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  Blog Title:  By Rin Nocturne There are episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that live in the skin. They don’t just sit pretty in your memory like a good scene—they stitch themselves under your ribs and whisper there when you’re not looking. Beneath You is one of those. Specifically, the ending. That last scene between Buffy and Spike? Yeah. That one. It hurts right . We talk a lot about redemption arcs in fiction—writers love them, readers crave them, and everyone wants to see the broken thing mended. But rarely do we see the raw nerve of what comes after the soul is restored. Not just the moment the light returns, but the unbearable weight of memory. Spike doesn't stride back into Sunnydale with swagger and fire. He returns with his soul intact and his sanity shredded . It's love distilled into guilt and grief and torment. The way he kneels in the church, eyes hollow, shirt open like a wound. “I tried to find it… the spark.”  "They put the Spark in me and now al...

Posted by Seraphine Vale | April 26, 2025 Grief doesn’t arrive with a warning. It leaks in through the cracks, shows up at the breakfast table, folds itself into the silence of a room you used to share with someone else. My grandfather’s slow death came in 2023 and showed me this. Writing Aikon: Refracted Memories wasn’t planned—it kind of ambushed me, in the way grief does. One day, I was revising a totally different story, and the next, I was writing about a woman having midnight conversations with an AI version of her late husband. And here’s the thing: I don’t believe AI can ever replace humanity—especially not in the deep, messy, contradictory parts of us that love and hurt and yearn. But I do believe it can help us survive the darkest parts of our lives. It can make the grief bearable . Not beautiful, not wise, not easy. Just… a little more survivable. Aikon is the name of the AI in my short story. He’s modeled after a ...

By Rin Nocturne | April 25th, 2025 Aria was never meant to be a utopia. It was meant to be a refuge . And like any good refuge, it’s messy, overcrowded, passionate, noisy, and full of people who refuse to stay silent. If you’ve been following the  Ashen Veil series, then you already know Aria is the glowing, gritty heart where Eleanor Sorenden’s story unfolds. But with Book 3: Embers of the Lament coming out soon , we’re diving deeper— darker —and I wanted to take a moment to talk about the real-world flames that lit the first spark. Salem Burned for a Reason History likes to pretend the Salem Witch Trials were just a footnote of hysteria, a cautionary tale about mass paranoia. But for many of us—those who live with generational trauma, who carry the weight of being “too much,” “too queer,” “too different”—Salem is personal . Eleanor’s connection to Margaret Hale isn’t just a cool plot device. It’s ancestral rage. It’s what happens when the past refuses to stay buried. The Ho...

  🎨🎤 by Seraphine Vela Hey, friends, readers, and fellow messy-heart-havers— If you've been craving emotionally-charged storytelling with a touch of glam and a dash of "oh no, why am I crying again?" then babe, you're in luck. I just dropped two new stories under my pen name Seraphine Vela , and they’re here to wreck you softly. Let’s break it down: 🎨 Art Class Heart Mess To Read Art Class, Heart Mess click here Remember that art class where you weren’t sure if the charcoal dust on your cheek was from sketching or crying over your class crush? Multiply that by ten and throw in some emotional growth , intimate tension , and quiet heartbreak , and you’ve got Art Class Heart Mess . This is a story for anyone who’s ever fallen for someone who doesn’t even know they’re your muse. It’s about the fragility of being seen— really seen—and how vulnerability isn’t just beautiful; it’s brave. The vibes? Think soft indie movie where every glance lingers a beat too lo...

 Dragon’s Breath, Human Heart Book 2: Whispers of Wild Flame The fire never truly died— Not in Avalon’s trembling heart. Not in Varesa Nordstorm’s chest. And certainly not in the pages of this series that’s about to go full wildfire. If you thought Dragon’s Breath, Human Heart was going to cool off after Book 1… oh, sweet summer reader, you’re in for a scorcher. Book 2: Whispers of Wild Flame will officially rise from the ashes on May 6, 2025 . And this time? The city’s burning from the inside out. This isn’t your typical dragon fantasy. These are short stories with long shadows —under 100 pages each, compact but devastating, like a fireball spell cast straight to your soul. It's urban fantasy drenched in elemental fury, slow-burn awakenings, and women who don’t wait for the world to hand them justice—they burn it down and build something better from the rubble. The second installment follows Varesa, our flame-touched heroine, as she stalks the streets of Avalon—wounded, ha...

 Welcome to the heart of what’s next. This is where stories simmer before they’re served—where you can peek into what Seraphine Vale is dreaming up, crying about, rewriting at 2 a.m., and daring to publish next. These aren't just books. They're emotional exorcisms wrapped in fiction. Soft heartbreaks and quiet joys. The stuff you feel more than you read. Here’s what’s coming down the pipeline: Pick your poison:  Click here to preorder 🌙 A Light After Leaving: 5 Stories About the Fears We Never Say Out Loud Coming June 9, 2025 Short fiction. Long emotions. This collection unpacks the unspoken anxieties that sneak into marriages and long-term love—fear of losing yourself, fear of being left, fear of being known too well. Featuring: postpartum dread, secret heartbreaks, childless marriages, lost youth, and the ache of loving someone who might only love the mask you wear. Perfect for fans of emotional depth, poetic prose, and reading under the covers at midnight with tears...

