Actually Being A Little Guy? Nah. Little Guy Status Is All You Need. /lh

I'm planning to go through with this, but your answers to some survey questions will help:

Do you play dating games or have you watched others play dating games?

If so, what options did the game not have that you wanted (personality wise)? (If not, just imagine the type of options you'd want in a dating game.)

If you were satisified with the options, which types did you gravitate towards?

Finally, your favorite object?

Speaking of, tempted to make a community myself, but since I have a variety of unconnected works, I have no idea what that would be a community for. Kind of reminds me of the idea I had to try and get myself posting again, mainly making like, a sort of dating sim kind of group of characters to play around with.

Y'all want me to make object head people for you to kiss? SFUIHSFU

Reblog if you’re grateful for your commenters <3

about the author

Hey! I'm D. A little about me… I’m a 30-something Midwesterner who has been writing for as long as I can remember. I have a passion for fantasy & romantasy books, especially if there's a morally gray MMC involved. Some fast facts: 🗡️ I’m a cat person and pet mom to one (1) disheveled gremlin 🗡️ I went to a Stephanie Meyer book signing when Eclipse came out and I’ve been chasing that high ever since 🗡️ My favorite authors are Margaret Rogerson, Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Carissa Broadbent!

my writing

These are my four WIPs. I'll be tagging posts about each, so feel free to view the tags for more on any individual work. My books are not spicy but still contain steamy, swoon-worthy romance.

🖤 The Mists of Morrow Vale is a dark, gothic NA romantasy trilogy with mystery, magic, and morally gray characters. My original inspiration was the Barovia setting from D&D: think lots of fog, a creepy castle, and a forest with a mind of its own. This is my current project.

🖤 Kingdom of Wrath & Ruin is a NA vampire romantasy duology with a plus-sized FMC who would burn the world to save her sister (and a vampire general who would help her do it).

🖤 A World Away is a YA fantasy romance trilogy with a focus on the Fae. Old gods, royal courts, and political intrigue collide with a FMC who just wants to mind her own business.

🖤 Prophecy is a traditional fantasy series meant to be enjoyed by readers of all ages: think Tamora Pierce meets Studio Ghibli. This series spans multiple generations and will have as many books as it takes!

My inbox is always open if you want to chat! <3

That ending has me so intrigued. I also love Atlas and Rosalyn's dynamic.

On one particularly memorable night, Rosalyn commissioned me to dive into their jewellery box in search of a twin for the singular of a stunning, silver sapphire earring they had found discarded within a desk drawer. The jewels were moulded into a shape of a lily flower- By hand, if Atlas was to be believed. They were a gift, that which he had donated upon Rosalyn's thirtieth birthday.

Since such an event, Rosalyn had worn them to one gala and then, subsequently, allowed the existence of the pair to slip their mind. Why this pair demanded attention on this particular night, I do not know, nor do I particularly think it is of consequence.

Atlas lay upon the bed. To me, he advised, "Make them do it themself. Teach them a little responsibility for their actions."

Rosalyn, stood before an ornamental mirror in the room's centre, scoffed, "My love, nothing could teach me that. Not now. Who learns new things at thirty-seven? What a waste."

Grinning, I produced the earring from the very depths of the heavy, wooden box. Before I could inform either of the pair, Atlas sighed, "Oh, don't know it." He crept up to stand at their side. Elevated upon a footstool, Rosalyn towered over him. Atlas looked up with nothing less than pure adoration in his gaze, "Do you really want those earrings?" He asked, "Because you don't need them by any stretch of the imagination."

Rosalyn's lips parted. For the briefest instant, I feared they intended to submit to rage. My concerns were, thankfully, utterly unfounded. Their voice was light as they replied, "No," They allowed him to lay his hands upon their waist and lift them to the floor, "No, I think I'm alright without them."

Finally, they addressed me, "God, I've got you doing that for nothing, haven't I?" Without pause, they spoke their solution, "Tell you what, there's cash in my office. Use it and buy yourself a takeaway. Anything at all. Menus in the kitchen cupboard."

Closing my fist around the recovered earring, I forced a smile.

"Sounds good."

signed hardcover giveaway!

my queer cozy fantasy THE KEEPER OF LONELY SPIRITS has been out for one month. to celebrate, I'll be giving away one (1) signed hardcover

the giveaway is open internationally to countries that can receive USPS packages. it'll run across platforms, but there will only be one (1) winner

enter by 5p.m. EST on Friday, May 2, by...

following me

reblogging this post

bonus entry: tag a friend

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Find an angry spirit. Send it on its way before it causes trouble. Leave before anyone learns his name.

