Spooky Story Challenge 2018 + Voting Results

Halloween is almost upon us, which means it's time for a creepy tale! Every year on her blog, Jenelle Schmidt holds this challenge of sorts, where we write spooky stories--as the name of the challenge suggests--following whatever parameters she sets. This year, it's a flash fiction that must be a thousand words or less. (If you know me, you'll also know I had to cut a bit thanks to my excessive word vomiting.) I was able to sit down and write it in one shot, which I absolutely loved.

Now remember, if this is something you're interested in, you only have until the end of the month to link up to Jenelle's blog. I'm sure we'd all love to read whatever chilling story you have cooking in your brain, so feel free to join in the fun. I'll be sharing mine with you guys, but first, it's time to reveal the results of the polls.

To quickly bring you up to speed, last week I held polls to determine the genre, POV, and protagonist gender for my "choose your own adventure" series I'm starting in the beginning of 2019, which still doesn't have a name. And the winning results are . . .

Fantasy, first-person, male!

Thanks to everyone who voted on here and on Twitter. I'm really hoping that this venture goes well, so I appreciate all the support you've already given me. It's gonna be fun!

And now, it's time for the spooks! I may have borrowed Deborah O'Carroll's idea for the title card, so . . . thanks, Deb!

“We shouldn’t be here.”

Callum blew over a bookshelf, and dust spiraled into the air. “So you’ve said, but no one’s been here for ages. It’s not like they’re going to stop us.”

Brody stamped his foot on the grungy carpet. “Trespassing is illegal, you know.”

“Dude, have you no sense of adventure?” Callum shook his head and pocketed a ring set with a large diamond.

“Great, now we’ll be thieves as well.”

“Shut up.” Brushing past his friend, Callum headed deeper into the house—well, perhaps mansion was a better term to use. Every day, he saw its clock tower poking above the trees, and every day, it beckoned him. How could he resist forever? The only thing he regretted was dragging Brody with him.

Floorboards growled their displeasure ever so often. Critters scrambled away from his marching feet, and more dust sprang to life. The furniture and décor appeared to be a blend of the Victorian and Gothic styles. And there was clockwork.

Lots and lots of clockwork.

Clicking, clacking, clunking.

Brody raced to join him. “Where are you headed?”

“Where do you think? The central tower.”

“You must be crazy, heading to the most obvious location in a haunted house. Have you never watched any horror movies or played any spooky games? You’re literally one of those idiot main characters right now.”

Callum raised an eyebrow. “What do you think we’re gonna find? Specters? Wendigoes? Headless horsemen?”

“I think we should let the dead rest.”

“No one said anything about anyone being dead. Have you not noticed the footprints that are less dusty than the rest of the floor? Others have been here before.”

“Yeah, but where are they now?” Brody folded his arms in an almost-triumphant fashion.

Electing to ignore his friend’s overcautious nature, Callum stepped into a large circular room. In the center stood the base of the clock tower, a stone door giving entry to the stairwell. He walked toward it, ignoring the rest of the room. Brody piped up, “Callum, look.”

Callum halted in his tracks and turned to where Brody was pointing. A single portrait hung on the wall, ivy ensnaring its edges. A man, decked out in an old-fashioned conductor’s uniform, stood stiffly in front of a steam locomotive from the late 1800s. A woman and three children gathered around him.

“It’s creepy,” Brody whispered.

Callum rolled his eyes, then stared at the picture again. The more he looked at it, the more something unnerving clenched his spine. He shrugged it off. “Just a family photo. Nothing to see here.” He walked to the stairwell door, albeit a little quicker, and threw it open. “C’mon.”

Brody joined him in the ascension, leaving the door wide open. The stairs were surprisingly sturdy after years of no usage. They swirled higher and higher, hugging the wall the entire time. Callum led the way, Brody right at his heels.

Midway up, they heard a faint thud. Both of them paused mid-step, and Callum glanced down in an attempt to see the door. He couldn’t, but what he did notice was the complete lack of dust in this section of the mansion. Perhaps Brody was right to say we shouldn’t have come. There’s no way he’d admit that, though. He cleared his throat. “Must’ve been the clock’s gears. Let’s keep moving.”

Brody gulped and nodded.

Minutes later, they reached the top. All around them, the clockwork ticked and tocked, a mechanical masterpiece that stood the test of time. Besides that, there was nothing of note, save a large bell that hung from the ceiling. A single rope dangled tantalizingly, connected to the bell.

