:: antigravity:: starset

The more I fight, the more I work
The more I dig into the dirt
To be fed up, to be let down

:: dark on me :: starset

You're the cause, the antidote
The sinking ship that I could not let go
Who led my way and disappeared
How could you just walk away and leave me here?

:: point of no return:: starset

There's a memory of how we used to be
That I can see through the flames
I am hypnotized as I fantasize
Forgetting lies and pain
But I can't go back

Back in March, (as if it was that long ago) I held a short story contest.

Only one person entered.

But that's okay, this story is so amazing that I know it would have been a serious contender.

Lisa Elis, an amazing blogger and epic friend, wrote a wonderful story based on the prompt. And today, I'm sharing her story with you! Without further ado, here's Lisa's beautiful short story.

*Don't forget about the short story contest I announced last week! You can find the link to that here if you're interested in entering. 

This blog post is a long time coming. I know y'all are here for the aesthetics, so I'll keep my intro as brief as possible. But before we jump into some aesthetics and snippets from my upcoming debut novel, How We Rise, I thought I would tell you that at the end of this post are some updates about the book and what you can expect in these coming months.

But first, let's get to the aesthetics! (You can find the Pinterest board here.)


~ She looks out the large window near the table. Beyond the backyard, she sees something I don’t. “Ten minutes from here, out towards the farmland, they built a military base about one year after you left. It houses many soldiers, but it’s more than that. It’s where they take prisoners.”

~  I grab the keys for the moving truck off the counter, and we go outside. I lift the back door to the truck, revealing a huge amount of furniture and boxes . Raegan’s jaw drops slightly.
 “Careful,” I say. “You’ll catch flies.”
 She smirks. “Funny. I guess you really had to pack your whole life into here.”
 “I think this is more stuff than when we all left for California in the first place. My mom is a hoarder.”
 “I heard that,” my mom says, approaching the truck. “Less talking, more moving.”

~  Maybe they want you to fight, to rise above all of this,” Peter says. There is a knowing look in his eyes.
   I shake my head, a shiver running down my spine at the thought. “At the expense of everyone’s lives? Is it worth it?”

~ Peter takes a step closer. “Say something. Please. Your silence is unnerving.”
  I glance at him. “I’m usually pretty quiet.”
 “Never with me.”

~ I lean against the counter and cross my arms. “You are irritatingly accurate.”
  Peter smirks. “Well, you’re frustratingly stubborn.”

~ I close my eyes. “What if we fail?”
   I feel his hand slide down my arm to my hand. He grips it between both of his, his warmth pouring into me, scaring away the chill that shouldn’t even be in my body when it’s so hot outside. “What if we don’t?”




I finished the final round of edits for How We Rise, as given to me by my wonderful editor. So, upon celebrating that victory, I gave the final draft to my critique partners for a final proofread/look through before I go into formatting, which I begin this week!

I'm hoping to have my book ready for preorder by the end of this month!!

The final publication date is still under wraps, but you will be getting all that information very, very soon.

You may also be wondering... what about a book cover?

Don't worry, there is a cover, but that reveal will be later this month as well, probably when the book is available for preorder. Trust me, the cover is AMAZING and I can't wait to share it with you!

That's about it for the updates, but this month holds a lot of fun, exciting new things for my book and my career as an author.

If you want to stay more in the know about everything going on, make sure you follow me on Instagram, which you can find the link to my page at the end of this post or on the sidebar of my blog.

Let me know in the comments below what you're working on right now. I want to hear all about your current W.I.P.

Until next time...

*Author note: Lots of squealing and flailing will be happening beyond this point. You have been warned.



Hello, everyone! I'm back!

In case you missed the last post, (which you can find here) I went on hiatus for my first time doing NaNoWriMo. I knew there would be absolutely no way I could write 50,000 words and blog posts and work a full-time job and work on some other things.

But now that NaNoWriMo has come to an end, I am back to writing blog posts.

Today, I'm going to show you some aesthetics and snippets from my NaNo project. Of course, the big issue with sharing too much is that my NaNo project is a sequel to my upcoming novel, Rise. But, I am going to give as much non-spoiler information that I can. Plus, all snippets will be out of context so that's fun for you and even more fun for me because I know the context. 😏😏

(This post was inspired by my bestie who is a NaNo QUEEN. You can find her blog here. You should follow her blog. Totally non-biased. 😂)

First things first, let me give you the stats.

I started the first full week of NaNoWriMo with a vacation from work, which gave me a huge boost on word count goals.

First half of NaNo- 34,107 words written
Second half of NaNo- 16,334

Snippets:

~ Once alone, I feel the urge to scream. I grab a pillow and throw it over my face before screaming. I can see why girls do it. Therapeutic.

