The Faction of Bolt

Hi all!

This is the first of two blog posts about the Gods in Game of Air and Lightning. This one centres around Bolt, and their faction.

Bolt values those who are ambitious, creative, loyal and curious. When babies are born, they will often claim those who they deem to have a higher value of these qualities.

However, many Bolts are accused of being aggressive, arrogant and stubborn. Bolt sees these vices as a fair trade off as long as their virtues outweigh their vices.

The symbol of the Bolt faction is a blue lightning bolt, which appears on the forehead when a child is born. When in a Game, Bolt members are blessed with the power of lightning. Bolt does not focus on what factions the parents belong to when choosing new recruits. They only focus on what the baby's future personality might look like.

Bolt does this by briefly looking into the future of each child to decide if they would be a good fit. If they don't fit the above qualities, then they are left for Aerus to claim.

Those that belong to the Bolt faction are brought up with rituals and stories that involve Bolt participating in daring adventures. All rituals performed are to increase their faith in their God, and boons may be offered depending on what is asked. During a Game, Bolt will allow most rituals as long as their own faction members are not harmed.

The Bolt faction is the more powerful faction as they have won the Game far more than Aerus. This gives them much more power on Earth and as such they rule most of the planet and decide most of the laws.

Bolt very rarely reveals themselves to their followers, and they don't walk in their dreams. They only help their faction with boons, not outright advice. Although they are witnesses rarely, it is said that they take the form of a one-eyed pegasus.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

PS; if you’re looking for something to read over Summer, check out these book bundles:

FREE Fantasy and Science Fiction for July 2025

The Perfect Books for Dragon Lovers

Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror Summer Giveaway

My Fantasy Horror Project Now Has a Title!

Hi all,

For July 2025 I'm writing a YA Fantasy Horror standalone book. It's been in my ideas folder for years and it's finally it's time to shine. It took a while for me to come up with a title for it, as I usually like my books to have some sort of title before starting them. But this one I struggled with for quite a bit, nothing that I came up with seemed to fit. But now I have a title that I'm finally happy with...

The Severed Pantheon.

As this book is about goddesses, I wanted some sort of homage to them. And severed was the perfect word that I could think of to describe their rule. They are not liked by the masses for the way they treat their blessed and they don't even like each other.

But then Imara comes along, and their fate changes.

I won't say anything else to save you from spoilers, but I hope you like the new title as much as I do!

I'm still going to try my best to name my books before writing them in the future. Even if the title doesn't end up sticking, I prefer having something there instead of 'Unnamed WIP'.

That's it for this week, I hope you like the title! See you next Sunday. 

PS; if you’re looking for something to read over Summer, check out these book bundles:

FREE Fantasy and Science Fiction for July 2025

The Perfect Books for Dragon Lovers

Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror Summer Giveaway

Pride Month - Main Character Edition

Hi all,

A few years ago I made a blog post about LGBTQ+ dragons in the Elemental Dragons series. This time, I'm going to list the main characters that I've written about that are LGBTQ+! I know I did a post previously on character sexualities, but some have changed since I've written their books. So here is an updated list.

To make things less confusing, I'm just going to list the main characters for books that I've already written or will write within the next year or so. I have quite a few books in my ideas folder but the characters aren't fully developed yet. Maybe I'll update this post in a few year's time with any new main characters I come up with!

Audra (Mute) - Asexual. 

Cheyenne (Years) - Bisexual.

Shannon (Celestial Plague) - Lesbian.

Ashleigh (Celestial Plague) - Asexual Aromantic.

Raya (Celestial Plague) - Bisexual.

Jenna (Celestial Plague) - Lesbian.

Bastet (Curse of Anubis) - Lesbian.

Hailey (Street Rats) - Bisexual.

Reema (Game of Air and Lightning) - Demisexual.

Ataraxia (Empty Skies) - Asexual Aromantic.

Laelaps (Empty Skies) - Gay.

Francesca (Original Elementals) - Lesbian.

Su-hyeon (Original Elementals) - Gay.

Benjamin (Original Elementals) - Pansexual.

Lucia (Original Elementals) - Bisexual Demisexual.

Tiegan (Original Elementals) - Genderqueer Aromantic.

Stella (Original Elementals) - Closeted Lesbian Asexual.

Phew! Until I typed this all up, I never realised how many of my characters are part of the LGBTQ+ community. As the years have gone and I've written more, a lot more of characters are part of this community. I want representation for those in the community in a diverse range of characters, not just one or two side characters per book. In most of the books, their sexuality is never at the forefront of their story. It will just be a slight footnote or a love interest as a minor plot point.

