My Trip in London

Hi all,

This week my boyfriend and I went to London for a few days and I thought I’d share some pictures with you! The trip didn’t go as planned due to a few set backs, but we managed to see everything we wanted to see.

Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium

We visited a cat café, which was amazing! The cats were adorable and we played with quite a few of them. My boyfriend took loads of pictures while we were there but these are my favourite ones. We also had some cake while we were there, though we were careful not to let the cats have any.

I’d recommend visiting this café if you’re looking to play with some cute cats. They do have a few house rules, but they’re easy to follow and makes everything less stressful for the cats. They even have pictures on the wall of previous residents who have now found their forever homes, which was cute!

The Natural History Museum

We visited the Natural History Museum to have a look at some of the dinosaur exhibits, though we did also end up seeing almost everything in the museum. Of course the dinosaurs were my favourite part, but I also liked the earthquake and volcano zone. It reminded me a lot of when I studied Geography at school, which was one of my favourite subjects.

I did get a soft plush of a Smilodon, also known as a Sabre-Toothed Tiger. Of course I had to pick out a big cat! Maybe I’ll write a story about a Smilodon one day, I do find them fascinating.

Smilodon, or Sabre-Toothed Tiger

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! Keep an eye out for next week’s blog post, which includes details of how you can download one of my books for free… See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles…

Science Fiction September

URBAN FANTASY: 1st in Series on KINDLE UNLIMITED - Get Your Binge On!

My Book Merchandise

Hi all!

This week I’m going to talk about what merchandise there is for my books and what I plan to do with it in the future. At the moment everything is based on the Elemental Dragons series, though I hope to expand this to my other books in the future.

The picture above displays all the merchandise so far:

• Pins of Aqueous and Drea (Top Row)

• Round stickers of Aqueous, Drea and Damayanti (Bottom Row)

• Holographic sticker of Aqueous (Left Middle)

• Die cute sticker of Damayanti (Right Middle)

• Bookplate (Middle)

I’m having a giveaway of everything pictured for my newsletter subscribers at the moment, I’ll send another email about it in a week’s time. If you want to enter, just sign up to my newsletter before next week and wait for that email: Newsletter. You’ll get access to three (with more coming in the future) FREE enovellas.

With book merchandise, I really want to know what you want. You’re my reader, and your opinion matters. If you want to help me decide what merch you want to see next, you can take this survey. It takes two minutes and it would be a massive help: Merch Survey.

In the future I would like to create a shop so you can get your hands on some of the merch outside of giveaways. I’ve been looking at options but haven’t decided anything concrete yet. One thing I’ll most likely offer is a ‘Signed Book Bundle’ which includes a signed paperback copy of one of my books and stickers.

The next piece of merch that I’m going to get done are bookmarks for each of my books. After stickers and pins this seems like what people want the most so I’ll be looking into the design and making of these.

Another way that I’m thinking of offering merch is through Patreon. I have been thinking of creating a Patreon for a while and have ideas for what I would offer. One thing would be I would write a book exclusively for Patreon until it’s finished and then publish it alongside my other books. This would not be a book in any of my series, but a standalone that I want to write. I’ve mentioned in a post previously about wanting to write about the Teumessian Fox and Laelaps. The book would be around the length of my current books, around 75K-80K words and updated weekly. Those who subscribe to a higher tier would get stickers and other merch as well.

I will probably make another blog post talking about my plan for Patreon and a shop in the future, so for now the only way to get your hands on merch is through giveaways. I’ll probably do more in the future, including when Celestial Plague #1: Nirvana, comes out in October!

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

PS; looking for some Sci-Fi books to read? Check out the ones in this bundle:

Science Fiction September

How Lockdowns Influenced Celestial Plague

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about how the lockdowns influenced my YA Post-Apocalyptic series, Celestial Plague. The series starts because a virus starts spreading around the world, infecting people and encouraging them to infect others so they can pass onto Nirvana or Heaven. While I started writing the series before the pandemic, I have gone back and edited some parts to be more realistic to the lockdowns that happened around the world.

Isolation.

The SARJ virus happens very early in the books so we only see the characters at school once. Shannon watches a short news reel on the virus which states that it's spreading, but no procedures have been put in place yet. The characters all still go to school as normal before the virus hits their small town. They hide in Shannon's house, only letting in one person who infects Shannon before leaving. The rest of the girls then keep Shannon in her bedroom until they can determine that she won't infect them. They mainly stay in Shannon's house for the first book until they are forced to leave. The SARJ virus is not a respiratory one, instead it is spread through bites. The virus also shows it's symptoms almost immediately, which means that the infected can be isolated if others are quick enough.