“Okay, we’ve seen it,” Brody said. “Now let’s head home before our parents get worried.”

“Not yet. There’s one last thing to do.” Callum strode to the rope.

“Oh, don’t you dare.” Brody held out his hand. “If there’s one I’ve learned from the horror genre, it’s that you don’t—”

Callum yanked the rope.

“—do that.” Brody took a step back.

The bell rang out, a crisp peal that echoed all around. And that was it. Everything was silent after.

Callum laughed. “So much for that.” Then it hit him.

Everything was silent.

That’s when the dull noise struck. It reverberated in the back of his skull, making his teeth ache. The floor shook beneath his feet, and a whistle howled.

“What did you do, Callum?!” Brody yelled.

The sound was getting louder. Callum clenched the sides of his head. “I didn’t—”

The far wall exploded in a blast of machinery and stone debris. A midnight-black locomotive barreled straight at them. The wheels ground into the wooden floor, throwing shards everywhere. Its engine roared like a burning devil.

Callum stood frozen. The cacophony glued him in place, unable to break his gaze from that wretched invention of demise seconds away from crushing every bone in his body.

Brody tackled him just in time. The train whipped past them, brakes screeching. Faster than any normal locomotive, it stopped right before breaking through the other wall.

The duo lay there, panting in fright. “What the actual frick?” Callum gasped.

A coach door slid open, revealing the conductor from the portrait. Except he wasn’t the same. His eyes glowed like smoldering embers; his skin was smooth metal, matching the color of the engine. His teeth were like that of a gear, and smoke swirled up and down his body.

“You . . . you’re connected to the train,” Brody said.

“Tickets, please,” the conductor hissed, the sound pinching Callum’s eardrums.

“We don’t have any,” he replied shakily.

“In that case . . .” The man whipped out two clock hands with chains attached to the pointed ends. He snapped them forward, and the chains looped around Callum’s and Brody’s wrists. He grinned. “Welcome aboard the Hellrider.”

“No!” Callum cried.

The conductor yanked the clock hands back, and Callum was thrown into the train.

Plunged into a world of mechanical death.

Well, what're your thoughts? Are you thoroughly spooked? I'd actually love to make this a full novel sometime--as if I needed more ideas. Any suggestions/constructive criticism for if I were to do so?

Spooky Nostalgia /// Music Monday #35

It's time for another spooky song, seeing as Halloween is next week. Are you ready for it?

Today's music is . . .

"Halloween Party 2012 Main Room Theme" from Club Penguin

Composed by ???

Okay, this is more nostalgic than it is genuinely creepy. (In fact, it's not really all that creepy.) It was originally from Club Penguin, used in every Halloween party that I can remember. After Disney decided to shut down the original flash game, which I think was a poor decision, a team of people recreated the game, now calling it Club Penguin Rewritten.

I imagine that at least a few of you reading this have played CP, but if you haven't, it was a free-to-play MMO where you created your own penguin to play games, participate in fun parties, and hang out with others. Before we had more computers in our house than just the family one, my sisters and I would go to the library and rent computers for an hour to play CP together. We'd often come up with these fun little stories, complete with changing our penguins' clothes to look the part. It was always a fun time.

I'm actually quite sad that Disney decided to move to the pay-to-play camp with Club Penguin Island, their project that replaced CP. You have to really have a great game to convince people to pay for memberships, and CPI just wasn't that game. That's probably why they're shutting it down too, a disappointing end to an amazing franchise.

But anyway, you didn't come to hear me rant about CP. But if you've never played the game, this music probably won't be terribly interesting to you. That's not at all saying it's bad outside of the context of the game, but having that experience with the music in the actual game . . . I dunno. It adds to the experience of it, I suppose.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this little song! Did you ever play Club Penguin? Have you tried the recreated version? What'd you think of the music?

The Perfection of Imperfection

Last year, when a few of my buddies and I went to watch Justice League to celebrate my birthday, we had an interesting discussion on the way there. We were talking about CW's The Flash, and one of my friends interjected, "I'm tired of Barry making the same mistake over and over again. Why doesn't he learn?"

I argued, "Well, that's what we tend to do. We're often repeating our mistakes, even though we know the consequences."

His response shocked me: "But I don't want him to be like that. I want to be inspired by him to do better."

"But then he's not relatable," I said. "If he's not making mistakes, how're we supposed to identify with him?"

