck with the Romance Book Blast. Any parting advice for aspiring writers?
Thanks so much for inviting me! I hope the RBB goes well for you too. My parting advice for aspiring writers is to not give up. Find your people. Aspiring can be daunting. Debuting can be discouraging. But find your support group and keep plugging along. You’ll get there!
From her excellent short story, Braza, first published in 2022, to her exciting debut novel, Path of the Crescent Moon, released this May and available for preorder, I’ve had the pleasure of following Isa’s writing journey, whether as a reader, writing group member and fellow critiquer, social media sharer, or interviewer. (You can check out our first Spotlight interview here.)
I’m currently enjoying Path of the Crescent Moon as an ARC reader and eager to chat with the author about the story, its creation and publication, and her writer’s life. Join us for some writer’s inspiration.
Let’s Meet the Author
Isa began her journey as an avid fantasy reader who often wondered if, one day, she could write a book herself. It turned out that she could.
Isa’s work began with short stories. She was hooked from the moment she began crafting her own worlds and characters, watching them dance under her typing fingers.
For Isa, the lens of fantasy helps her understand the world; the good and the bad, the whimsical and the dark. Much more than a form of escapism, she believes that speculative fiction has the potential to show a better future for ourselves, to take us on new adventures.
Isa moved continents from her hometown in Brazil to Portugal in 2017, seeking that new adventure for herself. Besides writing and reading, Isa enjoys long runs through the local parks of Porto, feeding and watering her plants with her adoring husband, and obsessing over the fanart of her favourite fantasy protagonists.
She also believes that books are political and that we can change the world one story at a time.
Let’s Get Started
Thank you so much for visiting my Spotlight, Isa. I love having an author join me during such an exciting milestone. Your novel is out! And it’s amazing. From the start, I was hooked by the intriguing characters. Your stories have found excellent homes in a variety of magazines and anthologies. Can you start by sharing your experiences with the different publications and, eventually, finding and collaborating with your small press publisher, Owl Talyn Press?
Thanks so much for having me again, Darci!
I began with short stories, finding magazines with submission calls that aligned with whatever I had written. There’s a lot (and I mean A LOT) of rejections in any writer’s journey, but I’ve learnt to never take it personally. When we manage to find a home for a story, it’s the best feeling ever.
The process is very similar for short stories and novels: you’re an unagented author, so you’re submitting directly to editors. The only difference is the material you need to prepare.
For short stories, a small cover letter and a mini blurb is enough. For a novel, you may need a synopsis, a summary, author bio, and parts of your manuscript. Pay especial attention to the details, such as what exactly the publishers are looking for, the format of your submission, and when possible, who you’re writing to. Use your voice when crafting the cover letter, try to show why your story would be a good fit, then hit send and hope for the best.
Finding Owl Talyn Press was a dream come true. They were willing to give my book a chance, and it’s been wonderful working with them. I couldn’t be happier!
That’s excellent advice. Thank you! Tell us about your novel and how we can find it.
Path of the Crescent Moon is a fantasy novel made of witchy rage and moonlight. It’s for the angry souls, the soft souls, the ones who would very much love to get lost in a dark forest and learn the secrets of the night.
We follow Bea, a young mother who will do anything to save her child. In her journey, we discover how far we are willing to go for our loved ones, and to what depths we will fall if we fail.
When you have the chance to exact revenge, do you take it? When you have the power to set the world ablaze, do you provoke the spark? If your immediate answer is not a hard “no”, then you might want to check Amazon and Owl Talyn Press for a copy of Path of the Crescent Moon.
Ooh, so moody and such fun questions to hook the reader. From my initial foray into the first chapters, I’m getting the feeling the setting is a character in itself.
Do you have more stories in the works?
Always. I’ve got a vampire novel in submission, and two works in progress. One is a novel, the other a novella, both still on the first draft stage. I’ve got short stories also in submission and probably a thousand more ideas on the back burner. What I do not have a lot of is time.
Hmmm, vampires… since I happen to be intimate with the makings of this story through our writer’s group, let me just say, yes! Vampires, and so much more…
Let’s back up a bit and talk about what inspired you to become a writer.
I’ve always loved books, loved stories and legends and myths and anything that let me wonder. For me, authors are the real super stars, so I’ve always had this idea in the back of my mind that I’d love to write my own story one day.