Groceries.

When the girls sneak out to get food, they notice that toilet paper and perishable food has all been taken first. Originally I wrote that canned food would be the first to run out of stock but when lockdown happened that wasn't the case. It was mostly bread, milk, toilet paper and hand sanitiser that ran out first. So I incorporated that into the books.

Misinformation.

The main source of misinformation in Celestial Plague comes from Warren, the leader of a cult. At first he tells people that the virus only takes the sinners and kicks out the infected. But he then has a change of heart down the line and starts accepting the infected as well. He preaches ways people can keep themselves safe from the virus and that it's a punishment from God. He is also able to control some of the 'demons' that appear when people start going to Nirvana and Heaven.

Travel.

Due to most people getting infected and passing on to Nirvana or Heaven, the girls don't come across many people in vehicles. When they do it's usually from people who have looted them from those who have gone. When lockdowns first happened there were very few people on the roads, so I tried to incorporate that into Celestial Plague.

Fear.

The SARJ virus can only be passed on through a bite from a human. So this makes the survivors fear the infected more so than usual. One of the main characters, Jenna, is especially hostile towards the infected and hates them with a passion. There are many groups that will only allow those who are uninfected to stay with them. When the lockdowns happened, people were scared for their lives and tried to stay away from others as much as possible. This is also true in Celestial Plague.

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

PS; check out this bundle for some free books!

August Fantasy Giveaway

Underwater Stories

Hi all,

Before I start writing Original Elementals #4: Devouring next month I want to get some short stories written. I've found some anthologies with themes that I find really interesting and they all involve underwater beings. I thought I'd write a post explaining what creatures I'm planning on writing about in these stories.

Nessie.

One of the anthologies has a strange theme of Loch Ness Monster vs Ghosts of Atlantis. I think this theme is unique and a good one to stretch my imagination. As the title of the anthology suggests, Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, will be involved. But I'm also going to include Morag, the monster of Loch Morar. I think these two go well together as they inhabit separate Lochs and I think it will be interesting to tie them in together. As for the ghosts of Atlantis, I've got a few ideas bouncing around in my head but nothing solid for now.

Mermaids.

A different anthology has the theme of mermaids. I'm thinking this story will be a horror one, featuring a mermaid preying on fishermen who have taken something from her. I don't know whether the thing that they have taken will be a mythological creature or a tiger shark, I haven't decided yet. But this mermaid won't be nice to people she comes across, she will use anything at her disposal to make them suffer.

Kelpies.

I like the idea of kelpies in their horse form. I would like to include them in a short story, but I'm not sure if this will tie in with Nessie or the mermaid. The kelpies will probably appear in a herd and I like to imagine them being aggressive. They will not hesitate to attack whatever is threatening them.

Leviathan.

A monster hiding in the deep that suddenly comes to the surface is one of my favourite tropes. The monster that I'm thinking about will erupt from the deep and will control the weather. Freak storms, maelstroms, tsunamis - all controlled by this monster.

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

PS; check out these free ebooks:

August Fantasy Giveaway

Nirvana Pre-Order Live

Hi all,

If you haven’t seen my social media posts - Celestial Plague #1: Nirvana is now ready to pre-order on Amazon. For now only the ebook version can be pre-ordered, with hardcover and paperback to come out on publication day. This is the second series that I will publish and is also my first YA Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy book!

I can confirm that this book will be out October 11th 2022.

You can pre-order it below:

While you’re waiting for it to come out, why not sign up to my mailing list?

You get:

• Three FREE enovellas. (soon to be four).

• Cover reveals before anyone else.

• First chapter reads before anyone else.

• Monthly news.

• Character design polls.

• Merch giveaways.

• Free and discounted book deals.

• Exclusive short stories.

You can sign up below:

That’s it for this week, I hope you check Nirvana out! See you next week.

PS; looking for something new to read this Summer? Check out the books in these bundles:

Young Adult Sci-Fi & Fantasy

August Fantasy Giveaway

Celestial Plague Chapter Headers

Hi all!

With Celestial Plague #1: Nirvana going up for pre-order soon I thought I’d show you what the chapter headers will look like! Each of the main characters - Shannon, Ashleigh, Raya and Jenna have one. Every time there is a POV switch, their chapter header will show up. I wanted to make it easier for people to read without trying to figure out who the POV of each chapter is.

I originally had designs for each character planned out but that changed when it came to hiring an artist. All of the chapter headers are now animal related instead of Ashleigh having the sun. I think this makes the chapter headers looks better and also sticks to a theme.