I'm not going to stop writing LGBTQ+ main characters, nor am I going to stop writing straight ones. It depends on the character and their story. With some of the characters I go where they take me, rather than giving them a label before writing.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out this fantasy book promo:

June is for Unicorns (and other magical creatures)

July 2025 Project Announcement

Hi all,

With July coming up next month, it's time to announce my next writing project! This one, currently unnamed, has been sat in my ideas folder for years, just waiting to be written.

It will be a YA Fantasy Horror, featuring goddesses and a world filled with magic.

The main character is Imara, one of only five people who have been blessed by the goddess of Death. She has the power to bring the dead back to life and decompose anything she touches.

Due to the rarity of this power, not much is understood about it. The other goddesses send out their blessed to capture Imara and force the goddess of Death to show herself once more to the world.

The other goddesses have the power of Life, Sky, Animals and Metal. But the goddess of Death is the most powerful and elusive of the five.

Imara has to work out a way to keep herself, and her sisters, safe from the blessed that want to take her away. They want her to use her power for evil and that's something she's promised herself she would never do.

I'm once again setting a goal of fifty thousand words by the end of July. This gives me plenty of time and hopefully I can get the first draft written in that time!

I've been looking forward to writing this one for a while. It's just been sat in my ideas folder for so long that I now think it's finally it's chance to be written. I hope to bring Imara to life as much as possible and tell the story of a world where magic can't always be trusted.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out this fantasy book promo:

June is for Unicorns (and other magical creatures)

How to Choose a Colour Scheme for Your Book

Hi all,

This week I'm going to give you some tips on how to pick a colour scheme for your book. A colour scheme for a cover is crucial, as it then matches your advertising and can be associated with your author brand.

Genres.

A lot of genres have popular colours and less popular colours. Have a look through books of your genre and note down any colours that pop up often. For example, romance books are often associated with red, pink or baby blue tones.

Series.

If your book is part of a series, try to find colours that will match across several books. You don't want the colours to be too different so they look like they're from a different series, but not too similar that it could be confused with a different book in the series.

Setting.

Is your book set in a certain season? Or a certain place? Try to match the colours with the setting. If you're writing a horror book, there's no point in using a colour scheme centred on bright pink. If your book is dystopian, try to think of the colour of the sky. Is it normal? Burning? Hidden by clouds?

Magic.

If your book contains magic of any kind, it's more than likely going to end up on your cover. This could become the main focus of the cover, so you want to make sure it stands out but doesn't look too out of place with other covers in your genre.

Discuss with your cover designer.

Your cover designer will be able to help if you’re struggling to come up with a colour scheme for the cover. Either ask them for options or let them choose. Either way, communicating with your cover designer is key to getting a beautiful cover.

That's it for this week! I hope this has helped someone with picking a colour scheme. See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out this month’s book bundles:

Spring into a New Woo-niverse Giveaways: Supernatural, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magical Realsim, and Sci-Fi

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Witchy Ways: An All-Genre Giveaway for Stories with Witches or Magic

May Giveaway

Newly Edited Free Enovellas!

Hi all,

I've recently had all of my enovellas re-edited and they are now available to download when you sign up to my mailing list.

You can now download the latest versions of the following:

Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection

Famished

Solar Child

Seashine

Curse of Anubis Short Story Collection

With all of these free enovellas, you will be signed up to my mailing list. This means that you'll get monthly newsletters from me.

In these monthly newsletters, you get:

Cover reveals.

Short stories.

Monthly news.

Writing updates.

Free/discounted book promos.

As I publish more books, I will be making more free enovellas available to my subscribers! Empty Skies, Street Rats and Game of Air and Lightning are all on the list to get prequels or possibly a collection of short stories.

If you want to hear more from me, you can sign up here!

That's it for this week, see you next week! 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

FREE Adventures in Sci-fi & Fantasy - April

April: Free Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Swan Dive into a Stirring Spring Fantasy

March 2025 Project Wrap-Up

Hi all,

This is a few weeks late, but I wanted to do a wrap-up post about my March 2025 writing project. The final word count for Original Elementals #8: Turf is...

73,334 words!

It felt so good to write in the Elemental Dragons universe again, I didn't realise how much I missed it. At times I did struggle with writing parts, but for the most part this was an enjoyable experience.

This book centres on Tiegan and her companion, Turf. They take in an Eastern Dragon called Squeaky who they have to raise. Their mission is to get Squeaky to create a rainstorm big enough to help dragons. This is what Zmei tells them, but is it actually true?

Tiegan was a different character to write. She's quite selfish and willing to abandon others to save her own skin. She wants to keep her life the way it is, far away from Aria. Her and Turf live on the streets, though neither of them mind.

This book also introduces a new species of man-made dragons, the Vexwings. They're tiny dragons that get compared to rats or pigeons often. They terrorise the town that Tiegan lives in which causes trouble for the people living there. Because of them, their town is completely overrun and requires outside help to fix it.

