Sarnai4

Day 10: Abyss- @monthlywritingchallenges

For Moon June, I’m going to be writing excerpts from a current project of mine, The Language of Wolves. These are all out-of-order and -out-of-context; They’re mostly just to get my creative juices flowing. Keep in mind that they’re also unedited.

If you get mentioned under ANY blog that says they're Tumblr staff. DON'T FALL FOR IT!!!!!!

Trust isn’t always a struggle.

Trust can be about surrendering.

Giving in, and letting someone else catch you as you fall.

"It's overpowering…" Andric's eyes skipped over her face, looking for something. She didn't know what he found, but his lips pressed tight as though biting back words. The tang of chocolate cut through the sweetness, and then she felt Andric's thumb brush along her ribs in a soothing stroke. "Do you trust me?" Andric asked, and Lizzy was nodding before she even considered questioning him. His other hand sank into her hair, and Lizzy melted into his hold as he tugged her closer. Lips crashed against hers, and Lizzy responded instantly. One arm curled up around Andric's neck, while her other settled against his chest, pressing hard enough to feel his heart thrumming beneath her splayed fingers.

Darkling, Arista Holmes, ©2026

Darkling will be released June 21st 2026!

You can pre-order the ebook now on all platforms, including Itch. io. Paperback and Hardcover options have been uploaded but some platforms won't allow orders until release day.

Preorder goodies? Preorder goodies!

Hand Written Thank Note

Printed Character Art

Lizzy’s Pendant Sticker

Signed Bookplate

Bookmark

Digital Bonus Scene from Booker’s POV!

Simply place your order, and then complete the form on my website!

There's also a giveaway!

What do you mean these characters are STILL alive by that point? I didn't kill any of them yet???

Should I? I kinda want to. But no, character development...but yes, because drama and an incomplete arc can hurt more when it ends so abruptly...ughhhh.

Hype people up for your original writing project (no fanfiction please- it's a wonderful medium but not the focus of this blog post) or work in progress by giving us some juicy details!

WELCOME TO MARKETING MONTH

Hi everyone, it's time to crack this case.... together. Please feel free to do submissions of questions for this event! Seriously! It's gonna be an entire month of us answering marketing questions and trying to figure out what to do about this conundrum.

TODAY'S QUESTION:

What I have noticed with ARC readers is that it is crucial that you know where to look. Frankly, I love Tumblr to pieces, but I don't know how much of the book community here is familiar with what ARCs are and although word of mouth advertisement is great too, I don't want to just send out free copies carelessly. On Threads, you have people who are actively looking for ARCs to read and review. It's how they've built up their accounts. That also helps with accountability. If they just stop giving reviews, they lose credibility, so there's an incentive for them to give you their word and mean it. These posts aren't always super easy to find, but they are out there. If you have patience, you'll find them! (It's where the bulk of my reviews have been from)

Tying into Vermeer's point, it can also help to just ask for reviews like that. I did a version of this recently with my debut book since I did re-edits and updated it. To help get some reviews to reflect that the book had been improved, I've done some promotion for it being free now. Admittedly, I haven't tried anything as straightforward as just asking for a review in exchange, but that could work since it's not technically an Advanced Reader Copy anymore.

You definitely want to be careful and make sure that you aren't implying someone has to review your book if it is indeed an ARC. I'm not sure all the rules surrounding that, but I've heard it can cause some trouble. You need to make it clear that the ARC is given freely without any conditions (but if they would be so kind as to reciprocate your generosity with a review, hey, who's complaining?). So, the Reader/Review Copies after a book has already been out could actually be the perfect opportunity to just be upfront and ask for a review in exchange without breaking any rule. I couldn't resist the urge to include a meme, so...my deepest apologies:

As you may know, there was recently a DC Comics boycott as a part of the DCSoWhite movement since DC has not had a mainline ongoing solo with a Black lead for over 1200 days. You can read more about this here, here, here, and here. The boycott has been cancelled (link), but that doesn't mean we can't still show support for Black comic creators!

One of the things the movement called for fans to do was to "[Support] Black creators through independent and creator-owned projects." So this post is meant to provide tips on how to do this.

Check out other works of Black creators you're already familiar with

The Black comic creators you're already a fan of who have made comics for DC or Marvel have likely also made comics for other publishers too. You can usually find out about other comics they've worked on through their Wikipedia page, social media pages, and their own website if they have one. And it's a good idea to follow their social media to learn about any of their projects in the future!

Look through indie publisher websites

A great way to find out about indie comics is to check out indie publishers' websites. There will almost always be a page on their websites with all their comics so you can easily look through them and the creators will be listed so you can look into the creators too. This is one way to find out about Black comic creators who you might not already be familiar with.

The publishers that are listed as examples in the webpages linked above are Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Vault Comics, Ignition Press, and Stranger Comics.

