"How can you ever expect me to let him go when he's present everywhere I am. I'm carrying him around inside of me, for fuck's sake. I thought I was done grieving, and here, years later, are all these ghosts of him. How much more of him am I going to find? How can I ever believe that he’s gone, knowing all this?"
(Now, I just have to proofread it, read the ENTIRE book, hand it over to be beta read, then read it again, and come up with a subtitle for this...book 1 too actually🥲. But I digress because I want to be happy for a little bit.)
About to go splurge on some War Siblings canon-adjacent spoofs to celebrate, so be right back!
(For anybody who doesn't already know, War Siblings is a trilogy I'm currently writing. It'll be published in 2027 and it's about how Athena and Ares meet, navigate the politics of being in the immortal royal family, and work together to stop the abusive gods. If you want to be added to an alert list for when it’s out [or for updates!] just let me know!)
But the End Times for Akert city have to get through the world's most stubborn shapeshifter.
Back its physical release on BackerKit & get a physical copy of one of the best hidden gems of last year!
Originally released as an ebook last May, now it's time to bring this 500+ page novel to the physical world with a print run! NO slop touches my work, EVER; so if you're looking for professionally edited, self-published work that exceeds current industry standards, if you're eager to scratch an itch with something like Alan Wake, What Moves the Dead, or the Dresden Files, & if you want something neurodiverse & queer written by the same, come take a look at my BackerKit campaign set to launch as part of the yearly Book Bazaar and don't miss out on stickers and other goodies!
From Cian Verati - Echo Sight Physical Release
Want a taste before you follow? Check out those Goodreads reviews on it & see the praise other readers gave! And then head on over to my Patreon for the first three chapters free (without my in-character notes, unfortunately).
Your adventure with Enaka awaits!
Get more from VeratiArt on Patreon. Join for free or become a member for just $1/month. I'm Verati, an early-career writer/artist with a str
Yes, all my fellow Ao3 folks will be familiar with this, but this one goes out to the Substack crowd! The time has begun to bring this story here! With it being on Ao3, it'll be completely free! (I want to keep the Friday stories free and the Saturday ones paid for)
I hope you'll check it out and subscribe!
What happens when star student, Athena, suddenly has to share her high school with her rowdy siblings? One word: Chaos.
[Writing by Sherrie A. Bakelar, Shared with Permission]
I’m not safe, Darius thought as she walk-ran through the books. The second, third, and fourth floors of the Flame Library were a maze of bookshelves and study areas. Each floor connected to the next by a glass elevator to the east and sweeping staircases that hung suspended from the floor above as they flung themselves out into a five-story-high atrium. Darius didn’t dare stop to look behind her, to judge the Priest’s whereabouts. She wove between old and new books, some colorful, some on display. Mystery, horror, and fantasy gave way to cookbooks and bibliographies as she fled. She reached a lonely, dark corner far from the stairs and elevator, then dropped to the floor. The books here were musty, older books that few people read. She crouched between two stacks that she knew butted against the wall behind her. She was as safe as she could get, covered from three sides. The Priest wouldn’t be able to flank her. Darius waited.
“I mean you no harm, Little Soul.”
Darius’ heart stopped, and a scream built in her throat. The Priest was beside her, speaking through the books. The gentle whisper filled the air around Darius, as if the Priest’s voice were a cozy blanket to snuggle into. Shit, mind games, Darius thought, and she started to breathe again.
Cal’s eyes narrowed. “Why would you need to take hummingbirds to a lava flow? You do know you can just let them go here and they’ll find their way to safety.”
“They’re hummingbirds, Cal,” Darius said, “and we are going to the lava flow.” Each word held a note of finality.
Cal held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, fine. We will take the hummingbirds to the lava.”
Yalllllll I’ve just finished all the client briefs for all the new commissions (cover redesign, illustrated special edition, page break, chapter heading, character art) for the BackerKit campaign.
I’m vibrating with excitement. AhhhhHHHhhhh
Get notified when The Kingdoms of Kaelum - Romantic Fantasy with LGBTQ Rep launches on BackerKit!
[Writing by Artemis Quinn, Shared with Permission]
I struggled with my keys as my vision blurred for the umpteeth time that day. The cheap bronze doorknob scratched with the intensity of the shake in my fingers. That will be a ding against us with the landlords, I thought bitterly. As soon as the key slid into place, I let out a victory cry and threw the door open, rushing inside and slamming it behind me. Pressing back against the door, I shouted, “Fuck!”
The curse devolved into wail as I slid down against the cheap wood, the clatter of my bag hitting the ground across the room startling me. I didn’t even realize I had thrown it until it made the clatter. The detached, rational part of my mind added, bitter and detached, your laptop better have survived that outburst.