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I don't remember how the rest of the conversation panned out, but some writers (myself included) create a character who never messes up. Actually, based on what little I've planned about the new Portal Chronicles over the last few years, David is an example of this. He has no flaws; he's a "perfect" Christian. The others look up to him, but I realize now that readers look up to characters who are imperfect, yet do their best to do the right thing in spite of their brokenness.

See, the whole issue is a bit of a paradox. An imperfect character is the perfect one to use in a story, while a perfect character is the opposite. We as authors need to always be careful of this.

Let me give you an example. Suppose I have two characters, Ryan and Drake. Ryan is the embodiment of an unrealistic human. He never messes up. No temptation is a challenge for him; never does he stray in any regard. Drake, on the other hand, knows he's screws up. He makes bad choices. He succumbs to temptation; he tries his best to do right, but sometimes he does the wrong thing to get there.

Both set out on a journey to save their world from an evil power that has completely taken over. This villain ensures that the men encounter foes, lusts, and other traps along the way. Ryan breezes through. He recognizes those who pretend to be on his side and doesn't befriend them. When he is offered bountiful wealth, power, or satisfaction, he always turns them down. He bests the villain and saves the world.

Drake is in more of a pickle. He's vowed to always do what's right, but that doesn't mean he never wavers. He trusts the wrong people and ends up in deep trouble that costs him in some form or another. He considers taking the proffered power, as it might mean he can betray the villain when said antagonist doesn't expect it. But it might also hurt his integrity, or he might never want to lose that power. He turns down wealth and satisfaction, but it can be difficult sometime. Finally, after crawling through his deepest darkness and fighting off his worst demons, he manages to break the evil that has captured the land.

Tell me: at the end of the day, what're readers going to be appreciate more? Frankly, I don't think they would even bother finishing Ryan's story, that's how uninteresting it is. But we want to see the hero struggle and mess up, because we can never make the correct choices in life. Sometimes we give in to our temptations. So when the protagonist is imperfect and still strives to do good, we are inspired and look up to them.

Now, there can sometimes be a fine line between imperfection and immoral, so we need to make sure we establish that division. Of course, you can always go for a redemption story, but then you need to make sure that the character's change is believable. Captain Brixton in Maelstrom, a pirate story of mine, is an example of this. He becomes obsessed with a very precious diamond, to the point that he values it more than his crew, who are like family to him. It takes a monstrosity threatening the empire and the death of a crewmember to shake him from his ill state. Does that mean he's perfect right away? No, it's something he has to work on, and he's going to be challenged along the way. And that's what makes him interesting.

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You also have to be aware that not everyone is a fan of the imperfect character, even when that's the best type of protagonist. This is evident in Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Heartless. Because it's an allegory of Jesus establishing a relationship with us, Princess Una represents us. And let me tell you, she makes plenty of mistakes. This book actually got a lot of hate because of her. Just look up reviews and see how many people rail on her, not realizing that she is the ambassador for their imperfect nature. Mrs. Stengl wrote her that way for a reason, and they don't seem to understand that. But just because you might have a few haters for choosing that route does not mean you shouldn't.

To conclude, I'll bring it back to the example of Barry. He's often told not to mess with time, and he still does, even when seeing the disastrous consequences. Maybe it's the heat of a moment, or maybe his emotions are rampaging. Or perhaps he's like us and sometimes forgets just how bad things went down last time he made the same decision. At the end of the day, he tries to make things right, protect his loved ones, and save Central City from any threat that rises up. That is why he is such an amazing protagonist.

Never forget the power of the imperfect character.

This was a bit out of the blue, wasn't it? I figured I should do more writing tips on here, even if they might be kind of obvious. What'd you think of this post? Was it new for you, a good reminder, or something you'd never use? Let's discuss in the comments!

Choose Your Own Adventure Series Polls

'Ello! This isn't really a full post, but rather just a quick way for me to give you a place to vote. If you've randomly stumbled upon this post and wonder what on earth I'm talking about, check out the end of last week's post.

The quick explanation is that in the beginning of 2019, I'm doing a story in the form of a post series, comparable to the "choose your own adventure" books. Each chapter ends with a choice that you vote on, and the most popular one wins. The plot evolves with the decisions you make and could either turn very good or very bad.

