I finished the goddamn book. Seriously. The dark poetry book is finished! I am just waiting for the author proof, and if all looks as it should, then the book will be ready to publish! And yes, this time there will be a Kindle option! The eBook still has some issues with spacing and fonts, but this time around it wasn’t as detrimental to the overall look of the book, so I gave in and made a digital version. You can already pre-order the Kindle version, by the way:
It currently lists the release date as December 30, but that will most likely change to a closer date if the author proof looks good. Stay tuned for updates on that!
The print version will be $13. Believe me, I didn’t want to price it quite that high, but Amazon sets a minimum amount in order to cover printing costs and such, so this was about as low as I could go. I don’t do this for money; I just want people to read my work and enjoy it. Thanks for shitting on that, Amazon.
As a show of gratitude for your support, here is a little snippet from Lollipop Daggers:
Fingers crossed that later this week we will have a cover reveal and a launch date! In the meantime, if you haven’t read my Tales from the Twisted Libra Cemetery series, you can find it here (print only, no Kindle version available):
I’m excited, y’all. Truly. This dark poetry book has been such a passion project for me. I hope to do more poetry collections in the future. It feels good to end the year on a high note! Stay tuned for updates! Until next time…
I have been fiercely working on the dark poetry book lately! Even in the midst of relocating the cemetery, I find myself excited once more with the creative process! I have already designed the cover and completed the first draft of the manuscript. Now, I am adding some more material and refining things a bit. I still intend to release this before the end of the year, so stay tuned!
If you have yet to experience the greatness that is Twisted Libra, you can find my Twisted Libra Cemetery series here:
So, that’s all I have for now. Lollipop Daggers is well on the way to being finished! I can’t wait to bring you all into my dark little poetic universe! Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss any updates. And if you want to hang out more often, follow my socials! At least you can look forward to the new book as you try to survive yet another holiday season, right? Hang in there, my lovelies.
Your beloved Twisted Libra is unearthing her little cemetery and heading to a new locale! The day job has provided an opportunity in Virginia, so I must bid a fond farewell to the spooktacular North Carolina. The funeral procession is making its way to the new cemetery location sometime in January. I am excited for a multitude of reasons, one being that Edgar Allan Poe lived most of his life in Virginia. There is even a museum there!
So, does this mean I will still be publishing the dark poetry book in December like I planned? Well, I hope so. I will have a lot going on over the next two months, but rest assured I will do everything possible to get this damn book out before the end of 2023! I have had several of you asking about it, and I am truly flattered. Your interest keeps me motivated. As for the new residence, I am happy to report that Virginia has an abundance of old, historic cemeteries for me to explore! Expect my photo gallery to grow extensively!
I promise to work hard on that dark poetry book! In the meantime, you can enjoy the complete Tales from the Twisted Libra Cemetery trilogy! Join the darkly delicious Madam Mortis as she takes you through her haunted cemetery! Will you survive the night? Go ahead and meet her at the cemetery gates. She’s waiting for you! Copies are available from Barnes & Noble and Amazon! Find them here:
I have no idea why it took me this long, but I now have a “Books” page on my Twisted Libra Cemetery website! This will be the place to find out all about my books, both published and upcoming! I am so freaking proud of it, so why not take a moment and go look at it?
I am such a shitty author. All this time, I have had my own website and no page dedicated to my goddamn books. Previously, all I had was a link on the main page that redirected to my Amazon Author page. Ugh. What a fucking amateur move. Oh, well. I am learning as I go, I suppose. But still, why am I just now adding a book page? Why do I do these things?
In other “How shitty of an author am I?” news, it is mid November and I am still nowhere near ready to publish the dark poetry book. I promise, it is coming. Life got hectic for a bit, but things are finally falling back into a calm pace, so I feel ready to resume work on it. I am close to being finished, but there is still work to do. Hang in there. Besides, the closer it gets to the Christmas season, the more we all need something dark and delicious to distract us from the torturous onslaught of cheerful music and rampant commercialism, right?
So, check out my new Books page. Leave a comment and let me know what you think! And don’t forget to subscribe to this blog. I don’t post as often as I should, so you won’t get spammed with shit daily. Besides, I’m quite entertaining. Enter your email below, and I will lay my content to rest directly in your inbox. No account sign-ups necessary!
I am sad to see October leave us. It is my favorite month. This is partly due to my birthday and favorite holiday both falling within the month, but also because it gives me 31 days of guaranteed acceptance from the masses. Not that I require it; it just makes life easier. I go from being the weird goth chick to being the go-to for decor and costume recommendations.
