It’s nearing the end of August, and as I sit here writing this, I’m grateful that the temperature in the UK no longer rivals “Full Concentrated Power Of The Sun!”

It actually rained today, and this evening was cosy enough that I wanted hot tea. I decided to mix one hibiscus bag with one apple bag -- it was delicious!

Writing Update

August started slow, writing-wise, due to some health blips, but I feel like I am in a good rhythm now and that I have accomplished the things I wanted to.

I had a call with my editor about Kiss Me After The Kill, and after talking through some of the main issues with her, I decided to make a pretty big change: not only am I moving the story from a modern setting to a pseudo-Regency era, but I’m also giving it its own fantasy world.

Now that the story is “complete” and I know the emotional beats and the hearts of the characters, I feel much more comfortable rewriting aspects of it and focusing a little more on world-building. Even better, the changes have completely transformed how I feel about revisions. They’re no longer a chore, but an exciting rediscovery of the story!

Since last month, I have also added 12k words to Arcanium book one, which is now titled Magic, Dreams and A Place to Belong.

I’m taking a brief pause from drafting while I focus on KMATK revisions, but Hubby and I have already proofread eight chapters, which are scheduled on Inkitt, Ream and Royal Road, ready to start serializing August 31!

And because I’m me, I cannot help having a THIRD WIP on the go! ROTFL

I spoke previously about an idea involving a dragon prince and a powerful woman who has been lied to about her place in the world. It’s an idea I’ve approached in various forms over the years, but something never quite clicked.

Then, thanks to an unexpected combination of Jean Grey’s upcoming appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the opening of In the Lost Lands, I found myself asking a new question.

What if the woman in my dragon prince story isn’t a vessel manipulated by the Church and sent to seduce and control him? What if she’s a witch on the run who flees to the dragon prince’s kingdom for refuge?

And what if, instead of trying to control her, the dragon prince gives her somewhere safe enough to discover and accept her true power and nature for herself?

And there she was. Estelle.

The story is now titled To Burn Beside You, and I’m slowly working on it alongside my other projects.

There’s much more in the full update, including my recent personal essay, some health decisions, family updates, exciting changes for Youngest, a lovely gift from Poland, and -- because it’s almost that time of year -- HALLOWEEN! 🎃

Continue reading the full August update here →

NEW RELEASE: Joanna’s Journey, by Karen J Mossman

 

❤️ It’s Release Day For Joanna’s Journey! ❤️

 

Get your 80s vibe and take a ride on Joanna’s Journey, with all the fashion and music of the day!

Blurb

It’s the 1980s, and Joanna travels to London to visit her sister, the last person she expects to meet is Niko, an arrogant American who seems determined to get under her skin. But during the train journey, her first impression begins to crumble, and Joanna discovers a man whose charisma she can’t ignore.

Falling in love should be easy, except Niko is pursuing his dream of becoming a rock star on the other side of the world. How can a relationship survive when his career always comes first?

Back home, Joanna’s life becomes increasingly complicated. Her sister, Sandie, is swept off her feet by an older man whom Joanna instantly dislikes. Can their sisterly bond survive the friction he causes? Then there is Solly, whose magnetic personality hides a dangerous temper, and Mike, the carefree charmer living downstairs. He’s Joanna’s closest friend, but as their friendship deepens, she begins to question whether a man with a reputation for breaking hearts could ever change.

With love, loyalty and family pulling her in different directions, tragedy changes everything. The future Joanna imagined is torn apart.

Will the man who holds Joanna’s heart be the one left standing, or will she be forced to face a future she never wanted?

 Buy Link - http://books2read.com/Joannas-Journey1

 

 

Her arranged marriage was a cage.

But in the arms of a vampire assassin, they both found the freedom to love without restraints.

🩸 KISS ME AFTER THE KILL is now complete on Inkitt!

If you love forbidden romance, morally grey vampires, and stories about choosing love over destiny, you can now binge the entire novel from beginning to end.

Read it here:
https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1685437

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