My 2026 Writing Goals

Hi all,

As this is the first blog post of 2026, it's time for my goals for 2026!

Write three books.

This year I'm going to write three books, and I want to get the remaining books in the Original Elementals series done. I haven't decided whether I'll write those first or if I'll get a standalone done first, you'll have to wait and see!

Finish writing the Original Elementals series.

This series has been ongoing for a while and I want to get it finished this year. I've got other books planned in the Elemental Dragons universe as well, though once Original Elementals is drafted I'll take a break from it for a bit.

Self-edit three books.

I want to get Game of Air and Lightning, Empty Skies #1: Missing Constellations and Empty Skies #2: Freezing Constellations edited. Once I'm happy with what I've done, I'll send them to my editor.

Get two covers designed.

Two covers will be getting designed by Deranged Doctor Design this year!

Publish two books.

I'm going to publish the last book in the Curse of Anubis series, The Dead Kingdom, and Game of Air and Lightning this year!

Publish the Curse of Anubis Complete Collection.

With all the books in this series released, there will also be a Complete Collection so you can buy all four books at once.

Read 100 books.

Seeing as I read 121 last year, I'm going with 100 this year. I've got a lot on my TBR list right now and I'm sure I'll find more to fill it out as well.

Run regular Facebook ads.

My Facebook ads did well for a few months last year but then fell off. This time, I want to try to keep on top of them more and expand my knowledge about how advertising works on Facebook. I'm gathering images and excerpts from my books, so this might not start until the middle of the year.

Write and send out the Game of Air and Lightning prequel.

This year I will get that prequel written! It will also be edited and then sent to my newsletter subscribers.

Plot the Empty Skies reader magnet.

I'm still not sure what the story will be for this book, and I'm looking forward to playing around with a few ideas until I find one that sticks.

Plot a Norse mythology series.

I've got the basics of this one already, but I want to expand on it further. I'd like to be able to start writing this series in 2027, so that means I need to get a solid outline done this year.

Plot a YA Fantasy series.

This one is very bare bones at the moment, but I have the characters and the magical system worked out. This one will be a massive project that will contain werewolves, vampires and eldritch beings that created magic in the first place.

Plot a horror book.

As this is one of the books I want to write this year, I need to flesh out the plot a lot more. I know where the book starts and ends, but I need to fill out all the middle bits, characters and side plots.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed my first blog post of 2026. See you next Sunday. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before they disappear:

Long Live the Queen: Amazing Women in Fantasy & Science Fiction (Dec 2025-Jan 2026)

New Year, New Monsters 6: From the Skies

2025 Year in Review

Hi all,

It’s time to take a look at my goals for 2025 and see what I achieved. I wanted to push myself a little bit this year and I think on the whole it was manageable. I didn’t hit all of my goals, but that’s okay!

Write three books.

This year I wrote the first drafts of:

Game of Air and Lightning

The Severed Pantheon

Cloud’s Core

It was the year of standalone books, it seems!

Publish two books.

This year I published Curse of Anubis #2: The Blazing Serpent and Curse of Anubis #3: The Frozen Eye.

Get two covers designed.

The covers for Curse of Anubis #3: The Frozen Eye and Curse of Anubis #4: The Dead Kingdom were both designed by Deranged Doctor Design this year.

Self-edit two books.

The last two books in the Curse of Anubis series were self-edited and sent off to my editor, ready for publication.

Send all my reader magnets to my editor.

All of them were edited by her and I feel like the stories have really improved!

Read 100 books.

This year I read 121!

Write the Game of Air and Lightning reader magnet.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get this one done. I’ve had so many ideas for it that I’ve started writing and then scrapped not too far in. I’m still trying to find the perfect story to write.

Change my writing schedule.

My writing months are now March, July and November. It works a lot better now that they’re more stretched out.

Write 12 short stories.

I initially planned to write a short story a month, but I forgot about the months that I’d be writing books. So, I managed to write ten short stories this year. My newsletter subscribers have read most of them.The stories are:

Affection

Blue Once More

Fire Dragon

Neglected Vote

Red

Run-Along

The Bus

The Last Excavation

Two Paths

Unnamed

Research different kinds of mythology.