Once November hits, I’m back to being the weirdo again. Oh, well. I’m comfortable with my weirdo status. Keeps me out of conversations with strangers. We all know how much I hate those. Anyway, I don’t actually have anything profound to write. I just wanted to pop in and say Happy Halloween, and I hope this spooky season was everything you wanted it to be!
If you need something to help carry on that spooky vibe, you could always read my Tales from the Twisted Libra Cemetery series! Find it on Barnes & Noble’s online store, as well as on Amazon! Here are those links: TL on B&NTL on Amazon
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to this blog. I promise, I am worth it.
Albert Einstein said that “Time is an illusion.” I’m beginning to think he was on to something. Time seems to be speeding by at warp factor 9 these days. It’s nearly Halloween. Wasn’t it just August five minutes ago? I honestly feel like I am standing still, and the entire world is racing by me like some bad 80s montage. How do I stop this crazy ride for a moment so I can breathe?
November brings the hope that I will finally finish and release my dark poetry collection. I’ve been working on this book far longer than any of my others. Poetry is just…different. My head is full of scary stories, but poems take a little more crafting and coaxing to get them just right. I am almost glad that I didn’t have it ready for a spooky October release. This book will be dark, yes; but it is not just spooky material. It is deeper than that, so I feel a November release is more fitting. Many people view the end of the year as a bleak, sad time, so why not have a dark poetry book to go with it?
Fall is in full swing, and we are barreling towards winter at a hasty clip. The air is getting cooler, the bugs have gone back to hell where they belong, and Death is slowly painting the landscape in hues of red, yellow, orange, and eventually brown. I wrote a pretty cool post about this last year, you can check that out here if you want: We Dance With Death, But Dare Not Ask Its Name. I must say, I was quite proud of that post. Do you enjoy winter? I do. I thrive in the cold, bleak, barren version of nature. True, the world is beautiful when everything is in full bloom; I just appreciate the beauty of simplicity much more. Beauty itself is temporary. I feel the world is in its purest form in the winter. Only the strong, sturdy parts of it survive. Everything gets back to basics. Nature hits the reset button, and we get to see the Earth before it becomes draped in the fleeting glitz and glamor of Spring.
I’m not one for glitz and glamor, myself. I prefer things simple. I was never the girl that wanted to have her nails done, her hair fixed, or slather on a coat of makeup before venturing into public. I mean, I do put effort into looking presentable; I’m not out here looking like a haggard bog troll or anything. I just never gravitated towards extra shit. Moisturizer on the face; black eyeliner; hair either straightened, naturally wavy, or up in a clip; nails neatly filed, but just long enough to be able to scratch an itch (how people function with those long fucking nails is utterly beyond me); if it takes more than five minutes for me to be ready to leave the cemetery, I’m doing it wrong.
Yeah, definitely not a flashy person. I enjoy my simplicity and anonymity. I blend in when I am in a crowd. I don’t see that as a negative thing. I enjoy a sense of stealth when amongst the masses. Saves me from annoying small talk and unnecessary interactions. You can take the introvert out of the cemetery, but you can’t make her social. Anyway, I began this post whining about the passage of time and ended up talking about myself. What the actual fuck? Sorry about that. Thanks for not leaving. If you are in the US, enjoy this time of passage from Fall to Winter. If you’re elsewhere, try to find joy in whatever season you’re currently experiencing. Remember, no matter where you are, you are only a low AC setting away from sweater weather and a cozy day. Crank that sucker down, close the curtains so it seems dreary, put on some rain sounds, grab a fluffy blanket, and pretend. You’ll feel spooky, snug, and comfortable. Or at least, I would. Maybe you will, too.
Here I sit, head full of ideas, yet not sure what to say and what to keep to myself. It’s been a long, strange journey in the cemetery these last few years. Sometimes I still feel like it’s 2020 and everything is still upside down. This year has been tough, I admit. Having lost myself a little over two years ago with no guarantee of a return, then thankfully finding my way back, these last several months basically felt like I had been put on cruise control. Maybe I lapsed back into survival mode; I could feel myself going through the motions, but certain parts seemed to be missing.