When I was thirty years old and done with pretending to be what I was not, I decided that it was time to do what I wanted to do; and that was writing a book.
I fell in love with the process of writing. It’s hard and maddening and terribly wonderful. My friends and community inspire me everyday and so do the books I read and the authors I love. I’m a fan girl at heart, so to be able to count myself among my idols is honestly a dream.
I love it, Isa! You share this passion for books and writing on your fantastic Instagram posts. Where do you get your story ideas?
I… have no idea, lol.
Most of my stories begin with an image, something like a stage and a masked cellist in a crimson dress; or a loose vibe, a feeling of grief, or rage, or obsession. I usually know what I want to feel, not necessarily what I want to say, and I won’t know the shape of the story until I start writing it. So maybe they come from my emotions?
I do use writing prompts with my friends: we challenge each other with three random words and write for an hour or two until we have something to share. That’s always fun and a great exercise.
Archetypes are also another starting point for me: a striving musician, a depressed vampire, a grieving witch. I like to play around with ideas and see what comes out of it. Subverting expectations and such. Anything can be a story, and finding it is the fun part.
Excellent! You likely just sent some of our readers to the keyboard to get started on an idea. Dark Cottagecore Fantasy is perfect for this novel–cozy cottage garden backdrops mixed with dark fantasy moonlit forests. I wasn’t familiar with it until Crescent Moon, and now I’m intrigued by the possibilities. Can you talk about the genre and its appeal to you as a writer? What other fantasy sub genres do you enjoy as settings for your stories and why? Are there others you plan to explore?
Cottage-core comes from this idyllic and enchanted life, a cosy cottage and a food garden, tea and biscuits, and no emails to answer or meetings to attend. It’s dream-like, utopic. But we know nothing is as simple as it looks, and there’s always darkness lurking in the corners. Forests are beautiful, but also quite dangerous. Nature is bountiful, but also mercurial.
Dark cottage-core explores the shadows that live in our dreams. Nightmares are frightening, and mystical and alluring. The witch who lives in the cottage deep in the woods can save or hex you, and you won’t know until you knock on her door. I love this duality, the good and the bad that exists in everything.
I love everything dark and whimsical, so give me gothic literature, gas-lamp fantasy, historic horror, and so on. I’m also a hopeless romantic, so I want to explore it more in my writing.
I’m right there with you on this. The best thing is that these stories have always been out there, but this descriptor shines the perfect light on that spot on the shelf where readers can find it.
One of the many things I admire about you is your willingness to support authors by sitting on panels, or participating in groups and organizations, offering your experiences and expertise one on one or to the group as a whole. Can you talk about the benefits of engaging with the writing community?
Writing can be a lonely and at times terribly difficult pursuit, especially in the beginning, so finding a community can make all the difference in the world.
A community helps you stay motivated because every writer has been through the dreaded creative block, or struggled with plot holes and shallow characters. Talking things over, listening to advice, asking and giving feedback helps you hone your craft and grow as a writer. Actually, I’d say that sharing your work and actively listening to feedback is the only way to get better.
I also believe art is about connection. We make art in an attempt to translate ourselves and our inner world, in the hopes we will find someone out there who can understand us, who might have gone through the same. It’s all about connecting with other human beings, and writing and reading is the same.
In engaging with the writing community, I met people who have become dear friends even if they live far away from me. And I think this is priceless.
I can relate. Starting this writing journey during the Pandemic on lock down ironically opened the door to a community as big as the globe, yet as supportive and friendly as my neighborhood.
Will we be seeing you and Path of the Crescent Moon at public events, so we can reach back to you?
I will be chatting with dark fantasy author Lucy A. McLaren on hers and her cohost’s (sci-fi/fantasy author Lydia Baker) amazing podcast Introverted Indies soon, so stay tuned for more info on that. I also hope to do book fairs and book signings in the future, but I haven’t got anything scheduled yet.
Introverted Indies is awesome and a great place to find new authors and their books. In addition to interviews, you can enjoy authors reading their works.
I did an interview with Lucy a year ago February. So fun! I also interviewed Lucy and Lydia.
For bookish fun and news on sales and events for Path of the Crescent Moon, follow Isa on Instagram and TikTok.
