The Month I Rediscovered Some Missing Pieces

 

Hey Besties!

The UK is *still* in the middle of a heatwave—or perhaps temperatures above 25°C are just our new normal?!

Either way, I *think* I'm finally getting used to it... even if I still spend half my day camped out in front of the fan! 😂

The hot weather in July hasn’t slowed me down one bit. In fact, this month, I feel as though I’ve rediscovered some missing pieces of myself.

July turned into a month of big creative decisions. I revisited The Arcanium and made a major change that has completely transformed the project, rethought my plans for serial fiction, expanded my website with new essays, and launched Dear Past Me—a project that's been waiting patiently in the wings for far longer than I realised.

Alongside all of that, there are family updates, health news, and, naturally, at least one slightly ridiculous purchase involving a certain Japanese rock singer...

Read the full entry here. 

KMATK Chapters 32 & 33 Are Live!

 

Kiss Me After The Kill chapters 32 and 33 are now life on Inkitt, and an ancient vampire challenges Lucia and Azrael's love...

We're less then a month away from the final chapters, so now is a great time to get caught up.

Read Kiss Me After The Kill for free on Inkitt.

https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1685437

KISS ME AFTER THE KILL is racing towards its finale, and now is the perfect time to catch up before the ending arrives.

 Forbidden love.

Ancient vampire conspiracies.

Assassins.

And only nine chapters remain before everything comes to a head...

KISS ME AFTER THE KILL is racing towards its finale, and now is the perfect time to catch up before the ending arrives.

Read from Chapter One:
https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1685437

Review: Back to You by Kyra Lennon

 

Happy release day to Kyra Lennon, and Back To You (Oakwood Lane book 4)!

She’s his home. He’s her heart. But when everything breaks… is love enough to hold them together?

After a year of living mostly apart, Nova finally has Donovan back. For the first time in too long, it feels like they might actually get their happy ending.

But joy doesn't last long.

Nova’s instincts as a teacher pull her into something far more dangerous than she ever expected—forcing her to question her safety and her career.

Then tragedy strikes, and everything unravels fast.

Just when she needs him most, Donovan is gone.

Lost in grief, haunted by old fears, and unaware that Nova is facing a threat of her own, Donovan retreats—leaving her to navigate the danger alone, while his own world fractures under the weight of responsibility, guilt, and a business on the brink of launch that needs him.

What was supposed to be Nova and Donovan's fresh start becomes a widening distance neither of them knows how to close.

Love brought them back together once.

But this time… is it enough?

**

Back To You is a small-town romance set in England (UK). It features deep emotion, high heat levels, and elements of hurt/comfort that will break your heart, then stitch it back together again.

For a full list of trigger warnings, please see the author's website.

Read the full Oakwood Lane Series here: https://mybook.to/OakwoodLane

The Month Everything Changed

 Hey Besties,

Well… June didn't quite go the way I expected!

After finishing Tea Leaves, Pages and Starlight, I fully intended to jump straight into my next fantasy novel featuring a dragon prince. Instead, burnout hit, life got busy, and I found myself taking an unexpected break from writing.

Away from my keyboard, there were plenty of personal challenges too, from more PMDD and coil appointment chaos to my mum undergoing bowel cancer surgery. Thankfully, she's recovering brilliantly, and I also made the difficult—but ultimately right—decision to skip the Birmingham Writers' Conference and focus on looking after myself and my family.

As the month went on, something interesting happened. Once I gave myself permission to slow down, I realised I might have been chasing the wrong kind of story all along. Instead of forcing myself to write darker fantasy because I felt I should, I rediscovered what I truly love writing: cosy, low-stakes stories about belonging and outsiders finding their place in the world.

That revelation has led me to my newest project, The Arcanium, and even prompted me to rethink some of my long-term publishing goals.

If you'd like to read more about everything that's happened this month—including my writing updates, family life, new project, and why I'm stepping away from self-publishing for now—you can read the full blog post over on my website.

👉 Read the full post here: https://claredugmore.com/blog/the-month-everything-changed

Until next time...

Take care and stay creative.

T.T.F.N.

Kiss Me After The Kill Update: 🩸LUCIA’S LIFE IS ABOUT TO CHANGE FOREVER.

 

Happy Friday!

We're still in the midst of a heatwave in the UK, so I currently feel like I am melting.

But thankfully, Kiss Me After the Kill continues, and Lucia's life is about to change forever.

Read chapters twenty and twenty-one here: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1685437

And if you want to know the moment a new chapter drops AND get sneak peeks of the upcoming chapters, please consider joining Azrael's Inner Sanctum — where you’ll get:

🩸 Weekly chapter links (so you never miss an update)
🖤 Sneak peeks of what’s coming next
✨ Early news (including the Amazon release once the serial is complete)

JOIN AZRAEL'S INNER SANCTUM HERE

Until next week, have a fabulous weekend, and take care of yourself.

T.T.F.N

Kiss Me After The Kill Update: 💔After Azrael rejects her, Lucia demands the truth.

 

Hey Besties!

Happy weekend!

In the UK, it's a holiday weekend, with lots of people having an extra day off this Monday.

So, I have the perfect weekend reading for you.

💔After Azrael rejects her, Lucia demands the truth.

Read chapters eighteen and nineteen here: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1685437

--

Join Azrael’s Inner Sanctum

Want the next chapter the moment it drops?

Join the KMATK update list and step inside Azrael’s Inner Sanctum — where you’ll get:

🩸 Weekly chapter links (so you never miss an update)

🖤 Sneak peeks of what’s coming next

✨ Early news (including the Amazon release once the serial is complete)

👉 Join the Inner Sanctum

The Month Everything Began Flowing

 

This May has been one of momentum, creativity, confidence, and movement.

Earlier this month, I completed Tea Leaves, Pages & Starlight at 78k words — officially writing “The End” on a project that has meant a great deal to me. The novel will now rest for a few weeks before revisions and the querying process begin.

Of course, finishing one story means my brain immediately latched onto another… and what started as a dark fae prince enemies-to-lovers idea has somehow evolved into a dragon prince romantasy. As one does. ;)

Over on Inkitt, both The Starlight Prince and Kiss Me After the Kill continue to update regularly, and I’ve entered all three of my current stories into Inkitt’s Summer of Love Writing Contest.

I also share a few real-life updates, including thoughts on mid-life, family health struggles, PMDD, and the importance of supportive communities during difficult times.

And finally… there may or may not be discussion of creating an island full of hot vampires in the new Tomodachi Life game.

You can read the full post here: https://claredugmore.com/blog/update-19052026

Kiss Me After The Kill Update: Lucia wants to go with Azrael when he goes hunting 👀

 

Happy Friday, Besties!

I hope you've had a wonderful week!

Kiss Me After the Kill is ramping up to the mid-point, and in the latest chapter, Lucia wants to go with Azrael when he goes hunting 👀

Read chapters sixteen and seventeen here: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1685437

If you're enjoying Kiss Me After the Kill, I'd love to hear from you!

What's been your favourite chapter so far?

Any predictions on what might happen next?

Until next week, have a fabulous weekend, and take care of yourself.

T.T.F.N

Kiss Me After The Kill Update: Lucia makes plans to get Vaughn out of her life… permanently. 💀

 

Hey Besties!

Happy Friday!

 

I hope you've all had a wonderful week. If you're looking for some spice and intrigue to occupy your weekend, check out this week's Kiss Me After The Kill chapters — Lucia has self-defence lessons from Azrael, and forms a plan to get Vaughn out of her life… permanently. 💀

 

➡️You can read both chapters here: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1685437