ShadowLightPress

 There’s something fascinating about how certain worlds, though born from completely different pens, end up sharing a strange resonance. That’s exactly the thought I had diving into Gachiakuta by Urana Kei and reflecting on my own city of Avalon, Aria. Avalon, the capital city of Aria, is divided by the Black Iron Gate—a literal and physical boundary that separates its citizens into two socioeconomically opposed groups. Those within the Upper City live in privilege, artistry, and comfort, while those beyond the gate fight for survival amidst decay and scarcity. The gate isn’t just metal; it’s a manifestation of systemic division, a reminder that geography itself can weaponize inequality. When I started watching the Gachiakuta anime during its premiere, and now as I’ve been reading through the manga (I’ll be six volumes in once my library copy comes in—counting down the hours!), I couldn’t shake the similarities. Kei’s world is also cut in two: the lofty city above and the bruta...

  I need to take a breather and reevaluate my goals as a writer/creator. I have published 27 short stories across both of my pen names Seraphine Vale and Rin Nocturne. That’s a lot. I know my works are shorter, but that’s to be expected since I write how I talk for the most part. This self-publishing journey is nothing new to me. I originally started writing online when I was 16 years old. There was a website called FictionPress.com. It still exists, but it’s nowhere near where it once was, for obvious reasons. I don’t remember how I came across it, though. On that site, people could submit—chapter by chapter—original fiction and you would get reviews from members of the FictionPress. It was a fun way to make friends, share interests and inspiration, and get feedback. I started self-publishing when word about Amanda Hocking’s success caught my eye. I loved the idea of seeing my work on Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s websites without a middleman or the wait and jumped on that imm...

  🌒 Teaser Tuesday: Blood, Chains and Starlight by Seraphine Vale Genre: Contemporary Urban Fiction / Gritty Adventure / Black Girl Coming-of-Age Happy Teaser Tuesday , my fiction lovers! Today we’re spotlighting Blood, Chains and Starlight , a story that simmers with tension, unresolved grief, and raw teenage survival. If you’ve ever lived with someone who made your skin crawl, or held your breath in your own home like a ghost—Tessa's story might feel all too real. But don't worry—this isn't just a tale of trauma. It's about what happens when a girl dares to look at the stars anyway . Tessa's sneakers squeaked on the polished tiles of the entryway, the faint echo bouncing off the walls as she stepped inside. She had just come from an exhausting tutoring session for the city-wide university entrance exams, her mind buzzing with formulas and test strategies. It was dark outside now, the only light coming from the dim hallway lamp. The house was quiet, too quiet,...

  Genre: YA Contemporary / Musical Drama / Coming-of-Age Welcome back to another Teaser Tuesday , where I shine a spotlight on older works that still have main character energy . These stories deserve their flowers, and Idol Siren is no exception. If you’ve ever felt unseen, unheard, or like the world expected you to shrink—Alicia Merritt is about to sing your soul back into place. 🎶 Official Blurb: At Avalon Private Academy, 16-year-old Alicia Merritt is barely keeping it together. With a flaky mom, an absent dad, and her one real support system—her grandmother—now gone, Alicia’s stuck navigating life with no clear direction. That is, until she steps into Red Lily , a smoky nightclub run by the enigmatic Xavier Silverstein, a retired idol with demons of his own. What follows is a transformation—messy, emotional, and real. Alicia finds her voice through music, but it comes with baggage: love triangles, social media shade, and emotional truths she can’t outrun. Her rise as a per...

 “You carry the thorns.” That’s not metaphor. That’s a magical diagnosis. In the world of Deckbreaker Arcana , every Votrix (our emotional duelists) draws power from a core tarot card—a Dominion Card . It shapes their battlefield, defines the laws of their inner world, and determines how their trauma fights back. It’s not always the card you want . It’s the card that won’t let you lie to yourself anymore. Sabine Cross didn’t get The World or The High Priestess. She didn’t even get The Lovers. She pulled The Empress (Reversed). And that’s when the roses started bleeding. 🌹 What Is a Dominion Card? In my world, the Dominion Card isn’t just magical—it’s intimate. When a Votrix enters an Aletheion (an Arcana-fueled psychic battle), their Dominion forms from memory, emotion, and soul-deep resonance with a single tarot archetype. This card becomes the battlefield—manifesting as a warped reality built from their grief, longing, and unresolved history. Sabine’s? A garden g...

