New book to be released in free episodes to those who subscribe to my newsletter.
Shadow Graves has always been haunted by shadows in the dark. Her thoughts are often filled with the dark figure who stands in the corner of her bedroom, night after night, with eyes that shine like stars. He watches her, paralyzes her. Keeps her. A haunted sentry that’s gone come morning. The same dark figure who held her hands all those years ago, and led a bloodied and broken girl out of the night and toward morning.
Her therapist thinks he’s the key to her past. Shadow thinks she’s slowly unravelling. Losing her grasp on a mind that never quite felt like hers.
A package has her questioning everything she thought she knew.
A letter. A map. A key.
An inheritance left by an uncle she never knew she had that speaks about a life she never imagined would exist outside the dark corners of her mind.
Shadow Graves always wished there was someone she belonged to. She should have been a little more specific. The inheritance left behind tells her the people she once belonged to carried a weight too heavy for her to hold. One that will not only determine her fate, but the fate of everyone who came before her.
Make sure to subscribe to my newsletter to receive the first episode: INHERITANCE for free!
It’s me, the elusive creative who sucks at keeping up with things like blog posts and social media because I’m plucking away at keys and writing stories with every second of my free time.
For anyone who has been following me for a long time and read all the little episodes I’ve posted to this blog through the years, I have big news. One of those blog stories is fast on its way to becoming a book.
Which one?
NO NAME GIRL.
I know what you’re thinking. If you’ve already read the story here for free, what possible incentive could you have for reading it as a book on Kindle Unlimited or purchasing a paperback? Well, it’s the same story… but just a lot more.
You still get your No Name Girl, but you also get a better look at Aleksandr and the kingdom he reigned over: Refuge. The series will not only follow her, but two other girl who were also children of Refuge. You get to see just how broad a reach Aleksandr had, just how vile his intentions really were, and all the people he had in his pocket to make a place like Refuge not only exist, but thrive.
Three women. Three stories. Three children of Refuge.
Make sure to go to sjstewartbooks.ca for more information. I will post exclusive content and more about these stories and when they’ll be available to grace your shelves.
A big thank you to anyone who has stuck with me this far. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!!
This year has been a crazy year for me. Being at home has given me the opportunity to finally embark on a journey I had packed for and forgotten about. The bags have been sitting there, collecting dust, just begging to be used.
I am a published author.
That was a sentence I never thought I would be able to write or say or… live.
For those of you who have been following me thus far, I really appreciate your support. I know I can be a little sporadic with my posts at the best of times. In truth, I write every day, for the bulk of the day. There is constantly a story inside my head begging to be told, but with most creative passions, I often don’t know if it’s worth sharing. Sometimes I hit ‘publish’ on posts I never would have thought I’d dare to share, and those end up getting the most interaction.
It’s wild.
For anyone interested in following my author journey, you can follow that blog at sjstewartbooks.ca. There you can find links to my released books, my upcoming works, giveaways and the likes.
For those who have been interested in my blog posts, the book series that is slowly being released right now is a Paranormal Adult Fantasy. It’s a series called The Seven Realms Books.
The first book HIDDEN IN DARKNESS is a story about a woman Melas who awakes in the Dark Realm with all her memories gone. All she has left is her warrior instincts, the thoughts she needs to run, to fight, and to protect her five-year-old daughter Zura at all costs. Found in the Black Woods by Ridhor, a Berserker who takes them home where he lives with Andrei, A Vampire, and Orren, an Incubus. All three men are convinced Melas and Zura are not human. Though, in the Seven Realms, there are no magical beings who can have children, which tells them it’s impossible for them to be anything other than mortal. With Melas and Zura, come endless questions. Who are they running from? If they are human, what are they doing outside the Mortal Realm? And will they find the answers before whoever they are hiding from catches up?
This book is a slow burn. It’s a diverse read with a blend of mythologies and lore.
The second is a novella MAGIC STOLEN AND KEPT. This is a novella, about one hundred and seventy pages long. The novella follows the story of Thiriel, a Noble Elf who has insignificant Fae magic but has the burden of his father’s ambitions thrown on his shoulders. Knowing he needs a lot more power to bring his father’s dark dreams to fruition, he decides he needs to steal power from every corner of the Seven Realms. Bazran is a Stygian, a shadow being whose powers seem insignificant in the grand scheme of her kind in the Shadow Realm. A brush with Death had her wrapping her hand firmly around the heart of the very Reaper who was supposed to deliver her. A Reaper above the laws and rulers of the Seven Realms, answering directly to the Celestial god Death himself. She’s the perfect being to convince her Reaper, Knos, to attain what Thiriel needs of Death. And she’s the perfect person to attain what he needs from the ruler of the Shadow Realm, Lilith. Can she survive the madness fraying Thiriel at the edges?
The third book will be released on November 29th. Lost In Fire picks up where both Hidden In Darkness and Magic Stolen and Kept end. Melas is pushed to the brink, her emotions exploding in a way no one could have ever expected or planned for.
