#twaisb

[emotionalsupportkelpie]

Happy Pride!

If you want to support a bi chronically ill author and read a dark fantasy/horror novella starring a bi protagonist, check out THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE! Featuring witches, witch hunters, ghosts, and magical creatures in a post-apocalyptic Salem, MA.

Available for Kindle or in print via Amazon or direct from the independent publisher, Mocha Memoirs Press.

(TW for suicidal ideation, supernatural horror, and general gore.)

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

First round of book edits are done and turned back into my editor, 2 more rounds to go! :)

[emotionalsupportkelpie]

A lovely, lengthy review of THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE just dropped from Julie Sara Porter, Bookworm Reviews!

[emotionalsupportkelpie]

The Inspiration Behind THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE

Cher cannot save everyone, and neither can I. No one can. No single "hero" like Gandalf or Katniss is going to swoop in and magically save us all. And yes, the fascists are currently winning. That doesn't mean it's not worth fighting them.

“Margaret [Killjoy]: I suppose your work does have a fairly dark tone, often very fatalistic or nihilistic. Do you think that mirrors how you see the political situation? Or is it a reflection of something else? [Professor] Calamity: I think the world we live in is pretty bleak (though I am pretty upbeat in person). I’ve always been attracted to characters living in very bleak times, how they’re…

[emotionalsupportkelpie]

A Playlist for THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE

When I was working on THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE, I had a carefully curated playlist of some dark indie and Western pop songs that I thought best captured the mood of the story. After all the hard work I put into that playlist, I thought I'd share it here!

AHHHHH, it’s THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE Kindle edition D-Day! Those of you who pre-ordered an eBook copy of TWAISB should see it in your Kindle library as of today! 😀 (If you’ve preordered a physical copy–don’t worry, that should be on its way to you soon too.) I cannot believe this day is finally here. I’m both excited and terrified for you all to read this book. Thank you to everyone who has…

[emotionalsupportkelpie]

Check out the book trailer Mocha Memoirs Press made for The World As It Should Be! 😍🖤

TWAISB tells the story of a witch and a kelpie who become unlikely friends as they struggle to prevent history from repeating itself in a post-apocalyptic Salem, MA. Thematically, it explores the mental and physical tolls of the isolation caused by fascism. It is intended for new adult/adult audiences, and major content warnings include suicidal ideation/intent, gore/torture, and animal death.

You can preorder the Kindle edition now here.

If you prefer physical books, a paperback edition will be available to order closer to the release date. I'll be sure to share it here as soon as it's ready!

And while you're at it, I highly recommend checking out other books in Mocha Memoirs Press' catalog! They're a great small press that make it a mission to publish and amplify voices by authors of marginalized communities.

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

"This fairy tale begins at the end of the world." 

The World As It Should Be by Lee Ann Kostempski

Charity Olmstead was sure of three things: (1) she was a useless, selfish coward, (2) no matter what her psychic [read: con artist] parents claimed, magic wasn’t real, and, (3) good and God were dead; the world was and always would be a cruel and evil place full of cruel and evil people.

But then one day said world ended in a blaze of dragonfire. Charity started seeing ghosts everywhere, and so she was forced to strike one of those three things off the list.

She was still very much a big old chicken though, and more than ever she was sure the world was unforgiving.

Little did she know that hers was a story about one so-called coward’s ability to look evil in the eye and say: “No more.”

Pour yourself some tea, put your feet up, and let me tell you my favorite fairy tale of all, one with witches and witch hunters, séances and enchanted woods, dragons and a big bad wolf. This is a story about the battle between good and evil, truth versus doubt, dark against light. And it stars my daughter.

I think you’ll like it. But maybe I’m biased.

Anyway.

Once upon a time...

[emotionalsupportkelpie]

Reblogging this here, because I'm still not over how awesome this is. 🤩

Aaaaahhh, thank you @emilyelizabethfowl for the artwork & animation of Charon, the kelpie from my WIP, The World As It Should Be! This is literally the coolest gift I've ever received. I am so lucky to have a talented and thoughtful artist & writer for a friend! 😭💜

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

Oh, hey, TWAISB is DONE!

The complete Chapters 1-20 of the rough draft are NOW AVAILABLE on Wattpad! Just in time for ~*spooky season*~... and the Wattys. ;p

If you like supernatural horror, kelpies, witches, and angst, I think this story’s right up your alley. (TWs for gore, suicidal intentions, and language.)

I’m not expecting it to gain much traction in the Wattys, but I really, really hope that those of you who do read it enjoy it as much as I loved writing it. You can check it out by clicking on the heading above. :) Feel free to leave feedback, as it will eventually be undergoing some edits!

