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Exhausted Vampire Blog

@thevampireconcept / thevampireconcept.tumblr.com

Fi • 21 • Latinx • Spoonie • Queer Ace • Artist & Writer • Current WIP: A Thousand Springs
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Nano Project Intro: A Thousand Springs

Title: A Thousand Springs Genre: Fantasy Target Word Count: 25k Status: First Draft Tags: Fae | Seasons | Queer | Polyamory | Disability | Mental Health CW: Self-deprication, Mentioned child abuse, ableism, internalized ableism

Salem holds eye-contact with the Beast King for several beats, his breath stolen away from him. Even now, a simple glance from his husband leaves him breathless and lightheaded and a small, corner of his mind resents himself for his weakness. Oh, to have fallen in love with his husband. How pathetic. Still, mesmerized, Salem cannot look away, drawn to moment. Questions bubble up in his mind. Who is it that stands across from you? Why didn’t you tell me? …Do you love me?
Summary

 Salem was twenty-two years old when, sick and defeated he sat in the rain with no direction towards his life. Twenty-two when the Fae boy whose life he had saved, now a man, came back for him. For the past few years Salem has lived as the pampered respected King Consort to Esdren, the beast King. His husband whose reasons for marrying Salem still elude him, is distant and Taciturn but Salem has settled into his life in the Silverlands. He's content. And then, Nara shows up. Salem has never dealt well with change and his husband's marriage to a second man he's never heard of bring with them both new and old emotions within Salem.

Whether he wants it or not, things will change, but Salem isnt sure he's ready for that.

Authors Note's

ATS is a novella that takes place over the course of a year, and is separated into four parts that each focus on the events of a particular season. It is an in depth look at self-image (especially in relation to disability), Self-sabotage, the importance of communication, and the scars parents leave on their children. I'm aiming to attempt writing more lyrical and descriptive prose than I usually do, and really want to write a story about hitting an emotional rock bottom and then building oneself up again.

#writeblr#wip intro#nanowrimo#writers on tumblr#athousandsprings#thevampireconceptwips
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Reblogged verba-writing
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Hello fellow authors! ✍️

Just a quick reminder: WRITE WHAT YOU WANT

Don’t let the opinions of others dim your creativity or dictate your writing. Embrace your ideas, no matter how wild or unconventional they may seem.

Some of the greatest works came from breaking the rules.

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A Sharper, More Lasting Call for ARC Readers

Do you like dark academia? How about fantasy? How about stories set on a magic college campus? How about tragic tales? Monsters? Mind-melding drugs? Toxic best friends that can't live without each other?

All of this and more is found within my debut novel, which is currently open for ARC Readers!

After their girlfriend’s best friend is wounded in a monster attack, Simone Allard stumbles across a plot much deeper than they anticipated. As they work to find a cure to their own forming illness and find out the truth, one question remains: how was Nadia involved in this?
Nadia DuPont doesn’t know how much time she has or even what is ailing her, but it all gets more complex after meeting Simone on a field trip. As they both work to find a cure to her ailment, all Nadia is certain of is she's on the path to ruin.

Basics

  • Dual-POV third person present tense
  • Roughly 71,000 words
  • For fans of Ninth House, A Deadly Education, and Strixhaven
  • Content warnings include: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Sexual content (including mild kink), Suicidal ideation, Terminal illness, and Violence
  • Representation includes: nonbinary main character, black main character, main characters of color, gay main character, sapphic main character, mentions of polyamory, a main character with chronic illness/terminal illness, neurodivergent main character, side characters of color, plus-sized main character, disabled side character, queernormative society
  • ARC Readers will be accepted and contacted by July 1st
  • Completion expected by October 10th, 2024 (ASMLP's release date!)
  • All ARCs are digital at this time, so an email will be required.
  • This ARC is prior to final edits, so there may be some changes upon publication.

Links

ASMLP Tag List (Ask to be added!): @magic-is-something-we-create , @wildswrites , @chishiio , @broodparasitism , @writeblrsupport , @original-writing , @artcoffeecats , @asterhaze , @linaket , @ryns-ramblings , @stesierra

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Become an ARC Reader for The Essence of the Equinox!

