Art inspiring writing, inspiring design, inspiring feedback, inspiring reading, inspiring art… and the cycle goes on…
I couldn’t just share this amazing review all by itself. The much appreciated words needed graphics and drama to inspire others besides me. So, I hope you see this as potential for designing your own graphics through Canva as well as adding an epic read to your summer book list.
The Starlight Chronicles
I promised Thomas on his deathbed that I would set out to find the place I was meant to be. Neither of us had a clue where, but Thomas was adamant it wasn’t Reno. So, I shouldered my grief, left my nine-to-five job, packed up my art supplies, and hit the highway. Quincy, California, picked me. I knew this because I found the perfect cottage, miles of hiking trails, and a quaint old tavern with a booth in the corner where I could drink my beer, observe the patrons, and sketch their faces.
Soon, the subtle things that emerge from my charcoal images plunge me into a world right out of a Grimm fairytale. Seemingly ordinary citizens have strange lights in their eyes, visible auras, and uncanny strength. The most intriguing is Andras Johns, and I wonder if the towering man who sets me on fire with one look is the prince in the story or the beast lurking in the woods.
When I find out, I never look back, and suddenly my life is filled with prophetic destiny, hot alpha shifters, mysterious vampires, Fae princesses, an alien antagonist intent on taking me for himself…
I’m borrowing this from Mr. F. Scott Fitzgerald to sum up how I feel about this day, February 27, 2024, which is special to me many times over, but mostly because my dream of publishing the conclusion to The Starlight Chronicles has come true.
Thank you all for your support and I hope you enjoy the romantic finale for Selena, Andras, Elliott, and Aviel in Tigris Vetus.
At least they are for my three-part Starlight Chronicles because I finished the third book! It’s such a dream come true that I’ve been shouting this out every chance I get.
I knew it would be a poignant phase in my new writer’s life–finishing my first novel. I’ve been living with these magical beings for three years. Or, I should say my pod people who were seeded in my brain by what had to be mysterious aliens have been in my head through my sleep, my waking hours, and any type of consciousness in between for a very long time. It goes without saying how much I will miss them.
Except… they won’t be gone forever. I’ve got loads of spinoff stories planned, and even a couple in the works, though for the next year, I will head down a different path. Two novels are calling me, and they’re in a different genre–new adult / sci-fi fantasy. I guess my aliens decided I needed to visit their world for a while.
Ah. The joys of writing fantasy fiction. So many roads to travel.
Thank you for converging with me on this path from time to time and letting me shout in joy.
I had a lot of fun putting these audio books together. What a process! I’m pretty thrilled with Narrator Mike. And yay! I’m offering a discount through Friday in celebration of the launch of Book Three in the Starlight Chronicles, Tigris Vetus. Thank you for your support. 😀
Books One and Two will be free during my presale launch as part of a giant Romance Author Email Blast promotion. Sign up for my newsletter for the details. Thank you!
Promotional freebies are coming your way. Sign up for my newsletter for details.
And you won’t have long to wait for publication! The conclusion to the Anurashin conflict and Selena’s prophetic journey will publish on a date that is special to me in fulfillment of my promise to myself. Stay tuned!
Thank you to all who have waited patiently for the final book. Ending a journey is harder for a story teller than you might think.
Preface
When destiny gives you three paths, choose the fourth.
That’s what Selena keeps telling herself while she and her pack regroup at her brother’s fishing lodge in Ketchikan after evading the alien prince intent on taking her.
When the pack arrives, the family reunion doesn’t go as expected. Dylan is changed in a way that shocks them all, and that’s not their only complication. Aviel’s brothers have sinister plans for the alphas, a vampire breaks supernatural law to enlist Selena’s help on a mission, driving a wedge between her and her mate, and a seer sends her visions of three distinct paths to her destiny.
Being a marked maiden means Selena is supposed to have the support of her pack on this journey foisted on her by fate. Instead, the once loner artist finds herself marching down Destiny’s twisting road with only her goddess-bestowed instincts for company, a slim hope she isn’t sacrificing the love of her life, and a desperate hope she has what it takes to bring down an alien prince.
Tigris Vetus
Selena and Elliott
When I got close enough to see light seeping underneath the bathroom door, I backed away. Before I could turn around, the door opened on a bare-chested, dragon-tattooed Elliott—again with the wet hair and rolled towel draped over his shoulders, looking hot as… Well, there was no denying Michael Elliott was just plain hot, an entirely different hot than my hotter-than-hot boyfriend.
There was also no denying he teased me with the memory of our encounter in his office when he dabbed the edges of the towel over his damp skin, midnight blue eyes sparkling, and arm muscles bulging. I swallowed. I might have even run my tongue over my lips much to my shame because his eyes blazed with his fire.
“Excuse me,” I said primly as I backed away.
“It’s all yours,” he said with a sweep of his hand. I doubted anyone could infuse more intimacy into those words.