All three books will be free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription, otherwise you can purchase the ebook or paperbacks from Amazon. Hidden In Darkness is also available on some other sites, like Target. These books was a project very dear to my heart that I wrote at a time when I felt creatively lost. They’re very special and I hope anyone interested will give them a chance.
If you do feel like supporting me by reading any of my books, please leave a rating and a review on websites like Amazon and Goodreads as it makes my books easier to find with more reviews.
For people who aren’t interested in fantasy books, the short story I wrote here, No Name Girl is in the works to be a full-length book with two more books in the series. Keep your eyes open for that.
Read the words that would save my soul from the temptations only the devil could offer.
They told me of sin,
Of chastity to be protected,
That boys would be boys,
But girls need to take a moment reflecting,
On the choices they made to make boys be boys.
Because the devil lies in hemlines on shirts too low,
In the places we broke curfew to go,
And not in the boys who ignored our screams, ‘No!’.
The devil is between the thighs of a girl too young to know it’s wrong,
Not in the man old enough to know it isn’t right.
That’s what they told me, hiding their faces behind this book. The book that would protect me from the devil.
They told me the devil was a monster.
They never told me the devil was in a syringe pressed to the skin of those who would raise a hand to break you if you didn’t bend to the words in this book.
The plunger long since pushed, inserting a little bit of the devil into them all,
As they forced babies into the arms of victims while burying babies they made victims to hide the evidence of the devil they wore under their skin while they did both.
Hiding their face behind the leather binding of this book ,
The book inked in the blood of those who didn’t heed the words that would have saved their souls.
The book they promised would protect me from the devil.
They hold too tight,
Grips that don’t just touch your flesh but reach down to your soul,
Smearing black marks there they tell you you’ll have to atone for.
‘Ask for forgiveness on your knees,’ they tell you, ‘With your hand on the book that will protect you from the devil.’
‘Your flesh is sinful.’
‘Your thoughts are dark.’
‘Your love is an abomination.’
‘Your voice too loud!’
Shhhhhhh… the devil will hear you.
Broken down to nothing,
They watch as you try to pick up the fractured pieces they created with a smile on their face,
As they pull away the mask they wear, hiding their face,
Okay, so my author website is up and running. For anyone that has been following me on this journey so far, I hope you will pop over to my author website and give me a follow at sjstewartbooks.ca
There you can get updates on the progress of my books, some exclusive content before my books are released, possibly some giveaways in the near future. I would like to continue my short stories but give them a new home. I am not sure if I will be keeping up with this blog or if I will give my creative writing posts a new home on my author’s website. I’m also noticing I am incapable of writing standalone books and have amassed quite the collection of characters I am having way too much trouble letting go of, so I will likely have little short stories or novella type things following these characters who won’t have their own books on my website as well.
This community has been an amazing one. I was always blown away by the amount of people who felt the need to reach out to me after reading a post most of the time I didn’t even think anyone would see. I’m not sure if I would have had the courage to publish my first book without some of the followers I have here, asking for more of my writing.
For anyone following my blog, thank you, and I hope you keep reading!
I know a lot of you have followed me for a really long time. You have humored my sporadic style with updating my blog, happy for the little breadcrumbs of fiction and prose I have left trailing behind me, when my scattered brain can remember to log on and write a post.
So, what have I been up to? you ask.
Well, between battling the shadows, trying to negotiate some space with my sleep demon and writing a book, this gal has been busy.
Yes, writing a book.
At this point of my life, with over a hundred projects in the works, it was time to spread my wings and jump. As scary as that idea may have been, I did it. Sink or swim or whatever they say to someone who has been dragging their feet for what feels like an eternity with no real plans to lift them and take a full, capable stride.
I am hoping to bring this blog to a new home, hoping to bring these short stories to my author website where I will be forced to adult and update regularly. Insert my dramatic groan here. If I can manage, I will keep those who stumbled onto my book in the know about upcoming projects and any other exciting things that may follow.
True to form, my author website has been in the drafts for far too long and I really need someone to give me a swift kick in the ass to get that website published so I can go on with all the adult things I have been hiding from in the well plotted pages of a book, the shadows I often dance in while avoiding my responsibilities, and my overwhelming pile of projects that has been towering over me, threatening to bury my in an avalanche of written word some of you will never get the chance to see.
Because I am a sadist like that.
Anyway, a little tidbit of info. I am working to have NO NAME GIRL, a short story on here a lot of people have asked me about over the years since I wrote it, into a novel you can buy and put on your shelve to collect dust and maybe mention to a friend every now and then. I will update you on my progress on making that happen.
Oh yeah, for any of those interested, this is my book: Hidden In Darkness. It is a paranormal fantasy about a woman who wakes in the Dark Realm with no memories. She must protect her and her daughter while trying to figure out what they are and who is hunting them. If something like that captures your fancy, definitely give it a read and be lovely people and review my book on amazon and goodreads. If not, but you’re curious and have a kindle unlimited subscription, it’s available there for free. So dip your toe in with no real obligations.
Hidden In Darkness available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
Happy reading friends, and thank you for being on this journey with me so far!
Dulled Pencils and Inkless Pens 