#Whatever Happened to Madeline Hail?

[author-a-holmes]

Did I turn the cover for 'Whatever Happened to Madeline Hail?' into an advent calendar, just so I could use it to share more of my worldbuilding?

Yes.

Yes I did...

So, let's talk a little bit about 'Whatever Happened to Madeline Hail?', and the world it's set in, the Fey Realm of Arbaon. It's a prequel short story to my upcoming series, the Fey Touched Trilogy. It's over 11.5k words and is technically considered a 'novelette'.

First Fey Touched Fact of the day...

After the Fey fled the mortal realm, they stayed sealed away for hundreds of years. It's only around 30-40 years prior to the start of the Fey Touched Trilogy that the Fey have begun to reestablish contact with the mortal realm.

[fey-touched-trilogy]

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review ->

I posted 110 times in 2022

That's 110 more posts than 2021!

19 posts created (17%)

91 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@author-a-holmes

@fey-touched-trilogy

@athena-anna-rose

@cwritesfiction

@nothingbutloveforyou

I tagged 110 of my posts in 2022

#fey touched trilogy - 92 posts

#changeling - 82 posts

#ari speaks - 76 posts

#arista speaks - 76 posts

#lizzy hail - 73 posts

#portal fantasy - 72 posts

#ari writes - 65 posts

#lila isabelle hail - 65 posts

#arista writes - 64 posts

#fey - 58 posts

Longest Tag: 35 characters

#whatever happened to madeline hail?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Camp Nano July 2022 Sneak Peek

Image Transcript;

Sneak Peek!

It was too quiet, Nameer had told Andric the night before, standing in the Hunters equipment room and peeling off weapons and armor so they could be serviced.

The forest. The animals. The hunters had seen signs of kavians, but not encountered a single one.

Andric had been able to see the anxious tension on his friends face, but hadn't been able to offer the man any reassurances.

He'd been foolish. Lax. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed the signs—

He interrupted his own thoughts by knocking on the door to Lizzy's rooms, hard and fast, and waiting impatiently, shifting his weight.

"Come on, come on," Andric muttered, knocking again, louder, the firm thumps against the wood bordered on thunderous and, finally, he could hear scrambling movement on the other side of the door.

It was Cara who answered, eyes wide and confused as she stared out at them, but Andrics gaze immediately went over her head to lock on Lizzy, the fear that had curled around his heart easing just slightly at the sight of her.

She was only half-awake, with her blue eyes glazed, and her long dark hair sleep mussed.

"What's going on?" Cara hissed, clutching a dressing gown around her form, and Andric sucked in a sharp breath, before clenching his teeth.

"I can't say."

5 notes - Posted July 26, 2022

#4

Fey Touched Stories;

Prequel - Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?

Book One - Changeling

Book Two - Darkling

Book Three - Fey Touched

Seasonal Novella - Once Upon A Fey Touched Holiday

The Fey Touched Trilogy is a Portal Fantasy and planned to be my debut novel series. I'd ideally like to publish Book One, Changeling, in the first quarter of 2023, so I'll be focussing on completing the entire trilogy in 2022 so that I can follow a rapid release schedule for the series.

My Newsletter is up and running! Sign up HERE if you'd like to download and read the series prequel, 'Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?' and keep up to date on my publishing journey.

Whatever Happened to Madeline Hail?

When Madeline Hail makes the journey from the fey realm of Arbaon to the mortal realm, she thinks the greatest danger is to her heart. Instead, she finds herself quickly fighing for her life against rabid kavians intent on claiming her magical fey-blood for themselves.

When she is inevitably outnumbered and overpowered, making an unthinkable bargain might be the only way to save her life, but being alive doesn't mean she's safe.

Changeling

Fey go missing in the mortal realm. Everyone knows that. When Lizzy's mother is the next to vanish she is expected to grieve and move on. Instead Lizzy wants to find out what happened, but the answers she seeks can't be found in the fey realm of Arbaon. With the help of her best friend, Booker Reed, Lizzy is determined to retrace her mother's final steps, straight through an illegal portal and into the mortal realm. Whatever leads she expected to find, it wasn't an academy of vampires, and a world stalked by their rabid cousins, the kavians. Forced to rely on the vampires for protection, and secluded away behind the high walls of Speculo School, it quickly becomes clear that not everyone is pleased with Lizzy and Booker's investigation. ​With danger building the further they dig, the two fey need to decide if the answers they seek are worth risking their lives for. The longer they remain with the vampires, the more Lizzy begins to suspect that her answers instead lie amongst the deadly kavians.

See the full post

5 notes - Posted May 26, 2022

#3

30 Days to 70k - Camp Nano July 2022

Post nine, for July 11th & 12th...

July 11th did not happen.

We're not even talking about July 11th.

Suffice to say it was another zero word day.

On the other hand, July 12th went okay.

