July 2026 Project Wrap-Up

Hi all,

July is over, which means that it's time to tell you all how I did with my latest book, Original Elementals #10: Ironclaw.

My final word count is...

74,868 words!

I did skip a day on 11th July, as it was my wedding reception!

It's so weird having finished this series. I've been writing it for years so it feels very weird now that the series is complete.

It follows Melissa and Ironclaw, the first metal Elementals. They want to become one of the Originals, but they have quite the journey to get there.

This book features Draca I, and what happened to them on the mountain with the other Originals. The Wyrms are also prominent, having almost completely consumed Draca's mind.

To their surprise, one of the dragon guards, Mu, turns his back on his companion and follows Melissa out of Aria. They come across Stella, who tells them her side of the story.

This book was emotional in many ways. Writing a ten book series is rewarding but so tiring. I got burned out from writing which is a feeling I never want to go through again. I'll be keeping my series shorter from now on, no more than six or seven books in one series. It's too much other wise.

But that hasn't stopped me from loving exploring more of the Elemental Dragons universe! I love writing about dragons and getting more into the lore. Blood and Water was the first book I ever finished and I'm so glad for everything it taught me. Getting the prequel series done is such an amazing feeling.

I'm definitely not done with the Elemental Dragons universe, I have a few ideas for more books in the future. But for now, I'm going to focus on editing Original Elementals and deciding how I want to publish it.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

My Writing Playlist Part Four

Hi all,

It's time for an update to my writing playlist! This is music that I'll either listen to while writing or music that has inspired some of my short stories.

The Wolf - Siames

Vampire Bat - Glass Animals

Paris - Sabrina Carpenter

Doomed - Maphra

No Angels - Bastille & Ella Eyre

Numb - Linkin Park

In The End - Linkin Park

So Am I - Ava Max

Stressed Out - twenty one pilots

Jerome - Zella Day

Kids Again - Artist Vs Poet

Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez

Battlefield - Jordin Sparks

It Took Me By Surprise - Maria Mena

As always, Glass Animals is always on my list!

I've written quite a bit of mythological stories since I last updated my playlist and I hope that some of the songs on here will inspire me to continue with them.

I'm finding it easier to write while listening to music now, I feel like I've gotten more used to doing both at the same time. I only do it in short bursts, usually 400-600 words. Years ago, I found it difficult to listen and write at the same time because I found it too distracting. Now, I'm glad that I can put on a playlist and listen to something while my brain runs wild.

That's it for this week, if you listen to any of the songs above, let me know in the comments! See you next Sunday. 

PS; before you go, looking for more books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles:

HorrorReadersList’s Indie Horror Kindle Unlimited Email

Incredible Magic in Fantasy & Science Fiction (July)

Cloud's Core has a New Name!

Hi all,

Cloud's Core is a book that I named years ago and it always felt like a placeholder. I decided once I'd written the book that I would think of a new title that would fit better.

Well, I finally came up with one! The new title is: The Dying Current.

I feel that this name gives off more of a scifi vibe and it fits better with the story.

Sometimes I do struggle with naming books so I need a few ideas before I settle on one I like. Although I've gotten a lot of my book titles right the first time round, there have been a few cases where the name has changed.

All of the books in the Curse of Anubis series and Game of Air and Lightning are others, though I'm sure there will be more in the future.

If you're a writer and struggle with book titles, then please don't fret. Sometimes you just need time to come up with a title that fits the book and is one you like. You also need to make sure that it fits with your genre as well, so I understand that it's a difficult process.

That's it for this week, hope you enjoyed reading. See you next Sunday. 

PS; before you go, looking for more books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles:

HorrorReadersList’s Indie Horror Kindle Unlimited Email

Incredible Magic in Fantasy & Science Fiction (July)

Curse of Anubis Complete Collection now Available on Amazon

Hi all,

The Curse of Anubis Complete Collection is now available on Amazon in ebook format. You can finally binge read the series full of zombies, Egyptian gods and magic!

Read the complete collection of the Curse of Anubis series, which contains the following:
The Plague's Hope
The Blazing Serpent
The Frozen Eye
The Dead Kingdom

The wrong girl was resurrected… now she has to save humanity.
Tahira was among the first to be infected when the plague broke out. After a peaceful afterlife, she’s brought back to life by a goddess. But the prophecy says she doesn’t stand a chance, Bastet resurrected the wrong girl.

Ra’s Eye has been stolen… now everything will burn.
In the living world, a cure for the zombie virus is discovered. But when it’s accidentally spilled, it causes the zombies to mutate, making them immune to Tahira’s commands. With zombies unaffected by her, she can only watch as more die around her.

Both Eyes can’t be united… but she has no choice.
Tahira has a chance to get the cure in the right hands. The only things standing in the way are hordes of mutated zombies and Anubis’ jackals. But with her goal so close, she’s not prepared to give up yet.