I’ve done a lot of research this year into Japanese mythology and Celtic mythology. I haven’t come up with any concrete story ideas for either yet, but I’m hoping the more I read about it, the more ideas will come to me.

That’s it for this week! Next week I’ll be posting about my goals for 2026, so you don’t want to miss it. See you next Sunday.

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before they disappear:

Brand New December Fantasy Adventures

Long Live the Queen: Amazing Women in Fantasy & Science Fiction (Dec 2025-Jan 2026)

New Year, New Monsters 6: From the Skies

Will I Write About Dinosaurs?

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about dinosaurs! More importantly, will I write about them?

I absolutely love dinosaurs and when I was growing up I used to love watching shows about dinosaurs and reading books about them. I still do all that today!

I've tried to plot a dinosaur book before and nothing has really come to me. Nothing that hasn't been done before and would spice up the genre. I would love to write about them, but I'd need a good enough idea to give them justice.

My favourite dinosaur of all time is the Velociraptor. I've tried to work this dinosaur in particular into books before, but it just hasn't worked out. I'd love to write a dinosaur themed book, but at the moment I have no plans to do so. Whenever I come up with a new book idea I hope that the next one will be about dinosaurs, but unfortunately it hasn't happened yet.

If I could, I would write a book about someone with a Velociraptor as a companion or pet. But that's as far as I've gotten, plot wise, which isn't enough to write an entire book about, unfortunately.

Maybe one day I'll come up with a great idea for a dinosaur book that I'll absolutely love. But currently there are no plans to write about dinosaurs.

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

PS; looking for some horror books to read this month? Check out this book bundle:

Horror Books for Halloween!

How to Choose an Editor

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about editors. I've used two in my publishing journey so far, and both have been great with my books. But I want to help others with picking an editor that works for them. Editors can completely transform your book, so you need to know that they're right for you.

Request a sample.

Most editors will let you ask for a sample of your work to be edited. This is important, as it gives you an insight into their editing style. You can see if they understand your voice and what changes they might suggest. If you send a sample and they've missed a lot of typos or grammar issues, then you know that they're not for you.

Read reviews.

If other authors are happy with the editor, then that's a fantastic sign. If they have a couple that are unhappy with their work, that's fine. Authors can be protective over their work and some might not be ready for an edit. If the reviews are mostly positive, then that's an excellent sign. Look out for editors who have bad reviews or aren't open to sharing their portfolio with you.

Look at their portfolio.

Do they have works that they've previously edited listed? Check the book out and maybe give it a read. It'll give you an idea of what your edit will look like.

Check which genres they edit.

If you're writing a horror book, there's no point in sending it to an editor who specialises in non-fiction. Your editor should be confident enough in your genre to be able to edit your book effectively.

Prepare yourself for the edits.

You won't like all the edits that your editor suggests. But they aren't doing it to be malicious, they're doing what you paid them to do. Before you get upset, take a step back and think about how it could improve your story. But if you think it changes too much, you don't have to do it. It's your choice, after all.

That's it for this week! I hope this helps anyone who is looking into getting their book edited. See you next Sunday. 

PS; if you’re looking for some free books, check out this book bundle:

Dark Themes in Fantasy and Science Fiction (Sept-Oct)

The Frozen Eye now Available on Amazon

Hi all,

The third book in the Curse of Anubis series, The Frozen Eye, is now available on Amazon. You can now purchase it in ebook, paperback and hardcover! Carry on reading below…

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.

Horus’ Eye has been located but getting it won’t be easy. Bastet must partner with her greatest enemy to get her paws on it. Sekhmet and Mafdet are willing, but only if Ra’s Eye is kept safe.

Keeping both Eyes apart is crucial. Their energy cannot be combined or it will cause chaos in the living world and the afterlife. But, Anubis is desperate for that power and he won’t let Bastet or Tahira stand in the way of him getting it.

That’s it for this week. If you’re enjoying the Curse of Anubis series, let me know! See you next week.

PS; if you’re looking for some free books, check out this book bundle:

Dark Themes in Fantasy and Science Fiction (Sept-Oct)

How my Zombies Differ From Other Zombies

Hi all,

With the third book in the Curse of Anubis series coming out soon, I wanted to discuss the zombies in my books and how they differ from more traditional zombies that you might be used to.