I wanted to get around 4k, I managed 1,833 words. I'm willing to take it and not complain, considering how the previous few days have gone.

The UK is also in the middle of a heatwave, to concentrating through the soup that my brain has become is... troublesome.

I'm going to try and get my seven day lead back for July 13th, but frankly, anything over my minimum needed word count (which is currently sitting at 1,642) I'll consider a win until this temperature eases off a little.

And that's my update, now someone pass me a ice cream...

6 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

#2

Work In Progress Wednesday - My Most Recent Lines...

The Fey Touched Trilogy

Work In Progress Wednesday; Most Recent Lines

"Lizzy Hail," Andric murmured softly, "the five-foot-three bundle of stubbornness and determination. The young woman who won't back down from anything. Not even a rabid kavian. Not even when I've spent weeks teaching her how to run from one. Whose telekinesis was strong enough to protect herself and her friend."

Carefully Lizzy opened her eyes, and turned to look at Andric. He'd moved even closer, and was now leaning one shoulder against the tree she had her back pressed against, staring down at her with an infinitely gentle expression that made her heart slam against her chest.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly, and the corners of his mouth twitched up into a familiar flash of a smile.

"I'm being honest with you," he answered gently.

- - Changeling by Arista Holmes (Chapter Thirty-Five)

Fey Touched and General Taglist under read-more...

@jezifster @cedar-west @faelanvance @noirepersonal @queen-kass-the-writer @athenswrites @thelaughingstag @talesfromaurea @authorminamoroz @bardic-tales @writeblrsupport

If you'd like to be added or removed from any of my taglists, please let me know <3

9 notes - Posted August 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

30 Days to 70k - Camp Nano July 2022

Post one, for July 1st...

This is a spur of the moment thing, I've no idea how consistent I'll be going forward, but I wanted to give a progress update for Day 1 of Camp Nano.

First things first, I'm a night-time writer. My most productive period of the day is between 10pm and 5am. This creates some unique challenges for Nanowrimo, since the tracker ticks over in the middle of my writing sessions.

Which is why, when midnight rolled around, I wasn't too worried that I hadn't hit my goal yet.

At the end of Day One, I had a word count of 2,069. 281 short of my minimum daily words needed to reach 70k by the end of the month. But, I logged my words, and kept writing! I was in peak time!

It's currently 5.40am. I stopped writing about half an hour ago, and my word count for July 2nd is currently sitting at 5,034.

And any words I add after I wake up this afternoon, and before midnight rolls around, will only add to that.

We're getting there! Experience with Nano tells me that the more "gap" I can give myself between what I have, and what I need, in this first week, the higher the likelihood will be that I'm successful, so here's to the next 5 days being just as epic!

How has everyone else done during the first 24-hour of nano? Tell me your word counts, or about your projects, in the comments, tags, reblogs etc <3

See the full post

10 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[author-a-holmes]

aristaholmes over on Instagram (Thank you for the tag @avrablake!)

If you like making reels, then you can crosspost to tiktok too (Like Etta, I greatly dislike making them so that's all my advice on that subject)

But, honestly, I post on every platform I'm comfortable using, and Etta's got some of the more commonly seen marketing style posts listed above :D

As for all the other platforms, I post here on tumblr, and on Instagram of course, as Avra said. I have a Facebook page for my author pen name, and some arc reader or indie author groups I'm a member in. Also a blog on my author website. A tiktok account I should use more often (@author.a.holmes), and a youtube channel I've barely touched. Also Cohost. Mastodon... I should probably look at bluesky, but...

I have tried blazing posts but, as far as I can tell, it's random. It doesn't appear to show your blazed post to people based on the tags you input, and if that's actually the case it's more like throwing a pebble into the ocean and hoping you knock out a fish for dinner.

Despite that, I've still consistently found the most frequent, and active, engagement here and on Instagram. Your mileage WILL vary, but the most important resource I've found is that I also have and utilise a newsletter.

It means once people HAVE found me, on whatever platform, they can sign up to have my news and updates delivered directly to their inbox. No effort on their part required.

I do make sure to give my subscribers little bonuses every month though, as thanks for their support. Currently, signing up for my newsletter is the only way to access and read the prequel novella "Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?" And I also include exclusive snippets from Darkling, and early information on sales and cover reveals and the final blurb, etc.

And if I'm very, very, lucky, they will like it enough to hype my books for me to their friends. Word of mouth is still super powerful.

How DOES one hype an indie book they're about to publish these days? Like book Twitter is dead, so what happened to the book review community over there? Did it all just....stop? Are they on here somewhere?

Do I just wait till the book is out and Blaze a post or what???

[odinsonsobsessed]

Home For Christmas ▪Part Seven▪

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston/OFC

Rating: M

Word Count: 1.4k

Summary: Two years ago, in order for Maddie to stop her mom’s nagging for her to settle down, she told her that her best friend, Tom Hiddleston, was her boyfriend! Now, she wants her to bring him home for Christmas, which Tom thankfully agrees to go along with. But what happens when their “pretend” feelings start to become real?

