What To Expect From Patchwork and Pitchforks

Set in the fictional town of Indigo Plains, Patchwork and Pitchforks is a paranormal romance serial with splashes of adventure, horror, and mystery. The main couple and cast will encounter strange happenings in the rural town. Magic and mayhem will ensue but just know, romance is the plot. Please do not misunderstand, I write romance. Kissyface and smashing will be the bread and butter of my stories. I love love, intimacy and smut. You will get all of that and more.

You may find throughout this serial supporting characters get some air-time. Yes, there will be sidequests! I love them, I’m so sorrrry. Serials are about ensembles, right? Can’t say who will get what and when, but I will read comments on this.

I am a planster. I know the characters and the setting, that’s it. I will give ocntent warnings as I go.

I know a few straightaway and they are:

Patchwork and Pitchforks

Be prepared for fluff, steam, romance, and paranormal happenings!

After Jasper Marrow relocates to Indigo Plains she’s prepared for paint, hammers, and broken nails. What she finds on moving day is more than she cares to deal with. Busted pipes, growing mold, and an eager-to-please married couple offer too much excitement for one night.

All Jasper wants is her new-ish house fixed and perhaps exorcised. When the happy duo extends a helping hand and free temporary housing, she has no choice but to accept.

This isn’t close to what I normally write, but I wanted something cute on Whitney Houston’s internet. I’ve been trying to do light and fluffy for months. And I don’t know, I thought why not put it out there.

Sad Girl Summer is Almost Over!!!

Here’s to a beautiful new month and Bi romance month! I love y’all! I am coming into my season and feeling better! I have said it a few times already, but I’m gonna let y’all know, summer makes me sad. I get in my feelings and I feel like shit from May to July. I’m just noooot, at my best. I’m unhappy and sappy. My vibes are at their lowest during those insufferable summer months. Granted, we are still in the summer swing, but the hot hoe is reaching its end. I can feel it in the air!.

Most hate fall and winter, but not eyyyye. We prefer them colder months over here. The sun and I have a contentious connection. I do not like her, and she don’t like me. I love the nocturnal and gloomy with my entire heart. I thrive during frigid winter nights. Dreary and dark is where I draw inspiration and vitality. I prefer dusk over dawn and rain to sunshine. It is who i am, and with summer approaching its inevitable end, I can breathe with ease.

My goal for this month is to be. Just, be. Be gentle with myself. Be at peace. Be calm. Be the positivity I wish to attract. Also, I just wanna write. I want to write what I WANT AND NOT CARE! I do that already, but when you’re a SM junkie, all the advice and takes can dampen ones creativity and mood. There are A LOT of opinions out there about the art of writing, but I don’t give a shit. I just don’t care.

AUTHORS & WRITERS CAN’T CARE! AND WE SHOULDN’T.

iyI’ve been doing this too long, I know better! Yes, I am a reader as well i know how we can get about our opinions, but as an author and a writer, that spce is not for me to dwell. Reader opinions are just that, and I can’t take any of it to heart. It will only hinder my ability to create. I have decided to block those posts and tweets, because they can be harmful. This is not me saying they shouldn’t post them, I don’t care, post whatever you want. That’s what the mute button is for. Some of y’all need to learn about it too. Anyway. I’m rambling but, you get it. I’m a mess. It’s Inevitable. I’m gonna veer. I’m a habitual veer=er! With all of that, I say have a nice day, drink water, and don’t be KHHNT!

“My alma mater was books, a good library…. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.” – Malcolm X

You Can & You Will

Five months ago, I set out to write a shorter novel and have done it! Brevity, as I’ve stated before, is my weakness. I am a long writer who enjoys 100k+ word counts. I am not apologizing for that. I still prefer them, but I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to put my ass through it. I needed this exercise. It was a great lesson. Now, my shortest book is 43k not, 91k. I went in with a 15k goal. Clearly, I was off by a couple thousand. Lol. But, I still set out to accomplish this thing. This goal I made for reasons other than to prove to myself I could do it. For those like me, writing short stories is unfamiliar and hard. Cutting details and world-building down to a chapter or two is not fun.

My typical genre is paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Those books are known to be longer but in the world of indie, standards such as word counts do not exist. We can write a 30k hard fantasy if we want. We can write a 20k hard sci-fi epic if we so please. My point is, the industry standard is no longer my goal post, however, I will STILL prefer longer novels for paranormal romance but that doesn’t mean I won’t write shorter ones. It’s difficult, not impossible,

If you’ve set a personal goal, and it seems unreachable, REACH FOR IT! You can do this thing! I doubted myself for a long time. Said I could never write a shorter novel, it was too hard. Well, I did it and I pushed through until typing ‘The End’. Believe in yourself and whatever it is you want to achieve, I promise it’s worth the work.

“From my point of view, your life is already a miracle of chance waiting for you to shape its destiny.” ~ Toni Morrison

Himbos Have Nerve

One thing I love most about himbo characters besides their blissful, confident ignorance is their wisdom during heated moments. They transform into arrogant intellectuals who have the answers to all your more personal problems.
Scrap may not know the difference between temperature and temperamental, but he knows enough, honey.
After forty years of never getting there, Zion is about to learn what, ‘reach the mountain top’ truly means.