Now that you’ve published your first novel, what are your key takeaways on the writing process? In other words, your best practices.
Write your first draft as if no one is watching, because they aren’t. That draft is just a blue print of your story, and it’s messy and ugly, and that’s okay.
Your second (sometimes third) draft is where you make the story work. It still doesn’t have to be pretty, but here is where you solve the plot holes and flesh out your characters, their motivations, ambitions, how it all plays out. Only after that you can start making the prose pretty, working the sentences and so on.
I find that showing my work to a critique partner or writing group earlier on is best, even if the prose is rough. They are usually the ones who can help me make the story make sense. This way, I won’t waste a lot of time worrying about sentence level edits, only to have to rewrite the whole chapter because of a plot hole.
Be patient. Writing is a marathon, not a race. There will be lots of rewrites anyway, edits and revision, so it’s important to enjoy the process.
Wonderful! Thank you for such awesome advice from the perspective of living it. For more on what it’s like to be part of a writer’s group, check out my Spotlight with Dylan and Isa.
Your cover is gorgeous. Can you talk about your cover design collaboration?
Matisse is a wonderful artist, and I’m so happy I got to work with her.
I started by looking at the covers of books with a similar vibe than mine, like dark cottage-core, witchy books, and found there were lots of flowers, vines, birds, and that they used a darker palette of colours.
From there, I picked the themes and symbols in my book: the monarch butterfly, the crescent moon (of course), the wild flowers and the books.
I made a mood board on Canva, and Matisse was able to bring these disconnected ideas to life. She had four sketches done, and we (my editors and I) chose the one you see today.
Thanks for the resource! Here’s Matisse’s website also. Speaking of websites, I’m super impressed with yours. Any tips or advice on building an appealing author landing page?
Oh, so truth be told, my dad made it for me, since he is a programmer and I had no idea where to start!
He chose the template and added all the plugins and popups and what nots to make it work while I chose what would go in each page and link. I also made all the graphics on Canva, trying to build a visual identity with the colours, pictures, and fonts, and I think it worked well. I also made sure no AI was used.
It was his advice to have all my published short stories there, as they could be a way to introduce my work to new readers. Having them on my website means that they are searchable, people can Google and find them easily, and that can convert in actual sales for my book.
I’ve got a Newsletter now too, so people can subscribe directly on my website.
I love a great family collaboration story, and what a success.
What are your top tips and advice on balancing your creative time with daily life?Do you have a regular writing schedule, a favorite writing spot?
No regular writing schedule, more like seizing every opportunity to write. I don’t write everyday, that is literally impossible for me, so I don’t feel bad if I spend a whole day without it.
But I do make an effort to write consistently, which means finding time in my routine for it. It’s not a difficult thing to do, because I love writing even when it’s hard. If the words aren’t coming, I either leave it to come back later, or I write something bad and broken either way. Those are always fun.
My favourite writing spot now is my desk which has a nice witchy atmosphere around it. But I’ll write on the sofa or at work if I have a break during the day.
I can picture you at all these places. Thanks again Isa for dropping by! I can’t wait to see what’s next for you.
Any parting advice for aspiring writers?
Write. That sounds obvious but it’s too easy to get caught in the “planning to write” stage. So, write. Write bad words, ugly sentences, broken stories; put it all out there and have fun. Slowly, things will start making more sense while you read and learn and write some more, and one day you will notice that you wrote a book and that the book is kinda good.
And Darci, thank you so much for having me and for being this amazing friend!
Back to you, Isa 😍 Ooh, and let me share my Path of the Crescent Moon character art as the grande finale. Get in touch with Isa to collect your very own!
Writing is still on hiatus for me, but never the writers! Come back tomorrow for an excellent conversation with my critique buddy, Isa Ottoni, who just launched her debut dark cottagecore fantasy novel, Path of the Crescent Moon.
I have more interviews scheduled for the year, and I plan to revisit one of my 2025 summer guests (a fellow local author from last year’s Viriginia City Writing Retreat) for updates on their year in writing. Scroll down for this year’s Retreat highlights.
I plan to have two (for sure one) short story appearing in upcoming TDB Author Collective anthologies, so stay tuned for those exciting publications. Thanks to all of you who visit my blogs and read my books! Your support is so appreciated.