I need to start planning this bad boy out, so here are a few questions I want answered:

1. What genre should the story be?

A. Fantasy

B. Sci-fi

C. Dystopian

D. Pirate

E. Western

2. What POV should the story have?

A. First-person

B. Third-person

3. What gender should the protagonist be?

A. Male

B. Female

4. Do you have any witty ideas for what the post series should be called? (optional)

And that's all I need to know! But there's one last thing you should be aware of: you have a week to vote. All votes must be put in by Thursday the 25th, at 11:59pm. Any votes cast afterward will not be considered.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in this project, please share this post with them. I want to involve as many people as possible so we get the greatest experience out of it. I'll also be doing my best to raise awareness about this series over the next couple months. Later today, I'll be rolling out the polls on Twitter, but you can't vote in both. You must choose either the Blogger polls or the Twitter ones.

That's it from me! Thanks for your time and for your vote.

What the Future Holds

Hey! How y'all doing today? I just wanted to sit down and chat a bit with you guys. Please, grab a seat. I've got some chocolate milk or Mountain Dew, if you're interested. Don't worry, I'll wait until you're comfy.

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Now, you might be wondering what I'm talking about today. Do recall in my last Humble Beginnings post that I said I wanted to discuss what I'm doing with the Portal Chronicles after such a terrible start to the trilogy. I also would like to share a little about the post series that's going to fill the void that Humble Beginnings left. So let's begin.

I'm actually planning on rewriting the first book in the Portal Chronicles, and I'm 99% certain that I'll start on that project this week. I know, I was working on novelizing Darkened Slumber, but finishing the HB posts left a strong desire in me to start working on the PC. This story was what got me writing in the first place, and it still holds a very special place in my heart. And lemme tell you, a LOT is changing.

I think the first thing I want to mention is what actually got me to seriously think about rewriting the PC. (I never came up with a name for the first book, so I'll probably just refer to it as the Portal Chronicles, or PC.) I was in the shower one morning--showers offer some of the best story ideas--when I got an image in my head. It was of a man, but not just an ordinary man. No, this man had pistons in his legs that enabled him to jump from branch to branch as he ascended these tall trees in a forest. And something, somewhere, told me that this enhanced man was a part of the new PC.

I don't know how long it took, but I eventually came to this game-changing conclusion: Leviathan and Behemoth, the men who had transformed into a dragon and a bull, respectively, were no more. Instead, they became Jarek and Cronus, twin brothers who have been implanted with machinery and steel. Why? I'm not going to spoil that, but trust me when they are now much cooler villains than they ever were before. Jarek is also taking the role that Tarquin held, seeing as he will be stationed on Earth like the leader of the Portal Guardians was.

That brings me to another huge change. This is not your ordinary fantasy world. Erador (which is not being called Erador anymore, but I haven't come up with a new name) is a mix of classic fantasy elements and technology that is different from some of ours, not necessarily superior. At least, I'm fairly certain it isn't superior, but that's not really the point. What matters is that it makes my story world so much more unique than it was before. Yes, this isn't a new, innovative thing. Others have combined fantasy and sci-fi before. But I don't think it's done all that often, and everyone always has their own spin on something that's already been done.

A few things that are a part of this world's technology are the machinery parts inside the twins, some kind of boat that runs on a track above treetops, and SkyRings, flying discs used in tournaments and battles, as well as for fun. Remember that excerpt I posted in September of 2017? Yeah, that takes place in this new version of Erador that I'm creating. But don't worry, there's plenty of stuff in the fantasy vein, including relics. These artifacts hold various types of power, and there are a few very special--and very dangerous--ones. It's been fun creating this storyworld, and I hope that's conveyed in the novel itself.

One difference (which is probably very obvious) is the age and occupation of the characters. Rather than being adult soldiers, two from America and one from Canada, they'll all be high school students in an Ontario town I made up, called Lakeshore, that's located on the edge of Lake Superior. This'll make it easier to write more relatable characters. I honestly have no idea why I was having adult protagonists in a YA novel. It was really silly of me.

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To continue with the theme of obvious changes, I am most certainly not going to be dumping all of the different races into the first story. The characters aren't even going to be leaving the first continent in book one! Rather, I'll introduce both the species of creatures and their homelands a lot slower, book by book. This world is a lot more vast and complicated than it was originally, so I want to make sure everything gets the attention it deserves.

Wanna know how deeply I've planned this? Tracey and I sat down at least a few years ago and came up with population numbers for the various races. I've also been working on the Toreth language and come up with a few phrases, the names for the months, and so forth. (Seriously, I'm getting so pumped about this story just talking about it! I have GOT to start it this week.)