Shifter Cotton Candy

I’m not taking this book seriously at all. It’s cute, fun and sexy. Just a little 25k novella. Nothing too much. It’s a release, a cleanser, a break, and freedom. Low plot, cozy, and warm. Letting other ideas flow and float while writing a series saves my sanity.
This one doesn’t even have a title yet. A himbo lamia (MMC/35), and a chameleon shifter nerd (FMC/40) have crossed paths thanks to the FMC escaping death. I have no idea where they’re going, but I know the FMC has to stay alive long enough for me to find out. Two idiots falling in love. My favorite trope.
Zion and Scrap! Sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S my ass to everyone who tries to gatekeep when it comes to older FMCs and romantasy!

Killing the Art of Sexual Intimacy

Puritan culture is going to kill the arts. Sterility is what they seek and I loathe it. To say this generation is more sexual than the last is not only ignorant but false. To speak on sex in novels without having any knowledge of old works of fiction is absurd. I can understand if you’ve read every book on planet earth and have facts to back your claims. Then I’d say good day, sir, ma’am, ENBY you have stunned and stumped me.

But nah! Hell nah.
Most who recite these points on intimacy in literature and film haven’t read enough. They haven’t researched enough or cared to. They have a ‘me’ mentality about it. ‘I don’t like this so I don’t think it’s called for’. SAD! Please, go sit down and open a book which has what you crave within those pages.
There are too many novels and movies out there w/out sex for them to complain and gripe. If you wanna nitpick about the resurgence of sexuality, genitalia and nudity then fine! Has if ever occurred to them, some may be squeezing in these sex scenes out of spite?!
I have written my fair share of sex scenes because of this. I have made certain in my recent works to make those characters fuck! I can’t take a world filled with this evangelical approach to all things linked to passion and carnality.
Sex will sell! Nothing you can do will stop it. Even if these bible thumping Neanderthals ban erotica and ‘displays of intercourse’ it won’t put an end to this.
Sex and art have ALWAYS been and will always BE one!

A Break from the Norm

Oh my! I have had quite the writing day. I started at 4:30 and ended at 2.6k! Every day isn’t so great and that’s okay. Yesterday was a bust, and I don’t care. This book was fun to write. I’d be on schedule if I kept to the 40k goal, but I’ll be going over by 20k.
Listen, it’s still a feat for me. At 60k this is the shortest novel I’ve ever written. When you’re used to 100k+ this feels like a snippet. But again, it was fun. And I plan on writing another cozy, low-stakes novel at some point. There was no pressure. A TINY external conflict, autumn vibes and romance.
The spice factor sits around 2/5. Normally I keep things piping hot at 4-5/5. Three to five sex scenes. Two quickies and three sessions are where I most comfortable. My WIP had none of that, but it feels good. The amount of sex and intimacy fits the story. Do I miss the nasty, thigh soaking sex scenes and drama? Yes, yes, I do.
I will not give up my high stakes/spice, thick plot books. I can’t quit gritty paranormal romance, but I’ll return to these cute, fluffy waters at least once a year. If only to give my dark mind a break for a spell.

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Albert Einstein

Learning Curve

Helloooo starshine! With my writing day complete I can breathe easier. I figured this cozy 50k fantasy romance would teach me a few things and I was right.
I’m learning to stick my goals and make them count. For years I’ve tackled huuuuge projects. Novels with a 90k+ WC. I’m talking high stakes paranormal romance/urban fantasy series with extensive world building.
I’m used to detail. Where, when, why and how. Thick plots with lengthy backstories. Worldbuilding is an integral part of any story, but this short, low plot adventure has taught me to keep those details short and sweet. Light and tight has been a challenge, no lie. From a long writers pov, this is an excruciating lesson.
I don’t have a 90k words to play with. Typing ‘the end’ at around 45k seems unfathomable. I keep thinking, ‘I’m missing something, this is too short, it’s too fast, not enough backstory, what about this or that’. But I’m learning here, this is a fun journey, though nerve wracking at times.
Right now! I’m going to watch the Mandalorian and Ahsoka while enjoying sticks of cheese! I hope y’all have had a wonderful day and are chilling!

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
TONI Morrison

Courage Over Comfort

Here I go, jumping into the unknown. Leaving fear of failure, and criticism behind, I’ve started my journey as an author. I have twenty-five completed novels that no one has read. Since I was nine years old, writing has been my solace. It’s where I find peace during times of grief, and sorrow. I write when I’m stressed, I write when I need an escape and solitude.

Creating a new world is an exhilarating experience and I love it! From grade school short stories to middle school poetry, and high school screenplays, I am here, writing full-length novels! For the past five years I’ve been hard at work honing my craft, in whatever way I can. I tried to write my first novel at nineteen, but I later dropped it. At twenty-two adulting had begun its siege to try and destroy all I hold dear, like my imagination. I emerged as the victor, thank fk! After life failed to push my passion aside, I marched onward and kept writing, but never once had I thought about ever publishing.I was writing for me, a fat black girl who loved Paranormal Romance and NEVER saw her type represented. I wanted to read about women who looked like me get the strapping vampire, or be the head mistress leading a coven, or be the one mate that werewolf desired above all others. It’s rare to read about women like me who is both the love interest and a preternatural being. And I reallly wanted to read that! So, I started writing and haven’t stopped since. For quite a while, I was totally fine with never putting anything out into the world, because I am terrified of negative criticism.

Despite my fears, I am ready, prepared, and excited for this new adventure. I know it won’t be filled with rainbows and sunshine all the time; I don’t expect that. I just wanted to choose courage, and confidence for once. I’ve spent years doubting who I am, what I’m capable of and my art. I’m done with that, and over the whole idea that somehow what I write isn’t worth a read or two.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
Maya Angelou