Health
Meanwhile, on the home front, I’m three weeks past hip replacement surgery and thrilled with the results. The first week and a half, I was a big baby wondering what the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks! I was thinking. Typical for early post-op days, I suppose. I’ve only had three surgeries in my life, and I’m pretty sure this was even more invasive than my partial mastectomy. Those scars they leave on your butt? Huge! This time I remembered to mention that the only time I can ever throw up is when my body wants to purge pain drugs and anesthesia (last time all the way out of the hospital and in the car on the way home), so the anesthesiologist kindly stuck an antinausea patch on my neck. Beauty!
Oh, and it was my first time at Carson-Tahoe Hospital. I was impressed. Not crowded either…
Okay, enough of that. Can you guess what I’ve been doing during recovery?
Stitchy Update Time!
Virginia City Writing Retreat 2026
It was super awesome having a writing retreat at the end of May right before surgery to keep my mind off being sliced and diced. My friend Dee and I enjoyed our cozy room again, the abundant homemade food, and the classes, like how to write a cozy mystery, researching–the good old-fashioned way (in person and making actual phone calls)–for our fiction and non-fiction stories, and character development. I missed the pitch (to an agent) class but learned it was super entertaining watching the roll-play. The highlight this year was a book display organized by author and awesome cover designer, Salem T. Lynn, where attendees could share and sell their books. I bought two and got them signed, of course. Jacci Turner will be a guest on my August Spotlight. Our wonderful host and author, Kim Harnes, outdid herself once again.
I’m blinking hard. The light is bright and welcome. I smile. Where shall I start? I reach for the canvas bin and all my pretties…
This has been my February: emerging from a five-year writing binge, still preoccupied with the many stories I have yet to finish. However, I know I need something different. Suddenly, the urge to stitch strikes me. I experience a moment of panic, but then I remember that dozens of kitted-up projects survived the great purge of 2025 – that strange year (yeah, it was only last year, but it feels like a lifetime ago) when I felt compelled to clear space in my 10×10 craft room for life’s unexpected challenges.
My cancer treatments are behind me now, the world is even crazier, and living in it requires creative survival tactics. I’ll call it revitalization. The joy I’ve found in stitching over all my decades calls to me again, urging me down that rabbit hole of bliss in mindful handwork – all the color, texture, and wonderful redefining rhythms of pulling a needle filled with vibrant silks and cotton through scrumptious fabric.
I’m happy to report that I started the fun last week by organizing all 50 WIPs (works in progress) and my supply stash. And yes, 50 survived the purge, though I sadly gave away 30 others plus tons of stash. My projects are all stored in a beautiful collection of handmade bags in pretty bins on my shelves.
From late 2018 through 2021, I was part of the stitching community on YouTube known as FlossTube, an outgrowth of BookTubers who love to stitch. The channels multiplied as even the shiest stitchers came out of their craftrooms to share their passion through video. Watching these women and men from all over the globe, living all the diverse lives, talking about the huge thing we all have in common, and sharing their progress, is surprisingly addictive… and highly enabling – and the craft supply hoarder part of me went wild. So did many new designers. Careers were launched, dreams were made.
Sitching while listening to books was how I got started writing at the end of 2020… but that’s another story.
I’m so excited to return to this world on YouTube, finding so many old favorites still at it and still working on some of the same BAPs (Big Ass Projects), many of them the same ones I’m trying to finish. Nope, it’s not a lonely craft. If you check it out, you’ll discover that for yourself.
My challenge now is to balance time for crafting (including knitting and crocheting) with time for writing novels. I’ve got nine, yes, nine stories in the works. I’ve always been, and always will be, a multi-crafter, serial starter, and steady finisher. Lately, I’ve focused on finishing short stories for anthologies, but those novels keep on developing…
Want to see some of what I’ve been doing this past week? Because I must share. 😍 I stitched on 13 projects, making really decent progress, and even finished one last night! I plan to finish another one in February. As with my novels, I’ll keep you posted throughout the year.
I hope this inspires you to catch the crafting bug or return to a favorite – maybe carve out some time to create a little something every day, then share the beauty. It makes a difference to the universe.
I did get a finish done last year, which I adore. Monster Whale by Owl Forest Embroidery. It still needs framing… so you get my chihuahua for now.