It was difficult to sit and enjoy reading a book. Yes, I did read several books this year, but I feel like it was a fight to get through them at times. Not because they weren’t intriguing; I just had zero focus. My mind would wander to all the daily stresses and anxieties that being an adult affords me. My writing has suffered. That creative spark seems far more elusive lately. I create, but not as often as I would like. We’re heavy into spooky season, but this year I barely feel the twinge of Halloween delight. Normally, I would be devouring scary movies and visiting cemeteries, or tracking down haunted locations to experience. I’ve pretty much done fuck all this season. No decorations, no costume plans, no visits to spooky places. It’s as if I am in some sort of holding pattern, just circling my life and waiting to move forward. It kinda sucks, if I’m honest.
The good news is, I am reading again. Quite a lot, actually. Maybe my brain is slowly coming back online? I still feel numb and hollow inside as far as creativity and spookiness go; I want to be immersed in the creepy vibes, but I’m just not. Maybe right now, all my brain can handle is getting lost in a good novel. I have a sliver of faith that the rest will return someday. My creative drive, my connection to all things macabre…that has to come back eventually, right? It’s who I am. I did recently write a new poem, and it took a lot for me not to post it right away. I decided to keep it for the upcoming book. However, writing that single poem took me days. Literal days. I used to be able to hammer out a great poem in one sitting. The creativity would just flow like water. Lately, it’s as though the words are trapped in the dark corners of my mind, and I have to coax them out. I feel less creative and more apathetic, which is unsettling, to say the least. Ever feel that way? Like you want to, but you can’t? Yeah, that’s me.
I’m not sure what this is, exactly. Yes, I suffer from depression and I am aware that this slump is most likely affected by that; however, this is something more. Like I’m just fucking stuck or something. Mentally, creatively, even physically. Life has seemingly hit the slow motion button on me. I feel myself slipping back into survival mode. I find that thought terrifying, but how do I stop it? How do I show my brain that it is safe to function normally? How do I feel again? I just want to feel anything, really. Love for the spooky, the urge to create, desire to visit creepy locations…why must I repeatedly fall numb to these things? Come on, brain, cut me some slack.
I’m aware that the actual writing of this blog post denotes at least some spark of creative energy. This is different, though, in that I am basically just writing down my thoughts. I’m not trying to establish a narrative or setting, or take you all on some type of literary journey. Writing a blog post takes a lot less creative effort than writing poems and short stories, if you ask me. We’re basically chatting over coffee, only I get to dominate the conversation because you are simply the reader. Still, perhaps I should take what I can get. Presumably, I get to spend Halloween trapped in some harrowing brain fog. I’m numb and apathetic when I wish to be anything but. It’s like I’m watching life from the fringes, unable to join in. If reading and blogging is all I have right now, so be it. I suppose I will limp along like always, and hopefully my full stride will find its way to me once more.
I wore a light jacket this morning when I ventured outside the tomb to take Libra Dog on her morning constitutional. My beloved chilly autumn temperatures have finally returned! I am one joyful little misanthrope today! (Don’t question it; I am well versed in basking in duality.) However, my happiness is somewhat marred by one teensy little detail from yesterday. Go refresh your coffee, and I will explain.
So, if you have been around here a while, you know I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon. Yes, I use them to publish my books; however, I own my ISBNs and the full copyrights to all my work. I did attempt to use another service, but their interface was just too confusing. I gave up after 15 hours of file upload fails (not even joking) and hauled my repentant ass back to the big A. I have always felt a small sting of shame when I answer the question, “Where can I find your books?” Some people loathe Amazon as much as I do, so I hate that this is their only option. Except that, well, it isn’t.
You see, my books are apparently also available on Barnes and Noble’s website.
All this time. All this time, I have been sharing the link to Amazon, and my books were available through a more respected and well-known retailer. When I published, I chose the option for “expanded distribution.” While this gives me a smaller profit from any books sold (and trust me, I make fuck all as it is), I understood that it would allow larger retailers to order my book in bulk if they so wanted. I failed to understand that it made any paperback versions (which is the only format I currently have published) available through said retailers’ online stores. MY GODDAMN BOOKS HAVE BEEN AVAILABE THROUGH BARNES AND NOBLE THIS WHOLE TIME.
Silent rage doesn’t adequately describe my feelings over this, but let’s move on.
* deep breath *
In other news, I feel like I should get around to telling you all the title for my upcoming dark poetry book. I mean, you’ve been with me through so much, so why should I keep you in suspense? (And why do I pretend that there is any suspense involved? The reality is, you probably forgot about it until I mentioned it just now. Hell, are you even still reading this post? I’m most likely talking to myself, aren’t I?) You know what? Fuck it. I’ll pretend there is a gathering of my lovelies not only reading this post, but clamoring for the title to my newest creation. I’m still working on the cover design, and I can’t say for sure yet how long a book it will be, and don’t even think about asking when it will be out because all I will say at this point is, “It will be out when it is out.” Without any further ado, the title to the upcoming dark poetry book is:
Lollipop Daggers.