~ My mom grabs me, turning me to face her. “Are you all right?”
I brush her hands off me, stepping back. “Of course, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

~ I lean against the pillar at the entrance of the school. My mom is running late. Again. This has happened all week, and I’m not going to bother Spencer again. But as usual, his truck pulls up in front of me. “She’s working late again?”

~ “This is some deep crap you’ve been going through. You’re fifteen, right? Why would you worry about this kind of thing?”

~  “Linley, I told you all never to enter this room.”
Her eyes dance with a spark behind them, more than that, a flame. She’s proud of her feat, sneaking in here and startling me. 

~ I sit, hugging my knees to my chest on the small cot. It’s cold in here, or maybe it’s me. I don’t know. I let the tears fall, the ones I’ve held back for days. They come easy now.

Final Word Count: 50,441

Any Days missed?

Oh yes, plenty of days. Besides the fact on some days I just didn't feel it, I also got into a car accident, which prevented me from focusing on my writing. (I wasn't hurt, I just mentally could not do it.)

But on November 25th, I hit 50,441 words and also finished my novel.

Will this be the final word count?

No.

Often times when I go in to edit the book in about four to six months, I end up with a higher word count. I'm hoping to bring it up between 65k and 70k.

This is the second novel I've ever finished in my life, Rise being the first one. Speaking of Rise, I have some fantastic updates to share with you.

All right, time for what you came for. Here are three big updates about Rise.

1. The official Title for Rise is...



AAAAAAHHHHH YOU ALL KNOW THE OFFICIAL TITLE!!!

How We Rise is going to be my debut novel in 2020. Which leads me to my next update.

2. The official release date has been selected...

AAAHHHSDFGHJJKL WHAT??

How We Rise has an official release date, but I am not sharing what that date is just yet. Don't worry, early next year, you will know more.

and finally...

3. How We Rise is with an editor...

And we aren't just talking about any editor, either. We're talking about one of the best editors in the world.

Y'all know how I am obsessed with The Blood Race and 100 Days of Sunlight. Well, the lovely editor of those two books is working on my book. As. We. Speak. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! *flails*

(FYI, I am not bragging, I'm just so freaking pumped right now.)

All these things have me so pumped and ready to take on the world!

I can't wait to tell you more about How We Rise and give you all the details.

I will be starting a street team early next year, and the street team will be the first to know all the details as well as spread the word about my book around their social media when they have the chance. There will be a post on that in January where you will be able to sign up. There will be limited places to be a part of the street team, so make sure you sign up when you can. I can't select everyone and it's a first-come, first-serve basis. (Unless you are one of those lovely spam accounts bothering me and my friends on our blogs. If you sign up, you won't be selected.)

Now, on to the aesthetics...

now all these sirens sing for me, but I just wanna hear your melody
I call, and I can hear you sing, but oh, it's only my echo ~ starset

I can't breathe at the thought of you
it's a telekinetic issue ~ starset

oh, oh i'm on my way, counting down the miles to your heart
oh, oh I can hardly wait, i just wanna be right where you are
i just wanna be right where you are ~ sultan + shepard

i ask about your day and tell you that i miss you
we go through everything, but nothing that we need to say ~ parachute

i'm on the other side, on fire, with an ocean between us, ocean between us
you're on the other side of this wire with an ocean between us, ocean between us ~parachute

i'm sorry I can't give enough, these scars they only leave me numb
i'm paying for my own mistakes, i've given all my feelings away ~Declan J. Donovan


these trials make us who we are, who we are, we are
we're motivated by the scars that we're made of
these trials make us who we are, who we are, we are
we take our places in the dark
and turn our hearts to the stars ~ starset

got me shaking at the sight, oh, got me quaking in my mind, oh
you're tripping over every fault of mine, you're breaking open every single time ~starset

don't let me let the
don't let me let the
don't let me let dark take over ~starset

I guess it's easy to see what music I listen to the most. I wanted to take a moment to talk about mental health. Take care of your mental health. This month was rough for me, but honestly, I'm feeling so much better. I'm taking care of my mental and physical health. For the first time in a really long time, I feel amazing, I feel joyful and happy. 

It's easy to fall in line with constantly working, using our phones, social media... but we need to know when to step back, when to prioritize our mental health and our minds. 

Trust me, a few days away from the screen, a few days to focus on your health is not selfish. It's worth it. I'm not talking about the self-love movement. I'm talking about self- care. There's a difference. You need to take care of yourself in order to care for others and you want to be in the best health possible, right?

Mini rant over. 

Have a wonderful October, my frens. See you next Thursday. K.C.T.D <3