about
~ I write fantasy and sci-fi with a dose of cosmic horror and I love blending genres
~ neurodivergent and my energy/focus is all over the place (hence why I have a million wips 💀)
~ in my books, you'll find themes of friendship, belonging, and good vs evil. you'll find kindness in dark places and characters who stand up against evil in the face of overwhelming odds. there will be angst but there will also be hope.
~ you'll also find plenty of robots, pirates, time travel, nature, cute animals (who do not die), magic, analog technology, and ships of the sailing variety
~ most of my wips are part of an overarching series called the Starfish Saga, though they can be read separately and in any order
~ besides writing, I also love drawing, reading, video games, cosplay, embroidery, messing around on the piano and ocarina, and attempting to disappear into the Desert
~ I'm extremely shy, but love making new writer friends and I'm open to tag and ask games
~ I also have a fandom blog where I post about my hyperfixations at @that-vibe-i-cant-explain as well as a POTC blog at @redstarsarc
Below are the WIPs I'm currently focused on
Books of the Starfish Saga
The Last Paladin | YA science fantasy | 12 part series
When Chelsea Seaver's parents are abducted by aliens, she embarks on a grand adventure across the galaxy--making friends and learning magic on the way--to bring them home.
Status: books 1-3 drafted
Intro | WIP tag
Records of the Spiral | YA portal fantasy | 4 part series
Three misfits stumble into a surreal world inhabited by strange creatures and watched over by the eldritch Enochians; it's a place they belong to more than Earth and if they don't want to see it destroyed, they'll need to stop the very beings who created it in the first place.
Status: editing book 1, outlining book 2
Intro | WIP tag
Music of the Spheres | YA science fantasy | standalone
Shay Finnegan leaves everything behind when he decides to become a light-wielding Paladin, a protector of the galaxy, in order to find a higher purpose and avoid the fate that haunts him with the words you will bring everything to ruin.
Status: rewriting for the millionth time
Intro | WIP tag
Red Ghost | YA contemporary fantasy | novella
Mel Black joins a ghost-killing organization in order to free the spirit of her dead friend from a fate worse than death, but saving him might just mean the end of humanity.
Status: pending edits
Intro | WIP tag
Nightland Nexus | epic fantasy | 5 part series
As tensions rise across the worlds, a group of characters seek to satisfy their own ambitions, but they'll need to team up and unite the worlds to prevent a long-dormant Darkness from awakening.
Status: world-building
Intro | WIP tag
Sundial Fates | YA sci-fi western | 10 part series
A time machine crashes on the edge of town, launching three reluctant teens into the biggest adventure of their lives. They may be able to face down alien invaders, mad scientists, and unfathomable entities, but can they face the truth about themselves?
Status: overhauling the plot/updating the lore
Intro | WIP tag
Other Projects
The Zodiac Circuit | post-apocalyptic sci-fi | duology
Rhys Valencya reluctantly teams up with an android in order to stop her own family from resurrecting the lich that almost wiped out humanity centuries ago.
Status: book 1 drafted
Intro | WIP tag
Androids Don't Rust | time travel | standalone
With human extinction inevitable, four androids are sent into the past to retrieve data for the Archive that will outlast humanity.
Status: very early planning stages
Intro | WIP tag
Robbery on the Hell Express | weird western | novella
Occasional partners and oftentimes enemies, Harlan Nye and John Callahan team up to rob a ghost train--betrayal, deadly wraiths, and a lethal race against the clock mean they may not make it out of this alive.
Status: planning
Intro | WIP tag
The Chronicles of Josephine Mercer | dark pirate fantasy | ongoing series
In a darker version of the 18th century Caribbean, mutineer and newly self-appointed Captain Josephine Mercer escaped the navy with a ship and ambitions that would see her become the bane of the British Empire.
Status: research/world-building
Intro | WIP tag
Liminal Spaces | urban fantasy | 5 part series
Caffeine fueled video game artist, Ref Sanderson, comes home one day to find his daughter is missing. Turns out, she's been making new realities in her free time. Now she's trapped in one and he'll need to learn how to enter and fabricate realities himself in order to save her.
Status: book 1 drafted
Intro | WIP tag
Awaken Asunder Alight | portal fantasy | standalone
Five lost souls--Jerome, Amelie, Nyx, Kier, and Stellan--are called on to save the mortal form of a planet in this story about grief, friendship, and survival.
