This is a quiet blog where I document my journey to finish my first (not so first) novel. I write about things I like. Things that feel worth keeping. It won’t have a lot of content. Just small entries. Silent murmurs of someone trying to navigate the process of becoming an author.
All photographs featured in this blog will be credited to their authors and linked back to their spaces. Some are my own. Especially those about coffee, writing, rainy days, scented candles, skincare, and my dog. And probably gardening. Definitely a lot of gardening.
Fun facts about me & the book
What is always on your desk while writing?
Cold coffee or mate. Two or more keyboards. And a tarot card that I pick as the energy or the vibe of the week, or the phase. As of now, since I’m in the query trenches, the card is The Strength. It was The Chariot during the editing phase.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Everything that’s related to handwriting. I’ve written the entire saga’s plot on paper. Emberfall and Nightide are drafted on napkins with clouds and smileys. And the battle scenes have arrows pointing at someone that say, “And Teren attacks here.” I love everything related to stationery, pens, and paper.
What’s something small that makes you disproportionately happy?
The rain. My dog snoring. A meeting where I don’t really have to pay attention, and I can write or edit while smiling and looking at the camera just to send some reaction. I once shared my screen during a smut-writing session. We all pretended to suffer collective dementia afterward.
What started this story?
It was going to be about a mob lord in old Florence, but then my mind went, “No, I don’t want to follow rules,” so I invented Solferra. And… the whole trilogy that followed.
What part of the worldbuilding came naturally?
It might be shocking or surprising, but the whole political structure, the port cities, the clean entry, and everything the South Restoration is about have a lot of Latin American historical background blended into the worldbuilding without me even realizing it at first. I’ve been a portenia all my life. I do think Florentel carries a lot of Buenos Aires within it.
What scene hurt to write?
Pierre & Arcene get me every time. And… I’m not there yet, but Apollonia and Tristan.
Did the book become something different from what you originally planned?
Well, it was going to be a smutty 18+ hot read in my mind when I started, but it became an epic fantasy with political stakes, court games, and war. It happens to me all the time. Even with fanfiction.