THE ESSENCE OF THE EQUINOX 💫 is for those who long for a dark, sensual and yet whimsical fantasy story steeped in atmospheric imagery, poetic prose and a star-crossed love story.

The first in the series WHEN THE STARS ALIGHT 🌟 is already out for purchase where you can meet the enchanting star princess and her suitors

The second in the series WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT 🌙 takes off where the last book leaves some years after the events of the first book where the two powerful races of the celestial and the chthonic try to maintain peace and circumvent a collision that could lead ruin to both their worlds.

You can read both of these stories if you sign up to become an ARC Reader in preparation for WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT'S September release.

Sign up here!

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Welcome!

You can call me Cammie.

Here I’ll be sharing updates and information about my existing and upcoming publications in The Essence of the Equinox series, as well as other stories set both in and out of the universe.

Publications

In Pursuit of Perfection in Fall into Fantasy 2022 Amira has always demanded perfection—of herself and those around her. Her quest for absolute control takes her on a journey to the hot deserts of Seraj where rumours permeate that humans may have rediscovered the ancient phoenix. Should its power be harnessed, the fire witches will be unmatched. Amira thinks it time they re-learn who the true supreme being on earth is. 
When The Stars Alight (16 June 2023) Book 1 in The Essence of the Equinox (Buy Indie | Other vendors) Star princess Laila travels to a cursed island to uncover a legendary race of demons. There, she finds herself up against a tyrannical king who rules without a heart. To spare her country from his warmongering ways, Laila must play the role of charming diplomat aided by the prince and his bastard brother. But soon it is her heart she must keep from being torn between their dangerous rivalry for her affections.
Two Halves Of A Whole in midnight & indigo (31 October 2023) (Purchase) Lucille Bonnaire finds herself becoming the new bride to vampyre prince Ilya Likhanov. Unfortunately, she is unaware of just how nefarious his intentions are towards her and her magic.
The Sanguine Sorceress (1 December 2023) Prequel in The Essence of the Equinox (Other vendors | Buy Indie ) A blood-soaked tale of feminine rage following the journey of Serafina Stilia, as she attempts to claw agency for herself in a society where all the power is held fast in the grip of a male-run imperialistic regime. After her reputation is left in tatters by the unwanted advances of a suitor, Serafina must carve a path to liberation from the fury of her honour-driven father, or die trying.

Upcoming

We Will Devour The Night (22 September 2024) Book 2 in the Essence of the Equinox (Read Early Access on Substack | Ko-fi) Since that fateful voyage north, negative sentiments have only grown against chaos magic and the creatures born from its origins. Laila returns to Mortos with the aim of salvaging her dynasty from those who wish to wrangle the throne on a platform of magic-driven bigotry. She finds herself once more crossing paths with her old lover and confronting the whirlwind of emotions that twenty years apart have done little to settle.
And The Age of Summer Will Rise (Winter 2025) Book 3 in The Essence of the Equinox Summary to come

As an addendum to this I do have a ko-fi account ☕. If you enjoy what I do here and would like to support me by becoming a member or donating to my publishing fund it would be very much appreciated.

You can support me also by signing up to my author newsletter. Content will include insights behind the scenes into my writing process, exclusive snippets, deleted scenes, media musings, publishing opportunities I am pursuing and much more!

Feel free to ask me anything regarding my books, my short fiction, my self-publishing journey and anything else you’d care to know about!

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Reblogged cuntylittlesalmon
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Currently practicing a starter version of "came back wrong," and it's called "woke up wrong": basically, you go to sleep, something incomprehensible to the human mind happens to your body position, and when you wake up you are injured in some undiagnosable but persistent way.

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armageddinouttahere-deactivated

So you want to Support a Black Indie Author on their Birthday Month...

It's Black History Month! And it is also the month of my birth (23 Feb).