“Holy shit,” came from the back of the apartment, and I fought the urge to scream again. Could I not have a single fucking spot to break down alone? I banged my head against the door, reaching into my platinum blonde hair and tugging at the roots to lessen the pressure in my mind. I needed to focus on something other than how badly my heart hurt. Footsteps rang down the hallway.
Bots were property — everyone knew that — treated the same way as furniture or clothing or appliances, and when someone died they were redistributed amongst others. It was difficult to imagine a bot that had spent an entire human's lifetime with a human would not be anomalous. Housebots were one of the most frequently anomalous bots – aside from sexbots. Repurposing a bot like that for who knew how many lifetimes felt like a grave disservice at best.
Sylvan knew that was what normally happened, and it was what happened to Robbie too before Sylvan had gotten him. Robbie had spent weeks disoriented when Sylvan had first met him, but still he tried. Robbie had a whole life lived in servitude, an entire lifetime of a family he didn't remember.
Bots had souls, Sylvan knew. Unique personalities, honed and strengthened over time. They were people, just like humans. Even if they didn't start that way out-of-the-box, when they became that way, they were owed at least a sliver of freedom.
Sylvan shook his head. “It’s nice to have friends like that to help you, that’s all.”
“I would not exist if not for Sterling.” Zev agreed.
“He sounds like a great friend.” Sylvan said.
“He is not a friend.” Zev corrected. “He is my everything.”
Sylvan blinked, leaning back in shock to hear words like that from the bot before him. He was used to similar colloquialisms from humans, the kind of flowery explanations they used to talk about being in love and never wanting to separate. It felt like a bit of poeticism unfitting of such a matter-of-fact bot.
“That surprises you.” Zev said without skipping a beat.
“I’ve just…” Sylvan stammered, trying and failing to find the right words. “I’ve never thought that a bot would care like that.”
“You did not believe a bot was capable of understanding love.” Zev said, only sounding fractionally annoyed. He didn’t cease working. He was like a tiny self-contained automated factory, swiveling and moving and turning. Inix and Sterling, if they noticed what he and Zev were discussing, didn’t jump in; they just continued talking between themselves. Inix had begun pulling things out of boxes, smiling as she did, explaining them to Sterling who touched and examined everything.
Sylvan wanted to mutter an apology for his unbidden statement, but Zev was right, and Sylvan felt compelled to be truthful with the unsettling bot.
“No, I guess I didn’t.” Sylvan admitted quietly. “I have a lot to learn.”
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Below is some information about my own works.
I'm an avid writer, so I normally have an ongoing project. Topics/elements to expect in my books are hurt/comfort, research, respectful leads, action/intense scenes, and a splash of comedy.
Link to sign-up for a free EPUB of Changing Waters: Jiol!
Here is the master post for the concept/character art from my pirate novel.
Link to order the book!
Books2read link for my YA, action-fantasy trilogy, Changing Waters
Amazon link for the second book, Changing Waters: War
Books2read link for my anthology Greek comedy, Greek Skits-ology
Character Playlist post for the Changing Waters Crew
I don’t really art very often, but I love doing landscapes. I’m feeling kinda meh about it, but I also love it at the same time.
I’m actually giving this away as a reward for pre-launch followers who back my BackerKit campaign for The Kingdoms of Kaelum, a COMPLETE TRILOGY that’s queer normative fantasy romance.
I’m also really close to my monthly goal, so it would be awesome if you checked it out or shared it with someone who would love it 💜
“You exist. By virtue of a god, or gods, you exist because they made you.”
“And I should thank them? Don’t you understand how fragile we are? We’re nothing but an idea, a spark as you say, a manifestation of the gods’ thoughts and dreams. They made us. They can unmake us. We have no freedom beyond what they give us.”
“They gave you free will to think that.”
“They punish us for exerting our free will. Who owns your thoughts, Quen?”
The crack of his belt seared across my back, marking me for the sinner I was.
To scream was to confess.
To bleed was to repent.
To cry was an absolution I did not deserve.
[The Book Bazaar: A Crowdfunding Project for authors, Coming October 29th, 2026!]
Browse Books by Genre
[https://www.backerkit.com/c/collec
What would you do if the rules that were supposed to keep you safe were actually keeping you from your destiny?
Shouting about my book is hard…
I’m crowdfunding a queer normative fantasy romance trilogy on BackerKit this fall!
Pre-launch followers will get a special bonus when they back the project, so it would be cool if you considered giving my project a follow. >.>
If this isn’t your thing, it would mean a lot to me if you shared with someone you know who would love to read about an aspec girl following a stranger into the faerie realm to find her mother, but finding secrets, magic, and her fated mate instead.
I’m currently writing the final book right now, and have my editor already booked~
Get notified when The Kingdoms of Kaelum - Romantic Fantasy with LGBTQ Rep launches on BackerKit!