The dead have taken over… there is no cure.
To protect her new family, Tahira has no choice but to embrace the undead side of herself. As Ra’s chosen one, she has the unthinkable task of ending Anubis’ tirade of death.

That’s it for this week! If you check out the series, I hope you enjoy it! See you next Sunday.

Game of Air and Lightning Cover Design

Hi all,

This week I can reveal the cover design for my upcoming Young Adult Fantasy Dystopian book, Game of Air and Lightning. It’ll go up for pre-order in August, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that!

Without further ado, here is the cover:

This cover has been designed by Deranged Doctor Design, who have done all my previous covers too. This one is a lot different to my previous covers and I love it!

• First off, this book is a symbol based cover as I thought it would fit the story more than having a character on the cover.

• The dagger on the front belongs to Aerus, one of the gods in the book.

• The bangle is how people in the book control their chi, which can either be wind or lightning depending on what faction they’re from.

• Gold is the colour the gods are neutral to, instead of using their own colours of red and blue. If one colour gets used, they fight about it. So gold is the neutral ground between them.

• The golden orb is what the gods leave gifts in for those who win their competitions.

• I wanted the cover to have ornate edges like the god tomes in the book.

• The colour scheme is green and gold.

This book will be available to pre-order in August with a release date in October. Next month I’ll post the first chapter so you can have a sneak peek at what you’ll be reading!

That’s it for this week, see you next Sunday.

PS; before you go, looking for more books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles:

HorrorReadersList’s Indie Horror Kindle Unlimited Email

Incredible Magic in Fantasy & Science Fiction (July)

Every Cat I've Written so far

Hi all,

If you haven't already read the title of this blog post, then it's all about cats! Specifically, the ones that I've written about in each of my books so far. It's been a while since I've written about the cats on my books so I thought they were overdue a special post.

Normie - Elemental Dragons

My first childhood cat of course had to go in my first book series. I was quite young when Normie ran away, but I wanted to give him a second life in my writing.

Solaris and Lunaris - Mute

These two aren't based on any cats in particular. But I knew that this book needed feline guardians who help the main character. I named both of them after the sun and moon, mashing letters together until I came up with something I liked.

Bastet - Curse of Anubis

Of course, Bastet is an Egyptian goddess, so I did a lot of research into Egyptian mythology to get her personality right. My version is kind and motherly, but unsure of her beliefs and her role in Ra's world.

Faraday - Street Rats

You haven't met Faraday yet, and I'm not sure when I'll publish this book. I wrote it when I was in a very dark place and although I've finished the first draft, I'm struggling to find the courage to edit it. But, one of my favourites parts of this book was Faraday. He's a sweet cat, with metallic legs and ears. Whenever the main character feels down, he's always there to support her and show that she's loved.

Smokey - Game of Air and Lightning

One of the winners of my cat competition was Smokey, who was written into Game of Air and Lightning as a soul. Whereas the main character is anxious, Smokey is a calming presence. He teaches her how to wield wind magic, which helps her survive in the book.

Emmylou - Cloud's Core

The second winner of my cat competition was Emmylou. She's a winged cat who helps the protagonist explore the core and discover its secrets. She's curious and protective, making sure that the main character is never without help.

Aspen - Original Elementals

This cat is also not based on any cat in particular. He's a mysterious presence throughout the books, even though he starts out as Maria's pet. But he keeps popping up everywhere, even when it shouldn't be possible.

Yellow - Empty Skies

This cat you'll meet next year with Empty Skies. Unlike the other cats I've written, she is antagonistic and helps the characters begrudgingly. She's obviously someone powerful, but the main characters can't figure out who she is, or what she wants.

Jasper - The Severed Pantheon

This cat is bonded to one of the main character's sisters. He's intelligent and fiercely loyal to Emily. Although he helps the protagonist, he doesn't care much for her.

I might do another post about cats I'll write in the future, so let me know if you'd be interested in reading about that.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next Sunday. 

PS; before you go, don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

SFF Plot Before Passion

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Books That Always Make it to the Top of my TBR Pile

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about which books I always put on the top of my To Be Read pile when they come out!

Warrior Cats.

This one shouldn't be surprising if you've read my blog posts in the past. No matter what, Warrior Cats always goes to the top of my pile. Even if I'm reading something else, I put that one on pause to get through the Warrior Cats book.

Dungeon Crawler Carl.

I absolutely love this series and it was recommended to me at work. I devour this series whenever a new book comes out because I can't wait to see what craziness will happen next. There aren't too many books in this series left, so at some point it will lose its spot on this list.

Chrysalis.

This is another LitRPG book that I always bump straight to the top. Like Dungeon Crawler Carl, I can't wait to see what craziness happens in this series. Whenever it comes out, it gets bumped straight to the top so I can find out what happens next.