The biggest revision to the plot is the complete and utter removal of the Chosen One element. They will not be called to save the world by any prophecy, especially the dumb one I came up with way back when. They will decide for themselves if they will join the war. While this might require a little more effort to come up with a believable reason for them to do so, I've already nailed Mark's, and I don't think it'll be hard to make ones for Warren and David.

I'm not sure what else to really say without spoiling stuff, but I'll definitely share more with you guys in the future, if you're interested. My enthusiasm for this project is growing by the minute. Does this mean I'm no longer pumped about Darkened Slumber? Nope, not at all. But I feel like part of the reason I wanted to focus on that story was because publishers will sooner pick up a solo novel by an author rather than a series. And while Darkened Slumber is the start of a seven-book series, it can work as a stand-alone.

I think, at the end of the day, I need to write what I'm truly enthusiastic about. I can cross the publishing bridge when I get there. For now, I want to work on my first real brainchild, because I absolutely love it and want to see it develop into something amazing. I mean, who doesn't want their first published work to be their very first novel?

Let's switch gears and turn our attention to the new blog post series. It's something I've never seen anyone do, and it's a far bigger project than anything else I've done for The Steadfast Pen--yes, that includes my ten blogoversary videos. What I want to do is . . .

A "choose your own adventure" story, with you guys making the decisions!

I'm not going to be calling it "choose your own adventure," because I want something snappy that rolls off the tongue better. I haven't come up with a name yet, but if you have any suggestions, let me know. I also haven't decided some of the other details, such as the genre; I might be holding polls for that stuff on my Twitter profile as well as on here.

Here's how it's going to work: over the next few months, I'm going to plot out the story. I'll be sharing a chapter in one post, and it will always end with a decision that must be made. You will vote on what choice should be taken without knowing what all the consequences will be. The most popular decision wins and shall be used. It's kinda like those video games, such as Detroit: Become Human, that evolve with how you play and what you do.

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And in case you're wondering, I am not going to "cheat" in any way. For example, let's suppose the main character must choose to kill one of two characters, because one is the villain. I'm not going to switch who the villain is depending on who dies. If you make the right choice, I will stick with my plan. (Does that make sense?)

This is another project I'm super excited about, but I'm sure you understand why I'm not starting this until the new year. Plotting a story like this, and all the branching paths, is going to take a bit of time. That's why I'm going to be having those polls soon, so keep your eyes peeled for them. I need to know some of those details in order to actually start planning.

That concludes our little chat! I'd say the future looks bright. What do you think of my changes to the Portal Chronicles? What're your thoughts on the new post series? Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day.

Commence the Spooky Tunes /// Music Monday #34

OooooOOOOoooooOoooOOOoooooo . . . I'm a ghooooost . . . Boooo . . . Get ready for spooookiness!

Seeing as it's Spooktober (what some people are calling October), I think it's fitting for us to have a song that matches. Which is why today's pick is . . .

"Day of the Departed" from LEGO Ninjago

Composed by The Fold

Back in 2016, LEGO released a TV special for Ninjago. On the Day of the Departed, a holiday where people honor their fallen loved ones by raising floating lanterns, villains from the Ninja's past possess mannequins made of them for the museum and go hunt the heroes down. It was cool to get what was essentially two episodes put into one, even if the plot wasn't always the strongest. (I may not remember correctly, seeing as I've only watched it once.)

The Fold wrote three songs for the special, and this is my favorite of them. There's something about the musical style and the vocals that I just absolutely love. Some highlights from the song are the opening with the haunting blend of their voices; the instrumental bridge with the chilling violin; and the last rendition of the chorus.

While they did make an official music video for the song that's pretty great, I prefer the audio version. The music video has a long intro and cuts off the last time they sing the main chorus, which is why I don't prefer it.

I, uh . . . don't have much else to say. If you haven't heard The Fold before, check them out. They've got a bunch of great Ninjago songs and a few Christian albums that I haven't listened to yet. I'll be doing a few more spooky songs for the rest of the month and a little bit of November. I hope you'll like them!

What'd you think of the song? Based on my brief description of what the Day of the Departed is, would you rather celebrate that, Halloween, or both? (I'd take the candy and cool costumes for Halloween and have it happen before honoring the dead.)

Monthly HapPENings: September

Now we're three-quarters of the way through the year. Time doesn't like waiting around for us, does it?

