OCTOBER PHOTODUMP 🍂

I've been particularly busy this month, so I've had very few opportunities to get some air and touch some leaves. But here's my little wrap-up.

Photo 1: My spooky gallery wall.
Photo 2: The last traces of summer before nature relents.
Photo 3: A sleepy cat napping on a folded blanket.
Photo 4: The park under a blue sky.

I hope my gremlins had a wonderful October!
Much love,
C.C.

#photodump #fallphotos #photodump✨ #fallphotography #ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏᴅᴜᴍᴘ #FallPhotoshoot #octoberphotodump

After the war, five university students discover Hemlock, a forgotten machine that prints the names of the dead… and every one of them comes true. When the device types Octavia Adkins’s name, fascination turns to dread. Desperate to understand, she forms an unholy bond with Hemlock, only to learn it may love her back. Aporia’s End is a story of intellect and obsession, where philosophy becomes fatal.

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#morallygreycharacters #darkacademiavibes #darkacademiabooks #darkacademiastyle #aporiasend #speculativefiction #thriller #philosophy #writersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookvibes #bookteaser #academiabooks

What does your common sense tell you that you don't give a crap about?

#HistoricalArt #FunnyArt #funnyart #RenaissanceArt #artmeme #ClassicalArtMeme #artmemescentral #ArtHumor #artmemes #ArtHistoryMeme #artmememonday

Velgrave University, 1946.
A hidden machine. A list of names.
Each one written, each one dead.

For Octavia Adkins, what begins as fascination becomes a slow descent into obsession and prophecy. And when her name is written, the clock starts ticking. 🕰️

Would you read that book? 👀

#darkacademiabooks #darkacademiavibes #darkacademiaaesthetics #speculativefiction #thrillerbooks #aporiasend #fallvibes #fallbooks #bookstagram #writersofinstagram #darkacademia #gothicnovel #gothicbooks

READ MY SINFUL NOVEL FOR FREE 😈

I decided some time ago to make Rapture free to read on Substack.
Starting soon, I will publish one chapter every Sunday.

I'll leave the synopsis here, but I highly recommend subscribing to the free tier to receive the new chapters directly in your inbox! ✨

THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK IS IN MY BIO. 🫶

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In New Sheol, 1949, decadence wears a smile and rot festers beneath. Twins Camilla and Cedric Faust are elected Coryphaei—secret jurors charged with granting a decade of dominion to one of the personified Seven Deadly Sins.

But when they reveal themselves, the game erupts into open war. The Sins circle like wolves, alliances twist, and Coryphaei begin to die despite the sacred rules meant to protect them.

As the city collapses under its own corruption, the Faust twins must navigate a world of manipulation and violence where the most dangerous sin is believing you can outwit them.

Rapture is a dark fantasy of divine decay, fatal ambition, and slow-burning apocalypse—where souls are currency, and survival might cost your humanity.

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#MoodyReads #darkfantasyauthor #DarkFiction #MorallyGray #fantasyauthor #MorallyGrayCharacters #DarkFantasy #rapturenovel #substack #SubstackReads #substackwriter #substackblog

I said I’d share the editing process with you, so here I am—double posting today (sorry!), but a promise is a promise.

It’s hard. So unbelievably hard.

Maybe you don’t experience it this way, but for me, developmental edits are harrowing. Not because they’re tedious (they are), or time-consuming (they definitely are), or humbling (oh boy). It’s because I care. And everything worth caring about hurts.

For me, it’s this part: the edits. The moment when you dismember your story on purpose. Rip arms from the plot. Butcher character arcs. And wonder (while covered in grit and sinew) if you even have something worth stitching back together.

Strangely, I have a clean first draft this time. I had to rewrite my first novel twice. And now? I don’t need a full rewrite. Which makes me suspicious. Like I missed the world’s BIGGEST plot hole.

It feels outlandish not to start over. Which leads to the spiral:
What if an agent spots the flaw I can’t see?
What if it’s obvious and I’m just not good enough to notice?
What if…

So many what ifs.
And right now, I’m drowning in them.

But here’s what we do next. Cynical day: allowed. But now? Now, we move forward. Not with empty affirmations, but with actionable, rational steps:
1. Work on the book like only your best friend will read it. Low pressure, but still high care.
2. Don’t think about agents or publishers. Seriously. NOT YET.
3. Keep going. One edit at a time. You owe it to that one reader whose life your book will change.

That’s it. Monologue over. I’m heading back into the trenches.

But tell me: what’s the hardest part of editing for you? Or, if you’re a reader, what would you say to pull a writer out of the muck?

Much love,
Your editing gremlin, C.C.

#bookediting #writerlife

What do you serve?

#HistoricalArt #artmememonday #artmemes #ArtHistoryMeme #RenaissanceArt #artmemescentral #ClassicalArtMeme #FunnyArt #artmeme #ArtHumor #funnyart

APORIA'S END STARTER PACKS ➡

I had so much fun making these, and they illustrate the vibes perfectly.
Which character do you resonate the most with?

#DarkFiction #darkacademiabooks #mysterybooks #darkfantasyauthor #darkacademiaaesthetic #darkacademiavibes #DarkAcademia #MoodyReads #morallygreycharacters #BookAesthetic #darkacademiamoodboard #AporiasEnd #starterpack #starterpacktrend

SEPTEMBER PHOTO DUMP 🍂

Just some levity today with highlights of my September days. It has been absolutely wonderful to work on two novels set in the autumn, and I love every second of it.

First photo: A scatter of leaves on a mountain trail.
Second photo: Half a dozen pumpkin muffins with granola.
Third photo: Reading Aporia's End on my Kindle at the park.
Fourth photo: My ginger cat, Nexus, sleeping on the armchair.
Fifth photo: Leaves strewn about the ground, heralding the arrival of autumn.

#photodump #photodump✨ #ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏᴅᴜᴍᴘ #september #septemberphotodump #fallphotos #FallPhotoshoot #fallphotography