The main draw that I think is different is that my zombies are sentient. They can see what they're doing from the world of the dead but they can't control their bodies. They can feel what their body feels, but all of this disappears when they're in the land of the dead. There's no pain, but it's more like a pressure. A sensation that doesn't go away until the wound is healed.

They can be controlled to an extent by certain gods, though this is extremely limited. Anubis, as the god of the dead, is the main one who can do this. As the creator of the plague, he is responsible for everything that happens to every person, turned or not.

I also like the fact that they're called mummies, rather than zombies. It ties them into the Egyptian mythology aspect of the books, which is a huge part of the book.

The mummies have no choice but to wait for their hearts to be consumed by Anubis in order to pass on fully. But when Anubis decides to become the ruler of the gods instead, no hearts are eaten. That means that mummies are left wandering in the real world while the person tries not to look at their real life.

I also loved the idea of the zombies being controlled by someone who was previously zombified. That was one of the first concepts that popped out to me and one that I went along with to the end!

I love reading zombie books but I have found that there are some that don't make their zombies different. While a traditional approach can be good, it can also be boring. When I decided to write about zombies, I didn't want to fall into that category. Hence why my zombies still have a state of awareness and can be controlled by Tahira, the only who has been cured of the virus.

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

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles to find your next favourite author!

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Silver Winged September

My Abandoned Book Ideas

Hi all,

This week I thought I'd talk about something a bit different - all the book ideas I've ended up not going through with. There have been a lot of book ideas that I've come up with over the years, but not written for various reasons.

NA Supernatural Fantasy Standalone.

I came up with the idea years ago of a story of a girl who suffers from PTSD after witnessing the death of a friend when she was little. Years later, the friend's ghost appears to her and asks for her help in solving his murder. Throughout the book she's accused of having a mental breakdown, until she eventually finds his body. But at the end of the book, as she says goodbye to the friend, the news shows that the body she found wasn't him. I abandoned this after feeling like the idea of being used before and I wasn't sure I could execute it properly.

YA Fantasy Series.

A girl is caught in a war between two sides. During the fight, she's killed. But she wakes up in a random town with no idea what happened. But the town claims that the war never happened, or that either side exists. I didn't really know how to flesh this idea out, so I decided not to pursue it.

Elemental Dragons Prequel.

I've spoken about this before, but Elemental Dragons originally had a standalone prequel. It would follow Hazel and Rocky's parents and how they're cursed by a Hydra. The curse eventually leads to the events of Elemental Dragons. This idea was left when the children were revealed to be clones rather than their biological children. Then I came up with the idea for Original Elementals, so this idea had to be scrapped.

YA Dystopian Sci-Fi Standalone.

This one is one of my oldest scrapped ideas that eventually would inspire me to think up a new series. This standalone would feature an alien species that invaded earth with a deadly plague. Eventually I opted not to write this idea, as I wanted to write a different Dystopian series which would eventually turn into Celestial Plague.

YA Fantasy Series.

When a girl's grandmother dies, she discovers that she's inherited her place in an elite origination. The organisation tracks down fantasy creatures and captures them. The girl thinks the creatures are being sent to a location that is better suited for their needs, but they are actually being sold off and slaughtered. When she discovers this, she turns her back on the organisation and tries to take it down from the inside. I just couldn't think of a good way to work with this idea, so it was abandoned. I also thought it was a bit cliche in places.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed an insight into some of my old ideas. See you next week! 

My Preferred Book Series Lengths

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about my how long I prefer my series to be. I love reading a series that has a load of books, but writing them is a different story!

One book.

A lot of my book ideas start off as standalones and then turn into a series. But when I do write a book that is a standalone, I love it. I like that I can delve into the world and tell the story within one book. Whenever I finished writing a series or need a break, I like the idea of writing a standalone to give myself something new to sink my teeth into.

Two books.

I've never planned a duology before, and I'm not sure if I ever will. I like the concept of splitting a story across two books, but for some reason my brain always says I need one more!

Three books.

I've actually planned a few trilogies over the years. But some of them do end up getting another book added on! Celestial Plague, for example, was originally planned as a trilogy before I decided to add another book. But, Empty Skies is a trilogy and I won't be adding any more to that series, so some of my trilogies are safe as they are.