Status: drafting
Intro | WIP tag
Other Starfish WIPs I'm technically working on, in the background, that I probably won't talk about unless someone wants me to:
The Siege of Coracaltone: a space opera about cinnamon roll wizard Flynn on a quest but gets sidetracked by space pirates (waiting for a rewrite)
Pirates vs Dinosaurs: cosmic horror about, you guessed it, pirates and dinosaurs and the slow dissolving of their sanity (drafted and just waiting for editing time)
If any of them pique your interest and you'd like to be added to a taglist, let me know!
I can't believe I've been writing this thing almost every single day for four months, that's kinda wild. It really feels like a journey I went on and I had a lot of fun with it and I'm genuinely kinda sad that it's over. I mean, there's still editing to do, of course, but for now the story is finished and I need to let it cool off for a minute. But man am I going to miss these guys <3
General taglist: @thatrandomlemononyourcounter1, @teacupsandstarlight, @ark-inkweaving
One of the best things about being a writer is thinking of something small you can add to your work that’s just. Devastating. Like you’re sitting there going. Oh. That would be diabolical. People would get really riled up about that. Exquisite. Let’s do it.
Happy STS! This might sound grim, but what kind of funeral or celebration of life do your OCs want when they pass?
Wow so this is super late but what is time anyway 😅
Jerome would want to be buried next to his family and he would hope that those who survive his passing can take comfort in each other. He would rather they remember and celebrate the good times than dwell on what they lost.
Stellan would say he doesn't really care as long as his loved ones are able to move on. He hopes his death causes no pain to the people he cares about but at the same time hopes he'll be missed.
Amelie thinks her funeral/celebration of life should be in a garden on a warm day with music to keep the mood lighter.
Nyx hates making people cry so she'd probably opt for a party of some kind with food and drinks.
Keir doesn't really want any kind of event and things regarding his death should be over and done quickly so everyone can get back to their lives. He'd agonize about making a will, though. He doesn't have much but he'd want all his loved ones to know just how much he cares about them.
💞: which future scene are you looking forward to writing?
💟: how is your style different in this work compared to previous ones? has it more shifted for the story or just developed in general?
-for your most current WIP!
💞: which future scene are you looking forward to writing?
I am getting so so close to finishing Awaken Asunder Alight there's hardly any scenes left! Sorry about the vagueness, since I'm literally at the climax but! Stellan is about to have a very cathartic emotional breakdown that should be very fun and satisfying to write. This man has been holding it together for so long it's a wonder he's still functional. *slaps roof "this bad boy can hold so much guilt and self-loathing"*
💟: how is your style different in this work compared to previous ones? has it more shifted for the story or just developed in general?
Funny you should ask this at this particular moment in my writing career. After last year's creative block trainwreck, a lot of introspection, and some unexpected inspiration, I've been trying to be more mindful while I write, take it slow, and enjoy the process more which I think has greatly improved my writing. I've been wanting to change up my writing style for a while now and with AAA as my guinea pig, I think I've finally found a style I can be happy with. I would say the biggest differences are in the descriptions and in trying to inject more of my character's personal experiences into the narrative, with plot events and settings often triggering brief memories or emotions in the narrator. Irrelevant detail or grounding technique? I've also entered my experimental punctuation era and don't plan on leaving any time soon. If AI wants to steal my em-dashes, it's gonna have to kill me.
Happy STS! Strange question but how do you take a break after doing some writing? How do you unwind from being creative?
I don't allow myself to look at tumblr before my writing session so as soon as I hit my goals for the day, I jump right over here lmao. I'll usually scroll for a bit and then the rest of my unwinding time is either spent on youtube, reading, or playing video games. But joke's on me because even on my down time, my writer brain won't shut off.
💛, 💙, and 💕 for whatever wip you want to talk about XD
lemme try and make all of these about the same wip. let's talk about haze dogs.
💛: what is the title based on?
i knew basically immediately what i wanted this wip to be called. you can see the evidence of that in this post from 2022 when i came up with the concept. i remembered seeing the phrase figures in the haze used by artist jenna barton (aka dappermouth here on tumblr) as a caption for one of their pieces. i'm generally enamoured with the suggestion of an odd, dreamy atmosphere that barton captures in her art and i knew i wanted to do something like that, except with words (barton's art captions are just as thought-provoking as her art imo). though, despite this, the title formed translated in my brain first: perros de la bruma, which i still think is BANGER. and of course if you know anything about the book you know why it's called haze dogs. more on that below.
