Catch Up Blog

 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 immediately after graduating college in 2011. I got burned out with the expectations of being on every social media platform all the time and then the reality of needing money and finding a job made things harder. So I think in 2015, I quit writing to focus on that and worked as a library technician for 7 years.

I missed creating things out of nothing but words. So I came back in February of this year after on-and-off research about Smashwords’s merging with Draft 2 Digital and I like it a lot. I’m selling books in libraries now, which tickles me because it means people are asking about my work, which is how Hoopla and Libby work.

I enjoy being an independent creator because I am a control freak and I don’t have to rush things on someone else’s time. I like living in a time where I can try writing in different ways and seeing what sticks in my heart. I want to see where my childhood dream can take me. Thanks for sticking around.

Deckbreaker Arcana: The Arkanthysis Collection will be out in a few days. So here is the cover reveal.

The model is a modified photo of me from a few years ago, highly cartoonish. I don’t have blue hair, though. I asked ChatGTP to create the cover for me because I’m poor now and thought it would be too lovely to not use for a story. I write my stories to remind myself that I have power to change things even when I think I can’t do anything.

That means more than anything. It’s freedom for me.

In my personal life, September will be busy, especially towards the end of the month.

I have another short story coming out in October. Trigger Warning: It’s about mental abuse and a woman finding her own power. I’ll talk more about it later as the release date approaches.

I plan on working outlining some stuff for next year. My plans are job hunting, watching anime (recently it’s been fun finding new things to watch).