We’ve survived another storm. I sit at the kitchen table and stare at the carnations my wife brought home for me last weekend. There’s sunshine leaking onto the floor by the fridge, a reminder that the end of winter is quickly approaching.
Work comes and goes. I fold laundry. Life happens in a blur around me.
March is a fickle mistress. There’s frost on the grass in the morning. Leaves have started to sprout from every tree down the street. There’s a fresh energy to the air. In the same breath, I feel I can do everything I’ve ever imagined and that I’ll never do anything more than manage the monotony of my average day.
It’s a lot to handle at any given moment.
There have been some successes this week. I wrote the next full episode of Lore, making this episodic series an amazing 30 episodes long. My editor gave it her full approval and I’ve hit publish on vella just before starting this blog. It should be processed and ready to read by Friday morning 🙂
Henri just got started today. We’re moving slowly through this next space, but I’m sure it’ll be a fun ride once we pick up momentum.
I picked out my next dialogue prompt. I’ll be doing a werewolf and a vampire trying to come to an agreement. I’ve already gone off the rails creating stories for these two characters and, if I’m up to it, might do the same story from each of their separate perspectives. Maybe! We’ll see :p
It’s Wednesday, readers! We’ve made it halfway through another week. I have one more full day of flipping burgers and cooking chicken while running around a hot kitchen before my days off for chores and family errands and some more writing.
We can do this 🙂
Take an extra minute this week to enjoy that morning cup of coffee. Make a new dish for dinner just because. Put a movie on in the living room and try to master a new craft, but inevitably fall asleep with yarn in your lap and drool on your chin.
There’s still time to get things done. There’s still time to take a moment for yourself and rest and relax. Do what is best for yourself these next few days.
I can’t believe that it is already Wednesday again. All of my days have been blurring together. Work, dinner, see my wife for a wonderful few moments, collapse on the couch or in bed or wherever my body finally gives out, and then fumble with the alarm the next morning and beg the heavens for just ten more minutes. It’s a vicious cycle that has no end in sight.
I am excited to announce that I’ve been squeezing in so much writing this week! Henri is all done and ready to be edited this evening. At the end of episode ten, we’re just about done setting up the main plot. I’m incredibly ready to get his story running down the familiar Beauty and the Beast themes while giving his voice free reign to tweak things as necessary.
Check out the rest of the story here to get caught up before Friday: A Secret in the Thorns
Ashby got started this morning on my lunch break. He’s in a tizzy trying to stop a murderous psychopath now loose in Gideon’s compound and feeling the strain of trying to keep his brothers alive while still pining over time lost with Lucy. It’s going to be a race to fix these new problems and get Ashby Carter down on one knee to ask Lucy to also spend her life with him.
Read Lore here to see the rest of the drama and theatrics that have led up to this amazing 30th episode: Lore by Angelica Reece
Also…
I wrote a new short story for the blog that will be available Saturday! Come back here to read about a girl with a dream to catch freedom with both of her hands, even if the cost is the still beating heart of Lord Durinhan on the end of an arrow. A ballroom, a woman in the rafters, and a game of cat and mouse that you are not going to want to miss.
In other news, I’ve started a new book. “Can’t Spell Treason without Tea” by Rebecca Thorne. I’m one chapter in and already invested in the two main characters of this cozy, sapphic novel. If you’ve read it or plan on reading it, say so in the comments, so we can trade notes! It’s very cute and a wonderful palette cleanse between the spooky world building of King and whatever fantasy I’ll be delving into next.
There’s a storm blowing into my area tomorrow, so I’m going to hunker down with my wife and our dog. I’ve already placed candles on the television center, ready for the worst case scenario of being thrown into darkness during gusty weather. If all goes well, we’re going to have a vampire movie marathon and share a big comforter and remind each other that even in the scariest moments we’re not alone.
Stay safe and dry and try to find a moment to read in the next few days. I’ll see you next time, readers!
What have I been up to? Everything and nothing. A vicious cycle of work and hobbies and staring at a screen while trying to will the words I need for this week to just write themselves.
Henri’s story is done. He’s going to be edited this evening and posted in time for his weekly update on Friday. Prince Aldric plays an imposing character across from Henri in this Beauty and the Beast retelling. Check out this link if you want to catch up before the new episode drops: A Secret in the Thorns
Ashby is started. He has grand plans for his returned proposal to Lucy. There’s 1500 words already in his story, but it’ll likely be a little longer than usual to find the rest of this particular episode. I have a full cast to balance and every one of these complicated characters wants to shine their brightest. Get caught up on Lore here if you want to be ready for the eventual release of the next episode: Lore by Angelica Reece
When not writing or working or staring at that pile of laundry in the corner, I’ve been embroidering. My next craft show is this coming Sunday at the Bloom festival in Elk Grove. There are so many bright fabrics and tangled threads and obstinate hoops to wrestle through in the remaining evenings between now and then. It’s exciting and nerve wracking every time I have one of these events! I’ll let you all know next week how well it goes!