 “Most real things don’t need proof--most lies wear truth like perfume.” —Lucien Lupa He calls himself a “consultant.” But what kind of consultant appears in a cursed mansion uninvited, drops a silver shard on your table, and asks if the dreams have started? That’s Lucien Lupa for you. And Sabine Cross absolutely does not trust him. (Which is, of course, part of why she’s drawn to him.) 🌒 Who Is Lucien? Lucien Vale is the glamoured human name. Lupa is the truth behind the mask. Thorneshade Revenant is his battle form, his Votrix identity , and the title he earned from the Aletheion long before Sabine ever pulled a sword from her soul. He’s part Trickster, part Fae, all unreliable narrator energy. But here’s the catch: he’s not her enemy . At least, not entirely.   The Moon (Reversed): His Dominion Lucien’s Arcana is The Moon , reversed. Where Sabine’s Dominion blooms into a bleeding garden, his warps into a cathedral of shifting shadows, cracked masks, and...

 There’s a moment in Deckbreaker Arcana when Sabine Cross presses her hand to the earth and feels the garden breathe back. Not metaphorically. Not spiritually. Literally. Because in Avalon, grief is magic. 🕯️ What Is a Dominion? In the world of the Votrix Arcana, every magical duelist (aka Votrix ) has a Dominion —a metaphysical space shaped by their inner wounds, desires, fears, and memories. It becomes their battlefield during Aletheion duels. Sabine’s Dominion is called Briarhalo . It manifests as a corrupted garden, once lush, now twisted by time and sorrow. Vines whisper forgotten names. Roses bleed. Thorns remember what she refuses to say aloud. 🌹 The Empress Reversed Sabine’s central card is The Empress (Reversed) —a tarot archetype of blocked nurturance, buried creativity, mother-wounds, and emotional shutdown. This reversal isn’t just symbolic. It warps her Dominion into a battleground of memory. Her mansion pulses with residual trauma. The garden opens into ro...

 Welcome to another magical Teaser Tuesday ! Today we’re diving into the surreal, high-stakes world of Stars of the Unbroken —a mahou shoujo epic with a dark twist. Think: magical girls with trauma, cosmic warlords, a wolf cub, and the kind of fate no one asked for. Chapter One: "Shadows Over Summer" Bunny stood at the base of the regal steps, her sugar-pink hair catching the afternoon sunlight, casting a soft glow against the crisp, white Victorian walls of Avalon Private Academy. Her emerald eyes reflected the fading day as the school bell chimed for the last time, signaling the end of the academic year. The clamor of students pouring out into the courtyard created a jubilant buzz, as faculty followed close behind, their footsteps heavy with the finality of the day. Girls playfully tugged at their pleated skirts, turning them into makeshift minis, while boys tossed their ties into the air in a carefree tradition. It was a moment of reckless joy before the summer break, ...

 There’s a tarot deck pulsing under my desk right now, and I swear it just flipped a card on its own. That’s how I know it’s time. Here's the deck I have. I want a dragon-themed one next. I use this one on myself.    I’m thrilled (and mildly haunted) to announce that my next release, Deckbreaker Arcana: The Arkanthysis Collection , is coming this September under my dark fantasy pen name, Rin Nocturne . This collection weaves together the first three interconnected stories of the Votrix Arcana mythos—a world where emotional trauma fuels magic, haunted gardens remember too much, and tarot decks don’t always tell the truth. 🃏 So What Is Deckbreaker Arcana? Picture this: A 35-year-old tarot reader inherits a cursed mansion in the twilight belly of Avalon, a divided capital where memory is dangerous and magic runs like static in the soil. She discovers she’s the last of a magical bloodline— a Votrix —tasked with battling psychic parasites called Inversus in emotional d...

 ✨ Five speculative stories. One haunted city. Endless echoes. Hey readers— Seraphine Vale here.  I’ve got a new release coming this summer, and it’s the kind of book that feels like it crawled out of a dream I didn’t mean to remember. Sleep Maps and Signal Ghosts: A Collection of Speculative Short Stories arrives August 1, 2025. And honestly? I’m still recovering from writing it. 📍Set in the surreal, grief-stitched city of Avalon, these five stories aren’t fast-paced thrillers. They’re slow-burn spells. Quiet horrors. Meditations on identity, memory, technology, and all the versions of ourselves we never got to be. Here’s what you’ll find inside: A woman inherits a closet that unravels other lives she might’ve lived. A dream cartographer gets stalked by a hotel made of her regrets. A washed-up radio host receives a signal from his own future. A sound scavenger finds an audio parasite that feeds on empathy. And two strangers—one who tailors grief, the othe...