It’s fine; you all are applauding in my head. Anyway…there you have it. Blog post exclusive. My new work will be called Lollipop Daggers. It’s a phrase from one of my favorite poems that I wrote, and yes it is going to be in the book. As for the book after that…well, it is true that I am going to attempt a single story novel. I already have the title and the general idea. I’m excited and nervous, but for now let’s just focus on the poetry stuff, okay? As much as I would love an October release, it just isn’t feasible. September really kicked my ass and put me behind in my work. November is a more realistic expectation. Stay tuned to this blog for details. Other than that, I have nothing entertaining to say. The weather is lovely, the coffee is tasty, the dog is snuggly, and I have a good book to read. Can’t complain. Before you go, let me post the obligatory links for subscription to the blog and to buy my books. Today, I post both Amazon and B&N.
(Okay, so apparently because of some Amazon glitch, the 2nd book is not currently available through B&N. Only the 1st and 3rd. I am working on this. Be patient.)
It was a dark and stormy night. The rain pelted the windows. The wind howled. Suddenly, an evil laugh pierced the silence, and the wicked one emerged from the shadows. And that’s the story of my birth.
Okay, so it wasn’t stormy. And there was no wicked laughter. There was a full Blood Moon, though. That’s pretty cool. It was a Friday, about 12:51am, and contrary to what you might think, I came out of a vagina rather than the shadows. Sorry my origin story isn’t spookier, but other than that moon there really wasn’t anything decidedly ominous about my birth. However, Libra Mom does admit to seeing a horror movie while she was preggo with me. Maybe that is why I am so drawn to the macabre?
Anyway, today is my birthday. I don’t ask for much, I suppose. Books (which I got), coffee (which I got), blasting my traditional birthday song (Like It’s Her Birthdayby Good Charlotte and goddammit don’t you judge me) on repeat (which I did), and time to sit by myself to reflect and read (which I plan to do as soon as I publish this).
If you want to celebrate with me, you can follow my blog. That would make me smile. You can also follow me on the ol’ socials. I only post humor and books stuff, so you won’t have to worry about seeing my bits or anything. If you feel froggy, you can purchase my books off Amazon.
Before I go, I want to update you on my upcoming books. Yes, I said books. I am hoping to have the dark poetry book out some time in November. I have also gotten inspired and plan to try my hand at a full length novel as my 5th book! I mean, the Twisted Libra Cemetery series is comprised of full books, but they are built with collections of short stories. I want to attempt one full story from start to finish. I will talk more about it next time, but I am excited to get this going as soon as the poetry book is complete.
Well, that’s all I have for now. I am going to go celebrate what’s left of my birthday. (Who are we kidding? Libras celebrate all month!) Subscribe to this blog, or find me on social media, or read my books if you really want me to do a happy dance. I promise more details on the new book in the next post.
Today is going to be a good day. It’s cool and rainy outside. I have delicious coffee and a snuggly dog in the bed with me. The 1818 version of Frankenstein awaits me in my Kindle. I couldn’t ask for a better start to my Saturday.
If you follow this blog (and if you don’t, consider this your engraved invitation), you know that rainy, breezy, cloudy days are my absolute favorite. So, awaking this morning to find the world painted grey accompanied by a melodic drizzle made my little black heart skip a beat! I fully intend to succumb to the urge to get cozy with a cup of coffee and a gothic novel. Throw in several (electric) candles, and you have a perfectly content Libra.
Speaking of candles, yours truly found herself inspired this morning, and thus another poem was born. Given that my last post was about my lack of confidence, I feel that I should try putting my work out there again and attempt to move one step closer to comfort. So, please enjoy my latest creation. Yes, this is going into the upcoming dark poetry book (which most likely will not be out by Halloween, but will definitely be worth the wait). Let me know what you think, my lovelies!
The flame dances as though it might leap from the candle.
I bask in the shadows it creates.
Beads of wax slowly trickle downward, like sweat on skin.
A soft breeze is dusted with smoke and mystery.
Charmed is the candle, to be steadily devoured by the flame.
Melting deliciously at its touch with such devotion.
I sit in silence, witnessing the steady destruction of the candle,
As it submits to the flame at all costs.
The dance of the flame will be the candle’s undoing.
Such an irresistible demise, being lost to the sweet seduction of the burn.
Dancing Among the Remains 