What’s next for me? I’ll probably take a weeklong break and actually, fiiiinally read some other stuff on Wattpad, interact with other writers and readers and such. Then I’m hoping to focus on At the Meeting of the Rivers for a little while.

Happy reading!

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

Something they don’t tell you is that the writing process isn’t only different for every writer, but for every *book* too.

My previous WIP, The World As It Should Be, had such a detailed outline. I had 20 chapters listed carefully and I stuck to that exact format until the very end. It made the writing process so breezy and fast, and I finished the rough draft in only a few months. The finished product is exactly how I envisioned it.

I have two more WIPs I’m working on now, At the Meeting of the Rivers and an untitled Robin Hood horror tale.

The second one I have generally outlined--not chapter by chapter, like I did with TWAISB, but the major plot points are there.

But for the other... I have no idea. I have a specific beginning and ending in mind, but only a vague idea of the middle. So I’m pants-ing it, which is a completely new experience to me. I don’t know if I like the experience at all, and it’s making the writing process slow and clunky. I’m also pretty sure it’ll require heavy rewrites once I’m done with this first draft, unlike TWAISB, which will only require a broad edit checking for plot holes/typos/etc. I have tried a dozen times to create an outline for At the Meeting of the Rivers, but the story simply insists on coming to life organically/lawlessly.

And honestly? There has been a big toll on my confidence to get to the place where I can finally admit to myself that that’s okay. Not every book is the same.

When I was still a newbie writer, I always thought: “If I can just finish writing one book, the next one and the next one and the next one will be so much easier to write.”

That’s a lie. I’ve been writing stories since I was 6 years old (that’s, uhh, 21 years--almost 22!!--for those of you keeping track, holy shit) and I still have no idea what I’m doing. So if you’re feeling that way too, you’re not alone.

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

Chapter 14 of TWAISB is now live on Wattpad! You can read it here. :)

This one’s my favorite chapter so far.

Comments & constructive criticism are welcome!

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

I’m used to working on one WIP at a time. I currently have... three. Yikes.

Thinking I might set a schedule. But also thinking I might just work on whatever I feel like working on whenever I sit down to write. But aaaaalso having trouble picking between the three WIPs when I do that, which just leads to me watching time tick by and ending up writing nothing at all for the day.

So. Maybe a schedule’s a good idea. I’ll post it here to hold myself accountable:

Sunday: Untitled Orpheus & Eurydice retelling

Monday: Haunts & Hellhounds

Tuesday: The World As It Should Be (yes, I know I said I wasn’t going to rewrite it, but I’ve been playing around with it and it has a much stronger first chapter now, so....... If the queries out there right now do get accepted, I’ll keep it the way it is and maybe save the rewrite as a potential sequel, but if the last 4 agents I’m waiting on send me rejections, I’m rewriting it completely)

Wednesday: H&H

Thursday: TWAISB

Friday: Whatever I feel like working on most and/or a day off

Saturday: Untitled O&E retelling

Since I’m off for the summer (yay for working in a school library), I might devote 7 or 8 hours a day to writing as if it is already an actual paid job for me. I mean, I guess technically it is. I’m salaried for 12 whole months, not just during the school year, so I am still getting paid throughout summer vacation, and if I spend that vacation writing then, yeah, I’m being paid to write. :p

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

Chapters 16 AND 17 are now available on Wattpad!

We're just 3 away from the ending. Holy crap. 🙈 The last few chapters should be done over the next few days, so if you're looking for a completed, spooky story to read in your downtime during October, now is a great time to start reading this one.

It IS a rough draft, so of course comments, critiques, feedbacks, genuine reactions, etc. are welcome and encouraged.

You can read TWAISB here. :)

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

Chapter 13 of TWAISB is up! As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcome! :)

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

Chapter 10 of The World As It Should Be is a little late, but it’s finally live! Sorry for the delay, but frankly the last 2 weeks have been foggy in my brain. You can read Chapters 1-10 of TWAISB or Chapter 1 of my other WIP (At the Meeting of the Rivers) on Wattpad!

[lee-jinkis-ponytail]

Hiya SHINee friends, if you don't already follow my author blog, this is it! :)

Happy Pride!

If you want to support a bi chronically ill author and read a dark fantasy/horror novella starring a bi protagonist, check out THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE! Featuring witches, witch hunters, ghosts, and magical creatures in a post-apocalyptic Salem, MA.

Available for Kindle or in print via Amazon or direct from the independent publisher, Mocha Memoirs Press.

(TW for suicidal ideation, supernatural horror, and general gore.)