Notes/Warnings: Fluff

You didn't really think I was going to just end it there, did you? One last installment before this actually ends. Enjoy!

*The lyrics do not belong to me.

Beta’d by the lovely @mrshiddleston-uk

Master List

One Year Later…

“What's your name?”

“Valerie.” The young brunette giggled, holding her hands together against her mouth in excitement. As Maddie wrote her name out, Valerie began to blurt out compliments. “I am so in love with this book. All of your books, really! But this one… the characters, the way you capture their relationship and how it develops even though they're hit with so many obstacles… It's truly brilliant!” Maddie signed her name at the bottom of the book and smiled, handing it off to her.

“Thank you so much! You're too kind, really! Have a great night, okay?”

“Oh, I will! You too! Thank you, it was so nice to meet you!” She gushed, enthusiastically shaking her hand.

Maddie sighed in relief after she left, capping her pen and setting it down. “God, is my hand tired.” She flexed her right hand, holding it with her left.

“Well, if you weren't so darn famous…” Harry grinned.

Maddie laughed through her nose. “Yeah, whatever.” She glanced at the clock and her eyes widened. “Oh my God!! I'm late! Harry, I've gotta go! Can you…?”

“Yeah, yeah, go on. I'll lock up.”

“Thanks Harry!” She sent Tom a text that she was on her way and quickly put on her coat, threw her purse over her shoulder and ran out the door. She would have taken a cab, but it would be faster to go on foot. It was a few blocks away, the coffee shop. She walked quickly, taking half of the time it would have if she'd hailed a cab and sat through traffic.

She rushed into the coffee shop, preparing to look for Tom. However, she didn't have to search for very long. There he was, standing in the middle of the empty shop with a smile, wearing blue slacks with a long sleeved white shirt underneath a matching blue vest.

“Tom.” Maddie smiled, crossing the floor to greet him with a kiss. He lingered on her lips before pulling back. “You look so handsome.” She ran her fingers along the smooth fabric of the vest. “You know this is my favorite suit.” She glanced up at him with a smirk, which made Tom chuckle.

“I'm fully aware, love.”

Maddie pulled Tom down for another kiss, which made him groan. She giggled and finally looked around, realizing the store was completely empty. “Where is everyone?”

“I've rented the shop out. More privacy that way.”

Maddie giggled, “Alright. What's this all about then?”

“What? I can't have a romantic coffee date with my girlfriend to celebrate her first book signing event?” Tom gestured to the nearby table set with a tea lit candle, mugs set on each side.

She laughed, taking a seat at the table and took a sip of the hot coffee. “Mmm… Hazelnut.” It was just how she liked it.

Tom took the seat across from her and sipped his tea. “How did it go?”

“Great! Though I wish you could have stayed longer.” She smiled as she looked down at the steam rising out of her hot beverage.

“Darling, people were starting to recognize me, even with the hat and glasses. I can't hide from them anymore.” Tom cracked a smile, causing Maddie to giggle into her mug as she took a sip.

“True… Gosh it’s a weird feeling, people coming up to tell me how much they like my work and how much of a fan they are. Does it get easier?”

“Yes and no. I mean, it's not as weird to me as it used to be, but I'm still flattered by their words. Some fans are more intense than others, you'll probably get that too, but they mean well.” He chuckled.

“I still can't believe you flew my entire family out for it.”

“How could I not? They all wanted to be there to support you. Your mum's really trying, you know.”

“I know she is… I think it helps that she's head over heels for that baby… She loves her so much. I think she's mellowing her out.”

“Kristen is truly adorable. Who wouldn't?”

They talked for a while while they finished their beverages. A familiar tune played on the speakers and Tom rose from his chair, moving to stand next to Maddie, holding out his hand. “Dance with me.” His dazzling, inviting smile took her breath away.

Wise men say

Only fools rush in

She smiled, laughing through her nose as she placed her hand in his and stood up, following him to the middle of the open floor.

But I can't help falling in love with you

He slid his arm around her back, holding her hand in his. He began to sway their bodies with the music.

Shall I stay?

Would it be a sin

If I can't help falling in love with you?

Tom leaned down to kiss Maddie. It was gentle and sweet, totally befitting the mood of the dimmed lights and the words lightly echoing around them.

Like a river flows surely to the sea

Darling so it goes

Some things are meant to be

Maddie slipped her hand out of his and brought them around his neck as they kissed. She loved how romantic he was, how he always seemed to charm her even after knowing him for this long, how he always surprised her. She felt so lucky to be his, and that he was hers.

Take my hand, take my whole life too

For I can't help falling in love with you

Tom pulled back to look at her, his heart beating quickly. Love reflected his own in her eyes. If he was going to do this, now would be the perfect time. It was a perfect moment.