Check out existing lists

There are already lists online that specifically recommend Black creators to check out and comics by Black creators. You can also find recommendations and lists on social media. This is another great way to find out about Black comic creators you're not yet familiar with.

Speaking of lists, I would like to point you to this post by @bimboopo which includes a list of many Black webtoon creators which you can go check out!

Hype people up for your original writing project (no fanfiction please- it's a wonderful medium but not the focus of this blog post) or work in progress by giving us some juicy details!

WELCOME TO MARKETING MONTH

Hi everyone, it's time to crack this case.... together. Please feel free to do submissions of questions for this event! Seriously! It's gonna be an entire month of us answering marketing questions and trying to figure out what to do about this conundrum.

TODAY'S QUESTION:

Posting on socials is great, but a big thing is making those connections. Let others see you are eager to engage with them and their passions, that you have similar likes. We all like a nice comment! You'd be ecstatic for the engagement, I'm sure others would be too.

This isn't me helping you. It's us all helping each other. We all want marketing help. Let's all share with each other our best advice as much as we ask each other what to do.

I will be forced to REPORT SOLICITATION, as it is usually spam. If you want to talk please don't act like a bot, my love.

I'm interested in your writing project and I will always reblog a book marketing post my sweets! That is not solicitation, but marketing. Fine line, fine line.

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Oh Robin, you beta?

Beta requests currently closed my little fairies please come back when I am less busy~ thank you!

You said you'd read my book?

Book review requests are also unfortunately closed. There's so very many to read~

If you do ask me for a review at some point, you will need to agree to my scale, darling. It can be found HERE.

What if I don't want you to review my book, but only read it?

You can submit the book for me to reblog information, but I doubt I will have time to read it because I am in three books clubs and a long list of betas and reviews already my dear, I'm so sorry. I wish I had an extra brain sometimes! But hopefully someone else will read it if I publish your submission.

Hey Robin... did you get my submission/review request/beta request?

You can see on this list ~ Currently there are too many for me to keep up with, so I have closed submissions. I'm sorry my dewdrops but it's simply too many words for a year, and I will need time to feed my muse as well.

I wrote xx with AI-

No, you really didn't, and I won't promote it, read it, or interact with it. You will notice the lack of pet names in this section. That is because I hate you.

Why Did You Start This Blog, Robin?

-sigh- Strap in and please remain seated for the entire ride, my love. A few months back, I read the most awful, horribly done, terrible and juvenilely written book I have ever had the displeasure of having to read for a book club. This book was traditionally published. The main complaint of everybody at the book club- and I will be honest every single one of us hated the book- was that many of them had published books and had gotten zero response or sales, and yet something like this was allowed to be on the shelf of a bookstore and had been passed around. The book has a 3.1 on Goodreads. My lovelies... All of us gave it a one or two.

How ridiculous it is that self publishing can be looked down upon and treated as a lesser form of publishing! Traditional publishers will publish the absolute most dog shit thing you have ever had to read (don’t worry my loves, I won’t review any of your books this harshly). Why then is it that only self-publishing is viewed this way?

We should be celebrating the people who put so much effort into their books and wrote their books so wonderfully! One of my goals on this blog is to make that happen by hopefully bringing more of your lovely novels into the limelight. Please reblog novel reviews and submissions as they pop up, so people can see more amazing stories they never knew existed!

Feel free to use my posts to hype and market your writing.

What's the point of this whole ass blog though?

Very well my dear! Primary goals!

As stated above, bring more attention to books that never got a single chance to be featured. I need your help to do it my loves!!!! Please if you follow this blog, reblog any submissions or reviews ON SIGHT just to spread the word about the author's book. It's no benefit to me! It's for the authors!

Help authors sell books! Please, if you see something you think you might like, buy it! I KNOW we are ALL strapped for cash, I know it darlings! I know! But wouldn't you want people to buy YOUR book instead of saying "I would, but I have no money?" I know this phrase is misused for saving money for things too expensive for you ever to afford, like cars or some other metaphor but really... you can go without coffee for two days to get a book- I do it all the time. These books really ARE the price of a cup of coffee most of the time~

Talk about writing, naturally, my dear, and spread resources. What makes a story successful? What doesn't?

Promote other indie fields. I may occasionally reblog drawing or art calls, or any other narrative-based medium, such as movies. Stories are stories. We none of us are better or worse for the medium we choose.

Get feedback from you beautiful faeries who love stories as much as I do. I’m sure that many of you are looking for the exact same thing: a supportive environment that isn’t just going to take you down with flames but will  give HONEST and CLEAR feedback about what is and isn't working in your novels and why.

Feel free to drop by in my inbox, darling, even if it’s on anon~

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First look at Cuckoo's Nest Metis

I've started getting to know her more and found out she's a little different in character than I thought, so I redesigned her to look more fierce and just a teeny tiny bit intimidating rather than the more ethereal look she has in FtbL