Gratitude for You

As I've mentioned before, I'm no stranger to being a published and active author on the Internet. A concise summary of my publishing experiences is here. I've had to stop publishing in probably...um...2015 and while the writing itch did not go away, ideas and snippets of dreamy creative thoughts organized and hid themselves away in my mind as reality hit me in tons of ways.

I didn't attempt to publish anything or write until February 2025, a few weeks after my birthday, which is the first of the month.

I didn't think anything of it--just remembering that Draft2Digital and Smashwords were merging in some articles I'd read in the past--and republished my first short story about a magical Black girl and her friends that I wrote when I was 13 years old. I spent over 10 years editing it and re-educating myself on writing and my creative process over time. (I'll write an in depth post on it in the future. I'm derailing myself).

I thought I was crazy for doing it again.

"You're just gonna give up again,"

"No one reads or likes short stories,"

My first deposit from Draft2Digital was $10.00 and I made no money after that, but I did have a crap-ton of free downloads which is always awesome...it meant people were reading my stuff...hopefully enjoying it, too.

What was that about no one reading short stories?

My second check was $15.00...Literally just enough to help me cover a medical bill.

Now I'm about to get paid again on the 15th of this month. And this next payment will grow even more than what I'm looking at to be deposited into my bank account now...If I push it more and keep going.

Holy hell, it might not mean much in the bigger writing/independent publishing space, but for my confidence as a writer...it's a welcome and much-needed boost.

I quit my stressful boss (I loved my library technician job as a whole--did it for 8 years before moving states) in November of last year for my sanity. Work I enjoyed doing was no longer enjoyable and no one likes that.

I'm a person who thrives on the quote: "You can't pour from an empty cup," In my case, it was a barrel that I'd been scraping from at the bottom.

I can't be my best for everyone else if I don't feel supported, loved, or needed first. Someone has to show you how to love and be confident before you can do it yourself. It's your choice to absorb that confidence or trap yourself in your darkness.

I'm done with doing the latter. I've had major life developments...some welcome, others not. But I use them as fuel for my writing and it's my therapy. (See my work under Seraphine Vale. The first book I wrote under that name is about the state of my marriage, but it's changing for the better now.) Writing has helped me figure things out and untangle some knots in my heart.

I want to thank you all, my readers and writer friends. For reading this blog, for downloading and reading my short works, I really appreciate you all.

Look forward to more things from me in the future.

Thank you for lifting me up through success and failure in this journey.

(I'm currently in the final stages of editing my next release. I hope it will please my older readers and heat things up for the colder months to come.)

Find my stories here: Barnes & Noble • Amazon • Kobo • Smashwords • Hoopla

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 imm...

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