The world is chaotic. Time seems accelerated. February is as good a time as any for self-care, so don’t forget to take deep breaths and notice the buds growing on the tree in the backyard. Linger in the kitchen, so your beautiful wife will come looking for you and steal a kiss by the stove. Take an extra two minutes to pet the dog. Eat something full of sugar even as the green light on the microwave warns that one o’clock is around the corner. There’s a pile of books on the shelf waiting to be read and a mess around the house, but it can wait a moment more to do the things that matter.
This has been the fastest and simultaneously longest month of my life. I turned 26 and was reminded of all the amazing people who gather together to celebrate me. The wife and I ran into financial issues and had to lean on family to continue forward. A family member was hospitalized and it felt like the world stood still.
It seems there’s nothing better to do than simply hold on while the waves of this world continue to splash alongside our boat.
So, here’s some good stuff:
I wrote! This time last year I was struggling with depression and barely opening my writing apps or journals. It was hard to hear my characters. This month? They couldn’t leave me alone and we managed to add an entirely new cast for my beauty and the beast retelling.
I watched terrible horror films and threw popcorn at the woman I love in the house we own while our dog pranced the room.
We cooked in our kitchen and danced to pop music and kissed where the moon snuck a peek into the window.
Amidst the tears and the panic and the hopelessness crammed into the business of everyday jobs and routines, we laughed and held onto each other and that’s all I can ask for in this life.
Together.
If that’s a message that resonates with you, check out Ashby’s new episode coming out this Friday to see the promising proposal between him and Lucy: Lore by Angelica Reece
My editor is going over Henri’s chapter today, too, so he’ll also be available on Friday. Catch up on this awesome retelling here: A Secret in the Thorns by Angelica Reece
Here’s to the beginning of February and hoping for a stroke of good luck sprinkled into the fibers of each day.
Last week’s launch of The Secret in the Thorns was spectacular. You wonderful people really helped make my second vella series feel like an exciting moment, so thank you so much for hopping on board with my next project!
Right now I’m tinkering with the end of Henri’s episode five. He is cold and grumpy in his latest situation. Be sure to check out the vella to see what’s going on this Friday!
Ashby is slowly getting back into action. Episode 26 is being edited right now by my amazing wife. We’re going back and forth with some of the details of this incredible story and trying to figure out what’s next for Ashby and Lucy. This will also be available this coming Friday, so look for it in the kindle app!
What else? What else? What else?
The only thing I have read this week came from my friend’s blog. Check out Bridgette’s writing here if you want to be swept away with magic and whimsy: http://bridgettetales.com
Work has been hectic. I have not been as productive on the rest of my projects as I’ve wanted, but I hope to get back into the full swing of things by February.
Hopefully I’ll have some pics of my new embroidery projects up this coming week as well! We’re having a lot of fun with flower prints and spring themes.
My goals for the next six days? Write, write, write. Dance in the kitchen with my wife once or twice. Step out into the sunlight with my wild dog and forget about everything else to simply live in the moment.
Time for those official WIP updates I promised last week!
It has been a stressful week since my last post. Lots of work and real life problems that have pulled me away from my keyboard. While I don’t see any stop to the working anytime soon, I am making a promise to myself to get back on track with this whole writing thing.
So…I have started work on Ashby again after a short hiatus. Episode 26 should be finished and posted in the next couple of weeks after I hammer out some of the intricate details in his current dilemma. You can catch up with him and Lucy in Lore here: Lore by Angelica Reece
In bigger news, I’ll be releasing my second vella series this weekend. A Secret in the Thorns is a queer retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It follows “Bella’s” (See what I did there :P) best friend Henri as he tries to survive life and a troublesome trip in the woods and the fairies his mother has warned him about since he was a child.
The first four episodes have been approved by my stunning editor and will be uploaded this week for your reading needs!
What else?
I have a mountainous TBR to get to work on, but I’m still reading and enjoying Fairytale by Stephen King.
I’ll be doing a craft fair for my embroidery projects in February, so when my fingers aren’t busy typing, they’ll be working with needle and thread to create little works of art.
It’s time to turn on some loud music and clean my house and get motivated about writing my way through this year.
Let me know if you have any goals for this week or year in the comment section below. It can be something as small as actually folding all of the laundry that has been staring at you from the corner of the bedroom.