Wings of Fire.

I discovered this series during lockdown and can't believe I didn't know about it sooner. I read the series so quickly and was disappointed when I caught up so I had to wait for the next one. Now it gets the top spot whenever a new book comes out. Luckily, a new one is coming out this year so it can reclaim its spot!

My TBR pile is always growing, but it's nice that I have books that I know that I can read first when they come out. Maybe as I get further into my pile, I'll find a new favourite that can get bumped to the top in the future.

What books do you always read first? Let me know in the comments!

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

PS; before you go, don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

SFF Plot Before Passion

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Reader Magnet Ideas

Hi all,

It's been a while since I wrote a post that could help other authors, so I thought I'd change that today.

This week, I'm going to be talking about reader magnets. In order to entice readers to sign up for your newsletter, it's best practice to offer them something for free. It needs to be something substantial that readers will actually want in order to sign up to your newsletter.

Short story collection

I've offered quite a few of these and I've found them to be pretty popular. The stories should be set in the universe of one of your books or series. The stories can be of your main characters or side characters that you might want to explore further. You can write as many stories as you want, they can be linked or just a standalone story.

Prequel

If readers have already read your book and want more in that universe, offer a prequel. They can learn more about what happens before the events of the book or explore a certain character. I'd recommend picking a popular character for a prequel, or an important side one that influences the main story in some way.

Free novel

You don't need to write something entirely new in order to get sign ups for your mailing list. You can use one of your books that is already published but offer it for free. Once readers have a taste of your writing, they may be inclined to buy more.

Sample chapters

If you're not comfortable offering an entire book, offer a few sample chapters instead. You can then end your reader magnet with a link to the full book and where they can purchase it. If they're hooked, it might lead to more buyers.

Deleted scenes

Some readers are interested in what scenes didn't make it into the book itself. You can order a reader magnet filled with deleted scenes with reasons as to why they didn't make it into the final draft of the book.

Illustrations

Some readers want to visualise what your characters look like, or even parts of the world. You can offer a book filled with illustrations of whatever you think that your readers would want.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week! 

PS; before you go, don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

SFF Plot Before Passion

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Curse of Anubis Complete Collection Pre-Order Live

Hi all,

Now that all of the books in the Curse of Anubis series have been published, I’ve gathered them up into one ebook boxset! This will be published on 14th July 2026.

The Complete Collection contains all of the books in the Curse of Anubis series in one neat little bundle!

You will receive:

The Plague’s Hope

The Blazing Serpent

The Frozen Eye

The Dead Kingdom

While waiting for the Complete Collection to come out why not join my mailing list? You’ll get exclusive short stories, cover reveals, book deals and merch surveys!

In return you’ll get five FREE enovellas that can’t be downloaded anywhere else. I also plan on adding more free books in the future, so it’ll definitely be worth your while signing up!

You can currently download:

Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection - a collection of short stories involving dragons

Famished - a prequel to Mute

Years - a prequel to Years

Seashine - a look at the origins of a minor character in Celestial Plague

Curse of Anubis Short Story Collection - a collection of short stories about Egyptian gods

In the next few years the following enovellas will also be available (may be subject to change):

The First Sacrifice - a prequel to Game of Air and Lightning

Tartarus - a prequel to Empty Skies

Original Elementals Short Story Collection - another batch of short stories involving dragons

The Moth Queen - a prequel to Cloud’s Core

That’s it for this week! I hope you’re looking forward to reading the Complete Collection. See you next week!

PS; before you go, don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

SFF Plot Before Passion

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

July 2026 Writing Project Announcement

Hi all,

July is rapidly approaching so it's time to announce my writing project! As there's only one more book remaining in the Original Elementals series, that will be my July project.

The book is called Ironclaw, and it follows Melissa and her dragon companion who the book is named after. She is the first metal Elemental but she is not allowed to show her powers to the world.

The book is set a few years after the conclusion of book nine, so the other characters are slightly older. Melissa is fifteen.

Although she lives at Aria, she has to be kept away from Ironclaw and her markings have to be hidden. Because Ironclaw has metal markings, in order not to make others suspicious she has to tell people that he died soon after hatching.

Melissa desperately wants to be recognised as an Original and decides to seek out Jaime, who wrote the books on the other Originals. She begs him to write a book about her and he agrees.

But, in order to feel like an Original, Melissa decides to perform a great feat like the others did. But they have a separate plan of their own, one they don't want her interfering with.

I'm quite excited to write the final book in the series, though I'm also sad as well. The series has to come to an end at some point. Ten books is the longest series I've written so far, and I'm not sure I'll be aiming to beat it anytime soon. Switching main characters definitely helped, though I did experience burnout when writing this series.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next Sunday. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before you go:

Young Adult Book Giveaway

Legendary Lores (All Genres)

SFF Plot Before Passion

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural