It’s been a trial to get here, but I’m over the moon I finally made it. Two years of writing, revisions, editing, and beta reading have all paid off. It was not my first book ever written, but it was the first one I managed to get into publishing shape. I learned so much along the way. About writing, and about my own process, and so much more. And a lot of why I got here was I was lucky to have a team of people cheering me on. A lot of it I did myself but it was having people that believed in me that kept me going when it seemed like I was going to fail.
My history of trauma did me no favors there. Growing up I was told that I was nothing but a loser, a failure that wouldn’t ever do anything with my life. And a lot of times when my resolve would start to flag, it was those old, internalized voices drowning everything out. And so part of this journey was learning how to quiet those voices, how to argue with them when the world would get dark and it all seemed pointless. Nights of wondering if I should just delete everything and walk away.
But I didn’t. I used those voices to propel me forward. To prove to myself that those people never had my best interests at heart to begin with. It also came with lessons on how to rest, and when. Why sometimes a break is a good thing. Practicing coping skills to get through the voices that would sometimes be overwhelming. And I still struggle with those feelings. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is my ability to disregard them. A lot of the last two years I’ve spent building up my own sense of self-worth so I could keep going, to present this story to you. And I’m happy to announce that it is now up for preorder. October 31st, 2023 will put this story in your hands. It’s been a labor of love, of agony, and ultimately of triumph.
I don’t want to ramble forever, so I’m leaving you with the blurb for the first book in the Guardians of Gaia series, Savior of the Damned.
The world is at the mercy of the necromancer Aurelius. In two centuries’ time, he has risen, leaving untold destruction in his wake. With mysterious origins, his unfathomable motives have left remarkably little left of Terra to save. His only surviving adversary is Temple, an organization determined to bring his reign to an end.
Enter Phaedra, Demeter, and Eldren, friends who survived the destruction of their city as children and took shelter at the seat of Temple: Sanctuary City. Growing up together, Phaedra and Eldren found their places within Sanctuary’s walls. Fate, however, had other plans for Phaedra’s sister Demeter. As a child, Demeter was declared the Chosen One to save humanity, with Phaedra left to her own devices.
But now Aurelius knows of Demeter’s destiny and has set his sights on corrupting both her and Phaedra. Now the sisters must navigate through abduction, forced servitude, and a new sense of self as their world faces new levels of increasing danger. Meanwhile Eldren, now on the other side of the battlefield, is trying to reach the sisters in a bid to save them as well as the world. Will the greater good overcome? Or will they bow to Aurelius’ demands?