Four books.

Elemental Dragons, the first books I ever wrote, ended up being a four book series when I finished it. When I first started writing, I really liked the idea of writing more but didn't want to fill the books with random stuff that I want integral to the plot. So it became four books instead of six. A lot of the series that I write now end up with four books, such as Celestial Plague and Curse of Anubis.

Five books.

I think I could comfortably write a five book series, though I haven't planned one yet. Four definitely seems to be my comfort zone.

Six+ books.

I know that Original Elementals is a ten book series, and that's why I've struggled a lot with it. Ten books are a lot when it comes to writing, and I often find myself wanting to explore other book universes. To write more than five books, the series would need a lot planning and I would need a lot of breaks in between.

That's it for this week, I hope this clears up the way I write and what I usually plan when it comes to series lengths.

Hope you enjoyed reading, see you next week! 

Why Most of my Books Contain Gods and Goddesses

Hi all,

I thought I'd write a blog post about something I've noticed about my books recently; why do so many of them contain gods/goddesses?

I never really thought about how many of my books focus on gods until I really put them together!

Elemental Dragons - dragon gods

Years - Mother Earth

Curse of Anubis - Egyptian gods

Empty Skies - Greek gods

Game of Air and Lightning - Aerus and Bolt

The Severed Pantheon - five goddesses

I think the reason that I gravitate towards gods is because of my love of mythology. I grew up reading and watching loads of Greek and Egyptian mythology. As an adult my interest in mythology has only deepened, and I'm looking into Norse mythology at the moment to write a series.

After reading about mythology for years, I really wanted to try to create my own. Elemental Dragons has been so much fun to create dragon gods and demi-gods and how they all interact with each other. I also want to write more blog posts about Elemental Dragon mythology in the future!

Game of Air and Lightning only had two gods and they had more of a background role. They do appear in the book, but it mostly focuses on Reema's survival.

But with The Severed Pantheon, I've created five brand new goddesses! They will have a direct role in the book and will appear throughout. I'm looking forward to writing more antagonistic gods, as the ones in this book are selfish and are extremely power hungry. The fact that I can write about gods in a new way is very exciting and I'd love to do more of this in the future.

I also have plans to write more books centering around mythology in the future, with a Norse mythology series I'm planning and another one that is still very bare bones at the moment.

For someone who was always told that they write about cats and dragons exclusively, I think it's funny that I've found another niche that I can add to that mix.

That's it for this week, see you next week.

PS; if you’re looking for something to read over Summer, check out these book bundles:

FREE Fantasy and Science Fiction for July 2025

The Perfect Books for Dragon Lovers

Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror Summer Giveaway

How to Choose a Colour Scheme for Your Book

Hi all,

This week I'm going to give you some tips on how to pick a colour scheme for your book. A colour scheme for a cover is crucial, as it then matches your advertising and can be associated with your author brand.

Genres.

A lot of genres have popular colours and less popular colours. Have a look through books of your genre and note down any colours that pop up often. For example, romance books are often associated with red, pink or baby blue tones.

Series.

If your book is part of a series, try to find colours that will match across several books. You don't want the colours to be too different so they look like they're from a different series, but not too similar that it could be confused with a different book in the series.

Setting.

Is your book set in a certain season? Or a certain place? Try to match the colours with the setting. If you're writing a horror book, there's no point in using a colour scheme centred on bright pink. If your book is dystopian, try to think of the colour of the sky. Is it normal? Burning? Hidden by clouds?

Magic.

If your book contains magic of any kind, it's more than likely going to end up on your cover. This could become the main focus of the cover, so you want to make sure it stands out but doesn't look too out of place with other covers in your genre.

Discuss with your cover designer.

Your cover designer will be able to help if you’re struggling to come up with a colour scheme for the cover. Either ask them for options or let them choose. Either way, communicating with your cover designer is key to getting a beautiful cover.

That's it for this week! I hope this has helped someone with picking a colour scheme. See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out this month’s book bundles:

Spring into a New Woo-niverse Giveaways: Supernatural, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magical Realsim, and Sci-Fi

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Witchy Ways: An All-Genre Giveaway for Stories with Witches or Magic

May Giveaway