Despite taking care not to brush against him as we traded places, I was close enough to see his inked dragon coiling around him… but I looked for that now.
I closed the door… a little too loudly and leaned against the polished pine panels to gather my wits. I jumped at the sound of his voice.
“Selena?”
“What is it?”
“Open the door.” I complied and peered at him through a one-inch gap. “Don’t go too long harboring all those questions shimmering in your eyes. You can talk to me… About us. About Onyx. Anything that’s worrying you. Okay?” Nodding was the most I could manage before shutting the door again.
Selena and Mortas
“You are a puzzle that must be solved, Selena, but that’s my problem. I do apologize if I’ve created one for you as well.”
I huffed out my acknowledgment before sweeping aside the cover and hiking up my shirt. Nothing!
“It’s all healed!”
He stared a little too intently at my thigh before looking at me.
“It’s a vampire thing. You’re as good as new. There’s no need for you to think more about it.”
“Well then, I thank you.” I narrowed my eyes. “You’re leaving something out. I just hope my ignorance doesn’t get me in trouble.” That worry was met with more silent regard.
A thought occurred to me as I smoothed my shirt over my legs. “You’ve been doing your thing with my clothing again. You take a lot of liberties with my person, Mortas. Why can I never get mad at you?”
His snort of laughter was so human I gaped at him. My incredulous face caused more incongruous sounds, and his shoulders shook. I couldn’t help but join him. When tears ran down my face, he procured a tissue from the ether and handed it to me like a magician on a stage, and we laughed harder. Eventually, we quieted, and I blew my nose.
“Thanks. I needed that. I take it you’re none the worse for wear. Septimus was as vicious as you… until the end.”
“The only permanent damage was to my jacket.” His eyes glittered. “Thank you for putting out the flames that might have ended me.”
“That would be unthinkable.” The glittering softened into a warm glow.
I cleared my throat and asked him a question. “You drank Septimus’s wine, Mortas, after warning me not to. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get us out of our predicament. What happened?”
Andras and Selena
I rested my forehead against hers, closed my eyes, and summoned her Craftsman cottage and the two of us meshed together on her sofa surrounded by polished wood, stained-glass, and the richness of her creations. This was where my mind traveled when I needed balance. But instead of comfort, regret stabbed me. We’d strayed so far from her little artist haven.
My thoughts must have seeped out because she grasped my face and pinned me with her eyes. “Don’t. I’m right where I want to be. I didn’t mean to make you doubt that.”
I kissed her palm, then her lips, and kept going. We merged as one a second time and once again, I claimed her—just as she claimed me. The power of it and my lack of sleep lulled me into slumber.
Her words passed over me as I drifted away. “I love you so much, my beautiful bear.”
When my eyes opened again, the light in the room was a little less bright—a clue this far north that it was nearing evening—and I was alone. My neck stung. I probed the spot and drew away a speck of blood.
I spend an exorbitant amount of time on Canva crafting video promos and posts for social media because… Well… it’s fun. I love creating art as much a written story and this is the perfect way to engage in both passions. So, I keep trying out new designs and methods to convey my stories and characters. The problem is there are so many combinations of elements, taglines, imagery, arrangement, music, length of time… You get the idea. Also, I may not be up on the trendy stuff as much as I need to be. I like what I like (including music like rock and blues, not pop) and not necessarily what I’m told to like. Hmmm.
So, hitting on a formula that will grab attention and tap into those algorithms is exorbitantly difficult.
Exorbitant = exceeding the bounds of custom, propriety, or reason, especially in amount or extent; highly excessive
Dictionary.com
The most fascinating aspect I’ve discovered is how the same video will get completely different engagement between social media platforms. There’s never any rhyme or reason. It will soar on TikTok (Disclaimer-soar for me means topping out at 700 views) and flop on Instagram or vice versa. Facebook? Forget it. I’m invisible there. Same on Tumblr. On occasion it might do well on Twitter… I mean X (what is that? – talk about invisible… and uninviting).
Here are some of my attempts just today. I would love your opinion about spending our time creating post after post in the seemingly futile game of hitting the right formula. And thank you for supporting my creative efforts and highly excessive passions.
The collage template
The flash of Wow😍
The evocative draw
If you’d like a story with a loveable heroine, smashing alpha males, found family, otherworldly friends, adventure, a cozy mountain town, a lively roadhouse, and princes from an ancient race who are trying to kill the MC’s date, pick up a copy of Ursus Borealis. My stories are full of exorbitant passions as well. 😉
I’ve had so much fun and worked so hard to bring out my best ever version of Ursus Borealis. Drago Incendium is undergoing the same. But I couldn’t wait any longer to put Book One back up for sale. Check it out by clicking any of the images. If you happened to own the ebook, a refresh sync will bring you the awesome new cover and bonus chapters. Thank you!!
By D. L. Lewellyn 