Like a river flows surely to the sea

Darling so it goes

‘Once the song is over.’ Tom tried not to tremble with nervousness and excitement. ‘Play it cool.’, was his mantra.

Some things are meant to be

But what if it didn't go as planned?

Take my hand, take my whole life too

No, he couldn't think this now.

For I can't help falling in love with you

Holding back is where they went wrong in the first place. He wouldn't do that again.

For I can't help falling in love with you

He just had to do it.

His eyes settled on her necklace, the one he had given her on the Christmas before last. He picked it up and held it on his fingertips with a smile. “Maddie.” Tom began, dropping the pendant. It was now or never.

“Yes?” Maddie smiled at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Do you realize where it is that we are?”

Maddie let out a giggle. “The coffee shop?”

“I mean exactly here, in this very spot.”

She looked around the room, confused. “This is where… we wait in line for coffee?”

Tom chuckled nervously. She was just too cute. “Right here, is where we met 3 years ago.”

“Oh.” Realization hit her as she recalled the memory of when she turned around and saw him for the first time.

“Right here, is where you unknowingly rejected my advances on you.”

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Right here, is where I realized I loved you.” A memory of them meeting there after a few months of them having been friends flashed through Tom's mind as he continued.

Tom took a shaky breath and mentally cursed at himself for it. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “And right here, is where I ask you, Madeline Rose Wilson, to marry me.” He lifted the box, opening it to face her, revealing a ring as he knelt down on his knee.

Maddie gasped and her hands flew to her mouth in shock. She genuinely wasn't expecting it and the longer she stared at it, the more worried Tom grew.

“I can't believe…” She choked out a giggle. “Of course I'll marry you!” She laughed through her tears, holding out her left hand.

Maddie watched in anticipation as he slipped the ring on her ring finger with a shaky hand. As soon as it was on, before even inspecting it, she tackled him to the ground in a hug, not bothering with her dress getting wrinkled and dirty. She didn't care. She was now engaged to marry her best friend, the love of her life, Thomas William Hiddleson. And she couldn't be any happier.

@fandom-and-feminism @igotloki @mrshiddleston-uk @nikkalia @manager-of-mischief @spidey-bites @kcd15 @furstinnajoelle @its-funny-til-its-not @liloshko @redfoxwritesstuff @winterisakiller @dangertoozmanykids101 @javelinamilk @geminiloveca @mandapanda8 @givemecocoaa @alexakeyloveloki @catalinaacosta @trubluepensfan @crowloki @silverhart93 @love-is-all-you-need-13 @atomiccharmer @michelegurl @theoneanna @ironstrangemischief @kitsuneharo12 @xletmetaste-yoursmilex @theccentricsworld @teatimewithhiddles @crushed-pink-petals @little-blue-popsicle @set-in-fire @tinchentitri @hakimo2015 @aimcattycorner @lowcarbgem @just-the-hiddles @doodlepip81 @vertdragain @fandoms-unite1344 @runningawaywithloki @devilbat @jessiejunebug @bloodycorpsess @nod-over-sleeping-waves @onlystylesangels @xxloki81xx

[author-a-holmes]

Second Fey Touched Fact;

Madeline Hail is a fey from the realm of Arbaon. Centuries ago, Fey fled the mortal realm when the vampires began to lose their minds, attacking fey indiscriminately. A Fey called Bridget Elestov created the realm of Arbaon as a safe harbour for the remnants of her people to hide in safety.

[fey-touched-trilogy]

Fey Touched Stories;

Prequel - Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail? (Newsletter Exclusive; Sign Up Here)

Book One - Changeling (Available In All Formats Now!)

Book Two - Darkling

Book Three - Fey Touched

Seasonal Special - Once Upon A Fey Touched Holiday

The Fey Touched Trilogy is a Portal Fantasy and planned to be my debut novel series. Book One, Changeling, was published on March 16th 2023 as a birthday present to my mum, and the second book, Darkling, is also expected to be published later in 2023.

My Newsletter is up and running! Sign up HERE if you'd like to download and read the series prequel, 'Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?' and keep up to date on my publishing journey.

Keep reading beneath the Read More for currently revealed blurbs & covers...

Whatever Happened to Madeline Hail?

When Madeline Hail makes the journey from the fey realm of Arbaon to the mortal realm, she thinks the greatest danger is to her heart. Instead, she finds herself quickly fighing for her life against rabid kavians intent on claiming her magical fey-blood for themselves.

When she is inevitably outnumbered and overpowered, making an unthinkable bargain might be the only way to save her life, but being alive doesn't mean she's safe.

'Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?' is Newsletter Exclusive: Sign Up Here

Changeling

Fey go missing in the mortal realm. Everyone knows that. When Lizzy's mother is the next to vanish she is expected to grieve and move on. Instead Lizzy wants to find out what happened, but the answers she seeks can't be found in the fey realm of Arbaon. With the help of her best friend, Booker Reed, Lizzy is determined to retrace her mother's final steps, straight through an illegal portal and into the mortal realm. Whatever leads she expected to find, it wasn't an academy of vampires, and a world stalked by their rabid cousins, the kavians. Forced to rely on the vampires for protection, and secluded away behind the high walls of Speculo School, it quickly becomes clear that not everyone is pleased with Lizzy and Booker's investigation. ​With danger building the further they dig, the two fey need to decide if the answers they seek are worth risking their lives for. The longer they remain with the vampires, the more Lizzy begins to suspect that her answers instead lie amongst the deadly kavians.

Available In All Formats Now!

WARNING: READING FURTHER YOU MAY ENCOUNTER SPOILERS

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK

Darkling

Fey go missing in the mortal realm. This time, it’s intentional.

Blurb Reveal Pending

Fey Touched

Fey go missing in the mortal realm. Everyone is about to find out why.

Blurb Reveal Pending

Seasonal Special: Once Upon A Fey Touched Holiday

Blurb Reveal Pending

[author-a-holmes]

Hello Moshke!

First of all, I'm glad the people I credited in the copyright was useful to someone else!

Secondly, I know I'm a bit late in responding (Sorry about that!) but I hope you're feeling better now too <3

And finally, Newsletters! (And blogs)

I'm going to caveat this by saying I don't know if I'm doing it right *shrugs* but this is what I do...

I took a look at "The periodic table of content marketing" and decided that what I was able to offer was my writing. I'm also working on the theory that if readers sign up for my newsletter it's because they like my writing.

So I knew I wanted to give readers updates on my progress, and then also samples of my writing.

Idea 1) Create A Reader Magnet

A Reader Magnet is a short story, a map, artwork, free chapters, or some other form of free, bonus content, that is exclusively available to your newsletter subscribers. The idea is that it tempts and entices people to give you their email address in exchange for the freebie.

For me that ended up being a 12,000 word prequel story for my trilogy, called "Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?". It has no spoilers for the series, but it does give the readers insight into what happened when Maddy went Missing that Lizzy doesn't have at the start of the book.

Once the Fey Touched Trilogy is complete, I'll make WHTMH available for sale in paperback format, but the ebook will always be available for free via newsletter signup, and then the "reader magnet" I used to tempt people onto my mailing list will change to be linked to/tie into my next series.

Idea 2) Figure out an email format/layout so you can save the template and reuse it, saving yourself time.

What held me up with making a newsletter for ages was; What the heck do I say? I'm talking into a void!

Ultimately, what you do to trick yourself into this is probably personal, but the way I write my newsletters is I pretend that my best friend and I haven't spoken for a month and then I write out what I'd tell her in a quick email if I knew I was going to meet up with her for lunch the following week. So just enough to give her context, without going into all the details I'm *going* to tell her at our lunch date.

This breaks down into 3 headers for me

The Intro (Hello, how are you, I'm fine/not fine/major life events. Are we ready to talk about writing, let's go then...)

What I've Done Since My Last Email (Any progress reports. Word count progression on current projects. Any art commissioned, any editing done, any covers purchased, have I been working on formatting, etc)

What I Plan To Get Done In The Next Month (These are the plans I hope to complete. The following month under the "what I've done since my last email" heading, I'll inform everyone on whether I was successful... or not! Sometimes I don't make my goals, and that's okay too. I'm honest about that)

Idea 3) Figure out what, if anything, you want to send in addition to your basic updates.

This is going to be personal and dependant on your skills and time too. Some months this is going to be easy. Cover reveal months. Blurb reveal months. Preorder dates. those sorts of things can all come in under this section. It's the quieter months that are harder when you're busy outlining or editing, or drafting.

For me, I decided to make this an exclusive piece of flash fiction. I can usually write a piece of flash fiction in one 20-minute sprint that averages around 500 words.

So every newsletter I have readers vote on a selection of 6, seasonally appropriate prompt words, and then I write the winning prompt with a 20 minute timer going and it get sent out in the *next* email.

Idea 4) Book Reviews! you don't have to be an anyone, or a professional, or even have an audience to tell people about what you'ree reading and whether you'r enjoying it, but I also understand not wanting to ARC review (If you do want to give it a try Booksprout and Booksirens are free for readers to sign up so you can go grab a book and give it a try)

Idea 5) And finally this isn't so much an idea as a resource that I've heard touted about on basically every reputable writing group I know of.

Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque

It's supposed to tell you EVERYTHING you could possibly need to know about building a successful author mailing list. I can't speak to it personally as I've not been able to afford it yet, but it is sitting in my Amazon basket waiting for me (Or possibly black friday!)

Hope some of that helps!

I made so much progress in figuring stuff out today! Like when I want things to be released (2025 seems reasonable for Cold Iron and Blade of Ice, end of this year for my middle grade story). I started designing a website! I’ll put it up next month when I have the money to order banners for all my upcoming stories.

(Side note but thanks so much to @author-a-holmes because I discovered so many relevant resources just from those mentioned on the copyright page of Changeling!)

Anyway. I feel really weird today, and I’m hoping it’s a poor reaction to fasting yesterday and not actually getting sick, so all this might be phrased weirdly. But: @ anyone who actually has an author newsletter or blog, what do you write about?? All the advice I seemed to find reads like “No one wants to hear about your writing but don’t forget to mention your writing,” Which confuses me. How much is ok vs is just for tumblr posting? What else about your life do you say? Especially when you’re not important enough to like do ARC reviews for other writers and such, but without seeming boring and selfish?

Ok some of these worries might be me projecting my insecurities because I lose some control when I feel this bad. We took our cat to the vet today (just for a checkup) and even though I usually do all the in town driving my partner had to because I was too unsteady. So that’s where I’m coming from.

But it is a genuine question. Everyone says a newsletter is important, and a monthly thing seems doable, but all the instructions for it are too vague for my autistic brain to parse in relation to myself.

[donnie-triton-blog]

look.. im not saying i want a matt/delilah kid but.. i want a matt/delilah kid

Meet LORAND BIESTE, a SIXTEEN year old who resembles URIAH SHELTON. He hails from VILLENEUVE FRANCE, where he lives with his parents, MATTHIEU BIESTE & DELILAH DUNCAN.

And, meet MADELINE BIESTE, an EIGHT year old who resembles BAILEE MADISON. She hails from VILLENEUVE FRANCE, where she lives with her parents, MATTHIEU BIESTE & DELILAH DUNCAN.

Name: Lorand Lavelle Bieste

Gender: Male

General Appearance: Lorand is the spitting image of his father in his youth, except taller and more gangly. His thick, brown hair is often a mess in the morning, and throughout the day due to lack of effort. Even his eyes are blue, like his father’s. Delilah knew Matt when he was younger, due to her visiting the castle to hang out with his sister, Jolie, and is reminded of those days each and every time she sees Lorand.

Personality:

+ loyal – He developed this trait out of principle more than anything else. He shows unwavering loyalty to his friends and family, and would never do anything to hurt them intentionally. In fact, he goes out of his way often to show just how much they mean to him, and often develops a close and strong bond with people.

+ audacious – This he definitely got from Delilah. An experiment that failed to work on Matt, Delilah decided to sculpt Lorand into a bit more of a risk-taker than his father. He loves to do things that might not necessarily be the safest route, but pay off in the long run, whether it be enjoyment, education, or spending.

+ mannered – Of course a prince must develop the mannerisms of royalty, and he has mastered this skill at the young age of sixteen. When in front of people that deserve respect, or merely people of note including those in the kingdom, Lorand speaks in the most proper and well-learned manner that he knows how, and never offends a soul. That being said, when in front of family and close friends, he can kick back and relax on occasion, as well.

- independent – Although this might sound like a good thing, it just means that Lorand isn’t easily influenced, and often does not feel like he needs others to thrive. He believes that he can make informed decisions himself without outside influence, and that he knows what’s best for everyone and everything. It would take a lot to get Lorand to understand that he really needs someone when he falls, and that he can not only pick himself up every single time.

- cocky – This goes with his independence and stubbornness. Growing up in a position where it seems that no matter what choices you make, you will never fall to a low point has made Lorand overly-cocky. He doesn’t believe that anything too bad could really happen to him, no matter what mistakes he made (if he even makes any. Besides, he can make decisions all by himself, remember?)

- pretentious – Pretty self-explanatory. He uses his stature, manner, and education to preen himself before others. He knows that he is an important person, and, unlike his father who tended to keep the fact that he was a prince quiet (Matt hadn’t even told Delilah when they first met), Lorand likes to flaunt the fact.

Special Talents: Lorand has the power of magic. This power no doubt came from his mother, who’s magical abilities were so beautiful and ingrained within her soul that it was inevitable, after carrying Lorand for nine months, that they would be passed on to him.

Who they like better: Julian probably likes the royal side of the family more, merely because he loves feeling important and dutiful. His father is the king, for crying out loud. He especially loves listening to stories from Matthieu, Adam, and Belle.

Who they take after more: As much as he’d like to think otherwise, he takes after Delilah a lot more in personality. Matt was nowhere near as outspoken, highly poised, and confident as Lorand. Delilah, on the other hand, loved being a free-spirit and independent agent, and so did her son.

Personal Head canon:

The royal family spoiled Lorand from day one. When he broke a vase, they promised that it was completely okay, an accident, and was not his fault whatsoever. Nothing, really, was ever Lorand’s fault in the palace. Everything was catered to him, and this is what caused him to realize just how important he was.

