I'm a Full-Time Writer Now...and It's Not What I Imagined

As of right now, I'm technically writing full-time. Not in the dreamy, "everything is thriving" kind of way, but in the this is my current work and income kind of way. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm really grateful to be doing this, it just looks a little different than expected, and is requiring me to focus more on contract work (Chapters Interactive Stories) instead of my primary writing focus being on my personal projects—although those are still moving forward too!

In fact, let's get into some updates! 😋

First and foremost, my untitled Gothic Romantasy is very much in motion! If you love gothic romantasy complete with haunted manors, cursed lords, and choices that come with a cost, I think you're going to have a lot of fun with this one!

I'm so excited to start sharing more with you SOON. Here are some important dates to know about:

• Series reveal: April 27

• Title reveal: May 10

• Cover reveal: June 7

I'll also be opening applications for my street team and ARC teams soon. And over on Patreon, I'll be sharing the first chapter very soon as well!

Next up, I wanted to talk about A Crown of Ashes & Death.

This book has been a bit of a beast these last few months... The plot started veering down an unexpected path, and before I knew it, it felt like I had three entire books wrapped in one. So, I ended up cutting nearly 20,000 words last week. I know that sounds like a lot (it did hurt a little 😅), but those scenes actually belong in book 3. So, while the word count went down, the story itself got stronger (which I will always take).

Because of this (and everything else currently on my plate), I'm officially shifting away from a June release. I want to make sure this book lands the way it deserves to, and that means giving it a little more time to grow.

But if you're already invested in Kestrel and Elora, you can preorder A Crown of Ashes & Death now—and be there the moment everything between them finally comes to a head!

Last but not least, let's talk about contract work: Crimson Masquerade on Chapters!

I finally hit a breakthrough with Crimson Masquerade—and it has felt so good! Chapters 6-10 are now live, with Chapters 11 & 12 releasing in the next couple of days. The story has been contracted for 20 chapters total, so we're officially over the halfway mark!

This one leans more romance-heavy than my usual work, with tropes like:

🩸 Vampire politics

🩸 Dangerous attraction

🩸 Power struggles (and complicated loyalties)

It took me a minute to find my footing, but it's starting to click into place in a way that makes me really excited about where it's going. Also, it's set in Romania near "Dracula's Castle," which has given me intense travel envy...though my ideal travel involves less ancient magic blood rites and fewer morally complicated vampire brothers 😅

Anyway, if you enjoy interactive fiction, check out Crimson Masquerade here! I'm currently releasing 4-5 chapters per week, so the full story should be complete in the next couple of weeks!

Until next time,

~ Jessaca ⚔️🩵🦇