If you want to get me a gift consider:

1. Buying an item from my shop

2. Buying one of my books (links below)

3. (Steps 1 and 2 already complete) saying nice things about one of my books on your socials

WHEN THE STARS ALIGHT is the first instalment to an Epic Love Story™️ where two star-crossed lovers turn to enemies due to a decades-long power struggle between their immortal races.

Its sequel WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT releases September 2024 and can be added on Goodreads!

Like extras entries to your fantasy series? Then you can also read a companion novelette which expands on some of the lore and history of an important minor character.

THE SANGUINE SORCERESS is a grimdark novelette set in the same universe and tells a tale of female rage and revenge…

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armageddinouttahere-deactivated

In light of a fellow indie author spreading lies about me and trying to tank my writing career, I am bringing this back around.

With my birthday just next week I would be very appreciative if you'd consider giving WTSA a nice rating/review at least if you enjoyed it. It'd go a long way to helping me shrug off this nasty encounter.

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The Yazinthe Opera presents Twin Moons, featuring Yfeta Sarinh—

This promotional poster depicts a brown-skinned ballerina on pointe, one arm outstretched to her side, the other raised over head. Behind her is a stylized night sky with two gleaming, pale blue full moons, framed in gold. Her hands and the trailing hem of her diaphanous dress break through the edges of the framing.

I was immensely proud of the original piece when I first painted it, but I’ve grown a lot since then. I feel like I didn’t alter much, but the parts I did change made an enormous impact on the final result.

Original watercolor on paper under the cut:

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Reblogged a-kind-of-merry-war
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A random assortment of archaic/disused English words that should still be used:

  • brust (bristled or bristly)
  • coolth (coolness. We still have 'warmth' so why did this one disappear????)
  • ambiloquent (using ambiguous language)
  • downsteepy (steeply descending)
  • mazeful (confusing)
  • evulgate (to send out among the people, to publish or distribute)
  • toploftical (haughty)
  • hazardry (risk-taking)
  • dizzard (a fool, jester, or stupid person)
  • againster (someone who is habitually opposed to things or 'against' things)
  • loselry (behavior characteristic of a losel, which is similar to a 'loser,' except the connotation encompasses "profligate" or "scoundrel")
  • plaguey
  • malengine (evil intent, fraud, deceit)
  • beasten (of or pertaining to beasts)
  • wranglesome (contentious and prone to quarreling)
  • dwine (to waste away)
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Reblogged armageddinouttahere-deactivated
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The thing about writing advice is that most people who are in a position to give it don't really know how they do what they do.

It's like playing Hamlet: an actor can talk about the personal processes that help them to interrogate the text and get into the character's head, and they can talk about the experiences they've had that prepared them for the role, and they can talk about what they want their performance to convey and maybe even reflect on why they make certain choices. But they can't give you a ten step guide to playing Hamlet. It fundamentally doesn't work like that.

It can be frustrating. Sometimes the advice you get from authors you admire, authors whose work you relate to in an unspeakable way, is just not a good fit. It can be discouraging (why can't I see the world like they do? why can't I be up and awake and produce 2000 words before breakfast?) or it can even set you back (I mustn't use adjectives. I have to plan every page. I can't get started until I know the protagonist's grandmother's maiden name). You have to learn to see it as the individual talking to themselves, rationalising a largely automatic process in terms that can only ever correlate, never fully explain.

Only one piece of ageless advice has consistently held true for generations of good, bad and happily mediocre writers, probably since the dawn of society: steal time from your day job.

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This is so true. I am to this day convinced; you can teach writing crafts. You cannot teach writing process. Unfortunately the majority of advice out there (that ive seen) ends up being more process oriented than craft oriented.

#also yes i do in fact steal time from my day job#advice as old as time#even jrrr i hate my students tolkien endorses it probably#to mant outlines have been written when clients put me on hold. way too many#i have more writing ready wips than i have time to write#help
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interested in worldbuilding? stuck trying to figure out conlangs, place names, etymologies, and so on? need to communicate moral absolutes about your characters with your linguistic choices? good news! i have just the chart for you:

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