Lorand actually loves to read, like his father, but keeps the passion secret, for fear that people might see him as a nerd rather than a powerful prince.

This is the first generation in which the werebeast curse has not manifested itself, and likely never will.

Face Claim: Uriah Shelton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Madeline L’ange Bieste

Gender: Female

General Appearance: Madeline has long brown hair which stretches down past her shoulders, with chocolate brown eyes and a cute little stout nose. There is no doubt that this girl, running about the castle, is descended from the king and queen. She loves wearing dresses, and lets her mother pick out the perfect ones, at times even ordering personal designs.

Personality:

+ energetic – Madeline loves playing outside. She reminds Belle of Matthieu when he was much much younger. Her imagination runs wild, and she loves playing pretend, acting out different scenarios, playing doctor, fighting dragons. The world is her stage, and there are no limitations to what she can come up with when she’s bouncing around the palace grounds.

+ caring – Madeline loves animals and friends, and would never do anything to upset either of these groups. She loves playing with others, and is extremely nice when she does so. If one of her friends is feeling down, she always makes it a priority to cheer him or her up, before going about other business.

+ diplomatic – She makes a good mediator between two parties. Where one person might want one thing, and another person might want another, Madeline is very adept at coming to compromise, making both people not only satisfied, but actually happy in the process. She has high-level reasoning skills, and can practically sell anything to sound good.

- immature – Madeline is, after all, just a kid. She doesn’t quite understand the complexities of grown-up relations and topics quite yet, and finds conversation with people older than her to be a bit mundane. She much prefers the company of kids her age, and enjoys playing and doing other activities rather than merely sitting around talking.

- short-tempered – As nice as Madeline can be, she can also be easily upset. She would never say a mean word, or hurt a soul, but when she gets made she storms off, or gives the silent treatment until amends are made. 

- reckless – Madeline often doesn’t know how much is too much, where boundaries are, or what decisions could possibly get her in trouble. Wandering into the forest alone isn’t seen as something that could potentially be dangerous. Going into town and getting lost isn’t scary, because everyone seems to know her, and therefore she’s not really lost. Playing too close to the lake, even though she can’t swim, doesn’t seem too dangerous, because there’s not that big of a chance that she will fall in. She doesn’t see the consequences of risky actions, and can’t imagine any situation that is too scary to delve into.

Special Talents: Madeline has the power of magic, like Lorand and Delilah. Hers, however, is not as strong as the other two, because she has an additional power which has developed, and nobody knows how or where it came from. Madeline also has the ability to communicate with animals. Nobody really knows if she talks to them in the animal language, or if the animals can understand her english, or if they merely respond to her emotions. Somehow, though, Madeline is constantly able to ride on the backs of deer.

Who they like better: Madeline, of course, likes both of her parents just as much. She could never choose between them. Matt is her strong, smart, loving, and protective father that wraps her into his arms and lifts her high into the air. Delilah is her funny, entertaining, loving, and adventurous mother who showers her in clothes and kisses. 

Who they take after more: Like Lorand, she takes after Delilah more. Although she displays the same youthful bliss and imaginative power as Matt, her recklessness and taste for fun matches her mother’s. This might be because Matt isn’t around much to influence her, since he’s a busy man. It might also just be that she is a kid, and her personality has yet to completely manifest. Whatever the case, she enjoys spending time with her mom, and their interests seem to align.

Personal Head canon:

Madeline likes riding deer, a lot. Countless times have the palace staff seen her on the grounds on the back of a doe, and not known how to remove her safely.

Madeline loves to sing. She gets this from her grandmother, Belle, and learns bedtime songs from her, often singing them in the fields to herself privately. 

When Matt sees Maddy playing, he is always stricken with a woeful nostalgia, longing for those days where he had fewer worries, and more time to live and love life.

Face Claim: Bailee Madison

[jetsetdiary-blog]

24 hours in NYC

My latest trip was a whirlwind, a mere 24 hours, to celebrate my 25th birthday. I had wanted to stay much longer, but as a perpetually broke flight attendant I was willing to take my bite of the Big Apple in whatever way I could. If one happens to find themselves in a similar situation, laid-over, or on business with some time to kill - here is my advice on how to taste the City that Never Sleeps. (Pro-tip: Don't sleep.)

Where to stay:

It's always a good idea to check out Airbnb, especially when traveling with a group. Take a look at the map to make sure you're close to the subway. For this trip I chose Hotel Pennsylvania and got a ridiculously good rate. The rooms aren't glamorous, but the hotel is in the heart of the action across the street from Madison Square Gardens. Besides, we don't go to New York to hang out in a room!

