General Life Archives

Category: General Life

The New Year & A New Focus On My Vampires

I'm choosing, with this round of storytelling, to dive into 'harder topics,' and things I want to write about. I want to give my worlds more nuance, my characters more stakes, and hopefully more heart. I write for everyone but I cannot deny my experiences--Black experiences--are what have shaped me and should shape my writing. I'm adamant about this because of the erasure of my Black characters in THE DARK WORLD series by white readers.

Gothic Horror And Inspiration

It was always my intention as of late, with Sinner Sharpe to delve into the horror he's facing--not physical horror--at least not yet, but the mental horror. He's seeing horrific visions, he's losing large gaps of time, he's being attacked on his ship (an already enclosed space) for weeks.

New Site, New Look, Same Ol’ S.C.!

Just a quick update from you to me!

Finishing DRACULA: BOOK 6

It’s been quite a while since we last talked, but so much has happened since then.

If you’re not a Patron, you probably aren’t aware of the number of short stories I’ve published on my website and on Patreon, all of which can be purchased or viewed on my website.

That said, I’m looking forward to finishing up THE DARK WORLD series at last and finally moving forward with new stories!

Saying “No” or Why I Want to Write Consistently

I want to create, I want to write, I want to see the difference my words are making either on the page or on the screen. Social media algorithms are all well and good but there is nothing for me like knowing my words have impacted someone, either through my creative works or through the company I’m writing for.

The Nature of Change and Trusting Yourself, In Writing and Life

It’s no doubt that change is inevitable. It’s something I struggle with from time to time. Recently events in my life have pushed me to take various steps. For one, I turned down a seemingly fulfilling writing job with benefits and decent pay in order to move to Georgia with my fiancé. Graduation was a […]

Excitement in an Old WiP & Black Faces in Fantasy Literature

But upon coming back to it the other day I did, I remember reading over my work and thinking, "Why isn't she [the MC with all the knowledge and power], black?" There was no reason she couldn't be after all, and I'd been inspired by all of the covers with black protagonists I'd seen in the fantasy section of Barnes and Noble, understanding an apt confusion for readers when they would see my DARK WORLD series and not see any black characters on the covers, though there are black characters in the world.

Writing and B-Fest and Editing, Oh My!

Besides all of this writing, I've been asked to speak on a panel at my local Barnes and Noble for B-Fest, the YA-oriented festival where YA authors speak at bookstores and hold events for readers. While I don't write YA, I couldn't pass up the chance when asked to talk about the creative process, that is, my characters, plot, and connecting plots in a series.

Blood Talk: Vampires!

People often ask me why I chose to write about Vampires, and my answer always is: I didn't choose to write about Vampires; they chose me.

As I've said on this blog before, my mother is to blame (or thank) for my avid interest in all things Dark. She would watch all the old horror movies while pregnant with me, and I guess some of it rubbed off on the little premature baby inside.

Anyway, Vampires are hypnotic, sexy, cruel, damned, monstrous, needy, and, I think, necessary.