Make sure you check out the artist, Bruja verde, their art is beautiful and they deserve some love!

First up - we have Shannon. As a winged character, I knew that having a bird as her header would make the most sense. Hers was the first one I came up with as I knew birds would be involved in her header in some form. Once I decided on the animal theme, it was only natural that she would be a bird.

Ashleigh’s design is the one I flip-flopped the most on. I wanted to go with a chameleon at first but I was worried that it wouldn’t make sense as her power has a slim connection to the animal. I thought a sun would be a good idea instead as it would signify her rise through the series. Ultimately I went with the animal theme so the chameleon came back.

Like Shannon, Raya’s header was quite simple to choose from. Her power is shapeshifting into a panther, so it only makes sense that her chapter header would be a panther too. I’ve name this panther Damisa after her feline counterpart in the books.

Jenna’s header is my favourite out of all the designs. As her power is breathing underwater with her gills it’s only natural that her header would be a fish. Bruja verde really went above and beyond with this one, I think the fish itself is gorgeous.

There is one final chapter header… But you’ll have to read the books to see it! To post it here would be a spoiler for book two onwards. It’s another gorgeous design that follows the animal theme. I’ll give you a hint… Metamorphosis plays a big part in the Celestial Plague universe. The virus has a life-cycle that ends in a complete change for the host.

Once again, make sure you check out Bruja verde! Curse of Anubis is another series that has multiple POVs so I will go back to them to get the chapter headers for those books too.

That’s it for this week, which chapter header is your favourite? Let me know in the comments! See you next week.

PS; if you’re looking for some new books to read over Summer, make sure you check out the ones in these bundles:

Young Adult Sci-Fi & Fantasy

August Fantasy Giveaway

Elemental Dragons Pins!

Hi all,

This week I have some exciting news to share with you - Elemental Dragons is now in pin form!

As you can see from the above picture, both Aqueous and Drea have now been transformed into wearable pins! I’m going to do a giveaway of these two in my newsletter next month, so if you want a chance of winning make sure you sign up here: Newsletter.

As well as pins and stickers I have plans to do merchandise in other forms as well. If you want to help decide what I should make, you can take the survey here: Merch Survey.

I’m hoping at some point to make a shop where I can make all this merch available to you. As well as pins and stickers, I’ll also be doing signed paperback books! Once I have the logistics of this sorted out I’ll try and make it a reality, though it might take a while.

Another thing that I’ve been thinking of for a while now is creating a Patreon. With this, I’ll post chapters of an exclusive book that I’ve been working on. Again, this might take a while to come to fruition but I would really like to make it a reality. The book would be a YA Fantasy book centred on Greek Mythology. Most notably, Laelaps and the Teumessian fox. They will be sent back to Earth when a disaster occurs and the Gods are nowhere to be found. By day they transform into humans and by night they are back in canine forms.

If you like the sound of a Patreon, make sure you tell me in the survey! Along with chapters of that book I’ll also be doing other things, such as polls and a monthly writing prompt decided by my Patrons. There will also be rewards!

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

PS; don’t forget to check out these bundles, you might just find your new favourite author!

Young Adult Sci-Fi & Fantasy

August Fantasy Giveaway

My Writing Playlist Part Two

Hi all!

Two years ago I wrote a blog post about songs I listen to that have inspired my writing. As it’s been a while I thought I’d do a part two to that list. You can read the first part here.

Figure 8 - Ellie Goulding

Guns and Horses - Ellie Goulding

Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood

Stone Cold Classic 3000 - George Barnett

Est-Ce Que Tu M'aimes? - Maître Gims

Je Te Pardonne - Maître Gims ft Sia

Breaking My Bones - Friday Pilots Club

Heat Waves - Glass Animals

Young Gods - Halsey

Burn The Stars - Massive Vibes

Hiding In The Blue - TheFatRat & RIELL

Darkside - NEONI

Don’t Look Back - The Dear Hunter

G.O.M.D. - Sickick

Glass Animals is on the list again as I absolutely adore their music and it’s great for writing to. There’s also quite a few by the same artists here as well. Once I find a singer that resonates with my writing I tend to explore a lot of their songs!

Some of these are great for writing action scenes to, such as Breaking My Bones and Stone Cold Classic 3000. Whereas Je Te Pardonne and Don’t Look Back are better for sadder, more emotional scenes. I listen to these songs a lot, as well a lot of the ones from part one of this post. Maybe in two years I can expand on this list again! I’m always on the lookout for new music to keep me going while I’m doing short writing sprints or to inspire certain scenes.