June 9, 2025 .   Mark it. Circle it. Tattoo it on your soul. Okay, maybe not that dramatic—but maybe it  is , depending on how deeply you’ve ever questioned love, loneliness, or the terrifying stillness of silence between people who once said "forever." Because that’s what this new collection is about. ✍️ From “Marin Reclaimed” to the Fears We Don’t Say Aloud If you read my last post  "Unraveling the Complexities of Love and Letting Go" , you already know that  Marin Reclaimed  was my soul cracked open—spilled onto the page in poetic fragments and breathless honesty. Marin’s journey wasn’t just fiction. It was a mirror. For me. For you. For anyone who's ever asked,  "What if I never find myself again?" A Light After Leaving  picks up that thread and weaves it through five stories, all told with that same raw softness. This time, I wanted to explore the unspoken fears inside marriage, love, and commitment—the ones that creep in a...

Hey there, book lovers and curious souls! It’s official—I’m knee-deep in a project that’s been both exhilarating and terrifying to work on, and I’m finally ready to share it with you all. If you’ve ever been caught in the messy, magical whirlwind of love or wrestled with the unsettling truths that come with it, this collection is for you. I’m talking about my upcoming short story collection, which dives deep into the fears, hopes, and emotional complexities of marriage. Now, before you get all "oh no, not another collection about relationships!" —hold on, I promise this one’s different. It’s raw. It’s emotional. It’s got twists, turns, and all sorts of messy, beautiful emotions that might just make you look at your own relationships (or your fear of them) in a new light. So, what’s this collection about, exactly? Well, let me give you a sneak peek. 1. "Marin Reclaimed" In this piece, we follow Marin, an African American woman who’s just beginning to heal after...

 I am eternally grateful for everyone's support with my (re)writing journey. I still have a long way to go. It feels like I've rebirthed my purpose in life.  Veil of the Fallen , Book 2 in my  Ashen Veil series about the Salem Witch trials and a library technician who gets involved in them, was released on the 8th of this month. I love my stories. They are my babies. Not everyone will like them, and I don't expect everyone to approve of them--I don't think anyone would be published if we allowed those things to bother us.  Here's the full first chapter from the first book, Hollowing Veil, , if you are curious: 🌊Chapter One: The Forgotten Name💜 Avalon Prime Library smelled of aged parchment, dust, and the lingering traces of old ink. It was the kind of place where time slowed, where stories—forgotten and forbidden—waited patiently to be unearthed. Eleanor "Eleanor" Aldridge had always found comfort in the library’s quiet embrace. But today, that comf...

 I watched a video on the differences between the Western 3 act-structure/Hero's Journey and Asian concept of Kishotenketsu . The former revolves around conflict, while the latter does not. The best example of this for me to understand it, and as is shown in the video, are the Studio Ghibli films. They have moments of silent beauty that I have come to appreciate even more as an adult. To a Westerner who may be used to non-stop action, it may feel like nothing is happening in the films, but there's more to it than meets the eye. The films send this message that tells me to slow down and go touch grass, become more introspective, and give life--with all its ups and downs--a hug.  I love this.  I write under two pen names to separate the chaotic from the mundane, which I love. Rin Nocturne is my way of purging the chaos when I feel like I can't handle it and want to run away. Seraphine Vela is the mundane--even the hard stuff--that I'm constantly battling over and over in ...

  Good Morning/Good Afternoon/Good Evening: So, last night I remembered that I have a double release prepared for you instead of just the one book in my series about dragons…Silly me! I have written another short story series about a ghost who possesses a library technician and the second book in that series released today. I have links to the books posted below. You’ll find Embers and Bloom at the same places as VFU as well. Some places take a little longer to get the book than others, but I’ll share when they’re listed. I always get nervous when new stories come out, but it’s also exciting, too. I’ll share my journey as a self-published author now. I’m not new to this…I started publishing my short stories and poems online here: https://www.fictionpress.com/~SakuraReyna . FictionPress was so good to me back then---I was 16 years old and the writer in me was as happy to have found an online home for my work. You signed up to publish, waited 3 days to upload your work…one chapte...

Hey there, beautiful readers. I'm so glad you stumbled across this little corner of the internet, where stories smolder, hearts break (in the best way), and every sentence tries to punch you right in the feels. I'm an Aquarius and Earth Dragon—writer, dreamer, INFJ introvert in survival mode—and I publish under two pen names that reflect the duality of my storytelling soul: Rin Nocturne , where I get unapologetically bold, dramatic, and just a little bit magical. Think Sailor Moon vibes crash-landing into raw emotional landscapes, with a sprinkle of modern fantasy and mythology. Seraphine Vela , the name I use for stories that carry a different kind of weight—more literary, still emotional, but grounded in character and language-driven worlds. Let’s talk shop for a second. What I Write ✍️ I specialize in short fiction —because sometimes you don’t need 100,000 words to wreck someone emotionally (in a good way). Whether it’s a 10-page gut-punch or a novella that mak...