This is the year I celebrate every small success while I carve my way towards the bigger things.
I don’t think I’ll ever grow bored of the way Erisa Nabil murmurs every sentence. She curls up like a cat next to me, her legs crossed as she settles into the booth, her long fingers wrapped around the neck of an expensive bottle of vodka she has definitely not been sharing with the regular guests. She’s celebrating.
“We still have to make it to midnight,” I tease, her good mood already pushing away the nervous edge that has clung to me all night.
I don’t move away when she presses closer to me, our shoulders touch as she lets her head rest on the back of the tall seat. Under the table, our thighs brush, neither of us dressed in anything that covers us. Just my bare skin against hers.
I barely manage to blow out a stuttering breath. This. It’s… electric.
I mentioned it to Ashby once in the first few months here in Las Vegas. He told me it was normal. Erisa has had plenty of lifetimes to create her perfectly brittle exterior. She knows how to lure her prey in by seeming demure and wanton. It’s a piece of ancient magic very alive in her amber eyes.
It happens to everyone.
Except, I don’t think she treats me like anyone else. There’s a purr to her words that vanishes when shouting commands to our staff. She chooses her words carefully when she speaks to me. Any other time, she’s lightning fast wit that could give whiplash to our drunk and handsy regulars.
This, I think, is something else.
I’m supposed to be going back to the hotel to give Ashby his midnight kiss for the new year, but I’ve come up with a thousand excuses over the last fifteen minutes to linger here. I can still make it if I leave in the next five minutes. I can just hail down a cab and hop on over to the street and meet him outside where I know he’s probably already pacing.
I wanted to see her before I stepped out, though. See her smile. See her shimmer in the glow of success. Erisa Nabil was supposed to be a queen in her past life. I like her very much as a business owner, though.
“Even if everyone left now instead of waiting the next ten minutes, we would be up in profits for the entire year. We’ve done as much tonight as I usually do in a month.” Her eyes are open as she looks down at me, a hidden message sitting there behind her pupils just out of my reach. “You made this happen, Lucy Lore.”
She tips her slender neck back and drinks straight from the bottle before shoving it in my direction. I shouldn’t. My head is already fuzzy and I have to make it back to the hotel. At least, I think I tell her that I shouldn’t. Before I know it, however, the hot liquid is burning the back of my throat while the lingering flavor of her dragon fruit lip gloss clings to my tongue.
The bottle ends up on the table. Her fingers are cradling my face. I think she asks me a question.
I don’t know what it is, just that my answer is yes. If she’s asking, the answer will always be yes.
Leaning forward, Erisa presses her mouth to mine. She’s all demand. Her fangs pull at my bottom lip, not enough to break the skin, but hard enough to remind me that she’s more than capable of tearing me apart piece by delicate piece.
I think I would like it.
I think…
I’m not thinking.
Shaking my head, I struggle out of her grasp. “I have to go.”
Her fingers form a gentle circle around my wrist. There’s a request written across her vulnerable expression. I just shake my head.
This is getting out of hand. I have other promises to uphold. I’ll see her next time we work.
No words pass my lips, but she lets me go. I hope she understands. I need her to understand. My heart is spoken for already and I won’t be the one to teach Ashby Carter about infidelity.
We have a good relationship. Me and Ris. We work well together. I love my job and our time together, but I can’t offer her much else. No matter how much I want to turn around and ask her to kiss me again.
A small voice in the back of my mind tries to reason that Ashby would understand. Syrens and vampires have always been bound together. Somehow my bloodline was always meant to find that of a Nabil, a creature old enough that it predates the science that created Ashby and his brothers.
The rest of my liquored brain is blaring an alarm to get out now and I listen to it, staggering out on my heels against the flux of hot bodies and confetti poppers people are setting off early for the occasion. Swiveling lights meant for the disco balls near the ceiling pierce my eyes as I make my way to the door. Out. I need to get out and everyone is in the way. My success is now my downfall as I grumble apologies to the three hundred excited participants of our little rebranding event and shove towards the exit.
Finally. I suck in a huge gulp of air as I pass the door.
And then realize that I didn’t grab my purse or my coat.
Rain splashes onto the sidewalk. I linger in the overhand of the building and stare at it. Water has never bothered me before. I used to live by the ocean and swim in its frozen waves.
I can handle a brisk walk in the rain.
Right?
I have to because there’s no way I’m heading back into that club and chancing another intimate moment with Erisa. I don’t have my phone, so I can’t call Ashby. I don’t have my wallet, so there’s no way to pay a cab. My feet work fine, though.
I can do this. I can do this. I’m pretty sure I can do this.
It’s only two blocks to the hotel.