The mix of the Eastern Dragon and the Vexwings makes life harder for Tiegan. Especially when Zmei gets involved and she finds herself unable to trust them completely. Draca has turned their back on her too, so it's just her and Turf on their own.

This book was fun to write and I love writing about dragons. The next book in the series will centre on Stella and this will be the penultimate book in the series. It will most likely be my November project as I'm planning a different book for July. 

That’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed reading! Next week I’ll be posting about my dream merchandise, so keep an eye out for that next Sunday.

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

FREE Adventures in Sci-fi & Fantasy - April

April: Free Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Swan Dive into a Stirring Spring Fantasy

Playing Pokemon Go

Hi all,

Ever since I went to Tenerife, I've really gotten into Pokemon Go.

I didn't download it when it first came out because I knew I would be instantly addicted. I also didn't have the best data plan on my phone, so it wasn't possible to play on my old device.

When I went on holiday, my fiancé downloaded it on his phone for me to try and I absolutely love it! It meant that I didn't get any writing done, but I loved going around and catching various pokemon.

Now I've been playing it for a few months and it's made me move around a lot more. If I ever get the chance to write full time, I think Pokemon Go would be a great way to get me out and about!

If you also play, you can add me below:

My writing won't be effected by playing, I promise. When I was younger I used to write Pokemon FanFiction and a few short stories about my favourite mons. If anything, Pokemon Go is making me more excited to use my phone and makes me feel a lot fresher when it comes to writing.

That's it got this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! If you play, you can add me via my trainer code in this post. See you next week. 

PS; there are plenty of free and discounted books in these bundles:

Dangerous Women: Fantasy and Science Fiction with Women Who Kick Butt! (March)

March Fantasy/Sci-Fi Freebies

Dark Flights of Fantasy

Characters or Plot First?

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about an important part of your book. Do you come up with the characters or the plot first?

Personally, I always have the plot in mind first. Most of the time I know what the characters look like before I name them!

I like to plot the book out and the journey the characters have to take rather than focusing on the characters fist. I like to know where the story is going to before I start worrying about adding characters in the mix.

I know some authors come up with characters first and then plot around them. They come up with their backstories and personalities before knowing what those characters will do.

I don't think there's a wrong option. Some authors feel like characters want their stories told, while others tell the story before the characters get involved.

I've tried to come up with characters first but I can't do it. I need a general idea of the story before I can even dream up what the character will be doing.

For example; with Celestial Plague, I knew the story would be set in a word ravaged by a virus. Where everyone has a magical power of some sort that can help or hinder them in this new world. The four main characters came after this.

If you have a world that you want to write about, start from there. But if there's a character that's been bugging you to write a story about them, you can start there too. There aren't any rules about how you can write your own book. Do what feels best for you and your book.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading, see you next Sunday. 

PS; there are plenty of free and discounted books in these bundles:

Dangerous Women: Fantasy and Science Fiction with Women Who Kick Butt! (March)

March Fantasy/Sci-Fi Freebies

Dark Flights of Fantasy

How Do You Name Characters?

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about a crucial part of writing, how to name your characters! Each character needs to have a name that feels right to you. When people read your work, you want them to remember your character and what they went through. So I thought I would discuss a few ways I give my characters first names!

There are several ways to name characters.

Name generators.

I've used name generators for a few of my characters before. I use this method mostly for side characters or antagonists.

Googling names.

With Tahira (Curse of Anubis), I wanted a name that had 'Ra' in it. I googled names that contain those letters and looked down the list until one felt right. This is especially good if you want a character's name to begin with a certain letter, but can't find a name that fits.

Use a celebrity name.

If a name calls out to you that belongs to your favourite celebrities, then go for it! Jenna (Celestial Plague), for example, is named after the actress Jenna Coleman because I absolutely loved her on Doctor Who!

After a place.

So far the only character I've deliberately done this for is Cheyenne (Years). I try not to use this method too much unless the name really suits a character.

A random name you like.

Hazel (Elemental Dragons) and Audra (Mute) are names that I absolutely loved and knew would fit a character one day! This doesn't happen too often but I love when it does.

After a pet!

So far, two of my cats, Rocky and Normie, have been featured in Elemental Dragons. Rocky is a human character while Normie is still a cat. I don't see a problem with naming characters after pets and I think it's adorable!

Surnames.

For surnames, I tend to go with surname generators. I have several ways of coming up with first names but I suck with surnames. I usually go through a list until I find one that I think fits the character. This is usually done after all the main characters have first names.

That's it for this week. I hope this post helps if you're struggling to name characters. See you next week! 

PS; there are plenty of free and discounted books in these bundles:

Dangerous Women: Fantasy and Science Fiction with Women Who Kick Butt! (March)

March Fantasy/Sci-Fi Freebies

Dark Flights of Fantasy