Transportation:

You've got all the options in NYC. Uber, lift, taxi's, and rental cars are everywhere. The most cost effective way to get around is definitely the subway. Plus, it's part of the experience. The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world by number of stations, with 472 stations in operation (425 if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. I also recommend at least attempting to hail a cab, it's a bucket list item for me, and I haven't quite pulled it off. (Pro-tip: Practice your whistle and sass face at home.)

What to see:

With only 24 hours, it's important to have a game plan, but leave wiggle room. Fortunately for me it was easy - if I had to be locked inside one building for the rest of my life I'd choose the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I checked into my hotel, grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel at a little shop called Bagel Maven outside of 34 St Penn Station and hit the Met. The building is as glamorous as the entire Upper East Side. It's the largest art museum in the United States and has over 2 millions works of art spanning five thousand years. I could spend weeks wandering through the exhibits and still want more. This is also an incredibly affordable place to go, as admittance is "by donation." I paid a total of $20 for me and my travel companion. Technically you could pay $1.

As you leave the Met, turn right and check and take a little stroll in Central Park. If it's winter time you can even go ice-skating with the romantic backdrop of the NYC skyline, a tradition as old as the park itself.

After a snowy walk, I was ready for a cocktail and the happiest accident of the weekend happened. My friend is a musician with a taste for jazz, and as we walked down the snowy streets of the Upper East Side, he looked up near by piano bars. It so happened that we were a block away from the swanky Carlyle Hotel which houses the delightful Bemelmans Bar. 

Remember the wonderful Madeline books from childhood? The bar is named for their creator Ludwig Bemelmans and the entire place is decorated with his original paintings. Using his distinct style of art, he transformed the bar with whimsical scenes of Central Park that included picnicking rabbits and ice skating elephants. Rather than be paid for his art, Bemelmans exchanged his work for a year and a half of accommodations at The Carlyle for himself and his family. We stumbled on a Manhattan treasure, a beautiful Art Deco spot with classic cocktails and nightly jazz, a timeless location that continues to attract socialites, politicians, movie stars and moguls with its extensive drink menu and nightly live entertainment.

[author-a-holmes]

Fifteenth, and Final, Fey Touched Fact!

Did you know you can read 'Whatever Happened to Madeline Hail?' for free? You only need to sign up for my newsletter via my website and I'll email you a link to download a copy!

[author-a-holmes]

I'm currently working on a trilogy called the 'Fey Touched' trilogy.

Book One of the Fey Touched trilogy is called 'Changeling. It follows Lizzy Hail, a fey from the realm of Arbaon, who comes to the mortal realm looking for her mum.

Her mum travelled to the mortal realm a month prior to the start of the book, and vanished. Declared dead by the Court of Arbaon, no one is looking for her, so Lizzy takes it upon her self to find her mum, or at least seek out answers.

But once she arrived in the mortal realm, things aren't as simple as she planned.

Here be vampires.

There is also a prequel novella available for free to my newsletter subscribers, called 'Whatever Happened to Madeline Hail?'. It gives the readers a head start on Lizzy's investigation. You can find out why Maddy never returned home long before Lizzy uncovers all the clues!

Book one is currently in editing. Book two is being written. And if I'm exceedingly lucky, Book One will be released early next year ^_^

If you see this, tell me about your book

Whether it's a published book, a wip, or just something you're imagining for now, I want to hear about it! Share some art, too, if you have some!

Tagging a few people who I don't think would mind, but lemme know if you don't want to be tagged in the future! Fyi, to anyone seeing this, you can always tag me <3

@valeriestorm @rosantha-tindall @kittensartswriting

[author-a-holmes]

Twelfth Fey Touched Fact...

'Whatever Happened to Madeline Hail?' is set almost 1 month prior to the start of 'Changeling', the first book in the Fey Touched Trilogy which is due for release in 2023.

[author-a-holmes]

Fifth Fey Touched Fact...

Fey magic deals with the intangible, such as wards, auras, telepathy, and telekinesis. Meanwhile, the powers of the vampires deal with the physical. Speed, strength, and enhanced senses, all of which are powered by blood.

[author-a-holmes]

Ninth Fey Touched Fact...

Maddy isn't just important to Lizzy, but also to Lizzy's best friend Booker. Madeline adopted Booker when he was eight years old, and raised him and Lizzy together.

[author-a-holmes]

Eighth Fey Touched Fact...

Madeline Hail is the mother of the main character in the Fey Touched Trilogy, Lila Isabelle Hail. Maddy is the only person allowed to call her Lila, however, to everyone else she is known as Lizzy.

[author-a-holmes]

Sixth Fey Touched Fact...

All fey can use both telepathy and telekinesis, but around their 18th birthday fey also develop other powers. Some abilities are more common than others, but Maddy's skill is in creating wards by linking her power to a natural wardstone, like a tree or rock, she can form barriers and protections, or hide structures from uninvited eyes.

Other abilities fey can develop include premonitions, aura reading, empathy, weather manipulation, and portal creation.