I make it out from under the awning. The rain finds me immediately, reveling in the low cut dress that leaves my chest and most of my back open for its icy touch. Three steps into my journey and I already have my arms crossed in front of myself to ward off the cold as my jaw clenches in an attempt to stop my teeth from chattering.
This is a bad idea. I’m not going to go back, though.
Head down, I trudge along the sidewalk. A car zooms by on my right. I barely see the wave of water it splashes my way before it dunks me from head to toe.
Hot tears leak from my eyes as I pull the drenched scrunchie out of my leaking hair and brush it back from my face. It’s not even supposed to rain this much in the desert. This has to be karma. It’s what I deserve for getting carried away on the magic of Erisa Nabil.
“Lucy?”
I glance up in time to see Ashby jog across the street. He has his jacket off by the time he gets to me, throwing it over my shoulders before I can protest or tell him that I’m not worth his chivalrous behavior. He’s such a good guy and I…
I don’t know what I am.
Not good.
My heart is too big. I have too many emotions. I think, given the chance in another lifetime, I could definitely love Erisa just as much as I do Ashby.
Which, if I believe the common media, makes me a whore. A cheater. A bad woman.
Ashby has me wrapped in his coat and whisked off to the hotel room in no time, his dark magic sweeping us off of the wet streets. The constant pelting of fat rain drops is replaced with numbing nothingness. It’s quiet in the room. Candles line the windowsill and rose petals cover the bedspread.
Ashby Carter is too good for me.
I’m sobbing before he has a chance to ask me what’s wrong. Too cold, too overwhelmed, I can’t feel my legs. Somehow I end up on the ground. Ashby follows, crouching next to me with a towel to dry the water from my face.
“Hey, it’s okay. Ris called. I’m not upset.”
He has to repeat himself four or five times before any of his words actually penetrate the grief building a fortress around my mind. “She told you we kissed?”
He offers a lopsided grin as I clap a hand over my traitorous lips. “She forgets her manners when she’s happy. It’s okay. You can’t guess how many times she’s kissed me or one of my brothers.”
A hiccup bubbles out from me as I try to swallow my heavy breaths and calm down. He knows. Ashby knows and he’s not mad.
Somewhere down the hall, there’s cheers from other guests. It must be midnight. Ashby glances to my lips.
“What’s your wish for the new year, Lady Lore?”
“To be enough for you,” I whisper immediately.
He shakes his head. “You are. You always will be. Promise to always come back to me?”
Forgetting my wet clothes and misery, I throw my arms around his neck as I crawl into his lap. “Of course I promise.”
He doesn’t complain about my cold body as he presses a kiss to my head. “I promise, too. Always, Lucy Lore. No matter what happens in the next year or the next ten or the next fifty if you’ll give me all that time, I will always be here and I will always love you.”
“I love you.”
My words are eclipsed by his lips. We kiss. He’s a decadent chocolate meant to be unwrapped slowly before thoroughly enjoyed. He’s the warmth of a fire when I just stumbled in from a hurricane. He’s warm and safe and mine.
He doesn’t fill me with electricity like Erisa. And that’s okay.
I think.
I think that everything will be okay. As long as we’re together and honest and true to ourselves.
The new year rings in. We’re together on the floor and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Author’s Note
Happy New Year to all of my favorite readers! It has been a whirlwind six months for me, going from keeping every snippet of my writing saved in a drawer in my desk to putting a little bit of different characters onto this blog to publishing whole chapters on Lore. Every view and comment and congratulations in person has made me feel validated and loved and pushed forward on this reckless attempt to be a “real” writer.
I am nervous and excited to start this new year. Nervous that this was all a fluke and I’ll suddenly fail. Excited that maybe I won’t and that I have no real idea of what success is going to look like in the coming months. I have plans to start more published series on kindle vella as well as working out a schedule to post more frequently here. No matter where the next year takes me in my writing journey, it started here at the gentle suggestion from Bridgette to actually show people my writing. I will always be grateful for that push and for the feedback I got in these first months.
You, readers, are the reason I haven’t given up. Thank you for coming back week after week.
If you enjoyed this story, please leave a like and a comment in the section down below. If you want more of Lucy and Ashby and Erisa, be sure to check out Lore on kindle vella: Lore by Angelica Reece
As always, please take an extra minute to read Bridgette’s amazing story and follow her page to see where the new year takes her as well!
If you haven’t checked it out yet, Episode 16 of my kindle Vella is now available!
Follow along as Ashby takes Lucy on a romantic, birthday adventure.
The first 3 episodes are always free and a token system is used after that to unlock each chapter. Check it out to see the background love story that develops between Lucy Lore and Ashby Carter.
Reece Writing 