So what did my life look like last month? (That's a lot of L words.) It was a lot of the same, with simply working and whatnot, but there were two major things that happened. First, I got a new job! I am now leaving the retail business and working at a facility that supports mentally challenged people as they do various jobs there. My first was October 1st, so you won't really hear much about that until the end of the month.

What's even cooler about it is that not only is it full-time, giving consistency and structure to my life, but it also offers some meaningful work. That is a powerful combination, so I'm very thankful to God that He gave me this amazing opportunity to bless these wonderful people and to hopefully learn from them.

The second thing that happened was that my parents celebrated their 28th anniversary! Normally, my sisters and I hunt down a new recipe and pretend to be running a restaurant, giving them a special dinner. This year, due to various factors, we just made a simple supper, and I gave them a card and a gift. But I think they still appreciated it.

Bookish HapPENings

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I actually finished a book again. Woo-hoo! I've actually "read" this book before, and I use quotation marks because that was back in my spoileritis days. That is, I had a nasty habit of flipping through a book and speed-reading everything before I'd actually sit down to read it properly. I never got to the second part with this book, which is why I finally got around to it! While initially I compared it to Harry Potter, I changed my mind as the book played out. It differentiated itself from the HP series, and I absolutely loved it by the end, despite a few imperfections. I feel this is another book to add to the "review at some point" list, because it's not a very well-liked one. Take a look at the Goodreads reviews (gosh, I hate those more every time I venture onto that site). At the end of the day, it's certainly worth a try, and I'm curious to see how the series pans out.

HapPENings on the Screen

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Speaking of Harry Potter, I got around to watching his second film with my sisters. I think it was already much better than the first movie. Not only did I find it funnier and more charming, but I also thought the plot was much stronger than its predecessor's. The characters were also more interesting, I felt. A good film overall, and one I'd be willing to watch again. The third installment is apparently where things start getting dark, so that should be interesting.

I finally got around to watching another episode of S4 with my sisters, and I think this particular season is getting better. (It's been a little while since I saw the episode, so bear with me if I don't remember all the details.) I still think that Hook is the best character in the show, and I still have a problem with the costume designers giving a number of the female characters low-cut outfits. It doesn't have to be part and parcel with fantasy, you know. Oh yeah, and I think the Frozen characters are becoming better at their roles than they first were.

Something I really appreciate about Ninjago is how the writers are aware of their audience getting older, something you can tell as the seasons go on. S6 is a great example of this, especially with how things are being set up. That includes the villain removing the go-to mentor characters, leaving the heroes to think entirely for themselves. It's a nice touch.

My two youngest sisters and I are getting very close to finishing S3 with our parents, and we're not far from the end in our rewatch of S1. As I often say, this show is just so perfect. I absolutely love it and the fact that each season is better than the last. I eagerly anticipate owning S4 and seeing what it's like.

Gaming HapPENings

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Man . . . this game is a lot of things to me. First, it's weirdly nostalgic, because it brings to mind memories of playing Kirby Super Star Ultra, for some reason. Second, it's very hard. I've died more times than I can count, but when you manage to beat that tricky boss or get past the difficult section, the payoff is so worth it. Lastly, it's just an all-around really great game with some epic tunes. What's there not to love? I also appreciate how much love the character that is Shovel Knight has been getting, with him appearing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an assist trophy or in games like Rivals of Aether and Brawlhalla as a playable fighter. I think he's probably one of my all-time favorite game characters now.

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And this game! It's got to be one of the best games I've picked up this year, and I've only clocked in about four hours. I already raved about it recently in a Music Monday post, but honestly, it deserves all the love it can get. If you want to play a game that combines an intriguing fantasy world, a suspenseful plot, unique characters, a mystery, court trials, and incredible music, look no further than this one! I literally grin when I play it, that's how much fun it is. You'll definitely be getting a review once I'm finished.

Writerly HapPENings

Welp, I only wrote 241 words this month. I started rewriting Darkened Slumber--due to my perfectionist editor brain not liking how the first draft of the novel was going--and then I got caught up with other things. Now, because I finished my Humble Beginnings series, I feel a strong urge to start rewriting that. Got love writer problems, am I right? If you have any suggestions on what I should do, feel free to share. I'm considering having two ongoing projects, but I haven't fully decided, as I'm more focused on adjusting to my new job.

So that was my September! I wanna hear all about yours. Are you excited that autumn is now here? Any summer regrets? Please, spill your entire experience of last month onto a comment!