Time Off to Recharge and Write: But for Myself

So, in just over a week, Carmilla’s Gambit will be released with Wolf in the Sanctuary following the week after. So, what comes next?

A semi-break so I can recharge and come back refreshed. And yes, I canceled the Patreon for my Tales of the Veiled Rose dark fantasy series—at least for now. I love the stories, the characters, and the world I created for that; however, the darkness of that world combined with the dark, heavy tone of both Carmilla’s Gambit and Wolf in the Sanctuary has drained my emotional reserves (and the current economic and political situation in this country doesn’t help either!). And I know that what will happen next for Samantha Hain will not be any lighter.

So, in light of that, I am taking this semi-break. I will still be marketing. I will still be writing. I will still be spamming my Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky feeds with pictures of my cats.

Eventually, I’ll release a cozy paranormal romance about a succubus who is terrible at succubus-ing but loves baking, so she moves to a small town to open a bakery (Sweet Temptations) that will also have a few recipes in it! I’ve got the manuscript finished, but I haven’t settled on a release date for it yet.

That being said, I am currently writing a cozy gothic fantasy for myself. Will I release it? Probably not. I’m not going to say “no” at this point, but the plan is that this will be just for me. I think it’s important for creatives to sometimes create art that is just for themselves so they can experiment, play, and reconnect with their spirit.

Will I be talking about it? Not so much in this newsletter, but I will be talking about it over on my YouTube channel. I’ll drop the link when I get things going there. I’ll also be talking about my writing process there (and here). Not so much writing advice (because what works for me doesn’t work for everyone) but a description of my process with a little bit of theory that might help someone.

So, that’s where things are.