💙: how has the idea changed between starting it and where it is now?
i remembered at first the premise included there being more than a set number of haze dogs, and that the carnivorous animals were meant to have varying sizes and shapes. some were small enough to be kept in birdcages and empty fish tanks. i actually might still go back to that in come capacity but the idea did evolve to be about a set "pack" of haze dogs, led by a mother. connor was meant to have her own haze dog pet and he was going to be crucial for the ending of the book. is that still the case? well i can't really share, that would ruin the surprise. the post from 2022 also said that i had conceived this as like... a companion for evergreen lung?? which is CRAZY to think about. these two couldn't be more separate. maybe only sharing geographical location but i don't even think they are happening at the same time. the early drafts also had a key character in acacia vidal, who was going to work as a foil for connor. sadly i had to discard that because the narrative kept twisting around acacia and so i killed her lol. she might still be somewhat important but she won't be an active participant anymore.
💕: what has your favorite scene been?
connor's (first) death!!! i have been handwriting so a lot of it is a little messy but i think i landed on something really cool for the set-up and execution and just the VISUALS of that first death
❤️: what’s the working title?
🧡: what were previous working titles/ideas?
💛: what is the title based on?
💚: how long have you been working on it?
💙: how has the idea changed between starting it and where it is now?
💜: where are you in the writing process?
🖤: what are your MC names?
💔: give a brief character bio of your 3-5 MCs
❣️: which scene has been hardest to write so far?
💕: what has your favorite scene been?
💞: which future scene are you looking forward to writing?
💓: is it part of a series or standalone?
💗: what genre is it in?
💖: are you planning on publishing it? if so, how?
💘: give us a huge spoiler
💝: who has your favorite character arch? give a brief summary
💟: how is your style different in this work compared to previous ones? has it more shifted for the story or just developed in general?
Happy STS! Prom is happening today where I live, so what kind of school dances did your OCs attend? Did they have any, or did they not attend for reasons?
Oooooh that's an interesting question! I never went to school dances so I don't know what kinds there are, but I'm sure some of them have gone.
Jerome probably went to like, one dance because a girl asked him out and he was too surprised and polite to say no. It was a nice time, though.
Amelie really wasn't planning on attending the end of year dance at her school, but got dragged to it by her friends, who thought it would be a good and fun time. It was alright.
Stellan, Nyx, and Keir never went to any dances. Stellan had too much other stuff to do and was never one for parties anyway, Nyx was still figuring stuff out and also lost her foster family around this time so going to any sort of party was the last thing on her mind, and Keir never saw the point.
it's good enrichment for The Character(s) when one of their friends gets possessed and they have to find some way to bring them back. great friendgroup bonding activity. especially if they have to do some exorcism bullshit and it's traumatizing for everyone involved and there's collapsing and sobbing afterward. great thing for The Character(s) to do. highly recommend.
Happy Storyteller Saturday!
Inspired by the writing vault heist tag that's been going round, I invite you to share one of your favourite EVER lines from your own writing. It can be recent. It can be from twenty years ago. As long as you still feel awesome when you look at it, it counts 💜
I'm late answering this because I have a sleep paralysis demon and it's name is Overthinking Everything 🌈 Also I forget everything I ever wrote so I'm just going to share this one from Awaken Asunder Alight. It's not terribly special; I just like how the words fit
His mind raced and not a single tangible thought broke free of the tangle.
Every time I watch a piece of media where a person goes to great lengths for a non romantic partner because of a deep platonic affection--especially when it's specifically stated in the piece of media to be purely platonic--and people collectively and immediately are like, "Oh they need to kiss. They're definitely banging," I want to shoot lasers out of my eyes. I am so appreciative when a piece of media actually treats platonic relationships with the level of weight and importance I think they deserve to have so when there's an immediate, "Lol no that's lame. Anyway..." response it really annoys me. Like, I don't even mind shipping in general and friendship is a great foundation for a romantic relationship obviously, but I really dislike people treating friendships like they have to be a side dish and not a main course even when it's *literally the main theme of a story*.