Hiding In The Blue has actually inspired what I hope to be a book series about Norse mythology! (Once I’ve done a bit more planning…). I’ve also had a few ideas bounce around my head since the first time I listened to G.O.M.D. which will hopefully turn into at least one book.

That’s it for this week, I hope you check out some of the music I’ve talked about, the songs are great to listen to whether you’re writing or not. See you next week!

PS; check out these Sci-Fi and Fantasy books!

Young Adult Sci-Fi & Fantasy

The Winged Character in Celestial Plague

Hi all,

Not that long ago I wrote a blog post on Raya, one of the main characters of Celestial Plague. Following on from her post, I thought I'd write about another of the main characters - Shannon Pennylove. Her power is passive as she can fly. Unlike a lot of winged people however, her wings are deformed thanks to her genes. Her father has bat wings while her mother has bird wings. While this would usually present itself as the child getting one of their parent's wings this didn't work out for Shannon. Instead she got a strange mix of both that aren't the best for flying or appearance. For years her parents were a laughing stock because of this and considered her birth to be a punishment that drove them towards Warren's cult. Her parents consider her a disappointment because of this and don't interact with her much.

Her wings are a mix of a bird’s and a bat's - she has the structure of bat wings and the membranes but they're covered in brown and grey ombre feathers. They're bulky and hard to fly with. Not that flying matters to her anyway, as she is terrified of it. Thanks to her parents lack of encouragement and several failed attempts at flying, she developed a fear of heights. This appears several times throughout the books and Shannon barely uses her wings because of this, even when it would help her friends.

Her dream is to become a police officer one day, though this dream is shot down due to her wings. Some of the only jobs she can do involve flying or piloting. Neither of which she wants to do. She feels lost and useless compared to her friends, especially Raya who is fine with fighting off threats whenever necessary. She, Raya and Ashleigh were all part of Warren's cult before Shannon was outed as a lesbian and kicked out. Surprisingly her parents picked her over Warren, which is something she never understands.

Jenna is her girlfriend in the beginning of the first book and the two of them could be considered close, though their relationship is one-sided. Ashleigh and Raya don't like Jenna too much, but put up with her for Jenna's sake. With all the events that happen in the series Shannon still holds a torch for Jenna and will always try to help her if she can. Even when her friends plead with her to let Jenna go.

In the future I'll do posts on Jenna and Ashleigh - the last two main characters of Celestial Plague.

I hope you enjoyed reading, see you next week.

The Team Taking Down The Rot

Hi all,

On the first of this month I started writing the fourth book in the Celestial Plague series, Hell. As well as the core main characters there are also new characters that are important to the story, so I thought I'd talk a bit about them here. They are the ones who decide to get rid of The Rot and their powers are quite interesting with how they fit into their plan.

Mirai.

Mirai is the oldest of the new characters at twenty years old. She is Japanese. Her power is passive as she can see visions of the future. She can't control these visions and she only sees things that are deemed 'important'. Her father also has visions of the future but his are near constant and he sees everything regardless of whether it's important or not. Her family plays a large role in this book as they are the ones who convince the others that they can eradicate The Rot.

Shari.

Shari is the youngest of the new characters at fourteen. She is half Hungarian on her mother’s side and grew up there before moving to the UK when the SARJ virus hit. Her power is creating a pocket dimension that she can send things to, but they can't come back. If you've read my previous blog posts about Celestial Plague then you might remember me mentioning a character called Shani who initially supposed to have a book of her own in the series before I revamped the idea and characters. Shari is almost identical to Shani apart from the name and the fact that she isn't raised by Jenna and Cindy. I really liked the idea of the character and was ecstatic when I came up with a way to slot her into the series again. Her power is the key to getting rid of The Rot, as the plan is to send it to her pocket dimension. Shari is also the only one of the new characters that is Bitten.

Romina.

Romina is seventeen and her power is shapeshifting. She is Spanish. She can shapeshift into a tiger at will and is skilled in combat. She is protective of Shari especially as she is the youngest of the group. She and Mirai are close but are stressed with their way of life and the SARJ virus and The Rot. She jumps at the chance to do something about it, and is the most willing member of the group. The only person she doesn't get along with is Amyra.

Amyra.

Amyra, like Jenna and Cindy, isn't a part of the initial group. She joins later after stumbling upon the group's cabin after they are attacked by a mutated Sarj. She is a British Muslim. Her power is that she can create forcefields that can keep almost everything out. Her power is the key to reaching the source of The Rot, as she can protect the others from its effects as they travel. She is sixteen and is extremely distrustful of the group at first, especially Mirai. They know each other but they're hesitant to tell anyone why.

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