After over two hundred years, Peter Shaughnessy is ready to die and end this cycle. But thanks to a youthful encounter with one o’ them folk in his native Ireland, he can’t. Instead, he’s cursed to wander eternally far from home, with the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants.

Immortality means Peter has lost everyone he’s ever loved. And so he centers his life on the dead—until his wandering brings him to Harrington, Ohio. As he searches for a vengeful spirit, Peter’s drawn into the townsfolk’s lives, homes and troubles. For the first time in over a century, he wants something other than death.

But the people of Harrington will die someday. And he won’t.

As Harrington buckles under the weight of the supernatural, the ghost hunt pits Peter’s well-being against that of his new friends and the man he’s falling for. If he stays, he risks heartbreak. If he leaves, he risks their lives.

click here to add the book on TheStoryGraph: link to The Keeper of Lonely Spirits on TheStoryGraph

To shake the impatience out of me, I tend to write my characters in the most unhinged scenarios I can think of. This doesn't take as much brain power, and you feel you have permission to just improvise as you go. Write your characters putting on an absurdist play, put them in a bizarro fantasy world, write the weirdest dialogue you can think of for each character, summarize your story/scene in funny anecdotes, or really anything you won't take too seriously that lets you make snap writing decisions. Most of the time, I tend to be inspired or feel more prepared to write whatever I was going to originally afterwards.

Hey so I need y’all’s (most unhinged) advice on what to do if you are excited by a story idea then you think about beginning to write it and you’re like uuuuggghhh. I was not writing for a hot minute because I lost the spark and I’m like maybe I’m halfway back to getting back on the horse but idk

It’s not the idea or the scene but just the thought of spending hours on this one scene in my brain that I wish I could write in less than an hour.

It’s hard to get away from grief when it’s stained into the walls of your home, when it’s in every family photograph, when it’s in every trail you’ve ever walked.

On grief and love.

Heyo! You want people to chat with about your WIPs? Or your OCs? Even your art? Come join me on discord. Let's make friends and get some writing done! I'll even be creating writing/art events or challenges through the year. Advice will be posted, references, I even do research for people in need of it. I have channels for daily prompts or challenges.

Updated!

[ABOUT]

I’m Carter (she/him) and I’m a 20 year old Black lesbian. Writing has been my passion and favorite hobby for as long as I can remember, but when I’m not writing I’m out following my second passion in college (environmental science). My activity wanes in and out, but as of May 2025 I’m still here! My main blog is @phantomfemmes​, which is where I like and follow from as well as post about whatever my heart desires.

I am going through an obsession with horror, so if you write that, feel free to tell me about your wips. I’m also a big lover of poetry, “flowery” prose, and anything featuring wlwoc as main characters. 

[WIPS]

I have two main wips that I work on from time to time:

The Taste of Hallowed Earth (formerly All That Remains)

Twelve years ago, Sadie Copeland’s older sister, Leila, vanished from their hometown in Salvation, Mississippi and her family was never the same again. Sadie’s mother packed their things, driving until Salvation disappeared in the rearview mirror and the whole thing was nothing but a nightmare. But no matter how far they drove or how much time passed, Sadie had never been able to shake the feeling that there’s more to the story than what her mother let on. 

Following the death of her mother, nineteen year old Sadie finds herself back in Salvation, the place where it all began. Upon arriving there, it is clear that something sinister is going on—something that no one wants to talk about and that everyone hides from when the sun goes down. And while Sadie has never believed in ghost stories (at least, not in the spectral sense), she can’t help but fear what may be lurking in the darkness that surrounds Salvation.

Themes:  gothic horror, southern gothic, unreliable narrator, small towns, unreality, paranoia, death, grief, estranged familial relationships, mother/daughter relationships, paranormal, religion, trauma, ghosts, queerness, psychological horror, religious horror

In the Heart of the Ocean

In the Heart of the Ocean follows Carolina “Caro” Bell as she recounts the disappearance of her best friend Moira from their quiet coastal town as teenagers, and Moira’s subsequent reappearance three years later after emerging from the depths of the ocean with no memory of where she’d been—only to disappear forever the following year. When Caro’s niece, who she has temporary custody of, nearly drowns in that same sea twenty years later, Caro decides to finally explore the secrets contained in its dark and murky depths. But in order to do so, she must first confront the past and the truth surrounding Moira’s disappearance. 

Themes: literary fiction, queerness, magical realism, female rage